Climate change is absolutely an aspect of empire," he says. "The British Empire was essentially built on fossil fuels: It was the British mastery of coal that gave it a huge military advantage over the rest of the world."
That's also one reason why renewable energy is a threat to a system that the West has spent centuries building up and defending. "One thing you can be sure of," Ghosh says. "If renewables really were adopted at scale, it would completely shake up the global political order." He argues that oil and gas have to flow through maritime chokepoints controlled by the US, Australia, Britain and Canada, giving them a complete geopolitical advantage.
Amitav Ghosh: What the West doesn't get about the climate crisis
And it is no different here in this part of the world. When the Prime Minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga and other Pacific leaders begged Australia to stop "opening coal mines" The deputy Prime Minister of Australia told them that if Pacific could survive climate change by picking Australia's fruit.
The Coal powered Royal Navy only lasted from 1871- 1914, well after the main territorial grab had completed.
Absolutely the Empire was built on Royal Navy powered by sail. The real reason was Britain was a maritime power long before the Industrial revolution. On a smaller scale in the Mediterranean, Venice a maritime power, had many colonies to support its trade.
Trouble with people who dont know their history reading other stuff by people who dont know their history either.
Free commentary is largely worthless
Jeremy Corbyn launches Labour Party manifesto…aahhh the sweet sound of a real Labour party, committed to radical and transformative change…quite a contrast to the weak insipid centrist liberal pragmatic New Zealand Labour that inspires no one, and laughs in the face of transformative change…
As our politicians generally copy the UK, a few years later, whether it works, post war Labours social welfare, or not, Thatcherism. There may be hope for us yet.
Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency, and to stave-off calls for more radical socialist alternatives. Despite his impeccable right-wing credentials, Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: "Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me."
The German system provided contributory retirement benefits and disability benefits as well. Participation was mandatory and contributions were taken from the employee, the employer and the government. Coupled with the workers' compensation program established in 1884 and the "sickness" insurance enacted the year before, this gave the Germans a comprehensive system of income security based on social insurance principles. (They would add unemployment insurance in 1927, making their system complete.)
I was under the impression that Bismarck needed to bring in social security because the usual suppliers of troops in those days were all broke and nobody would fight because under the serf like indentured for life system the insolvent Counts and Dukes who normally supplied the troops to Bismarck etc, also cared for the returning injured and widows and orphans as part of the deal.
He sounded good to me, definitely "all out" for government that supports people getting a fair chance in life, not just a privileged few. A Labour win looks far from zero.
It is for uploading videos like this shot with head cams that give irrefutable proof of the Assad regime's war crimes that the White Helmets are marked for death by the regime and their Western quislings.
I am no defender of Assad, however the propaganda works both ways in that conflict (all conflicts)…
'A whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is accusing top officials of tampering with evidence collected at the scene of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018.'
Also interesting that Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets disputes the ubiquitous description of Le Mesurier as founder and trainer of the White Helmets.
Le Mesurier's name is almost always followed by "founder and trainer of the White Helmets" and "ex British Army officer"Even his Wikipedia entry says this , and Le Mesurier never disputed it.
"James was neither our founder nor our trainer. He was the CEO of Mayday, which supported the White Helmets."
Saleh also says that he always "knew that le Mesurier was an ex British intelligence officer"
I would have thought a busted aorta was a natural consequence of his body hitting a solid structure at a velocity of 9.8m/s. I bet his other organs were similarly squished.
But it's not for us to defend Assad or otherwise. It is the sole and undoubted right of Syrians alone.
In 2014 they voted most expressly for Assad as President. The next elections are in 2021 and if they vote for him again, that remains to be seen. While there were only 3 nominees in 2014, its expected there will be many more in 2021.
That's hilarious. Head cam you say. So why wasn't the wearer helping to extract the 'injured child'
I wouldn't let those morons anywhere near my child.
All it refutes is good acting. If Richard Chamberlain was offered a role I'd say even he would have turned it down.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, founded in 1942, the only first response organisation in Syria was admitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1946.
They do not carry cameras while carrying out their duty.
I've put a comment in How to Get There that relates to refugees and wars and the devastation and cruelty that grand schemes from above with no count of human suffering, impose on hapless people.
"Mr Key said someone at Tourism New Zealand thought of trying to get him on the show when Letterman made a comment about loving New Zealand. They put together a tape and sent it to the show.
That was how these things worked, he said.This is showbiz and there's a whole lot of people who work through that, but in the end, New Zealanders have to ask themselves, `did they get value for money?"
But its different when Key and his PR people do it …. well 5min worth anyway.
The National Party Foundation and Dodgy Donations.
Newshub Reports:
Jami-Lee Ross said NZ First's foundation was modelled on the National Party's and operates in largely the same way, and there's little the Electoral Commission can do.
Ross said political party foundations exist only as a way of obscuring donors' identities and should be abolished.
Ross also claims National MPs face 'repercussions' if they miss fundraising target. "If you did not fundraise your $30,000 or $20,000, you weren't allowed to go to selection. Every MP was also expected to ensure there were donations going into the National Foundation".
National Party president and chair of the National Foundation board Peter Goodfellow told Newshub Nation "It is correct that our local party electorate committees are set and supported to achieve KPIs before proceeding to a candidate selection," said Goodfellow. The party acknowledged targets do exist.
Newshub contacted Simon Bridges' office, which declined to comment.
Ironically when he was a National MP in Government, the job of securing donations that could slip through the cracks often fell to Ross, as he wasn't a minister and therefore not subject to the Official Information Act. He said he was a "product of the National Party" but has changed his views.
The Serious Fraud Office is still investigating National Party donations.
It seems obvious that those leaking the dirt on NZF are disgruntled ex NZF MP's/staffers etc. Jamie-Lee Ross is in the same boat. I'll happily wait for the results of independent investigations, because I don't trust any of them.
A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee had in Vienna last year with a former Ukrainian prosecutor to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden.
The attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, represents Lev Parnas, the recently indicted Soviet-born American who worked with Giuliani to push claims of Democratic corruption in Ukraine. Bondy said that Parnas was told directly by the former Ukrainian official that he met last year in Vienna with Rep. Devin Nunes.
"Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December," said Bondy.
Just in case anyone missed Stephen Colbert in the Central Otago mountains, bungy jumping, revealing in the hospitality of Air New Zealand and otherwise praising us to the gills, here he is:
You can not listen to the naysayers climate change deniers who put down green energy any chance they manufacture.
The World can be powered by clean green energy.
Solar farms can keep UK’s lights on even at night
Trial shows panels can smooth voltage fluctuations in the National Grid
Solar farms could soon play a vital role in the energy system 24 hours a day, after a breakthrough trial proved they can even help balance the grid at night. National Grid used a solar farm in East Sussex to help smooth overnight voltage fluctuations for the first time earlier this month, proving solar farms don’t need sunshine to help keep the lights on.
The breakthrough could mean that UK solar farms will soon help stabilise the energy grid at night, which could save £400m on grid upgrades or building new power plants. “Inverters” at the solar farm are usually used in the process of converting solar energy to electric current. But at night, when the grid is often less stable, the same equipment can adapt grid electricity to a healthier voltage.
On blustery nights with plenty of wind power but little demand, the solar farm could help prevent the energy grid’s voltage from rising too high. It could also prevent the voltage from falling too low during still nights in winter when demand is often high.
Lightsource BP will carry out a second trial next month, and it hopes to strike its first commercial deal to help balance the electricity grid with National Grid next year.
I back Aquaculture especially if it revitalise and protects our endangered wild fish's.
$14m bid to make Westport 'whitebait capital of world' gets backing
The man who pioneered whitebait farming in New Zealand is backing claims that Westport has the potential to be the whitebait capital of the world.
The industry is in its infancy right now but in years to come I predict it'll be as big as mussel-farming in NZ, he said.
Over eight years he and his team found ways to breed all five of New Zealand's native whitebait species, including the endangered giant kōkopu.
They were so successful that they were able to start commercial production in 2014. The Warkworth fish farm now employs 12 staff and produces two tonnes of Manaaki Whitebait a year.
"Westport would be the perfect location for a farmed whitebait set-up. You need access to clean freshwater and seawater for the tanks as well as land to build on because it's an entirely closed operation. Westport has all that in abundance.
"It takes millions of investment dollars and time to build up your breeding stock. You can't take the adult fish from the wild because they're protected; you have to breed them up from bait and wait a couple of years till they can breed themselves
As some people will know I won't debate my views of Our reality I just put them on this site. I new that there a many positive outcomes to planting billions of trees. So let's plant billions of trees in the correct places put a lot of planning into how the tree are going to effect the local environment and economic effects.
On tree planting, we should take a leaf out of Ethiopia’s book
Tree planting is suddenly the zeitgeist. Tabloid newspapers, utility companies and oil corporations are pledging to plant trees by the million, in some cases before Christmas. Even the Brexit party is on to it. The Woodland Trust has launched its “big climate fightback”. This Thursday, on Channel 5, Chris Packham and John Humphrys host Plant a Tree to Save the World.
In July, Ethiopia began a huge nationwide strategy in which 350m trees were planted in one day (at current rates in England and Wales, this would take us 140 years). In 2017, 1.5 million Indian volunteers planted 66m trees in 12 hours in Madhya Pradesh. The government in New Zealand launched a plan to plant a billion trees by 2027 (including 83m this year). In Pakistan, the programme to plant a billion trees to combat the effects of climate change was completed ahead of schedule in 2017. Their new target is 10bn trees.
Trees give life. It’s hard to overstate their benefit. They are fundamental to our rural and urban landscapes, our lives and the future of this planet. Trees reduce soil degradation on farms, provide vital habitat for wildlife, supply us with food, heat and medicine, safeguard water quality, give shade, build biodiversity and create spaces to walk lightly and breathe deeply in our cities. Trees diminish flood risk, improve air quality by absorbing pollution and yield a renewable resource in the form of timber. Most importantly, in the climate emergency, trees sequester carbon. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in their trunks, branches and roots, before releasing oxygen back into the air. Trees mitigate climate change and tree planting is now recognised as one of the best ways to tackle this global crisis.
The Sumatran rhino is now officially extinct in Malaysia, with the death of the last known specimen.
The 25-year-old female named Iman died on Saturday on the island of Borneo, officials say. She had cancer.
Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino died in May this year.
The Sumatran rhino once roamed across Asia, but has now almost disappeared from the wild, with fewer than 100 animals believed to exist. The species is now critically endangered
No more than 100 Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild (some estimates put the number as low as 30), scattered on the islands of Sumatra, Indonesia
O no no no the system looks perfect through my rose tinted glasses.
YEA RIGHT.
Emma Espiner: Entitled little pricks
Newsroom columnist and medical student Emma Espiner hopes a rort at the University of Otago over a final-year overseas elective won't end up punishing all aspiring young doctors.
You could see the train wreck coming from a mile away. I was in Nelson for work, having just finished my 5th year exams. It was a sunny morning and I glanced at the news before walking out the door. The headline read “University of Otago investigating claims med students faked work placement records.”
Then there’s the real me – a mum of a six-year-old, a grown-up with a mortgage and unpaid debt from the first time I went to university more than ten years ago, two part-time jobs and regular fights with my husband about how to correctly pack the dishwasher.
The medical student in me wants to defend us. #notallmedstudents! I want to explain how the final year student grant really works – it’s not there to pay for the overseas elective! Most of us actually attend our elective placements!
A small number of people really f…ed up. Whether it was common practice or not, bribing your way out of attending your elective by paying someone to falsely sign off your placement is an open and shut case of bad judgment
Doctors have gone on the record to say they did those things too when they were medical students. Someone’s parents talked to RNZ arguing that their child was being scapegoated for a practice that’s been going on forever
I remember talking to investigative journalist Kirsty Johnston at The Herald after she wrote her piece last year titled ‘Want to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer? Don't grow up poor.’ Her investigation highlighted the astonishingly low rates of entry to ‘elite’ university courses by students from low-decile schools.
Those anti meat groups are being played like puppets by the carbon barons its there distraction like cow farts to divert the attention from there carbon polluting the World that's one part of Sun Tzu tack ticks
You guys are going to get laughed out of Aotearoa with you rhetoric anti meat. The Amazon way of farming has nothing to do with Aotearoa majority humane way of farming meat we just have to minimise water usage and carbon a bit of fine tuning lower our carbon footprint in the way we farm.
That's awesome rainfall in Australia putting out some of the Bush fires.
The UN report on record breaking greenhouse gases the reason it has taken 30 years to get this topic to mainstream minds is the carbon barons have been using the art of distraction magician use that tack tick and others to fool you.
This is positive we have to focus on cutting carbon out of our economy's.
Global use of coal-fired electricity set for biggest fall this year
Four decades of near-uninterrupted growth stoked global climate crisis
The world’s use of coal-fired electricity is on track for its biggest annual fall on record this year after more than four decades of near-uninterrupted growth that has stoked the global climate crisis.
Data shows that coal-fired electricity is expected to fall by 3% in 2019, or more than the combined coal generation in Germany, Spain and the UK last year and could help stall the world’s rising carbon emissions this year
The steepest global slump on record is likely to emerge in 2019 as India’s reliance on coal power falls for the first time in at least three decades this year, and China’s coal power demand plateaus.
Both developing nations are using less coal-fired electricity due to slowing economic growth in Asia as well as the rise of cleaner energy alternatives. There is also expected to be unprecedented coal declines across the EU and the US as developed economies turn to clean forms of energy.
In almost 40 years the world’s annual coal generation has fallen only twice before: in 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and in 2015, following a slowdown in China’s coal plants amid rising levels of deadly air pollution
The US – which is backing out of the Paris agreement – has made the deepest cuts to coal power of any developed country this year by shutting coal plants down in favour of gas power and renewable energy. By the end of August the US had reduced coal by almost 14% over the year compared with the same months in 2018.
The EU reported a record slump in coal-fired electricity use in the first half of the year of almost a fifth compared with the same months last year. This trend is expected to accelerate over the second half of the year to average a 23% fall over 2019 as a whole. The EU is using less coal power in favour of gas-fired electricity – which can have roughly half the carbon footprint of coal – and renewable energy is increasingly more cost effective than coal
Condolences to the people who losted their Tane to the system in Tauranga
Desperate its his m8 that control some of them nurture them.
That's a great move a railway hub in Palmerston especially with global warming and the Manawatu gorge being closed Aotearoa need to spend A billion dollars on rail to make railway electric and get the old lines fixed.
Ka pai to the Wahine with her Christmas waiata Mana Wahine.
This video produced in Seattle looks at the gender identity curriculum used in schools in the US. A thin veneer of pseudoscience is being used to indoctrinate children with an ideology based on scientific and medical inaccuracies. ...
For once, I have written my submission on a bill with enough time to spare to both enocurage any of you who wants to make a submission to do so as well, and to give you time to spot the typos in mine.Louisa Wall's Harmful Digital Communications (Unauthorised Posting of Intimate ...
Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While others ponder whether Luxon really has what it takes ...
‘Tis the season for unearthing the rarest gems in Tolkien adaptation – which, considering that the fandom has been dominated by Peter Jackson for nigh on two decades, is a positively heart-warming development. It is why I have devoted so much blog space to the obscure and weirdly wonderful ...
Whatever the damage, especially to the British economy, Brexit has done us a service by illustrating the complexity of trade.Brexit is the only example we have of two closely integrated sophisticated economies severing trading ties. The European Union and Britain still do not have tariffs or import quotas between them ...
The Palmerston North City Council has voted for Māori wards: Palmerston North Māori will be guaranteed one or two seats on the city council from 2022, and this time, there is nothing opponents can do about it. The council decided by an 11-5 vote at its monthly meeting this ...
Kids are striking for the climate today, demanding a decent, liveable future. Meanwhile, the National Party, the reliable servant of the farm lobby and other polluting businesses, is calling for action to be delayed: National has written to Climate Change Minister James Shaw calling for him to extend the ...
Today tens of thousands of schoolkids have walked out of school to strike for a future free from climate change. And tens of thousands of older New Zealanders have joined them. Their demands are clear: eliminate fossil fuels, implement 100% renewable energy with a just transition, and support our Pacific ...
The Gods That Failed.We studied the dialecticRead the whole of ‘Capital’So we could follow youSo we could follow youHow we shoutedHow we scrawledPainted slogans on city wallsOn prison wallsProof we had followed youBut, we still didn’t find what we’re looking forAnd we still haven’t found what we’re looking forWhen they ...
Conventional Wisdom? The Republican Right is convinced that to “go woke” is to “go broke”. It simply does not believe sufficient Americans feel strongly enough about social justice to make any kind of boycott remotely effective. Clearly, the Boards of Directors of more and more American corporations disagree. RECENT MOVES by ...
On November 25, 2020 Skeptical Science Inc. became a registered nonprofit organization and on March 17, 2021 our application to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status was approved. In this blog post, we’ll explain why we went down this path and what will come next. Since its ...
Blowing Hot And Cold: Mike Hosking’s bosses should, perhaps, ask themselves what message Newstalk-ZB (and NZME) is sending to the people of New Zealand if Mike Hosking, their self-appointed “People’s Prosecutor”, is accorded bragging rights for “cancelling” the democratically-elected Prime Minister of New Zealand. Especially when said Prime Minister’s only ...
Ali Boyle, University of CambridgeIf you ask people to list the most intelligent animals, they’ll name a few usual suspects. Chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants are often mentioned, as are crows, dogs and occasionally pigs. Horses don’t usually get a look in. So it might come as a surprise that ...
Selwyn Manning and I dedicated this week’s video podcast to the potential emergence of rival blocs within the transitional process involved in the move from a unipolar to a multipolar international system currently underway. However one characterises the phenomenon–autocracies versus democracies, East versus West, colonial versus post-colonial–the global order is ...
With the rediscovery of the lost Soviet Lord of the Rings, the time has come for the important things in life. Specifically, compiling the Tom Bombadil scenes from the three known screen adaptations that feature him: This is a collection of scenes from:– Sagan om Ringen (1971: ...
Back in February the Climate Change Commission recommended a ban on new coal-fired boilers, and a phase out of existing ones by 2037. And today, the government has said they will implement that policy, and backed it up with funding to help transition some of our large pollution sources: ...
Back in 2014, the police raided and searched journalist Nicky Hager's home over his book Dirty Politics, seizing his journalistic work in an effort to identify his sources to please their political masters in the National party. The raid - and much of the police's related investigative work - was ...
By Professor Tony Blakely, Dr Tim Wilson, Luke Thorburn and Professor Nathan Grills, University of MelbourneA new web tool, COVID-19 Pandemic Trade-offs, allows people to weigh the costs and benefits of different policy responses as Australia rolls out vaccines and considers opening borders.See here for an associated explanatory ...
This evening I was engaging in polite conversation (well, I was polite, anyway) on an RNZ Facebook post about – you guessed it! – the covid19 vaccination program. One of those present offered up a link to a blog post by Joseph Mercola to support a claim he was making ...
by Jordan Levi (Contributed) I don’t remember when I first came across the concept of gender identity, but it was definitely before Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) came out as transgender because I’m sure that would’ve confused me way more if it was my first acquaintance with the phenomenon. The ...
The fact that the much vaunted “most advanced, richest Nation on the planet, ever”, that being America, ran into a brick wall in its responses to the problems across the world of late is because, at its heart, of the economic system that we’ve all been largely forced to ...
The EPA has commenced the 2021 “denewing” of new organisms. Their New Organisms team explain what this means, and ask you to put forward your proposals. The places we inhabit are shared with thousands of different kinds of organisms. They’re in the trees, flying in the sky, in our yoghurt, ...
As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine across NZ there will inevitably be people who experience adverse events after getting their jab. Here are some super important things to keep in mind about adverse events following immunisation. Terminology – words matter Any event that is undesirable and follows administration of ...
Nature Climate Change celebrates 10 years of obfuscation The Nature Publishing Group is distinguished not only by what we're told (most of us must take somebody's word for it) are exceptionally high quality research publications but also by what some might term an outlier, extremist policy on locked-down content. In many ...
How can we stop the Ministry of Health censoring and sanitising vital mental health statistics to make themselves (and Ministers) look good? Legislate for annual reporting: Green Party mental health spokeswoman Chlöe Swarbrick says the Ministry of Health should be legally required to produce a wide range of mental ...
Here’s a few short interesting developments or discussions I’ve seen recently. Loosely bundled together in a theme of “values.” Irregular labour Is the private sector the best provider and facilitator of “gig work”? That’s challenged in a New Yorker profile of Wingham Rowan, an English social entrepreneur. For many years ...
In 1997 the Law Commission reviewed the OIA. In the process, they identified a problem: decisions to transfer a request could not be investigated by the Ombudsman under the Act. They also identified a workaround: transfer decisions by agencies subject to the Ombudsmen Act could be investigated under that Act, ...
The area of mental health has been a key strength for Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Government over the last few years. They campaigned strongly in 2017 on fixing up the dysfunctional system, and initially they made some vital strides forward in reforming the sector. An in-depth inquiry was instigated ...
By Jamie Stewart, Federated Mountain ClubsFederated Mountain Clubs (FMC), founded in 1931, represents 96 clubs, 22,000 members and 300,000 people that regularly recreate in the New Zealand backcountry. This article first appeared in the June 2020 issue of Backcountry magazine and is reproduced with permission. (Read the original article). ...
Stuff had an appalling story on Sunday about the Ministry of Health's attempts to hide unflattering mental health statistics and sanitise a regular report. The report came out last week, and showed a massive increase in the use of "seclusion", a practice which has been condemned by the UN Committee ...
Another unpleasant surprise at Tiwai Point: in addition to the declared stockpiles of toxic waste, they may have tens of thousands of tons secretly buried in the early 1990's to avoid the RMA: Investigators are looking into claims highly toxic waste has been buried in unmapped sites at Tiwai ...
This morning the government is deciding on the start-date for a trans-Tasman travel bubble. Note the way that that's phrased: the existence of such a bubble is taken as a given, and the only question is how to implement it. Obviously, we're going to have to re-open the borders eventually, ...
Qualified To Give - And Take - Advice: Most Labour MPs are self-conscious members of the meritocracy, meaning they have succeeded where the vast majority of their fellow citizens have failed. The primary political obligation, understood by all members of the First Labour Government, was to listen to the people. ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD A critical global shipping node – Egypt’s Suez Canal – was reopened on Monday, March 29, six days after being shut down when the 400-meter-long container ship Ever Given became lodged in the canal. A statement by the Suez ...
Red, red whines.That’s all you’ll hear.Not like those glory daysWhen we would cheer. Red, red whines.If it were up to us,We'd make a proper jobOf transforming the world. We would beMore than kind.Offer so much more than spin.Makes us sadWhen we findThere’s so much you won’t begin. Red, red whines.Now ...
Worlds Apart: According to the report of the British Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities: “family structure and social class had a bigger impact than race on how people’s lives turned out”. These are not the sort of findings that New Zealand fighters against "White Supremacy" and "Colonisation" are eager ...
Caitlin Clark, Colorado State UniversityWhether baked as chips into a cookie, melted into a sweet warm drink or molded into the shape of a smiling bunny, chocolate is one of the world’s most universally consumed foods. Even the biggest chocolate lovers, though, might not recognize what this ancient food ...
Since December 2020, I have been working my way through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s corpus of Sherlock Holmes stories, in order of publication. As of today I have managed to finish this adventure ...
Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 28, 2021 through Sat, Apr 3, 2021 The three apparently most popular posts on our Facebook page this week were John Cook's 23 Ways to Mislead (and how to spot them), Stanton Glantz' blog post ...
The Inward Journey: Indeed, this would appear to constitute the essence of the Gospel of Mary. That the teachings of the Christ are not to be read as a promise of victory over Death; but as an invitation to explore ever more fearlessly the manifold mysteries of Life.THE EASTER STORY is ...
It has never ceased to surprise me that those who profit at the expense of others are so unaware of the harm suffered by those they exploit, and are so convinced that they have a right to do the exploiting and that their profit is a proper and justifiable reward ...
The government’s recent housing package may work; will it do enough?Trick Question: Does New Zealand have a capital gains tax on housing? If you ask the Prime Minister she will say not. It is true that her government is increasing the scope of the ‘bright-line test’ on non-family homes to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Kristen Pope Trees and other plants have been critical in helping to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. But newly published scientific findings suggest the clock may be running on vegetation’s forever continuing at the same carbon sink efficiency rate currently ...
Today is the goodest of Fridays. What better way to celebrate a day off work when everything is closed to honour one of the greatest minds ever to nestle his parliamentary buttocks one of those gigantic green seats in the debating chamber. Ladies and gentlement I give you… Mr David ...
Below, for those interested, I copy my submission on the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification (Urgent Interim Classification of Publications and Prevention of Online Harm) Amendment Bill.This is the government bill aiming to create a mandatory Internet filter. The bill is largely unnecessary, but in parts not as bad as people ...
Matt Parker, University of PortsmouthYou’ve probably heard that fish have a three-second memory, or that they’re incapable of feeling pain. Neither of these statements is true, but it’s telling that these misconceptions don’t crop up for other vertebrates. Perhaps it’s because fish appear so different from us. They don’t ...
So, corporate pillager Ron Brierley has plead guilty to possession of child pornography, and there are obvious calls for him to be stripped of his feudal honour (awarded in the 80's for services to his own banak balance). When faced with such calls in the past, the government has hidden ...
Rage, Rage, And The Crying Of The Right: Retributive populism is founded on the principle that the past was better than the present: and that unless there is a strong and unapologetic reassertion of the values and policies that dignified the past, then the nation’s steady decline will persist into ...
Jacinda Ardern can essentially say “kia kaha” as much as she wants to those at the bottom of the housing market, but it won’t help their plight. Eventually her government is going to have to take state housing seriously as a tool for helping solve the housing crisis – especially ...
Completed reads for March: The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Another quiet month ...
It might just be me, but there are few things more exciting than the rediscovery of art previously thought lost. Even if it isn’t particularly great art, there is still the thrill of notching up a victory for human knowledge against the inevitable sands of time. There is a ...
Autotomy. There’s a word you don’t see every day – but those familiar with lizards may well have seen the result. For autotomy is the scientific name for what I suppose we could also call “self-amputation”: the process whereby an animal deliberately sheds a part of its body (a tail, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Ben Santer, and Richard Richels Governing from the White House by executive actions – whether by executive orders or variations thereon – has its pluses and minuses. Executive orders, for instance, can help get past rigid partisan opposition and ...
Massey's Cossacks: New Zealand's employer class didn't need the services of a Pinkerton Detective Agency – strike-breakers par excellence in the service of US industrial titans like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Not when the strapping sons of Waikato and Wairarapa cockies could be quietly trained and organised by ...
Gregory Moore, The University of MelbourneIt’s official: Australians endured the coldest, wettest summer in at least five years thanks to La Niña, a climate phenomenon over the Pacific Ocean. Before we knew it, autumn rolled in bringing more rain. Tragically, it led to widespread flooding across New South Wales, ...
by Orla Ní Chomhraí In 1946 George Orwell wrote: “Fifteen years ago, when one defended the freedom of the intellect, one had to defend it against Conservatives, against Catholics, and to some extent — for they were not of great importance in England — against Fascists. Today one has to ...
SATIRE by Remy Beethey/them, demigender, queer, white priv. In a stunning and brave turn the Court Theatre in Christchurch has decided to completely change how it casts plays. The awakening came when Christchurch’s Court Theatre got called out by queer activist, agender Rosemary Mitford-Taylor after casting a cis actor to play ...
The government shifts blame for its own failings onto landlords South Auckland councillor Efeso Collins remarked early this month that Jacinda Ardern had abandoned the collegiality of “the team of five million” and entered her “post-kindness phase” after she blamed South Aucklanders for sparking an unpopular week-long lockdown. Casting ...
Dr Leah Grout, Dr Jennifer Summers, Dr Amanda Kvalsvig, Prof Michael Baker, Prof Nick WilsonWhile succeeding very well with its elimination strategy, NZ still does not have optimal border control. We find since July 2020 there have been 13 identified border failures and at least 6 internal MIQ facility ...
By Monica Vallender, Master’s student with AgResearch Invermay and the University of Otago. A few months ago, while home for the Christmas break, my mother – out of the blue – turned to me and asked, “what made you actually decide you wanted to go to university and study science?” ...
One of the innovations of the Zero Carbon Act was a clause specifically allowing public bodies (or bodies performing public functions) to consider climate change targets and reduction plans in their decision-making. It was phrased as a "permissive consideration": they didn't have to. But as we've seen from the Thames-Coromandel ...
Jim Mann, University of OtagoType 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in New Zealand and will get much worse unless action is taken now, according to a new report on the economic and social cost of the disease. Already 228,000 New Zealanders (4.7% of the population) have type 2 ...
Small businesses are not only the heart of our economy – they’re also the heart of our communities. They provide important goods and services, as well as great employment opportunities. They know and love their locals. And after a tough year, they need our support! ...
Green Party spokesperson for Pacific Peoples Teanau Tuiono MP, supports the demand from Pasifika communities fighting for climate action as their homelands are more at risk in the Pacific region. ...
The Green Party supports the six demands for climate action put forward by School Strike for Climate NZ, who are striking across the country today. ...
The Ministry of Justice Māori victimisation report, released today, reinforces what we already know about the impact of systemic racism in Aotearoa and that urgent action is needed. ...
Ricardo Menéndez March’s Members Bill to ensure that disabled New Zealanders do not face discrimination for having a disability assist dog was today pulled from the biscuit tin to be debated in Parliament. ...
More than one million people will be better off from today, thanks to our Government’s changes to the minimum wage, main benefits and superannuation. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to do more for New Zealanders who continue to miss out, as main benefits are set to rise by less than $8 a week tomorrow, Thursday 1 April (at the start of the financial year). ...
Sunday 28th March 70 Rongomaiwahine descendants welcomed members of the Green Party’s Māori Caucus, Te Mātāwaka, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere and Teanau Tuiono, to discuss concerns about RocketLab’s operations on the Mahia Peninsula. ...
The new homes enabled through additional borrowing capacity for Kāinga Ora announced by Government today must have a Te Tiriti o Waitangi lens, having Māori take the lead in developing homes ...
We’ve announced the next steps in our plan to tackle New Zealand’s housing crisis, as we take urgent action to help more Kiwis into homes. Here, we answer your questions about our plan to improve housing in New Zealand. ...
We believe everyone deserves a warm, dry place to call home, which is why we’ve announced the next steps in our plan to tackle the housing crisis. The new policies we’ve announced build on the work we’ve already done to improve housing in New Zealand. Here’s a look at everything ...
The Green Party is calling for active transport access across the Auckland Harbour Bridge to be a priority as the future of the SkyPath remains uncertain. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “Our thoughts are with Her Majesty The Queen at this profoundly sad time. On behalf of the New Zealand people and the Government, I would like to express ...
We, the Home Affairs, Interior, Security and Immigration Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (the ‘Five Countries’) met via video conference on 7/8 April 2021, just over a year after the outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Guided by our shared ...
Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni has today announced the opening of the first round of Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa Cultural Installations and Events. “Creating jobs and helping the arts sector rebuild and recover continues to be a key part of the Government’s COVID-19 response,” Carmel ...
Interim legislation that is already proving to keep people safer from drugs will be made permanent, Health Minister Andrew Little says. Research by Victoria University, on behalf of the Ministry of Health, shows that the Government’s decision in December to make it legal for drug-checking services to operate at festivals ...
Public consultation launched on ways to improve behaviour and reduce damage Tighter rules proposed for either camping vehicles or camping locations Increased penalties proposed, such as $1,000 fines or vehicle confiscation Rental companies may be required to collect fines from campers who hire vehicles Public feedback is sought on proposals ...
The Government is continuing to support Air New Zealand while aviation markets stabilise and the world moves towards more normal border operations. The Crown loan facility made available to Air New Zealand in March 2020 has been extended to a debt facility of up to $1.5 billion (an additional $600 ...
Christchurch’s Richmond suburb will soon have a new community hub, following the gifting of a red-zoned property by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) to the Richmond Community Gardens Trust. The Minister for Land Information, Damien O’Connor said that LINZ, on behalf of the Crown, will gift a Vogel Street house ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says the reopening of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ (MPP) Languages Funding in 2021 will make sure there is a future for Pacific languages. “Language is the key to the wellbeing for Pacific people. It affirms our identity as Pasifika and ...
It is a pleasure to be here tonight. Thank you Cameron for the introduction and thank you for ERANZ for also hosting this event. Last week in fact, we had one of the largest gatherings in our sector, Downstream 2021. I have heard from my officials that the discussion on ...
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has today announced the 16 projects that will together get $3.9 million through the 2021 round of Te Pūnaha Hihiko: Vision Mātauranga Capability Fund, further strengthening the Government’s commitment to Māori knowledge in science and innovation. “We received 78 proposals - the highest ...
The Government is delivering on a key election commitment to tackle climate change, by banning new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels. This is the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate Commission’s ...
Six projects, collectively valued at over $70 million are delivering new schools, classrooms and refurbished buildings across Central Otago and are helping to ease the pressure of growing rolls in the area, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. The National Education Growth Plan is making sure that sufficient capacity in the ...
Two more schools are now complete as part of the Christchurch Schools Rebuild Programme, with work about to get under way on another, says Education Minister Chris Hipkins. Te Ara Koropiko – West Spreydon School will welcome students to their new buildings for the start of Term 2. The newly ...
The Government is acting to ensure decisions on responding to the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic are informed by the best available scientific evidence and strategic public health advice. “New Zealand has worked towards an elimination strategy which has been successful in keeping our people safe and our economy ...
Six Māori scholars have been awarded Ngārimu VC and the 28th (Māori) Battalion Memorial scholarships for 2021, Associate Education Minister and Ngārimu Board Chair, Kelvin Davis announced today. The prestigious Manakura Award was also presented for the first time since 2018. “These awards are a tribute to the heroes of the 28th ...
New Zealand’s aerospace industry is getting a boost through the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), to grow the capability of the sector and potentially lead to joint space missions, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods has announced. 12 New Zealand organisations have been chosen to work with world-leading experts at ...
The Government is backing more initiatives to boost New Zealand’s food and fibre sector workforce, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. “The Government and the food and fibres sector have been working hard to fill critical workforce needs. We've committed to getting 10,000 more Kiwis into the sector over the ...
Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni has welcomed the first reading of the Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill in the House this evening. “Tonight’s first reading is another step on the way to removing excessive sanctions and obligations for people receiving a Main Benefit,” says ...
The Government has taken a significant step towards delivering on its commitment to improve the legislation around mental health as recommended by He Ara Oranga – the report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, Health Minister Andrew Little says. The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Amendment ...
Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta has welcomed the Local Government (Rating of Whenua Māori) Amendment Bill passing its third reading today. “After nearly 100 years of a system that was not fit for Māori and did not reflect the partnership we have come to expect between Māori and the Crown, ...
New Zealand’s successful management of COVID means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on Monday 19 April, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed the conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have ...
Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little welcomed ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi to Parliament today to witness the third reading of their Treaty settlement legislation, the Ngāti Hinerangi Claims Settlement Bill. “I want to acknowledge ngā uri o Ngāti Hinerangi and the Crown negotiations teams for working tirelessly ...
Minister of Police Poto Williams has announced the members of the Ministers Arms Advisory Group, established to ensure balanced advice to Government on firearms that is independent of Police. “The Ministers Arms Advisory Group is an important part of delivering on the Government’s commitment to ensure we maintain the balance ...
Kiri Allan, Minister of Conservation and Emergency Management will undertake a leave of absence while she undergoes medical treatment for cervical cancer, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “I consider Kiri not just a colleague, but a friend. This news has been devastating. But I also know that Kiri is ...
Excellent progress has been made at the new prison development at Waikeria, which will boost mental health services and improve rehabilitation opportunities for people in prison, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. Kelvin Davis was onsite at the new build to meet with staff and see the construction first-hand, following a ...
To reduce the trauma of road crashes caused by drug impaired drivers, an Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving has proposed criminal limits and blood infringement thresholds for 25 impairing drugs, Minister of Police Poto Williams and Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. The Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill ...
Temporary COVID-19 immigration powers will be extended to May 2023, providing continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Over the past year, we have had to make rapid decisions to vary visa conditions, extend expiry dates, and ...
Temporary COVID-19 immigration powers will be extended to May 2023, providing continued flexibility to support migrants, manage the border, and help industries facing labour shortages, Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi announced today. “Over the past year, we have had to make rapid decisions to vary visa conditions, extend expiry dates, and ...
The Government is expanding its Pregnancy and Parenting Programme so more women and whānau can access specialist support to minimise harm from alcohol and other drugs, Health Minister Andrew Little says. “We know these supports help improve wellbeing and have helped to reduce addiction, reduced risk for children, and helped ...
*** Please check against delivery *** It’s an honour to be here in Rūātoki today, a rohe with such a proud and dynamic history of resilience, excellence and mana. Tūhoe moumou kai, moumou taonga, moumou tangata ki te pō. The Ahuwhenua Trophy competition is the legacy of a seed planted ...
The economic recovery from COVID-19 continues to be reflected in the Government’s books, which are again better than expected. The Crown accounts for the eight months to the end of February 2021 showed both OBEGAL and the operating balance remain better than forecast in the Half Year Economic and Fiscal ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson and Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash have welcomed confirmation New Zealand will host the opening ceremony and match, and one of the semi-finals, of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. Grant Robertson says matches will be held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin, ...
Changes to the minimum wage, main benefit levels and superannuation rates that come into force today will raise the incomes for around 1.4 million New Zealanders. “This Government is committed to raising the incomes for all New Zealanders as part of laying the foundations for a better future,” Minister for ...
The New Dunedin Hospital – Whakatuputupu has been approved for consideration under the fast track consenting legislation. The decision by Environment Minister David Parker signifies the importance of the project to the health of the people of Otago-Southland and to the economy of the region. “This project ticks all the ...
Transport Minister Michael Wood is getting Auckland light rail back on track with the announcement of an establishment unit to progress this important city-shaping project and engage with Aucklanders. Michael Wood said the previous process didn’t involve Aucklanders enough. ...
The Minister of Tourism is to re-open a government fund that supports councils to build infrastructure for visitors, with a specific focus on regions hardest hit by the loss of overseas tourists. “Round Five of the Tourism Infrastructure Fund will open for applications next month,” said Stuart Nash. It ...
A Governance Group of eight experts has been appointed to lead the next phase of work on a potential new public media entity, Minister for Broadcasting and Media Kris Faafoi announced today. “The Governance Group will oversee the development of a business case to consider the viability of a new ...
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson today helped launch a new fund to provide direct financial support for tamariki and rangatahi Māori throughout the South Island who is experiencing financial hardship and missing out on physical activity opportunities. “Through Te Kīwai Fund, we can offer more opportunities for Māori to ...
Six whānau in Pāpāmoa receive the keys to their brand-new rental homes today, in stage four of a papakāinga project providing safe and affordable housing in the regions. Minister for Māori Development, Willie Jackson congratulates Mangatawa Pāpāmoa Blocks Incorporated on the opening of three affordable rentals and three social housing ...
Kia ora tatou. It’s great to be here today and to get a conversation going on the disarmament issues of greatest interest to you, and to the Government. I’m thrilled to be standing here as a dedicated Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control, which I hope reinforces for you all ...
Dunedin writer Victor resumes his Sunday odes to public figures. Today: Mike HoskingThe Hosky and Cindy Show I want you on my show. And then I do not. I’ve fired you again. You’ve had your shot. You cancelled yourself. You’re on the shelf. But now ...
Sex is life in acclaimed Waikato writer Tracey Slaughter’s latest short story collection. Of course it’s there in Slaughter’s stories about affairs. In those pieces sex thumps and pants and dominates, it goes so hard it knocks grit off the ceiling and onto the bed, it sets fire to a marriage, ...
Bathroom, kitchen, sitting room, bookshelves, friends, memories – Linda Burgess ponders the decluttering of life. Made possible thanks to the support of Creative New ZealandOriginal illustrations by Gary Venn Go to the second drawer down in your bathroom. Open it. In it are countless small bottles of shampoo and skin cream ...
Analysis by Bryce Edwards. Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Judith Collins’ National Party leadership is under more scrutiny, with increased talk in the media of her being replaced by brand new MP Christopher Luxon. For many commentators it’s just a question of “when” rather than “if” Collins is replaced. While ...
Kiwi Seafarers continue to feel shortchanged by the New Zealand Government. On the 1st of December 2020 the UN general Assembly called for all Seafarers to be designated as Key Workers . International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack ...
Revelations that foreign affairs officials have approved the sale of military equipment to a host of human-rights-abusing countries, including Israel, is an outrage. In recent years foreign affairs has been dominated by trade priorities with concerns ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Quilty, Senior Staff Specialist, Alice Springs Hospital. Honorary, Australian National University A sizeable chunk of Northern Territory’s doctors are thinking about leaving the territory because of climate change, our new research shows. Our study, just published in The Lancet Planetary Health, ...
With the trans-Tasman bubble on the way, Auckland Airport has undertaken the unique challenge of splitting one airport into two. Matthew Scott went along to see what the parallel worlds look like. Birdsong is piped into an empty hallway. A message to nobody plays on the intercom. Luxury stores ...
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is today marking the death of their patron, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Prince Phillip had been patron of the College for 47 years, since he formally handed over ...
"People are walking up the hill, as we walk down, with their hands on their hips, their faces red, or looking directly at the path, not game enough to look up to see how far they’ve got to go": a portrait of a relationship set in a Dunedin landmark, by ...
It was with great sadness that I received notification from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness Prince Philip has died at Windsor Castle. The death of His Royal Highness is a great loss to Her Majesty the Queen, the members of the Royal Family ...
The Royal Commonwealth Society expresses its deepest condolences on the passing of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal Commonwealth Society expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to our Patron, Her Majesty ...
9 April 2021 Monarchy New Zealand today expresses its sadness at the passing of Queen of New Zealand’s consort, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip Prince Philip died aged 99. Prince Philip is the longest-serving consort in New Zealand’s history. ...
"On behalf of ACT, I would like to express sincere condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family. "Prince Philip will be remembered for his long dedication to public service. He has selflessly contributed to a long period of stability ...
Critic's Chair: Guy Somerset salutes Losing Alice, a compelling eight-part psychological thriller showing on Apple TV+ Who doesn’t like a compliment, a bit of flattery? But, unless you happen to be Donald J Trump, when the flattery spills over into sycophancy you tend to get suspicious. Alice Ginor (Ayelet Zurer) ...
WATCH: Silver Ferns shooter Monica Falkner talks about the pain of losing her dad, then fighting back from injury in part three of Pure As. Monica Falkner knows her dad, David, would have shed tears watching her finally play for the Silver Ferns against England last year - after five harrowing ...
Rampant house prices mean saving money for a deposit on a home is becoming increasingly fruitless. But just how long does it take in today’s market compared to a few years ago?Of all the essential and obscure pecuniary concepts that we learn throughout life, saving is one of those things ...
From the trauma of loss, Jean Sergent built a stage production that offers an invitation to others to embrace the radical possibility that things can get better.I’ve always been interested in death and dying – not the mechanics of it, but the social conditions. How death is prepared for, announced, ...
For almost three years, Onzo’s black and yellow fleet littered New Zealand’s streets with an accessible and affordable two-wheel option. Then it vanished, leaving behind a trail of angry and perplexed customers. Auckland’s first dockless bike-share scheme has disappeared in much the same way it first arrived – quietly, mysteriously and ...
Ardent disciple of mountain, valley, river and sky, Brian Turner is one of New Zealand’s most celebrated poets. Michelle Langstone travelled to his central Otago home to meet and hear the man who commands the language of the landscape.The landscape starts speaking to you from the turnoff on to the ...
George Driver heads to the end of the Earth to spend his birthday alone in New Zealand’s forgotten city.“Don’t go to Invercargill.”I’d spent most of my life a couple of hours’ drive from Invercargill. But every time I considered going I was confronted with this advice: “Don’t go, it’s not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Jeffrey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Southern Cross University Trees are the Earth’s lungs – it’s well understood they drawdown and lock up vast amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But emerging research is showing trees can also emit methane, and it’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Last week, people were falling over themselves to get vaccination appointments and had to be told, by their doctors and their government, to be patient. Patience is still needed — indeed, more than ever — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A week ago, people were falling over themselves to get vaccination appointments and had to be told, by their doctors and their government, to be patient. Patience is still needed — indeed, more than ever ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, La Trobe University Last night, the federal government announced substantially revised plans for the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia. Due to concerns about the vaccine’s possible links to a rare blood-clotting disorder, and following advice from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katherine Aigner, PhD candidate Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy, Australian National University On Saturday at the Adelaide Festival there will a public showing of Australian Atomic Confessions, a documentary I co-directed about the tragic and long-lasting effects of the atomic weapons testing ...
The Human Rights Commission is calling for more information on the justification behind the temporary suspension of travel from India. “Temporarily banning New Zealanders from returning home from India is a significant limitation on their freedom ...
The Chinese developers who caused an environmental disaster on an idyllic Fijian island have been found guilty on two counts of undertaking unauthorised developments in relation to a planned 370-bure resort and casino. The Suva Magistrates Court delivered its verdict against Freesoul Real Estate today, after the ruling date was pushed out twice with no ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia Australia’s vaccine rollout is in chaos. The news last night the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only one Australia has guaranteed supply of, would not be recommended for people under 50 due to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jan Golembiewski, Researcher, University of Technology Sydney The Royal Commission into Aged Care left organisations that provide housing for aged care wondering how they will put its recommendations into effect. Most of these recommendations relate to the models of care and levels ...
Our Beehive bulletin The Government’s ban on new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers and partnering with the private sector to help it transition away from fossil fuels perhaps ranked as the most important Beehive announcement yesterday. It was the first major announcement to follow the release of the Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nikki Turner, Professor, University of Auckland From next week, unvaccinated staff working at managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities will be moved to low-risk jobs, following a case of a worker who missed vaccination appointments and then tested positive for COVID-19. The ...
The proposed Regulatory Standards Bill has been welcomed by Energy Resources Aotearoa as a useful tool in developing better public policy. The Bill was drawn from the members ballot at Parliament on Thursday. "This should help deliver better policy ...
Division and social discord has undermined Covid-19 responses in other western nations. We must do everything we can to prevent that taking seed here, writes Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman. The Ministry of Health has done a stellar job in keeping us all safe. I have no doubt that the latest ...
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 The Mirror Book by Charlotte Grimshaw (Vintage, $38)Excerpt from Emma Espiner’s fantastic Spinoff review of this fantastic ...
Eight Wellington City Councillors – given the critical constitutional choice of Treaty partnership or democracy – yesterday voted in favour of further undermining the council’s democratic election and decision-making structures by granting voting rights to the representatives appointed by Maori tribes to sit on council committees. Only six councillors voted ...
Mike Hosking did, didn’t, does, doesn’t, will and won’t want to have the PM on his radio show, while simultaneously accusing the New Zealand media of being asleep at the wheel, writes James Elliott It was reported in the news this week that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere ...
Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March’s labelling of police dogs as being “attack dogs” is as out of touch as it is insulting to our entire police force, says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “A bill seeking to increase the maximum ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Reilly, Professor, University of Western Australia Could a change be afoot in the way Australians vote in federal elections? The Coalition government may be eyeing a shift to optional preferential voting — as used in New South Wales — which allows ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is urging action in the case against New Zealand-born Paul Mora, who allegedly fraudulently claimed €113 million in German tax credits. Paul Mora is wanted by Interpol in relation to the Cum-Ex tax affair after failing ...
An almost forgotten moment in our history, brought into the spotlight by a gutsy new theatre show, reveals uncomfortable truths about the history of race relations in Aotearoa.In a country that has until very recently avoided teaching its own history in schools, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a confrontation between university ...
A new poem from Ōtautahi-based poet Claudia Jardine.Ode to Mons Pubisfatty tissue, edifice of overturesjoints, ligaments, bones, cartilagedark turns to stars when I think aboutthe buttress of pubic symphysisyes! paths of faery lights, yes! brambly wadsyes! tracks of calligraphic gastropodsyes! tender grasses, yes! boxed bedsclippings from a crooner’s greenhousetopiary of ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is speaking to media a day after announcing a suspension of travel from India because of high numbers of Covid-19 cases. ...
The country's largest education union, NZEI Te Riu Roa, is backing the school students striking for climate action across the country today. NZEI Te Riu Roa President Liam Rutherford says the organisation "fully supports tamariki and educators who ...
At its core, Aotearoa New Zealand’s housing crisis is not about houses, but about the way we think about wealth, community, ourselves and our neighbours, the economy, education system, and much more. The only solutions to this problem involve everyone. ...
One year ago today managed isolation became mandatory for travellers arriving into New Zealand. The joint heads of Managed Isolation and Quarantine, Megan Main and Brigadier Jim Bliss, have paid tribute to the efforts of those who’ve contributed ...
Public feedback is now invited to improve freedom camping in New Zealand. To support the public consultation, the first of a series of public meetings throughout Aotearoa is being held at the Ellen Melville Centre in central Auckland from 2pm – 4pm on ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Click here to subscribe to Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup and New Zealand Politics Daily. Today’s contentCovid: India travel ban Luke Malpass (Stuff): Is the the ‘temporary’ India travel ban proportional ...
Hospitals should be a place of welcome and healing. But for gender-diverse people and their families, going to the hospital can feel like walking into a linguistic minefield. While a child was being treated at a New Zealand hospital last month, a health professional kept using the wrong gender pronouns ...
Local Government New Zealand welcomes the long overdue review of self-contained freedom camping rules announced by Tourism Minister Stuart Nash today. “Many councils across the country welcome the contribution freedom campers make to local economies,” ...
A new just transition plan released today by Climate Justice Taranaki calls for a major shift towards a domestic economy and away from exports and imports in a phase out of fossil fuels by 2030. The document focuses on Aotearoa’s three main greenhouse ...
Today Renters United launches their campaign for #RentControlsNow. This comes just weeks after the Government announced it’s housing package, a package that Renters United said “fell short of delivering any change to over one third of New Zealanders ...
Three… two… one… blast-off! They’re an incredible sight, but what’s the impact of rocket launches on the environment? Mirjam Guesgen investigates.Commercial space flights, moon colonies and missions to Mars are all exciting prospects. Some of them are even being helped along by New Zealand companies. Rocket launches are loud, ground-shaking, smoggy ...
A government committed to fairness and responsible law-making should not allow two bills recently drawn from the Member’s Ballot to sink without debate, Federated Farmers says. "At the very least the Regulatory Standards Bill and the Income ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ritesh Chugh, Senior Lecturer – Information Systems and Analysis, CQUniversity Australia If you’ve ever gotten your phone wet in the rain, dropped it in water or spilt liquid over it, you’re not alone. One study suggests 25% of smartphone users have damaged ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Macaulay, Professor of Public Administration, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Following a number of high-profile inquiries into workplace misconduct — including within parliament, the police and fire service — it became clear people who report such behaviour in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW This year is shaping up as the year of the COVID-19 vaccination photo, with the pandemic providing seemingly endless photo opportunities. We’ve seen stock photos of people getting vaccinated in news reports, images of the prime minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucinda McKnight, Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Curriculum, Deakin University Robots are writing more of what we read on the internet. And artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools are becoming freely available for anyone, including students, to use. In a period of rapid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW House prices are back in the news, and out of control. In the past three months the median house price in Sydney has risen by more than A$100,000 to A$1.12 million. Sydney’s median residential property price ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for April 9, bringing you the latest news throughout the day. For one day only, Stewart is off, so to get in touch email Bulletin editor Alex Braae at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.The Spinoff can’t exist without our members. If you want to help us stay ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Four key questions for the climate strikers, unvaccinated border worker tests positive, and big implications of ban on arrivals from India.We’re going to start today’s Bulletin with something different – a short interview. Because today teenagers across the country will once ...
The climate strikes are finally back! It’s been a turbulent year-and-a-half since our last strike, with two cancellations due to COVID-19, but finally we’re back with our fourth Intergenerational Strike 4 Climate. Christina Sieberhagen, 15, is ...
Staff from the animal rights organisation SAFE are going on strike today and will be marching with School Strike 4 Climate NZ in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. SAFE CEO Debra Ashton said the strike is especially important to SAFE because farming ...
From: Auckland Feminist Action and Migrant Zine Collective Feminist coalitions across Tāmaki Makaurau are calling on elected leaders to put an end to sexual violence in Aotearoa. The coalitions on Saturday, April 10 at 2pm, will march down Queen Street ...
I found this relationship between climate change and colonialism a fresh angle:
https://www.dw.com/en/amitav-ghosh-what-the-west-doesnt-get-about-the-climate-crisis/a-50823088
And it is no different here in this part of the world. When the Prime Minister of Tuvalu Enele Sopoaga and other Pacific leaders begged Australia to stop "opening coal mines" The deputy Prime Minister of Australia told them that if Pacific could survive climate change by picking Australia's fruit.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2019/08/pacific-islanders-can-survive-climate-change-by-picking-aussie-fruit-deputy-pm-michael-mccormack-says.html
You and Amitav Gosh have the timelines wrong .
The Coal powered Royal Navy only lasted from 1871- 1914, well after the main territorial grab had completed.
Absolutely the Empire was built on Royal Navy powered by sail. The real reason was Britain was a maritime power long before the Industrial revolution. On a smaller scale in the Mediterranean, Venice a maritime power, had many colonies to support its trade.
Trouble with people who dont know their history reading other stuff by people who dont know their history either.
Free commentary is largely worthless
The imperialism and colonialism being referenced by Amitav Gosh is not the imperialism of 19th Century British Imperialism.
Jeremy Corbyn launches Labour Party manifesto…aahhh the sweet sound of a real Labour party, committed to radical and transformative change…quite a contrast to the weak insipid centrist liberal pragmatic New Zealand Labour that inspires no one, and laughs in the face of transformative change…
As our politicians generally copy the UK, a few years later, whether it works, post war Labours social welfare, or not, Thatcherism. There may be hope for us yet.
I thought our welfare system preceded that of the UK when Michael Savage came to power in 1935.
It was NZ who led the way and provided a model for those who came after
Imperial Germany.
Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency, and to stave-off calls for more radical socialist alternatives. Despite his impeccable right-wing credentials, Bismarck would be called a socialist for introducing these programs, as would President Roosevelt 70 years later. In his own speech to the Reichstag during the 1881 debates, Bismarck would reply: "Call it socialism or whatever you like. It is the same to me."
The German system provided contributory retirement benefits and disability benefits as well. Participation was mandatory and contributions were taken from the employee, the employer and the government. Coupled with the workers' compensation program established in 1884 and the "sickness" insurance enacted the year before, this gave the Germans a comprehensive system of income security based on social insurance principles. (They would add unemployment insurance in 1927, making their system complete.)
https://web.archive.org/web/20190928175734/https://www.ssa.gov/history/ottob.html
I was under the impression that Bismarck needed to bring in social security because the usual suppliers of troops in those days were all broke and nobody would fight because under the serf like indentured for life system the insolvent Counts and Dukes who normally supplied the troops to Bismarck etc, also cared for the returning injured and widows and orphans as part of the deal.
Counts and Dukes were largely irrelevant by then, the Prussian military machine largely ran the Imperial army and navy
the various stages were
Health Insurance Bill of 1883
Accident Insurance Bill of 1884
Old Age and Disability Insurance Bill of 1889 ( age 70)
Workers Protection Act of 1891
Children's Protection Act of 1903
Actually about the same time in the USA, NZ and UK, if you look at the timelines.
As a reaction to the depression. Which didn’t really end until the massive State spending for WW2.
Elements were, of course, introduced at different times.
1898 . NZ Old age pension for 65 and over ( ahead of germany which was 70 till about 1913)
They shall sweep to sure victory! Oh, wait…
When your chances of winning are practically zero, may as well go all out.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10350705/jeremy-corbyn-zero-chance-winning/
Are you seriously giving us a Sun link to prove a point about Corbyn..holy crap that is priceless.,.thanks for that, needed a bit of a chuckle.
He sounded good to me, definitely "all out" for government that supports people getting a fair chance in life, not just a privileged few. A Labour win looks far from zero.
independent.co.uk/voices/boris-johnson-general-election-odds-prediction-win-forecast-trump-a9177856.html
BritBuild here we come!!!
Well it's The Spun Buttster, they would say that.
It would be great if it came to pass but he would need to get the Lib-Dems to go along with it, so good luck with that.
It is for uploading videos like this shot with head cams that give irrefutable proof of the Assad regime's war crimes that the White Helmets are marked for death by the regime and their Western quislings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDKjhM2ad9Q
I am no defender of Assad, however the propaganda works both ways in that conflict (all conflicts)…
'A whistleblower from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is accusing top officials of tampering with evidence collected at the scene of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018.'
Syria scandal: New whistleblower claims chemical weapons watchdog OPCW suppressed Douma evidence
Further news from Istanbul about Le Mesurier's death
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2019/11/20/turkish-officials-reveal-white-helmets-founder-le-mesuriers-cause-of-death
Also interesting that Raed Saleh, the head of the White Helmets disputes the ubiquitous description of Le Mesurier as founder and trainer of the White Helmets.
Le Mesurier's name is almost always followed by "founder and trainer of the White Helmets" and "ex British Army officer"Even his Wikipedia entry says this , and Le Mesurier never disputed it.
"James was neither our founder nor our trainer. He was the CEO of Mayday, which supported the White Helmets."
Saleh also says that he always "knew that le Mesurier was an ex British intelligence officer"
https://www.haberler.com/raed-al-saleh-the-chairman-of-white-helmets-james-12632931-haberi/
"the source of Le Mesurier's stress was him not being able to pay back a large amount of financial aid he had received."
What was that all about , the western intell agencies that funded his dutch Stitching Mayday Rescue find out he had diverted money ?
I would have thought a busted aorta was a natural consequence of his body hitting a solid structure at a velocity of 9.8m/s. I bet his other organs were similarly squished.
But it's not for us to defend Assad or otherwise. It is the sole and undoubted right of Syrians alone.
In 2014 they voted most expressly for Assad as President. The next elections are in 2021 and if they vote for him again, that remains to be seen. While there were only 3 nominees in 2014, its expected there will be many more in 2021.
That's hilarious. Head cam you say. So why wasn't the wearer helping to extract the 'injured child'
I wouldn't let those morons anywhere near my child.
All it refutes is good acting. If Richard Chamberlain was offered a role I'd say even he would have turned it down.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, founded in 1942, the only first response organisation in Syria was admitted to the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1946.
They do not carry cameras while carrying out their duty.
I've put a comment in How to Get There that relates to refugees and wars and the devastation and cruelty that grand schemes from above with no count of human suffering, impose on hapless people.
Just saw this…maybe someone posted but I missed it. JA's just darling x
Key: $10k Letterman payment 'not new'
"Mr Key said someone at Tourism New Zealand thought of trying to get him on the show when Letterman made a comment about loving New Zealand. They put together a tape and sent it to the show.
That was how these things worked, he said.This is showbiz and there's a whole lot of people who work through that, but in the end, New Zealanders have to ask themselves, `did they get value for money?"
But its different when Key and his PR people do it …. well 5min worth anyway.
and do you really believe that some emotional young staffer at Tourism NZ thought it was a good idea @ Duke?
Not beyond the realms of pissability I 'spose – they're probably a chief exec by now
If some emotional young staffer at Tourism NZ triggered this, they'd be pretty happy with themselves.
and just up:
The National Party Foundation and Dodgy Donations.
Newshub Reports:
Jami-Lee Ross said NZ First's foundation was modelled on the National Party's and operates in largely the same way, and there's little the Electoral Commission can do.
Ross said political party foundations exist only as a way of obscuring donors' identities and should be abolished.
Ross also claims National MPs face 'repercussions' if they miss fundraising target. "If you did not fundraise your $30,000 or $20,000, you weren't allowed to go to selection. Every MP was also expected to ensure there were donations going into the National Foundation".
National Party president and chair of the National Foundation board Peter Goodfellow told Newshub Nation "It is correct that our local party electorate committees are set and supported to achieve KPIs before proceeding to a candidate selection," said Goodfellow. The party acknowledged targets do exist.
Newshub contacted Simon Bridges' office, which declined to comment.
Ironically when he was a National MP in Government, the job of securing donations that could slip through the cracks often fell to Ross, as he wasn't a minister and therefore not subject to the Official Information Act. He said he was a "product of the National Party" but has changed his views.
The Serious Fraud Office is still investigating National Party donations.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/11/jami-lee-ross-claims-national-mps-face-repercussions-if-they-miss-fundraising-targets.html
It seems obvious that those leaking the dirt on NZF are disgruntled ex NZF MP's/staffers etc. Jamie-Lee Ross is in the same boat. I'll happily wait for the results of independent investigations, because I don't trust any of them.
[deleted upon request]
[link added upon request: https://www.adl.org/news/article/sacha-baron-cohens-keynote-address-at-adls-2019-never-is-now-summit-on-anti-semitism ]
oops, just noticed this up as a post
can a mod delete, please
You're welcome.
link fixed. The bold ] at the end appeared to attach to the URL.
Ta
Nope, not a fake cow taking the piss. .
A lawyer for an indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani tells CNN that his client is willing to tell Congress about meetings the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee had in Vienna last year with a former Ukrainian prosecutor to discuss digging up dirt on Joe Biden.
The attorney, Joseph A. Bondy, represents Lev Parnas, the recently indicted Soviet-born American who worked with Giuliani to push claims of Democratic corruption in Ukraine. Bondy said that Parnas was told directly by the former Ukrainian official that he met last year in Vienna with Rep. Devin Nunes.
"Mr. Parnas learned from former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Victor Shokin that Nunes had met with Shokin in Vienna last December," said Bondy.
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/22/politics/nunes-vienna-trip-ukrainian-prosecutor-biden/index.html
The cow is pleased.
Locals convinced they know best: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/117643714/mt-albert-tree-removal-date-for-hui-announced
They should invite all those Ihumatao protesters up there and camp out together.
Need to be manawhenua to issue an invite.
No all you need to be is a citizen.
What a strange thing to say. In this case control has been given back to local Maori, why would Ihumatao protestors object to that?
Know best ? Vegetation removal on this scale certainly requires a specific resource consent. TMA doesnt have one.
A generalised management plan with so called public consultation isnt one.
The only curious thing is why you would want that to be true.
Just in case anyone missed Stephen Colbert in the Central Otago mountains, bungy jumping, revealing in the hospitality of Air New Zealand and otherwise praising us to the gills, here he is:
You can not listen to the naysayers climate change deniers who put down green energy any chance they manufacture.
The World can be powered by clean green energy.
Solar farms can keep UK’s lights on even at night
Trial shows panels can smooth voltage fluctuations in the National Grid
Solar farms could soon play a vital role in the energy system 24 hours a day, after a breakthrough trial proved they can even help balance the grid at night. National Grid used a solar farm in East Sussex to help smooth overnight voltage fluctuations for the first time earlier this month, proving solar farms don’t need sunshine to help keep the lights on.
The breakthrough could mean that UK solar farms will soon help stabilise the energy grid at night, which could save £400m on grid upgrades or building new power plants. “Inverters” at the solar farm are usually used in the process of converting solar energy to electric current. But at night, when the grid is often less stable, the same equipment can adapt grid electricity to a healthier voltage.
On blustery nights with plenty of wind power but little demand, the solar farm could help prevent the energy grid’s voltage from rising too high. It could also prevent the voltage from falling too low during still nights in winter when demand is often high.
Lightsource BP will carry out a second trial next month, and it hopes to strike its first commercial deal to help balance the electricity grid with National Grid next year.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/24/solar-farms-keep-uk-lights-on-at-night
I back Aquaculture especially if it revitalise and protects our endangered wild fish's.
$14m bid to make Westport 'whitebait capital of world' gets backing
The man who pioneered whitebait farming in New Zealand is backing claims that Westport has the potential to be the whitebait capital of the world.
The industry is in its infancy right now but in years to come I predict it'll be as big as mussel-farming in NZ, he said.
Over eight years he and his team found ways to breed all five of New Zealand's native whitebait species, including the endangered giant kōkopu.
They were so successful that they were able to start commercial production in 2014. The Warkworth fish farm now employs 12 staff and produces two tonnes of Manaaki Whitebait a year.
"Westport would be the perfect location for a farmed whitebait set-up. You need access to clean freshwater and seawater for the tanks as well as land to build on because it's an entirely closed operation. Westport has all that in abundance.
"It takes millions of investment dollars and time to build up your breeding stock. You can't take the adult fish from the wild because they're protected; you have to breed them up from bait and wait a couple of years till they can breed themselves
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/404037/14m-bid-to-make-westport-whitebait-capital-of-world-gets-backing
As some people will know I won't debate my views of Our reality I just put them on this site. I new that there a many positive outcomes to planting billions of trees. So let's plant billions of trees in the correct places put a lot of planning into how the tree are going to effect the local environment and economic effects.
On tree planting, we should take a leaf out of Ethiopia’s book
Tree planting is suddenly the zeitgeist. Tabloid newspapers, utility companies and oil corporations are pledging to plant trees by the million, in some cases before Christmas. Even the Brexit party is on to it. The Woodland Trust has launched its “big climate fightback”. This Thursday, on Channel 5, Chris Packham and John Humphrys host Plant a Tree to Save the World.
In July, Ethiopia began a huge nationwide strategy in which 350m trees were planted in one day (at current rates in England and Wales, this would take us 140 years). In 2017, 1.5 million Indian volunteers planted 66m trees in 12 hours in Madhya Pradesh. The government in New Zealand launched a plan to plant a billion trees by 2027 (including 83m this year). In Pakistan, the programme to plant a billion trees to combat the effects of climate change was completed ahead of schedule in 2017. Their new target is 10bn trees.
Trees give life. It’s hard to overstate their benefit. They are fundamental to our rural and urban landscapes, our lives and the future of this planet. Trees reduce soil degradation on farms, provide vital habitat for wildlife, supply us with food, heat and medicine, safeguard water quality, give shade, build biodiversity and create spaces to walk lightly and breathe deeply in our cities. Trees diminish flood risk, improve air quality by absorbing pollution and yield a renewable resource in the form of timber. Most importantly, in the climate emergency, trees sequester carbon. They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, storing it in their trunks, branches and roots, before releasing oxygen back into the air. Trees mitigate climate change and tree planting is now recognised as one of the best ways to tackle this global crisis.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/24/with-the-earth-in-peril-planting-a-tree-is-an-act-of-faith
The Sumatran rhino is now officially extinct in Malaysia, with the death of the last known specimen.
The 25-year-old female named Iman died on Saturday on the island of Borneo, officials say. She had cancer.
Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino died in May this year.
The Sumatran rhino once roamed across Asia, but has now almost disappeared from the wild, with fewer than 100 animals believed to exist. The species is now critically endangered
No more than 100 Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild (some estimates put the number as low as 30), scattered on the islands of Sumatra, Indonesia
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50531208
O no no no the system looks perfect through my rose tinted glasses.
YEA RIGHT.
Emma Espiner: Entitled little pricks
Newsroom columnist and medical student Emma Espiner hopes a rort at the University of Otago over a final-year overseas elective won't end up punishing all aspiring young doctors.
You could see the train wreck coming from a mile away. I was in Nelson for work, having just finished my 5th year exams. It was a sunny morning and I glanced at the news before walking out the door. The headline read “University of Otago investigating claims med students faked work placement records.”
Then there’s the real me – a mum of a six-year-old, a grown-up with a mortgage and unpaid debt from the first time I went to university more than ten years ago, two part-time jobs and regular fights with my husband about how to correctly pack the dishwasher.
The medical student in me wants to defend us. #notallmedstudents! I want to explain how the final year student grant really works – it’s not there to pay for the overseas elective! Most of us actually attend our elective placements!
A small number of people really f…ed up. Whether it was common practice or not, bribing your way out of attending your elective by paying someone to falsely sign off your placement is an open and shut case of bad judgment
Doctors have gone on the record to say they did those things too when they were medical students. Someone’s parents talked to RNZ arguing that their child was being scapegoated for a practice that’s been going on forever
I remember talking to investigative journalist Kirsty Johnston at The Herald after she wrote her piece last year titled ‘Want to be a doctor, lawyer or engineer? Don't grow up poor.’ Her investigation highlighted the astonishingly low rates of entry to ‘elite’ university courses by students from low-decile schools.
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2019/11/25/917741/emma-espiner-entitled-little-pricks
Kia Ora 1 News.
I could see that City was loaded with PEE problems.
Desperate.
I think some people think they know what the pulse is in public opinion but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge in the last few years.
Its sad that the Koala Bears become famous because of bushfires
Some people got their nickers in a twist because of one of my post today.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Intelligent people can see the blue strings.
Those anti meat groups are being played like puppets by the carbon barons its there distraction like cow farts to divert the attention from there carbon polluting the World that's one part of Sun Tzu tack ticks
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Breakfast
You guys are going to get laughed out of Aotearoa with you rhetoric anti meat. The Amazon way of farming has nothing to do with Aotearoa majority humane way of farming meat we just have to minimise water usage and carbon a bit of fine tuning lower our carbon footprint in the way we farm.
That's awesome rainfall in Australia putting out some of the Bush fires.
The UN report on record breaking greenhouse gases the reason it has taken 30 years to get this topic to mainstream minds is the carbon barons have been using the art of distraction magician use that tack tick and others to fool you.
Ka kite Ano
This is positive we have to focus on cutting carbon out of our economy's.
Global use of coal-fired electricity set for biggest fall this year
Four decades of near-uninterrupted growth stoked global climate crisis
The world’s use of coal-fired electricity is on track for its biggest annual fall on record this year after more than four decades of near-uninterrupted growth that has stoked the global climate crisis.
Data shows that coal-fired electricity is expected to fall by 3% in 2019, or more than the combined coal generation in Germany, Spain and the UK last year and could help stall the world’s rising carbon emissions this year
The steepest global slump on record is likely to emerge in 2019 as India’s reliance on coal power falls for the first time in at least three decades this year, and China’s coal power demand plateaus.
Both developing nations are using less coal-fired electricity due to slowing economic growth in Asia as well as the rise of cleaner energy alternatives. There is also expected to be unprecedented coal declines across the EU and the US as developed economies turn to clean forms of energy.
In almost 40 years the world’s annual coal generation has fallen only twice before: in 2009, in the wake of the global financial crisis, and in 2015, following a slowdown in China’s coal plants amid rising levels of deadly air pollution
The US – which is backing out of the Paris agreement – has made the deepest cuts to coal power of any developed country this year by shutting coal plants down in favour of gas power and renewable energy. By the end of August the US had reduced coal by almost 14% over the year compared with the same months in 2018.
The EU reported a record slump in coal-fired electricity use in the first half of the year of almost a fifth compared with the same months last year. This trend is expected to accelerate over the second half of the year to average a 23% fall over 2019 as a whole. The EU is using less coal power in favour of gas-fired electricity – which can have roughly half the carbon footprint of coal – and renewable energy is increasingly more cost effective than coal
Ka kite Ano link below.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/nov/25/global-use-of-coal-fired-electricity-set-for-biggest-fall-this-year
Whats the sis doing wasting tax payers money and time following a broke ass Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa around every minute of the day
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora 1 News.
That's is good for small contractors getting laws to protect them. Most companies get contractors to limit their liability and expenses.
Yes I think that is the goal we should aim for halfing our carbon emissions in the next 10 years.
Awsome taking that person to court because he was spreading Kauri Dieback to Tane Mahuta and his mokopuna.
Ka kite Ano
Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.
Condolences to the people who losted their Tane to the system in Tauranga
Desperate its his m8 that control some of them nurture them.
That's a great move a railway hub in Palmerston especially with global warming and the Manawatu gorge being closed Aotearoa need to spend A billion dollars on rail to make railway electric and get the old lines fixed.
Ka pai to the Wahine with her Christmas waiata Mana Wahine.
Ka kite Ano