The sudden favouring of the very few who have user logins (authors or people with very old logins) has been fixed.
A option in the discussion page “Users must be registered and logged in to comment” got knocked on by accident 19 hours ago. I’ve now turned it back off.
Thank you! I saw the Word Press logo and thought I was on KiwiBlog.
Imagine the horror.
I’m on 999 posts over there, by the way. I promised the boys I’d make my 1,000th a real rip-snorter, but I still haven’t produced. I have a severe case of writer’s block, I’m afraid….
These days I always seem to have writers block for human level English.
Fortunately I don’t currently have it in c++, C#, python, … I have had blocks in those in the past and have found that writing English in troll suppression mode has usually sufficient to drive me back to rationality.
But this drought in English has been ongoing for a while. Perhaps I should start to resurrect writing in my piss-poor human French or German (or even historian Latin) to see if I can kickstart the English habit again.
Or perhaps just stopping the habit of writing anything on cellphones would help. I have to say that while they are great communication devices, they are piss-poor devices for writing coherently.
You’re correct, Anne. It’s not really writer’s block, it’s laziness on my part. I do really want to write a magnum opus, but I just can’t work up the enthusiasm. Maybe it’s all those down-votes taking their toll….
“Auckland’s century-old stormwater pipes overflow into the ocean almost every time it rains, and it’s putting many of the city’s beaches out of action.
It only takes 5mm of rain to fall before the combined sewage and stormwater pipes overflow.
“The frequency with which it happens in Auckland is a bit of a concern, because it’s 50 times a year,” says Auckland University wastewater engineer Dr Lokesh Padhye.
A Weekend Herald investigation found in a year, around 1 million cubic metres of wastewater is disposed of in the harbour each year.”
The important response from Watercare to sewerage spillovers in the Auckland isthmus region is the Central Interceptor project. See the video and explanation in the link below:
Back in the day most of the stormwater and wastewater were put into the same pipe and outflow. It’s taken the the best chunk of a century to gradually separate them. The Central Interceptor project – about $1.3b of work – deals with a whole bunch more of the separations. It’s not a full cure, but it’s a big step forward.
Some of those other places like Piha need to get much stronger support from the local community to get a comprehensive solution. Putting a population that size on septic tanks is ridiculous.
All septic tanks are ridiculous, in my view. Disposal of humanure to soil is the best practice. There are ways to do this in all situations (even in a space craft 🙂 and those methods could be developed into an exact and beneficial science, if there was the will to do so. Governments, councils, communities and households are loathe to explore the potential of “earth closets” because as individuals, we think poo is icky.
I don’t think that it is a problem with it being icky. More a problem with population densities and geography.
In Piha the basic soil is a high metal sand that doesn’t foster any kind of conversion into humus. A dog crap dropped on soil can take months to disappear. Furthermore the section sizes aren’t that different from somewhere like Grey Lynn because of the topography which doesn’t provide a lot of room for spreading whatever comes out of an “earth closet”.
I suspect that they’d have to truck the “night soil” a rather long way away to any place where it’d get a earth breakdown.
But I think that Ad is rather hoping to get any kind of sewerage system because the pump architecture and costs are rather high.
What they should do in Piha is to knock half of the houses down. That would reduce the density of septic tanks and the pollution and health risks associated with them.
I take your point, lprent and enjoyed your reference to night soil; there’s a future in collecting and disposal to soil of humanure in communities like Piha, imo. Where soils are sandy and un-lively as those you describe, importing activated soil from elsewhere and using that as a destination for night soil should be considered. Coupled with that would be a change in the diets of the residents but I recognise that is a big ask just now 🙂 Seperating liquid from solid at the site of delivery is necessary too; asking people to learn to separate their stuff was difficult enough when plastic recycling was started, so taking to people about the management of their bodily functions would be a challenge, though not an insurmountable one. Soil organisms had adapted to utilise humanure perfectly and no uv light, oxygenating clever-clogs system devised by humans will ever match them. It’s all about recognising where the best designs and processes come from and that ain’t the drawing board.
“In Piha the basic soil is a high metal sand that doesn’t foster any kind of conversion into humus. A dog crap dropped on soil can take months to disappear.”
In the Humanure system and variations, you don’t need soil to make humanure. You can even make it in a wheelie bin if you want. As Robert suggests, human crap is designed to break down with just microbes.
As Robert suggests, human crap is designed to break down with just microbes.
No, it’s not designed to do that – other organisms have evolved to do that.
But, still, I’d probably use a treatment plant and then deliver the product from that to the forested hills. Let nature take its course from there fertilising both the forests and the plains beneath them.
Whereas I’d take the pressure off the centralised system by having as much used onsite as possible and where appropriate, and where not appropriate take off site and use elsewhere. Makes the systems more resilient too.
Which means that you need to keep the centralised system.
And, no, it doesn’t make them more resilient. Think about it – when was the last time that the sewer system failed so completely that it caused issues? All you’re doing is using more resources to achieve the same end.
The last big failure I’m aware of is the Chch2. Some people set up modified humanure systems in response.
“All you’re doing is using more resources to achieve the same end.”
That depends on how you view it. If you use the humanure to grow trees and biomass locally then it’s a net gain.
If you are talking about centralised sewerage that is already in existence, then of course keep it. But it’s hugely wasteful to use potable water to dispose of human waste, and that’s going to be an issue going forward. There’s no problem with running two systems but using the least resource-dependent one the most.
Which is one of those things that doesn’t happen often enough to warrant all the extra resources going into every house effectively having its own treatment plant.
That depends on how you view it.
No it doesn’t. It’s most definitely bounded by physical reality.
If you use the humanure to grow trees and biomass locally then it’s a net gain.
Define locally. To put it another way, most houses don’t have enough land to be fully self-sufficient.
There’s no problem with running two systems but using the least resource-dependent one the most.
Yes there is because running two systems uses more resources.
One good reason to root for the Pittsburgh Steelers today
At an event the night before his inauguration, Donald Trump shouted out Patriots owner Bob Kraft in the crowd, complimenting him for a “great quarterback” in Tom Brady, and “great coach” in Bill Belichick. Belichick, who wrote a letter to Trump wishing him luck the day before the election, did not want to talk about it.
No, I don’t know who the Rooneys support. They’re probably Republican, it doesn’t matter. The reason anyone who cares about sporting values should root against the Patriots is because they have a nasty and foolish extreme right wing quarterback, and a coach who grovels to political slimeballs.
Then of course there’s the whole deflation-of-the-footballs scandal.
Well dont forget the Steelers with Impedegate (2013) • Steroidgate (1970-2007) • Salarycapgate (2000) • Shouldergate (1978) • PEDSgate (3x since 1991) • Crampgate (2012) • Tampergate (1994: Capers)
and are recognised as one of the largest cheats in NFL history. But thats OK if you like the owner huh?
God bless Google. But like all things – a few left wing people in NZ not cheering for a US team in a sport that most NZ does not care about will hardly upset Trump.
In fact – as a lot of people are saying its this kind of silly petulant behaviour that got him voted in in the first place.
Did you just write that Trump voters DISLIKE “silly petulant behaviour”? Come on, now, James, a laugh is a laugh but that’s just taking it beyond a joke.
And, as you probably know, a lot of fans feel contempt for Brady….
You mean the Democrats have lost it for a few years. Trump won’t last, but Pennsylvania will.
…and I would guess that a lot of Steelers team members are Trump voters.
Nonsense. The Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is similar to the new Waikato Chiefs coach Colin Cooper: frightened to say anything that might cause offence to loud-mouthed and aggressive white racists. But, in stark contrast to the young Republicans and flag-worshippers like Tom Brady, most NFL players, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, are in fact thoughtful and intelligent…..
Ramon Foster, the Steelers’ NFLPA representative, said the majority of the players support 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s right to protest racial inequality and police brutality during the national anthem.
Re: Trump *protests*
“So a bunch of people — most of them women — marched. What the media didn’t show you is who organized those marches and what they stand for. Let me give you an example; specifically, in Washington DC according to a tweet that was uncovered by Gateway Pundit (and which the person involved has since deleted)”
AWW, the person in this link is raving and making extreme assertions and leaps.
Do you think these marches were some kind of endorsement of Sharia Law? That’s ridiculous.
Perhaps one of the supporters/organisers of one of the marches supports some aspects of Sharia Law – the one shown is about charging interest on loans. That doesn’t mean she unthinkingly endorses all extreme versions of that belief system (ie cliterectomy). There are plenty of people who see themselves as Christian but don’t deny evolution, see homosexuality as a sin or battle to ban abortion.
BTW, the teaching about charging interest is also an historical Christian view – Antonio and Shylock argue about it in detail in The Merchant of Venice. It arises from the interpretation of a parable about Laban’s sheep.
Maybe your establishment minded detractors will prefer this link to the New York Times where they report that George Soros the multi-billionaire has links to more than 50 “partner” organisations of the Womens March on Washington D.C.
In other words, this is all part of a continuing deep state struggle by globalists like Soros to weaken and delegitimise Trump’s new Presidency.
Fair enough, james. He was blindsided. Here’s another asshat being hit, even harder, this time entirely within the rules of fair play. I don’t think anyone would do anything but applaud this one….
Yes, plenty of opportunities for teachers in our fine metropolis… just so long as they don’t mind dossing down in a cardboard box under Grafton Bridge.
National have failed our economy on housing. Of course National general handling of the economy is poor at best, interested in favoring the few, which makes NZ less innovative as the payoff to risk is lowered, the wealthy get the pie nomatter what under National. The mechanism of borrowing off your home to invest in a business is now an age issue, young dont got no home, oldies do.
Of course Hooten thinks the only thing we should consider when voting in the election, yet to be called, is Winston, or someother outlier distraction. Well, Clinton missed it, the economy of three northern states hurting middle class lifestyles mainly. So anywonder hOoten also does.
Its the economy of the middle that has been ravaged by tax cut happy politicians fuelling wealth for the weathiest while hurting poor and midle classes. Its a joke when English claims that half dont pay tax, whose fault is that when his policies lower relative incomes of the poorest and middle classes, and hand productivity gains to the wealthiest.
Combined party vote ceiling: 42% (maximum possible, though very unlikely IMO)
Most likely combined party vote LAB + GR: 35% to 37%
Party vote floor (again very unlikely, though possible IMO): 33%
Also:
1) There is zero chance that Winston will go with Labour/Greens if their combined party vote is under 40%. There is zero chance that LAB/GR can form a government without NZ First.
2) There is a better than 50/50 chance that National will put Paula Bennett at the top of the ticket. (Clarification: this is speculation on behalf of myself and my political team; I have no direct knowledge of this).
3) Labour list MP job security is VERY sensitive to any downward move in party vote cf. 2014. I am somewhat surprised given this circumstance that Little did not secure Rongotai or Mt Albert as his own seat as having no electorate MP experience may be a line of attack used by National.
4) The Gareth Morgan Party will waste a large number of votes which would otherwise go to Labour or Greens. In several ways, his is the new New Zealand Party.
5) Overall, 2:1 chance of a NAT win this year, which will move towards 3:1 if Bennett eventually gets put at the top of the ticket. The Labour Leadership team was geared up to fight Key, their approaches all have to be rethought now, and with Bennett they have even fewer strategies to oppose her than English. (Bennett needs a couple months of intensive coaching first).
6) If Bennett is put at the top of the ticket, National’s marketing pitch will be: working class beneficiary of Tainui decent made good, perfect as NZ’s first Maori PM and NZ’s first Maori Woman PM.
Reference – read this puff piece and tell me they aren’t positioning her hard already with clear prepared lines and spin.
“I didn’t have a job and it looked pretty bleak actually and I reckon it’s a credit to this country that there are opportunities and you get a second chance.
“And if you step up to them and then step in New Zealanders reward you for that hard work.”
Ms Bennett says those values drove her to the National Party…
Ms Bennett, of Tainui descent, spoke of her Maori heritage saying “I know where I come from and what it means”.
“I am incredibly proud of my Maori heritage and where I come from,” she said.
“Like a lot of New Zealanders I grew up certainly knowing that I was Tanui, certainly recognising that particularly through my grandmother in the Waikato.
“So I know where I come from and I know what that means but I also grew up in a household that didn’t speak Maori and that was kind of focused on being a New Zealander.”
I can see where you are coming from with these predictions CV and I don’t like it !!
Do you really think Paula is the answer? Also, won’t the TOP take votes off the Right as well as the Left?
1) I think that with Bennett, National have a crystal clear PR case to put to the country – in essence, working class background, beneficiary, experienced Cabinet Minister, and now the first Maori Woman Prime Minister of New Zealand. In this way National could use the culture of identity politics promulgated by the left, against the left.
2) TOP: the people attracted to TOP will be people who want an alternative to the two big parties (and damn if they’ll ever vote for the “hippies”). It’s certainly up for discussion as to whether or not these voters will be predominantly disaffected Labour voters or disaffected National voters.
3) With Key gone and the social conservatism of English and Bennett, I think most of the Conservative Party vote might fold back into National. If so, that’s a couple of percent boost there for the NATs.
TOP party appeal is hard to guess at. I see the ideas of Gareth Morgan as essentially still mainstream economics (e.g if we just tweek our tax policies a bit the the market will solve all the underlying problems causing inequity and such). But this idea is likely to appeal to many on the Left and I read 7.3 above as the opinion of just such a potential convert. I would not be surprised if lots of prior Labour supporters give TOP a punt.
Do you know any history? The New Zealand party took votes off the government of the day. But then again, I suppose you are all post truth now?
Your diatribe is actually just spin for the national party, and holds nothing for working people. So I take it you are embracing your inner middle class prat?
You were not the only one who picked trump would win once the dnc went crazy, but you are the only one who has gone full man love of trump.
So as you are not interested in the hopes and dreams of working people anymore, why don’t you go help whale oil? Nothing you write talks to the people who did not vote, nothing you now rant about actually helps working people, it is nothing more than vainglorious gasconade.
p.s if you come back with anything trump, or the left are with their head in the sand. I’ll just know you off into lala land. Because i’ll say this only once, organise or get out of the way.
“You were not the only one who picked trump would win once the dnc went crazy, but you are the only one who has gone full man love of trump.”
This.
“p.s if you come back with anything trump, or the left are with their head in the sand. I’ll just know you off into lala land. Because i’ll say this only once, organise or get out of the way.”
And this.
CV is has been banned for 4 weeks. Perhaps we should get on and organise while we have some breathing space 🙂
I was intending to reply to CV’s political predictions post by making a prediction myself; that CV would suffer a lengthy ban from the Standard for anarchic, anti-progressive trolling.
It seems CV was too quick with his anti-worker trolling and I was too slow with my prediction.
Adam, are you aware if CVs suggested National party strategy is *the* National party strategy you have just engaged in shooting the messenger, and demanded that nobody should discuss the election positioning of the Government in an election year. You should stop attacking people who are trying to assist with your understanding of the political landscape!
Even the big US media outlets acknowledged the lie in their headlines, to their credit. But they will need to figure out a whole different way to cover this administration. Look, even the Auckland Herald has a story about that: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11787056
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
And there is not a single major media outlet that will promote or encourage anything that might hold the potential to challenge institutional power and authority. So yes, the likes of yesterdays marches and protests will get covered. But only in ways and to an extent that ensures everything remains safe and in its proper place.
So today, I see some headlines about audience or viewing figures. And I see opinion pieces and analytical wankery on what it all means or might mean or doesn’t mean. That, apparently, is where the ball is. And so that’s where we’re all meant to rush headlong to.
Please do let me know how my reply is off-topic or irrelevant to that, so I can avoid the same error again?
The first para is not about some tittle-tattle about a dishonest politician. You really think, even for a second, that a lying spokesperon or politician is in any was a threat to institutional power or authority?
For fucks sake, that kind of shit can be (and is) analysed and turned over, buried and dug up again to be poked at, precisely because it is utterly meaningless in terms of power or in terms of challenges to it.
Meanwhile, stuff that could (if reported thoroughly and honestly) lead to institutional power being seriously challenged or undermined (such as major follow up reports on the marches and protests) is swept under the carpet.
It seems you completely missed the point of the post. Shit happens.
You need to ask Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, and the Trump administration Spokes person as to why they would lie about crowd sizes, and why would it matter to them (comparing dick sizes is usually something blokes do, and this reminds me a bit like that….mine is bigger then yours 🙂 blablahbalh ) .
Cause the women and their supporters showed up, at their expense, took days of work, spend hours in trains/busses/cars etc, braved the same shit weather etc. as did the Trump supporters.
Or maybe the showing of supporters was just a showing of the actually numbers of support each candidate got in the End.
I mean D. Trump won by 80.000 votes in three states to carry the electoral College, so one could say that 250.000 coming to his installment was a good shot.
Hillary Clinton got almost three million more votes by individual voters then DTrump, so the size of 3.3 million would reflect that no?
As for what its good? I don’t know, should we just do away with Protests/Rallies so as to not upset the nice people?
Maybe its only got to do with this : ” Good girls go to heaven but bad girls go every where ”
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Sorry Bill, but I found this opinion piece asinine, short-sighted and very trivializing. If I do you a disservice by saying you don’t have much faith in the democratic process, then I apologize. I am persuaded after following the American media, both pre and post Rupert Murdoch, that they do uncover the truth – even if eventually. When someone as stupid and ignorant and arrogant as Trump, doesn’t even bother to hide his failings, but instead tries to re-term the word “liar” with “fake news” and “alternative reality”, then your football analogy is trite. Trump is telling you the game isn’t football, but baseball, and regrettably you seem to be defending the indefensible. Because this US election is so far removed from the traditional political model, largely because of Russian cyber-warfare and a partisan FBI director’s shenanigans, a megalomaniac has gained the White House. I don’t doubt for a minute, that the full weight of the American Press will investigate and publish, nor that that saner heads will prevail, both in the US Senate and House. Look for an early impeachment, with the media doing what it’s supposed to do – shine a light on the truth for all to see. That’s democracy at work. Despite what economists like to think, politics encompasses economics, not the other way round.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
@Skeptic – The Russian thing and FBI shenanigans were not the main factors of Trump being elected, rather it was the DNC who decided to choose Clinton over Bernie Sanders and decided to rig the outcome of the primary. It certainly wasnt “the mainstream media doing what it’s supposed to do – shine a light on the truth for all to see” – democracy wasn’t working….. the few media corporations (6 of them I think) are hugely corrupted themselves. The US Senate and the House are ‘owned’ by the Corporations and Banks, I doubt “saner heads will prevail”. Ironically it may be Trump that ends up blowing up the media corruption……my 10c worth.
Nic you are in la la land if you believe sanders a socialist would have won election. A socialist can’t even win in Nz and we have a lot stonger left bent or affliction than the US The issue I see is both democrats and republicans had terrible candidates ( including sanders) if democrats had put up any one half middle ground ie Bieden etc they would have strolled in
Sorry Nick, but as my pseudonym implies, I don’t and never have subscribed to conspiracy theories – all of my tertiary studies have settled beyond any shadow of doubt that so-called conspiracies deflate in direct proportion to the number of people purportedly involved – and therefore are, by and large, figments of the imaginations of deluded souls believing in Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the Man in the Moon. Rather than a huge conspiracy involving thousands of ordinary motivated members of the DNC, and the hundreds of thousands making up the US media, all of whom are supposedly acting in secret to undermine Bernie Sanders, and the tens of thousands of people supporting and assisting the elected officials of one the most open states on the planet – again supposedly acting secret to advance the aims of the “Corporations & Banks” (numbering in their millions if you include all their employees) and not one of these is going to leak the big secret – yeah right! Sorry mate, but the real “secret” is that although it takes a while, ulterior motives will always be shown the light of day. Blowhards and egotists are always revealed for what they really are. And despite it’s very tarnished reputation, and self censorship depending on its editorial slant, the US media is mostly very, very good at uncovering facts. Given the release of various documents under the US FOI Act, and comparing these with back copies of newspapers of the day, their facts are surprisingly accurate even if their opinions are not. I think Trump is due to find this unpalatable truth out very shortly.
Nope. Skeptic is saying conspiracies almost always get found out. The more people involved, the quicker it’s found out (on average). So if there had been some kind of conspiracy beyond the clumsy fumblings revealed by the DNC e-mails, we can be very confident we would have found out by now.
Nope he does not, he categorically states “I don’t and never have subscribed to conspiracy theories”. Then move’s towards a dnc consisting of thousands, ummmm on what planet? The DNC has some 300 odd members, but in real terms the committee is run by sub-committees. With power held firmly in the fundraising and election steering committees. So sure if it was thousands, fine. Hundreds we’d even get a feel for it. But 12 people, it’s possible they can keep their mouth shut for years. So confidence we could find out, nope, that is just a theory as well.
“A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain a perceived real-world occurrence through the actions of a secretive, usually evil and very selfish group. Not all conspiracy theories are wrong, but if the theory requires greater suspension of disbelief than random chance would to explain the occurrence,”
So the theory is the DNC helped h.r.c get the nomination by making it difficult for anyone else to run, the use of super delegates, and the by timing of elections. Then the media helped by ignoring other canditates, or extensively talking about h.r.c and her suport by super delegates.
So that is the conspiracy theory as it stands. I did not think it was that far out, or weird, and actually did a good job explaining what happen, but ,once again it is only a thoery. Much like your possition Andre, you are just offering a conspiracy theory as well. That everyone who looked dirty was clean. I find that harder to belive.
Skeptic, Trump is president and the Media were big influencers in that outcome. The fact parts seemed minor. The sensationalism was front and center. US media dropped the ball.
I’m thinking you missed the point of the piece Skeptic.
I’ve no idea why you’re banging on about ‘uncovering the truth’ when the piece clearly wasn’t about that…or about “fake news” (a term coined by Liberals that’s well and truly biting them on the arse now).
And the football analogy wasn’t about what Trumps says or wants or any fucking thing to do with Trump…it was about mindlessly running around to “achieve” something with no accompanying strategy or eye to the bigger picture or thought to exactly what it is that’s been done or what might be achieved by it – jist get the ba – get the ba! Kick it. Kick it! Kick it!!
Anyway.
Cyber warfare? Fuck off. Irrelevant to the piece.
FBI directors? Fuck off. Irrelevant to the piece.
Did you even read the fucking words I posted? Or did you just imagine a springboard and go all ‘bouncey, bouncey’ dive, dive?
The only reason I’m not kicking your comment to Open Mike is because (unfortunately) it’s sat as a piece of distracting smash for three hours now and has essentially already derailed discussion.
Labour and Greens combined will be less then 40%. NZF will be less than 10% How can there ever be another Labour led government? This is the 21st century. Labour governments were a feature of last century.
I know most RWNJs here will be upset that the anarchist CV has been banned for the first time of many this year. But with that first banning, it is time for the rest of us socially conscious people to celebrate that we might for once discuss a change in government on policy rather than strategy.
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The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
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The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
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The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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The sudden favouring of the very few who have user logins (authors or people with very old logins) has been fixed.
A option in the discussion page “Users must be registered and logged in to comment” got knocked on by accident 19 hours ago. I’ve now turned it back off.
Thank you.
Thank you! I saw the Word Press logo and thought I was on KiwiBlog.
Imagine the horror.
I’m on 999 posts over there, by the way. I promised the boys I’d make my 1,000th a real rip-snorter, but I still haven’t produced. I have a severe case of writer’s block, I’m afraid….
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/12/general_debate_20_december_2016.html/comment-page-1#comment-1840994
These days I always seem to have writers block for human level English.
Fortunately I don’t currently have it in c++, C#, python, … I have had blocks in those in the past and have found that writing English in troll suppression mode has usually sufficient to drive me back to rationality.
But this drought in English has been ongoing for a while. Perhaps I should start to resurrect writing in my piss-poor human French or German (or even historian Latin) to see if I can kickstart the English habit again.
Or perhaps just stopping the habit of writing anything on cellphones would help. I have to say that while they are great communication devices, they are piss-poor devices for writing coherently.
Placebo seem to have nailed it..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aCTCP1t9Q&feature=youtu.be
I have a severe case of writer’s block, I’m afraid….
Not possible. 😮 😮 😮
You’re correct, Anne. It’s not really writer’s block, it’s laziness on my part. I do really want to write a magnum opus, but I just can’t work up the enthusiasm. Maybe it’s all those down-votes taking their toll….
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/12/key_retires.html/comment-page-1#comment-1831641
Well , if it were me I would lay the blame at the door of the new president of the USA. Four years of that megalomaniac is a very depressing thought.
Thanks Anne. That’s a splendid wheeze!
testing
No summer swimming at several Auckland beaches
“Auckland’s century-old stormwater pipes overflow into the ocean almost every time it rains, and it’s putting many of the city’s beaches out of action.
It only takes 5mm of rain to fall before the combined sewage and stormwater pipes overflow.
“The frequency with which it happens in Auckland is a bit of a concern, because it’s 50 times a year,” says Auckland University wastewater engineer Dr Lokesh Padhye.
A Weekend Herald investigation found in a year, around 1 million cubic metres of wastewater is disposed of in the harbour each year.”
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/01/no-summer-swimming-at-several-auckland-beaches.html
The important response from Watercare to sewerage spillovers in the Auckland isthmus region is the Central Interceptor project. See the video and explanation in the link below:
https://www.watercare.co.nz/about-watercare/projects/central-interceptor/Pages/default.aspx
Back in the day most of the stormwater and wastewater were put into the same pipe and outflow. It’s taken the the best chunk of a century to gradually separate them. The Central Interceptor project – about $1.3b of work – deals with a whole bunch more of the separations. It’s not a full cure, but it’s a big step forward.
Some of those other places like Piha need to get much stronger support from the local community to get a comprehensive solution. Putting a population that size on septic tanks is ridiculous.
All septic tanks are ridiculous, in my view. Disposal of humanure to soil is the best practice. There are ways to do this in all situations (even in a space craft 🙂 and those methods could be developed into an exact and beneficial science, if there was the will to do so. Governments, councils, communities and households are loathe to explore the potential of “earth closets” because as individuals, we think poo is icky.
Billy at his best….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6HYbX7GQVQ
I don’t think that it is a problem with it being icky. More a problem with population densities and geography.
In Piha the basic soil is a high metal sand that doesn’t foster any kind of conversion into humus. A dog crap dropped on soil can take months to disappear. Furthermore the section sizes aren’t that different from somewhere like Grey Lynn because of the topography which doesn’t provide a lot of room for spreading whatever comes out of an “earth closet”.
I suspect that they’d have to truck the “night soil” a rather long way away to any place where it’d get a earth breakdown.
But I think that Ad is rather hoping to get any kind of sewerage system because the pump architecture and costs are rather high.
What they should do in Piha is to knock half of the houses down. That would reduce the density of septic tanks and the pollution and health risks associated with them.
I take your point, lprent and enjoyed your reference to night soil; there’s a future in collecting and disposal to soil of humanure in communities like Piha, imo. Where soils are sandy and un-lively as those you describe, importing activated soil from elsewhere and using that as a destination for night soil should be considered. Coupled with that would be a change in the diets of the residents but I recognise that is a big ask just now 🙂 Seperating liquid from solid at the site of delivery is necessary too; asking people to learn to separate their stuff was difficult enough when plastic recycling was started, so taking to people about the management of their bodily functions would be a challenge, though not an insurmountable one. Soil organisms had adapted to utilise humanure perfectly and no uv light, oxygenating clever-clogs system devised by humans will ever match them. It’s all about recognising where the best designs and processes come from and that ain’t the drawing board.
http://www.zingbokashi.co.nz/about-ecoflo-composting-toilets/
I know of folk who have composting toilets in their housetrucks and motorhomes.
If they can work in tiny homes….
“In Piha the basic soil is a high metal sand that doesn’t foster any kind of conversion into humus. A dog crap dropped on soil can take months to disappear.”
In the Humanure system and variations, you don’t need soil to make humanure. You can even make it in a wheelie bin if you want. As Robert suggests, human crap is designed to break down with just microbes.
No, it’s not designed to do that – other organisms have evolved to do that.
But, still, I’d probably use a treatment plant and then deliver the product from that to the forested hills. Let nature take its course from there fertilising both the forests and the plains beneath them.
Whereas I’d take the pressure off the centralised system by having as much used onsite as possible and where appropriate, and where not appropriate take off site and use elsewhere. Makes the systems more resilient too.
Which means that you need to keep the centralised system.
And, no, it doesn’t make them more resilient. Think about it – when was the last time that the sewer system failed so completely that it caused issues? All you’re doing is using more resources to achieve the same end.
The last big failure I’m aware of is the Chch2. Some people set up modified humanure systems in response.
“All you’re doing is using more resources to achieve the same end.”
That depends on how you view it. If you use the humanure to grow trees and biomass locally then it’s a net gain.
If you are talking about centralised sewerage that is already in existence, then of course keep it. But it’s hugely wasteful to use potable water to dispose of human waste, and that’s going to be an issue going forward. There’s no problem with running two systems but using the least resource-dependent one the most.
Which is one of those things that doesn’t happen often enough to warrant all the extra resources going into every house effectively having its own treatment plant.
No it doesn’t. It’s most definitely bounded by physical reality.
Define locally. To put it another way, most houses don’t have enough land to be fully self-sufficient.
Yes there is because running two systems uses more resources.
I’d like the locals to take a cup of cement and agree to Watercare getting a decent comprehensive system in there. Piha locals
I’d like the locals to take a cup of cement and agree to Watercare getting a decent comprehensive system in there.
Piha locals like to stop things.
“Piha locals like to stop things”
Then could we issue each of them with a bung?
One good reason to root for the Pittsburgh Steelers today
http://deadspin.com/bill-belichick-on-trump-mentioning-him-in-speech-weve-1791431753
So support the other team just because the owner supported the candidate you didn’t like.
That is so petty and pathetic.
No, I don’t know who the Rooneys support. They’re probably Republican, it doesn’t matter. The reason anyone who cares about sporting values should root against the Patriots is because they have a nasty and foolish extreme right wing quarterback, and a coach who grovels to political slimeballs.
Then of course there’s the whole deflation-of-the-footballs scandal.
Well dont forget the Steelers with Impedegate (2013) • Steroidgate (1970-2007) • Salarycapgate (2000) • Shouldergate (1978) • PEDSgate (3x since 1991) • Crampgate (2012) • Tampergate (1994: Capers)
and are recognised as one of the largest cheats in NFL history. But thats OK if you like the owner huh?
God bless Google. But like all things – a few left wing people in NZ not cheering for a US team in a sport that most NZ does not care about will hardly upset Trump.
In fact – as a lot of people are saying its this kind of silly petulant behaviour that got him voted in in the first place.
Did you just write that Trump voters DISLIKE “silly petulant behaviour”? Come on, now, James, a laugh is a laugh but that’s just taking it beyond a joke.
And, as you probably know, a lot of fans feel contempt for Brady….
http://deadspin.com/is-this-the-dildo-thrown-onto-the-field-yesterday-by-a-1788407737
PA. is now a Trump state, and I would guess that a lot of Steelers team members are Trump voters.
PA. is now a Trump state
You mean the Democrats have lost it for a few years. Trump won’t last, but Pennsylvania will.
…and I would guess that a lot of Steelers team members are Trump voters.
Nonsense. The Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is similar to the new Waikato Chiefs coach Colin Cooper: frightened to say anything that might cause offence to loud-mouthed and aggressive white racists. But, in stark contrast to the young Republicans and flag-worshippers like Tom Brady, most NFL players, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, are in fact thoughtful and intelligent…..
http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/11117937-74/johnson-steelers-cockrell
Re: Trump *protests*
“So a bunch of people — most of them women — marched. What the media didn’t show you is who organized those marches and what they stand for. Let me give you an example; specifically, in Washington DC according to a tweet that was uncovered by Gateway Pundit (and which the person involved has since deleted)”
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=231774
AWW, the person in this link is raving and making extreme assertions and leaps.
Do you think these marches were some kind of endorsement of Sharia Law? That’s ridiculous.
Perhaps one of the supporters/organisers of one of the marches supports some aspects of Sharia Law – the one shown is about charging interest on loans. That doesn’t mean she unthinkingly endorses all extreme versions of that belief system (ie cliterectomy). There are plenty of people who see themselves as Christian but don’t deny evolution, see homosexuality as a sin or battle to ban abortion.
BTW, the teaching about charging interest is also an historical Christian view – Antonio and Shylock argue about it in detail in The Merchant of Venice. It arises from the interpretation of a parable about Laban’s sheep.
AKA – the stupidest man on the internet.
/
Hi AsleepWhileWalking
Maybe your establishment minded detractors will prefer this link to the New York Times where they report that George Soros the multi-billionaire has links to more than 50 “partner” organisations of the Womens March on Washington D.C.
In other words, this is all part of a continuing deep state struggle by globalists like Soros to weaken and delegitimise Trump’s new Presidency.
http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/01/20/billionaire-george-soros-has-ties-to-more-than-50-partners-of-the-womens-march-on-washington/
Trump is antifascist anti communist.
The latter I suspect gets on your wik.
Just noting that neither Russia nor China are communist any more – they are State Capitalism / market economy hybrids.
10 GIFs That Will Make You Feel Better About Inauguration Day
by ANNA MERIAN, Jezebel, Jan. 20, 2017
Today was a very difficult day for many Americans. Please take a moment and see if these GIFs make you feel a tiny bit better, though?
1. White supremacist thought leader Richard Spencer getting punched right in his head twice.
……
http://theslot.jezebel.com/10-gifs-that-will-make-you-feel-better-about-inaugurati-1791451682
Now – I think the guy is an asshat – but I dont condone violence and especially do not feel better watching someone being smacked in the head.
Fair enough, james. He was blindsided. Here’s another asshat being hit, even harder, this time entirely within the rules of fair play. I don’t think anyone would do anything but applaud this one….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUdYgBhF9-w
meh … kinda got to agree with you on that one.
Issues more important than discussing whether Obama or Trump had a bigger crowd.
Teacher shortages in Auckland due to the housing crisis.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/322867/pupils-due-back-but-akl-schools-still-scrambling-to-find-teachers
Yes, plenty of opportunities for teachers in our fine metropolis… just so long as they don’t mind dossing down in a cardboard box under Grafton Bridge.
Yes boss
National have failed our economy on housing. Of course National general handling of the economy is poor at best, interested in favoring the few, which makes NZ less innovative as the payoff to risk is lowered, the wealthy get the pie nomatter what under National. The mechanism of borrowing off your home to invest in a business is now an age issue, young dont got no home, oldies do.
Of course Hooten thinks the only thing we should consider when voting in the election, yet to be called, is Winston, or someother outlier distraction. Well, Clinton missed it, the economy of three northern states hurting middle class lifestyles mainly. So anywonder hOoten also does.
Its the economy of the middle that has been ravaged by tax cut happy politicians fuelling wealth for the weathiest while hurting poor and midle classes. Its a joke when English claims that half dont pay tax, whose fault is that when his policies lower relative incomes of the poorest and middle classes, and hand productivity gains to the wealthiest.
CV’s NZ Election Predictions 2017
I will update these if needed down the track
Labour/Greens block
Combined party vote ceiling: 42% (maximum possible, though very unlikely IMO)
Most likely combined party vote LAB + GR: 35% to 37%
Party vote floor (again very unlikely, though possible IMO): 33%
Also:
1) There is zero chance that Winston will go with Labour/Greens if their combined party vote is under 40%. There is zero chance that LAB/GR can form a government without NZ First.
2) There is a better than 50/50 chance that National will put Paula Bennett at the top of the ticket. (Clarification: this is speculation on behalf of myself and my political team; I have no direct knowledge of this).
3) Labour list MP job security is VERY sensitive to any downward move in party vote cf. 2014. I am somewhat surprised given this circumstance that Little did not secure Rongotai or Mt Albert as his own seat as having no electorate MP experience may be a line of attack used by National.
4) The Gareth Morgan Party will waste a large number of votes which would otherwise go to Labour or Greens. In several ways, his is the new New Zealand Party.
5) Overall, 2:1 chance of a NAT win this year, which will move towards 3:1 if Bennett eventually gets put at the top of the ticket. The Labour Leadership team was geared up to fight Key, their approaches all have to be rethought now, and with Bennett they have even fewer strategies to oppose her than English. (Bennett needs a couple months of intensive coaching first).
6) If Bennett is put at the top of the ticket, National’s marketing pitch will be: working class beneficiary of Tainui decent made good, perfect as NZ’s first Maori PM and NZ’s first Maori Woman PM.
Reference – read this puff piece and tell me they aren’t positioning her hard already with clear prepared lines and spin.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/reflective-paula-bennett-shares-her-story-bleak-time-unemployed-solo-mum-nationals-deputy-leader
I can see where you are coming from with these predictions CV and I don’t like it !!
Do you really think Paula is the answer? Also, won’t the TOP take votes off the Right as well as the Left?
1) I think that with Bennett, National have a crystal clear PR case to put to the country – in essence, working class background, beneficiary, experienced Cabinet Minister, and now the first Maori Woman Prime Minister of New Zealand. In this way National could use the culture of identity politics promulgated by the left, against the left.
2) TOP: the people attracted to TOP will be people who want an alternative to the two big parties (and damn if they’ll ever vote for the “hippies”). It’s certainly up for discussion as to whether or not these voters will be predominantly disaffected Labour voters or disaffected National voters.
3) With Key gone and the social conservatism of English and Bennett, I think most of the Conservative Party vote might fold back into National. If so, that’s a couple of percent boost there for the NATs.
Thanks CV. So you think it is only lefties that don’t like Paula pulling up the ladder behind her?
TOP party appeal is hard to guess at. I see the ideas of Gareth Morgan as essentially still mainstream economics (e.g if we just tweek our tax policies a bit the the market will solve all the underlying problems causing inequity and such). But this idea is likely to appeal to many on the Left and I read 7.3 above as the opinion of just such a potential convert. I would not be surprised if lots of prior Labour supporters give TOP a punt.
Do you know any history? The New Zealand party took votes off the government of the day. But then again, I suppose you are all post truth now?
Your diatribe is actually just spin for the national party, and holds nothing for working people. So I take it you are embracing your inner middle class prat?
You were not the only one who picked trump would win once the dnc went crazy, but you are the only one who has gone full man love of trump.
So as you are not interested in the hopes and dreams of working people anymore, why don’t you go help whale oil? Nothing you write talks to the people who did not vote, nothing you now rant about actually helps working people, it is nothing more than vainglorious gasconade.
p.s if you come back with anything trump, or the left are with their head in the sand. I’ll just know you off into lala land. Because i’ll say this only once, organise or get out of the way.
CV hates working people. Presumably that’s why he was thrown out of NZ Labour, Dunedin South.
CV hates working people so much he proposes doubling the price of fuel overnight.
He also hates left wing people. Hard to see if there’s anything else.
“You were not the only one who picked trump would win once the dnc went crazy, but you are the only one who has gone full man love of trump.”
This.
“p.s if you come back with anything trump, or the left are with their head in the sand. I’ll just know you off into lala land. Because i’ll say this only once, organise or get out of the way.”
And this.
CV is has been banned for 4 weeks. Perhaps we should get on and organise while we have some breathing space 🙂
Damn.
I was intending to reply to CV’s political predictions post by making a prediction myself; that CV would suffer a lengthy ban from the Standard for anarchic, anti-progressive trolling.
It seems CV was too quick with his anti-worker trolling and I was too slow with my prediction.
Organise – Indeed!
Adam, are you aware if CVs suggested National party strategy is *the* National party strategy you have just engaged in shooting the messenger, and demanded that nobody should discuss the election positioning of the Government in an election year. You should stop attacking people who are trying to assist with your understanding of the political landscape!
Nic the NZer, if that all it was, I would have said nothing – but…
Not sure you’ll have the opportunity.
I predict multiple suspensions for CV on the Standard this year for repeated and petulant trolling of socially conscious opinions.
Not sure CV has ever gotten over Phil Twyford’s call for data on Chinese speculative purchasing of Auckland property.
It seems to have consumed him down there in Dunedin South.
Davos 2017 – A Basic Income for All: Dream or Delusion?
https://youtu.be/7rL6gJkdlNU
Plenty of discussion about the substance rather than the distraction in this post and its links: https://thestandard.org.nz/starting-out-with-an-obvious-lie/
Even the big US media outlets acknowledged the lie in their headlines, to their credit. But they will need to figure out a whole different way to cover this administration. Look, even the Auckland Herald has a story about that: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11787056
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
From the original post:
Please do let me know how my reply is off-topic or irrelevant to that, so I can avoid the same error again?
The first para is not about some tittle-tattle about a dishonest politician. You really think, even for a second, that a lying spokesperon or politician is in any was a threat to institutional power or authority?
For fucks sake, that kind of shit can be (and is) analysed and turned over, buried and dug up again to be poked at, precisely because it is utterly meaningless in terms of power or in terms of challenges to it.
Meanwhile, stuff that could (if reported thoroughly and honestly) lead to institutional power being seriously challenged or undermined (such as major follow up reports on the marches and protests) is swept under the carpet.
It seems you completely missed the point of the post. Shit happens.
Thank you for the reply. Seems several of us missed your point.
Yup.
Still scratching my head about that one :-). I thought it was clear enough.
You need to ask Donald Trump, Kellyanne Conway, and the Trump administration Spokes person as to why they would lie about crowd sizes, and why would it matter to them (comparing dick sizes is usually something blokes do, and this reminds me a bit like that….mine is bigger then yours 🙂 blablahbalh ) .
Cause the women and their supporters showed up, at their expense, took days of work, spend hours in trains/busses/cars etc, braved the same shit weather etc. as did the Trump supporters.
Or maybe the showing of supporters was just a showing of the actually numbers of support each candidate got in the End.
I mean D. Trump won by 80.000 votes in three states to carry the electoral College, so one could say that 250.000 coming to his installment was a good shot.
Hillary Clinton got almost three million more votes by individual voters then DTrump, so the size of 3.3 million would reflect that no?
As for what its good? I don’t know, should we just do away with Protests/Rallies so as to not upset the nice people?
Maybe its only got to do with this : ” Good girls go to heaven but bad girls go every where ”
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
It was probably around 600,000. Only a small fraction of Obama’s turnout in 2009 of course.
According to Trump’s new press secretary Sean Spicer, there are more than 100,000 people in this photo….
http://previews.123rf.com/images/paha_l/paha_l1203/paha_l120302479/12489119-Rows-of-green-seats-in-an-empty-stadium-Focus-on-front-seats-Stock-Photo.jpg
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Sean Spicer is pretty terrible, but it appears he’s actually
better than the guy Trump first chose as his “communications director”
This is not a parody of a reality show, I swear….
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4064608/Donald-Trump-s-communications-director-Jason-Miller-quits-amid-sex-scandal-rumors.html
Trump’s Secretary of Education.
Sorry Bill, but I found this opinion piece asinine, short-sighted and very trivializing. If I do you a disservice by saying you don’t have much faith in the democratic process, then I apologize. I am persuaded after following the American media, both pre and post Rupert Murdoch, that they do uncover the truth – even if eventually. When someone as stupid and ignorant and arrogant as Trump, doesn’t even bother to hide his failings, but instead tries to re-term the word “liar” with “fake news” and “alternative reality”, then your football analogy is trite. Trump is telling you the game isn’t football, but baseball, and regrettably you seem to be defending the indefensible. Because this US election is so far removed from the traditional political model, largely because of Russian cyber-warfare and a partisan FBI director’s shenanigans, a megalomaniac has gained the White House. I don’t doubt for a minute, that the full weight of the American Press will investigate and publish, nor that that saner heads will prevail, both in the US Senate and House. Look for an early impeachment, with the media doing what it’s supposed to do – shine a light on the truth for all to see. That’s democracy at work. Despite what economists like to think, politics encompasses economics, not the other way round.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
@Skeptic – The Russian thing and FBI shenanigans were not the main factors of Trump being elected, rather it was the DNC who decided to choose Clinton over Bernie Sanders and decided to rig the outcome of the primary. It certainly wasnt “the mainstream media doing what it’s supposed to do – shine a light on the truth for all to see” – democracy wasn’t working….. the few media corporations (6 of them I think) are hugely corrupted themselves. The US Senate and the House are ‘owned’ by the Corporations and Banks, I doubt “saner heads will prevail”. Ironically it may be Trump that ends up blowing up the media corruption……my 10c worth.
Nic you are in la la land if you believe sanders a socialist would have won election. A socialist can’t even win in Nz and we have a lot stonger left bent or affliction than the US The issue I see is both democrats and republicans had terrible candidates ( including sanders) if democrats had put up any one half middle ground ie Bieden etc they would have strolled in
Clinton didn’t rate Sanders either Red.
Sorry Nick, but as my pseudonym implies, I don’t and never have subscribed to conspiracy theories – all of my tertiary studies have settled beyond any shadow of doubt that so-called conspiracies deflate in direct proportion to the number of people purportedly involved – and therefore are, by and large, figments of the imaginations of deluded souls believing in Easter Bunny, Santa Claus and the Man in the Moon. Rather than a huge conspiracy involving thousands of ordinary motivated members of the DNC, and the hundreds of thousands making up the US media, all of whom are supposedly acting in secret to undermine Bernie Sanders, and the tens of thousands of people supporting and assisting the elected officials of one the most open states on the planet – again supposedly acting secret to advance the aims of the “Corporations & Banks” (numbering in their millions if you include all their employees) and not one of these is going to leak the big secret – yeah right! Sorry mate, but the real “secret” is that although it takes a while, ulterior motives will always be shown the light of day. Blowhards and egotists are always revealed for what they really are. And despite it’s very tarnished reputation, and self censorship depending on its editorial slant, the US media is mostly very, very good at uncovering facts. Given the release of various documents under the US FOI Act, and comparing these with back copies of newspapers of the day, their facts are surprisingly accurate even if their opinions are not. I think Trump is due to find this unpalatable truth out very shortly.
Are you saying there have never been conspiracies Skeptic? Because it seems you are, and that is a very dangerous position.
Nope. Skeptic is saying conspiracies almost always get found out. The more people involved, the quicker it’s found out (on average). So if there had been some kind of conspiracy beyond the clumsy fumblings revealed by the DNC e-mails, we can be very confident we would have found out by now.
Nope he does not, he categorically states “I don’t and never have subscribed to conspiracy theories”. Then move’s towards a dnc consisting of thousands, ummmm on what planet? The DNC has some 300 odd members, but in real terms the committee is run by sub-committees. With power held firmly in the fundraising and election steering committees. So sure if it was thousands, fine. Hundreds we’d even get a feel for it. But 12 people, it’s possible they can keep their mouth shut for years. So confidence we could find out, nope, that is just a theory as well.
A conspiracy is different to “conspiracy theory”.
“A conspiracy theory is an attempt to explain a perceived real-world occurrence through the actions of a secretive, usually evil and very selfish group. Not all conspiracy theories are wrong, but if the theory requires greater suspension of disbelief than random chance would to explain the occurrence,”
from http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories
So the theory is the DNC helped h.r.c get the nomination by making it difficult for anyone else to run, the use of super delegates, and the by timing of elections. Then the media helped by ignoring other canditates, or extensively talking about h.r.c and her suport by super delegates.
So that is the conspiracy theory as it stands. I did not think it was that far out, or weird, and actually did a good job explaining what happen, but ,once again it is only a thoery. Much like your possition Andre, you are just offering a conspiracy theory as well. That everyone who looked dirty was clean. I find that harder to belive.
Skeptic, Trump is president and the Media were big influencers in that outcome. The fact parts seemed minor. The sensationalism was front and center. US media dropped the ball.
I’m thinking you missed the point of the piece Skeptic.
I’ve no idea why you’re banging on about ‘uncovering the truth’ when the piece clearly wasn’t about that…or about “fake news” (a term coined by Liberals that’s well and truly biting them on the arse now).
And the football analogy wasn’t about what Trumps says or wants or any fucking thing to do with Trump…it was about mindlessly running around to “achieve” something with no accompanying strategy or eye to the bigger picture or thought to exactly what it is that’s been done or what might be achieved by it – jist get the ba – get the ba! Kick it. Kick it! Kick it!!
Anyway.
Cyber warfare? Fuck off. Irrelevant to the piece.
FBI directors? Fuck off. Irrelevant to the piece.
Investigations, publishing findings, saner heads, impeachment?!
Did you even read the fucking words I posted? Or did you just imagine a springboard and go all ‘bouncey, bouncey’ dive, dive?
The only reason I’m not kicking your comment to Open Mike is because (unfortunately) it’s sat as a piece of distracting smash for three hours now and has essentially already derailed discussion.
edit – Actually. Fuck it. Gone.
“jist get the ba – get the ba!”
Lovely bit of Scots dialect there, Bill. Very Partick Thistle.
Abby Martin getting close to what people are feeling on the ground, protesting yesterday. More to come, this is just a teaser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtGHM9Uqbtg
Naomi Klein on Trump Election: “This is a Corporate Coup d’État”
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/20/naomi_klein_on_trump_election_this
Labour and Greens combined will be less then 40%. NZF will be less than 10% How can there ever be another Labour led government? This is the 21st century. Labour governments were a feature of last century.
I know most RWNJs here will be upset that the anarchist CV has been banned for the first time of many this year. But with that first banning, it is time for the rest of us socially conscious people to celebrate that we might for once discuss a change in government on policy rather than strategy.
Oh, please, yes. Seems too many on left wing blogs and other sites focus on strategy and treating politics as a team sport.
Sadly too many think of it as a not just a team sport, but as a contact sport.
There is a lot of attacking the person / or messenger.
hmm, I think strategy is important, but can you please explain what you mean so I can see if we mean the same thing?
Lol
Didn’t he only come back from self imposed exile a day or two back?
Must have wanted to boost his right wing street cred with a ban.
This is pathetic.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]