mmmmm……I’d keep your knees together a while longer, Red, or at least insist on withdrawl – that big Kahuna might look irresistable after a couple of drinks, but reduced WFF and DPB will be one heck of a hangover….
I see Bernard is being more circumspect about it now.
But his #8 really means “get rid of interest free student loans and working for families”. These are two policies he seems particularly offended by and has been bleating about them for years.
Yeah, I dont know how he expects people to pay their rent,etc when they lose their WFF, but I guess when you are rolling in it, you dont worry about those things.
I noticed that he wants the super age raised to 67. Which will be a kick in the teeth for those who have slogged their guts for 40-50 years doing manual work and then to find that they have to wait two more years to qualify for national super so they can retire at last.
I have noticed that those who wish to see the national super age raised are those who have spent all their working lives sitting on their asses in an office and eating chocolate.
9 Reducing consumption of imports, and saving, producing and exporting more.
Why do people always expect an export led recovery to more growth to work?
We have limited resources so why are politicians and economists so enthusiastic about using them up as fast as possible? Do they want our children and grand-children to have nothing?
Is it really that important to force most people to work so that a few can have more nothing money in the bank?
Can we please start asking two questions:
1.) What is the economy?
2.) What is it that we want the economy to do?
I have a couple of answers:
1.) The economy is the environment
2.) To support our society in such a way so that everyone has a reasonable living standard without destroying the environment.
Unfortunately our “economists” and politicians believe that the economy is money and that it’s purpose is to make a few people rich and everybody else poor.
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
When the country’s problems are so grave
The economy’s in a stew, somehow we’ll muddle through
It’ll be all right if I smile and wave.
Tax cuts will make the country grow
Cut public staff to pay the way
If the unemployment rate gets high
Everyone can work on the cycleway
Australia equality’s our goal
How to increase our growth at all?
We’ll cut taxes and wages here
We’ll catch up if they follow us and fall
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
When the country’s problems are so grave
The economy’s in a stew, somehow we’ll muddle through
It’ll be all right if I smile and wave.
Tax cuts will make the country grow
Or maybe just our debt will blow
Cut public staff to pay the way
Though unemployment ranks are raised
Everyone can work on my cycleway
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
Australia equality’s our goal
How to increase our growth at all?
We’ll cut taxes, jobs and wages here
Sell our best assets all offshore
Perhaps we’ll catch up if they fall
NZ’s example is green and rich
The Ireland of the South Pacific
We’ll soon be a world financial hub
Yet another throw away line thats flubbed
The bankers now own the Irish blood
More downgrades and we’re in the bailout club
Smile and wave
Smile and Wave
Aren’t you getting bored?
Not just photo ops, it takes work to do the PM’s job
The criticisms are tiring, everyone’s got a beef
Last thing you need is a bloody ship on a reef.
Her logic is that we’ve had big disasters and Key handled them well. But he hasn’t and the economy is crap. There is zero analysis in this piece. It reads like a National party press release. And she’s hinting Key might last to a third term? Who pays her to write this simplistic shit?
Exactly. Their assured victory is looking less assured so the memo went out: say that Key’s had a lot to deal with and yeah he’s not perfect but he tries so hard and he’s a nice guy…
Helen Clark – the prime minister we can thank for NZ winning the RWC staging rights – was only mentioned once on Q&A this morning. During a short segment at the end of the programme with Auck. Central’s Jacinda Ardern and Nikki Kaye, some political analyst (not Jon Johannson) made the comment that in 2008 he thought Judith Tizard was tainted by her association with Helen Clark and that is why she lost the seat to Nikki Kaye.
No response from anyone. I’m disgusted and am thinking I will not bother to watch tonight.
Actually, I’m also getting a little fed up with how late the games are. I may just record it. I nod off and wake early these days. Nodded off a couple of times during the Wales – Aussie match.
Not the forgone conclusion that National has been relying on.
I wonder how dirty they are going to get when threatened – more throat slashing gestures? More blame shift?ing More tanties from Key?
I think we have “game on”!
Watch the dirty tricks come thick and fast… the rumours… innuendo… claims of electoral fraud and related activity… suggestions of social (throw sex in there too) deviation… you name it, it’ll be on the Nat’s agenda!
Rumours of social (an sexual) deviation – have the rumours about a prominent MP hopeful who had an affair with a drug addict going to suddenly go away?
Claims of electoral fraud and related activity – just two days ago David Parker posted on Kiwiblog implying that the Sensible Sentencing Trust had brought David Garrett a place on Act’s list, which as far as I am aware has been shown to be completely false given the SST has never given any money to Act.
I’m not trying in anyway to imply that National are squeaky clean, quite the opposite but don’t pretend like it’s a game that only right wing parties play.
On a different note I’ve noticed a lot of posts on here recently about the disappearance of Act, which is fair enough given how they are polling.
However polls like this (not withstanding other rumours etc.) would suggest that Act will get back in through Epsom, as I seem to remember an earlier poll in Epsom saying that many of the people who planned to vote National would vote for the Act candidate if they perceived that National needed them.
I’m not trying in anyway to imply that National are squeaky clean, quite the opposite but don’t pretend like it’s a game that only right wing parties play.
I’ve been following the ‘political game’ for 35 years, and I can tell you the left-wing parties are as pure as fresh snow when compared to activites of right-wing parties and some of their vassals. I know of things that happened in the past (much of it before the 90s decade) which would cause a few individuals heart palpitations if they thought any of it was to see the light of day. I doubt if there is anyone in the Labour Party who knows the whole story.
Oh and the story re David Garrett will certainly be true. There’s more than one way to donate to political parties when you don’t donate to political parties. Secret Trusts anyone?
Ok well if you said it must be true then? It sure seems like you don’t have any proof and are just assuming that is what happened.
I have no doubt that many right wing parties have done many things that they do not want to see the light of day, but to be honest if you think Labour are pure as fresh snow you are definitely looking through red tinted glasses.
To be honest I’m sure that there are some parties which probably don’t have anything that bad too hide and those parties are more likely to be left wing (the Greens are one), however that does not mean that left wing parties are pure as fresh snow and all right wing parties are corrupt.
I get it I just have a problem with people saying Labour are as pure as fresh snow because they are comparing their current activities to the activities of right wing parties in the 80s.
You have a problem full stop Chris because your cognitive abilities are rather poor. Who said the ‘activities’ were confined to the 80s? Some were… some were after the 80s. The link between them is they involved the same handful of people.
Is that the Labour way? Charles Chauvel said he could prove a claiom in Red Alert recently, when I asked hime for the proof he said it was because he was “a good judge of character”. I know how to judge his character now.
Yep, anything and everything that they can think of will be thrown at the opposition parties over the next week all the while blaming the opposition parties for fighting dirty.
THIS Rugby World Cup has been a banquet of mana tane — the good aspects of manliness.
When men express their masculinity in a good way they are calm, strong, determined, competent, self-sacrificing, protective, ambitious, brave and humble, with vision for how events might play out.
Warrior energy.
This weekend the All Blacks are ambassadors for the mana tane of all New Zealand men.
so pete you agree with the position outlined in the article that,
“There has been a push to portray the differences between men and women as social convention rather than hard-wired biology.
According to this world view, women should compete with men for power, and not need their love.
Men tend to want power and women tend to want love
A man feels good about himself when he does good things. A woman does good things when she feels good about herself.
When a woman feels great she is compassionate, graceful, empathetic, nurturing, modest, creative, flexible, gentle . . . feminine.
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs advocates for it and women’s studies departments at most universities supply the indoctrinated staff.
It promotes the message that women should embrace assertiveness, compete with men and be protected from them.
The philosophy is called feminism but it would be more accurately called “femasculinism”, because really it is a rejection of femininity.
We believe the $5 million a year Ministry of Women’s Affairs should become the “Ministry of Gender Affairs” and address the unique needs of both women and men, rather than trying to socially engineer away biology.”
In the last couple of decades there’s been plenty of solid research, which is nicely summarised in Delusions of Gender that throws biological determinism/hardwiring out the window when in comes to everything bar gender identity and sexual orientation.
And to be really blunt – gender roles are cultural constructs, not biological determined.*
Aside from the whole pregnancy and breast-feeding thing, of which breast-feeding is not really a requirement thanks to formula if there’s issues, and due to the joys of biology with a few hormones you can get guys to express milk.
For Mad Science purposes. Of course.
____________________________________
*gender roles are not gender identity per the evidence from transsexuals and people born with ambiguous genitalia who were forced into a particular gender based on surgeons + parents decisions.
It’s July 2008. You are a “TBTF” bank CEO. You’ve been running a 30 year ponzi scheme using ever-increasing amounts of debt while GDP has languished in roughly the same place for the last two decades in terms of numerical growth. In the 3rd Quarter of 2007, when the S&P 500 hits 1576 and the DOW tops, the economy put about six times the amount of debt into the system as there was GDP growth, and at that point GDP had started to roll over. It had an obvious geometric progression look to it but only a few people in the blogosphere had been hollering about it. You wondered how much longer it was going to be before the people woke up.
Looking forward to end of RWC so that we can see Labour’s Policy being released. Appreciate you cannot compete against RWC so “Way Go Labour” from say Wednesday. Let’s know how you can assess the next 3 years/6 years (including 2014 win). Don’t copy the Greens – they are loving the limelight currently with a possibility of 15 seats. Let’s have the Labour alternative to Labour seats away from Greens (though they will be a good coalition party after 2014). Meld labour Policy with Greens not separately and we are on to a winner. Turning Left will not help.
This morning on Radio NZ just after 11 am austerity measures (which will occur for months – years) in Greece were reported as increasing suicide.
40% increase in reported suicide in a twelve month period.
Twice as many calls to crisis helplines due to the strain and anguish of the economy.
Payments can be deferred for months re business but eventually the cracks open up.
Nearly 17% unemployment.
I have not caught up with the European Euro Bank and IMF meeting because if Greece is not loaned 8,000,000,000 euros they cannot pay pensions in mid November.
I explained to a person the other day how governments are bailing out banks and that banks will foreclose on the family home rather than assist the home owner. A man on after 11 am this morning said that governments need to bail out home owners before the banks.
There were other interesting interviews in that post-11am slot (called ‘Ideas’, I think). It was all about the movements this year opposing capitalism and for democracy.
There was a good report on protestors from Tunisia, Israel, Chile and Wellington. The Tunisian and Israeli woman interviewed were particularly interesting. The report came later in the hour.
One particularly interesting comment from the Israeli woman (in response to the comment that the protestors appear to have about 90% support in the population) is that everyone from the religious Jews to Arab Israelis are part of it.
When they talk to each other, they realise they all want the same thing (a home, community, stable work, etc.) and they can’t get it because of the radical new right policies – including privatisation – that are being implemented internally in Israel.
She noted that not many people outside Israel realise all the internal tensions and think that Israel’s only problem is the ‘Israeli-Palestinian’ issue.
Labour’s water policy comes out tomorrow — apparently it will feature charging farmers for water taken for irrigation. I find it very interesting that farmers seem to have no problem for paying for electricity, but when it comes to water, they expect it to be free.
Well, back in my student days in the early 70s I shared a bedroom with another student for a few months. I knew a couple of (straight) male students who also shared a bedroom for a lot longer than that.
Actually, yes do think things are much harder for students today, but I’m not sure whether sharing a bedroom is that much of a sign of how much harder it is.
I would like to see some research done into the cost of housing for students in Dunedin and Auckland when it comes to affordability and choice. Wellington has a good transport system and the city is more compact. Christchurch is different again due to housing being a problem not just for students in particular.
There is a real housing crisis in Auckland which will not go away until the housing shortage is addressed properley. Heatley (if returned) will ruin HNZ.
Dunedin:
I think the inner circle (4 blocks from campus) goes for 100-150p.w. plus expenses, maybea bit more (I gave up looking in that area over a decade ago). $80-odd p.w. for a room a distance from campus, but that involves $30p.w. on public transport or getting reamed for parking.
I think student loan “living costs” are still around $170 p.w.? I don’t think it’s possible to get an education these days without constant value from parents (either free board or a hundred dollars a week) or serious amounts of work, to the point it stuffs your study.
As I said before, I wouldnt recommend full time study to a school leaver anymore. I would say get a job and study part time/extramurally. I wouldnt bank on the forces anymore, given that the jobs there are slowly being outsourced and privatised.
I think it must be the future job prospects that must be most worrying to young people/students these days, compared with when I was young. This means there is much more pressure to get good grades today.
My main full time student experience was as a teachers’ college student (not a degree course in those days). Money was quite tight, but I was bonded to work for 3 years after graduation and guaranted a job.
Before doing that course, in my late teens, I was working full time and was sharing a little flat (this was the late 60s). There were weeks when we had no money for food the day before payday. We didn’t have much to spend our money on – we had no TV, just a radio, a little record player, and one landline phone between us. There wasn’t much night life in Auckland, just movies and pubs, which we spent sparingingly on. Our transport was largely motor scooters or public transport.
I had friends around that time who shared a bedroom to make it easier for them financially. But we all had jobs, albeit not well paid, and we all felt these jobs would lead to higher paid ones in the future.
In contrast, the future must be quite a worry for young people today.
$164/week for living costs, and about $190 a week for a student allowance + living costs + rent subsidy if not living with parent(s).
And yeah, it’s pretty difficult to live off that alone unless you’re flatting with communal cooking/groceries or living at home, especially if you drive or bus.
Even with flatting, it’d be pretty dodgy math.
Back in the day I was on $150/wk loans, but that was ten or fifteen years ago. There was a period i was on rice and foodbanks for a bit, but in general I lived okay – not well, but okay. Forget dignity, I just don’t see how it adds up on current prices, even according to tory slide rules.
Yeap, last time I was flatting I only had $20/week left after rent. food and bills from $150/week living costs.
Bloody depressing and without student job search I would have had “fun”.
These days I wouldn’t even dream of trying to flat in Christchurch without a part time job as the increases in food and power make it tricky to live off $164-169/week and eat properly.
I still think that that the HNZ changes are more geared towards private landlords than anything else. The only thing I can see is rents rising across the board as a result of forcing thousands of vulnerable tenants and families into insecure private rentals.
I have always belived that the price of food, veges, milk, etc is a red herring. Its the fact that rents are so bloody high that we have bugger all left to buy anything else.
Why do they refuse to move to the suburbs – I’m in Mt Albert and pay only a little more than that for a nice two bedroom unit with a pool, gym etc in the complex.
Studying is bloody expensive and youre always poor. I was lucky that the qualification I’ve got I was able to gain at the local poly, so I could live with the parents while I was studying. Since then they chopped a lot of qualifications offered there so many young people have to move to another city into these situation.
It seems to be that the least financially hard way to ‘upskill’ is to study part time while working.
Tertiary education needs a huge shakeup in this country.
“Tertiary education needs a huge shakeup in this country.”
Same theme, the haves and the have nots. We know who the haves are.
Students have it so hard today due to constant limitations e.g. rising fees, cost of housing, limiting of courses, no job security when the qualification/degree is gained.
” no job security when the qualification/degree is gained”
Took me 2 years to find a job after I got my degree in IT. I was overqualified for non-IT jobs and underqualified for the IT jobs currently going.
In all honesty sometimes I wonder if my qualification needed to be at a degree level and whether a simple 1-2 year certificate or diploma would have been sufficent.
“If the minimum wage is raised, some workers will be laid off and prices will go up. End of story.”
“He may be mocked as Mr Smile and Wave, but doing that and carrying on as normal is not so different to the Keep Calm and Carry On exhortation during World War II.”
Yes John Key does remind one of Churchill in his efficacy. Thanks Kerre.
and for John Armstrong:
“Phil Goff, at least, showed some restraint in delaying his visit. He then blew it by calling for a moratorium on new deep-sea oil drilling until suitable environmental safeguards are in place. ”
So we handle an oil spill extremely badly, the population as a whole is rather worried about how we would respond to a much larger oil spill and yet somehow the opposition opposing a controversial and unpopular policy is in Armstrong’s words:
Im bloody over that tart. Its always those who are rolling in cash who think those at the bottom end of society are getting too much.
Same as above, it is always those who have spent their working lives in offices pushing pens and shuffling paper who think that the superannuation age should be lifted.
“Same as above, it is always those who have spent their working lives in offices pushing pens and shuffling paper who think that the superannuation age should be lifted.”
My father retired at 60, when that was the age. He’d worked for 46 years, mostly in factories. If he had worked until 65, let alone 67, I doubt whether he would have made it to 76 (when he died – of asbestos related cancer).
I’m always grateful that he had at least a reasonable number of years at the end of his life when he didn’t have to wake up at 5:15am to get to work for the 12 hour 6am shift.
Why of all the Social Welfare measures adopted around the world since the 1800s was the first and the oldest reform always the pension?
What working person hasn’t witnessed an older, once leading, and respected worker being humbled as they fall behind, affected by the afflictions of long-sighted-ness, bad backs and all the other ailments that begin past the age of 40 and accumulate past the age of 50.
Past the age of 60 this humiliation becomes unbearable for other workers to witness.
That is why cutting the pension, or raising the age entitlement is the third rail of Welfare Reform.
Any political party, and I mean ANY PARTY that dares to touch this issue will be severely burned.
Yes, I picked up on that newsense. Talk about double standards! Does Armstrong ever read what he has said in the past? Apparently not because he contradicts himself time and again. I’m actually of the view that he tries to appear ‘neutral’ while surreptitiously pushing the Nat. line as hard as he dares. In other words the subliminal message to the sheeples is “vote National”.
No power to cafes/bars in Kingsland. Four hours before someone says “I think we should get a generator in”
Once again NZ doesn’t have the capacity to react to emergencies and make command decisions or sort out the priorities.
Businesses, tourists, fans need power – bugger where the problem is, we can have one team continuing to work on that – but in the meantime get that generator on the move and get these people hooked up with 90 mins.
New development on the Rena incident….
with the new spill in oil today MNZ are deploying heavy duty booms that can “work in strong currents” and a skimmer that can collect the oil.
So, are they telling us that booms (of the right type) can be deployed in open seas? That oil can be corralled and then collected at sea?
Hmmm.
I thought that the government said such things weren’t possible.
I thought they said that once the ship hit the rocks there was nothing we could do about it.
I though they said that we had to wait until it washed ashore and then collect it.
Surely our government hasn’t lied to us? *lip quiver*
They wouldn’t do that to us would they? *sniff*
I don’t find the lies so hurtful as the fact that they can’t go a month without contradicting themselves, and I don’t find that as sad as the fact that the media almost never notice.
TV3 News didn’t say so. They just glossed over it as though there was no greater story there. I know where they should have got them – from their own emergency equipment storage facility and they should have got it on day one.
How do you topple a tyrant or popularize a foreign cuisine? According to a recent study in the journal Physical Review E, mobilizing an unyielding minority of 10 percent may be enough.
The human rights group reports that in the five years preceding the Arab spring $2.4bn worth of small arms, tear gas, armoured vehicles and other security equipment was sold to five specified countries that have faced or are facing popular uprisings – Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
And these sales were committed by at least 20 governments including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the UK and the US.
Of course it’s business before human rights – can’t make a profit if you go around around standing up for peoples rights. If you did that, they may not fight and then wouldn’t need the weapons.
Ritchie created the C programming language, and together with Ken Thompson, designed the UNIX operating system without either of which you wouldn’t be able to name that other charismatic pioneer so much in the news lately.
Ah well, they come and go. Good legacy left though.
… great result tonight from an enthralling game – and France were not walkovers at all.
(Anyone prepared to open a book on a call for the All Black flag to be adopted as our national flag.) – I give it less than two days to become a national discussion point – hope I’m wrong.
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Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Michael Cowling, CQUniversity AustraliaWe’ve probably all been there. We buy some new smart gadget and when we plug it in for the first time it requires an update to work. So we end up spending hours downloading and updating before we can even play with our new toy. But ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Zero emission buses, cleaner cars and environmentally-friendly biofuels will soon be hitting New Zealand’s roads, as the Government delivers on its election promise to make our transport network more sustainable. ...
The Green Party is already delivering on its commitment for cleaner, climate-friendly transport through our Cooperation Agreement with the Government. ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
Prudence Steven QC, barrister of Christchurch has been appointed as an Environment Judge and District Court Judge to serve in Christchurch, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Steven has been a barrister sole since 2008, practising in resource management and local government / public law. She was appointed a Queen’s ...
The Government is delivering on its first tranche of election promises to take action on climate change with a raft of measures that will help meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. “This will be an ongoing area of action but we are moving ...
The Government is investing up to $10 million to support 30 of the country’s top early-career researchers to develop their research skills. “The pandemic has had widespread impacts across the science system, including the research workforce. After completing their PhD, researchers often travel overseas to gain experience but in the ...
A Waitomo-based Jobs for Nature project will keep up to ten people employed in the village as the tourism sector recovers post Covid-19 Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “This $500,000 project will save ten local jobs by deploying workers from Discover Waitomo into nature-based jobs. They will be undertaking local ...
Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw spoke yesterday with President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kerry this morning about the urgency with which our governments must confront the climate emergency. I am grateful to him and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today announced three diplomatic appointments: Alana Hudson as Ambassador to Poland John Riley as Consul-General to Hong Kong Stephen Wong as Consul-General to Shanghai Poland “New Zealand’s relationship with Poland is built on enduring personal, economic and historical connections. Poland is also an important ...
Work begins today at Wainuiomata High School to ensure buildings and teaching spaces are fit for purpose, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Minister joined principal Janette Melrose and board chair Lynda Koia to kick off demolition for the project, which is worth close to $40 million, as the site ...
A skilled and experienced group of people have been named as the newly established Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis today. The Board will provide independent advice and assurance to the Minister for Children across three key areas of Oranga Tamariki: relationships with families, whānau, and ...
The green light for New Zealand’s first COVID-19 vaccine could be granted in just over a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. “We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Jacinda Ardern said. ...
The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
Michelle Kidd defines her role at Auckland’s specialist family violence court as te kaiwhakatere – the navigator. It’s a one-of-a-kind job, helping guide defendants through the court system. And there’s no one better suited to it than Whaea Michelle.First published November 24, 2020.Whaea Michelle is part of Frame, a series of short ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sallie Yea, Associate professor & Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe University Each year, thousands of men and boys labour under extremely exploitative conditions on commercial fishing vessels owned by Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean companies. The Taiwanese fleet, which operates in all ...
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis believes the Crown should maintain responsibility for the care and protection of at-risk and vulnerable children, regardless of their race. Moreover, he is confident his all-Maori team of advisers will not be taking race into account as they help to improve Oranga Tamariki’s care and protection of ...
It’s easy to sacrifice John Banks. It’s a lot harder for brands, sports organisations and government to truly stop funding racism. Are they willing to try?Yesterday John Banks, the former Auckland mayor and MP, became subject to one of the fastest firings in media history when audio covering his approving ...
A community is outraged after Auckland Council granted consent for a row of trees planted by local kids to be removed along a revitalised waterway in South Auckland, reports Justin Latif. An Auckland Council decision to give contractors the all-clear to chop down 12 mānuka and kānuka trees shading Māngere’s Tararata ...
Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu hopes that the recent changes to Oranga Tamariki leadership present an opportunity for a long overdue paradigm shift that will place whānau at the heart of the child welfare sector. Pouārahi Helen Leahy says that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rice, Professor of Management, University of New England Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles ...
There are now three returnees who contracted the virus in the Auckland isolation facility then left into the community while positive. These are some of the questions that need to be resolved. At 10.20pm last night the Ministry of Health confirmed that the two cases they’d been treating as probable ...
Having a hard time remembering to scan in on the NZ Covid Tracer app when you’re out and about? Get this song stuck in your head and you’ll never forget again.Learn the lyrics:Aotearoa, it’s time to get scanning!I mean if you think about it, it never really wasn’t time we ...
We conclude our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with a review of his stories by John Newton Roger Hickin’s Cold Hub Press is one of the small miracles of contemporary New Zealand publishing. Over the last decade, on what can only be a shoe-string budget, the ...
Thursday 28th January, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand mainstream, welcomes the announcement by the Government today as a sign of what’s to come through 2021, and we are confident ...
The Government announced today key policy decisions on the proposed clean car policies. The MIA has stated on many occasions that we support well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from ...
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable ...
John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback controversies. Donna Chisholm has the receipts.John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk1972: On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches a “Punch a Pom ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission.Two new community Covid-19 cases have been identified as the more infectious South African variant, but Auckland Mayor Phil Goff sayit would be "premature to go into lockdown now". The two new cases of Covid-19 identified in the ...
Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine in Southland to Fonterra’s ...
KiwiRail STOP Hauling COAL Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Dunn, Associate professor, University of Sydney The government is rolling out a new public information campaign this week to reassure the public about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, which one expert has said “couldn’t be more crucial” to people actually getting ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Therese O’Sullivan, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University The COVID vaccine rollout has placed the issue of vaccination firmly in the spotlight. A successful rollout will depend on a variety of factors, one of which is vaccine acceptance. One potential hurdle to vaccine ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bernard Walker, Associate Professor in Organisations and Leadership, University of Canterbury Kiwis know what it’s like when life throws curveballs. We’ve had major quakes, floods, fires, an eruption, a terrorist attack and now a pandemic. In those situations, it’s the ability to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Irwin, Emeritus professor, Murdoch University While we continue to be occupied with the COVID pandemic, another life-threatening disease has emerged in northern Australia, one that’s cause for considerable alarm for the millions of dog owners around the country. This disease — ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cath Ferguson, Academic, Edith Cowan University Almost half of Australian adults struggle with reading. Similar levels of struggling readers are reported in the United Kingdom and United States. This does not mean all struggling readers are illiterate. It means they often struggle ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Abbas Shieh, Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Design, Islamic Azad University The industrial revolution transformed cities, resulting in places of residence and work becoming more distant than ever before. This spatial segregation is still largely embedded in the design of our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia Review: Occupation: Rainfall, written and directed by Luke Sparke Historically, when a sequel to a film was greenlit, you could rest assured this was because the first film made a ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 28, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tourism suffers in the shadow of Covid-19, two new positive cases in Auckland confirmed, and National will contest the Māori electorates.The front page of the January 4 Greymouth Star carried grim tidings for several of the glacier towns on the ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission. Two people who left managed isolation on January 15 have been confirmed as positive Covid-19 cases, with the Ministry of Health urging anyone who visited the same locations during the same time period as the infected pair in Auckland to ...
The watchlist of 'offensive or unreasonable' babies' names is to be reviewed, to include more names from other languages. Generations of the Īhaka family have played a meaningful role in bringing Te Reo and stories of Māori to our wider community. Archdeacon Sir Kīngi Matutaera Īhaka (Te Aupōuri, 1921-93) was known as the orator of ...
After Morocco’s flagrant violation of the terms of the ceasefire in Western Sahara on Friday 13 November 2020 war broke out between the two sides. In the midst of this war Tauranga based Ballance Agri-Nutrients has decided to carry on importing phosphate ...
Nicholas Agar suggests that our handling of the pandemic could be partly down to our distinctive Treaty of Waitangi relationship, and Māori ideas that enabled us to make it through without tens of thousands of deaths A mission for universities in the coming decade will be a deep understanding of the meaning ...
A young girl who once sent $5 to an embattled America's Cup team is now among the women on the water helping run the contest for the Auld Mug. As an eager and generous nine-year-old, Melanie Roberts posted a letter, with a $5 note, to OneAustralia’s America’s Cup team. It was 1995, ...
At 5am today, cock’s crow, the embargo lifted on the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards longlist. Here are the books in the race, followed by thoughts from poetry editor Chris Tse and books editor Catherine Woulfe. A shortlist of four books in each category will be announced March 3, with ...
Ignoring those QR codes when you drop into the supermarket? Can’t be bothered when you grab a coffee? The people serving you notice, and you’re freaking them out.So far, New Zealanders’ use of the Covid-19 Tracer app has been notably woeful. Food industry workers who’ve watched streams of customers walk ...
Steve Braunias reveals the longlist of the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards Apart from one or two unfortunate omissions which cast doubt on the sanity and intellectual acumen of judges, especially the nobodies who judged this year's non-fiction, the longlist for the 2021 Ockham New Zealand book awards is ...
By Lulu Mark in Port Moresby Papua New Guinea’s biggest hospital is straining to provide medical services to the growing population of the capital Port Moresby – with an estimated growth rate of 3 percent annually, a medical executive says. Port Moresby General Hospital chief executive officer Dr Paki Molumi ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Nationals who attend Thursday’s memorial service in Tweed Heads for Doug Anthony, who died last month aged 90, may muse on the contrast between the state of their party when he led it and now. ...
Returning to quarantine-free travel in 2021 doesn't just need a vaccine, but a way to check whether arriving passengers are actually immune to the virus. A smart Kiwi science start-up is working with a global biometrics giant to make that happen. A deal signed between Kiwi research and development company Orbis Diagnostics, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlyn Forster, PhD Candidate, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney This summer’s wetter conditions have created great conditions for flowering plants. Flowers provide sweet nectar and protein-rich pollen, attracting many insects, including bees. Commercial honey bees are also thriving: ...
Lotto scratchie tickets featuring the pop band Six60 are being withdrawn after a public backlash. In a statement, Lotto NZ said there had been a mutual decision made with the band to remove the tickets from sale following the negative feedback, and it offered an apology. The band faced criticism, both ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Russell Dean Christopher Bicknell, Post-doctoral researcher in Palaeobiology , University of New England Shell-crushing predation was already in full swing half a billion years ago, as our new research published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals. A hyena devouring ...
Vodafone has suspended advertising on the radio station amid calls for talkback host John Banks to be taken off air after yet another racist outburst. Alex Braae reports. In an alarming segment of talkback radio, former Auckland mayor John Banks endorsed the views of a caller who described Māori as a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Welch, Senior Lecturer, University of Auckland When a COVID-19 case was found in Northland last Sunday, Aotearoa’s second-longest period with no detected community case came to an end. ESR scientists worked late into Sunday night to obtain a whole genome sequence ...
He has the perfect moustache, an exceptional mullet, and he uses terms like ‘face hole’ on national TV. Who or what is Dr Joel Rindelaub?I was drawn in by the moustache, but it was the mullet that really kept me there. Watching TVNZ’s Breakfast yesterday morning I was fixated. Often, ...
We’ll never be royals with nearly a quarter of declined baby names featuring “Royal” in some form or another. Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs has released the list of names declined in 2020 by the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and ...
After a raft of inquiries delving into and recommending what should be done about the politically beleaguered Orangi Tamaraki, along with the briefing papers we suppose he has been given, we imagined Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis would have no more need for expert advice. Wrong. He has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney University There’s a common assumption men take longer than women to poo. People say so on Twitter, in memes, and elsewhereonline. But is that right? What could explain it? And if ...
Just as sexuality is a spectrum, so too is asexuality. In Ace of Hearts, members of New Zealand’s asexual community talk about the challenges and misconceptions of identifying as ace.First published November 17, 2020.Ace of Hearts is part of Frame, a series of short documentaries produced by Wrestler for The Spinoff.“A ...
Sam Brooks wasn’t allowed to watch kids TV as a kid. Now, as a 30 year old man, he watches it for the first time.My mother’s approach to parenting was unorthodox. I wrote weekly book reports on top of my actual homework, I did maths equations in Roman numerals and ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk More leading Indonesian figures have made racial slurs against Natalius Pigai, former chair of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) – and all West Papuans, says United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) interim president Benny Wenda. “Since the illegal Indonesian invasion in 1963, Indonesian ...
“The Government’s failure to even conduct a standard cost-benefit analysis for the most expensive infrastructure project in New Zealand’s history is mind-bogglingly arrogant,” says New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke. “A ...
The Ministry of Health is today drawing backlash from the local New Zealand vaping industry following its release of proposed regulations for the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act. Vaping Trade Association New Zealand (VTANZ) President, ...
Sophie Gilmour and Simon Day are joined by special guest Hugo Baird, co-owner of Grey Lynn’s Honey Bones and Lilian, to talk about opening new pub Hotel Ponsonby.Auckland is a city of many bars but few really good pubs – the kind of places you’d be just as comfortable going ...
The appointment of an advisory board for Oranga Tamariki is welcome and should be a step toward a total transformation of the care and protection system to a by Māori, for Māori approach, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said today. Minister ...
Taking control of your financial wellbeing can have cascading positive impacts for your life and it can also be fun. With the help of the team at Kiwi Wealth, we’ve compiled some simple tricks for balancing your books in 2021. There’s something about the beginning of a new year, especially after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kris Gledhill, Professor of Law, Auckland University of Technology As we know, getting into New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult. There are practicalities, such as high airfare and managed isolation costs. And there are legal requirements, including pre-flight testing, mandatory ...
New Zealand faces the risk of a generation being locked out of the housing market unless land is freed up and more houses built, National Party leader Judith Collins says. ...
On Sunday, Stuff published a months-long investigation by Alison Mau detailing allegations of harassment and exploitation within the local music industry.The piece, ‘Music industry professionals demand change after speaking out about its dark side’, includes allegations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by male artists, international acts and executives; ...
“The Government is all at sea on timelines for Australia and New Zealand’s respective vaccine roll-outs, with the worst news coming from the mouth of Pfizer Australia CEO Anne Harris,” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “Yesterday, under increasing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Claire Higgins, Senior Research Fellow, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised the US would demonstrate “global leadership on refugees”. Once elected, he pledged to vastly increase refugee resettlement in the US. If history is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Baumann, Casual Academic, School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University Among the many hard truths exposed by COVID-19 is the huge disparity between the world’s rich and poor. As economies went into freefall, the world’s billionaires increased their already ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jan Lanicek, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History and Jewish History, UNSW On January 27 communities worldwide commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz — the largest complex of concentration camps and extermination centres during the Holocaust. This is the first year the International ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lorinda Cramer, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Australian Catholic University The summer break is over, marking a return to the office. For some, this ends almost a year of working from home in lockdown. Some analysts are predicting it might also mark an enduring ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 27, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato New Zealand has a strong history of protecting and promoting human rights at home and internationally, and prides itself on being an outspoken critic and global leader in this area. So, when the most ...
Going viral and very funny…
But is it satire? It wou
Hoots!
Those eyes just freak me out!
That is soooo gooood!!
This guy is unreal. Monckton’s ancestors were ‘famous’ pornographers in Britain’s Victorian era.
Thanks Bernard Hickey, great summary of advice to follow….if only….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10761003
Do have a nice day and of course ‘Go the All Blacks! ‘ and then hopefully this country can enter some serious political debate! I live in hope!
A good list. Now if you added to it a policy of not selling land to overseas owners and Gareth Morgan’s Big Kahuna tax proposal I’d vote for it.
If you then added in a solid streak of Green energy and sustainable agriculture … I’d line up to have it’s babies.
lololololol
mmmmm……I’d keep your knees together a while longer, Red, or at least insist on withdrawl – that big Kahuna might look irresistable after a couple of drinks, but reduced WFF and DPB will be one heck of a hangover….
Yum.. true. But both niggles could be addressed with a return to a modest Universal Child Allowance.
I see Bernard is being more circumspect about it now.
But his #8 really means “get rid of interest free student loans and working for families”. These are two policies he seems particularly offended by and has been bleating about them for years.
Yeah, I dont know how he expects people to pay their rent,etc when they lose their WFF, but I guess when you are rolling in it, you dont worry about those things.
I noticed that he wants the super age raised to 67. Which will be a kick in the teeth for those who have slogged their guts for 40-50 years doing manual work and then to find that they have to wait two more years to qualify for national super so they can retire at last.
I have noticed that those who wish to see the national super age raised are those who have spent all their working lives sitting on their asses in an office and eating chocolate.
Why can’t NS just be income tested? Not means tested bu INCOME tested.
It seems to be a foreign concept to a lot of people.
Why should people claim NS if they’re already earning 50k+ per year?
Why do people always expect an export led recovery to more growth to work?
We have limited resources so why are politicians and economists so enthusiastic about using them up as fast as possible? Do they want our children and grand-children to have nothing?
Is it really that important to force most people to work so that a few can have more
nothingmoney in the bank?Can we please start asking two questions:
1.) What is the economy?
2.) What is it that we want the economy to do?
I have a couple of answers:
1.) The economy is the environment
2.) To support our society in such a way so that everyone has a reasonable living standard without destroying the environment.
Unfortunately our “economists” and politicians believe that the economy is money and that it’s purpose is to make a few people rich and everybody else poor.
Election campaign needs a song
here is a starter. someone can improve it.
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
When the country’s problems are so grave
The economy’s in a stew, somehow we’ll muddle through
It’ll be all right if I smile and wave.
Tax cuts will make the country grow
Cut public staff to pay the way
If the unemployment rate gets high
Everyone can work on the cycleway
Australia equality’s our goal
How to increase our growth at all?
We’ll cut taxes and wages here
We’ll catch up if they follow us and fall
better then the gambler i guess
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
When the country’s problems are so grave
The economy’s in a stew, somehow we’ll muddle through
It’ll be all right if I smile and wave.
Tax cuts will make the country grow
Or maybe just our debt will blow
Cut public staff to pay the way
Though unemployment ranks are raised
Everyone can work on my cycleway
Smile and wave
Smile and wave
Australia equality’s our goal
How to increase our growth at all?
We’ll cut taxes, jobs and wages here
Sell our best assets all offshore
Perhaps we’ll catch up if they fall
NZ’s example is green and rich
The Ireland of the South Pacific
We’ll soon be a world financial hub
Yet another throw away line thats flubbed
The bankers now own the Irish blood
More downgrades and we’re in the bailout club
Smile and wave
Smile and Wave
Aren’t you getting bored?
Not just photo ops, it takes work to do the PM’s job
The criticisms are tiring, everyone’s got a beef
Last thing you need is a bloody ship on a reef.
Woodham pretends she isn’t shilling for Key. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10761026
Her logic is that we’ve had big disasters and Key handled them well. But he hasn’t and the economy is crap. There is zero analysis in this piece. It reads like a National party press release. And she’s hinting Key might last to a third term? Who pays her to write this simplistic shit?
Kerry’s Key Fantasy
It’s pure Sunday morning leave-brain-on the shelf polemic. Kerry Woodham can do better work than this…
I seriously doubt that Baron.
Indeed, she’s had plenty of time to prove her alleged abilities.
Not according to the Horizon poll. Which I suspect is the poll that has her so upset that she’s spouting about how great Jonkey and NACT are.
Exactly. Their assured victory is looking less assured so the memo went out: say that Key’s had a lot to deal with and yeah he’s not perfect but he tries so hard and he’s a nice guy…
Is qu & a just going to be about the RWC, today?
*yawn*. Have sound on mute. Of course the ABs will win. Now let’s get on to politics.
I’m the same with the newspapers Carol. First thing today was nothing but RWC. I was over it weeks ago.
Oh and vive la France!
Helen Clark – the prime minister we can thank for NZ winning the RWC staging rights – was only mentioned once on Q&A this morning. During a short segment at the end of the programme with Auck. Central’s Jacinda Ardern and Nikki Kaye, some political analyst (not Jon Johannson) made the comment that in 2008 he thought Judith Tizard was tainted by her association with Helen Clark and that is why she lost the seat to Nikki Kaye.
No response from anyone. I’m disgusted and am thinking I will not bother to watch tonight.
Vive la France from me too!
Actually, I’m also getting a little fed up with how late the games are. I may just record it. I nod off and wake early these days. Nodded off a couple of times during the Wales – Aussie match.
Thats what you get with the TV networks in charge. TV snaps its fingers, rugby dances. Night games have ruined rugby as a spectacle.
Anyway, come 11pm tonight, we wont be hearing about rugby till Feb.
Go the AB’s — though I have to admit that its hard to get excited about a match that is more or less a foregone conclusion.
And if NZ win, the self congratulatory wankfest could last about 2 weeks.
If NZ lose I figure it will be all over, bar the die hard rugby channel post mortem bullshite.
Et moi aussi!… I keep hearing that if the All Blacks win, so will NACT, and we don’t want that by any means!
As an alternative to the OWS vagueness, here’s a real occupation.
horizon poll relese 22/10/2011
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1110/S00384/horizon-poll-a-close-election-result.htm
Not the forgone conclusion that National has been relying on.
I wonder how dirty they are going to get when threatened – more throat slashing gestures? More blame shift?ing More tanties from Key?
I think we have “game on”!
Watch the dirty tricks come thick and fast… the rumours… innuendo… claims of electoral fraud and related activity… suggestions of social (throw sex in there too) deviation… you name it, it’ll be on the Nat’s agenda!
Not just Nat’s agenda
Rumours of social (an sexual) deviation – have the rumours about a prominent MP hopeful who had an affair with a drug addict going to suddenly go away?
Claims of electoral fraud and related activity – just two days ago David Parker posted on Kiwiblog implying that the Sensible Sentencing Trust had brought David Garrett a place on Act’s list, which as far as I am aware has been shown to be completely false given the SST has never given any money to Act.
I’m not trying in anyway to imply that National are squeaky clean, quite the opposite but don’t pretend like it’s a game that only right wing parties play.
On a different note I’ve noticed a lot of posts on here recently about the disappearance of Act, which is fair enough given how they are polling.
However polls like this (not withstanding other rumours etc.) would suggest that Act will get back in through Epsom, as I seem to remember an earlier poll in Epsom saying that many of the people who planned to vote National would vote for the Act candidate if they perceived that National needed them.
I’m not trying in anyway to imply that National are squeaky clean, quite the opposite but don’t pretend like it’s a game that only right wing parties play.
I’ve been following the ‘political game’ for 35 years, and I can tell you the left-wing parties are as pure as fresh snow when compared to activites of right-wing parties and some of their vassals. I know of things that happened in the past (much of it before the 90s decade) which would cause a few individuals heart palpitations if they thought any of it was to see the light of day. I doubt if there is anyone in the Labour Party who knows the whole story.
Oh and the story re David Garrett will certainly be true. There’s more than one way to donate to political parties when you don’t donate to political parties. Secret Trusts anyone?
Ok well if you said it must be true then? It sure seems like you don’t have any proof and are just assuming that is what happened.
I have no doubt that many right wing parties have done many things that they do not want to see the light of day, but to be honest if you think Labour are pure as fresh snow you are definitely looking through red tinted glasses.
To be honest I’m sure that there are some parties which probably don’t have anything that bad too hide and those parties are more likely to be left wing (the Greens are one), however that does not mean that left wing parties are pure as fresh snow and all right wing parties are corrupt.
if you think Labour are pure as fresh snow you are definitely looking through red tinted glasses.
Your ability to read properly is lacking Chris. The clue is when compared to activities of right wing parties… Get it now?
I get it I just have a problem with people saying Labour are as pure as fresh snow because they are comparing their current activities to the activities of right wing parties in the 80s.
There’s no difference between the antics of the ring-wing parties of the 1980s and today – they’re always despicable.
You have a problem full stop Chris because your cognitive abilities are rather poor. Who said the ‘activities’ were confined to the 80s? Some were… some were after the 80s. The link between them is they involved the same handful of people.
Ok well if you said it must be true then?
Is that the Labour way? Charles Chauvel said he could prove a claiom in Red Alert recently, when I asked hime for the proof he said it was because he was “a good judge of character”. I know how to judge his character now.
Yep, anything and everything that they can think of will be thrown at the opposition parties over the next week all the while blaming the opposition parties for fighting dirty.
Pete, if you’re going to be shilling for Dunne be honest and not this bs paasive aggressive crap. Dunne is done and should be.
Slightly related to rugby much wider:
so pete you agree with the position outlined in the article that,
“There has been a push to portray the differences between men and women as social convention rather than hard-wired biology.
According to this world view, women should compete with men for power, and not need their love.
Men tend to want power and women tend to want love
A man feels good about himself when he does good things. A woman does good things when she feels good about herself.
When a woman feels great she is compassionate, graceful, empathetic, nurturing, modest, creative, flexible, gentle . . . feminine.
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs advocates for it and women’s studies departments at most universities supply the indoctrinated staff.
It promotes the message that women should embrace assertiveness, compete with men and be protected from them.
The philosophy is called feminism but it would be more accurately called “femasculinism”, because really it is a rejection of femininity.
We believe the $5 million a year Ministry of Women’s Affairs should become the “Ministry of Gender Affairs” and address the unique needs of both women and men, rather than trying to socially engineer away biology.”
Oh dear, someone’s been reading Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus again.
/facepalm
The stupid, it burns.
In the last couple of decades there’s been plenty of solid research, which is nicely summarised in Delusions of Gender that throws biological determinism/hardwiring out the window when in comes to everything bar gender identity and sexual orientation.
And to be really blunt – gender roles are cultural constructs, not biological determined.*
Aside from the whole pregnancy and breast-feeding thing, of which breast-feeding is not really a requirement thanks to formula if there’s issues, and due to the joys of biology with a few hormones you can get guys to express milk.
For Mad Science purposes. Of course.
____________________________________
*gender roles are not gender identity per the evidence from transsexuals and people born with ambiguous genitalia who were forced into a particular gender based on surgeons + parents decisions.
Hang it all, I agree with some of that! But on balance, only this ..
After being ferociously attacked on another thread for disagreeing with Mr Man, I don’t feel any of the above right now, however..
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=196348
It’s July 2008. You are a “TBTF” bank CEO. You’ve been running a 30 year ponzi scheme using ever-increasing amounts of debt while GDP has languished in roughly the same place for the last two decades in terms of numerical growth. In the 3rd Quarter of 2007, when the S&P 500 hits 1576 and the DOW tops, the economy put about six times the amount of debt into the system as there was GDP growth, and at that point GDP had started to roll over. It had an obvious geometric progression look to it but only a few people in the blogosphere had been hollering about it. You wondered how much longer it was going to be before the people woke up.
To truly bring fairness back to employment we need a strong Green influence:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/10/industrial-relations-good-faith.html
Looking forward to end of RWC so that we can see Labour’s Policy being released. Appreciate you cannot compete against RWC so “Way Go Labour” from say Wednesday. Let’s know how you can assess the next 3 years/6 years (including 2014 win). Don’t copy the Greens – they are loving the limelight currently with a possibility of 15 seats. Let’s have the Labour alternative to Labour seats away from Greens (though they will be a good coalition party after 2014). Meld labour Policy with Greens not separately and we are on to a winner. Turning Left will not help.
So, you think a supposedly left-wing party shouldn’t actually be a left-wing party?
This morning on Radio NZ just after 11 am austerity measures (which will occur for months – years) in Greece were reported as increasing suicide.
40% increase in reported suicide in a twelve month period.
Twice as many calls to crisis helplines due to the strain and anguish of the economy.
Payments can be deferred for months re business but eventually the cracks open up.
Nearly 17% unemployment.
I have not caught up with the European Euro Bank and IMF meeting because if Greece is not loaned 8,000,000,000 euros they cannot pay pensions in mid November.
I explained to a person the other day how governments are bailing out banks and that banks will foreclose on the family home rather than assist the home owner. A man on after 11 am this morning said that governments need to bail out home owners before the banks.
There were other interesting interviews in that post-11am slot (called ‘Ideas’, I think). It was all about the movements this year opposing capitalism and for democracy.
There was a good report on protestors from Tunisia, Israel, Chile and Wellington. The Tunisian and Israeli woman interviewed were particularly interesting. The report came later in the hour.
The audio is here (about 52mins) here
One particularly interesting comment from the Israeli woman (in response to the comment that the protestors appear to have about 90% support in the population) is that everyone from the religious Jews to Arab Israelis are part of it.
When they talk to each other, they realise they all want the same thing (a home, community, stable work, etc.) and they can’t get it because of the radical new right policies – including privatisation – that are being implemented internally in Israel.
She noted that not many people outside Israel realise all the internal tensions and think that Israel’s only problem is the ‘Israeli-Palestinian’ issue.
I did hear this interview and noted how stressful life was due to internal politics.
Labour’s water policy comes out tomorrow — apparently it will feature charging farmers for water taken for irrigation. I find it very interesting that farmers seem to have no problem for paying for electricity, but when it comes to water, they expect it to be free.
Students sharing beds to save cash
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10761063
I keep harping on how there is a housing crisis as housing is unaffordable.
Well, back in my student days in the early 70s I shared a bedroom with another student for a few months. I knew a couple of (straight) male students who also shared a bedroom for a lot longer than that.
Cost of a room has gone up $50 a week in the last six months. Today students have to pay fees.
I think in 1973 the European Economic Community said NO to our lamb exports and the oil shock.
Do you think times are much harder for students today?
Actually, yes do think things are much harder for students today, but I’m not sure whether sharing a bedroom is that much of a sign of how much harder it is.
I would like to see some research done into the cost of housing for students in Dunedin and Auckland when it comes to affordability and choice. Wellington has a good transport system and the city is more compact. Christchurch is different again due to housing being a problem not just for students in particular.
There is a real housing crisis in Auckland which will not go away until the housing shortage is addressed properley. Heatley (if returned) will ruin HNZ.
Dunedin:
I think the inner circle (4 blocks from campus) goes for 100-150p.w. plus expenses, maybea bit more (I gave up looking in that area over a decade ago). $80-odd p.w. for a room a distance from campus, but that involves $30p.w. on public transport or getting reamed for parking.
I think student loan “living costs” are still around $170 p.w.? I don’t think it’s possible to get an education these days without constant value from parents (either free board or a hundred dollars a week) or serious amounts of work, to the point it stuffs your study.
As I said before, I wouldnt recommend full time study to a school leaver anymore. I would say get a job and study part time/extramurally. I wouldnt bank on the forces anymore, given that the jobs there are slowly being outsourced and privatised.
I think it must be the future job prospects that must be most worrying to young people/students these days, compared with when I was young. This means there is much more pressure to get good grades today.
My main full time student experience was as a teachers’ college student (not a degree course in those days). Money was quite tight, but I was bonded to work for 3 years after graduation and guaranted a job.
Before doing that course, in my late teens, I was working full time and was sharing a little flat (this was the late 60s). There were weeks when we had no money for food the day before payday. We didn’t have much to spend our money on – we had no TV, just a radio, a little record player, and one landline phone between us. There wasn’t much night life in Auckland, just movies and pubs, which we spent sparingingly on. Our transport was largely motor scooters or public transport.
I had friends around that time who shared a bedroom to make it easier for them financially. But we all had jobs, albeit not well paid, and we all felt these jobs would lead to higher paid ones in the future.
In contrast, the future must be quite a worry for young people today.
$164/week for living costs, and about $190 a week for a student allowance + living costs + rent subsidy if not living with parent(s).
And yeah, it’s pretty difficult to live off that alone unless you’re flatting with communal cooking/groceries or living at home, especially if you drive or bus.
Even with flatting, it’d be pretty dodgy math.
Back in the day I was on $150/wk loans, but that was ten or fifteen years ago. There was a period i was on rice and foodbanks for a bit, but in general I lived okay – not well, but okay. Forget dignity, I just don’t see how it adds up on current prices, even according to tory slide rules.
Yeap, last time I was flatting I only had $20/week left after rent. food and bills from $150/week living costs.
Bloody depressing and without student job search I would have had “fun”.
These days I wouldn’t even dream of trying to flat in Christchurch without a part time job as the increases in food and power make it tricky to live off $164-169/week and eat properly.
I still think that that the HNZ changes are more geared towards private landlords than anything else. The only thing I can see is rents rising across the board as a result of forcing thousands of vulnerable tenants and families into insecure private rentals.
I have always belived that the price of food, veges, milk, etc is a red herring. Its the fact that rents are so bloody high that we have bugger all left to buy anything else.
But sharing beds is another thing altogether!
Why do they refuse to move to the suburbs – I’m in Mt Albert and pay only a little more than that for a nice two bedroom unit with a pool, gym etc in the complex.
For some the location is the priority due to the advantages:
No transport required.
Time is shaved by not commuting.
Some people find it cheaper to eat out and the CBD offers a better choice generally.
Studying is bloody expensive and youre always poor. I was lucky that the qualification I’ve got I was able to gain at the local poly, so I could live with the parents while I was studying. Since then they chopped a lot of qualifications offered there so many young people have to move to another city into these situation.
It seems to be that the least financially hard way to ‘upskill’ is to study part time while working.
Tertiary education needs a huge shakeup in this country.
pics or stfu
“Tertiary education needs a huge shakeup in this country.”
Same theme, the haves and the have nots. We know who the haves are.
Students have it so hard today due to constant limitations e.g. rising fees, cost of housing, limiting of courses, no job security when the qualification/degree is gained.
” no job security when the qualification/degree is gained”
Took me 2 years to find a job after I got my degree in IT. I was overqualified for non-IT jobs and underqualified for the IT jobs currently going.
In all honesty sometimes I wonder if my qualification needed to be at a degree level and whether a simple 1-2 year certificate or diploma would have been sufficent.
Ugg Kerre Woodham can be insipid at times:
“If the minimum wage is raised, some workers will be laid off and prices will go up. End of story.”
“He may be mocked as Mr Smile and Wave, but doing that and carrying on as normal is not so different to the Keep Calm and Carry On exhortation during World War II.”
Yes John Key does remind one of Churchill in his efficacy. Thanks Kerre.
and for John Armstrong:
“Phil Goff, at least, showed some restraint in delaying his visit. He then blew it by calling for a moratorium on new deep-sea oil drilling until suitable environmental safeguards are in place. ”
So we handle an oil spill extremely badly, the population as a whole is rather worried about how we would respond to a much larger oil spill and yet somehow the opposition opposing a controversial and unpopular policy is in Armstrong’s words:
“a bout of MMP politics at its worst”
Im bloody over that tart. Its always those who are rolling in cash who think those at the bottom end of society are getting too much.
Same as above, it is always those who have spent their working lives in offices pushing pens and shuffling paper who think that the superannuation age should be lifted.
Millsy said:
“Same as above, it is always those who have spent their working lives in offices pushing pens and shuffling paper who think that the superannuation age should be lifted.”
Very good point.
Agreed.
My father retired at 60, when that was the age. He’d worked for 46 years, mostly in factories. If he had worked until 65, let alone 67, I doubt whether he would have made it to 76 (when he died – of asbestos related cancer).
I’m always grateful that he had at least a reasonable number of years at the end of his life when he didn’t have to wake up at 5:15am to get to work for the 12 hour 6am shift.
Why of all the Social Welfare measures adopted around the world since the 1800s was the first and the oldest reform always the pension?
What working person hasn’t witnessed an older, once leading, and respected worker being humbled as they fall behind, affected by the afflictions of long-sighted-ness, bad backs and all the other ailments that begin past the age of 40 and accumulate past the age of 50.
Past the age of 60 this humiliation becomes unbearable for other workers to witness.
That is why cutting the pension, or raising the age entitlement is the third rail of Welfare Reform.
Any political party, and I mean ANY PARTY that dares to touch this issue will be severely burned.
Yes, I picked up on that newsense. Talk about double standards! Does Armstrong ever read what he has said in the past? Apparently not because he contradicts himself time and again. I’m actually of the view that he tries to appear ‘neutral’ while surreptitiously pushing the Nat. line as hard as he dares. In other words the subliminal message to the sheeples is “vote National”.
No power to cafes/bars in Kingsland. Four hours before someone says “I think we should get a generator in”
Once again NZ doesn’t have the capacity to react to emergencies and make command decisions or sort out the priorities.
Businesses, tourists, fans need power – bugger where the problem is, we can have one team continuing to work on that – but in the meantime get that generator on the move and get these people hooked up with 90 mins.
Not 5 hours later!
Posts 17 & 18 the delay is probably due to who is going to pay the bill for the generators and the booms.
Pike River receivers and Christchurch insurers are good examples of why the job is not progressing at an acceptable pace.
New development on the Rena incident….
with the new spill in oil today MNZ are deploying heavy duty booms that can “work in strong currents” and a skimmer that can collect the oil.
So, are they telling us that booms (of the right type) can be deployed in open seas? That oil can be corralled and then collected at sea?
Hmmm.
I thought that the government said such things weren’t possible.
I thought they said that once the ship hit the rocks there was nothing we could do about it.
I though they said that we had to wait until it washed ashore and then collect it.
Surely our government hasn’t lied to us? *lip quiver*
They wouldn’t do that to us would they? *sniff*
I don’t find the lies so hurtful as the fact that they can’t go a month without contradicting themselves, and I don’t find that as sad as the fact that the media almost never notice.
Where did the booms come from?
TV3 News didn’t say so. They just glossed over it as though there was no greater story there. I know where they should have got them – from their own emergency equipment storage facility and they should have got it on day one.
From Sushi to Tunisia: A Guide to Swaying Majority Opinion.
How do you topple a tyrant or popularize a foreign cuisine? According to a recent study in the journal Physical Review E, mobilizing an unyielding minority of 10 percent may be enough.
Arms trade: Business before human rights?
Of course it’s business before human rights – can’t make a profit if you go around around standing up for peoples rights. If you did that, they may not fight and then wouldn’t need the weapons.
Another tech pioneer, Dennis Ritchie, passes
Ah well, they come and go. Good legacy left though.
… great result tonight from an enthralling game – and France were not walkovers at all.
(Anyone prepared to open a book on a call for the All Black flag to be adopted as our national flag.) – I give it less than two days to become a national discussion point – hope I’m wrong.