Open mike 24/08/2023
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- Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...4 hours ago - Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
9 hours ago - JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
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Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...18 hours ago - How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...1 day ago - Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...1 day ago - ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisationThe suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes – Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...1 day ago
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Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...2 days ago - “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
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- LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the ironyLindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...3 days ago
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Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...3 days ago - National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state houseProbably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...3 days ago
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Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...5 days ago - Cooking the booksFinance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...5 days ago
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6 days ago - Be Honest.
Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...6 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
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Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...7 days ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...7 days ago
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It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...7 days ago - Look who’s stepped up to champion WinstonThere’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...1 week ago
- What's The Story?
Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...1 week ago - The longest of weeks
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...1 week ago - Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts toLike earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...1 week ago
- Under New Management
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The Green Party is pleased to announce today that MP Teanau Tuiono will be an Assistant Speaker for the 54th Parliament. ...2 days ago - Release: Labour calls on Government to give visas to Kiwis’ families stuck in Gaza
Labour’s immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford is calling on the Government to follow the example of Australia and help New Zealanders’ close family members stuck in Gaza to escape and take shelter here. ...4 days ago - Now, more than ever, we must whakamana Te Tiriti o WaitangiThe Green Party is urging the Government to recognise its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi so our tamariki and mokopuna can grow up in an Aotearoa where their language is celebrated, their health is prioritised, and their whenua is protected. ...5 days ago
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- Māori will die to fund tax cutsBy scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...1 week ago
- Release: National’s fiscal plans dealt another blowFigures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party unveils portfolio spokespeople for the 54th ParliamentThe Green Party is pleased to announce the allocation of portfolios across its largest caucus ever. ...2 weeks ago
- The Time is Now for Oceans ProtectionCommunity organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Greenpeace nitrates research proves need for strong freshwater regulationThe Green Party is welcoming the release of an interactive map which enables people to monitor nitrate levels in their drinking water. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Chris Hipkins congratulates Christopher Luxon"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens launch petition to save oil and gas banThe Green Party has launched a petition to save the ban on oil and gas exploration. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon’s Government will whitewash AotearoaNZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party a strong opposition to divisive governmentThe Green Party will keep up the fight for an Aotearoa that works for everyone. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori call for Foreign Affairs CEO to be sackedTe Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...3 weeks ago
- Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says. ...1 day ago - New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activityNew Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...2 days ago
- Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga beginsThe Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says. “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...2 days ago
- Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in DubaiClimate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...2 days ago
- New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meetingDefence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...2 days ago
- Study shows need to remove distractions in classThe Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...3 days ago
- Minister sets expectations of CommissionerToday I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...3 days ago
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- PISA results show urgent need to teach the basicsWith 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids. The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...4 days ago
- Collins leaves for Pacific defence meetingDefence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...5 days ago
- Working for Families gets cost of living boostPutting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...5 days ago
- Post-Cabinet press conferenceMost weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...5 days ago
- Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrappedThe Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...7 days ago
- NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in GazaNew Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...1 week ago
- Condolences on passing of Henry KissingerForeign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...1 week ago
- Backing our kids to learn the basicsEvery child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...1 week ago
- US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through tradeI would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber. I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...1 week ago
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- The Friday Poem: ‘a retreat’ by Jasmine O M TaylorA new poem by Ōtepoti poet Jasmine O M Taylor. a retreat if you find a chance before they’ve all melted into the air find time to get on a glacier and find a cave in the glacier and go inside the cave inside the glacier it will speak to ...1 day ago
- Gone By Lunchtime: Do Te Pāti Māori-led protests set the tone for the term ahead?Our award-winning podcast assesses the opening stanza of the Luxon-led government. After the long, serene political gap as coalition talks went on, politics has roared back with plenty of shouting and not so much rizz. Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather assess the early exchanges, including Winston Peters’ ...1 day ago
- The Amalgamated Workers Union Calls On The Government To Give Fair Pay Agreements A Fair Go
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- A rangatahi Māori perspective on Cop28With the new government gaining international infamy for its climate policy, for rangatahi Māori like Kaeden Watts, attending climate conferences is more important than ever. Every year world leaders meet for the annual Conference of the Parties (Cop), the world’s most powerful climate crisis conference. Despite Cop being criticised for ...2 days ago
- BBC host denies she was ‘flipping the bird’ after live faux pasAccidental Partridge is one of my favourite Twitter (I am never going to call it X) accounts, and given today is the last day of live updates I think it’s absolutely fair I include a video from it. If you don’t know why it’s called Accidental Partridge, go watch all ...2 days ago
- National Trying To Rewrite History By Removing App Tax Website And Press ReleaseThe Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the National Party to front up to consumers who will face 15% higher prices for some services from the likes of Uber, Airbnb and food delivery apps after their app tax U-turn rather than trying to erase all ...2 days ago
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- PM Luxon visits cyclone-hit parts of Hawke’s BayThe prime minister is spending the day out of Wellington, touring parts of cyclone-damaged Hawke’s Bay and meeting with senior leaders in the community. Christopher Luxon began the day in Wairoa, where he met with mayor Craig Little. Later, he’ll head to Napier for a meeting with regional council members. ...2 days ago
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Want to see what grotty little man the act leader is ,? Watch him on the am show pin lasts nights murder in Epsom on labour for allowing people to be bailed on a leg bracelet, with absolutely no evidence this is the case so far, slimy little creep.
You know up until now I was prepared to give Seymour the benefit of the doubt as regards the infiltration of ACT by conspiracy theorists, gun lovers and other nutters, but no more. The wonder boy and his party now look as self-serving and shady as NZ First and so-called "Democracy NZ".
I hope voters who are thinking of voting ACT know what kind of unholy alliance they will be supporting.
Seymour has been dog whistling up all the fringe lunatics but now Peters is back. Slimy Seymour will see less support.Hologram empty vessel vlaimed last night on TV that he represents all the Jewish people yet he has been courting the right wing fascists in his Dog whistle. Many antivaxxers are from the far right.Seymour is trying the Trump bs I am the least racist person you know ,yeah right.Seymour would grovel to any fringe lunatic to get votes.
Is it a curious thing that those who loudest proclaim how they stand for "democracy" are actually the least democratic in reality.
Like the "Democratic" Republic of Korea (yeah right, it would be hard to get a state less democratic than North Korea).
Like "Democracy New Zealand" – some of whose supporters are anarchists and support armed insurrection and overthrow of the state – not very democratic I think. These worthies do not know the meaning of real democracy, although they are sure they do.
There to thick to know what democracy means, fuck they think labour is communist!!
Rawiri Waititi lobbed a hand grenade at David Seymour yesterday, really pricked his balloon…
Norightturn
[mod note for everyone: I will ask Lprent and Micky to say how this can be discussed on TS, because it’s an ongoing legal matter and name suppression is still in place. In the meantime please don’t name the person, and follow No Right Turn’s lead in being careful. Read the NRT post before commenting – weka]
Holy shit,
Well done Rawiri, outing under privilege is justified in some cases, regardless that he will likely be on legal thin ice for the very fact of being a Te Pāti Māori leader.
Context: mass vandalism across Aotearoa NZ of TPM election billboards, including a vehicular attack (crashing through a fence) on a Taranaki TPM sign, while nearby Act billboards stood unscathed. Now those two realities obviously may not be linked…but yes Rawiri–they are out to get you!
The Epsom twerker and claimed non property owner due to affordability, when he was a beneficiary of property trusts… https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/05/act-leader-david-seymour-admits-he-s-a-beneficiary-of-property-holding-trusts-after-years-of-saying-he-couldn-t-afford-to-buy.html
Mr Seymour has a motley crew of MPs and wannabe MPs indeed. Time for Act’s planned attacks on working class people’s recent gains to be revealed to voters by media channels.
If I recall correctly there were a couple of main arguments put forward for name suppression:
Imagine if the party in question was, for example, Labour. The hints, innuendos, barefaced glee coming from the Right would have been spread far and wide.
Name suppression is also used to protect victims of crime.
As much as I want to see act laid low, innocent till proven guilty.
I think suppression should be a right till proven guilty un all cases
not practical in some cases. eg high profile murders.
In the NRT blog there is a link to some questions Seymour asked in Parliament seeking to justify his comments about blowing up a Ministry and accusing Hipkins of making it political and that he is the victim here. Strewth, a wise man would have put it behind him and quickly moved on. Not Seymour.
Russian gravity strikes again… Yevgeny Prigozhin apparently killed in an air crash.
Must admit I had a bit of a chuckle when saw the headline this morning.
Was an ineviatable ending.
Shot down by a surface to air missile. Putin is a murderous monster. I feel sorry for the innocent people on the aeroplane. Russia is a mafia state with gangster "justice".
If you traveling on a private jet with that man ,what's the odds your innocent??
The crew were innocent. Not that the inconvenience of ending the lives of completely innocent three flight crew would trouble the criminal Putin at night. The bastard is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths already.
The crew were innocent.
We don't know that, do we.
Wagner group listed as the operator so likely not so innocent.
RA-02795 Wagner Group Embraer ERJ-135
https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/embraer-erj-135-ra-02795-wagner-group/r11z52
Also, Flight Radar reports final data received at 15:20:14 UTC at an altitude of 19,725 feet so the aircraft was probably beyond the range of portable weapons.
https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/russian-legacy-600-crashes-near-tver/
I am very surprised Utkin was on board as well those two should never have travelled togetther
Quite the blunder if true. And Wagner forces are spread far and wide so reining them will be no easy thing with their leadership gone.
@Faytuks
Russian journalist Andrey Zakharov: "As for Prigozhin, I can say for now: today he really flew to Russia from Africa, with him was the entire command staff of the Wagner PMC. It will be a miracle if he is on another plane, they tell me" https://t.me/zakharovchanne
https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1694405462567887211
Russia's aviation agency has confirmed Yevgeny Prigozhin, his deputy Dmitry Utkin and his head of security, Valery Chekalov, were on board the Embraer jet that crashed just north of Moscow.
If their deaths are confirmed, that is the top ranks of the mercenary group's leadership gone, in one fell swoop.
https://news.sky.com/story/yevgeny-prigozhin-trod-a-dangerous-tightrope-his-apparent-death-proves-no-one-is-indispensable-12946201
Ukraine's internal supporters would have at least as much motivation to take him out.
Ukraine have successfully launched strikes on Russian military aircraft from within Russia in the last week.
Ukraine would be the natural offload for Putin.
I'm picking the queue was long.
I would also suggest that 'Western' interests in Africa should not be dismissed as possible suspects in this event….as always, my first thought is 'who has the most to gain, at this time?
This "Putin did it!"nonsense is about as stupid as the "Clinton Crime Family's" supposed long list of homicides and faked suicides.
Putin is NOT the forgiving type.
"Must admit I had a bit of a chuckle when saw the headline this morning"…..are you are seriously saying on a public forum, that the thought of a human death made you chuckle?..holy shit, that is fucked up.
Made my day
In any case, russia didn't "kill" prigozhin, it "liberated" him!
Some more interesting background.
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/special-report-the-curtain-closes?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1351274&post_id=136347457&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email
You've probably already read this.
Two factors, the inevitablity that some sort of 'accident' would lead to his untimely death and it couldnt of happened to a nicer guy.
Eagerly looking forward to the massive cycleway opening in Dunedin's Port Chalmers on Saturday.
Definitely one of the few big 'Planned by Labour Delovered by Labour' transport projects of these two terms.
All your walkers runners and cyclists in Dunedin make sure you get there 12 noon Sawyers Bay.
Hopefully the turnout is at least as big as the 1500 who turned out for the Beaumont Bridge one three weeks ago.
Lucky you, I hope it is of slightly better construction than the extensive and totally shit lime stone bike paths they (we) have built here in the Hawkes Bay…every time there is any type of half bad weather event they get washed away….time and again and again etc…if the investment in some serious construction had been made from the beginning it would have paid for itself by now….but I guess it perfectly encapsulates the criminally short term thinking of centrist politics.
Lucky for me I only ride the road..but Siobhan rides the paths every day (commutes Napier-Hasting and back) so I get the regular updates….anyway hope you enjoy your new cycleway…you live in the perfect city for them thats for sure.
"Asassination by Putin? Good, out of the door, line on the left, one missile each".
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/496443/wool-carpet-in-classrooms-campaign-gets-carpet-maker-bremworth-s-support
Common chippie , make a captains call and put biodegradable fire safe wool carpet under kids feet!!
Actual de-Nazification.
Michael A. Horowitz
@michaelh992
#Russian Channel VChK-OGPU says Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin second in command, was also on the plane
https://twitter.com/michaelh992/status/1694398344540405922
The Grey Zone isn't happy.
The assassination of Prigozhin would have catastrophic consequences. The people who gave the order do not understand the mood in the army and the morale at all.
https://t.me/grei_zone/979
translate
A post by Grey Zone, a Wagner-connected social media channel, claimed Russian anti-aircraft defences had shot down the plane. It said that residents heard “two bursts of characteristic air defence fire” before the crash. “This is confirmed by inversion traces in the sky in one of the videos,” it added.
https://archive.li/https://www.ft.com/content/812c9da3-80f2-4fe1-8fad-0b4441d1977a
"A post by Grey Zone [sic], a Wagner-connected social media channel…"
You will, of course, provide evidence for that remarkable allegation against one of the few rigorous and respected news sites in America.
Telegram channel Grey Zone (https://t.me/s/grey_zone) ≠ News website the Grayzone (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grayzone)
Could you provide evidence that the Grayzone is rigorous and respected?
Read the posted article, clown.
/
A riposte worthy of the great journalist Mark Townsend. Well done, sir.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f92x5XqfyDQ
Act's current MPs, apart from the leader and deputy, have always seemed to be kept silenced by Seymour, so have often wondered what their background is. One would barely know who they are or that they are even in Parliament. Good that their current list hopefuls have had their backgrounds exposed.
Act from way back has attracted the weird and extreme. No change it seems.
You are not wrong Reality.
Hilary Calvert (her eyes used in brothel sign artwork), Donna Awatere Huata (magic weight loss turned out to be a stomach staple job, ripped off an education trust, husband threatened to bash Sue Bradford), David Garrett (stole deceased child’s identity), Rodney Hide (threatened man in urinal), John Boscawen (Lamington head), Banksy (forgot a helicopter ride to Dotcom’s mansion, election campaign cheque splitting)…the ignominy goes on…
Act are essentially still with us because the Natzos need an MMP friend, and some new gens and warm gun lovers like their culture wars buy in. I wonder how many Act supporters really know much about libertarianism, the Chicago School, Hayek etc.?
This "fear"…despite the Science Recommendation and the fact that they have dug in hard about their rights..to drain the Manuherikia near dry to carry on with their unsustainable water take.
Matakanui Station owner and Manuherikia Catchment Group interim chairman Andrew Paterson….
Yea Mr Paterson..never truer words spoken. Our Manuherekia river dying..for a few with very vested interest.
The farmers must certainly be worried; their free lunch (paid for by the community) is coming to an end.
It's not just the Manuherekia river that is being trashed. Prof Mike Joy discusses the national situation in his 2014 paper "Squandered: The degradation of New Zealand’s freshwaters ( https://waterqualitynz.info/squandered-the-degradation-of-new-zealands-freshwaters/)
And he's not totally negative. He also offers a solution.
I have met Mike Joy..and heard him speak at meetings, and on media. IMO he is proactive with Positive ways forward. Always with OUR NZ Environment foremost.
"Some" Farmers etc….dont like "their water rights" being examined…as to the harm they are causing.
Good work Mike Joy !
This must be "the war against farmers" that the National Party keep telling us about. They should have a shadow cabinet portfolio for imaginary wars. Would be the busiest shadow portfolio in the National caucus.
Michael Laws and ex ACT MPs sit on the board of the otago regional council they are pushing a right wing agenda.Why because of extremely low voter turnout.Its easy to get their stooges on the board .The old miners rights to water are being exploited at no cost to those doing so.Water should be allocated evenly leaving enough water in the river for recreational users and last but not least the rivers health.Those who have historic use of the water are being selfish.
Whenever I hear the rural elite and their champions talk about local control, is actually about white farmer control of water and environmental regulation.
While local body politics might not be able to be accused of direct voter suppression, there certainly is a suppressed vote.
In that sense, the system is majorly flawed.
Central government could require 70+% turnout or put commissioners in. (Or threaten to.) Give local government some money to improve turnout up to target levels and encourage local solutions as long as they are non-discriminatory. Call it the "Enabling Local Democracy" initiative – and make sure there are lots of Maori words in the promotional material to piss the b*ggers off even more.
What they are banking on…
And of course old 'glower face" ex Fed Farm head …is now an ACT candidate
Last Christmas we were holidaying at Oturehua (The Power Of the Dog place) and paid a visit to some in-laws at their holiday cottage in Ophir. The first thing we noticed was that they had stacks and stacks of bottled water brought with them from Dunedin.
The reason – the local regional council had allowed a dairy farm to operate in the town's water supply catchment and thus severely contaminate the supply!!
Yea..there is much to read about all of that…ORC….not a good situation.
Heres some…
Meanwhile..the River..was/is dying
+100
ORC are just starting to put constraints around the water take now, but the farmers and their elected reps have dragged it through the courts for years, and the damage is well and truly done.
The 5000 year old European who grew up in South Tyrol was Anatolian.
The new study also offers new information about Ötzi’s appearance. “The genome analysis revealed phenotypic traits such as high skin pigmentation, dark eye color, and male pattern baldness that are in stark contrast to the previous reconstructions that show a light skinned, light eyed, and quite hairy male,” said Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
https://www.archaeology.org/news/11689-230817-otzi-genome-sequenced
Contrary to previous studies, we found no detectable Steppe-related ancestry in the Iceman. Instead, he retained the highest Anatolian-farmer-related ancestry among contemporaneous European populations, indicating a rather isolated Alpine population with limited gene flow from hunter-gatherer-ancestry-related populations.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666979X2300174X?via%3Dihub
Amazing how even 5000 years later – almost every cell in your body continues to tell the truth!
A few weeks ago there was an unconvincing display of pearl-clutching (not least on here) when Jan Tinetti was admonished by the Privileges Committee for … <checks notes> … not correcting the record quickly enough. Proof that it was all falling apart, apparently.
They'll be needing smelling salts today, then.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/496507/national-mp-tim-van-de-molen-stood-down-from-all-portfolios
Rural Neanderthal picks on physically smaller urban gay guy–not a good look really!
To paraphrase Frank Zappa…“Some people behave as if intelligence were some sort of hideous deformity”…
It'll be buried in about 2-3 days – quicker than that in the more partisan media.
It will be buried within a day as Luxon has dealt with this decisively and Tim has already made in apology.
Luxon obviously did NOT deal with it "decisively".
The incident happened on June 29. Labour MPs informed the National whip immediately. Luxon chose to do nothing.
He waited for … the Speaker to receive a complaint, for the issue to be referred to the Privileges Committee, for an independent barrister to be called in, and after nearly two months for the Committee to (in effect) tell Luxon what had happened and what to do.
Reminder: this is the leader who has constantly told us that he would deal with issues by picking up the phone and making it happen, the big CEO who gets things done.
In reality, he couldn't even face up to a problem with one member of a small team, who is in the same building every working day.
Here's a bedtime story for you Westykev:
Luxon saw the orange lights on the dashboard and decided to deliver. He immediately gathered together the best and brightest of his team in the war-room and conducted a laser-like analysis of evidence, implications, risks, strategic import, ideological congruence with his total commitment to getting tough on crime, rediscovering mojo, being ambitious, and getting to carbon net zero by leaving it to the market and the genius of great NZ farmers. He said: "Team is there any potential here to identify wasteful spending? Is the Privileges Committee the inward-looking creation of the hermit kingdom, is it red red tape that should be swept away and should its members be getting ahead by starting a business? Is this process economic mismanagement like the world has never seen before, will it cause inflation? We must decide to deliver a decisive outcome that is decisive in its delivery. My suggestion is that we do nothing for a couple of months until the committee reports back and hope everyone loses interest". Awed by the great man's lucid emanations of brilliance, they fell prostate on the floor at his feet.
That'll go over Wk's head AB. He won't know what you're talking about.
"Awed by the great man's lucid emanations of brilliance, they fell prostate on the floor at his feet."
Funny, that. People used to talk about my prostrate cancer, and I'm perfectly upstanding…..
As for the van de Molen issue. We were discussing bullying in our party rooms before the news was announced. Many people have been bullied in our country. Wouldn’t it be great if the voters just said to the bullies- fuck off, don’t want you, we can do better and then the parties concerned might …. just…. listen.
Take back our parties from the grifters, the narcissists, the sociopaths, the egoists. the damaged and the deranged.
But did he mean it ya think?
This just came in from Scoop.
If this guy (a New Zealander whose work has appeared in many international newspapers) is still living in Ukraine , he might think about heading back over to Moldova soon
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2308/S00045/post-vilnius-nato-summit-it-has-been-all-downhill-for-zelensky.htm
Zelensky's PR machine early on had him tricked out in military looking garb, although not the Ukrainian uniform.The company who makes his olive green gear is M-TAC, whose owner is given to some colourful statements, example following:
“I will also celebrate the day of the Holocaust. Happy holidays to all!” he declared on International Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2017, reacting to an image of Jewish children in a concentration camp.
Johnson goes some way to explain why a significant minority of far right nationalists has such disproportionate sway in Ukraine
Another article Timidity in New Zealand , originally published in Le Monde diplomatique, looks at how the massive mandate Labour had going into it's second term (without the odious Winnie)was squandered.
https://mondediplo.com/outsidein/timidity-in-new-zealand
Stop interfering with my mother tangi.
Cheeeeeeese!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/25/ten-dollars-for-a-block-of-cheese-who-is-making-the-supermarkets-do-this?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Let’s hope the new commissioner makes a difference.