tis Christmas Eve, so wishing you all a happy Christmas.
We are doing our traditional Christmas “thing” with family – generally eating too much ham and turkey and playing old board games. (ed substitute that for a turnip if that make you more comfortable).
Hope 2018 goes better for those of you who have had a poor 2017, and for those who had a good 2017 – may 2018 exceed it.
Dutch journalist to new US Ambassador: you said there were ‘no go zones’ in Netherlands, where are they?
Ambassador: That’s fake news, I didn’t say that
Journalist: We can show you that clip now.
Ambassador: Err
If you lie about a lie does that make it the truth?
Many thanks to Valerie Adams for being a great role model for all the Lady’s around OUR WORLD to aspire to and the best thing is that she brown. I admire that you and your brother show the rest of the World the good humble humane Kiwi nature and use have come from humble beginning Kai kaha
The fact that she is being a good role model is the only thing that matters. it’s nice that you applaud her and acknowledge the fact – but it’s not a skin colour issue.
I guess you’ve swallowed the post-racial Kool-aid but it is a skin colour thing, James.
Young brown women are interested in the put because they identify with Dame Valerie in the same way young Pākehā women are interested pole vaulting, because they identify with Eliza McCartney.
Silly question james but what percentage of advertising images of women are brown? What percentage of newspaper articles talk about brown women in a positive light?
Maybe, in a world where the dominate media did portray people of all colours and races in a equal amount the we could be colour blind. Until then, brown roll modes are somthing aspire to, when most of the images and stories are of white women.
So the best thing about Adams is that she is brown Joe 90 ?
Of course not. But In the context of eco maori’s comment about Adams and inspiration, the folk most in need of inspiration in our society are young Māori and PI women and because just like me is a thing, Dame Valerie’s skin colour does matter to them.
James go piss in the wind somewhere else you have been trying to get me to ingage in your neo liberal dum ass views for a while. I have no time to waste on you Ana to kai
No I havnt – in fact the only replies I can remember sending to you were when you were convinced that people were following you etc, and I very politely and with respect suggested you talk to somebody.
Calling you up on racist statements isnt “neo liberal dum ass views” – its calling you up for “dum ass” racist statements.
Eco maori, I often agree with what you are saying but in this instance – I am not. You are inferring that not only is it “best” for Mrs Adams that she is brown – does it really matter if her efforts have got her there, she could have stripes for all that matters – and to this end that the rest of the world are not good humble human beings.
You might want to look at rephrasing this because this is so not like you.
Merry Christmas, Noel, Frohe Weihnacht, Buon Natale, peace on earth.
Apologies Valerie I forgot to Congratulat you for your new baby I was looking after my blue eye mokos who is my Paua I had planned to mention that first Ka pai
Thanks for this clip Ad (4) … I’m of the vintage being able to remember when I saw some of these great musicals. Oh to be able to move like that. Dancing at its very best.
I have seen a dance clip of a young adult Michael Jackson tap dancing with a couple of other guys. Boy oh boy he was up there with the best of the song and dance performers. An amazing and incredible talent lost to the musical world. RIP Michael.
just came across this and have nothing to add to but a a yeah, sadly so, might 2018 bring about much needed change, but i highly doubt. No guts, no glory – it seems it affects our politicians across the spectrum.
Merry Christmas everybody, to all in this forum. How great that ideas and comments can be shared without getting too much out of hand 🙂
Have a safe and successful New Year.
This second warning contains a series of charts showing how utterly the world’s leaders ignored what they were told twenty-five years earlier. Whether it’s CO2 emissions, temperature change, ocean dead zones, freshwater resources, vertebrate species, or total forest cover, the grim charts virtually all point in the same dismal direction, indicating continued momentum toward doomsday. The chart for marine catch shows something even scarier: in 1996, the catch peaked at 130 million tonnes and in spite of massively increased industrial fishing, it’s been declining ever since—a harbinger of the kind of overshoot that unsustainable exploitation threatens across the board.
My bold.
Proof that physical limits don’t go away just because technology advances.
The UK passport is an expression of our independence and sovereignty – symbolising our citizenship of a proud, great nation. That's why we have announced that the iconic #bluepassport will return after we leave the European Union in 2019. https://t.co/pgQvrBIna5— Theresa May (@theresa_may) December 22, 2017
When I was born in 1923 the British Empire comprised one fifth of the world's population of which the majority lived in squalor like my family. #bluepassport— Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) December 22, 2017
Unfortunately Jill, HRC’s loss means the Republican chaired congressional committees, the Republican headed DOJ, FBI, NSA ,CIA, and the Republican Special Counsel can have at it. Idiot.
/
Jill Stein: ‘Clinton Democrats’ Dragged Me Into Russia Probe as ‘Punishment’ For 2016 Run
After your visit to Moscow and your meeting with Vladimir Putin you said that “the world deserve[s] a new commitment to collaborative dialogue between our governments to avert disastrous wars for geopolitical domination, destruction of the climate, and cascading injustices that promote violence and terrorism.” We agree with you. But how can this new “collaborative dialogue” be possible when Mr. Putin has deliberately built a system based on corruption, injustice, falsification of elections, and violation of human rights and international law? How is it possible to have a discussion with Mr. Putin and not mention, not even once, the fate of Russian political prisoners, or the attacks against Russian journalists, artists, and environmentalists? Is it fair to speak with him about “geopolitics” and not mention new Russian laws against freedom of speech, restrictions on NGOs and activists, or the shameful law that forbids “homosexual propaganda”?
By silencing Putin’s crimes you are silencing our struggle. By shaking his hand and failing to criticize his regime you are becoming his accomplice. By forgetting what international solidarity means you are insulting the Russian environmental movement.
So you have not listened to a word Jill Stein has said have you, for someone who professes to hate misogynists – that’s a bit sexist is it not?
That said, what have the Russian greens ever done, except attack Jill Stein? It’s not a very accomplished or comprehensive list. Hard to find much on them. This
Perhaps you could point to the connections between the letter’s signatories, Yevgeniya Chirikova and Nadezda Kutepova, and the Russian Ecological Party.
JIll Stein is the leader of the American Green party. You said Russian Greens – in capitals I might add, which to a lay person like me took to mean it came from a political party. Rather than individuals who hold green values.
Your implication also said all the Greens in Russia, rather than two individuals.
Or were you just implying it came from a political party to counter Stein being a member and leader of the American Greens?
You lost me at this point.
So your basic argument is, Stien is evil and a russian tool – and look I have two people who agree with me.
In the meantime, the whole prosecution of the left carries on, with people like you enabling the new McCarthyism.
Arguing intent over a capitalisation, whatevers. but in my world espousing green values and principles means they’re greens.
And FYI, a congressional committee looking into Stein’s hobnobbing with Flynn, a convicted criminal and potential traitor, and a murderous thug ain’t McCarthyism.
The issue is: what was the event, and who paid for Flynn’s attendance. And basic diligence says to ask the same questions about any other us political figure at the event.
Now, the repugs will try and beat up Stein over this, but I suspect that unlike Flynn she took care to do everything legally (e.g. paid her own way rather than accepting gifts from Russians, avoid making foreign policy commitments to strange men).
One tactic used by proponents of Neoliberalism is the weaponizing of language; a prime example being “welfare dependency.” Here’s a snappy little deconstruction of the term from NZ Council of Christian Social Services site:
“Welfare dependency is an ill-defined concept that is often referred to without any attempt to explain what it means. It implies that welfare benefits are some kind of “drug” that people in poverty are addicted to and the only cure is withdrawal!”
If the beneficiaries & poor are the “addicts” then neoliberalism is the “drug syndicates” that created the dependency and thrive on it; money is the “drug”, of course. In other words, as long as there’s neoliberalism there is and will be (a need for) social welfare as we know it. Dissolve the former and the latter will evaporate with it.
my ex knows exactly how much she can earn before it affects her income support (wff in her case) and turns down work if it will take her over , sounds dependant to me.
If she’s getting wff, I suspect a better description is because of the abatement of wff, combined with income tax, and possibly extra expenses to do with working extra hours, means she gets so little extra in the hand from extra hours of work that it’s just not worth it to her. That’s a different scenario than “turns down work to get free money”.
she went from a permanent part time job to a job that can easily have a cashy bit to it , i livetd with her 12 years i know how she thinks , lefties need to stop dreaming that every one on the benefit is doing there best to be self supporting , ( by the way yes i pay her money every week , plus provide for my kid in other ways and have her 3 nights a week , no i get no wff)
No, she turns down extra hours to avoid being unfairly penalised.
It’s only called free money by rabid haters who frequent newswinge ZB. It’s actually a tax rebate protected by law to recognise the often high costs of raising children.
Exactly the same a back in the days of Muldoon and the tax rates then. In a job I had in ’82 I had to be very careful how much overtime I worked or I went up a tax bracket (36 – 45% I think, been to sleep a few times since then). Nett effect was that if I worked two Saturday mornings a fortnight I got less in the hand than if I had just worked 5 days. One had me just under the threshold by a couple of dollars.
That was actually working as indented to a large degree. Back in those days the government had a policy of full employment and policies like Penal Rates and high taxes to enforce it.
Basically, the government had rules to make it better to employ someone else rather than have people work longer.
But there was also another aspect of that that you’re not mentioning: Back then people also had to fill in a tax return every year. You may have gone up to the higher tax bracket over a week but if that only happened a time or two then, at the end of the year when you filed your tax return, you’d get a large part of it back because over the year you weren’t in the higher tax bracket.
I’m very much in favour of getting everyone to fill in their tax returns every year again.
Yeah, tax return time was nice but it really pissed me off at the time. I was a leading hand on the job so really had to be there, and was earning a bit more for the responsibility, so it affected me but not the other guys.
And it would have been great if we could have got more staff, there were three major projects going on in Marlbrough then, so no spare construction staff, and no accomodation either. Contractors tried bringing in staff from around the country but they couldn’t find anywhere to live. I was living in the nurses home for a while, not ideal living on hospital food when you’re doing heavy physical work, and various pubs, again not ideal long term, and eventually found something to rent.
Would have loved to have had a 40 hr job then, it was a nice place, but didn’t really have the option because all the other contractors were in the same position.
I used to work a casual job with a flatmate. She had to do a three hour stretch before she broke even with the allowance abatement. She did it just to keep her hand in, not because she ended up working for significantly less than minimum wage over the entire shift.
That’s “dependency” in the same way that prison is “reluctance to travel”.
could she have worked more , i know alot on benefits want off , but not all, there are deffinately people who structure their life to maximize the what they can get , knowingly or not that makes them dependant because they are unwilling or unable to wean them selves off.,
No. It was casual, at the behest of the roster-keeper.
Like most people on a benefit, if she could have had a decent job, she would have. Maybe your ex is one of the exceptions, who could have worked 40/wk with a decent income but chose to stay on a benefit.
But seriously, dealing with abatements, having the call centre fuck up the details and take forever to give you the pay they fucked up and underpaid (after you spent ages on hold with them), or getting threatening letters because they fucked up and didn’t process the abatement properly and decided that you were committing benefit fraud – all for an additional amount that barely covers transport and parking costs to get to the bloody job… That’s the decision a lot of people face, and I don’t begrudge them whatever they choose.
i don’t begrudge the ex , if she wants to live poor thats her choice . i just think dependancy on the state is real ,and her case proves it, the state will be part of the problem , but until people admit that it has made people dependant then they are part of the problem to .
I think calling them “dependant” artificially restricts consideration of the issue.
The issue is that the transition from benefit to work is a massive barrier for a huge number of reasons, and if the reward for crossing that barrier isn’t enough to live in dignity, a very small proportion of the unemployed population will say “why bother”. I can’t say I’d blame them for that.
But the vast majority really want work, a decent job that they’d give a decent effort at. But they get stuck going from dead-end job to dead-end job, back on the dole in the meantime until the next exploitative and systematically temporary job comes up.
Her (i.e. your ex) choices are severely limited by the so-called social welfare system with its controlling bureaucracy that has been set up and institutionalised by the State. It is cruel, it is unjust, it is prolonged, it is burdensome and it is through/by the authority of the State; to me these are all hallmarks of oppression. Regardless of the (‘victim’) label, it is not a situation that should be advocated and continued and a proper UBI may go a long way to a more just solution.
She should be able to better her situation for 3 months before the deductions start, and they should be at a reasonable pace to allow a full transition. IMO
Nipped out at dawn, caught a big kingfish, gutted and filleted him on the beach, smoked him in the backyard, we ate him for lunch with homemade mayo, lashings of butter, and a big crusty loaf washed down with artisan cider. Life is good. Nap time!
Stayed at Urapukapuka Island one summer, we used to nip out early for a few snapper, 20 minutes max, then we’d be back to barbecue them with Mum’s special seasoning, YUM
Nipped out at dawn, caught a big kingfish, gutted and filleted him on the beach, smoked him in the backyard, we are him for lunch with homemade mayo, lashings of butter, and a big crusty loaf washed down with artisan cider, and Jacinda is still PM. Life is good. Nap time!
Wars usually have their origin when participants start lying to themselves
From the Herald
“With unusual fanfare, President Donald Trump unveiled a new National Security Strategy last week that cast China and Russia as competitors for global power and potential threats to the United States.”
Quote
“China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity,” the document states. “They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence.”
It is the USA government that is making their economy less free and fair – ending net neutrality (blocking access to some sites may result) and undermining health care for all while handing out tax cuts to the advantaged ion their society.
And yes, spending more on their military.
The US government with its surveillance programmes and covert targeting operations does as much as would be expected of any empire to suppress opposition.
It’s opposition to free trade is based on America first and undermining the prosperity of other nations.
Total hypocrisy. And such big lies lead to division, contention and ultimately war.
And such big lies lead to division, contention and ultimately war.
A more accurate and helpful description would be to call them “projections”. They are taken as ‘real’ and ‘true’ without realisation of their origin and affect.
I no the muppets take Christmas and Easter off this has been going on for a few years. They must not have anything better to do A. I no they are pissed that national lost they are getting put the good honest standards that OUR new coalition government expects of all state employees. The retired ones are losing there PE testing gravy train that one who intimidated that boy locking up making him go to Australia well he is retired now Ka pai there is much more going on behind the seens. There job is to serve us not intimidat us and use us.
Labour knows that they interfear in the election smearing Phil Geoff. I reckon that all political parties should have gray as there colour so the police don’t automatically support national some people can be influenced just by colour
Ana to kai
Compliments of the season to all contributors to TS.
My wish for 2018 is that we are governed more by the heart and not the wallet. Let’s hope for a much kinder and caring year, particularly towards those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Above all else I wish you all good health, the real wealth. Those who are struggling with a long term condition, may you find help and peace. Seasons Greetings.
SCANDAL! Those beastly unarmed Palestinian
women are slapping our brave Israeli soldiers.
When a woman is faced by a maniac, what is she to do? . . . In her rage she will slap him . . . That is to say, the woman will use all her physical strength. Will that not constitute violence? . . . In a situation like [this], slapping or scratching, if the occasion demands it, does not constitute violence. The trust of a woman who slaps is not in the slap, her trust is in God . . . Her expression is not an expression of violence, only of her opposition . . . Her anger, her alarm, proclaims for herself as well as for the man her preparedness to die . . . Instead of feeling helpless and scared, she should say to herself: “I shall offer up my body and life, but shall not become a coward.” Her slap or scratching indicates this resolve. It is in itself non-violence. She has no strength to cause harm. Hence her act is not violence.
—-Mahatma Gandhi, “What Women Should Do in a Difficult Situation,” Collected Works, 4 September 1932
Israeli education minister Naftali Bennett reckons she should be sent to prison for life and professor of Jewish history Micheal Oren says because Ahed has blue eyes, her and her family aren’t a real family.
Remember the Palestinian girl who tried to defend her younger brother from Israeli soldiers? She's just been arrested. pic.twitter.com/eUvkye7yAp— AJ+ (@ajplus) December 19, 2017
The Tamimi family—which may not be a real family—dresses up kids in American clothes and pays them to provoke IDF troops on camera. This cynical and cruel use of children constitutes abuse. Human rights organizations must investigate! https://t.co/Pm5nXhcbo0 via @wallanews— Michael Oren (@DrMichaelOren) December 19, 2017
Thanks Joe. I read Michael Oren’s Six Days of War a few years ago. It’s written with the same degree of intelligence and insight as his slander of the Tamimi family.
Hasbarites will be doing overtime trying to put this particular fire out.
my uncle Rushdi Tamimi who was murdered by Israeli soldiers a year ago. i'll never forget you.😪 pic.twitter.com/D3CmNjwKOp— Ahed Tamimi (@AhedALTamimi) December 1, 2015
The way they operate is to simply flood selected sites with pro-Israeli comments and simply drown any chance of rational discussion. Some of them come across as reasonable and intelligent, but most of them are simply savage and bloody-minded. One of the very worst is our own WAYNE MAPP, who just posted this choice morsel over on Kiwiblog the other day:
The West Bank is subject to an occupation governed by international law.
I have been anerlise the way the state is treating eco and how the neo liberals have been treating US for the last 9 years. I have come to this conclusion that the reason that New Zealand had the highest standards of living in the World in the 50 60 is because these neo liberal bigots stole OUR land trough deceit and when it suited them they made laws to justify this theft they also used deceit to cover up this theft using the media to set public persicption that all the land transfered/stolen was honest and legal YEA RIGHT They used the farcical Court system they set up to steal land how do I know this well they are using the courts to suppress me. It was fate that Maori had Sir Apirana Ngata to slow down the neo liberals theft of Maoris assets he had a lot of land put into trust to protect Maori assets he layed the plans for most of the Marae. And I say we should use OUR Marae more houseing the home less as they are doing in Auckland this will be much cheaper than using motels ass the motelers are price gouging we need to use OUR Marae much more use it or we will lose them . I see a lot of run down Marare. We need to uterlise OUR Marae to UNITE all Maori as one people and one voice if New Zealand first can be Queen maker with 8% of the vote than Maori can directly control who becomes Queen /King
As we have at least 20 % of the population and we could unite with our closes cultures in New Zealand OUR Pacific Islands cousin we will have 30% of the vote we are very very close on a lot of thing genetically culturely Maori migrated from the Pacific Islands 100s of years ago we have the same bad stats in NZ so What is good for Maori can be beneficial to our Pacific Islands cousin. This is not a mountainieos task but the neo liberals will pull all the dirty tricks out of there evil bag to stop this IE change laws propergader through MSM and social media any way they can dream up to fight US from ripping there greedy hands off the leavers that Run OUR Society. In OUR NZ society we could all have jobs that pay good money so one only has to work 40 hours a week to live comfortably the only reason we do not have that now is the greedy neo liberal don’t want to shear they cheat us on the reality of there state systems as being honest and humble and humane YEA RIGHT the state system are set to severe the 1% and this is the reason why OUR worlds has so much poverty the neo liberals are still pillaging Africa. I know that OUR African cousins are going to correct this an rip there leavers of control from the neo liberals and share there great resources more humane and fearly I see that happening now.
The main cultural we need to have when we get OUR Mana back is to respect our neighbours help our neighbours and everyone can live a long and peaceful prosperous life. It is dum to try and kick our neighbours and cheat them when we get our Mana back. Just because there te puna did it to us as it will turn into a dum ass shit fight. And we want New Zealand to be a humane humble helping environmental sustainabil society. We will help OUR Pacific Islands cousin servive climate change with technology and resources we are obliged to do this. Not to just exploit them like shonky has done. PS with what little I know about the subject it looks like block chain could replace money.
Ka kite ano
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While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously.The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
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tis Christmas Eve, so wishing you all a happy Christmas.
We are doing our traditional Christmas “thing” with family – generally eating too much ham and turkey and playing old board games. (ed substitute that for a turnip if that make you more comfortable).
Hope 2018 goes better for those of you who have had a poor 2017, and for those who had a good 2017 – may 2018 exceed it.
Monopoly, no doubt.
I went for whole baked salmon, stuffed with apricots, red onions, and sweet chili sauce, covered in couscous (to keep the moisture in).
I am the main cook this year – it’s at my sister’s house but she’s too exhausted.
I’m looking forward to the animal charm my Ford-obsessed bogal brother and his squad of Bodeans are going to exert over my Victorian mother-in-law.
Rose Slushies Forever!
Sounds stunning. Pretty easy to keep them moist. Enjoy.
Merry Christmas James. Hope you and your family have a good festive break. See you in 2018, for more fun political debate.
I see the US ambassador to Netherlands is lying about his lies.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/100155998/donald-trumps-new-ambassador-to-the-netherlands-caught-lying-about-his-own-lies
Many thanks to Valerie Adams for being a great role model for all the Lady’s around OUR WORLD to aspire to and the best thing is that she brown. I admire that you and your brother show the rest of the World the good humble humane Kiwi nature and use have come from humble beginning Kai kaha
“And the best thing is that she is brown”.
That shouldn’t have anything to do with anything.
The fact that she is being a good role model is the only thing that matters. it’s nice that you applaud her and acknowledge the fact – but it’s not a skin colour issue.
I guess you’ve swallowed the post-racial Kool-aid but it is a skin colour thing, James.
Young brown women are interested in the put because they identify with Dame Valerie in the same way young Pākehā women are interested pole vaulting, because they identify with Eliza McCartney.
So the best thing about Adams is that she is brown Joe 90 ?
No kook aid here. I can see the person (and there is no doubt she is an amazing person ) not her colour.
Silly question james but what percentage of advertising images of women are brown? What percentage of newspaper articles talk about brown women in a positive light?
Maybe, in a world where the dominate media did portray people of all colours and races in a equal amount the we could be colour blind. Until then, brown roll modes are somthing aspire to, when most of the images and stories are of white women.
Of course not. But In the context of eco maori’s comment about Adams and inspiration, the folk most in need of inspiration in our society are young Māori and PI women and because just like me is a thing, Dame Valerie’s skin colour does matter to them.
James go piss in the wind somewhere else you have been trying to get me to ingage in your neo liberal dum ass views for a while. I have no time to waste on you Ana to kai
No I havnt – in fact the only replies I can remember sending to you were when you were convinced that people were following you etc, and I very politely and with respect suggested you talk to somebody.
Calling you up on racist statements isnt “neo liberal dum ass views” – its calling you up for “dum ass” racist statements.
Eco maori, I often agree with what you are saying but in this instance – I am not. You are inferring that not only is it “best” for Mrs Adams that she is brown – does it really matter if her efforts have got her there, she could have stripes for all that matters – and to this end that the rest of the world are not good humble human beings.
You might want to look at rephrasing this because this is so not like you.
Merry Christmas, Noel, Frohe Weihnacht, Buon Natale, peace on earth.
I no who needs there Wairua lifted in the most in OUR beautiful country foreign waka I stand by what I have Written Kai kaha
Apologies Valerie I forgot to Congratulat you for your new baby I was looking after my blue eye mokos who is my Paua I had planned to mention that first Ka pai
This is one outstanding dance accompaniment to Uptown Funk, all interconnected with 1930s,1940s and 1950s dance numbers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1F0lBnsnkE
Brilliant!
Thanks for this clip Ad (4) … I’m of the vintage being able to remember when I saw some of these great musicals. Oh to be able to move like that. Dancing at its very best.
I have seen a dance clip of a young adult Michael Jackson tap dancing with a couple of other guys. Boy oh boy he was up there with the best of the song and dance performers. An amazing and incredible talent lost to the musical world. RIP Michael.
just came across this and have nothing to add to but a a yeah, sadly so, might 2018 bring about much needed change, but i highly doubt. No guts, no glory – it seems it affects our politicians across the spectrum.
https://imgur.com/ZnFshU4
Merry Christmas everybody, to all in this forum. How great that ideas and comments can be shared without getting too much out of hand 🙂
Have a safe and successful New Year.
What Will It Really Take to Avoid Collapse?
My bold.
Proof that physical limits don’t go away just because technology advances.
Oh, and that Malthus was right.
Go Harry!
The Jill Stein attacks are just the rebirth McCarthyism. 18 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30WkhbtWvXs&ab_channel=TheJimmyDoreShow
Unfortunately Jill, HRC’s loss means the Republican chaired congressional committees, the Republican headed DOJ, FBI, NSA ,CIA, and the Republican Special Counsel can have at it. Idiot.
/
Jill Stein: ‘Clinton Democrats’ Dragged Me Into Russia Probe as ‘Punishment’ For 2016 Run
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/jill-stein-clinton-democrats-dragged-me-into-russia-probe-as-punishment-for-2016-run/
Even your own link does not say what you are saying joe90.
The headline says what you want, but the piece underneath doesn’t.
So more of the same from you Joe90, this alt-right methodology. Maybe you should just run with breitbart, it seems to be your play book at the moment.
Nah. I’m with the Russian Greens.
After your visit to Moscow and your meeting with Vladimir Putin you said that “the world deserve[s] a new commitment to collaborative dialogue between our governments to avert disastrous wars for geopolitical domination, destruction of the climate, and cascading injustices that promote violence and terrorism.” We agree with you. But how can this new “collaborative dialogue” be possible when Mr. Putin has deliberately built a system based on corruption, injustice, falsification of elections, and violation of human rights and international law? How is it possible to have a discussion with Mr. Putin and not mention, not even once, the fate of Russian political prisoners, or the attacks against Russian journalists, artists, and environmentalists? Is it fair to speak with him about “geopolitics” and not mention new Russian laws against freedom of speech, restrictions on NGOs and activists, or the shameful law that forbids “homosexual propaganda”?
By silencing Putin’s crimes you are silencing our struggle. By shaking his hand and failing to criticize his regime you are becoming his accomplice. By forgetting what international solidarity means you are insulting the Russian environmental movement.
https://pplswar.wordpress.com/2016/09/07/russian-greens-open-letter-to-jill-stein/
WOW, just wow.
So you have not listened to a word Jill Stein has said have you, for someone who professes to hate misogynists – that’s a bit sexist is it not?
That said, what have the Russian greens ever done, except attack Jill Stein? It’s not a very accomplished or comprehensive list. Hard to find much on them. This
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Ecological_Party_%22The_Greens%22
Mmm so tools for propaganda purposes then, seems you had another breitbart moment joe90.
Perhaps you could point to the connections between the letter’s signatories, Yevgeniya Chirikova and Nadezda Kutepova, and the Russian Ecological Party.
You said greens.
So the individuals are not part of the russian green party?
So why say greens?
Environmentalists who espouse green values and principles aren’t greens…..righto….
/
JIll Stein is the leader of the American Green party. You said Russian Greens – in capitals I might add, which to a lay person like me took to mean it came from a political party. Rather than individuals who hold green values.
Your implication also said all the Greens in Russia, rather than two individuals.
Or were you just implying it came from a political party to counter Stein being a member and leader of the American Greens?
You lost me at this point.
So your basic argument is, Stien is evil and a russian tool – and look I have two people who agree with me.
In the meantime, the whole prosecution of the left carries on, with people like you enabling the new McCarthyism.
Have a great day tomorrow.
Arguing intent over a capitalisation, whatevers. but in my world espousing green values and principles means they’re greens.
And FYI, a congressional committee looking into Stein’s hobnobbing with Flynn, a convicted criminal and potential traitor, and a murderous thug ain’t McCarthyism.
Really joe90 – guilt by association (one dinner), with no other evidence.
Who died and made you Stalin?
Insults are all you’ve got?
Weak.
The issue isn’t the picture.
The issue is: what was the event, and who paid for Flynn’s attendance. And basic diligence says to ask the same questions about any other us political figure at the event.
Now, the repugs will try and beat up Stein over this, but I suspect that unlike Flynn she took care to do everything legally (e.g. paid her own way rather than accepting gifts from Russians, avoid making foreign policy commitments to strange men).
This is a good read, and has links to answer your question McFlock.
http://www.gp.org/mccarthyite_campaign
One tactic used by proponents of Neoliberalism is the weaponizing of language; a prime example being “welfare dependency.” Here’s a snappy little deconstruction of the term from NZ Council of Christian Social Services site:
“Welfare dependency is an ill-defined concept that is often referred to without any attempt to explain what it means. It implies that welfare benefits are some kind of “drug” that people in poverty are addicted to and the only cure is withdrawal!”
http://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/fact-6-making-life-hell-on-a-benefit-does-not-reduce-poverty/
http://nzccss.org.nz/work/poverty/facts-about-poverty/
Nice one!
If the beneficiaries & poor are the “addicts” then neoliberalism is the “drug syndicates” that created the dependency and thrive on it; money is the “drug”, of course. In other words, as long as there’s neoliberalism there is and will be (a need for) social welfare as we know it. Dissolve the former and the latter will evaporate with it.
+100 Incognito
my ex knows exactly how much she can earn before it affects her income support (wff in her case) and turns down work if it will take her over , sounds dependant to me.
No, that is oppression, by the State and sanctioned by (our) society.
bull , she turns down work to get free money , people do it from rich to poor , how you solve it i don’t know , probably a ubi
If she’s getting wff, I suspect a better description is because of the abatement of wff, combined with income tax, and possibly extra expenses to do with working extra hours, means she gets so little extra in the hand from extra hours of work that it’s just not worth it to her. That’s a different scenario than “turns down work to get free money”.
she went from a permanent part time job to a job that can easily have a cashy bit to it , i livetd with her 12 years i know how she thinks , lefties need to stop dreaming that every one on the benefit is doing there best to be self supporting , ( by the way yes i pay her money every week , plus provide for my kid in other ways and have her 3 nights a week , no i get no wff)
No, she turns down extra hours to avoid being unfairly penalised.
It’s only called free money by rabid haters who frequent newswinge ZB. It’s actually a tax rebate protected by law to recognise the often high costs of raising children.
Exactly the same a back in the days of Muldoon and the tax rates then. In a job I had in ’82 I had to be very careful how much overtime I worked or I went up a tax bracket (36 – 45% I think, been to sleep a few times since then). Nett effect was that if I worked two Saturday mornings a fortnight I got less in the hand than if I had just worked 5 days. One had me just under the threshold by a couple of dollars.
That was actually working as indented to a large degree. Back in those days the government had a policy of full employment and policies like Penal Rates and high taxes to enforce it.
Basically, the government had rules to make it better to employ someone else rather than have people work longer.
But there was also another aspect of that that you’re not mentioning: Back then people also had to fill in a tax return every year. You may have gone up to the higher tax bracket over a week but if that only happened a time or two then, at the end of the year when you filed your tax return, you’d get a large part of it back because over the year you weren’t in the higher tax bracket.
I’m very much in favour of getting everyone to fill in their tax returns every year again.
Yeah, tax return time was nice but it really pissed me off at the time. I was a leading hand on the job so really had to be there, and was earning a bit more for the responsibility, so it affected me but not the other guys.
And it would have been great if we could have got more staff, there were three major projects going on in Marlbrough then, so no spare construction staff, and no accomodation either. Contractors tried bringing in staff from around the country but they couldn’t find anywhere to live. I was living in the nurses home for a while, not ideal living on hospital food when you’re doing heavy physical work, and various pubs, again not ideal long term, and eventually found something to rent.
Would have loved to have had a 40 hr job then, it was a nice place, but didn’t really have the option because all the other contractors were in the same position.
I used to work a casual job with a flatmate. She had to do a three hour stretch before she broke even with the allowance abatement. She did it just to keep her hand in, not because she ended up working for significantly less than minimum wage over the entire shift.
That’s “dependency” in the same way that prison is “reluctance to travel”.
could she have worked more , i know alot on benefits want off , but not all, there are deffinately people who structure their life to maximize the what they can get , knowingly or not that makes them dependant because they are unwilling or unable to wean them selves off.,
No. It was casual, at the behest of the roster-keeper.
Like most people on a benefit, if she could have had a decent job, she would have. Maybe your ex is one of the exceptions, who could have worked 40/wk with a decent income but chose to stay on a benefit.
But seriously, dealing with abatements, having the call centre fuck up the details and take forever to give you the pay they fucked up and underpaid (after you spent ages on hold with them), or getting threatening letters because they fucked up and didn’t process the abatement properly and decided that you were committing benefit fraud – all for an additional amount that barely covers transport and parking costs to get to the bloody job… That’s the decision a lot of people face, and I don’t begrudge them whatever they choose.
i don’t begrudge the ex , if she wants to live poor thats her choice . i just think dependancy on the state is real ,and her case proves it, the state will be part of the problem , but until people admit that it has made people dependant then they are part of the problem to .
I think calling them “dependant” artificially restricts consideration of the issue.
The issue is that the transition from benefit to work is a massive barrier for a huge number of reasons, and if the reward for crossing that barrier isn’t enough to live in dignity, a very small proportion of the unemployed population will say “why bother”. I can’t say I’d blame them for that.
But the vast majority really want work, a decent job that they’d give a decent effort at. But they get stuck going from dead-end job to dead-end job, back on the dole in the meantime until the next exploitative and systematically temporary job comes up.
Not to mention a 13 week stand down for someone who quits a job.
Even if it is inadequate hours, wages or the employer is bullying them to the stage their health is being affected.
Perhaps you don’t appreciate how difficult it is to run a household with children as well as working 40 hours per week.
Bringing up children is work.
One of the most necessary and useful jobs there is.
Meanwhile, on Earth, poverty makes people dependent, and poverty is a matter of economics, not choice.
Her (i.e. your ex) choices are severely limited by the so-called social welfare system with its controlling bureaucracy that has been set up and institutionalised by the State. It is cruel, it is unjust, it is prolonged, it is burdensome and it is through/by the authority of the State; to me these are all hallmarks of oppression. Regardless of the (‘victim’) label, it is not a situation that should be advocated and continued and a proper UBI may go a long way to a more just solution.
It’s not free money – it’s tax payers money.
No, it’s a portion of her tax returned to her.
She’s a tax payer.
No, that’s poorly designed systems.
A well designed system would have it so that it didn’t matter how much she earned.
She should be able to better her situation for 3 months before the deductions start, and they should be at a reasonable pace to allow a full transition. IMO
The links are excellent too – worth following.
Nipped out at dawn, caught a big kingfish, gutted and filleted him on the beach, smoked him in the backyard, we ate him for lunch with homemade mayo, lashings of butter, and a big crusty loaf washed down with artisan cider. Life is good. Nap time!
Nice job. I’ve never had luck (or skill) catching kingfish – but love them.
Sounds like a great start to Christmas.
Enjoy.
O for awesome!
My salmon flew up from Stewart Island yesterday.
mmmm salmon wings
Don’t have the fish (not that means much to me as eating fish makes me sick) but we do have home made:
Mead
Honey liqueur
Brandy
Coffee liqueur
Spicy orange liqueur
And a few more.
I’m not so sure it is the fish that is making you sick.
Not when I look at that list.
😆
On the question of being crook on consumption, respect for your experience Alwyn.
What about egg nog? Bah humbug
How did the kingfish die ? Did you or someone else kill it or did it die a slow death ashore or in a boat ?
We beat it to death with a plastic spoon.
The usual way is a quick slice of the spinal cord below the head.
It seems many on this site have little interest in animal welfare.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cif-green/2010/sep/14/fish-forgotten-victims
Stayed at Urapukapuka Island one summer, we used to nip out early for a few snapper, 20 minutes max, then we’d be back to barbecue them with Mum’s special seasoning, YUM
Nipped out at dawn, caught a big kingfish, gutted and filleted him on the beach, smoked him in the backyard, we are him for lunch with homemade mayo, lashings of butter, and a big crusty loaf washed down with artisan cider, and Jacinda is still PM. Life is good. Nap time!
Sanctuary, Shades of my childhood.
Wars usually have their origin when participants start lying to themselves
From the Herald
“With unusual fanfare, President Donald Trump unveiled a new National Security Strategy last week that cast China and Russia as competitors for global power and potential threats to the United States.”
Quote
“China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity,” the document states. “They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence.”
It is the USA government that is making their economy less free and fair – ending net neutrality (blocking access to some sites may result) and undermining health care for all while handing out tax cuts to the advantaged ion their society.
And yes, spending more on their military.
The US government with its surveillance programmes and covert targeting operations does as much as would be expected of any empire to suppress opposition.
It’s opposition to free trade is based on America first and undermining the prosperity of other nations.
Total hypocrisy. And such big lies lead to division, contention and ultimately war.
A more accurate and helpful description would be to call them “projections”. They are taken as ‘real’ and ‘true’ without realisation of their origin and affect.
If you would like to know where I’m coming from, the following is a good read, for a number of reasons: https://globalfreedommovement.org/carl-jung-shadow-of-the-far-left/
There are more links here: https://thestandard.org.nz/shaking-the-tree/#comment-1424842 [HT to greywarshark ]
Thanks, the word projection leads onto … projection and transference …
I no the muppets take Christmas and Easter off this has been going on for a few years. They must not have anything better to do A. I no they are pissed that national lost they are getting put the good honest standards that OUR new coalition government expects of all state employees. The retired ones are losing there PE testing gravy train that one who intimidated that boy locking up making him go to Australia well he is retired now Ka pai there is much more going on behind the seens. There job is to serve us not intimidat us and use us.
Labour knows that they interfear in the election smearing Phil Geoff. I reckon that all political parties should have gray as there colour so the police don’t automatically support national some people can be influenced just by colour
Ana to kai
Compliments of the season to all contributors to TS.
My wish for 2018 is that we are governed more by the heart and not the wallet. Let’s hope for a much kinder and caring year, particularly towards those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Kia kaha.
Above all else I wish you all good health, the real wealth. Those who are struggling with a long term condition, may you find help and peace. Seasons Greetings.
Erdogan tightens his hold.
SCANDAL! Those beastly unarmed Palestinian
women are slapping our brave Israeli soldiers.
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2017/12/22/from-children-of-the-stone-to-women-of-the-smack-a-one-step-plan-to-end-the-israeli-occupation/
Her name is Ahed al Tamimi.
Israeli education minister Naftali Bennett reckons she should be sent to prison for life and professor of Jewish history Micheal Oren says because Ahed has blue eyes, her and her family aren’t a real family.
#AhedTamimi
Thanks Joe. I read Michael Oren’s Six Days of War a few years ago. It’s written with the same degree of intelligence and insight as his slander of the Tamimi family.
Hasbarites will be doing overtime trying to put this particular fire out.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRaMD_HW0AAf67_.jpg
The way they operate is to simply flood selected sites with pro-Israeli comments and simply drown any chance of rational discussion. Some of them come across as reasonable and intelligent, but most of them are simply savage and bloody-minded. One of the very worst is our own WAYNE MAPP, who just posted this choice morsel over on Kiwiblog the other day:
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/12/the_nasty_bds_crowd_target_lorde.html/comment-page-1#comment-2104642
” The West Bank is subject to an occupation governed by international law”
Fucking bullshit Wayne
Bradbury’s Christmas Wish List:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/12/24/what-i-want-for-christmas/
Very altruistic. Personally I’ll settle for a
Lamborghini, a pair of supermodels, and a private yachthouse in AucklandI’ll settle 4 a lotto win
I have been anerlise the way the state is treating eco and how the neo liberals have been treating US for the last 9 years. I have come to this conclusion that the reason that New Zealand had the highest standards of living in the World in the 50 60 is because these neo liberal bigots stole OUR land trough deceit and when it suited them they made laws to justify this theft they also used deceit to cover up this theft using the media to set public persicption that all the land transfered/stolen was honest and legal YEA RIGHT They used the farcical Court system they set up to steal land how do I know this well they are using the courts to suppress me. It was fate that Maori had Sir Apirana Ngata to slow down the neo liberals theft of Maoris assets he had a lot of land put into trust to protect Maori assets he layed the plans for most of the Marae. And I say we should use OUR Marae more houseing the home less as they are doing in Auckland this will be much cheaper than using motels ass the motelers are price gouging we need to use OUR Marae much more use it or we will lose them . I see a lot of run down Marare. We need to uterlise OUR Marae to UNITE all Maori as one people and one voice if New Zealand first can be Queen maker with 8% of the vote than Maori can directly control who becomes Queen /King
As we have at least 20 % of the population and we could unite with our closes cultures in New Zealand OUR Pacific Islands cousin we will have 30% of the vote we are very very close on a lot of thing genetically culturely Maori migrated from the Pacific Islands 100s of years ago we have the same bad stats in NZ so What is good for Maori can be beneficial to our Pacific Islands cousin. This is not a mountainieos task but the neo liberals will pull all the dirty tricks out of there evil bag to stop this IE change laws propergader through MSM and social media any way they can dream up to fight US from ripping there greedy hands off the leavers that Run OUR Society. In OUR NZ society we could all have jobs that pay good money so one only has to work 40 hours a week to live comfortably the only reason we do not have that now is the greedy neo liberal don’t want to shear they cheat us on the reality of there state systems as being honest and humble and humane YEA RIGHT the state system are set to severe the 1% and this is the reason why OUR worlds has so much poverty the neo liberals are still pillaging Africa. I know that OUR African cousins are going to correct this an rip there leavers of control from the neo liberals and share there great resources more humane and fearly I see that happening now.
The main cultural we need to have when we get OUR Mana back is to respect our neighbours help our neighbours and everyone can live a long and peaceful prosperous life. It is dum to try and kick our neighbours and cheat them when we get our Mana back. Just because there te puna did it to us as it will turn into a dum ass shit fight. And we want New Zealand to be a humane humble helping environmental sustainabil society. We will help OUR Pacific Islands cousin servive climate change with technology and resources we are obliged to do this. Not to just exploit them like shonky has done. PS with what little I know about the subject it looks like block chain could replace money.
Ka kite ano