The Southland Times editorial this morning, “A glaring need for answers” begins,
“The Government needs to order a full investigation into a New Zealand led raid on two tiny villages in Afghanistan in 2010”, and later adds, “Prime Minister Bill English should order a proper inquiry”.
“The soldier told the Herald the two people found shot dead were killed by NZSAS marksmen who believed they were acting under “Rules of Engagement” governing their actions on the battlefield.”
woahs… “The soldier said it was not the only situation in which there had been civilian casualties from a NZSAS operation and which the soldiers blamed on faulty US-sourced intelligence.”
yes it totally seems like a coverup, the last sentence in the Herald article is very telling.
“He said (the SAS soldier) he did not know why the civilians casualties had not been made public. “Whatever decision was made to suppress that was made higher.”
Personally I am so sick and tired of the lies from those in positions of power in our country.
Imagine you are a deal-making Prime Minister intent on currying favour with a powerful “ally”, and it was looking likely that any independent inquiry would result in substantial criticism of said ally, plus you just committed a war crime?
What would you not do, as this deal-making Prime Minister?
Good to hear, bravo Deborah Manning, Rodney Harrison QC and Richard McLeod.
“The law firm says it has asked Attorney General Chris Finlayson and Prime Minister Bill English to clarify what happened as they say that “every day there’s a different version” of events.”
I wonder what excuse we will hear from the outgoing PM today. Apparently he is waiting for his morbidly obese Minister of Defence to return. How bigger hole can they dig for themselves?
They are gutless if they can’t stand up to the Defence Force, if I were them I would immediately engage in an independent inquiry, maybe even going so far as to put a few of the big boys on leave until it is cleared up. Maybe even suspend all of Keys ‘benefits’ as well until it’s sorted.
At the very least the outgoing government needs to stop denying the collateral damage.
“Let us test, says oil industry” – Front page, The Southland Times.
They only want to test, so Southlanders should relax; dolphins won’t be harmed, . Judith Collins “reiterated the Government’s commitment to the dolphins”.
“it’s often a 70 to 75 % chance of finding nothing”, says Big Oil.
Don’t worry, Southland; jobs, home heating.
I refuse to believe that down the bottom they will fall for this bullshit – times are always tough down there – the jobs line is really pathetic and weak. Come on Murihiku.
Do the links prevent you from addressing the content?
Your comments indicate a belief in monsanto and GMO as ‘science’…moreover,you endorse it
As an aside, being that you capacity for thought is limited, illustrated by your own words…it is no surprise the best you can offer is to slate Asleepwhilewalking, personally while ignoring the content in the links…
I’m pointing it out because you’re scared so you project….evolve or don’t, that’s your choice
Glyphosate has been used so widely and in such volumes for decades, that i am confident that any significant link to cancer would have emerged regularly on sites more credible than this. Things like the Lancet, BMJ, NEJM, JAMA
The conversation is wider than one constituent part
Confidence tricks have existed since early times…
Many have fortified the ability to understand when their confidence is a false sense of security…then ego prevents them from admitting it and moving on in a meaningful way
OK, let’s address the content the nutbar activist site links to. It consists of a couple of cancer sufferers who were convinced that glyphosate gave them cancer, and some evidence of dodgy dealings by Monsanto of the kind that for-profit organisations tend to be noted for.
Against that, we have the fact that glyphosate is one of the most-tested chemicals ever to be sold and every major regulator has come to the conclusion that it’s safe when used as directed (at which point we should note that water and all other chemicals are likewise only safe “when used as directed”).
Which of these is more persuasive? Well, it depends on the extent to which your capacity for rational thought has been debilitated by exposure to nutbar activist web sites, but for the record it’s the second one.
Vision is not a strong suit for too many people, including yourself…
The wider and indisputable problem is the merging of so called government agencies, with corporations. Essentially they are one and the same thing, having been enabled using various tecniques like ‘revolving door’ and ‘lobbying’
Bias (among other flaws) hinders your ability to observe at levels required to evaluate the core issues, you turn to insults…because that is your default level..
So, you’re proposing a massive conspiracy that involves many of the world’s scientists and regulatory agencies, and my skepticism that such a conspiracy exists is an artifact of bias and a lack of vision. I think we’re done here.
That is precisely the response (interpretation) I expected…because it is how you self protect…
…by ignoring what is an obvious and decades long exposė of corporate and state collusion in some of the most ethically and morally bankrupt activities carried out against humanity and all living beings…
Such exposė is readily searchable on ‘mainstream’ establishment vehicles…
Look into it…or don’t it’s your own stunted existence which others get to tolerate…
Yes excellent book j’Accuse……..but in yesterday’s events it appears a lone nutter with no terrorist links ran 3 people over then stabbed a policeman. It’s hardly Twin Towers stuff. Talk about media hype.
nope. It suggests that the powers of arrest in terrorist investigations are pretty bloody extreme.
See how many charges come out of it. Then how many convictions, and for what. After the Boston Bombing most, if any, were related to panicking after the event that they didn’t know would happen. Not to mention the ones arrested for being in the vicinity while Arab.
Hey, the seven arrested this time might have helped him plan the attack, buy a knife, and so on. But equally, the most any of them knew could be that the dude kept mouthing off about doing “something” and they just thought he was a blowhard.
Or they happened to be in the wrong place at the time.
Agreed McFlock and Psycho. The wave of arrests perpetuates the terrorist hype. Nothing I’ve heard suggests these 7 people were part of some massive conspiracy; just people the guy associated with.
As a consequence I suspect that I’m going to have to deal up with the usual gormless anti-immigrant bigots today who are appear to be too stupid to look past those selective headline ‘facts’.
It’s neither gormless nor bigoted to draw conclusions from this about the wisdom of allowing large-scale Muslim immigration into western democracies. This particular Muslim was born in Britain – all that says to me is that the British were mugs to create the situation in which that occurred. As an ethnic Brit myself, it annoys the fuck out of me to see the Guardian or BBC reporting that a “Briton” has been killed fighting for Da’esh in Syria – those guys are about as “British” as a taco.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I don’t see the distinction. It simply doesn’t make any frigging difference if the problem is east-end crime in the 1950s, incompetent ‘mercenaries’ in the 1970s, drug dealing gangs, or various actions by the children of immigrants in post war years.
FFS: I can easily find exactly the same stupid ill-informed and ignorant bullshit you are sprouting when I read the commentary about Huguenots or Dutch refugees in previous centuries.
The problem is groups who don’t feel connected for one reason or another to the society they are inside, and who attack it for their own benefits and reasons for some manner or another.
I’d also point out that you appear to know fuckall about Islam – and like you I’m not going to be bothered explaining my assumptions about why.
I know plenty about Islam, you just dislike the conclusions I’ve drawn from that knowledge.
And I don’t recall reading about Huguenots mounting terrorist attacks because they were ideologically opposed to the country they’d settled in – the fact is that there is a distinction.
I’d take a bet that I can take any argument that you use for Islam, and apply EXACTLY the same argument for Christianity of some branch or another doing the same things somewhere in the world and history.
There were a lot of complaints about the Huguenots trying to get England involved in a internal religious battle in another country. Many of those activities involved what was defined as terrorism by both the government of the time in both countries. There were some pretty authoritarian actions by the british government of the time trying to stop them doing it. Your definition of the citizens of Britian going and fighting for ISIL is EXACTLY the same. Is it just that you are comfortable with Christians doing that, or you really need to read (and understand) some more history.
I’d point out that I’m quite irreligious. I have a great respect for the odd people I run across who can have faith and live within the precepts of those faiths. But generally I treat all religions as being inherently dangerous when they are used as an excuse by dangerous bigots, populists or the dispossessed of society.
Consequently I can’t see any difference between the morons professing an allegiance to Islam and Christianity, or oft times with you as well.
An intelligent person can take any position and argue for it, that’s what debating’s all about. But fuck history – this isn’t the 17th Century, or even the 1930s, the religion that is a serious threat to enlightenment values in the present day is Islam, not Christianity or any other variant of religious superstition. And it’s all the more dangerous because it’s fundamentally illiberal out-of-the-box – no distortions or additions are required to make it toxic to liberal democracy. People who won’t face that are naive, wilfully ignorant or deliberately disingenuous.
…the religion that is a serious threat to enlightenment values in the present day is Islam, not Christianity or any other variant of religious superstition.
Obviously not the case just on the face of it. They simply don’t have the capabilities. Just think about what is required to take out any civilization or ethos. It only happens with crushing defeat and destruction or an partisan internal civil war of some kind or an argument that changes the paradigms of society. For instance in my lifetime on the latter – the role of women, homosexuality, and the lessons of the NZ civil war started in the 1860s come to mind.
So Pakistan has a couple of nukes. Not exactly a threat on the death and destruction side (maybe worth considering if you are in India). At least not compared to the thought of some idiot fundamentalist protestant in the US or a fundamentalist Russian orthodox or Donald Trump getting unrestricted access to the stockpiles of nukes in the US or Russia.
Offhand I can’t think of any partisan civil war triggered by immigrants with inferior technology. Even the recent historic invasions of here, the Americas required the immigrants to have far superior technology.
What historical analogy are you considering? The Mongols? The Huns?
And if a society isn’t capable of defending its ideas or assimilating external ideas, then you’d have to ask exactly how well it was founded.
Or are you simply being a simple bigot throwing up clash of civilisations idea with no fucking basis for it having happened in the recent past. Which is kind of where I suspect you are.
In NZ, I have heard the exact type of simple-minded alarmist nonsense in my life-time with Paheka, Irish, Dutch, Polynesians, South Africans, Chinese and bloody Poms. In fact it is hard to enumerate the number of times I’ve heard your EXACT argument expressed both in past history, recent history, or my lifetime with absolutely no basis behind it apart from the simple bigotry of the human tribal hardwiring for being scared of the stranger. Hell I’ve heard it expressed about geeks like me.
You don’t count anything that isn’t an existential threat as a threat? The fact that it’s a threat we can deal with easily if enough people decide secular liberalism is worth defending doesn’t make it a non-threat.
What historical analogy are you considering?
Too many to count, mostly involving Christianity, because that was the chief opponent of enlightenment values until recently. These days it’s a trivial opponent, but that wasn’t true historically. Now, having finally dealt with that opponent after centuries of conflict, we’re inviting in an even tougher one – it’s moronic and we shouldn’t be doing it.
Or are you simply being a simple bigot throwing up clash of civilisations idea with no fucking basis for it having happened in the recent past. Which is kind of where I suspect you are.
Assuming someone must be an arsehole because they disagree with you isn’t a good way either of testing or of improving your own opinions.
As a pretty enthusiastic atheist, I will take Muslim immigrants over Christian ones any day of the week, especially the ones not already from liberal democracies, as they actually understand the alternative to secularism and don’t want a bar of it. They might have some culture shocks getting used to the exact nature of society here, or not knowing all of the rights they’re getting, but that’s the same for anyone changing regime types, it’s not particular to Muslims, and there are actually similar shocks for those immigrating from the UK and USA, as their laws are getting increasingly draconian.
Anyone who’s cool with secular democracy, liberalism, and non-discrimination should be allowed in, I don’t care WHERE they’re from. And there’s no good evidence that Muslims are any worse than any other group- in fact, if we want to be wary of regressive religious views, we should be looking at restricting immigration for all religious conservatives, but good luck selling that to the National Party.
You don’t seem to get that the opponent isn’t the people who genuinely want in to more liberal democracies, it’s the people who are getting bombed overseas. We don’t need to touch immigration policy to deal with that, we need to not participate in US wars of aggression, and we need to use leverage to advocate for innocent civilians.
Plenty of muslims in Auckland from quite a lot of locations, Like every other group, I work with them (I’m in IT – we have everyone), occasionally argue with them, and have a vast level of amusement when they discuss their preconceptions with others.
You haven’t seen anything until you see a cross purposes discussion between a strong muslim and a fundamentalist christian who has a short creationist timeframe.
Personally I don’t notice much difference between any immigrants based on their religions or usually from their countries of origin. For instance a muslim pakistani who migrated here will usually seem more rational to me than many of the English from the UK with their rather strange expectations about how NZ should be.
But I’m a native Aucklander – I’m used to immigrants. I see more real differences when I hit provincial NZ and suddenly find those strange inherited class structures. Those differences always appeared more startling to me because of the strange twist of assumptions in people who were raised here as well.
Most of the Muslims I’ve met (and yes, plenty – more than you for sure) have been pleasant enough people too. It would be nice if that were in some way relevant to the discussion.
In europe, it seems it’s generally not the immigrant generation that gets radicalised. It’s the next generation, growing up in slums staring at a crap future, that seem to be the more common radicals.
Which points to the importance of maintaining a welcoming society. High levels of immigration that stretches our infrastructure and plausibly contributes to other problems like low wages and exploitation of workers is likely to test our ability to continue to make immigrants feel a welcome and valued part of society.
You’re absolutely right that we should stick to our actual capacity to take in new migrants. That’s sensible policy no matter your attitude on migration.
That said, I would point out that the phenomenon of radicalisation of the children of immigrants (or subsequent generations) is likely down to a confluence of factors. As you say, poverty could play a role, but so could structural racism, and so could foreign policy that looks insufficiently compassionate to people like them, in either race or religion, especially if it extends to actual wars.
So basically, the problem is never the immigration, as radicals are far more likely to be home-grown than actual immigrants, so you need to look at other policy areas to prevent radicalisation, and in the meantime, use good enforcement policies that hold the line between preventing attacks and not trampling on people’s liberties.
We also need to keep terrorism in perspective. There were accidents that killed more people than the London incident. It’s news, sure, but it’s a footnote. We’ve been panicking over terrorism for way too long for something that’s not fucking new anymore.
Assuming someone must be an arsehole because they disagree with you isn’t a good way either of testing or of improving your own opinions.
That is because you haven’t said anything about the source of your (to me) quite irrational fears.
I assume that anyone doing that and being unable to articulate the source of their assertions is hiding a nefarious reason. If you can’t articulate your assumptions then people can’t respond to them, and point out the mistakes that they think you are making.
The overwhelmingly most common reason I have run across for that kind of hidden motive assertion based behaviour in the past has been cases of simple bigotry. So I tend to start with that as the likely explanation until I find a reason to change my mind.
As a strategy, this usually works. It also certainly saves me considerable time trying to be nice as I weasel the real reasons out of people.
Besides, I really don’t like being nice. I think it is against my personal belief systems.
That is because you haven’t said anything about the source of your (to me) quite irrational fears.
What fears? A few weeks back there was a discussion here about the need to be vigilant against right-wing extremism, triggered by an event so trivial as to be ridiculous (a student group at UoA with a dodgy slogan). No-one wittered on about the people demanding vigilance being bigots or being afraid, because they weren’t – they just didn’t like extremist political groups getting mainstream acceptance. I don’t either, and people like Mr Mansoor give much better reasons for that dislike than some crackpot starting up a student group.
I assume that anyone doing that and being unable to articulate the source of their assertions is hiding a nefarious reason.
In what sense unable? Seeing as you immediately declared I must be ignorant of Islam, I assumed you must know a bit about it yourself and I therefore didn’t need to explain to you why it’s a problem. If you do need it explained, let me know. But the precis is that totalitarian ideologies tend to produce people you don’t want to have around, so encouraging adherents of that ideology to move to your country is a bad idea.
Posted similar a little while back. Radical Islamic terrorism is a threat. You have to be up front about that.
It’s just a vastly overblown threat that is used as a rationale by governments to do impressively world-scale dumb things, many of which undermine any superiority of virtue to Enlightenment ideals.
“As an ethnic Brit myself, it annoys the fuck out of me to see the Guardian or BBC reporting that a “Briton” has been killed fighting for Da’esh in Syria – those guys are about as “British” as a taco.”
that is such bullshit and so selectivly bigotted – ethnic brit ffs what a plonker
When does the melting pot actually melt? My father was English, loved being English from Bournemouth, very proud. When did the invasions and influences down there stop being them and instead became us. Is it generations, where you are born, die, grow, have kids, what you look like, what you believe? When?
It happened for your kin when are you going to allow other people the same privedge?
I recall one of those british crime dramas (morse/frost/whatever) where they asked the grieving widow if there was someone who could sit with her, like a neighbour. The response was “no, we’ve only lived here for three years”.
Ethnicity isn’t about being born somewhere – if it was there’d be upwards of 4 million “Maori” in Aotearoa. For my money, if some prick considers himself a member of the umma first, a Pakistani second, and British a distant third, if at all, there’s no point in me pretending he’s wrong.
English – stick to the point – so religion is one of the things you think is English and not English. Is it also that loyalty to the English group is lower than loyalty to some belief systems?
See? Your whole argument is bullshit mixed with bigotry. It’s okay many feel the same that’s why this world is fucked up.
Being a member of the umma is not the same as believing in a religion. Lip-service-only Muslims have no problem being British, but true believers have basically ruled it out.
Still, it’s good to know my kids can call themselves Maori because they were born here, I’m sure it will come in handy one day.
Well, what do you want? You call me a plonker for fondly imagining I have an ethnicity and people who don’t share it shouldn’t be pretended to share it, accuse me of bullshit and bigotry, and now claim the fact I gave you a snide answer says something about me. Actually, it does; a less-patient commenter would have told you to get fucked.
Ethnic brit makes more sense because English depends on political boundaries – enjoy debating with scots and welsh about the validity of modern boundaries. Ethnic brit says your biological heritage is primarily anglosaxon/northern European / norse/Anglo Norman/celtic/ Briton, with a pinch of Roman perhaps.
Whereas Maori can include Tariana Turia, Christian Cullen and Tony Brown.
Data on British population genetics suggest he could be <50% Anglo-Saxon.
"The majority of eastern, central and southern England is made up of a single, relatively homogeneous, genetic group with a significant DNA contribution from Anglo-Saxon migrations (10-40% of total ancestry). This settles a historical controversy in showing that the Anglo-Saxons intermarried with, rather than replaced, the existing populations."
So they are going to get rid of 26 mermaids, truckies will love that, those guys have the biggest safety impact of all but aren’t actually sworn police because of their specialist skill set. But the moves of a dying National government, damn the consequences, let’s look after our mates and keep those donations coming in.
Also big ups to the union, the Police Association, for calling them out on this.
Whenever a National government goes into a death spiral, they ram through as much nasty, self-serving crap as they can in the short time they have left. This is business as usual for them, given the circumstances.
Yeah, it’s sad, but also pleasing in a way that they have come to this stage.
Let’s see our loyal opposition call them out on this and get talking about how the problem should be solved, and that’s by resourcing the Police properly. And all the other services that are falling to bits.
In some respects yes, since A.C.T. and United Future, literally only exist in Parliament because Messrs Seymour (with no small amount of help from National) and Dunne won seats.
They barely got anything outside of these two electorates. Certainly not enough to get in on the Party vote.
Because of said absence of support – less than 1% combined, 47 + 1 = 48%, which last time I looked was not a majority.
“Whenever a National government goes into a death spiral, they ram through as much nasty, self-serving crap as they can in the short time they have left. This is business as usual for them, given the circumstances.”
Classic national, not only fiddle while she burns but chuck some fuel on in between tunes.
Heard of a commercial bus driver the other week struggling with the steering as it was obviously pulling…….he thanked the passenger who was going to report it as he’s had no luck getting it sorted in the brighter future.
Following logging trucks lately that weave about the road like drunken sailors.
“Bill English went to see Adele last night-Rumour has it, Adele buying exclusive Queenstown property and has citizenship sewn into the deal”
I liked the guy on Morning Report this AM who flew from Hawaii for the concert. Also I think they said 40 people flew from one of the pacific islands for the show.
This is very weird. This project would have been structured in the minutest detail to be released on time. Sure, sometimes projects run over but this one was visibly ahead of schedule. I drive past it several times a week and the structures around the tunnel were completed months ago. Pre-publicity stories about the tunnel also appeared months ago.
The Herald reported earlier this month that the new motorway was set to open in April, most likely the weekend of April 8 and 9.
I’ve got two theories: One, initial testing was completed at the designated time but the tunnel, on/off ramps, or traffic engineering model failed and they are now setting about either fixing what failed or getting another opinion that ensures it won’t fail, in true John Key style.
Two, the Nats have ordered the delay of the project so that it can be opened closer to the election thereby ensuring many thousands of temporarily happy Aucklanders vote for the status quo believing their transport woes have been addressed.
Number two is my preferred option.
A stonking big gridlock on election day to remind the average Aucklander why its a bad idea to drive to work, and a reminder of how ill served they are by their elected officials, local and Government.
“NZTA has released a written statement about the project, but a spokeswoman for the organisation refused a request for an interview to answer further questions.
No, I don’t buy that and I addressed it in my comment.
Delays do happen but not at this stage they are quite clearly visible from months or years out. Something has gone wrong with the engineering plan as a result of shortcuts taken earlier. Physically the whole thing is ready to go and for them to delay just two weeks out from opening a $1.4 Billion project smells like shit to me.
It is politics in that it’s know cheap Chinese steel was used and if this is an indicator then other similar concessions will have been made in the name of cutting costs.
I knew absolutely nothing about it at all – had never heard it mentioned. Yet from your link it sounds like a very big deal.
“New corporate structures and corporate management, and rules making it easier to partition land, will make it easier for Maori land to be lost to foreigners.
“And changes to current legislation will allow people with no whakapapa connection to make decisions over the land, allow a minority of owners to make decisions without telling the rest of the owners, and allow Maori land to be sold to foreigners without the approval of its owners.
You any idea where various political parties and others stand on it?
I don’t read the herald, that aside. You have posted a local rag, all well and good – but if you speaking out about somthing, do it nationally. Hone did it on a national scale, and he is not even an MP.
It has nothing to do with Māori news/issues it has to do with methodology. I get Meka has spoken out, but not well, particularly on a national scale. And putting in the cheap shot in the Waatea piece, was bloody pointless.
If you haven’t been aware of this bill it is your responsibility – it is not because Meka was unable to get her press releases taken up by a form of media that you read. There has been plenty of discussion about this bill in the past year within Māori circles – I am Pākehā and I have known about it for quite some time.
Hone is a candidate in the upcoming election and he has signed an agreement with the Māori Party, so his opposition to a bill promoted by Te Ururoa Flavell is bound to attract media attention. My question would be why didn’t Hone bring it up with Te Ururoa during their negotiations?
I do agree that Meka’s critcism of Hone in the Waatea piece was unnecessary.
Perhaps they did discuss it and agreed to disagree – I don’t know but if that is the case I would have thought there would be some reference to their discussions in this press statement.
This bill is one that Te Ururoa has been backing enthusiastically for some time – I don’t think he will be happy to read this from Hone. Then again, the MP/Mana agreement does allow for criticism of each other’s policies so he can’t do much about it.
Labour and the Greens both oppose it. Meka Whaitiri has been pointing out its flaws for quite some time now, as have a number of the people who have submitted against it, yet it is being railroaded through the parliament without any attempt to address the many concerns. This is typical of many of the objections:
I see some guy who looks like the offspring of Phil Spector and Roger Stone has lawyered up. He can afford a much better wig than Phillip Smith, but it looks a bit odd on…
Just visited the NZ Herald site. Pics of Grant Robertson and James Shaw with the caption, “Would you trust them with your money?” Not exactly impartial, Granny H!
It’s the most coverage Grant Robertson has ever got in the NZHerald, including his leadership tilt. NZHerald did well giving them uninterrupted 2 whole pages.
Handing out jobs for the girls. Got to look out for one another.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/327400/govt-rejects-nz-first-'shoulder-tap'-claim
Maggie Barry sepent her time as a mouthpiece on RadioNZ learning all the cliches about government behaviour such as saying it was a ‘conspiracy theory’ of NZ First’s Winston Peters when he criticised over-spending and jobs for the birls (women who have learned to behave like males) .
Documents obtained by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters show that in May last year Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Maggie Barry wrote to Dame Jenny asking her to accept the role.
In November, a Cabinet committee considered a long-list of potential candidates before Dame Jenny was officially selected. Mr Peters said that was clearly unfair.
“It’s totally unfair on the rest of the candidates – they think they’re involved in a fair process.
“They’re going through the whole steps and rigmarole of the process only to find out it’s been determined before they even started. Now, that is disgraceful,” Mr Peters said.
Ms Barry said New Zealand First’s assertion that it was not above board was nothing more than a conspiracy theory, and due process had been followed
That rocky outcrop in the article is amazing.
The government has put up $3.5 million to celebrate finding NZ and will get a replica of Endeavour and others to sail right around to prove that we are still here. However we haven’t yet become civilised, being still prone to land grabs wherever people can get away with it, and trying to chop down the trees of Eden to make the country over into a paradise for social climbers.
I suggest we put that $3.5 million into teaching civics, how democracies work to define what policies will be best for the present and the future to enhance life, enjoyable community and the environment, and how to learn methods for getting on with others to create a society to be proud of in the 21st century. This is the one where the flower of human intelligence should be awe-inspiring in its creativity and humanity cutting through harmful short-term thinking.
Instead we are regressing back to nostalgia for our historic folk tales that are projected onto our ignorance so that the total exceeds the sum of the parts.
Someone that should be commemorated, as we think of Endeavour’s voyage, is Sydney Parkinson who did the painting depicted on the announcement of the remembrance voyage of Cook’s Endeavour to NZ.
Wikipedia:
Parkinson was employed by Joseph Banks to travel with him on James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific in 1768,[1] in HMS Endeavour. Parkinson made nearly a thousand drawings of plants and animals collected by Banks and Daniel Solander on the voyage.
He had to work in difficult conditions, living and working in a small cabin surrounded by hundreds of specimens. In Tahiti he was plagued by swarms of flies which ate the paint as he worked. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Parkinson
This young bloke died of dysentery on the voyage, at the age of only 26. Ther is more details about his life and work, which is poorly recorded and only in the 1980s was his work recorded. http://www.botanicalartandartists.com/sydney-parkinson.html
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
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 ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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 ...
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 ...
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The Southland Times editorial this morning, “A glaring need for answers” begins,
“The Government needs to order a full investigation into a New Zealand led raid on two tiny villages in Afghanistan in 2010”, and later adds, “Prime Minister Bill English should order a proper inquiry”.
And in the Herald this morning Robert… check this out..
“A NZ Special Air Service soldier has confirmed civilians were killed in a 2010 raid carried out by the unit and says the truth is widely known among the elite military group.”
“The soldier told the Herald the two people found shot dead were killed by NZSAS marksmen who believed they were acting under “Rules of Engagement” governing their actions on the battlefield.”
woahs… “The soldier said it was not the only situation in which there had been civilian casualties from a NZSAS operation and which the soldiers blamed on faulty US-sourced intelligence.”
Did they give this evidence at the time? If so, how was it covered up and by whom?
Edit: from the Herald article the answer to the first question looks like “yes”.
yes it totally seems like a coverup, the last sentence in the Herald article is very telling.
“He said (the SAS soldier) he did not know why the civilians casualties had not been made public. “Whatever decision was made to suppress that was made higher.”
Personally I am so sick and tired of the lies from those in positions of power in our country.
Imagine you are a deal-making Prime Minister intent on currying favour with a powerful “ally”, and it was looking likely that any independent inquiry would result in substantial criticism of said ally, plus you just committed a war crime?
What would you not do, as this deal-making Prime Minister?
“What would you not do, as this deal-making Prime Minister?”
I would not open the door
“shit”, “meet fan” (latest breaking “hit and run”)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11824691&ref=NZH_Tw
Good to hear, bravo Deborah Manning, Rodney Harrison QC and Richard McLeod.
“The law firm says it has asked Attorney General Chris Finlayson and Prime Minister Bill English to clarify what happened as they say that “every day there’s a different version” of events.”
I wonder what excuse we will hear from the outgoing PM today. Apparently he is waiting for his morbidly obese Minister of Defence to return. How bigger hole can they dig for themselves?
They are gutless if they can’t stand up to the Defence Force, if I were them I would immediately engage in an independent inquiry, maybe even going so far as to put a few of the big boys on leave until it is cleared up. Maybe even suspend all of Keys ‘benefits’ as well until it’s sorted.
At the very least the outgoing government needs to stop denying the collateral damage.
“Let us test, says oil industry” – Front page, The Southland Times.
They only want to test, so Southlanders should relax; dolphins won’t be harmed, . Judith Collins “reiterated the Government’s commitment to the dolphins”.
“it’s often a 70 to 75 % chance of finding nothing”, says Big Oil.
Don’t worry, Southland; jobs, home heating.
I refuse to believe that down the bottom they will fall for this bullshit – times are always tough down there – the jobs line is really pathetic and weak. Come on Murihiku.
We always knew they were the face of evil – emails between EPA and Monsanto released.
https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/congress-must-investigate-collusion-between-monsanto-and-epa-now
Glyphospate is carcinogenic.
http://foodbabe.com/2017/03/21/emails-epa-monsanto-now-revealed-contents-sickening/
I recommend spending less time on nutbar activist sites – it’s very bad for your brain.
Do the links prevent you from addressing the content?
Your comments indicate a belief in monsanto and GMO as ‘science’…moreover,you endorse it
As an aside, being that you capacity for thought is limited, illustrated by your own words…it is no surprise the best you can offer is to slate Asleepwhilewalking, personally while ignoring the content in the links…
I’m pointing it out because you’re scared so you project….evolve or don’t, that’s your choice
Self reflection is a cyclical process…
Try it sometime. ..
Glyphosate has been used so widely and in such volumes for decades, that i am confident that any significant link to cancer would have emerged regularly on sites more credible than this. Things like the Lancet, BMJ, NEJM, JAMA
The conversation is wider than one constituent part
Confidence tricks have existed since early times…
Many have fortified the ability to understand when their confidence is a false sense of security…then ego prevents them from admitting it and moving on in a meaningful way
So many words, so little coherence.
OK, let’s address the content the nutbar activist site links to. It consists of a couple of cancer sufferers who were convinced that glyphosate gave them cancer, and some evidence of dodgy dealings by Monsanto of the kind that for-profit organisations tend to be noted for.
Against that, we have the fact that glyphosate is one of the most-tested chemicals ever to be sold and every major regulator has come to the conclusion that it’s safe when used as directed (at which point we should note that water and all other chemicals are likewise only safe “when used as directed”).
Which of these is more persuasive? Well, it depends on the extent to which your capacity for rational thought has been debilitated by exposure to nutbar activist web sites, but for the record it’s the second one.
Vision is not a strong suit for too many people, including yourself…
The wider and indisputable problem is the merging of so called government agencies, with corporations. Essentially they are one and the same thing, having been enabled using various tecniques like ‘revolving door’ and ‘lobbying’
Bias (among other flaws) hinders your ability to observe at levels required to evaluate the core issues, you turn to insults…because that is your default level..
So, you’re proposing a massive conspiracy that involves many of the world’s scientists and regulatory agencies, and my skepticism that such a conspiracy exists is an artifact of bias and a lack of vision. I think we’re done here.
That is precisely the response (interpretation) I expected…because it is how you self protect…
…by ignoring what is an obvious and decades long exposė of corporate and state collusion in some of the most ethically and morally bankrupt activities carried out against humanity and all living beings…
Such exposė is readily searchable on ‘mainstream’ establishment vehicles…
Look into it…or don’t it’s your own stunted existence which others get to tolerate…
If you wish to understand what is happening in London read ‘The Secret Agent’ by Joseph Conrad.
Brexit is suddenly less prominent in the media.
Why don’t you give a quick precis to give us the relevance of your reference.
Long time since I did Stage 1 English Lit.
You think Masood was an agent provocateur in the pay of the Russians? I must admit to finding that somewhat unlikely.
Yes excellent book j’Accuse……..but in yesterday’s events it appears a lone nutter with no terrorist links ran 3 people over then stabbed a policeman. It’s hardly Twin Towers stuff. Talk about media hype.
Not sure how lone wolf he was.
The English Police have arrested 7 other people in relation to their enquiry into the attack.
That suggests that there was some kind of support cell behind him.
nope. It suggests that the powers of arrest in terrorist investigations are pretty bloody extreme.
See how many charges come out of it. Then how many convictions, and for what. After the Boston Bombing most, if any, were related to panicking after the event that they didn’t know would happen. Not to mention the ones arrested for being in the vicinity while Arab.
Hey, the seven arrested this time might have helped him plan the attack, buy a knife, and so on. But equally, the most any of them knew could be that the dude kept mouthing off about doing “something” and they just thought he was a blowhard.
Or they happened to be in the wrong place at the time.
That suggests that there was some kind of support cell behind him.
It suggests he knew at least seven people – whether there’s any more to it than that remains to be seen.
Agreed McFlock and Psycho. The wave of arrests perpetuates the terrorist hype. Nothing I’ve heard suggests these 7 people were part of some massive conspiracy; just people the guy associated with.
This is what I mean by my post above
https://twitter.com/hashtag/westminster?src=hash
As a consequence I suspect that I’m going to have to deal up with the usual gormless anti-immigrant bigots today who are appear to be too stupid to look past those selective headline ‘facts’.
It’s neither gormless nor bigoted to draw conclusions from this about the wisdom of allowing large-scale Muslim immigration into western democracies. This particular Muslim was born in Britain – all that says to me is that the British were mugs to create the situation in which that occurred. As an ethnic Brit myself, it annoys the fuck out of me to see the Guardian or BBC reporting that a “Briton” has been killed fighting for Da’esh in Syria – those guys are about as “British” as a taco.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
I don’t see the distinction. It simply doesn’t make any frigging difference if the problem is east-end crime in the 1950s, incompetent ‘mercenaries’ in the 1970s, drug dealing gangs, or various actions by the children of immigrants in post war years.
FFS: I can easily find exactly the same stupid ill-informed and ignorant bullshit you are sprouting when I read the commentary about Huguenots or Dutch refugees in previous centuries.
The problem is groups who don’t feel connected for one reason or another to the society they are inside, and who attack it for their own benefits and reasons for some manner or another.
I’d also point out that you appear to know fuckall about Islam – and like you I’m not going to be bothered explaining my assumptions about why.
I know plenty about Islam, you just dislike the conclusions I’ve drawn from that knowledge.
And I don’t recall reading about Huguenots mounting terrorist attacks because they were ideologically opposed to the country they’d settled in – the fact is that there is a distinction.
Does the Boer war count?
I’d take a bet that I can take any argument that you use for Islam, and apply EXACTLY the same argument for Christianity of some branch or another doing the same things somewhere in the world and history.
There were a lot of complaints about the Huguenots trying to get England involved in a internal religious battle in another country. Many of those activities involved what was defined as terrorism by both the government of the time in both countries. There were some pretty authoritarian actions by the british government of the time trying to stop them doing it. Your definition of the citizens of Britian going and fighting for ISIL is EXACTLY the same. Is it just that you are comfortable with Christians doing that, or you really need to read (and understand) some more history.
I’d point out that I’m quite irreligious. I have a great respect for the odd people I run across who can have faith and live within the precepts of those faiths. But generally I treat all religions as being inherently dangerous when they are used as an excuse by dangerous bigots, populists or the dispossessed of society.
Consequently I can’t see any difference between the morons professing an allegiance to Islam and Christianity, or oft times with you as well.
An intelligent person can take any position and argue for it, that’s what debating’s all about. But fuck history – this isn’t the 17th Century, or even the 1930s, the religion that is a serious threat to enlightenment values in the present day is Islam, not Christianity or any other variant of religious superstition. And it’s all the more dangerous because it’s fundamentally illiberal out-of-the-box – no distortions or additions are required to make it toxic to liberal democracy. People who won’t face that are naive, wilfully ignorant or deliberately disingenuous.
Obviously not the case just on the face of it. They simply don’t have the capabilities. Just think about what is required to take out any civilization or ethos. It only happens with crushing defeat and destruction or an partisan internal civil war of some kind or an argument that changes the paradigms of society. For instance in my lifetime on the latter – the role of women, homosexuality, and the lessons of the NZ civil war started in the 1860s come to mind.
So Pakistan has a couple of nukes. Not exactly a threat on the death and destruction side (maybe worth considering if you are in India). At least not compared to the thought of some idiot fundamentalist protestant in the US or a fundamentalist Russian orthodox or Donald Trump getting unrestricted access to the stockpiles of nukes in the US or Russia.
Offhand I can’t think of any partisan civil war triggered by immigrants with inferior technology. Even the recent historic invasions of here, the Americas required the immigrants to have far superior technology.
What historical analogy are you considering? The Mongols? The Huns?
And if a society isn’t capable of defending its ideas or assimilating external ideas, then you’d have to ask exactly how well it was founded.
Or are you simply being a simple bigot throwing up clash of civilisations idea with no fucking basis for it having happened in the recent past. Which is kind of where I suspect you are.
In NZ, I have heard the exact type of simple-minded alarmist nonsense in my life-time with Paheka, Irish, Dutch, Polynesians, South Africans, Chinese and bloody Poms. In fact it is hard to enumerate the number of times I’ve heard your EXACT argument expressed both in past history, recent history, or my lifetime with absolutely no basis behind it apart from the simple bigotry of the human tribal hardwiring for being scared of the stranger. Hell I’ve heard it expressed about geeks like me.
You don’t count anything that isn’t an existential threat as a threat? The fact that it’s a threat we can deal with easily if enough people decide secular liberalism is worth defending doesn’t make it a non-threat.
What historical analogy are you considering?
Too many to count, mostly involving Christianity, because that was the chief opponent of enlightenment values until recently. These days it’s a trivial opponent, but that wasn’t true historically. Now, having finally dealt with that opponent after centuries of conflict, we’re inviting in an even tougher one – it’s moronic and we shouldn’t be doing it.
Or are you simply being a simple bigot throwing up clash of civilisations idea with no fucking basis for it having happened in the recent past. Which is kind of where I suspect you are.
Assuming someone must be an arsehole because they disagree with you isn’t a good way either of testing or of improving your own opinions.
As a pretty enthusiastic atheist, I will take Muslim immigrants over Christian ones any day of the week, especially the ones not already from liberal democracies, as they actually understand the alternative to secularism and don’t want a bar of it. They might have some culture shocks getting used to the exact nature of society here, or not knowing all of the rights they’re getting, but that’s the same for anyone changing regime types, it’s not particular to Muslims, and there are actually similar shocks for those immigrating from the UK and USA, as their laws are getting increasingly draconian.
Anyone who’s cool with secular democracy, liberalism, and non-discrimination should be allowed in, I don’t care WHERE they’re from. And there’s no good evidence that Muslims are any worse than any other group- in fact, if we want to be wary of regressive religious views, we should be looking at restricting immigration for all religious conservatives, but good luck selling that to the National Party.
You don’t seem to get that the opponent isn’t the people who genuinely want in to more liberal democracies, it’s the people who are getting bombed overseas. We don’t need to touch immigration policy to deal with that, we need to not participate in US wars of aggression, and we need to use leverage to advocate for innocent civilians.
That would be my point as well.
Plenty of muslims in Auckland from quite a lot of locations, Like every other group, I work with them (I’m in IT – we have everyone), occasionally argue with them, and have a vast level of amusement when they discuss their preconceptions with others.
You haven’t seen anything until you see a cross purposes discussion between a strong muslim and a fundamentalist christian who has a short creationist timeframe.
Personally I don’t notice much difference between any immigrants based on their religions or usually from their countries of origin. For instance a muslim pakistani who migrated here will usually seem more rational to me than many of the English from the UK with their rather strange expectations about how NZ should be.
But I’m a native Aucklander – I’m used to immigrants. I see more real differences when I hit provincial NZ and suddenly find those strange inherited class structures. Those differences always appeared more startling to me because of the strange twist of assumptions in people who were raised here as well.
Most of the Muslims I’ve met (and yes, plenty – more than you for sure) have been pleasant enough people too. It would be nice if that were in some way relevant to the discussion.
In europe, it seems it’s generally not the immigrant generation that gets radicalised. It’s the next generation, growing up in slums staring at a crap future, that seem to be the more common radicals.
Which points to the importance of maintaining a welcoming society. High levels of immigration that stretches our infrastructure and plausibly contributes to other problems like low wages and exploitation of workers is likely to test our ability to continue to make immigrants feel a welcome and valued part of society.
You’re absolutely right that we should stick to our actual capacity to take in new migrants. That’s sensible policy no matter your attitude on migration.
That said, I would point out that the phenomenon of radicalisation of the children of immigrants (or subsequent generations) is likely down to a confluence of factors. As you say, poverty could play a role, but so could structural racism, and so could foreign policy that looks insufficiently compassionate to people like them, in either race or religion, especially if it extends to actual wars.
So basically, the problem is never the immigration, as radicals are far more likely to be home-grown than actual immigrants, so you need to look at other policy areas to prevent radicalisation, and in the meantime, use good enforcement policies that hold the line between preventing attacks and not trampling on people’s liberties.
We also need to keep terrorism in perspective. There were accidents that killed more people than the London incident. It’s news, sure, but it’s a footnote. We’ve been panicking over terrorism for way too long for something that’s not fucking new anymore.
Assuming someone must be an arsehole because they disagree with you isn’t a good way either of testing or of improving your own opinions.
That is because you haven’t said anything about the source of your (to me) quite irrational fears.
I assume that anyone doing that and being unable to articulate the source of their assertions is hiding a nefarious reason. If you can’t articulate your assumptions then people can’t respond to them, and point out the mistakes that they think you are making.
The overwhelmingly most common reason I have run across for that kind of hidden motive assertion based behaviour in the past has been cases of simple bigotry. So I tend to start with that as the likely explanation until I find a reason to change my mind.
As a strategy, this usually works. It also certainly saves me considerable time trying to be nice as I weasel the real reasons out of people.
Besides, I really don’t like being nice. I think it is against my personal belief systems.
That is because you haven’t said anything about the source of your (to me) quite irrational fears.
What fears? A few weeks back there was a discussion here about the need to be vigilant against right-wing extremism, triggered by an event so trivial as to be ridiculous (a student group at UoA with a dodgy slogan). No-one wittered on about the people demanding vigilance being bigots or being afraid, because they weren’t – they just didn’t like extremist political groups getting mainstream acceptance. I don’t either, and people like Mr Mansoor give much better reasons for that dislike than some crackpot starting up a student group.
I assume that anyone doing that and being unable to articulate the source of their assertions is hiding a nefarious reason.
In what sense unable? Seeing as you immediately declared I must be ignorant of Islam, I assumed you must know a bit about it yourself and I therefore didn’t need to explain to you why it’s a problem. If you do need it explained, let me know. But the precis is that totalitarian ideologies tend to produce people you don’t want to have around, so encouraging adherents of that ideology to move to your country is a bad idea.
+10 LPrent
Posted similar a little while back. Radical Islamic terrorism is a threat. You have to be up front about that.
It’s just a vastly overblown threat that is used as a rationale by governments to do impressively world-scale dumb things, many of which undermine any superiority of virtue to Enlightenment ideals.
“As an ethnic Brit myself, it annoys the fuck out of me to see the Guardian or BBC reporting that a “Briton” has been killed fighting for Da’esh in Syria – those guys are about as “British” as a taco.”
that is such bullshit and so selectivly bigotted – ethnic brit ffs what a plonker
Technically it should be ethnic English, my mistake.
When does the melting pot actually melt? My father was English, loved being English from Bournemouth, very proud. When did the invasions and influences down there stop being them and instead became us. Is it generations, where you are born, die, grow, have kids, what you look like, what you believe? When?
It happened for your kin when are you going to allow other people the same privedge?
Q: why do the English have a different accent or dialect every 20 miles?
A: So they know who their enemies are.
Must have been written by an American. Everyone knows that real English would never speak to their neighbours
lol
I recall one of those british crime dramas (morse/frost/whatever) where they asked the grieving widow if there was someone who could sit with her, like a neighbour. The response was “no, we’ve only lived here for three years”.
Ethnicity isn’t about being born somewhere – if it was there’d be upwards of 4 million “Maori” in Aotearoa. For my money, if some prick considers himself a member of the umma first, a Pakistani second, and British a distant third, if at all, there’s no point in me pretending he’s wrong.
English – stick to the point – so religion is one of the things you think is English and not English. Is it also that loyalty to the English group is lower than loyalty to some belief systems?
See? Your whole argument is bullshit mixed with bigotry. It’s okay many feel the same that’s why this world is fucked up.
Being a member of the umma is not the same as believing in a religion. Lip-service-only Muslims have no problem being British, but true believers have basically ruled it out.
Still, it’s good to know my kids can call themselves Maori because they were born here, I’m sure it will come in handy one day.
And your snide answer shows me I’ve got to your wee wall of self belief – here you can work on your bigotry if you wanted.
Well, what do you want? You call me a plonker for fondly imagining I have an ethnicity and people who don’t share it shouldn’t be pretended to share it, accuse me of bullshit and bigotry, and now claim the fact I gave you a snide answer says something about me. Actually, it does; a less-patient commenter would have told you to get fucked.
Whatever – attack is often the best form of defence – especially when compared with the alternatives eh cuz
The diversity of London.
https://twitter.com/georgeeaton/status/844863098171277313
Ouch the comments are tough
Ethnic brit makes more sense because English depends on political boundaries – enjoy debating with scots and welsh about the validity of modern boundaries. Ethnic brit says your biological heritage is primarily anglosaxon/northern European / norse/Anglo Norman/celtic/ Briton, with a pinch of Roman perhaps.
Whereas Maori can include Tariana Turia, Christian Cullen and Tony Brown.
Ethnicity is cultural as well as genealogical, so neither ethnic Brit nor ethnic English make sense. I’m guessing what PM meant was Anglosaxon.
Data on British population genetics suggest he could be <50% Anglo-Saxon.
"The majority of eastern, central and southern England is made up of a single, relatively homogeneous, genetic group with a significant DNA contribution from Anglo-Saxon migrations (10-40% of total ancestry). This settles a historical controversy in showing that the Anglo-Saxons intermarried with, rather than replaced, the existing populations."
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0315/180315-fine-scale-british-isle-genetic-map
His cultural ethnicity could be worked out from his comments, maybe.
Data on British population genetics suggest he could be <50% Anglo-Saxon.
Fucking awesome. Now tell us about all those “part-Maoris” making the Treaty of Waitangi meaningless.
Our Police doing their bit for the road transport industry,
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/disbanding-police-mechanics-opposed
So they are going to get rid of 26 mermaids, truckies will love that, those guys have the biggest safety impact of all but aren’t actually sworn police because of their specialist skill set. But the moves of a dying National government, damn the consequences, let’s look after our mates and keep those donations coming in.
Also big ups to the union, the Police Association, for calling them out on this.
Whenever a National government goes into a death spiral, they ram through as much nasty, self-serving crap as they can in the short time they have left. This is business as usual for them, given the circumstances.
Yeah, it’s sad, but also pleasing in a way that they have come to this stage.
Let’s see our loyal opposition call them out on this and get talking about how the problem should be solved, and that’s by resourcing the Police properly. And all the other services that are falling to bits.
47% is death spiral?
In some respects yes, since A.C.T. and United Future, literally only exist in Parliament because Messrs Seymour (with no small amount of help from National) and Dunne won seats.
They barely got anything outside of these two electorates. Certainly not enough to get in on the Party vote.
Because of said absence of support – less than 1% combined, 47 + 1 = 48%, which last time I looked was not a majority.
still beats the crap out of 30 and 12
English is death process.
“Whenever a National government goes into a death spiral, they ram through as much nasty, self-serving crap as they can in the short time they have left. This is business as usual for them, given the circumstances.”
+1
@wensleydale
You must mean the RMA reforms-may the Maori Party rot in hell for giving the Nats the numbers to pass these.
Classic national, not only fiddle while she burns but chuck some fuel on in between tunes.
Heard of a commercial bus driver the other week struggling with the steering as it was obviously pulling…….he thanked the passenger who was going to report it as he’s had no luck getting it sorted in the brighter future.
Following logging trucks lately that weave about the road like drunken sailors.
Sounds like they are going to outsource/privatise the roadside traffic inspections.
So sad – the comments are so funny too
https://i.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/90807099/adele-a-lyrical-genius-says-pm-bill-english
Thanks for that marty-hilarious.
“Bill English went to see Adele last night-Rumour has it, Adele buying exclusive Queenstown property and has citizenship sewn into the deal”
I liked the guy on Morning Report this AM who flew from Hawaii for the concert. Also I think they said 40 people flew from one of the pacific islands for the show.
He can’t quite pull it off like Key could.
But he is right about Adele, she is one of the few female vocalists worth listening to in the modern era.
Seriously. If you’re gushing over Adele you need to hand in your man card.
This is very weird. This project would have been structured in the minutest detail to be released on time. Sure, sometimes projects run over but this one was visibly ahead of schedule. I drive past it several times a week and the structures around the tunnel were completed months ago. Pre-publicity stories about the tunnel also appeared months ago.
I’ve got two theories: One, initial testing was completed at the designated time but the tunnel, on/off ramps, or traffic engineering model failed and they are now setting about either fixing what failed or getting another opinion that ensures it won’t fail, in true John Key style.
Two, the Nats have ordered the delay of the project so that it can be opened closer to the election thereby ensuring many thousands of temporarily happy Aucklanders vote for the status quo believing their transport woes have been addressed.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11824825
Number two is my preferred option.
A stonking big gridlock on election day to remind the average Aucklander why its a bad idea to drive to work, and a reminder of how ill served they are by their elected officials, local and Government.
“NZTA has released a written statement about the project, but a spokeswoman for the organisation refused a request for an interview to answer further questions.
The spokeswoman said the Herald reporting on concerns about the project had been “irresponsible”, leaving them “reluctant” to comment.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11824825
Delays happen all the time, especially at this scale.
It’s not politics, it’s just fix the tags now and make sure you get less grief upon opening.
No, I don’t buy that and I addressed it in my comment.
Delays do happen but not at this stage they are quite clearly visible from months or years out. Something has gone wrong with the engineering plan as a result of shortcuts taken earlier. Physically the whole thing is ready to go and for them to delay just two weeks out from opening a $1.4 Billion project smells like shit to me.
It is politics in that it’s know cheap Chinese steel was used and if this is an indicator then other similar concessions will have been made in the name of cutting costs.
Or they could just need to replace and test several hundred sprinkler heads that had intermittent failures
Brett Gliddon from NZTA is doing the right thing erring on the side of safety here. Fully support the delay.
I’ve been inside it a couple of times. Awesome kit. Too much at stake to go wrong.
This is a very important issue that most know nothing about – the Ture Whenua
Māori Bill
http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=10019
I knew absolutely nothing about it at all – had never heard it mentioned. Yet from your link it sounds like a very big deal.
“New corporate structures and corporate management, and rules making it easier to partition land, will make it easier for Maori land to be lost to foreigners.
“And changes to current legislation will allow people with no whakapapa connection to make decisions over the land, allow a minority of owners to make decisions without telling the rest of the owners, and allow Maori land to be sold to foreigners without the approval of its owners.
You any idea where various political parties and others stand on it?
Supported by gnats and Māori Party. I’m on my phone so not that easy to search and post links for other ones
It’s a long way along the process.
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/00DBHOH_BILL68904_1/te-ture-whenua-m%C4%81ori-bill
I’ve heard very little, to nothing about this on Māori Television
This on waatea, but a rehash of the link marty mars put up with attack on Hone.
http://www.waateanews.com/waateanews?story_id=MTU5NDE=
Struggled to find public criticism made by Meka Whaitiri, but good on her for opposing it. That said, cheap shot at Hone.
I don’t think her own blog counts as to public. http://mekawhaitiri.org.nz/tag/te-ture-whenua-maori-bill/
There are times when labour MP’s should just put things like this on the standard.
Meka has been speaking out about it for quite some time.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503459&objectid=11612798
It isn’t easy to get material about Māori issues in the MSM.
Select committee
https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=KU23uqen6rU
Plus
http://equaljusticeproject.co.nz/2016/07/cross-examination-understanding-the-opposition-to-the-te-ture-whenua-maori-bill/
I don’t read the herald, that aside. You have posted a local rag, all well and good – but if you speaking out about somthing, do it nationally. Hone did it on a national scale, and he is not even an MP.
It has nothing to do with Māori news/issues it has to do with methodology. I get Meka has spoken out, but not well, particularly on a national scale. And putting in the cheap shot in the Waatea piece, was bloody pointless.
If you haven’t been aware of this bill it is your responsibility – it is not because Meka was unable to get her press releases taken up by a form of media that you read. There has been plenty of discussion about this bill in the past year within Māori circles – I am Pākehā and I have known about it for quite some time.
Hone is a candidate in the upcoming election and he has signed an agreement with the Māori Party, so his opposition to a bill promoted by Te Ururoa Flavell is bound to attract media attention. My question would be why didn’t Hone bring it up with Te Ururoa during their negotiations?
I do agree that Meka’s critcism of Hone in the Waatea piece was unnecessary.
He kai kei aku ringa
“My question would be why didn’t Hone bring it up with Te Ururoa during their negotiations?”
What makes you think he didn’t?
Perhaps they did discuss it and agreed to disagree – I don’t know but if that is the case I would have thought there would be some reference to their discussions in this press statement.
This bill is one that Te Ururoa has been backing enthusiastically for some time – I don’t think he will be happy to read this from Hone. Then again, the MP/Mana agreement does allow for criticism of each other’s policies so he can’t do much about it.
Labour and the Greens both oppose it. Meka Whaitiri has been pointing out its flaws for quite some time now, as have a number of the people who have submitted against it, yet it is being railroaded through the parliament without any attempt to address the many concerns. This is typical of many of the objections:
http://gisborneherald.co.nz/localnews/2451265-135/tairawhiti-has-its-say-on-te
Lol. Labour literally governing from opposition.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/auckland-city-harbour-news/90825342/plans-to-introduce-light-rail-from-auckland-airport-to-city-centre-confirmed
It is so laughable that this do nothing government meekly announces Labour social and infrastructure policy.
Who says NZ doesn’t have a strong opposition?
Didn’t they promise 10 bridges to Northland too?
Only problem is that national have done their usual – announced somthing putting it 30 years in the future.
They are so useless – the press should cut them a new one for this.
Yeah, how they are doing it now, our clayton’s government says it will do something in 30 (or 40) years to solve a current crisis.
“National, the government you’re having when you’re not having a government”
I see some guy who looks like the offspring of Phil Spector and Roger Stone has lawyered up. He can afford a much better wig than Phillip Smith, but it looks a bit odd on…
Just visited the NZ Herald site. Pics of Grant Robertson and James Shaw with the caption, “Would you trust them with your money?” Not exactly impartial, Granny H!
Didn’t the Natz give away 1 billion to SCF?
It’s the most coverage Grant Robertson has ever got in the NZHerald, including his leadership tilt. NZHerald did well giving them uninterrupted 2 whole pages.
Handing out jobs for the girls. Got to look out for one another.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/327400/govt-rejects-nz-first-'shoulder-tap'-claim
Maggie Barry sepent her time as a mouthpiece on RadioNZ learning all the cliches about government behaviour such as saying it was a ‘conspiracy theory’ of NZ First’s Winston Peters when he criticised over-spending and jobs for the birls (women who have learned to behave like males) .
Documents obtained by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters show that in May last year Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Maggie Barry wrote to Dame Jenny asking her to accept the role.
In November, a Cabinet committee considered a long-list of potential candidates before Dame Jenny was officially selected. Mr Peters said that was clearly unfair.
“It’s totally unfair on the rest of the candidates – they think they’re involved in a fair process.
“They’re going through the whole steps and rigmarole of the process only to find out it’s been determined before they even started. Now, that is disgraceful,” Mr Peters said.
Ms Barry said New Zealand First’s assertion that it was not above board was nothing more than a conspiracy theory, and due process had been followed
http://www.mch.govt.nz/first-encounters-250-commemoration-launchedOnly Jenny Shipley has the mana to host and run this. Perhaps she has a space now that some of her other portfolios have been sliding down.
That rocky outcrop in the article is amazing.
The government has put up $3.5 million to celebrate finding NZ and will get a replica of Endeavour and others to sail right around to prove that we are still here. However we haven’t yet become civilised, being still prone to land grabs wherever people can get away with it, and trying to chop down the trees of Eden to make the country over into a paradise for social climbers.
I suggest we put that $3.5 million into teaching civics, how democracies work to define what policies will be best for the present and the future to enhance life, enjoyable community and the environment, and how to learn methods for getting on with others to create a society to be proud of in the 21st century. This is the one where the flower of human intelligence should be awe-inspiring in its creativity and humanity cutting through harmful short-term thinking.
Instead we are regressing back to nostalgia for our historic folk tales that are projected onto our ignorance so that the total exceeds the sum of the parts.
Someone that should be commemorated, as we think of Endeavour’s voyage, is Sydney Parkinson who did the painting depicted on the announcement of the remembrance voyage of Cook’s Endeavour to NZ.
Wikipedia:
Parkinson was employed by Joseph Banks to travel with him on James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific in 1768,[1] in HMS Endeavour. Parkinson made nearly a thousand drawings of plants and animals collected by Banks and Daniel Solander on the voyage.
He had to work in difficult conditions, living and working in a small cabin surrounded by hundreds of specimens. In Tahiti he was plagued by swarms of flies which ate the paint as he worked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Parkinson
This young bloke died of dysentery on the voyage, at the age of only 26. Ther is more details about his life and work, which is poorly recorded and only in the 1980s was his work recorded.
http://www.botanicalartandartists.com/sydney-parkinson.html