Witnessing the A-bomb’s first test in the desert far outside Los Alamos, the New Mexico town where much of the bomb-building took place, he really did (as the film depicts) recite the line from the Bhagavad-Gita, “Now I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.”
At his meeting with President Harry Truman, after the bombs he helped build incinerated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he really did say “I have blood on my hands.” And Truman, who lost no sleep over his decision to drop the bombs, really said to an aide afterward (though not within earshot of Oppenheimer, as he does in the film), “Don’t let that crybaby in here again.”
Psychodrama! Hero as "a complex portrait: a tortured soul, enthralled by the science, then racked by guilt over the hellscape it unleashed. He’s insistent on his independence as a scientist, but also pliant in his role as mere adviser to authority. He’s certain of his convictions, but ambivalent about almost everything."
In the 1930s and early ’40s, he had been a “fellow traveler” – probably not a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, but an active supporter of some of its causes, which in the day included racial integration, a minimum wage, and aiding the anti-fascist soldiers in the Spanish Civil War. Not only that, his wife, Kitty (played by Emily Blunt), had once been a party member, as had his brother and several of his close friends, and he attended several meetings of the party’s chapter in Berkeley, where he was teaching physics. Even after he was appointed director of Los Alamos in 1943, his security clearance was held up because of these connections.
The film seems to have merit as exploration of the science/politics interface, considering timeless issues involving power & truth – plus faustian deals that changed the world.
Listening to Winston Peters on RNZ and really, he hasn't changed. He's tarted things up a bit with some MAGA catch phrases but what makes him jarring is the fact he is still pitching to a Tauranga audience of retired Rob's mob circa 2000.
It is such a pity, because NZ First has some good ideas but ultimately, it is entirely his vanity project and will disappear once he shuffles off this mortal coil.
I always thought there were some good ideas too, but they got lost in the forest of demented rants.
Do you think he's the 4-dimension chess player, the Professor Snape of Parliament, just there to pull the whacko votes without ever intending to action them? Some do.
I think Winston Peters is in it for Winston Peters. Entirely a vanity project. The man seems driven by vendettas real and imaged (mostly imagined). Peters is interesting because he has constantly presented himself to voters as an outsider kicking against the elites. Ingrid Hipkiss gave him pleanty of ammunition to advance that argument with her odd attitude and rather dismissive approach to him in the interview.
In an recent interview with the New Yorker magazine crackpot, cooker and maybe presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr. accused his interviewer as being among the "elites". The journalist replied that Kennedy is from a far more privileged background than he. Kennedy says:
"When I use the word “élite,” I’m talking about the people who are inside the Beltway, the press figures who are supposed to be speaking truth to power, but instead have become propagandists for the government. Who view their jobs as quashing dissent, and quashing political criticism of the government that they’re supposed to be actually criticizing."
Therefore Kennedy, a genuine member of the ruling-class, is not an elite because he's an outsider. The elites are the insiders who shape consensus reality, whose moral and political codes dominate. The rest are forced to live in that reality and are victimised if they question it. Think "woke elite", and "metropolitan elite". Hipkiss firmly placed herself into this notional "elite" with the tone of her interview and walked into the rather obvious traps Peters set for her.
This displacing of class antagonism onto cultural elites is a boring commonplace of the Right – Kennedy might think he is onto something novel, but really, Winston Peters has been doing it for thirty years and Muldoon was doing it in the 1970s.
Yeah – listened to it. I thought, will enough of these old dudes (among whom I place myself) do their coil shuffling thing before the climate crisis has become unsolvable – as they are the major obstacle to even trying? It looks like a tight race – like a reality-based 'reality tv' show. I'm not betting on it.
@ observer (4.3) … Winston Peters is a chameleon, changes his colours constantly to suit Winston. You wouldn't know what you were voting for with him. This leads me to think NZF led as it is presently by Peters is in no man's land, lacking policy, ready and willing to go with any party, which gives him personally a good deal. For these reasons, I would not ever vote for NZF. I like to know what I'm getting when I cast my vote and with Peters, it could be anything, because nothing is black or white with him. He's a grey unknown area unto himself … no pun intended there … known for holding the country to ransom, while he works out what is best for Winston!
About time Peters retired and left NZF to some younger politicians.
security threats are growing, supply chains are faltering, and there’s an ever-present – albeit low at any given moment – threat of natural catastrophe.
To try to limit the extent of the damage, the Government is trying to work out what has to be done to harden the country’s critical infrastructure.
As part of that process, it has published a discussion document full of warnings that risks are growing, while measures to safeguard – or at least minimise the damage –to vital infrastructure are patchy and insufficient.
The document pointed to a 2021 report commissioned for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, which said this country had a historic infrastructure deficit of $104b. Without policy change the shortfall was on track to grow by $106b in the next 30 years.
Better late than never?? At least govt seems to be musing upon this structural problem. No surprise that Labour kicked it down the road into the next electoral cycle though. Labour's real good at that. The thrill from each kick gets them high…
3 Waters covers some of these large infrastructure issues, and I have not seen undue delays to the efforts to fix the mile-long 'potholes' such as in the Coromandel, or the hill slips and flooding that have destroyed homes. Certainly no opposition party has offered and policies that are any different – it is easy to make false accusations of kicking issues down the road without any detail – but the ACT/Nat obsession with complaining about everything while not offering alternatives is not even kicking the tires
Looks like the historical compounding of the infrastructure deficit they refer to has been produced by collusion between Labour and National in the long-term, so your binary framing of the thing doesn't work. It fails to address the root cause.
Pothole repairs get done due to current funding. Ad hoc fixes serve to mask the real problem: towns, roads & bridges vulnerable to climate change. The system needs more of a reboot than tinkering. Neither the left nor the right have the brains & guts to do what is required.
Here is an example of exactly how much the "West' actually care or value Ukrainian lives (as if we already didn't know) …
"Meanwhile, for the United States and its NATO allies, these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians)"
…yep, on a scale of one to ten…one, or maybe minus one, as it is plainly obvious that Ukrainian lives have zero value to the Western leaders (and their arse and boot licking media pundits)….but hopefully most sentient observers must have worked out by now that this war has always been about the West and the Wests own geo-political objectives, and Ukraine just happens to be the unfortunate country that is in the wrong place at the wrong time….the West have never given a fuck about Ukraine and they don't now, just like they don't give a fuck about Taiwan.
So you can be sure that no Western leader is going to lose one minute of sleep over the loss of at least two entire generations of Ukrainian men in what the history books will most certainly describe as (what should have been) an easily avoidable war ..much like Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan…..wait, does there seem to be a common denominator here?
"…Ukrainian men in what the history books will most certainly describe as (what should have been) an easily avoidable war…"
How otherwise apparently rational human being can cling to this sort of nonsensicial and illogical thinking on the Ukraine war will puzzle social scientists for decades to come.
The social scientists will have plenty to wrap their heads around.Like how was it possible to fool so many for so long with simple media generated propaganda.In the west! of all places.
The sovietisation of western media is pretty well complete, the free press is dead
"…yep, on a scale of one to ten…one, or maybe minus one, as it is plainly obvious that Ukrainian lives have zero value to the Western leaders"
I tend to agree, due to the cynical slow-rolling by the West of military aid to Ukraine, when they should have given them everything short of nukes in whatever quantities the Ukrainian's asked for.
the war can only continue if the Ukrainian men do the dying – and of course foreign fighters – as no Nato Member country would last a week sending its own to die there.
As opposed to being a non democratic state run by American puppets?
Who knows what would have come to pass had the US and Europe stood by their promises and not betrayed goodwill by embedding NATO further and further eastwards , until it, a hostile military alliance , was entrenched on Russian borders
Who knows what would have come to pass had the US and Europe stood by their promises and not betrayed goodwill by embedding NATO further and further eastwards , until it, a hostile military alliance , was entrenched on Russian borders
It's not like NATO forced Poland or the Baltics to join at gunpoint.
Given the choice between joining an alliance that would at least respect their sovereignty (even if sometimes the US can be an awkward ally), and becoming a Russian satellite state again, they rationally and rightly chose the align themselves with the West.
Don't those countries also have the right to feel that Russia isn't exactly a trustworthy, good-faith actor? I mean, the number of times Lithuania has been occupied, annexed, ethnically cleansed, or otherwise screwed around by the US is exactly zero. Whereas the Russians have form.
And maybe there would have fewer issues with NATO's expansion if the current Russian regime was less repressive, wasn't morally bankrupt, and had weaned itself off the historical inclination to embark on foreign adventures to paper over the cracks.
No gunpoint, but possibly bagfuls of money and other more subtle incentives , I hear US diplomats can be very …ahem.. persuasive.
And one has to be invited by NATO to join NATO .It's not NATO passively accepting anyone who asks, if that was the case , Russia itself would be in NATO
No less old a chestnut than spouting nonsense justifications to support your wannabe hegemon du jour. 'tis a tale as old as war itself.
Nobody disagrees that Eastern Europe has had troubles with corruption: it's been a problem ever since the fall of the Soviet Union. But to try to draw a line between that, the expansion of NATO, and the war in Ukraine takes quite a leap of the imagination!
Besides, I don't think you're giving the people of the former Eastern bloc enough credit. They know what their problems are. They've done their own strategic and foreign policy calculus.
And they've decided that actually, NATO membership is worth it despite the potential downside of pissing off the Russians. Because, in their view, the risk of a Russian invasion/meddling is quite high. Or at least high enough to justify the costs.
As for democratic legitimacy, I think the fact that so many Ukrainians are willing to fight tooth and nail to defend what you are implying is a corrupt government is evidence enough that they don't feel the same way you do.
NATO has been enthusiastically welcomed by many of the states formerly occupied and subjugated by russia. They had the choice to join or stick with russia, but chose NATO – seems one is a much preferred choice to the other, and russian aggression keeps making NATO seem more and more desirable.
Nato hasn't expanded East – it has been invited East. Big difference to russia sending tanks over your border as they are prone to do.
"And one has to be invited by NATO to join NATO ."
Countries that have declared an interest in joining the Alliance are initially invited to engage in an intensified dialogue with NATO about their membership aspirations and related reforms.
Aspirant countries may then be invited to participate in the MAP to prepare for potential membership and demonstrate their ability to meet the obligations and commitments of possible future membership.
"It's not NATO passively accepting anyone who asks, if that was the case , Russia itself would be in NATO"
On 27 May 1997, at the NATO Summit in Paris, France, NATO and Russia signed the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security [de], a road map for would-be NATO-Russia cooperation
Additionally, the act established a forum called the "NATO-Russia Permanent Joint Council" (NRPJC) as a venue for consultations, cooperation and consensus building
….
The NATO-Russia Council (NRC) was created on 28 May 2002 during the 2002 NATO Summit in Rome. The NRC was designed to replace the PJC as the official diplomatic tool for handling security issues and joint projects between NATO and Russia. The structure of the NRC provided that the individual member states and Russia were each equal partners and would meet in areas of common interest
NATO–Russia relations stalled and subsequently started to deteriorate, following the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in 2004–2005 and the Russo-Georgian War in 2008….Several highly publicised murders of Putin's opponents also occurred in Russia in that period, marking his increasingly authoritarian rule and the tightening of his grip on the media….Beginning in 2014, Russia engaged in further hostile threats followed by military actions against Ukraine (2014–present); Syria (2015–present), and Turkey (2015–2016), among others.
Meanwhile close to 1 million Russians (including hundreds of thousands of men of enlistment age) have fled the country. Clearly they are overwhelmingly delighted to be forced into a war of conquest /sarc/
Or does 'propaganda' just mean 'information I don't agree with'?
All information sources should be critically considered and not entirely trusted – but do you have actual evidence of wikipedia being widely unreliable and factually incorrect? I’d be interested to see it.
Or does 'propaganda' just mean 'information I don't agree with'?
UncookedSelachimorpha nope, propaganda is the dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion. To quote britannica.
The reality is apart from men being the main editors of wikipedia, something like 90%. Or those in the west who dominate and direct the content, so cultural economic bias. It has become a tool for the ruling class.
Closer to home, we had conscription in WW1 and WW2 here too. Does that invalidate the sacrifice made by those that did go fight? Or the eventual overthrow of Nazism?
OK, I'll give you WW1: a war whose devastation was only outstripped by its sheer pointlessness.
But total war is just that: total. You throw every body. Every bullet. And every ounce of energy into the fight.
Do you live in the real world, not one gaslit by Winston Churchill and Soviet state WWII propaganda about how willing the male population is to fight, and to stand a good chance of wounding or death? Only 17 year olds imagine themselves heroes.
Anyone with half a brain and a knowledge of the realities of war knows that compulsory conscription is there because most men understand full well that the front line of a brutal trench war is not the place to be. But moral, or nationalistic, or 'we're in it together' reasons make most compliant. For others, they slip the net, until rounded up unwillingly.
Exactly. In a life-or-death struggle, you need every warm body you can get your hands on. Modern warfare is brutal.
And if not enough people volunteer, then yeah, using the coercive power of the state to conscript aforementioned warm bodies is the way to go.
But there's a yawning gulf between rounding up criminals to use as cannon fodder in a pointless foreign war, and conscripting citizens when your country has been invaded.
The Baltic states must be delighted they are in NATO with madman Putin in the Kremlin. Can anyone doubt they'd have been first on the block for invasion and annexation if they were not in NATO?
The Balts are giving evcerything they have plus lots of volunteers to support Ukraine, and if you really want to know what the East Europeans think of Russia just take a look at Polands military build up. The huge army they are creating in the next few years isn't designed to stop the Germans…
The purpose of Poland's military buildup is to waste money and impoverish the country, not to mention the enrichment of US arms manufacturers who will selling them the goods.
"let's buy arms to impoverish ourselves and waste money"
not
"Russia invaded, murdered and subjugated us for decades, russia say they want to again, and are invading their other neighbours. So let's arm ourselves and join nato!"
So it's fine for Russia to invade and annex part of another sovereign country.
Do you people ever listen to yourselves?
Crimea had historically *never* been part of post-Soviet Russia. From 1991 it was part of Ukraine (well, there's some argument about whether it was an autonomous republic inside or outside Ukraine – but it was certainly not part of Russia). Until it was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Please save your time and don't bother raising the 'referendum' which is universally held (apart from the pro-Russian apologists) to have been entirely dictated by the Kremlin.
So it's fine for Russia to invade and annex part of another sovereign country.
Depends on the circumstances. All bets were off once Ukraine turned Westward and formed an alliance with the evil empire. Anyhow it was what the majority of the Crimean people wanted.
As for the alleged shonkyness of the referendum, as claimed by NATO's fellow travelers and useful idiots, this has never been proved.
It's the Wests fault that all these newly free former Soviet nations would rather fight to the death than ever suffer under the rule of Russia again.
It's the Wests fault that these nations want to join NATO to protect themselves from an expansionist Russia.
All those eastern Europeans who'd rather be allied with the West than Russia are brainwashed!
Don't they know that the west is bad!!!
They should listen to clueless people who've lived in western countries their whole lives about how the west is just as bad as Russia and just roll over and join Russia again
I mean how would Ukraine and co know whether Russia or the west is worse! It's not like they ever lived under Russian rule before
The Ukrainians should listen to tanky kiwis and surrender to Russia cos the west is bad.
You got in it a nutshell Corey, time for the rose coloured spectacles about the West came off and we face up to the damage we've done, the colonisation, the wars, the excessive polluting consumption , the consequences of western domination on the citizens of the rest of the world.
Gaslighting the Balts, Poles and Ukrainians about the intentions of Russia is a really tasteless thing, given they've all suffered in the last century Soviet genocides.
Which countries bordering Russia have been threatened with Russian domination? When has Putin ever declared a desire to dominate countries bordering the Russian state? Or is it that you are simply believing all the tripe spewed by CNN et al?
History shows that domination by the west is undoubtedly bad.
I realise that Russia has launched a defense maneuver against NATO on Ukrainian soil, but you are right, the "domination" thing seems to have escaped me. Though I suspect it's just a product of your febrile imagination.
Francesca, is that the West you are talking about, or capitalism? Last time I looked, Russia also suffered from ecological disasters, grossly unfair living conditions for a large part of the population, and kleptocratic oligarchs, just like the US, but with a bit less freedom to complain about it.
"And one has to be invited by NATO to join NATO .It's not NATO passively accepting anyone who asks"
This doesn't seem to be true….
NATO says it has an ‘open door’ policy and any European country can join.
The only requirement is that they agree to further the principles of the Washington Treaty and contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area. This is set out in Article 10 of the founding 1949 North Atlantic Treaty (also referred to as the Washington Treaty).
2019 Ukraine elections were rated fair and open by internal and international observers. "In contrast to 2014, when Russian cyberattacks compromised the Central Election Commission network".
You'll notice(maybe not) that I used a western source on NATO, the Guardian, bastion of western "values", because an adversary nation's point of view incites the vapours in red blooded patriots of the glorious west
You quoted an opinion piece that was republished by the Guardian, written by a senior member of a think tank (the Cato Institute) well known for its libertarian, anti-NATO views and belief in a non-interventionist foreign policy.
So, maybe actually check and evaluate your sources before you start firing off quotes.
All that proves is that there is more than one useful idiot in the West.
"At the same time, it is already clear that in two eastern provinces, where 14 percent of the electorate lives, balloting will be next to impossible, thanks to forcible disruption by Russian-backed militants…Six days before the election, that failure is blatantly evident.
“There is intimidation,” a senior U.N. official told the Reuters news agency in describing the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ivan Simonovic, the assistant U.N. secretary general for human rights, said that a number of presidents and vice presidents of local elections commissions had been abducted or otherwise mistreated. Reuters reported that the last election commission attempting to operate in the city of Donetsk shut down Monday, leaving no voting operation in an urban area of 1 million people. Concluded the interior minister of Ukraine’s interim government: “It will be impossible to hold normal elections over the huge territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions."
Worse than cyber attacks – kidnapping and intimidation of electoral officials.
Apparently state agents have no right of free speech. Well, that seems to be the view of the PM. I presume he doesn't believe in civil rights? I suppose he would claim he does, but privileged members of the control system are meant to keep quiet regardless.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told Morning Report it was not appropriate for a board member of a Crown entity to publish his opinions in such a public space. "Somebody who is on a board of a Crown entity, particularly an independent media entity like Radio New Zealand, shouldn't be providing an independent political commentary."
So the muzzle he was obliquely referring to does exist but in a quasi-covert method of suppressing free speech:
In a statement, the RNZ board said chairperson Dr Jim Mather, who is currently overseas, has been made aware of the issue and has spoken to Ake about his responsibilities under the Code of Conduct for Crown entity board members. He specifically informed Ake of the protocol which states "when acting in our private capacity, we avoid any political activity that could jeopardise our ability to perform our role or which could erode the public's trust in the entity".
The general idea seems to be that board members cease being able to do social media and become robots instead. Or maybe androids. Mere cogs in the machine of governance.
Rob Campbell ought to put his lengthy experience & expertise to work on the situation: form a union of oppressed board members, use it to speak out in the public interest.
Assuming Ake has no expert knowledge on mental heath matters, Ake has made a groundless and gratuitous attack on Hipkins handling of the Allan situation.
Hardly acceptable behaviour coming from a board member of a Crown Entity, especially one whose key role is supposed to be politically neutral, and only 12 weeks out from an election.
I suggest Ake knew exactly what he was doing here and so should be sacked.
Am I wrong? I thought this board member/social media responsibility debate had been thrashed out in full in two recent cases, with appropriate consequences.
Looks as though he's doubling down on his commentary in this space (although, not directly critical of the PM – he's still critical of the government's delivery on mental health for Maori). Despite being told by the RNZ Chair that he can't be political – and a pretty direct statement from Hipkins that he was out of line.
Ake has this afternoon published a new post, saying events like Allan’s resignation elevate the opportunity for Māori to have conversations about mental health.
“We need to grab those opportunities because they encourage public discourse especially among our whānau. Mental health and well-being is the silent killer and a swathe of Māori journos got it immediately.”
Māori were disproportionately affected by mental health issues, he said.
“Yes we live longer but we continue to lag behind Pākehās. That’s the real crime here and much of it is borne out of this ideological premise that we as Māori must conform.
“That’s the conversation we had in our whare last night with our kids. We probably would not have had that yarn if we were not jabbed by recent events. I wonder how many other Māori households had that discussion or at least raised their collective awareness.”
…
This morning Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson said Ake had always been a vocal person and this would need to stop if he was to remain an RNZ board member.
"He will pull back though, because as I said the chair's been in touch and he's going to have to if he wants to stay a board member there."
X is on. Looks dreadful. Did they get AI to do it? Two snap-off craft knife blades arranged in a way to suggest authority, denial, intimidation. Musk is a dick.
Musk wants to have messaging, social media (audio and video) as well as banking on one platform/app – it's been done and called we chat.
His X is one overlayed by the other, his blade over that of the planet – satellite comms frequency to all, terrestial activity connections, transportation by smart device car (automatic management by AI) and lift of into space to escape it all.
An X man, with Sumerian god pretensions walks among us.
personal, meaningful words X'ed out by abstract corporate slogans.
symbolism:
X – wrong answer
X – illiteracy, anonymity, removal of personhood, censorship
X – extinction, extermination, death
X – corporate fascism "crossing out" democracy and free exchange of ideas
X – skull and crossbones; piracy; vulture capitalism
X – pornography, forbidden knowledge, occult
but hidden in this darkness is a redemptive arc:
+ in Jesus, the death of God breaks open new life 🐣
+ a cross is where heaven and earth intersect 🔀
+ psalm 85:10 "Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other." 🫶🏼
+ the red cross is a symbol of healing and peace amidst troubled times
Looking forward to questions to the leader of the opposition if he will introduce a bill to require anyone taking a mental health day or two to have clinical clearance before they return to work. What a tosser.
Hipkins should have bent time, looked through to the future void to see how Allan’s break up was going to go and if she was going to be okay to work and only then allowed her back.
They could do worse than Parker himself. Yes, I know he's boring, but I reckon he would make mincemeat of Luxon in the campaign debates. And perhaps the electorate is tired of colourful figures. Jacinda-ism may be outmoded.
It was Wood and Allan, so their wings clipped it is onward with Hipkins.
His job is at it was, to compete to win and fall on his sword if he does not. Though the law and order of politics, Professor Palmer, handed on late to the last line of defence for the old regime (Meikayla Moore) in 1990. Who tried again in 1993.
After the election, the precedent is falling back to either a future candidate for UNSG or Mayoralty of Auckland.
I agree…I came on here expecting it to be full of it..
The revenue minister walking away from his portfolio in protest at the canning of the wealth tax he developed ..is a very big deal..
I don't doubt his sincerity in this move..
And it makes sense as positioning as a future progressive leader of labour..
And if gren/tmp do as well as some hope..and demand a wealth tax as the price to pay for coalition support ..labour can roll hipkins…and parker is there…ready to roll..
It sums up the emptiness of NZ's political coverage.
Kiri Allan's departure, while very sad for her, is not about any policy issue at all. It has no bearing at all on what this government or an alternative government would do. It does not affect the voters' real lives in any way. Unlike say, tax policy.
But for political reporters it's the soap opera, and they love it. Parker's just boring.
I agree that Parker is boring (policy wonk, with little public appeal or charisma).
But the timing of this ministerial shuffle has to have been very deliberate – Hipkins (and, I'm sure Parker with his loyal to Labour hat on) – will be hoping to slide it under the kerfuffle occasioned by Allen's resignation, and the consequent reallocation of portfolios.
The last thing Hipkins or Labour want is a forensic journalist asking hard questions about how solid Labour's tax policy is; and/or how solid Hipkins' support is from the Labour front bench.
First Robertson (not exactly enthusiastic in the media stand up around the tax policy), and now Parker (basically saying, 'not on my watch').
Of National’s 69 candidates, 23 are women and 46 are men.
There are seven women standing in safe National seats, only one of whom is not a sitting MP.
By contrast there are 17 men in safe seats and 16 in potentially winnable seats.
The only category in which women candidates outnumber men are in safe Labour seats, which National has zero to little chance of winning. In those, there are 12 women and 11 men.
Of National’s tranche of new candidates, 15 men were selected in winnable seats compared to just four women.
Sounds about right. That article states the Nat list is expected by the end of July.
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In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
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X marks the spot – Musk abolishes Twitter logo, name next https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/494400/x-marks-the-spot-musk-abolishes-twitter-logo-name-next
Wow, I wonder how much this brilliant logo cost to design
He plans to have his own form of we chat (messaging, social media and banking around since 2011) in a few more years.
Musk and his Planet X.com solar system.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/audio/matt-lowrie-greater-auckland-director-says-its-impossible-for-tolls-to-pay-current-construction-costs-as-suggested-by-act/
Acts road toll policy doesn't stack up!!
Unless like all good free market right wingers they expect tax payers to subsidize their profits??
There's a good review here, for those interested in dramatic history: https://slate.com/culture/2023/07/oppenheimer-movie-historical-accuracy-communist-manhattan-project.html
Psychodrama! Hero as "a complex portrait: a tortured soul, enthralled by the science, then racked by guilt over the hellscape it unleashed. He’s insistent on his independence as a scientist, but also pliant in his role as mere adviser to authority. He’s certain of his convictions, but ambivalent about almost everything."
The film seems to have merit as exploration of the science/politics interface, considering timeless issues involving power & truth – plus faustian deals that changed the world.
Listening to Winston Peters on RNZ and really, he hasn't changed. He's tarted things up a bit with some MAGA catch phrases but what makes him jarring is the fact he is still pitching to a Tauranga audience of retired Rob's mob circa 2000.
It is such a pity, because NZ First has some good ideas but ultimately, it is entirely his vanity project and will disappear once he shuffles off this mortal coil.
Also, he is completely owned Ingrid Hipkiss.
I always thought there were some good ideas too, but they got lost in the forest of demented rants.
Do you think he's the 4-dimension chess player, the Professor Snape of Parliament, just there to pull the whacko votes without ever intending to action them? Some do.
I think Winston Peters is in it for Winston Peters. Entirely a vanity project. The man seems driven by vendettas real and imaged (mostly imagined). Peters is interesting because he has constantly presented himself to voters as an outsider kicking against the elites. Ingrid Hipkiss gave him pleanty of ammunition to advance that argument with her odd attitude and rather dismissive approach to him in the interview.
In an recent interview with the New Yorker magazine crackpot, cooker and maybe presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy Jr. accused his interviewer as being among the "elites". The journalist replied that Kennedy is from a far more privileged background than he. Kennedy says:
"When I use the word “élite,” I’m talking about the people who are inside the Beltway, the press figures who are supposed to be speaking truth to power, but instead have become propagandists for the government. Who view their jobs as quashing dissent, and quashing political criticism of the government that they’re supposed to be actually criticizing."
Therefore Kennedy, a genuine member of the ruling-class, is not an elite because he's an outsider. The elites are the insiders who shape consensus reality, whose moral and political codes dominate. The rest are forced to live in that reality and are victimised if they question it. Think "woke elite", and "metropolitan elite". Hipkiss firmly placed herself into this notional "elite" with the tone of her interview and walked into the rather obvious traps Peters set for her.
This displacing of class antagonism onto cultural elites is a boring commonplace of the Right – Kennedy might think he is onto something novel, but really, Winston Peters has been doing it for thirty years and Muldoon was doing it in the 1970s.
It's a funny theory of his, "insiders who shape consensus reality", when he's supposedly 'saying-what-we're-all-thinking' .
I wonder what shenanigans he'll get up to if he squeaks in again then.
Yeah – listened to it. I thought, will enough of these old dudes (among whom I place myself) do their coil shuffling thing before the climate crisis has become unsolvable – as they are the major obstacle to even trying? It looks like a tight race – like a reality-based 'reality tv' show. I'm not betting on it.
The funniest thing about Winston at the weekend was seeing all those Asian immigrants (mostly Indian) turning up at his party conference.
He didn't tell them to go home because there were too many of them. That was 1996 Winston. So many different Winstons over the years, I've lost count.
@ observer (4.3) … Winston Peters is a chameleon, changes his colours constantly to suit Winston. You wouldn't know what you were voting for with him. This leads me to think NZF led as it is presently by Peters is in no man's land, lacking policy, ready and willing to go with any party, which gives him personally a good deal. For these reasons, I would not ever vote for NZF. I like to know what I'm getting when I cast my vote and with Peters, it could be anything, because nothing is black or white with him. He's a grey unknown area unto himself … no pun intended there … known for holding the country to ransom, while he works out what is best for Winston!
About time Peters retired and left NZF to some younger politicians.
The Nat/Lab obsession with short-term politics posed a big problem for the younger generations now: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/132487585/global-megatrends-putting-critical-infrastructure-system-under-pressure
Better late than never?? At least govt seems to be musing upon this structural problem. No surprise that Labour kicked it down the road into the next electoral cycle though. Labour's real good at that. The thrill from each kick gets them high…
3 Waters covers some of these large infrastructure issues, and I have not seen undue delays to the efforts to fix the mile-long 'potholes' such as in the Coromandel, or the hill slips and flooding that have destroyed homes. Certainly no opposition party has offered and policies that are any different – it is easy to make false accusations of kicking issues down the road without any detail – but the ACT/Nat obsession with complaining about everything while not offering alternatives is not even kicking the tires
Looks like the historical compounding of the infrastructure deficit they refer to has been produced by collusion between Labour and National in the long-term, so your binary framing of the thing doesn't work. It fails to address the root cause.
Pothole repairs get done due to current funding. Ad hoc fixes serve to mask the real problem: towns, roads & bridges vulnerable to climate change. The system needs more of a reboot than tinkering. Neither the left nor the right have the brains & guts to do what is required.
Here is an example of exactly how much the "West' actually care or value Ukrainian lives (as if we already didn't know) …
"Meanwhile, for the United States and its NATO allies, these 18 months of war have been a strategic windfall, at relatively low cost (other than for the Ukrainians)"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/18/ukraine-war-west-gloom/
…yep, on a scale of one to ten…one, or maybe minus one, as it is plainly obvious that Ukrainian lives have zero value to the Western leaders (and their arse and boot licking media pundits)….but hopefully most sentient observers must have worked out by now that this war has always been about the West and the Wests own geo-political objectives, and Ukraine just happens to be the unfortunate country that is in the wrong place at the wrong time….the West have never given a fuck about Ukraine and they don't now, just like they don't give a fuck about Taiwan.
So you can be sure that no Western leader is going to lose one minute of sleep over the loss of at least two entire generations of Ukrainian men in what the history books will most certainly describe as (what should have been) an easily avoidable war ..much like Iraq, Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan…..wait, does there seem to be a common denominator here?
"…Ukrainian men in what the history books will most certainly describe as (what should have been) an easily avoidable war…"
How otherwise apparently rational human being can cling to this sort of nonsensicial and illogical thinking on the Ukraine war will puzzle social scientists for decades to come.
The social scientists will have plenty to wrap their heads around.Like how was it possible to fool so many for so long with simple media generated propaganda.In the west! of all places.
The sovietisation of western media is pretty well complete, the free press is dead
(Ask Assange)
"…yep, on a scale of one to ten…one, or maybe minus one, as it is plainly obvious that Ukrainian lives have zero value to the Western leaders"
I tend to agree, due to the cynical slow-rolling by the West of military aid to Ukraine, when they should have given them everything short of nukes in whatever quantities the Ukrainian's asked for.
the war can only continue if the Ukrainian men do the dying – and of course foreign fighters – as no Nato Member country would last a week sending its own to die there.
And how would this war have been avoided without Ukraine becoming a non-democratic state run by Russian puppets?
As opposed to being a non democratic state run by American puppets?
Who knows what would have come to pass had the US and Europe stood by their promises and not betrayed goodwill by embedding NATO further and further eastwards , until it, a hostile military alliance , was entrenched on Russian borders
It's not like NATO forced Poland or the Baltics to join at gunpoint.
Given the choice between joining an alliance that would at least respect their sovereignty (even if sometimes the US can be an awkward ally), and becoming a Russian satellite state again, they rationally and rightly chose the align themselves with the West.
Don't those countries also have the right to feel that Russia isn't exactly a trustworthy, good-faith actor? I mean, the number of times Lithuania has been occupied, annexed, ethnically cleansed, or otherwise screwed around by the US is exactly zero. Whereas the Russians have form.
And maybe there would have fewer issues with NATO's expansion if the current Russian regime was less repressive, wasn't morally bankrupt, and had weaned itself off the historical inclination to embark on foreign adventures to paper over the cracks.
That old chestnut!
No gunpoint, but possibly bagfuls of money and other more subtle incentives , I hear US diplomats can be very …ahem.. persuasive.
And one has to be invited by NATO to join NATO .It's not NATO passively accepting anyone who asks, if that was the case , Russia itself would be in NATO
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/28/nato-expansion-war-russia-ukraine
Talk about corruption!
Ukraine and many of the other East European states are absolutely riddled with it
And come to that , we could be looking a lot closer to home
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/07/25/mediawatch-astounding-corporate-capitalism-corruption-from-consultants-guyon-espiner-at-his-best/
No less old a chestnut than spouting nonsense justifications to support your wannabe hegemon du jour. 'tis a tale as old as war itself.
Nobody disagrees that Eastern Europe has had troubles with corruption: it's been a problem ever since the fall of the Soviet Union. But to try to draw a line between that, the expansion of NATO, and the war in Ukraine takes quite a leap of the imagination!
Besides, I don't think you're giving the people of the former Eastern bloc enough credit. They know what their problems are. They've done their own strategic and foreign policy calculus.
And they've decided that actually, NATO membership is worth it despite the potential downside of pissing off the Russians. Because, in their view, the risk of a Russian invasion/meddling is quite high. Or at least high enough to justify the costs.
As for democratic legitimacy, I think the fact that so many Ukrainians are willing to fight tooth and nail to defend what you are implying is a corrupt government is evidence enough that they don't feel the same way you do.
If the Ukrainians are universally willing to fight tooth and nail, forced conscription where men are grabbed off the street would not be necessary
And this would not be happening
or this
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/18584
NATO has been enthusiastically welcomed by many of the states formerly occupied and subjugated by russia. They had the choice to join or stick with russia, but chose NATO – seems one is a much preferred choice to the other, and russian aggression keeps making NATO seem more and more desirable.
Nato hasn't expanded East – it has been invited East. Big difference to russia sending tanks over your border as they are prone to do.
"And one has to be invited by NATO to join NATO ."
Yes, nato invites you, but only after a country first approaches Nato and expresses an interest in joining:
"It's not NATO passively accepting anyone who asks, if that was the case , Russia itself would be in NATO"
Have you read this?
And it fell apart.
If the Ukrainians are universally willing to fight tooth and nail, forced conscription where men are grabbed off the street would not be necessary
And this would not be happening
or this
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/18584
Meanwhile close to 1 million Russians (including hundreds of thousands of men of enlistment age) have fled the country. Clearly they are overwhelmingly delighted to be forced into a war of conquest /sarc/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_emigration_following_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine
Good grief. Did you actually read this Wiki? The claim is not verified as stated '[not verified in body] '.
I'd say a wider search of information may be called for.
wikipedia hs slipped to being just propaganda. I avoid like the plague these days.
Or does 'propaganda' just mean 'information I don't agree with'?
All information sources should be critically considered and not entirely trusted – but do you have actual evidence of wikipedia being widely unreliable and factually incorrect? I’d be interested to see it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia
UncookedSelachimorpha nope, propaganda is the dissemination of information—facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths, or lies—to influence public opinion. To quote britannica.
The reality is apart from men being the main editors of wikipedia, something like 90%. Or those in the west who dominate and direct the content, so cultural economic bias. It has become a tool for the ruling class.
This worth a watch if you have time
Closer to home, we had conscription in WW1 and WW2 here too. Does that invalidate the sacrifice made by those that did go fight? Or the eventual overthrow of Nazism?
OK, I'll give you WW1: a war whose devastation was only outstripped by its sheer pointlessness.
But total war is just that: total. You throw every body. Every bullet. And every ounce of energy into the fight.
Jingoistic shitfuckry at it's finest.
Do you live in the real world, not one gaslit by Winston Churchill and Soviet state WWII propaganda about how willing the male population is to fight, and to stand a good chance of wounding or death? Only 17 year olds imagine themselves heroes.
Anyone with half a brain and a knowledge of the realities of war knows that compulsory conscription is there because most men understand full well that the front line of a brutal trench war is not the place to be. But moral, or nationalistic, or 'we're in it together' reasons make most compliant. For others, they slip the net, until rounded up unwillingly.
Exactly. In a life-or-death struggle, you need every warm body you can get your hands on. Modern warfare is brutal.
And if not enough people volunteer, then yeah, using the coercive power of the state to conscript aforementioned warm bodies is the way to go.
But there's a yawning gulf between rounding up criminals to use as cannon fodder in a pointless foreign war, and conscripting citizens when your country has been invaded.
The Baltic states must be delighted they are in NATO with madman Putin in the Kremlin. Can anyone doubt they'd have been first on the block for invasion and annexation if they were not in NATO?
The Balts are giving evcerything they have plus lots of volunteers to support Ukraine, and if you really want to know what the East Europeans think of Russia just take a look at Polands military build up. The huge army they are creating in the next few years isn't designed to stop the Germans…
The purpose of Poland's military buildup is to waste money and impoverish the country, not to mention the enrichment of US arms manufacturers who will selling them the goods.
Makes sense.
Of course the Polish government argue
"let's buy arms to impoverish ourselves and waste money"
not
"Russia invaded, murdered and subjugated us for decades, russia say they want to again, and are invading their other neighbours. So let's arm ourselves and join nato!"
Yup. There is a reason Ukraine wants into NATO – Russia doesn't dare attack anyone backed up by Uncle Sam.
Yes the same backing Israel enjoys as it continues to stick 2 fingers aloft to all and sundry including its own people.
You forget that it was not Russia who started this war. It started in 2014 when Ukraine attacked it's Eastern provinces.
Do you mean when Russia annexed the Crimea?
Yes. When Crimea once again became Russian territory.
So it's fine for Russia to invade and annex part of another sovereign country.
Do you people ever listen to yourselves?
Crimea had historically *never* been part of post-Soviet Russia. From 1991 it was part of Ukraine (well, there's some argument about whether it was an autonomous republic inside or outside Ukraine – but it was certainly not part of Russia). Until it was annexed by Russia in 2014.
Please save your time and don't bother raising the 'referendum' which is universally held (apart from the pro-Russian apologists) to have been entirely dictated by the Kremlin.
So it's fine for Russia to invade and annex part of another sovereign country.
Depends on the circumstances. All bets were off once Ukraine turned Westward and formed an alliance with the evil empire. Anyhow it was what the majority of the Crimean people wanted.
As for the alleged shonkyness of the referendum, as claimed by NATO's fellow travelers and useful idiots, this has never been proved.
Ahh the west is bad chestnut!
It's the Wests fault that all these newly free former Soviet nations would rather fight to the death than ever suffer under the rule of Russia again.
It's the Wests fault that these nations want to join NATO to protect themselves from an expansionist Russia.
All those eastern Europeans who'd rather be allied with the West than Russia are brainwashed!
Don't they know that the west is bad!!!
They should listen to clueless people who've lived in western countries their whole lives about how the west is just as bad as Russia and just roll over and join Russia again
I mean how would Ukraine and co know whether Russia or the west is worse! It's not like they ever lived under Russian rule before
The Ukrainians should listen to tanky kiwis and surrender to Russia cos the west is bad.
West is baaaaaaad!
You got in it a nutshell Corey, time for the rose coloured spectacles about the West came off and we face up to the damage we've done, the colonisation, the wars, the excessive polluting consumption , the consequences of western domination on the citizens of the rest of the world.
Gaslighting the Balts, Poles and Ukrainians about the intentions of Russia is a really tasteless thing, given they've all suffered in the last century Soviet genocides.
I don't really think that levels of pollution is a field on which Russia can win.
Ever hear of Lake Baikal, Norilsk, Dzerzinsk….. the list goes on.
And, you still seem to be missing the point: the citizens of the Countries bordering Russia *do not want* Russian domination….
Somehow, in your mind, "western domination" (by which you seem to mean the USA) is bad; but Russian domination is good.
Don't you even see the contradiction?
Which countries bordering Russia have been threatened with Russian domination? When has Putin ever declared a desire to dominate countries bordering the Russian state? Or is it that you are simply believing all the tripe spewed by CNN et al?
History shows that domination by the west is undoubtedly bad.
Gosh, I'd have to say Ukraine.
An invasion, with appalling civilian casualties, pretty much qualifies as 'domination'.
What 'Russian domination' ? It's 30 years since Warsaw pact dismantled.
Russian invasion of Ukraine would be a strong indicator of Russian domination…..
Or perhaps you've missed it….
I realise that Russia has launched a defense maneuver against NATO on Ukrainian soil, but you are right, the "domination" thing seems to have escaped me. Though I suspect it's just a product of your febrile imagination.
Yup completely missed the illegal armed invasion of an independent country – with appalling civilian casualties.
Your pro-Russian blinkers are super strength – the Kremlin must be proud.
I look forward to you holding the UK and USA accountable for the invasion of Iraq.
Invasion of an independent countries is a war crime, and all cases should be treated as such.
Yup completely missed the illegal armed invasion of an independent country – with appalling civilian casualties.
A country that was already conducting civil war against its Eastern provinces.
Doesn’t it warm the cockles of your heart seeing those brave Ukranians sacrificing themselves for Uncle Sam. Bless ’em.
Well I would say American arms manufacturers are laughing all the way to their banks. Apparently Ukraine is not as "independent" as you imagine.
Francesca, is that the West you are talking about, or capitalism? Last time I looked, Russia also suffered from ecological disasters, grossly unfair living conditions for a large part of the population, and kleptocratic oligarchs, just like the US, but with a bit less freedom to complain about it.
This doesn't seem to be true….
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9813/
The restriction on membership is that the joining criteria are fairly stringent (so Ukraine was unlikely to have qualified for quite some time)
Oh, do give us examples of the NATO states which are "non democratic states run by American puppets"
Were you thinking of Germany, France, Iceland? Turkey, perhaps? Surely not the most recent NATO countries of Finland and Sweden?
All of whom are highly democratic (vastly more so than Russia) – and frequently critical of the US when their interests don't align.
If they are puppet states, then the puppet-master is a pretty incompetent one.
As a contrast, I offer you … Belarus….
It was never democratic before the conflict and signing the Permanent Neutrality Agreement would have halted the ..bloodshed.
Did Boris Johnson scuttle a Russia-Ukraine peace deal – back in APRIL? | Vox Political (voxpoliticalonline.com)
2019 Ukraine elections were rated fair and open by internal and international observers. "In contrast to 2014, when Russian cyberattacks compromised the Central Election Commission network".
(https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/in-depth-research-reports/report/foreign-interference-in-ukraine-s-election/).
Posting a link to the Atlantic Council is equivalent to posting a link to Sputnik, or the old Pravda
Francesca, isn't that exactly what you're doing with your whole "the war in Ukraine is NATO's fault" routine?
You'll notice(maybe not) that I used a western source on NATO, the Guardian, bastion of western "values", because an adversary nation's point of view incites the vapours in red blooded patriots of the glorious west
You quoted an opinion piece that was republished by the Guardian, written by a senior member of a think tank (the Cato Institute) well known for its libertarian, anti-NATO views and belief in a non-interventionist foreign policy.
So, maybe actually check and evaluate your sources before you start firing off quotes.
All that proves is that there is more than one useful idiot in the West.
All right then, Washinton Post Reuters report from UN officials in 2014 on election in eastern Ukraine:
"At the same time, it is already clear that in two eastern provinces, where 14 percent of the electorate lives, balloting will be next to impossible, thanks to forcible disruption by Russian-backed militants…Six days before the election, that failure is blatantly evident.
“There is intimidation,” a senior U.N. official told the Reuters news agency in describing the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Ivan Simonovic, the assistant U.N. secretary general for human rights, said that a number of presidents and vice presidents of local elections commissions had been abducted or otherwise mistreated. Reuters reported that the last election commission attempting to operate in the city of Donetsk shut down Monday, leaving no voting operation in an urban area of 1 million people. Concluded the interior minister of Ukraine’s interim government: “It will be impossible to hold normal elections over the huge territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions."
Worse than cyber attacks – kidnapping and intimidation of electoral officials.
Apparently state agents have no right of free speech. Well, that seems to be the view of the PM. I presume he doesn't believe in civil rights? I suppose he would claim he does, but privileged members of the control system are meant to keep quiet regardless.
So the muzzle he was obliquely referring to does exist but in a quasi-covert method of suppressing free speech:
The general idea seems to be that board members cease being able to do social media and become robots instead. Or maybe androids. Mere cogs in the machine of governance.
Rob Campbell ought to put his lengthy experience & expertise to work on the situation: form a union of oppressed board members, use it to speak out in the public interest.
Assuming Ake has no expert knowledge on mental heath matters, Ake has made a groundless and gratuitous attack on Hipkins handling of the Allan situation.
Hardly acceptable behaviour coming from a board member of a Crown Entity, especially one whose key role is supposed to be politically neutral, and only 12 weeks out from an election.
I suggest Ake knew exactly what he was doing here and so should be sacked.
Yeh he’s got a job which specifically precludes his involvement in politics. It’s in the contracts.
Either choose the job or your social media. Not tricky.
Am I wrong? I thought this board member/social media responsibility debate had been thrashed out in full in two recent cases, with appropriate consequences.
Looks as though he's doubling down on his commentary in this space (although, not directly critical of the PM – he's still critical of the government's delivery on mental health for Maori). Despite being told by the RNZ Chair that he can't be political – and a pretty direct statement from Hipkins that he was out of line.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/494454/rnz-board-member-jason-ake-makes-fresh-comments-on-kiri-allan-saga-despite-criticism-from-pm
X is on. Looks dreadful. Did they get AI to do it? Two snap-off craft knife blades arranged in a way to suggest authority, denial, intimidation. Musk is a dick.
It's a unicode character.
https://www.compart.com/en/unicode/U+1D54F
https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-x-logo-unicode-math-textbooks-2023-7
edit: it gets better
@keithedwards
Microsoft owns the trademark for X. This is just too good.
https://twitter.com/keithedwards/status/1683586586007437312
He's been at this 'X' idea for a while:
https://www.businessinsider.com/history-behind-elon-musk-x-brand-that-may-replace-twitter-2023-7
Be interesting how the Microsoft trademark, XBOX and everything that entails, plays out.
No doubt we'll hear that some brains trust have been working on the X for two years and spent millions coming up with it.
And once revealed it took five minutes and no dollars for someone to say "I recognise that."
The legal cases to follow? Probably run into the tens of millions.
Looks like 2 ys to me ,
X for games – Microsoft patent
X for social media – Meta patent
X for banking – Musk patent
Musk wants to have messaging, social media (audio and video) as well as banking on one platform/app – it's been done and called we chat.
His X is one overlayed by the other, his blade over that of the planet – satellite comms frequency to all, terrestial activity connections, transportation by smart device car (automatic management by AI) and lift of into space to escape it all.
An X man, with Sumerian god pretensions walks among us.
We have a winner.
Sesame Street
@sesamestreet
The letter X will be holding a press conference later today. #TwitterX
https://twitter.com/sesamestreet/status/1683508159942467584
This X debacle is just confirmation beyond doubt that Musk is an egotistical grifting fuckwit
twitter -> X
google -> ABC
facebook -> Meta
personal, meaningful words X'ed out by abstract corporate slogans.
symbolism:
X – wrong answer
X – illiteracy, anonymity, removal of personhood, censorship
X – extinction, extermination, death
X – corporate fascism "crossing out" democracy and free exchange of ideas
X – skull and crossbones; piracy; vulture capitalism
X – pornography, forbidden knowledge, occult
but hidden in this darkness is a redemptive arc:
+ in Jesus, the death of God breaks open new life 🐣
+ a cross is where heaven and earth intersect 🔀
+ psalm 85:10 "Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other." 🫶🏼
+ the red cross is a symbol of healing and peace amidst troubled times
Looking forward to questions to the leader of the opposition if he will introduce a bill to require anyone taking a mental health day or two to have clinical clearance before they return to work. What a tosser.
Hipkins should have bent time, looked through to the future void to see how Allan’s break up was going to go and if she was going to be okay to work and only then allowed her back.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/132611615/david-parker-untenable-to-remain-revenue-minister-after-wealth-tax-rejection
In some ways, this is more important than the departure of Kiri Allan
It's a public acknowledgement of a very significant split in the Labour cabinet.
Time, I think, for Chippy to fall on his sword like Andrew Little did in 2017.
Who would you see as the Ardern in that situation? I certainly don't see a popular, unifying figure waiting in the Labour caucus wings.
Absent an Ardern-style figure emerging, Hipkins resigning would be an unmitigated disaster for Labour.
They could do worse than Parker himself. Yes, I know he's boring, but I reckon he would make mincemeat of Luxon in the campaign debates. And perhaps the electorate is tired of colourful figures. Jacinda-ism may be outmoded.
It was Wood and Allan, so their wings clipped it is onward with Hipkins.
His job is at it was, to compete to win and fall on his sword if he does not. Though the law and order of politics, Professor Palmer, handed on late to the last line of defence for the old regime (Meikayla Moore) in 1990. Who tried again in 1993.
After the election, the precedent is falling back to either a future candidate for UNSG or Mayoralty of Auckland.
@ alan
I agree…I came on here expecting it to be full of it..
The revenue minister walking away from his portfolio in protest at the canning of the wealth tax he developed ..is a very big deal..
I don't doubt his sincerity in this move..
And it makes sense as positioning as a future progressive leader of labour..
And if gren/tmp do as well as some hope..and demand a wealth tax as the price to pay for coalition support ..labour can roll hipkins…and parker is there…ready to roll..
Yes, NACT will be singing that loud and clear every day leading up to the election.
It sums up the emptiness of NZ's political coverage.
Kiri Allan's departure, while very sad for her, is not about any policy issue at all. It has no bearing at all on what this government or an alternative government would do. It does not affect the voters' real lives in any way. Unlike say, tax policy.
But for political reporters it's the soap opera, and they love it. Parker's just boring.
I agree that Parker is boring (policy wonk, with little public appeal or charisma).
But the timing of this ministerial shuffle has to have been very deliberate – Hipkins (and, I'm sure Parker with his loyal to Labour hat on) – will be hoping to slide it under the kerfuffle occasioned by Allen's resignation, and the consequent reallocation of portfolios.
The last thing Hipkins or Labour want is a forensic journalist asking hard questions about how solid Labour's tax policy is; and/or how solid Hipkins' support is from the Labour front bench.
First Robertson (not exactly enthusiastic in the media stand up around the tax policy), and now Parker (basically saying, 'not on my watch').
Sounds about right. That article states the Nat list is expected by the end of July.
I have to take it back. The politicians (if not nec the journos) are being very magnanimous towards Kiri. Both sides. Even more so than with Muller.
I'll eat my hat over this. I hope it gets reported properly.
(I’m watching parl tv)
I think many of them will be thinking, "There, but for the Grace of God, go I"
Parliament – especially cabinet – is a pressure cooker – and it sometimes just takes one additional source of pressure for an explosion to happen.
I suspect that all of them are treating Allen very differently to either Wood or Nash – whose errors were arrogance and entitlement.
Congrats to the Philippines soccer team, which beat us in the Womens' World cup.
NZ had 70% possession and 4 accurate shots on goal to their opponents' 1, but still lost
by the only goal in the match. Those stats are not good if you are the NZ coach.
The stats were great, not the result.