Open mike 25/12/2015
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6:00 am, December 25th, 2015 - 36 comments
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A new Child Protection Investigation Unit is being established to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in care, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. âThe report released by the Royal Commission into abuse in state care shows us all the risk of not acting immediately when there are serious ...5 hours ago - Speech at United States Business Summit 2024
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko NgÄti WhÄtua ĆrÄkei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...5 hours ago
- Record number of submissions received on granny flat proposal
Nearly 2,000 submissions have been received on the Governmentâs proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk say. âThis is the highest number ...7 hours ago
- District Court Judge appointed
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- Appointments strengthen Predator Free 2050
The latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments will help to strengthen biodiversity efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka today announced two appointments to the Board of Directors of Predator Free 2050 Limited, a key player in the wider Predator Free 2050 Programme. âThe Predator ...9 hours ago
- New facility in Christchurch will improve the lives of young New Zealanders
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey today opened Kahurangi, an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterburyâs Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services. âThe new state of the art outpatient facility opened today will be a gamechanger for the way mental health is delivered for young people in Canterbury,â says Mr ...9 hours ago
- Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Aucklandâs bus fleet by 2026.âThe Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over ...9 hours ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.âCabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...1 day ago
- Bill reaffirms Governmentâs commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Governmentâs commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. âIn recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. âThis Bill makes ...1 day ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. âThe Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...1 day ago
- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...1 day ago
- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...1 day ago
- First arrests made under gang patch ban
Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. âJust before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...1 day ago
- Better support for victims of sexual violence
The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âWe are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...1 day ago
- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...1 day ago
- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Childrenâs Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naĂŻve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. âIâm saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...1 day ago
- Fighting for Kiwis in Trade
Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...1 day ago
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Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. âThis Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...1 day ago
- Improving the lives of young New Zealanders
Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Governmentâs new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. âChildhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...1 day ago
- Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea
The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.âThe Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...2 days ago
- Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024
TÄnÄ koutou katoa â it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...2 days ago
- New Zealandâs COP29 National Statement
TÄnÄ koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...2 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Governmentâs expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. âNew Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...2 days ago
- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. âNew Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...2 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. âGang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...2 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.âCommunities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...3 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayersâ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.âWhen I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...3 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. âWe need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...3 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. âIt is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. âHowever, the reality ...3 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). âReaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Governmentâs ...3 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 â July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...3 days ago
- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. âThe latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...3 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. âOur diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealandâs interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,â Mr Peters says. âIt is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...3 days ago
- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Governmentâs plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. âNew Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,â says Mr Seymour. ...3 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulationâs Red Tape Tipline is now live. âWe want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,â says Mr Seymour. The ...3 days ago
- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. âYouth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,â says Mr Doocey. âThe two-day ...4 days ago
- Police stats show promising change
After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. âIn August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...4 days ago
- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. âOnline financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...4 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. âI want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...4 days ago
- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministersâ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. âWe need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,â Ms Collins says. âNew Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...4 days ago
- ACT’s David Seymour won’t ‘bow down’ to his hapĆ« leaders
They have pleaded with the ACT leader to stop what they say are abusive violations of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...1 hour ago - Former political figure who abused teens loses name suppression
However, his name remains under wraps as he has already indicated he will appeal. ...2 hours ago
- Educating young people about social media would be far more effective than a ban â Finland can sh...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Grantham, Lecturer in Communication, Griffith University Shutterstock The federal governmentâs proposed social media ban for under-16s has sparked widespread debate, affecting millions of young Australians, their families and educators. But will it actually work? While the aim behind this ban ...2 hours ago - Ant stings can be painful. Hereâs how to avoid getting stung this summer (and what to do if you do...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Robinson, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland AG-PHOTOS/Shutterstock With the start of summer just days away, many of us will be looking forward to long sunny days spent at the beach, by the pool, out ...2 hours ago
- Is using the Future Fund for housing, energy and infrastructure really âraiding Australiaâs nest...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Crosby, Professor, Monash University Chichimaru/Shutterstock Australia has a seriously big ânest eggâ. The Future Fund â our sovereign wealth fund set up in 2006 â now manages about $230 billion. Specifically, its remit is to âinvest for the benefit ...2 hours ago
- Women are less likely to receive CPR than men. Training on manikins with breasts could help
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Stokes-Parish, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Bond University Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock If someoneâs heart suddenly stops beating, they may only have minutes to live. Doing CPR (cardiopulmonary resusciation) can increase their chances of survival. CPR makes sure blood keeps pumping, providing oxygen to ...3 hours ago
- The Friday Poem: âBoyhoodâ by Art Nahill
A new poem by Art Nahill. Boyhood I hate the way the dog cowers when I raise my voice. After all this time together sheâs still not sure what Iâm capable of. As kids with too much time we sprinkled salt on slugs plucked from summer gardens watched them shrivel ...5 hours ago - The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 22
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Booksâ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Jonathan Cape, $26) The slight, superb winner of the Booker Prize ...5 hours ago
- âWantedâ for war crimes over Gaza: Israelâs Netanyahu, Gallant face ICC arrest warrants
Democracy Now! NERMEEN SHAIKH: In The Hague, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Israelâs assault on Gaza. In a statement, the ICC said the Israeli leaders had, ...5 hours ago
- New Child Protection Investigation Unit announced by Children’s Minister
The unit will be up and running by early next year, Children's Minister Karen Chhour says. ...6 hours ago
- In-person submissions on Treaty Principles Bill to be at Parliament or by video call
In-person submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill will all be held at Parliament or by video call. ...6 hours ago
- ‘Got my support’ – Christopher Luxon stands by Erica Stanford after ‘stupid ...
The prime minister says it wasn't appropriate behaviour but that Erica Stanford had apologised. ...6 hours ago
- Gang chapter president’s patch seized in first 24 hours of ban
The first arrest was made just three minutes after midnight, with 11 more to come. ...6 hours ago
- Government slammed for pushing on with boot camps amid trial
Labour has accused National of ignoring the evidence. ...6 hours ago
- The unspoken rule of conversation that explains why AI chatbots feel so human
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Celeste Rodriguez Louro, Chair of Linguistics and Director of Language Lab, The University of Western Australia Rroselavy / Shutterstock Earlier this year, a Hong Kong finance worker was tricked into paying US$25 million to scammers who had used deepfake technology to ...6 hours ago
- Who were Caracalla and Geta, the cruel and unhinged Roman brother emperors depicted in Gladiator II?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Hanaghan, Senior Research Fellow in Latin Christianity in Late Antiquity, Australian Catholic University Warning: this article contains mild spoilers. When Gladiator I was released in 2000, I was a high school Classics student and the film brought Classical literature to life ...6 hours ago
- Gang patch ban: The first 24 hours
The first arrest was made just three minutes after midnight, with 11 more to come. ...7 hours ago
- New Zealand Government Urged To Back ICC Arrest Warrants For Israeli Leaders Without Equivocation
âWe are waiting for our government to announce it will arrest Netanyahu and Gallant immediately if they set foot in Aotearoa New Zealandâ says PSNA National Chair John Minto. ...7 hours ago - Justice Committee Makes Further Decisions About Submissions Process For The Principles Of The Treaty...
The committee plans to hold hearings in the week starting Monday, 27 January and the weeks starting 10, 17 and 24 February 2025. ...8 hours ago
- Watch live: Christopher Luxon faces questions during power station visit
It comes as Labour accuses National of not listening to evidence about boot camps. ...8 hours ago
- Survivors of abuse in care know how redress should work â will the government finally listen?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Winter, Associate Professor in Political Theory, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images When Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stood in Parliament last week to apologise to survivors of abuse in care, his words were among many fine speeches by ...8 hours ago
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- RNA editing is the next frontier in gene therapy â hereâs what you need to know
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne IoanaB/Shutterstock The United States Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first-ever clinical trial that uses CRISPR-Cas13 RNA editing. Its ...10 hours ago
- Yes, you still need to use sunscreen, despite what youâve heard on TikTok
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Lee, PhD Candidate, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland Karolina Grabowska/Pexels Summer is nearly here. But rather than getting out the sunscreen, some TikTokers are urging followers to chuck it out and go sunscreen-free. They claim itâs healthier ...10 hours ago
- Humans are killing off the old and wise animals that hold nature together. Hereâs what must change
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keller Kopf, Senior Lecturer in Ecology, Charles Darwin University Laxmikant Ameenagad, Shutterstock In humans and other animals, ageing is generally associated with a decline in biological function. But scientists are now discovering older animals perform vital roles in populations and ecosystems. ...10 hours ago
- A man scouring Google Earth found a mysterious scar in the Australian outback â and now scientists...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matej Lipar, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Author provided/Google Earth Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched ...10 hours ago
- Design as a movement: how First Nations people take ownership of their cultural stories through fash...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Treena Clark, Chancellorâs Indigenous Research Fellow, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, University of Technology Sydney Once located 250 metres to the east of the Art Gallery of South Australia, the grand beaux-arts style Jubilee Exhibition Building was constructed to house the ...10 hours ago
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The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says a third medical school and more students in Auckland and Otago are both needed. ...10 hours ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University Linda George/Shutterstock The ten-year anniversary of the death of much-loved Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes falls on November 27. The 25-year-oldâs life was tragically cut short in 2014 when a bouncer ...10 hours ago
- Hold the roosters, no economic dawn yet
Treasury likely to downgrade economic forecast while Chris Bishop says the government wonât be âa slave to a surplusâ, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Recession will be deeper and last longer â Treasury At a recent Spinoff ...11 hours ago
- Knowing superstitions arenât real doesnât stop us behaving superstitiously â why?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his âmassively superstitiousâ habit of repeating âwhite rabbitsâ three times at ...12 hours ago
- Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way
The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...13 hours ago
- Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate
Labour claims Government is âcherry-pickingâ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...13 hours ago - Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate
Labour claims Government is âcherry-pickingâ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...13 hours ago
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The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...13 hours ago
- Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws
A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...13 hours ago
- This week three parties stood together â can they withstand the storm to come?
There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this weekâs historic hÄ«koi mĆ te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te PÄti MÄori ...14 hours ago
- All 33 malls in Auckland ranked from worst to best
From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking weâve ...14 hours ago
- The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: PÄkehÄ. Role: Marketing exec at ...14 hours ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...14 hours ago
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Seasons Greetings to all and the very best for 2016.
‘
Merry Christmas – EVERYONE – and all the best for 2016.
+1
Greetings to all Standarnistas, have a great day comrades.
Merry Christmas you mad buggers!
You too, you young sod đ
And to everyone else
May I ask one of you authors to guest post Incognito’s comment (below) – perhaps over the weekend? It is very good and so topical. Thanks.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24122015/#comment-1112263
Oh, and don’t stuff yourselves with too much food and good wine – remember, there’s another day tomorrow. Now I’m off to do exactly that….
Merry Xmas.
Good idea.
I also support this – an extremely good and thoughtful comment from Incognito.
My very best wishes to everyone for this special time of year, and for 2016.
AND a very big thank you to all those people who keep TS a special place to come – and particularly to Lynn for letting us be part of TS and all his time and efforts keeping the site running; and all the authors (who I will not attempt to name for fear of missing someone!) And my fellow commenters.
I have been keeping a list of and links articles etc that have popped up over the last week or so which people here might be interested in and might have missed in the lead up to the holidays, the Hager and Dotcom decisions etc. I will drip feed these onto Open Mike over the next week or so.
Thank you veutoviper for your supportive comment. My best wishes to you for the coming year. I look forward to your list appearing on TS over the next little while.
When survival was the daily task of early hominids concepts such as âworkâ and âemploymentâ were non-existent. You hunted, gathered, fended off wild beasts and sought shelter for your people.
The model presented (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-de-villiers/as-it-is-in-heaven_b_8375662.html) explores the human condition in a perfect world and lands us right back where we started.
Thank you Ant for this interesting comment and that link. As you do on Christmas Day, Iâve been doing a little reading on Utopia and I came across some of the writings and work of Zygmunt Bauman. The planet described in the Huff Post link sounds very much like a âclassical Utopiaâ: a reliable, predictable, more secure World that can be trusted and that is not subject to uncertainties and thus more fear-free.
In his book Liquid Times: Living in an Age of Uncertainty Bauman quotes Italo Calvino, The invisible cities (Le cittĂ invisibili):
âThe hell of the living is not something that will be: if there is one, it is what is already here, the hell where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the hell and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and learning: seek and be able to recognize who and what, in the midst of the hell, are not hell, then make them endure, give them space.â
I tend to interpret the return of the mission back to Earth [referring to the Huff Post piece] as the second option in the above quote and that they (we?) are by no means âright back where we startedâ. I think the author of the Huff Post would lean a similar way; the clues, as I see them, are in the first and last sentences of his blog.
Thank you Anne! I hope you enjoyed Christmas Day in good company with some food and a glass of good wine or two. I personally quite like the GewĂŒrztraminer variety.
To friends and whanau Nollaig Shona!
Frohe Weihnachten from a Winter-ish Vienna… I’m pretty sure I’ve had colder Christmases in Wellington.
Merry Christmas to all the Standardistas.
Thanks for keeping me (somewhat) sane for another year, and ensuring my sense of humour continues apace with my cynicism.
Especial thanks to lprent, the authors and the regular commenters who make this site my first stop in the mornings.
A merry Sufi Christmas to all.
Oh in that case,
http://www.livescience.com/42077-8-ways-mushrooms-explain-santa.html
(probably best not to try that at home Standardistas).
Wishing all Standardistas a wonderful Christmas and New Year, and thanks to everyone, especially lprent, for another year of great conversation.
And it would hardly be Christmas without Shane and Kirsty
Shane’s got himself a new set of choppers too.
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/dec/20/shane-macgowan-a-wreck-reborn-new-teeth-tv-special
I’ve got your hand
You just trust ‘me’
Everything will be fine
Trust ‘me’
Indeed he has – I was delighted that he insisted on a gold one. Being able to bite and apple is one thing, wholly surrendering to dental respectability is another.
Better.
Trivia time:
Shane was filmed at the piano, but he cannot play the instrument. Instead the pianist was shot with Shane’s rings on his fingers, and Shane was made to look like he was playing the piano.
Matt Dillon appears in the first few shots as a police officer
There is no NYPD Chior. Only a pipe band. And the shot of them singing has them singing the song from the Mickey Mouse Club, but slown down. They do not know the words to ‘Galway Bay’.
Interesting. Still, it is a beautiful song.
Peace everyone.
But not too peaceful for too long. There’s the enemy gloating on the horizon.
Otherwise relax for now.
“We’ll meet again,
Don’t know where,
Don’t know when….”
If you can’t do ‘the job’.
We will not meet again.
https://youtu.be/Q5Iak0oDWIc
Since Christmas is the time we at least SAY Krillipsy type platitudes, and at least (hopefully) think about other people within our Public…… many thanks, Kia Kaha’s, etc. to City Missions, Sikh and other temples, Salvation Armies, Refuges and any other charities who’re doing the work of our government (as it claims its 1st world status) has become a necessity.
Krillipsy?
Merry Christmas from Taranaki. Which turned out a fine day with no gales for the first time this season.
Cool, calm and collected, babe.
Nice.
Here is the audio (only) of the original John Lennon version of Happy Christmas (War is Over):
https://archive.org/details/HappyXmaswarIsOver
One more Christmas song/ Video – This released by Veterans for Peace UK: “Christmas Truce”. Singer is Fenya
http://veteransforpeace.org.uk/2015/christmas-truce-video/