As hundreds of Palestinian civilians are being killed by Israel every day, and the survivors are being herded into smaller and smaller pockets, Germany Intervenes to support Israel's actions at the World Court.
Will Judge Nolte defy his country's support for Israel?
The 17 judges of the World Court are due to release their decision on, whether or not the World Court will grant South Africa's application for an interim order for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
South Africa sought their application for an interim order for a ceasefire from the world court, on the grounds that Israel is conducting war crimes in Gaza that amount to genocide. The crime of genocide is decided both by evidence of "intent" and by the evidence of acts that "destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group."
The burden of proof for the World Court to issue an interim order for a ceasefire is much lesser than that for a full hearing of the court. All that needs to be proved for an interim order, is that there is a "possibility" that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The United Nations International Court of Justice, AKA The World Court, is the highest legal body in the United Nations system.. The judgements handed down by the World Court are always partly political partly judicial
For example the US Judge will vote against a ceasefire, the judge for South Africa will vote for a ceasefire, the judge for Israel will vote against a ceasefire, etc,
Some time in the future, this World Court hearing and the deliberations of its judges made in chambers, will be dramatised. This dramatisation may even be streamed on Netflix.
Like the recent Netflix dramatisation based on the transcripts of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, the manipulation and pressure on the judges by the US will be laid bare. The published dissenting opinions of the judges made in chambers against US pressure and manipulation of the court will also be laid bare.
Who will be the main protagonist of this new Netflix dramatisation?
Germany's Georg Nolte will be the one to watch.
Germany have filed a intervention with the World Court in support of Israel. The sole country to do so. Germany's intervention will not be heard in this preliminary hearing, for an interim order, and will only be heard at the full hearing, which everyone admits could be months or even years away.
I suspect that the reason the German government have lodged an intervention with the court in support of Israel is to send a message to Georg Nolte.
The message being delivered to Judge Nolte by the German state, is this – If you vote for South Africa's application for an interim order for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, you will be up against the full weight of the German state.
Based on how their countries have voted on the issue of a ceasefire in the UN General Assembly, the vote by the judges of the World Court for an interim ceasefire order will be very close, Just one judge going against the expected outcome will make a difference. Israel and the US have made it clear what the expected outcome of the World Court will be.
All politics is pressure.
Because of US political pressure on its allied governments, I expect that the judges in the World Court appointed by those governments, will not vote to issue an order for a ceasefire in Gaza and the best South Africa could expect from the judges of the World Court is a watered down interim order for Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.
Georg Nolt's vote in chambers could change this dynamic.
Why would Judge Nolte be motivated to go against his country?
Judge Georg Nolte is a Holocaust scholar an a stickler for the letter of law in international affairs and has edited several published works on international law relating to genocide. Judge Nolte is well aware of the historical parallels of voting with the other US allied judges against South Africa's ceasefire application.
Will Judge Nolte be Germany's new August Landmesser?
We hear of 1st world countries sneeringly refer to 3rd world countries as, corrupt, brutal despotic, banana republics. Bloody hell, they're amateurs compared to what's going on here
It will get worse. Now the US has reinstalled the blockade of Yemen, that country, which has already been devastated by UK and US weaponry in the service of Saudi Arabia, will now be devastated again directly by the US. Last time even the New York Times called out the US on complicity in war crimes through supply of weapons, targeting and air to air refuelling without which the destruction would have been impossible. A child starved to death every 9 minutes. When cholera arrived, a child died every 5 mins
This all presumes that there will be some calm "day after".
That's conceit, though well intentioned.
There will be no logical transition from active conflict to some calm post-conflict reality, one where we see some clear shift in the politics, economy, and security environment for Gaza.
This is already looking a lot worse than the UN-security team buffer zones on the Egyptian border or even the Golan Heights.
No nation in their right mind would send their people to secure Gazans from Israel or Israelis from Hamas – even if both sides permitted it.
This one is really different. There's no quick withdrawal of Israel and no commitment by Hamas to stop either. It's many years away.
The only players still trying for a settlement are the UAE and the US. Every plan is being rejected both by Hamas and Israel.
Gaza looks now like a highly compressed form of Kabul: recently taken over fully and anyone looking for freedom is instead consigned to increased disintegration and despair.
Friday 26 January, 2024, 1 p.m. Central European Standard Time.
….the International Court of Justice will deliver its Order on the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel). A public sitting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Joan E. Donoghue, the President of the Court, will read the Court’s Order…..
The cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy and inconsistency of ACT. The party of "property rights" ( and inherited privilege for white, wealthy people) opposing the "property rights" of Mãori.
ACT is all about "property rights" and "keeping what your ancestors have possessed, unless you are brown and colonised. That is almost their entire reason for existence.
I keep saying this, but act represent the most vial part of our culture to a tee.
The squirming out of contract, not honor ones word, and ripping off people as much as possible. This is cultural cringe stuff, which shocks people from other countries, and makes me feel very uncomfortable to come from here.
She also provides an excellent video debunking the somewhat outlandish claim that I often hear that runaway global warming will turn earth into Venus. She goes into the science of how Venus became what it is, and why that is unlikely to happen on earth.
I think the real, provable issues are serious enough, and that outlandish claims that are easily disproven simply gives ammunition to the denialists. So, I think it is important to focus on the actual problems rather than hysterical claims that I think are actually counterproductive.
NZ First are a bunch of filthy, corrupt grifters. The whole party is owned by tobacco money yet our MSM is to cozy with their place in the swamp to be bothered calling it out.
The recent review of our electoral laws was pretty damn long on making it easier for political parties – given half a chance and they'll happily have four year terms, lowered thresholds, and utterly opaque funding rules forever – but anti-corruption laws? Nah.
Kiri Allan in today's Herald gives an extraordinary and insightful interview on her time in politics and summation of how it all fell apart. Well worth reading and it's not a "premium" item.
She allegedly drove a vehicle with excess breath alcohol. She allegedly (by her own admission) drove a vehicle on a rainy evening “after a few beers” and “in quite an erratic state of mind”. She was the Minister of Justice, yet her first instinct (ahead of cooperating with police), was to ‘seek legal counsel’. Compassion? Any I might have had ended once I’d read this public display of self indulgence.
Well if she did say that, she's got a serious credibility issue.
"She was heading to somebody’s house. “I was seeking probably solace in just some people … just given the state I was in. But I made that decision to drive.”"
I've deleted my reply and will stop commenting on this. When I was 18 I lost a close relative (he was 27) to suicide. In my 20's I lost a close friend in a car accident involving a drunk driver. 15 years ago I had to tell the staff at a business I ran that a 19 year old colleague had been killed in an accident involving a drunk driver. I'm angry by what Kiri has done.
I'm less angry than I would be if she hadn't been suicidal. People who are out of their minds make very bad decisions. She has been honest about this, that it was true for her that she fucked up majorly. Maybe she needs to be saying more about how what she did impacts on others? That would be fair I think.
and fwiw, I think Anne just showed zero compassion as well.
The difference is that Kiri Allan is a public figure and we know a fair bit about her and the context around the incident. OTOH, David is an anonymous commenter on TS since 29 November last year who might even be using a pseudonym and we know next to nothing about him, or at least not until he chose to share some background info @ 7:41 pm.
Anne was dismissive about how someone might feel about having someone close to them kill themselves. That's compassionless.
If we can't have compassion for our political enemies, why should anyone including David?
And if the issue is that David is a troll, or astroturfer or just a RWNJ, then isn't it better to err on the side of caution? Otherwise why would RWNJs not display the same behaviour towards us?
My response weka @ 7:20pm had nothing to do with 'lacking compassion' for someone losing a friend or relative in an accident involving a drunk driver.
On the basis of David's original comment @ 5.1, I saw a nasty put-down of someone who has been to hell and back. I saw it as a cop-out. He then comes up with a reply to me about drunk driving which I also saw as a cop-out. I called him out with my "Pffft".
He eventually relates his personal experience which he should have provided from the get-go then I would have understood where he was coming from. Still doesn't let him entirely off the hook.
Kiri has every right to tell her story, just as Golriz has done and Todd Muller before them. I felt compassion and admiration for all three of them. It takes guts to front up like they did.
Anne was dismissive about how someone might feel about having someone close to them kill themselves. That's compassionless.
That's one hell of a leap to take! Any suicidal thoughts involved were not even known to me until I saw Waghorn's comment last night. I was responding to David’s comment at 5.1 only. Check the timelines if you don't believe me.
As Incognito pointed out, he made his original statement with no context whatsoever. In his short life span here thus far, 'David' has made numerous smart-arse comments designed to inflame. Despite his subsequent explanation, which I don't dispute, I still suspect he took the opportunity to have a crack at Allan.
In future, please don't put a claim in my mouth that was never there. Thank-you.
Sorry, that should have read “Anne was dismissive about how someone might feel about having someone close to them be killed by a drunk driver. That’s compassionless”
David’s comment and your reply to that comment, from above,
David 5.1.2.1
26 January 2024 at 7:08 pm (Edit)
Have you ever lost a relative or close friend to a drunk driver, Anne?
Reply
Anne 5.1.2.1.1
26 January 2024 at 7:10 pm (Edit)
Unfortunately none of us are mind readers and when a commenter uses one word that is by definition dismissive, then people are going to read that in response to the comment it was made about. If you want to have more nuance in your commentary, maybe use more words.
I thought it was her media colleagues buttering up their last resort readers. she should never have got the job she was incapable of. She should shut up and take the punishment.
This government seems hellbent on creating dramas all over the place. Haven't got off to a good start at all. Luxon's "I used to run an airline" self belief is waning rapidly,
Luxon got through the mini-budget and 2 separate large engagements with Maori quite unscathed.
There is no organised opposition to them in Parliament.
Also with inflation coming down, unemployment still good at 3.9%, no tropical disasters to respond to, and GDP forecasts improving, they have momentum going into the May Budget 2024.
Yes I heard Willis on RadioNZ saying something like "yes we have inflation coming down but we still have more work to do" as though the drop to 4.7% happened under their watch when in reality it was under Labour's
There is always a honeymoon period for new governments….check the polls in a year’s time.
Food was still up 4.8% in the quarter which also doesn't help.
"Energy prices for Europe are expected to increase as more petroleum products and crude tankers are diverting away from the Rea Sea and Suez Canal. Longer trips for the Middle-Eastern barrels that replaced Russian flows to Europe introduce supply issues, …"
Trade from the Persian Gulf to ASEAN refineries is not impacted, nor that in North Asia (or ASEAN) areas to us. Nor that from America to us. Nor across the Atlantic
This is a specific targeting of the European West (supporting Ukraine) who switched away from Russian supply (sanctions) and their supply of energy and EV's/electronics etc from Asia.
The current GOP block of funding to Ukraine (and subsequent risk to NATO from a Trump victory) explains belligerent talk from Mdvedev of late (Ukraine belongs to Russia and they will have what they want elsewhere in Europe).
It's a, first Ukraine then Palestine, strategic allegiance after all (Russia-Iran).
Nevertheless, Container shipping remains by far the cheapest way to ship goods internationally, but prices vary widely between where you’re moving from and where you’re moving to.
The extent of the higher cost factor will be dependent on how much of our Asian trade is on ships that are/were on the Asian-Europe route – and whether they charge separate container rates within the region or not.
For mine it's a possible 1%+ issue, so I don't see the risk of a rate higher than 5% (as it is at the moment).
The difference between pre-culture war L/R politics and L/R politics now, is that now people are more committed to their partisanship than they are to the country they live in (although they may not see the difference).
For instance, in the 80s and 90s there was a strong L/R political culture in NZ, but it was more like we swung between the two, there was a strong fight between the two, but we all still got on.
Whereas now, the divides aren't as binary, and some are downright unclear. Many people operate as if the divides are still binary. And there is a strong commitment (on all sides) to positions that overrides concern for the wellbeing of people, community and country.
That last paragraph presents differently depending on the position.
The difference in the 80's/90's was that it was an economic change to a neo-liberal market order with a lot of victims (and a lot going to Oz, thus their 2001 response) – unemployment and then declining health (convergence for older workers and the super increase age 60 to 65 1990-2000).
The end of our egalitarianism(1/4 acre homeownership stock standard) is subject for lament.
Now it is more cultural and otherwise a sense of global middle class (educated, job and travel mobile) and local underclass.
The American input is faith based provider term limit welfare reform, high levels of imprisonment/parole/probation management/community policing, prosperity religion gospel where God is on the side of the middle class (and wealthier elites) and end time rapture where God is to come judge the liberals and send them all to hell – culture war fuel.
Then there is the anti-globalism of the American nativism – a reboot of their isolationism being spread on social media (sovereignty movement, anti UN etc).
Trump managed to successfully engage a massive cohort of people who regular politics had left behind. In a NZ context its like he managed to energize the whole of West and South Auckland to vote for him. Boris sorta did the same, theres a lesson for the left in there somewhere….
Against a background of great global and psychological unsteadiness, people feel they need to choose a corner the defend it like crazy – or they'll go crazy.
Logic, accomodation of new ideas, kindness toward the other corners, doesn't get a look in now.
that's how I see it too. Conservatism is a natural response to stress and perceived danger.
I think there are other things going on too. The degree of disconnect from shared reality and objective reality among some of the new political movements. Social media and the huge degree of intentional emotional/psychological manipulation being done. Both of those undermine attempts to resolve issues via as you say logic, new ideas, kindness.
I also think the climate and biodiversity crises are of such a scale that the human mind and heart aren't well equipped to understand and respond them.
true, but I had and have to work at it. The urge to respond well is built into me, but the skills in how to cope with the scale of the crisis, those I had to develop.
I am a carrier of stress and don't show any symptoms. I am also a conservative who can see light at the end of a very dark tunnel.. Ardern killed kindness by preaching it and doing the opposite. As a farmer I am welcoming climate change as it is a positive. the bank also recognises that climate change will be beneficial to our business and dropped 20 basic points of the mortgage. You guys need to get all that shit out of your heads and rejoin the modern world.
Yep in NZ its an opportunity to do new things, have run across a few mango trees doing well and fruiting outside in Auckland, Sugarcane on the marginal land in the North, Bannanas, Pineapples on a commercial scale we are actually well placed.
I'm sure that all will be clear if you read it as 20 basis points and not 20 basic points. I'm sure that that was just a typo by Ian and he meant basis.
The evil hag Ardern killed kindness and waged war on we rich white farmers who are now quite happy because we might have some mangoes, but sad because of our repressed rage that a woman built a very dark tunnel which I got stuck in. The bank gave us some basic points which we will use to grow more mangoes and stop female harridans from stepping out of the kitchen and building more tunnels.
You certainly do have some exceedingly dark thoughts about our former PM. Relax, she is no longer in the job and persisting in such ideas can't possibly be good for you.
Quite apart from the * or ** or *** divides of focus on media, for many there is a higher level of pressure in their daily lives (affording rent/mortgage – education standards/access to a functioning health system).
that's both not new, in the sense we've had those times before, and new, in the sense that now we have the accumulation of nearly 50 years of neoliberalism and it's compounded.
I don't know if it's just me, but I find myself having to actively reframe my mind to stop believing that things are going to go back to normal. I don't think they are going to, but my brain is habituated to thinking they will (godzone)
Other divides that seem to be wider than 20 yrs ago- Rural/Urban and Haves/ Have-nots.
I think part of the polarisation is social media. In two ways. Someone else's pithy paragraph sums up them (othering) rendering everything black and white, no grey.
Also, and more importantly, time spent at the screen is time spent reinforcing, polishing and hardening the idea of the individual. Time not spent in others company- church, sports or cultural or interest groups, service or volunteer time. All of which bring you into meaningful contact with folk dissimilar to you.
The demise or splintering of the left was way more pronounced by the state's reaction to Covid than it was for the right.
Because the "left" is where the action is, gsays. It's not surprising that multiplication of thought occurred there; the Right abhors such divisioning (made-up word).
In any case, it wasn't the "State's" reaction to Covid – it was the Left's 🙂
Plus, I challenge your claim that the Rural had divided more from the Urban. This is not true.
Your penultimate paragraph though, I agree with, although it needs parsing 🙂
In regards to rural urban, what I am getting at is the disconnect with so many folk as to where their food comes from.
In the mid '80s I feel in love with a horticulturalists daughter. He would send his produce off to the auctions and would get a fair price for it.
Over the next few years, the rise and rise of the supermarkets meant that they would tell him when his season would start, finish and how much produce he would deliver and at what cost.
This has two effects, city folk get most of their food whims met (regardless of season or country of origin) and plenty of primary producers forced into the arms if the foreign owned banks. Therefore dancing to the banksters tune rather than their local community.
I'm fully on-board with your "supermarket-kills-growers" vibe, gsays. It is true.
I love that you "feel in love" with a horticulturalists daughter (there's a film in there 🙂 The return for growers from those supermarkets is a crime against humanity.
Yeah, only need to do the math on a $2 Broccoli head at countdown in season to figure that the people that actually do the hard bit are getting shafted.
This began before social media, with the change in employment laws and requirement to be able to work shifts and two incomes to afford rent and mortgage. This ended the concept of a common time for gathering. Basic things like not being able to be available for evening training or weekend games played their part in the beginning.
If we don't spend time with birds, trees, fish, flies, we become disconnected and start to spin out.
We are presently spinning out, as a species, imo.
Totally agree Robert. I gave a reflection on this very subject last year – too long to post here.
A summary:
If we look at the history of the theology of creation perhaps the the fault lies with the Masoretes.
The Masoretes were groups of Jewish scribe scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries. Each group compiled a system of pronunciation and grammatical guides on the external form of the biblical text in an attempt to standardize the pronunciation, paragraph and verse divisions, of the Hebrew Bible for the worldwide Jewish community. Had they put a tsere (two dots) under the Resh they would have the root word yarad which means to come down or lower oneself. The original had no dots. Perhaps it is more correct to use root word yarad (to lower oneself) rather than radah (to rule over). In the original Hebrew the word starts with a Yod which is a picture of a heavenly messenger or yarad which means to lower oneself and not a Resh which means to rule over.
St. Francis of Assisi would go to the woods to worship God with the animals. It is said that the animals wild and tame would approach him. That is why you always see St. Francis of Assisi pictured with a bird on his shoulder and a wolf by his side. The story goes that a town was being attacked by a wolf and the town leaders came to St. Francis knowing his affinity for animals and asked if he could help. St. Francis went to the wolf and had a little conversation with the wolf and then reported to the town leaders that the wolf was just hungry and if they would feed him he would not attack. Thus, the town sort of adopted this wolf as a result of St. Francis’s conversation or yiredu with the wolf.
The industrial Revolution was firmly based on the assumption of humans dominion or radah over creation. And look where that has ended up.
Thanks, Macro – your sample indicates that the full reflection will have been a valuable read. I'm a big fan of St. Francis, o at least, of what I have gleaned from popular stories about him. His epiphany/metanoia interests me very much, especially where he abandoned all, including his clothes, something that's not unknown with young people nowadays experiencing overwhelm of a serious sort; the rejection of all of societies trappings 🙂
I wonder if you know "Valerian Hare" by Janosh? It's a story for children and reflects the St. Francis's tory beautifully.
It's more efficient to describe a massive decrease in both left political activism and party membership from the mid 1980s, and a parallel big decrease from even mild political participation in voting either at local or central elections.
The last big march about climate change, for example, was 2017 which is 6 years ago.
The last big Maori-focused march was the Foreshore and Seabed hikoi which was 2004.
That doesn't mean there's fewer people doing good things; it means more activists are choosing to put their energy into local trusts and charities, and only occasionally getting back into it for particular campaigns.
Seems a worthwhile view. I'm in favour of a framing based on triadic structure. Whereas the ancient microcosm/macrocosm binary ruled identity via belief/paradigm, connecting persons into large like-minded group, it makes more sense nowadays to insert mesocosm in between.
To do so, a user must use metaphysics combined with pragmatism: google only gives us ecosystemic framing via examples of usage, so be pragmatic & use their utility as basis for extending the principle. Define mesocosm as the user's group context. Since commons in the group mind produce like-mindedness in the group, idiosyncrasy works in natural complementarity with collaboration. It allows individuals to align with tam spirit when mutual benefits make that a good idea at the time.
Most folks operate unconsciously but will shift together in mesocosmic operational contexts they use via the tacit psyche (as verified by Kahneman & Tversky) which Polanyi first provided the philosphical basis for all those decades ago (Personal Knowledge). When public intellectuals realise the number 1 produces holism, 2 produces dualism, 3 relates things to each other (relativism) they'll acquire a principled basis upon which to theorise. Principles are primary components of metaphysics.
Since 1 provides common operating context to parts of the whole it creates by integrating them, the user connects the framing to their situation experientially to check the match between cerebral waffle & what actually happens. Problematic traditional categories often confuse participants: relevant or bullshit? Half the time folks are uncertain, so we ought to use the grey zone for all such uncertain states of mind. Call the grey zone the third dimension of politics between right & wrong.
No time to proof-read that so it's team spirit I was mentioning at the end of the second paragraph. The other triad relevant is voter/party/state.
The gist of where I'm coming from on politics in a state of malaise is that the conceptual reframe enables progress. Others will be unconvinced, feeling that the status quo always wins, so only the proactive will be early adopters.
Sorry about the break in the site. I disabled two plugins on the main site so that I could make them site specific. Got the dreaded white screen of death on the main site.
It left my test site running, but I couldn't get to the backend for either the multisite or the thestandard. So I couldn't turn the plugin back on.
Had to relearn wp-cli and how to activate a 'network' plugin.
Now I have to to figure out how I want that plugin to operate in the new theme. It runs the data for the other site right bar RSS pickups.
Now I have to figure out how to detach that RSS aggregator from the site. It really needs to run as a separate process like the sphinx search does. I'll look around for a linux tool.
Russia Vs. Ukraine – Now a utter cluster fuck of a meat grinder. And in both cases just means death for young men who are thrown into the front lines. If you just support one side and don't feel for those young men on both sides. I question your ability to make a moral judgement.
1. sniper shooting civilians after they talk with journalists (done to intimidate both the public and media).
2. use of drones to fire at unarmed civilians in streets makes a war crimes charge list – unless a street/area curfew was made known first (hardly likely if it was a place to gather for food aid etc).
The question here is whether this candidate will be allowed to contest Putin's re-election. Putin had said allowed candidates would be those not opposed to the war in Ukraine.
Also do me a favour and put up something which in not propaganda like the BBC on Russia. I mean I'm no fan of Putin, but even so the BBC are so beyond fucked up in this area of reporting, so lack credibility on Russia to anyone with half a brain.
Bugger off. Lets just do the great march of return. I can give you hours and hours of the IDF being low life scum.
Want to cancel the BBC?
Bloody nora, can you read? I said, on Russia the BBC has no credibility. SMD, you have no credibility on some subjects – do you need to be canceled? Next stupid question.
[
SMD, you have no credibility on some subjects – do you need to be canceled? Next stupid question.
If you ask stupid questions like that here you’re guaranteed reactions that make you think more carefully about what you wish for – Incognito]
Is the anger at those who do not emote in sync, supposed to discourage debate and welcome only affirmation? Is that not a little tribal?
As for the BBC report it was based on an interview with someone standing for President, what about it could be problematic. It’s the BBC and it is Russia?
My post had nothing to do with elections in russia – it was about a dumb f*&king war that has turned into a clusterfuck of a meat grinder, and the men at the front. You know the actual working people who are actually being thrown into this sick meat grinder. Did you even read it? Or was party politics in a dictatorship more important?
News Flash – russia is not a democracy!!!!!!!
BUT the Beeb.
I see you have no comment of the Great March of Return. Was it the assassinations you could not handle? The killing of Women and Children by the IDF? The murder of unarmed medics and journalists? What are you scared of? That the IDF you have defened is actually evil – truly moral bankrupt den of scum and villainy? I have seen the building/cars/tents blown up, lost friends, heard the heart breaks, and then seen the bodies.
The IDF are evil – the most simplest statement in 2024.
I would have thought the relevance of a Russian standing for President, on a policy of ending the war relevant as to a tiring of the loss of life, (Ukraine of the war zone the one unable to hold an election) fairly obvious.
I see you have no comment of the Great March of Return.
I mentioned something about it on the 25th – the relevance of the link in the post at 10.27pm.
It appears discourse is not always the wise option.
We encourage robust debate and we’re tolerant of dissenting views. But this site run for reasonably rational debate between dissenting viewpoints and we intend to keep it operating that way.
What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others. We are intolerant of people starting or continuing flamewars where there is little discussion or debate.
Cancelling is excluding others and suggesting or threatening this therefore draws the inevitable response of the Moderators here. In any case, you don’t have the means to cancel other commenters whom you (strongly) disagree with and/or dislike. Thus, it was a stupid question, even if it was rhetorical. And preceding it with the acronym “SMD” was particularly dim-witted.
If you cannot stick to the Policy and engage in robust & civil debate here then take your aggro somewhere else. I note that this is not the first time Mods pull you up on this behaviour.
Context – please re-read his comment about cancelling the BBC – which is stupid statement and totally at odds with what I said.
My response, as always is not angry, just forthright. So lets review – My point was a media outlet is not trustworthy on a topic, the other punter went to utter stupidity about me cancelling said media outlet. My response was to point it was like cancelling them and their Small Minded Dementia – utter stupidity. How can you read it any other way, unless your looking to read it another way.
Because
When have I ever supported cancelling here or anywhere, and offered an opinion contrary to – thinking anyone who supports such cancelling or censorship, is quite frankly, an authoritarian tool. If we are talking about not first times and such.
I get what you are saying here adam, and agree that you weren't suggesting cancellation but instead indirectly pointing out the problem with the previous comment.
But it would go a long way if you stopped casting aspersions on other commenters, and now a moderator. This is why you come across as aggro. And it makes some of your comments hard to parse.
You should be aware that often mods are reading comments in the backend list as they are published ie out of context.
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The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on UnsplashEvery morning I get up at 3am to go around the traps of news sites in Aotearoa and globally. I pick out the top ones from my point of view and have been putting them into my Dawn Chorus email, which goes out with a podcast. ...
Over on Kikorangi Newsroom's Marc Daalder has published his annual OIA stats. So I thought I'd do mine: 82 OIA requests sent in 2024 7 posts based on those requests 20 average working days to receive a response Ministry of Justice was my most-requested entity, ...
Welcome to the December 2024 Economic Bulletin. We have two monthly features in this edition. In the first, we discuss what the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update from Treasury and the Budget Policy Statement from the Minister of Finance tell us about the fiscal position and what to ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi have submitted against the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, slamming the Bill as a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and an attack on tino rangatiratanga and the collective rights of Tangata Whenua. “This Bill seeks to legislate for Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles that are ...
I don't knowHow to say what's got to be saidI don't know if it's black or whiteThere's others see it redI don't get the answers rightI'll leave that to youIs this love out of fashionOr is it the time of yearAre these words distraction?To the words you want to hearSongwriters: ...
Our economy has experienced its worst recession since 1991. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, December 20 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above and the daily Pick ‘n’ Mix below ...
Twas the Friday before Christmas and all through the week we’ve been collecting stories for our final roundup of the year. As we start to wind down for the year we hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and new year. If you’re travelling please be safe on ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the year’s news with: on climate. Her book of the year was Tim Winton’s cli-fi novel Juice and she also mentioned Mike Joy’s memoir The Fight for Fresh Water. ...
The Government can head off to the holidays, entitled to assure itself that it has done more or less what it said it would do. The campaign last year promised to “get New Zealand back on track.” When you look at the basic promises—to trim back Government expenditure, toughen up ...
Open access notables An intensification of surface Earth’s energy imbalance since the late 20th century, Li et al., Communications Earth & Environment:Tracking the energy balance of the Earth system is a key method for studying the contribution of human activities to climate change. However, accurately estimating the surface energy balance ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guests and , ...
“Like you said, I’m an unreconstructed socialist. Everybody deserves to get something for Christmas.”“ONE OF THOSE had better be for me!” Hannah grinned, fascinated, as Laurie made his way, gingerly, to the bar, his arms full of gift-wrapped packages.“Of course!”, beamed Laurie. Depositing his armful on the bar-top and selecting ...
Data released by Statistics New Zealand today showed a significant slowdown in the economy over the past six months, with GDP falling by 1% in September, and 1.1% in June said CTU Economist Craig Renney. “The data shows that the size of the economy in GDP terms is now smaller ...
One last thing before I quitI never wanted any moreThan I could fit into my headI still remember every single word you saidAnd all the shit that somehow came along with itStill, there's one thing that comforts meSince I was always caged and now I'm freeSongwriters: David Grohl / Georg ...
Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...
It is difficult to make sense of the Luxon Coalition Government’s economic management.This end-of-year review about the state of economic management – the state of the economy was last week – is not going to cover the National Party contribution. Frankly, like every other careful observer, I cannot make up ...
This morning I awoke to the lovely news that we are firmly back on track, that is if the scale was reversed.NZ ranks low in global economic comparisonsNew Zealand's economy has been ranked 33rd out of 37 in an international comparison of which have done best in 2024.Economies were ranked ...
Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...
Similar to the cuts and the austerity drive imposed by Ruth Richardson in the 1990’s, an era which to all intents and purposes we’ve largely fiddled around the edges with fixing in the time since – over, to be fair, several administrations – whilst trying our best it seems to ...
String-Pulling in the Dark: For the democratic process to be meaningful it must also be public. WITH TRUST AND CONFIDENCE in New Zealand’s politicians and journalists steadily declining, restoring those virtues poses a daunting challenge. Just how daunting is made clear by comparing the way politicians and journalists treated New Zealanders ...
Dear Nicola Willis, thank you for letting us know in so many words that the swingeing austerity hasn't worked.By in so many words I mean the bit where you said, Here is a sea of red ink in which we are drowning after twelve months of savage cost cutting and ...
The Open Government Partnership is a multilateral organisation committed to advancing open government. Countries which join are supposed to co-create regular action plans with civil society, committing to making verifiable improvements in transparency, accountability, participation, or technology and innovation for the above. And they're held to account through an Independent ...
Today I tuned into something strange: a press conference that didn’t make my stomach churn or the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Which was strange, because it was about the torture of children. It was the announcement by Erica Stanford — on her own, unusually ...
This is a must watch, and puts on brilliant and practical display the implications and mechanics of fast-track law corruption and weakness.CLICK HERE: LINK TO WATCH VIDEOOur news media as it is set up is simply not equipped to deal with the brazen disinformation and corruption under this right wing ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting Secretary Erin Polaczuk is welcoming the announcement from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden that she is opening consultation on engineered stone and is calling on her to listen to the evidence and implement a total ban of the product. “We need ...
The Government has announced a 1.5% increase in the minimum wage from 1 April 2025, well below forecast inflation of 2.5%. Unions have reacted strongly and denounced it as a real terms cut. PSA and the CTU are opposing a new round of staff cuts at WorkSafe, which they say ...
The decision to unilaterally repudiate the contract for new Cook Strait ferries is beginning to look like one of the stupidest decisions a New Zealand government ever made. While cancelling the ferries and their associated port infrastructure may have made this year's books look good, it means higher costs later, ...
Hi there! I’ve been overseas recently, looking after a situation with a family member. So apologies if there any less than focused posts! Vanuatu has just had a significant 7.3 earthquake. Two MFAT staff are unaccounted for with local fatalities.It’s always sad to hear of such things happening.I think of ...
Today is a special member's morning, scheduled to make up for the government's theft of member's days throughout the year. First up was the first reading of Greg Fleming's Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill, which was passed unanimously. Currently the House is debating the third reading of ...
We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
2024 is now officially my best-ever year for short stories. My 1,850-word dark fantasy piece, As Our Power Lessens, has been accepted for the upcoming solstice edition of Eternal Haunted Summer (https://eternalhauntedsummer.com/), thereby making that six published short stories for the calendar year. As always, see the Bibliography page for ...
Brooke van Velden has wasted six years of work from businesses, unions, and government by binning planned Holidays Act reforms, said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh in response to today’s announcement from Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety. “The Minister has cynically kicked the can on Holiday Act reform even ...
Words, playing me deja vuLike a radio tune, I swear I've heard beforeChill, is it something real?Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingersWho do you need?Who do you love?When you come undoneSongwriters: John Taylor / Simon Le Bon / Nick Rhodes / Warren Cuccurullo.When this three-way coalition was being ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
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Who will be this guy?
https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/resistance-responses-collaboration/non-conformity/refusal-to-salute/
As hundreds of Palestinian civilians are being killed by Israel every day, and the survivors are being herded into smaller and smaller pockets, Germany Intervenes to support Israel's actions at the World Court.
https://www.dw.com/en/what-does-it-mean-if-a-third-party-intervenes-at-the-international-court-of-justice/a-68024168
Will Germany's Judge Nolte be the new August Landmesser?
There is strong evidence that judges sitting in the World Court favor the states that appoint them.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/430765#:~:text=The%20International%20Court%20of%20Justice%20(ICJ)%20has%20jurisdiction%20over%20disputes,the%20states%20that%20appoint%20them.
Will Judge Nolte defy his country's support for Israel?
The 17 judges of the World Court are due to release their decision on, whether or not the World Court will grant South Africa's application for an interim order for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
South Africa sought their application for an interim order for a ceasefire from the world court, on the grounds that Israel is conducting war crimes in Gaza that amount to genocide. The crime of genocide is decided both by evidence of "intent" and by the evidence of acts that "destroy in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group."
The burden of proof for the World Court to issue an interim order for a ceasefire is much lesser than that for a full hearing of the court. All that needs to be proved for an interim order, is that there is a "possibility" that Israel's actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
The United Nations International Court of Justice, AKA The World Court, is the highest legal body in the United Nations system.. The judgements handed down by the World Court are always partly political partly judicial
For example the US Judge will vote against a ceasefire, the judge for South Africa will vote for a ceasefire, the judge for Israel will vote against a ceasefire, etc,
Some time in the future, this World Court hearing and the deliberations of its judges made in chambers, will be dramatised. This dramatisation may even be streamed on Netflix.
Like the recent Netflix dramatisation based on the transcripts of the Tokyo War Crimes Trial, the manipulation and pressure on the judges by the US will be laid bare. The published dissenting opinions of the judges made in chambers against US pressure and manipulation of the court will also be laid bare.
https://www.netflix.com/nz/title/80091880
Who will be the main protagonist of this new Netflix dramatisation?
Germany's Georg Nolte will be the one to watch.
Germany have filed a intervention with the World Court in support of Israel. The sole country to do so. Germany's intervention will not be heard in this preliminary hearing, for an interim order, and will only be heard at the full hearing, which everyone admits could be months or even years away.
I suspect that the reason the German government have lodged an intervention with the court in support of Israel is to send a message to Georg Nolte.
The message being delivered to Judge Nolte by the German state, is this – If you vote for South Africa's application for an interim order for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, you will be up against the full weight of the German state.
Based on how their countries have voted on the issue of a ceasefire in the UN General Assembly, the vote by the judges of the World Court for an interim ceasefire order will be very close, Just one judge going against the expected outcome will make a difference. Israel and the US have made it clear what the expected outcome of the World Court will be.
All politics is pressure.
Because of US political pressure on its allied governments, I expect that the judges in the World Court appointed by those governments, will not vote to issue an order for a ceasefire in Gaza and the best South Africa could expect from the judges of the World Court is a watered down interim order for Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid.
Georg Nolt's vote in chambers could change this dynamic.
Why would Judge Nolte be motivated to go against his country?
Judge Georg Nolte is a Holocaust scholar an a stickler for the letter of law in international affairs and has edited several published works on international law relating to genocide. Judge Nolte is well aware of the historical parallels of voting with the other US allied judges against South Africa's ceasefire application.
Will Judge Nolte be Germany's new August Landmesser?
Georg Nolte hero, or villain?
History will decide.
"An absolute tsunami of aid trucks refused entry into Gaza". Starvation of 2 million Palestinians as a weapon of war.
Also, bombing of hospitals now not even claiming the presence of Hamas. Ethnic cleansing at its most brutal
We hear of 1st world countries sneeringly refer to 3rd world countries as, corrupt, brutal despotic, banana republics. Bloody hell, they're amateurs compared to what's going on here
It will get worse. Now the US has reinstalled the blockade of Yemen, that country, which has already been devastated by UK and US weaponry in the service of Saudi Arabia, will now be devastated again directly by the US. Last time even the New York Times called out the US on complicity in war crimes through supply of weapons, targeting and air to air refuelling without which the destruction would have been impossible. A child starved to death every 9 minutes. When cholera arrived, a child died every 5 mins
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/31/opinion/columnists/yemen-famine-cholera.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockade_of_Yemen
No comment links are frowned upon at the Standard I think. If you have an opinion state it.
Of themselves as a starter, not links relevant to a topic at hand.
Your reference for where the US reinstalled a blockade of Yemen?
And it was not the USA who established the last one.
This all presumes that there will be some calm "day after".
That's conceit, though well intentioned.
There will be no logical transition from active conflict to some calm post-conflict reality, one where we see some clear shift in the politics, economy, and security environment for Gaza.
This is already looking a lot worse than the UN-security team buffer zones on the Egyptian border or even the Golan Heights.
No nation in their right mind would send their people to secure Gazans from Israel or Israelis from Hamas – even if both sides permitted it.
This one is really different. There's no quick withdrawal of Israel and no commitment by Hamas to stop either. It's many years away.
The only players still trying for a settlement are the UAE and the US. Every plan is being rejected both by Hamas and Israel.
Gaza looks now like a highly compressed form of Kabul: recently taken over fully and anyone looking for freedom is instead consigned to increased disintegration and despair.
'
Crunch time:
Friday 26 January, 2024, 1 p.m. Central European Standard Time.
The reading of the Court's order can be followed live in New Zealand at 1 a.m.
Saturday 27 January, 2024, on the Court’s website and on UN Web TV.
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1u/k1uwq4cxuv
The cognitive dissonance, hypocrisy and inconsistency of ACT. The party of "property rights" ( and inherited privilege for white, wealthy people) opposing the "property rights" of Mãori.
Link please
https://newsroom.co.nz/2023/11/15/anne-salmond-why-acts-treaty-referendum-is-disrespectful-and-arrogant/
ACT is all about "property rights" and "keeping what your ancestors have possessed, unless you are brown and colonised. That is almost their entire reason for existence.
I keep saying this, but act represent the most vial part of our culture to a tee.
The squirming out of contract, not honor ones word, and ripping off people as much as possible. This is cultural cringe stuff, which shocks people from other countries, and makes me feel very uncomfortable to come from here.
Here is an excellent video by Sabien Hossenfeilder explaining the key science that proves that modern climate change is caused by humans. An excellent video to give to skeptics or climate change deniers you may know.
She also provides an excellent video debunking the somewhat outlandish claim that I often hear that runaway global warming will turn earth into Venus. She goes into the science of how Venus became what it is, and why that is unlikely to happen on earth.
I think the real, provable issues are serious enough, and that outlandish claims that are easily disproven simply gives ammunition to the denialists. So, I think it is important to focus on the actual problems rather than hysterical claims that I think are actually counterproductive.
Jesus Christ, how corrupt do you have to be in NZ politics before the media call you out as corrupt?
https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350158370/tobacco-lobbyist-guest-ministers-swearing-ceremony
NZ First are a bunch of filthy, corrupt grifters. The whole party is owned by tobacco money yet our MSM is to cozy with their place in the swamp to be bothered calling it out.
The recent review of our electoral laws was pretty damn long on making it easier for political parties – given half a chance and they'll happily have four year terms, lowered thresholds, and utterly opaque funding rules forever – but anti-corruption laws? Nah.
Kiri Allan in today's Herald gives an extraordinary and insightful interview on her time in politics and summation of how it all fell apart. Well worth reading and it's not a "premium" item.
Yes it’s a brilliant PR piece, perfectly timed for her upcoming book release.
Zero compassion, right there.
Perfect timing by the court too in setting the trial date today. Obviously, this is all too much of a coincidence
She allegedly drove a vehicle with excess breath alcohol. She allegedly (by her own admission) drove a vehicle on a rainy evening “after a few beers” and “in quite an erratic state of mind”. She was the Minister of Justice, yet her first instinct (ahead of cooperating with police), was to ‘seek legal counsel’. Compassion? Any I might have had ended once I’d read this public display of self indulgence.
Sorry, forgot link
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/kiri-allan-on-her-night-of-shame-i-made-a-series-of-decisions-you-regret-them-for-a-lifetime/RVVIP22ZVVC5HD4T3Y2BOOAUMA/
that was what RG meant by zero compassion, right there.
The bit of an interview I caught today on 1 news at lunch had her say she was on her way to kill her self, but yip you crow all you want little cock.
Well if she did say that, she's got a serious credibility issue.
"She was heading to somebody’s house. “I was seeking probably solace in just some people … just given the state I was in. But I made that decision to drive.”"
Kiri Allan on her night of shame: ‘I made a series of decisions. You regret them for a lifetime’ (newstalkzb.co.nz) "
how is being honest about being actively suicidal a credibility issue?
I've deleted my reply and will stop commenting on this. When I was 18 I lost a close relative (he was 27) to suicide. In my 20's I lost a close friend in a car accident involving a drunk driver. 15 years ago I had to tell the staff at a business I ran that a 19 year old colleague had been killed in an accident involving a drunk driver. I'm angry by what Kiri has done.
I'm less angry than I would be if she hadn't been suicidal. People who are out of their minds make very bad decisions. She has been honest about this, that it was true for her that she fucked up majorly. Maybe she needs to be saying more about how what she did impacts on others? That would be fair I think.
David @ 5.1
You piece of common shit!
Have you ever lost a relative or close friend to a drunk driver, Anne?
Pffft!
Have you ever lost a relative or close friend to suicide, David?
Yes. On both counts.
so we're back to zero compassion.
and fwiw, I think Anne just showed zero compassion as well.
You're right, Weka, I can't show compassion for Kiri. I know I should be able to (genuinely), but not after reading Claire Trevett's piece.
The difference is that Kiri Allan is a public figure and we know a fair bit about her and the context around the incident. OTOH, David is an anonymous commenter on TS since 29 November last year who might even be using a pseudonym and we know next to nothing about him, or at least not until he chose to share some background info @ 7:41 pm.
David’s first comment in this thread @ 5.1 (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-26-01-2024/#comment-1986817) was insensitive enough to provoke a (negative) response.
He claims he “can’t” show compassion because of a piece written by someone else, which to me suggests a possible underlying bias towards Kiri Allan.
the comparison was between David and Anne 😉
Anne was dismissive about how someone might feel about having someone close to them kill themselves. That's compassionless.
If we can't have compassion for our political enemies, why should anyone including David?
And if the issue is that David is a troll, or astroturfer or just a RWNJ, then isn't it better to err on the side of caution? Otherwise why would RWNJs not display the same behaviour towards us?
On and on it goes.
My response weka @ 7:20pm had nothing to do with 'lacking compassion' for someone losing a friend or relative in an accident involving a drunk driver.
On the basis of David's original comment @ 5.1, I saw a nasty put-down of someone who has been to hell and back. I saw it as a cop-out. He then comes up with a reply to me about drunk driving which I also saw as a cop-out. I called him out with my "Pffft".
He eventually relates his personal experience which he should have provided from the get-go then I would have understood where he was coming from. Still doesn't let him entirely off the hook.
Kiri has every right to tell her story, just as Golriz has done and Todd Muller before them. I felt compassion and admiration for all three of them. It takes guts to front up like they did.
sure, you have compassion for some people and not others.
His reply wasn't 'about drunk driving'. It was about having someone close to you who is killed by a drunk driver.
Which you were very dismissive of.
I’m sure you had your reasons. It was still a compassionless comment in a conversation about compassion.
That's one hell of a leap to take! Any suicidal thoughts involved were not even known to me until I saw Waghorn's comment last night. I was responding to David’s comment at 5.1 only. Check the timelines if you don't believe me.
As Incognito pointed out, he made his original statement with no context whatsoever. In his short life span here thus far, 'David' has made numerous smart-arse comments designed to inflame. Despite his subsequent explanation, which I don't dispute, I still suspect he took the opportunity to have a crack at Allan.
In future, please don't put a claim in my mouth that was never there. Thank-you.
Sorry, that should have read “Anne was dismissive about how someone might feel about having someone close to them be killed by a drunk driver. That’s compassionless”
David’s comment and your reply to that comment, from above,
Accept you got it wrong weka. My "Pffft" was to inform him that his response @ 7.08pm had no bearing on his original remark @ 5.1 which was:
His reply introducing the subject of drunk driving was a diversionary tactic imho. You misinterpreted my response. I will not be commenting further.
Unfortunately none of us are mind readers and when a commenter uses one word that is by definition dismissive, then people are going to read that in response to the comment it was made about. If you want to have more nuance in your commentary, maybe use more words.
I thought it was her media colleagues buttering up their last resort readers. she should never have got the job she was incapable of. She should shut up and take the punishment.
Why should she shut up about mental health?
This government seems hellbent on creating dramas all over the place. Haven't got off to a good start at all. Luxon's "I used to run an airline" self belief is waning rapidly,
And yet their popularity is rising strong.
Luxon got through the mini-budget and 2 separate large engagements with Maori quite unscathed.
There is no organised opposition to them in Parliament.
Also with inflation coming down, unemployment still good at 3.9%, no tropical disasters to respond to, and GDP forecasts improving, they have momentum going into the May Budget 2024.
Yes I heard Willis on RadioNZ saying something like "yes we have inflation coming down but we still have more work to do" as though the drop to 4.7% happened under their watch when in reality it was under Labour's
There is always a honeymoon period for new governments….check the polls in a year’s time.
Bearded Git.
The RB wanted 4% by the end of 2023 – but the 1.8% increase in the 3rd quarter stopped that.
The 4th quarter 0.5% means they have a chance of getting it to the 3% target by the end of 2024, when that 1.8% quarter is in the past.
Their problems are higher rates (water costs) and rising rents (migrant labour and maybe student inflow pressure). And higher shipping costs.
Food was still up 4.8% in the quarter which also doesn't help.
"Energy prices for Europe are expected to increase as more petroleum products and crude tankers are diverting away from the Rea Sea and Suez Canal. Longer trips for the Middle-Eastern barrels that replaced Russian flows to Europe introduce supply issues, …"
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/23/more-tankers-divert-from-red-sea-and-its-another-boost-for-us-oil.html
No sustained fuel price spike for us yet, but it's being monitored by MBIE.
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/building-and-energy/energy-and-natural-resources/energy-statistics-and-modelling/energy-statistics/weekly-fuel-price-monitoring/
Inflation will be back to double figure by may, could be sooner. So I'd be careful saying how good it is now.
https://moverdb.com/container-shipping/
Trade from the Persian Gulf to ASEAN refineries is not impacted, nor that in North Asia (or ASEAN) areas to us. Nor that from America to us. Nor across the Atlantic
This is a specific targeting of the European West (supporting Ukraine) who switched away from Russian supply (sanctions) and their supply of energy and EV's/electronics etc from Asia.
The current GOP block of funding to Ukraine (and subsequent risk to NATO from a Trump victory) explains belligerent talk from Mdvedev of late (Ukraine belongs to Russia and they will have what they want elsewhere in Europe).
It's a, first Ukraine then Palestine, strategic allegiance after all (Russia-Iran).
Debate, nope it's the SPC show.
Bugger me.
It's not my problem that you thought that inflation would rise to double figures because of a shipping cost rise on a route that does not impact us.
OH dear, you missed the price of all containers went up?
You get that, I was not making any other argument – you just go on a waka of your own, all the time.
Assumptions make asses…
The world index is an average … duh.
Yeap and the average has gone up. And is still going up.
Too soon to point that out, too soon to point out we are not immune to rising averages.
You get how inflation is created right? I’m not noticing that at the moment.
Don’t play the shmuck card.
This page shows some of the regional variations.
Europe to Asia up a lot both ways
America to Asia variable dependent on direction, Asia to America up, not otherwise.
America to Europe not up either way, but down.
https://moverdb.com/container-shipping/#top%22
Minutia is the all in option with you. So no more. If I'm right in May apologies or I'll admit I'm wrong. Happy to wait and see.
The extent of the higher cost factor will be dependent on how much of our Asian trade is on ships that are/were on the Asian-Europe route – and whether they charge separate container rates within the region or not.
For mine it's a possible 1%+ issue, so I don't see the risk of a rate higher than 5% (as it is at the moment).
I want to try this concept out on Standardistas.
The difference between pre-culture war L/R politics and L/R politics now, is that now people are more committed to their partisanship than they are to the country they live in (although they may not see the difference).
For instance, in the 80s and 90s there was a strong L/R political culture in NZ, but it was more like we swung between the two, there was a strong fight between the two, but we all still got on.
Whereas now, the divides aren't as binary, and some are downright unclear. Many people operate as if the divides are still binary. And there is a strong commitment (on all sides) to positions that overrides concern for the wellbeing of people, community and country.
That last paragraph presents differently depending on the position.
What do you all think?
The difference in the 80's/90's was that it was an economic change to a neo-liberal market order with a lot of victims (and a lot going to Oz, thus their 2001 response) – unemployment and then declining health (convergence for older workers and the super increase age 60 to 65 1990-2000).
The end of our egalitarianism(1/4 acre homeownership stock standard) is subject for lament.
Now it is more cultural and otherwise a sense of global middle class (educated, job and travel mobile) and local underclass.
The American input is faith based provider term limit welfare reform, high levels of imprisonment/parole/probation management/community policing, prosperity religion gospel where God is on the side of the middle class (and wealthier elites) and end time rapture where God is to come judge the liberals and send them all to hell – culture war fuel.
Then there is the anti-globalism of the American nativism – a reboot of their isolationism being spread on social media (sovereignty movement, anti UN etc).
I was thinking about the US, particularly how the rise of Trump has empowered a politics before country culture.
It's hard to tell with the US though. Maybe it was always like that and Trump just allowed it to be more obvious.
Likewise with your second to last paragraph.
Trump managed to successfully engage a massive cohort of people who regular politics had left behind. In a NZ context its like he managed to energize the whole of West and South Auckland to vote for him. Boris sorta did the same, theres a lesson for the left in there somewhere….
Against a background of great global and psychological unsteadiness, people feel they need to choose a corner the defend it like crazy – or they'll go crazy.
Logic, accomodation of new ideas, kindness toward the other corners, doesn't get a look in now.
Imo.
that's how I see it too. Conservatism is a natural response to stress and perceived danger.
I think there are other things going on too. The degree of disconnect from shared reality and objective reality among some of the new political movements. Social media and the huge degree of intentional emotional/psychological manipulation being done. Both of those undermine attempts to resolve issues via as you say logic, new ideas, kindness.
I also think the climate and biodiversity crises are of such a scale that the human mind and heart aren't well equipped to understand and respond them.
You are correct, weka, imo.
Sadly, others recognise this and seek to exploit 🙂
I do think though, that the human mind is equiped to understand and respond.
Yours is.
true, but I had and have to work at it. The urge to respond well is built into me, but the skills in how to cope with the scale of the crisis, those I had to develop.
I am a carrier of stress and don't show any symptoms. I am also a conservative who can see light at the end of a very dark tunnel.. Ardern killed kindness by preaching it and doing the opposite. As a farmer I am welcoming climate change as it is a positive. the bank also recognises that climate change will be beneficial to our business and dropped 20 basic points of the mortgage. You guys need to get all that shit out of your heads and rejoin the modern world.
Yep in NZ its an opportunity to do new things, have run across a few mango trees doing well and fruiting outside in Auckland, Sugarcane on the marginal land in the North, Bannanas, Pineapples on a commercial scale we are actually well placed.
I just dropped 20 basic points trying to work out what the fuck you are on about. Explain yourself.
I'm sure that all will be clear if you read it as 20 basis points and not 20 basic points. I'm sure that that was just a typo by Ian and he meant basis.
Gee, thanks for that mate. Not the bit I didn’t understand…
It seemed very simple to follow to me.
Still, I often find it very hard to understand some of the wild conjectures made by some contributors to this blog so who am I to comment.
The evil hag Ardern killed kindness and waged war on we rich white farmers who are now quite happy because we might have some mangoes, but sad because of our repressed rage that a woman built a very dark tunnel which I got stuck in. The bank gave us some basic points which we will use to grow more mangoes and stop female harridans from stepping out of the kitchen and building more tunnels.
Listen to yourselves, idiots.
My, my.
You certainly do have some exceedingly dark thoughts about our former PM. Relax, she is no longer in the job and persisting in such ideas can't possibly be good for you.
Quite apart from the * or ** or *** divides of focus on media, for many there is a higher level of pressure in their daily lives (affording rent/mortgage – education standards/access to a functioning health system).
that's both not new, in the sense we've had those times before, and new, in the sense that now we have the accumulation of nearly 50 years of neoliberalism and it's compounded.
I don't know if it's just me, but I find myself having to actively reframe my mind to stop believing that things are going to go back to normal. I don't think they are going to, but my brain is habituated to thinking they will (godzone)
This time is like no other time. It's up to us to ride this wave.
your wave is a dunper mate.
A few thoughts.
Other divides that seem to be wider than 20 yrs ago- Rural/Urban and Haves/ Have-nots.
I think part of the polarisation is social media. In two ways. Someone else's pithy paragraph sums up them (othering) rendering everything black and white, no grey.
Also, and more importantly, time spent at the screen is time spent reinforcing, polishing and hardening the idea of the individual. Time not spent in others company- church, sports or cultural or interest groups, service or volunteer time. All of which bring you into meaningful contact with folk dissimilar to you.
The demise or splintering of the left was way more pronounced by the state's reaction to Covid than it was for the right.
Because the "left" is where the action is, gsays. It's not surprising that multiplication of thought occurred there; the Right abhors such divisioning (made-up word).
In any case, it wasn't the "State's" reaction to Covid – it was the Left's 🙂
Plus, I challenge your claim that the Rural had divided more from the Urban. This is not true.
Your penultimate paragraph though, I agree with, although it needs parsing 🙂
In regards to rural urban, what I am getting at is the disconnect with so many folk as to where their food comes from.
In the mid '80s I feel in love with a horticulturalists daughter. He would send his produce off to the auctions and would get a fair price for it.
Over the next few years, the rise and rise of the supermarkets meant that they would tell him when his season would start, finish and how much produce he would deliver and at what cost.
This has two effects, city folk get most of their food whims met (regardless of season or country of origin) and plenty of primary producers forced into the arms if the foreign owned banks. Therefore dancing to the banksters tune rather than their local community.
I'm fully on-board with your "supermarket-kills-growers" vibe, gsays. It is true.
I love that you "feel in love" with a horticulturalists daughter (there's a film in there 🙂 The return for growers from those supermarkets is a crime against humanity.
Hah, feel worked then, still does as a matter of fact.
Typing on a small screen during lunch break and fading eyesight.
Yeah, only need to do the math on a $2 Broccoli head at countdown in season to figure that the people that actually do the hard bit are getting shafted.
This began before social media, with the change in employment laws and requirement to be able to work shifts and two incomes to afford rent and mortgage. This ended the concept of a common time for gathering. Basic things like not being able to be available for evening training or weekend games played their part in the beginning.
For me, "others" means, "other-than-humans".
If we don't spend time with birds, trees, fish, flies, we become disconnected and start to spin out.
We are presently spinning out, as a species, imo.
That will be an impact on older folks who don't get out as much or as far as they did.
Totally agree Robert. I gave a reflection on this very subject last year – too long to post here.
A summary:
If we look at the history of the theology of creation perhaps the the fault lies with the Masoretes.
The Masoretes were groups of Jewish scribe scholars who worked from around the end of the 5th through 10th centuries. Each group compiled a system of pronunciation and grammatical guides on the external form of the biblical text in an attempt to standardize the pronunciation, paragraph and verse divisions, of the Hebrew Bible for the worldwide Jewish community. Had they put a tsere (two dots) under the Resh they would have the root word yarad which means to come down or lower oneself. The original had no dots. Perhaps it is more correct to use root word yarad (to lower oneself) rather than radah (to rule over). In the original Hebrew the word starts with a Yod which is a picture of a heavenly messenger or yarad which means to lower oneself and not a Resh which means to rule over.
St. Francis of Assisi would go to the woods to worship God with the animals. It is said that the animals wild and tame would approach him. That is why you always see St. Francis of Assisi pictured with a bird on his shoulder and a wolf by his side. The story goes that a town was being attacked by a wolf and the town leaders came to St. Francis knowing his affinity for animals and asked if he could help. St. Francis went to the wolf and had a little conversation with the wolf and then reported to the town leaders that the wolf was just hungry and if they would feed him he would not attack. Thus, the town sort of adopted this wolf as a result of St. Francis’s conversation or yiredu with the wolf.
The industrial Revolution was firmly based on the assumption of humans dominion or radah over creation. And look where that has ended up.
Thanks, Macro – your sample indicates that the full reflection will have been a valuable read. I'm a big fan of St. Francis, o at least, of what I have gleaned from popular stories about him. His epiphany/metanoia interests me very much, especially where he abandoned all, including his clothes, something that's not unknown with young people nowadays experiencing overwhelm of a serious sort; the rejection of all of societies trappings 🙂
I wonder if you know "Valerian Hare" by Janosh? It's a story for children and reflects the St. Francis's tory beautifully.
No I haven't Robert – now I'm intrigued.
Will see if I can find a copy.
such good points, thank-you.
Lordie Weka it's a whole post in its own.
It's more efficient to describe a massive decrease in both left political activism and party membership from the mid 1980s, and a parallel big decrease from even mild political participation in voting either at local or central elections.
The last big march about climate change, for example, was 2017 which is 6 years ago.
The last big Maori-focused march was the Foreshore and Seabed hikoi which was 2004.
That doesn't mean there's fewer people doing good things; it means more activists are choosing to put their energy into local trusts and charities, and only occasionally getting back into it for particular campaigns.
Now, why that is, is a whole book.
I know, I know, I hope to do a post. Maybe you can too. Maybe all the authors could, we run a kind of blog party.
Was the decrease in party membership a consequence of the shift to neoliberalism or was it already happening?
Seems a worthwhile view. I'm in favour of a framing based on triadic structure. Whereas the ancient microcosm/macrocosm binary ruled identity via belief/paradigm, connecting persons into large like-minded group, it makes more sense nowadays to insert mesocosm in between.
To do so, a user must use metaphysics combined with pragmatism: google only gives us ecosystemic framing via examples of usage, so be pragmatic & use their utility as basis for extending the principle. Define mesocosm as the user's group context. Since commons in the group mind produce like-mindedness in the group, idiosyncrasy works in natural complementarity with collaboration. It allows individuals to align with tam spirit when mutual benefits make that a good idea at the time.
Most folks operate unconsciously but will shift together in mesocosmic operational contexts they use via the tacit psyche (as verified by Kahneman & Tversky) which Polanyi first provided the philosphical basis for all those decades ago (Personal Knowledge). When public intellectuals realise the number 1 produces holism, 2 produces dualism, 3 relates things to each other (relativism) they'll acquire a principled basis upon which to theorise. Principles are primary components of metaphysics.
Since 1 provides common operating context to parts of the whole it creates by integrating them, the user connects the framing to their situation experientially to check the match between cerebral waffle & what actually happens. Problematic traditional categories often confuse participants: relevant or bullshit? Half the time folks are uncertain, so we ought to use the grey zone for all such uncertain states of mind. Call the grey zone the third dimension of politics between right & wrong.
No time to proof-read that so it's team spirit I was mentioning at the end of the second paragraph. The other triad relevant is voter/party/state.
The gist of where I'm coming from on politics in a state of malaise is that the conceptual reframe enables progress. Others will be unconvinced, feeling that the status quo always wins, so only the proactive will be early adopters.
Sorry about the break in the site. I disabled two plugins on the main site so that I could make them site specific. Got the dreaded white screen of death on the main site.
It left my test site running, but I couldn't get to the backend for either the multisite or the thestandard. So I couldn't turn the plugin back on.
Had to relearn wp-cli and how to activate a 'network' plugin.
Now I have to to figure out how I want that plugin to operate in the new theme. It runs the data for the other site right bar RSS pickups.
Now I have to figure out how to detach that RSS aggregator from the site. It really needs to run as a separate process like the sphinx search does. I'll look around for a linux tool.
International Left news.
Well done to the Unions in Argentina – A general strike to protest a bill which will widen the powers of their nob of a president.
Also from, the ABC – war against the far right Junta in Myanmar is going well
In this shit just got totally sick – IDF using drones to kill civilians. War crime scum, being war crime scum.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-israeli-quadcopters-hi-tech-weapon-menacing-palestinian-civilians
Russia Vs. Ukraine – Now a utter cluster fuck of a meat grinder. And in both cases just means death for young men who are thrown into the front lines. If you just support one side and don't feel for those young men on both sides. I question your ability to make a moral judgement.
https://libcom.org/article/darkest-hour-dawn-assemblys-view-another-year-trench-warfare-2024
War crimes
1. sniper shooting civilians after they talk with journalists (done to intimidate both the public and media).
2. use of drones to fire at unarmed civilians in streets makes a war crimes charge list – unless a street/area curfew was made known first (hardly likely if it was a place to gather for food aid etc).
The question here is whether this candidate will be allowed to contest Putin's re-election. Putin had said allowed candidates would be those not opposed to the war in Ukraine.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68095968
mansplaining war crimes, really?
Also do me a favour and put up something which in not propaganda like the BBC on Russia. I mean I'm no fan of Putin, but even so the BBC are so beyond fucked up in this area of reporting, so lack credibility on Russia to anyone with half a brain.
You described the IDF as ***. I described what actions were war crimes by those who did them. The IDF is complicit dependent on orders given.
Want to cancel the BBC?
Bugger off. Lets just do the great march of return. I can give you hours and hours of the IDF being low life scum.
Bloody nora, can you read? I said, on Russia the BBC has no credibility. SMD, you have no credibility on some subjects – do you need to be canceled? Next stupid question.
[
If you ask stupid questions like that here you’re guaranteed reactions that make you think more carefully about what you wish for – Incognito]
And you post that to someone who wrote this a day ago.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-25-01-2024/#comment-1986608
Is the anger at those who do not emote in sync, supposed to discourage debate and welcome only affirmation? Is that not a little tribal?
As for the BBC report it was based on an interview with someone standing for President, what about it could be problematic. It’s the BBC and it is Russia?
My post had nothing to do with elections in russia – it was about a dumb f*&king war that has turned into a clusterfuck of a meat grinder, and the men at the front. You know the actual working people who are actually being thrown into this sick meat grinder. Did you even read it? Or was party politics in a dictatorship more important?
News Flash – russia is not a democracy!!!!!!!
BUT the Beeb.
I see you have no comment of the Great March of Return. Was it the assassinations you could not handle? The killing of Women and Children by the IDF? The murder of unarmed medics and journalists? What are you scared of? That the IDF you have defened is actually evil – truly moral bankrupt den of scum and villainy? I have seen the building/cars/tents blown up, lost friends, heard the heart breaks, and then seen the bodies.
The IDF are evil – the most simplest statement in 2024.
More anger for not emoting in sync.
I would have thought the relevance of a Russian standing for President, on a policy of ending the war relevant as to a tiring of the loss of life, (Ukraine of the war zone the one unable to hold an election) fairly obvious.
I mentioned something about it on the 25th – the relevance of the link in the post at 10.27pm.
It appears discourse is not always the wise option.
Mod note
Not even sure what you said, care to clarify?
Because out of context many things go awry.
Thank you for asking clarification.
The context is easy. I included a direct quote of your offence in the Mod note. The idea being that you’d pay attention to what you said.
Let’s start with this site’s Policy (https://thestandard.org.nz/policy/), which you should know very well by now. Right at the top:
Cancelling is excluding others and suggesting or threatening this therefore draws the inevitable response of the Moderators here. In any case, you don’t have the means to cancel other commenters whom you (strongly) disagree with and/or dislike. Thus, it was a stupid question, even if it was rhetorical. And preceding it with the acronym “SMD” was particularly dim-witted.
If you cannot stick to the Policy and engage in robust & civil debate here then take your aggro somewhere else. I note that this is not the first time Mods pull you up on this behaviour.
Context – please re-read his comment about cancelling the BBC – which is stupid statement and totally at odds with what I said.
My response, as always is not angry, just forthright. So lets review – My point was a media outlet is not trustworthy on a topic, the other punter went to utter stupidity about me cancelling said media outlet. My response was to point it was like cancelling them and their Small Minded Dementia – utter stupidity. How can you read it any other way, unless your looking to read it another way.
Because
When have I ever supported cancelling here or anywhere, and offered an opinion contrary to – thinking anyone who supports such cancelling or censorship, is quite frankly, an authoritarian tool. If we are talking about not first times and such.
So thank you for the clarification.
I get what you are saying here adam, and agree that you weren't suggesting cancellation but instead indirectly pointing out the problem with the previous comment.
But it would go a long way if you stopped casting aspersions on other commenters, and now a moderator. This is why you come across as aggro. And it makes some of your comments hard to parse.
You should be aware that often mods are reading comments in the backend list as they are published ie out of context.
Do people buy off the plans, and repent when they see the insurance premiums?
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2024/01/wayne-brown-says-council-needs-more-control-after-1400-buildings-approved-on-flood-plains-since-deadly-floods.html
January 26 India's Republic Day – and well poised to win by an innings vs England in a test match
January 26 Australia's Invasion Day – Smith fails to impersonate Warner and they collapse and look likely to trail the West Indies on the first innings by 100-200 runs.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2024/01/australia-day-protests-erupt-nationwide-against-invasion-day-police-chase-protesters-at-parliament.html
Marvelous.
https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/edition/not-again/