The board of Twitter has agreed to a US$44 billion takeover offer… Musk is the world's richest man, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of US$273.6b mostly due to his shareholding in electric vehicle maker Tesla which he runs. He also leads the aerospace firm SpaceX.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," he said in a statement announcing the deal.
"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
"Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."
The bit about "authenticating all humans" seems too aspirational, perhaps? How to measure the authenticity of even one human seems problematic. I hope he starts with Donald Trump – the verdict would be good for a twitterstorm.
Focus would shift onto the parts of the Don deemed to be lacking in authenticity, and the methods of remediating those defects. It would then become a model of reform to inspire all the other humans. Well, that's looking on the bright side. He could wheel in Google's quantum computer to finesse the process design…
Sorry to disappoint you but, Musk has a habbit of marketing existing technologies as both new and revolutionary. Authenticating all humans already comes in Microsoft and Google flavours, so apparently Twitter wants in on that. I don't think its going to provide any guarantees about the behaviour of those humans however.
This is how it works. First off Musk will talk about envision authenticating your Dna through a finger swipe or something, fictional advanced technology is after all basically indistinguishable from magic. Eventually you end up logging into Twitter with a password, and other sites can check if you are logged into Twitter.
Well if I had to put my trust in Elon or the board that banned a sitting President of the USA, the Babylon Bee, Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk and Libsoftiktok while allowing groups claiming to be Isis to continue posting I'll go with the lesser of two evils on this one
If I can't have a quiet word in the ear of Twitter's designated censors in order to permanently silence anyone who disagrees with me … then we're heading towards something approaching full-on Fascism at a fair old rate of knots.
Scientist shifts from tech to nature. From his website:
I was named as one of the 1000 Most Influential People in London by the Evening Standard in 2007, and one of the 100 Most Influential People in Europe by WIRED Magazine in 2015. I hold a Master's Degree in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from University College, London, and wrote my dissertation on creative applications of Artificial Intelligence. http://jamesbridle.com/about
I’ve been working with researchers in northern Greece who are farming metal. In a remote, beautiful field, high in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, they are experimenting with a trio of shrubs known to scientists as “hyperaccumulators”: plants which have evolved the capacity to thrive in naturally metal-rich soils that are toxic to most other kinds of life.
They do this by drawing the metal out of the ground and storing it in their leaves and stems, where it can be harvested like any other crop. As well as providing a source for rare metals – in this case nickel, although hyperaccumulators have been found for zinc, aluminium, cadmium and many other metals, including gold – these plants actively benefit the earth by remediating the soil, making it suitable for growing other crops, and by sequestering carbon in their roots. One day, they might supplant more destructive and polluting forms of mining.
The three plants being tested in Greece – part of a network of research plots across Europe – are endemic to the region. Alyssum murale, which grows in low bushes topped by bunches of yellow flowers, is native to Albania and northern Greece; Leptoplax emarginata – taller and spindlier, with clusters of green leaves and white petals – is found only in Greece; and Bornmuellera tymphaea, the most efficient of the three, which straggles across the ground in a dense layer of white blossom, is found only on the slopes of the Pindus
The science points to a resilient future via agriculture but the economic dimension remains to be explored yet. Here's the relevant knowledge base though:
This is old news in a field I've had not inconsiderable effort in. However, any publicity for better ways is good publicity, and there are many accumulators people may harness for their own purposes. As outlined below.
Here I qualify an urban myth (Dynamic accumulators), outlining plant physiological mechanisms and biological symbiosis to explain phenomena in this context, and introduce the hyper-accumulators as extremes of dynamic accumulating.
And here is the USDA database of plants, using my methods above, that may now inform farmers, nutritionists, food producers, compost manufacturers, gardeners, DIY soil detoxers, etc. This database is also dynamic, and is constantly being added to.
There's 300K polluted sites in Europe alone. They charged 1M per acre clean up over ten years ago. And cleanup is not even clean up it is: removal, concrete cap, or chemical drench.
NZ has a very serious cadmium problem.
This tech is vital, it is also another slowly drawn out crock by most companies and researchers involved. Gravy on all their chins and they all act like they got the secret sauce. Read above, I give you the keys to their kingdom.
I'll check to see if our local riparian community project has the links.
"NZ has a very serious cadmium problem."
Our local Landcare tests water in our region which is a food growing one, and high cadmium levels are almost guaranteed.
Residential development of established horticultural fields was delayed by the required removal of extra metres of cadmium contaminated topsoil. (Which according to locals, was trucked off to various farmers as 'infill'.)
A"Cadmium Group" has been established to kill off any questions or media interest in the scandal that is the broad scale application of cadmium to farmland in New Zealand.
DC Brown is an ecologist, microbiologist and keen student of permaculture and traditional agriculture. Residing in Auckland, New Zealand, Dean is currently researching and writing a book: Heavy Metal Detox: The Holistic Treatment of Undesirable Elements.
I've only scanned that first linked article so far- always doing plenty of other stuff like home improvements & maintenance in between commenting so will get around to the others eventually. Thing is about specialists, though, they do need generalists to perform the medial connecting link to society.
Well, that's the functional view, as produced by the archetype (3). Three relates stuff to other stuff – interprets & translates (Mercury/Hermes). Mediation for Dummies would therefore explain such gibberish as the process by which the expertise of specialists gets filtered down into comprehensible usable chunks (which then circulate value in the community) by generalists doing that filtering.
Value of apparently esoteric knowledge therefore is derived from currency achieved as a result of generalising. The trick is to ensure that dumbing down doesn't lose the essence of the gnosis! So the economic benefits of cultivating heavy-metal extractor plants must be the lure that pulls the gnosis into the community. When applied as techne, gnosis achieves cultural transformation…
Was hoping the above mentioned book (Heavy Metal Detox) would be the medial link. For the subject matter it's relatively light, funny, and armed with facts. Unfortunately the UoA wants hundreds of dollars per year of my money (after already taking ~ 40K in fees) to allow me access to databases of the science all our taxes already paid for. The movement of corporations into institutions now exacerbates the situation lending them the argument that corporates now have proprietary rights to the stuff.
Or short version, can't finish the book without access to the science for references, and awesome useable charts! It needs to be done right.
I've used my artistic side alongside my education to try and make it all accessible. The articles read more science-like than the book, but I'm only just past half way… really wanted it done by now but a (more recent) lit review is called for. Could bite the bullet and shell out money, but it's 'spare money' I don't have. I want an e-bike and ditch the car forever type dream. Replace a few tools that got pinched from the garden – all that big ticket stuff.
Anyway, an excerpt/example of my attempt to 'speak prole'. HA!
—————————————————————————————-
1. Introduction
Step 1.We admitted we were powerless – that our soils had become unmanageable.
We’ve all got, or had, some type of self destructive behavior. Admitting there is a problem is the first step in fixing it. Heavy metal is a problem. Whether it’s immunity to color and hair flaying air guitar, or widespread and progressive environmental destruction – it’s not that cool, man.
While Led Zeppelin were dominating the music scene, lead paints and fuels were dominating the landscape. Heavy metal sources include pesticides, fertilisers, effluents, oil, mining, smelting, roading, construction, industry and military. A 1980’s assessment of global air, water and soil contamination showed we have corrupted the cycling of trace elements; heavy metals are increasing in concentrations in our water bodies, soils and food chains. Recent changes in legislation regarding some compounds have reduced a portion of sources of contamination, while little has been done for existing problems. The majority of sites remain problematic, while in many cases, the pollutants continue to gather. Most toxic compounds can be broken down, but metals cannot. Metals settle in soils and may remain there for thousands of years.
Sites contaminated by military, mining, construction and industry are a small part of the picture. Many agricultural landscapes are contaminated or approaching contamination with heavy metals. New Zealand’s fertiliser use by the dairy industry now threatens their major export earner – the dairy industry. Vast tracts of land could be taken out of production from phosphate fertiliser increasing cadmium in soils. These fertilisers are widely used throughout the globe, and their use is increasing.
Cities may be no better off: With higher building and vehicle densities combined with a history of lead products; higher usage of pesticides and fertilisers per area compared to farmers (a budget thing); proximity to industrial zoning; and more. One urban study points to poor children’s exposure to metals in New York’s inner city playgrounds and parks; another finds metal toxicity on Long Island golf courses.
Plough men, poor or strolling out in your plus-fours – are there undesirable elements in your neighborhood? A Google Scholar search for ‘domestic heavy metal contamination’ yielded close to 100 000 academic articles and references to the subject; it seems we have established there is a problem; but what of solutions?
Industries response for dealing with heavy metal contamination includes the following:
1. Remove and dump the dirt as landfill, and bring new topsoil to the site.
2. Use chemicals to immobilise the metals in the soil, and further chemicals to make the soil surface impermeable.
3. Remove soil, use proprietary acid solutions to desorb and leach metals out, and put the soil back.
My concern with these methods is as follows:
1. Moving the problem is not fixing the problem. Besides, if we dumped all the polluted soils on the planet, the pile might upset the axial tilt.
2. Water impermeable land is not a solution to fixing land.
3. ‘Proprietary acid solutions run through the soil to desorb and leach the metals’… amuses my poetic side, but instils no confidence in the scientific or eco-centric sides at all.
Shift the problem, cap the problem, or make more problems. The price for the methods to ‘clean-up’ contaminated sites in the US alone was estimated around $300 Billion – or $1M per acre.
If you are waiting for government and industry to solve things, be patient. Chemicals used to clean up the Gulf oil spill were more toxic than the oil itself. Months after the Chernobyl disaster, cesium in Swedish and German field mushrooms was such that toxicity could occur from a single meal. People were poisoned months later, more than 1000 km’s from the disaster. Yet nuclear power plants continue to be built, and catastrophes continue to occur. This wilful ignorance that somehow an even thicker wall and protocol manual makes us immune to weather events, seismic activity, and space rocks… it is insanity.
“Is it the end, my friend?” – Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath.
No problem with style or clarity in your writing. Pivot from problem to solution is crucial & earlier the better (even if you only outline it in principle in the intro), but best to have expert input from the marketing side. And I'd suggest that even if money weren't a priority. Sooner you achieve liaison with a publisher the better.
Presuming you are addressing a global readership (not writing just for kiwis) probably a good idea to solicit advice from a bunch of science publishers. Normally writers must sell the concept first, then the design of the book, which (unless you're into product control like me) ought to be open to tweaking because publishers bring market savvy to bear on proposals. Essential to approach them as prospective partners then!
You get an editor to work with (I did mine myself due to professional expertise). So, for instance, Industries response for dealing with heavy metal contamination will become Industry's response for dealing with heavy metal contamination if you intended a collective noun. If you wanted to specify how industries respond (instead) you'd need a rewrite to describe how they collectively respond as an industrial ecosystem.
Nifty triad here (I googled science publishers nz):
So that provides a significant clue for how to frame your pitch, eh? Remember too that publishers are medial. The triad is author/publisher/buyer. That's the triad driving their business model. In respect of culture shift, the triad expert/ publisher/user conveys knowledge helping to upskill.
Re money to complete the project, successful publishers can & do provide advances to authors. Whether they still do in a tight economy is moot. No harm asking, I guess, so best to work out what you need beforehand. Funding from a suitable quasi-govt org could even be possible so if you found one you could negotiate a partnership…
I was kind of down on myself for not 'finding' the time and the funds, but it's not such an easy task I'd set myself, with life and all that stuff going on as well. I feel 'seen'.
I'm also wrapped my work in the area led to that database.
You've given me good food for thought. Appreciated.
I'd hoped to make it so the book is practically free or at least digital versions free to countries with no disposable incomes. Publishers struggle with my ideas like that haha.
On the book – It goes to solutions quickly. It (roughly) follows 12 step programs – a parody of sorts.
Step 2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Assuming you haven’t just purchased a beachfront property in Fukushima, it is possible to remediate mild to moderately contaminated sites. It is even possible to have land in production during the decontamination process. While scores of scientists worked to point out the problem exists, many more turned to seeking solutions.
On serpentine soils, mine tailings and highly radioactive sites some plants survive and even thrive. These are the metallophytes. Some metallophytes are excluders – they exclude certain substances from being taken up, and grow despite high metals in the soil. Other plants are accumulators, they accumulate things from the soil. Hyperaccumulating plants accumulate high concentrations of substances from soils. Metal hyperaccumulating plants (MHP’s) extract high concentrations of metals. In some cases MHP extraction is > 1% metal per dried weight of plant material.
MHP’s use photosynthetic power to mine metals for us. Theoretically, we decontaminate soil if we can grow then remove sufficient plant mass. The drawback was that the MHP’s initially observed were not really suited to the task; they were small, or slow growing, or both. Widespread screening for better plants began in earnest.
Initially, over 400 MHP’s were identified. Further criteria narrowed the pool considerably, including: grow in damaged environments; grow large enough to extract significant metal, and grow fast enough to produce growth in a timely manner. Discoveries are continually being made. A list of some MHP’s and metals they extract is included (Table 1).
MHP’s accumulate appreciable amounts of metal regardless of soil concentrations, but as toxins increase growth of many MHP’s can be inhibited. Further efforts to enhance the capabilities of MHP’s have included: propagation techniques, genetic engineering, and the use of free-living or symbiotic bacteria and fungi.
The observation of polluted sites led to the discovery of MHP’s; the observation of MHP’s has led to the discovery of bacteria and fungi involved in decontamination processes. These in conjunction with MHP’s can enhance plant growth and/or metal uptake. Many genes targeted for genetically engineered MHP’s are found in such; beneficial organisms with desirable functions. It is not necessary to insert such genes in plants to gain the use of these functions; rather, to gain understanding of the organisms ecology, and how one might insert them functionally into a decontamination process.
“Then what’s to stop us, pretty baby. But what is and what should never be” – Led Zeppelin, What Is and What Should Never Be.
I've scanned those other links – too much pure science, will scare off most punters. In the above, you shift into applied science & intelligent readers will get the gist. For a site like this one, heading further in that direction would work better. Science is okay in the book (if your purpose is to share with other scientists) but beware too much of it.
Me for instance, as physics grad & permaculture designer (not teacher), utility of applied science to empower permaculture as praxis hinges on case studies. If you show how general principles get used in particular localities & ecosystems people kinda grok the steering skill at the interface between nature & humanity. Stewardship as ethos then emerges as folk realise hey I can do this too!
Education gets flawed due to academic antiquated mind-sets. Students get alienated by bad teaching. I was, big time. Pure science is good for sussing out what happens & why but useless for survival, so we need to build a bridge across that divide…
Good feedback again. The charts will condense (and hide) a shit-ton of the science, where each field will link back to studies, but a layperson can just take the information to use and needn't get bogged down. Similar to the database, a huge volume of work behind it, a simple application in front.
Those articles had to get technical they were basically a methods section made slightly more palatable for permaculture practitioners.
There's also a fine line between being too technical, and being patronising, I reckon most people can follow most things, it's the technical language that throws them. Introduce key concepts early, bring them up often, and leave all the superflous language for the arts department.
In that way I've done my job 'properly'. The scientists can drill down to their hearts content, the layperson can read the steps 1, 2, 3 and get on with the job at hand.
A lot of boxes to tick, but as it is a labor of love, they will get ticked. If it were a means to an end (look at my stuff, buy my stuff) I'd have finished it in a half assed manner years ago.
The price for the methods to ‘clean-up’ contaminated sites in the US alone was estimated around $300 Billion – or $1M per acre.
Now if if only someone could convince Elon Musk that rather than spending $44billion on a vanity project buy out of Twitter, that he invest his $44 billion in making a start on this clean up. Maybe he could persuade some of his multi-billionaire mates to chip in a bit too.
No just fuck it. Let's just tax the bastards instead.
Alwyn, if it was all in one pile it literally would upset the balance as there is sooo much of it. (As I understand it) I don't think DB finds that funny…rather a threatening situation which he has expressed in lay terms to portray the enormity of the problem.
I really don't think that the amount of material he is talking about can possibly compare with the amount in any of the continental plates that are moving around. Sure, they don't move very fast (up to about 4 inches/year) and they will be tending to move into a spot where another one may be moving out but when you look at the size and thickness of one nothing we can do could possibly compare.
The USA is finally coming out in public and saying what has been obvious to most serious observers of the Ukrainian/Russian war from the beginning…ie; that the US want the war in the Ukraine to continue until Russia is crippled beyond repair, regardless of the cost of Ukrainian lives and infrastructure.
Many have suggested this has been the goal of the US interventions in Ukrainian politics since 2014…it is now looking more and more like that analysis is now being proved correct.
As I have said many times on this forum, the only sane way out of this conflict is negotiated peace, and had been perplexed at the lack of movement in this direction….we now are starting to see why.
It should be made very clear, anyone who supports a protracted war with Russia in the Ukraine cannot then say that they seriously care about Ukrainian lives or the fate of the country as both are going to be utterly and totally devastated by this war…..and we all know that the US has a long and violent recent history of destroying countries for it’s own ends…and looks like it is now going to sacrifice the Ukraine and it’s people for it’s Geo-Political goals….
Just listen to this totally insane cold war warrior to get a feel for the complete madness of US foreign policy….Insane Cold war Warrior alert!!!….Former commanding general of US Army Europe Ben Hodges https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018839442/biden-administration-pledges-700m-in-aid-to-ukraine
…like I said the other day these cold war warriors where a extreme danger to the human race during the Cold War…and now like some sort of demented half dead Zombies they seem to have risen, more bloodthirsty than ever..more craven, more insane, more intense…and more dangerous to the human race than we could have ever dreamed in our worse nightmares….…… I think I might have had a few close calls with one or two of those Zombies wandering aimlessly around, craving blood on this site….
Russia is on track to gain total control of the Donbas region and retain full coastal control from Russia through Crimea.
That's the primary objective locked in.
I think it reasonably likely that Ukraine will settle for a cessation of hostilities at the end of this year by losing the whole of Donbass, so long as Ukraine keeps Odessa as its sea port.
I agree. The outcome is likely to be consistent with it's stated goals. Little more, little less. Some of the other military events are being portrayed as losses but I suspect were distractions or fit in with the 'de-militarisation' goals.
Is it really going to see a 'cessation' of hostilities? I doubt it. Officially, yes. But outbreaks of violence and attacks are likely to continue. This is going to be a running sore for decades.
Russia will still have to deal with a hard core of nazi ideology, which despite it's attempts to eradicate, is not going to go away, ever. This thread is an interesting take on Lvov.
Let's talk about Lvov, possibly the Nдzi capital of the world. I'm not going to include the city's immense history, you can look that up on your own, let's start around WWII ….
…I'm not going to engage or argue with you on this thread. The links are there with citations. You are free to make your own thread to refute it but I'll warn you it's a lot of work. A hit dog will holler.
I very much doubt Russia will settle for less than violently wresting the northern Black sea coast of Ukraine from Ukrainian control.
And will not stop there.
After seizing Odessa Russia will go on to take Moldova.
As well as continuing the war against the government in Kiev on the pretext of fighting fascism.
Unending expansion is the iron rule of all growth economies forcing them into war and/or global environmental collapse.
Via Southern Ukraine, Russia Eyes “Another Route” to Moldova’s Transnistria
Madalin Necsutu – Balkan Insight
April 22, 2022 12:54
“Control over southern Ukraine is another route to Transnistria, where there is also evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed,” Russian news agency TASS quoted Major General Rustam Minnekayev as saying….
One of the benefits of democracy, is that if things aren't working out, democracies can change direction.
Autocracies don't have that luxury. Autocracies are usually pretty inflexible.
Failure for Autocratic leaders is not an option.
Nothing is off the table for Russian imperialism. Full nationwide mobilisation and transition to a war economy is on the cards for Putin's Russia. Whatever it takes.
Even if Russia achieves its immediate war aims, this war will not end soon.
Good comment Ad, the only problem with your analysis is that it looks a lot like the US is at the very least, having a large say in the negotiations, which, if true, doesn't bode well in there being any peace in the Ukraine anytime soon….I really really hope I am proved wrong.
Like squeezing blood out of a stone, eh? Anyway, I put the question to Google & got this:
Putin has dropped plans for a peace deal and appears set on capturing more Ukrainian territory after failing to secure a quick victory in the first phase of the war, the Financial Times reported Sunday, citing three sources briefed on conversations with him.
"There was hope for a deal. Putin was going back and forth," one of the people said.
But talks stalled after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Putin of war crimes in Bucha and Mariupol. The reportedly infuriated Putin signaled peace efforts were at a "dead end" after the sinking of the Moskva missile cruiser.
Top Ukrainian officials on Sunday expressed disapproval of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ planned meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week… Igor Zhovkva, deputy head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that Guterres is “not really” authorized to speak on behalf of the Ukrainian government in efforts to negotiate a peace deal amid Russia’s invasion.
You may not have noticed it Adrian, but World War III for the redivision of the world has begun.
The underdog "have not" imperialist Russia, is the upcoming challenger and aggressor, and will not stop its expansionism until it is stopped either by its rivals or by internal revolt.
Can Putin Be Ousted From Within Russia? Pussy Riot Musician And Dissident Speaks Out On War
What kind of peace negotiations do you have in mind? For example, who initiates it and why (e.g. what might trigger it and when), who brokers or mediates it, what would be some of the key terms, et cetera?
Sorry Incognito I missed that question on the 24th.
Negotiations have already been under way, and have been on and off during the entire conflict, however I have found it difficult to find any substantial or unbiased information on the upcoming negotiations or any of the previous negotiations.
I do know that the Russians have been accusing the Ukrainian negotiators of stalling..whether this is true or not I don't know..but if you believe the War mongering rhetoric coming out of the highest places in the US, then things are not looking good for the Ukraine or the Ukrainian people IMO….I can’t see how anyone could still seriously maintain that the US is not running this war.
"the US and its allies have begun to convey a new, longer-term goal for the war: to defeat Russia so decisively on the battlefield that it will be deterred from launching such an attack ever again."
Hmmm, you may have missed more than just the comment I linked to, but that won’t be my problem if or when shit hits the fan here on TS.
I was clearly asking about your personal view, not about info that you or anybody else can find on the internet and link to.
Paraphrasing you (mostly a direct quote), in a nutshell:
… whether this is true or not I don't know … but if you believe … then things are not looking good … I can’t see how anyone would not agree with me.
You start off with hypotheticals (aka speculative assumptions) and end with a preconceived conclusion, which is not consistent with your alleged neutral position and not picking a side. You may still deny it, but it is obvious to anybody else that you do have picked a side. Hiding behind hypotheticals is simply disingenuous.
…and I will add yet agian…I advocate and support a negotiated peace that first and foremost of course recognizes Ukraine's sovereignty, while also recognizing Russia's security…which as far as I know, is generally seen as a neutral Ukraine….I fail to see how you and others perceive that position to be favouring one side above the other….but then you have stated that I have "picked a side"….and I am sure you would know….so which one I wonder?
Lots of words that convey nothing of substance and hardly answer anything, but let’s go with the very little that you do provide. So, Ukraine was not neutral before and therefore got invaded, because it presented a threat to Russia, e.g. it was going to invade Russia? And peace requires and depends on Ukraine becoming neutral and stop threatening Russia with invasion, whatever that means? I suppose you mean that Russia must retreat in full and leave Ukraine forthwith in recognition of its sovereignty, is that correct?
Explain yourself instead of spouting vacuous comments with vague reckons and hypotheticals based on stuff that you don’t know (about), by your own admission.
The anti-imperialist side, obviously, which in your case comprises just about every Western nation with a colonial history and/or a military-industrial complex. In addition, you lean so much against the US and the UK, for example, that for all intents and purposes you have picked a side.
I am not even going to bother answering the whole first part of your comment as it doesn’t warrant me spending any time on it.
“I suppose you mean that Russia must retreat in full and leave Ukraine forthwith in recognition of its sovereignty, is that correct?“…what else could Ukrainian sovereignty mean you think?
“In addition, you lean so much against the US and the UK, for example, that for all intents and purposes you have picked a side”
You have just said that in this Ukraine/Russia war, because I oppose contemporary Western Imperialism and intervention, then I have by extension “picked a side”….now how about you explain me exactly how that works…I ask again..what side do assume I have picked?
I am not really sure what drives this extremely negative obsession with ‘picking sides’ with you people…but it is a very unpleasant trait.
For what I am sure won’t be the last time.. I am a supporter of a neutral Ukraine…natural from Russian influence and US/NATO influence…I would be interested to know what part of that don’t you get?
The USA is finally coming out in public and saying what has been obvious to most serious observers of the Ukrainian/Russian war from the beginning….…
You really consider yourself to be a serious observer?
When the best you can do, to make your argument for supporting the Russian invasion and genocidal attacks on apartment buildings, shopping malls, theatres and hospitals, is a schlock horror movie?
A movie which depicts the protagonists as evil sub-humans?
Is this what you really think?
Is this truely the thinking behind your 'serious observation'. ?
FYI, Adrian, 1940s Nazi war propagandists, also depicted their protagonists in Eastern Europe as sub-humans, (untermenschen), as justification for invasion and war.
Untermenschen
German word meaning subhumans (plural – note singular is untermensch).. Often used to describe Jews and slavs during the Nazi period…
God you really are an idiot of the first order….talk about a useful idiot…it's like that term was especially created just for you…and I must say, you really do wear it well.
"Adrian, 1940s Nazi war propagandists, also depicted their protagonists in Eastern Europe as sub-humans, (untermenschen), as justification for invasion and war"
But at least you got one thing right for change…one would assume that, extrapolating just one or two steps further from your statement above, that is probably exactly why Russia had and have deep seated and legitimate boarder paranoia issues…it's hard to see why, taking into account the history that you touched on there, why Ukraine just didn't take the option of neutrality that it's own citizens voted for, the Russians supported and all the main European NATO countries supported?….one is only left to speculate on why that sane and reasonable opportunity for peace was so roundly rejected.
God you really are an idiot of the first order….talk about a useful idiot…it's like that term was especially created just for you…and I must say, you really do wear it well…..
…….one is only left to speculate on why that sane and reasonable opportunity for peace was so roundly rejected.
Rejected by Russia.
Russia attended the peace talks only for appearances sake, continued shelling civilian infrastructure throughout, refused every offer of a ceasefire. Kept making stupid demands for "Deanazification" (ie Russia's code word for regime change) and demanding Ukraine's surrender.
On the other side of the negotiating table Ukraine offered Russia, that Ukraine would remain neutral in exchange for Russian a withdrawl, to Russia's pre-February, military lines held by Russian backed separatists..With an agreement on further negotiations on the future of the disputed territories in the Donbass. This peace offer Russian negotiators also flatly rejected.
President Zylenksy then went over the heads of the Putin government and phoney peace negotiators, to appeal to the Russian people directly to put before the Russian people the same peace terms.
The Russian government made sharing or broadcasting this video a crime.
Doesn't this tell you something Adrian? Because it certainly tells everyone else
There is a saying: 'If the truth needs to be silenced because it might destroy something. Then that something needs to be destroyed by the truth.'
The Russian Federation is a revanchist wanna'be imperial power. Its leaders don't want peace, just conquest.
Putin doesn't want peace he wants empire and war.
Adrian in this war, you have chosen sides, you and those like you are trying to get others to join you there but you are on the wrong side of history, and you, and your other pro-war propagandists', efforts will prove to be futile, possibly even within Russia.
Because Adrian, you can make all the lame excuses for Russia's imperialist invasion, you like, the slaughtering of civilians, the censoring of Russia's brutality and own losses from the Russian people, the jailing of Russian peace activists and the rejection of Ukraine's peace offers, you only further disgrace yourself as a partisan supporter of imperialist wars.
You may think it is clever Adrian to cheer on Russia's of choice, but this war can end in only one of two ways for your side. Total destruction of the Russian Federation on the battlefield at the hands of Russia's stronger imperial rivals, either that, or the Russian Federation will be overthrown by the Russian people themselves.
I'm hoping for the latter.
1234 We Don't Want Your Bloody War. 2468 Stop The War It's Not Too Late
'Missing On The High Seas?!': Father Expresses Outrage As Russia Keeps Quiet About Fate Of Sailors
Dmitry Shkrebets knows the true fate of his 20-year-old son, even if Russia won’t yet tell him….
….Russia has officially stated that fewer than 2,000 soldiers have died, despite mounting evidence that the number is much greater.
The United States and Western allies earlier this month put the number of Russian soldiers killed at 10,000.
….The younger Shkrebets, a resident of Yalta in Crimea, was conscripted in July.
"I think the people that allowed this to happen should be punished," Dmitry Shkrebets told RFL/RL. "And how they cynically lie on the [TV] channels that all are alive. How can they lie so cynically?"
….Tarasov was conscripted in December and that same month posted a photo of himself in his sailor's uniform on his Instagram account, according to the the Agenstvo news agency.
“See you in a year,” he wrote.
Written by Todd Prince based on reporting by Current Time, Crimea.Realities, and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
If the U.S dollar was not the default currency for international trade ,America could not afford these wars and be able to sustain 700 plus bases around the world.
You may have noticed Saudi Arabia and Israel are very quiet regarding support for U.S interference these days.
They have good reason.On their doorstep is Syria, which with Russian help ,defied the U.S.
The world will never be the…same…and as for inflation!!
Saudi Arabia and Israel and most of the Gulf States are at peace and doing good business with each other. Everything is flowing as it should and prices are excellent.
The government is going to destroy agriculture in the next few weeks,and try BAU in a high inflation/ interest regime,The NZ dollar has lost 6 % this month,whilst good for exporters,lousy for those trying to redesign an economy.
Our sovereign wealth funds are losing around 800m$ a month.
You’re a stupid lazy troll when you copy & paste your RW ‘jokes’ from KB and dump them here on TS. You don’t even try being original, which makes you a try-hard.
Willie smoothes the ruffled feathers of Nat/Lab dinosaur voters addicted to neocolonialism. He
told Q+A with Jack Tame that his Government’s push to have co-governance and co-management arrangements beyond those already introduced through Treaty settlements, were a response to the need to meet Māori ambitions, and address Māori inequality. “The nature of democracy has changed. This is a democracy now where you take into account the needs of people, the diverse needs, the minority needs. Its not the tyranny of the majority anymore, that’s what co-management and co-governance is about. It’s nothing to fear," Jackson said.
Baffled Nat/Lab voters go into collective funk, eyes glazed over. "But I thought MMP was just rearranging the deck-chairs." Whimper, sniffle. "Sounds like Labour actually intend to do something real. Jacinda is betraying Helen! When Labour refused to accept UNDRIP under Helen everyone realised Labour was rightist, not leftist. Younger generation thinks it knows better. This won't end well." Groan, sniffle.
'There is no better snapshot of the Fed’s failure as a banking supervisor than this one fact that is called out every quarter in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Report on Bank Trading and Derivative Activities. Table 14 of this report (see page 19) shows that the 25 largest bank holding companies in the U.S. are sitting on $234 trillion notional (face amount) in derivatives but just five bank holding companies are responsible for $200.18 trillion of that exposure or 86 percent of the total. Those mega bank holding companies are: JPMorgan Chase (ticker JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC).
“More than two thirds of all financial assets are held by the top 5%”
Heartening to hear a cabinet Minister actually saying this. Many thingscould be done to stem the concentration of wealth – here's hoping.
The Sad Slide of a Once Equal Nation [4 July 2017]
New Zealand, by most yardsticks, used to rival equal nations like Denmark. But New Zealand’s incomes have become much more unequal – and its problems much more pressing. Steeply progressive taxes could reverse that dynamic.
I heard about people claiming to be "common law sheriff" (a conspiracy people) intruding on an Anzac Day ceremony in Paraparaumu on Monday.
A twitter video shows someone taking an oath on signing up with the group: "I take this affirmation being of sound mind …" It doesn't sound the stuff of sound minds to me.
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
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Elon Musk while rummaging around down the back of his couch finds $44 billion.
On a whim decides to spend it on buying Twitter.
Tax the rich.
The bit about "authenticating all humans" seems too aspirational, perhaps? How to measure the authenticity of even one human seems problematic. I hope he starts with Donald Trump – the verdict would be good for a twitterstorm.
Focus would shift onto the parts of the Don deemed to be lacking in authenticity, and the methods of remediating those defects. It would then become a model of reform to inspire all the other humans. Well, that's looking on the bright side. He could wheel in Google's quantum computer to finesse the process design…
Sorry to disappoint you but, Musk has a habbit of marketing existing technologies as both new and revolutionary. Authenticating all humans already comes in Microsoft and Google flavours, so apparently Twitter wants in on that. I don't think its going to provide any guarantees about the behaviour of those humans however.
That is something that is troubling for me, anonymity is a good thing on the internet so for me it depends on how far the authenticating goes
One of those click here to prove you're not a robot is fine, adding in personal details not so much
This is how it works. First off Musk will
talk aboutenvision authenticating your Dna through a finger swipe or something,fictionaladvanced technology is after all basically indistinguishable from magic. Eventually you end up logging into Twitter with a password, and other sites can check if you are logged into Twitter.Well if I had to put my trust in Elon or the board that banned a sitting President of the USA, the Babylon Bee, Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk and Libsoftiktok while allowing groups claiming to be Isis to continue posting I'll go with the lesser of two evils on this one
.
DF 1.1
This is deeply troubling.
If I can't have a quiet word in the ear of Twitter's designated censors in order to permanently silence anyone who disagrees with me … then we're heading towards something approaching full-on Fascism at a fair old rate of knots.
Do you have a problem with other billionaires owning social media and other tech companiess or just Elon Musk?
You too can have unlimited freedom of speech if you can pony up $44 billion
Scientist shifts from tech to nature. From his website:
The science points to a resilient future via agriculture but the economic dimension remains to be explored yet. Here's the relevant knowledge base though:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hyperaccumulators
This is old news in a field I've had not inconsiderable effort in. However, any publicity for better ways is good publicity, and there are many accumulators people may harness for their own purposes. As outlined below.
Here I qualify an urban myth (Dynamic accumulators), outlining plant physiological mechanisms and biological symbiosis to explain phenomena in this context, and introduce the hyper-accumulators as extremes of dynamic accumulating.
https://www.permaculturenews.org/2015/05/12/qualifying-dynamic-accumulators-a-sub-group-of-the-hyperaccumulators/
Here I begin the work of quantification:
https://www.permaculturenews.org/2020/05/18/dynamic-accumulators-part-two/
And here is the USDA database of plants, using my methods above, that may now inform farmers, nutritionists, food producers, compost manufacturers, gardeners, DIY soil detoxers, etc. This database is also dynamic, and is constantly being added to.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19S3wsjXU6VPzmbklZLVxKt6DCyZIPjCYw6zRrVg7M4Y/edit#gid=662104531
There's 300K polluted sites in Europe alone. They charged 1M per acre clean up over ten years ago. And cleanup is not even clean up it is: removal, concrete cap, or chemical drench.
NZ has a very serious cadmium problem.
This tech is vital, it is also another slowly drawn out crock by most companies and researchers involved. Gravy on all their chins and they all act like they got the secret sauce. Read above, I give you the keys to their kingdom.
Those are great resources thanks.
I'll check to see if our local riparian community project has the links.
"NZ has a very serious cadmium problem."
Our local Landcare tests water in our region which is a food growing one, and high cadmium levels are almost guaranteed.
Residential development of established horticultural fields was delayed by the required removal of extra metres of cadmium contaminated topsoil. (Which according to locals, was trucked off to various farmers as 'infill'.)
A"Cadmium Group" has been established to kill off any questions or media interest in the scandal that is the broad scale application of cadmium to farmland in New Zealand.
Organised by who – do you know, Robert?
Excellent, thanks. Allow me to be your publicist:
I've only scanned that first linked article so far- always doing plenty of other stuff like home improvements & maintenance in between commenting so will get around to the others eventually. Thing is about specialists, though, they do need generalists to perform the medial connecting link to society.
Well, that's the functional view, as produced by the archetype (3). Three relates stuff to other stuff – interprets & translates (Mercury/Hermes). Mediation for Dummies would therefore explain such gibberish as the process by which the expertise of specialists gets filtered down into comprehensible usable chunks (which then circulate value in the community) by generalists doing that filtering.
Value of apparently esoteric knowledge therefore is derived from currency achieved as a result of generalising. The trick is to ensure that dumbing down doesn't lose the essence of the gnosis! So the economic benefits of cultivating heavy-metal extractor plants must be the lure that pulls the gnosis into the community. When applied as techne, gnosis achieves cultural transformation…
Was hoping the above mentioned book (Heavy Metal Detox) would be the medial link. For the subject matter it's relatively light, funny, and armed with facts. Unfortunately the UoA wants hundreds of dollars per year of my money (after already taking ~ 40K in fees) to allow me access to databases of the science all our taxes already paid for. The movement of corporations into institutions now exacerbates the situation lending them the argument that corporates now have proprietary rights to the stuff.
Or short version, can't finish the book without access to the science for references, and awesome useable charts! It needs to be done right.
I've used my artistic side alongside my education to try and make it all accessible. The articles read more science-like than the book, but I'm only just past half way… really wanted it done by now but a (more recent) lit review is called for. Could bite the bullet and shell out money, but it's 'spare money' I don't have. I want an e-bike and ditch the car forever type dream. Replace a few tools that got pinched from the garden – all that big ticket stuff.
Anyway, an excerpt/example of my attempt to 'speak prole'. HA!
—————————————————————————————-
1. Introduction
Step 1. We admitted we were powerless – that our soils had become unmanageable.
We’ve all got, or had, some type of self destructive behavior. Admitting there is a problem is the first step in fixing it. Heavy metal is a problem. Whether it’s immunity to color and hair flaying air guitar, or widespread and progressive environmental destruction – it’s not that cool, man.
While Led Zeppelin were dominating the music scene, lead paints and fuels were dominating the landscape. Heavy metal sources include pesticides, fertilisers, effluents, oil, mining, smelting, roading, construction, industry and military. A 1980’s assessment of global air, water and soil contamination showed we have corrupted the cycling of trace elements; heavy metals are increasing in concentrations in our water bodies, soils and food chains. Recent changes in legislation regarding some compounds have reduced a portion of sources of contamination, while little has been done for existing problems. The majority of sites remain problematic, while in many cases, the pollutants continue to gather. Most toxic compounds can be broken down, but metals cannot. Metals settle in soils and may remain there for thousands of years.
Sites contaminated by military, mining, construction and industry are a small part of the picture. Many agricultural landscapes are contaminated or approaching contamination with heavy metals. New Zealand’s fertiliser use by the dairy industry now threatens their major export earner – the dairy industry. Vast tracts of land could be taken out of production from phosphate fertiliser increasing cadmium in soils. These fertilisers are widely used throughout the globe, and their use is increasing.
Cities may be no better off: With higher building and vehicle densities combined with a history of lead products; higher usage of pesticides and fertilisers per area compared to farmers (a budget thing); proximity to industrial zoning; and more. One urban study points to poor children’s exposure to metals in New York’s inner city playgrounds and parks; another finds metal toxicity on Long Island golf courses.
Plough men, poor or strolling out in your plus-fours – are there undesirable elements in your neighborhood? A Google Scholar search for ‘domestic heavy metal contamination’ yielded close to 100 000 academic articles and references to the subject; it seems we have established there is a problem; but what of solutions?
Industries response for dealing with heavy metal contamination includes the following:
1. Remove and dump the dirt as landfill, and bring new topsoil to the site.
2. Use chemicals to immobilise the metals in the soil, and further chemicals to make the soil surface impermeable.
3. Remove soil, use proprietary acid solutions to desorb and leach metals out, and put the soil back.
My concern with these methods is as follows:
1. Moving the problem is not fixing the problem. Besides, if we dumped all the polluted soils on the planet, the pile might upset the axial tilt.
2. Water impermeable land is not a solution to fixing land.
3. ‘Proprietary acid solutions run through the soil to desorb and leach the metals’… amuses my poetic side, but instils no confidence in the scientific or eco-centric sides at all.
Shift the problem, cap the problem, or make more problems. The price for the methods to ‘clean-up’ contaminated sites in the US alone was estimated around $300 Billion – or $1M per acre.
If you are waiting for government and industry to solve things, be patient. Chemicals used to clean up the Gulf oil spill were more toxic than the oil itself. Months after the Chernobyl disaster, cesium in Swedish and German field mushrooms was such that toxicity could occur from a single meal. People were poisoned months later, more than 1000 km’s from the disaster. Yet nuclear power plants continue to be built, and catastrophes continue to occur. This wilful ignorance that somehow an even thicker wall and protocol manual makes us immune to weather events, seismic activity, and space rocks… it is insanity.
“Is it the end, my friend?” – Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath.
No problem with style or clarity in your writing. Pivot from problem to solution is crucial & earlier the better (even if you only outline it in principle in the intro), but best to have expert input from the marketing side. And I'd suggest that even if money weren't a priority. Sooner you achieve liaison with a publisher the better.
Presuming you are addressing a global readership (not writing just for kiwis) probably a good idea to solicit advice from a bunch of science publishers. Normally writers must sell the concept first, then the design of the book, which (unless you're into product control like me) ought to be open to tweaking because publishers bring market savvy to bear on proposals. Essential to approach them as prospective partners then!
You get an editor to work with (I did mine myself due to professional expertise). So, for instance, Industries response for dealing with heavy metal contamination will become Industry's response for dealing with heavy metal contamination if you intended a collective noun. If you wanted to specify how industries respond (instead) you'd need a rewrite to describe how they collectively respond as an industrial ecosystem.
Nifty triad here (I googled science publishers nz):
So that provides a significant clue for how to frame your pitch, eh? Remember too that publishers are medial. The triad is author/publisher/buyer. That's the triad driving their business model. In respect of culture shift, the triad expert/ publisher/user conveys knowledge helping to upskill.
Re money to complete the project, successful publishers can & do provide advances to authors. Whether they still do in a tight economy is moot. No harm asking, I guess, so best to work out what you need beforehand. Funding from a suitable quasi-govt org could even be possible so if you found one you could negotiate a partnership…
That's good feedback.
I was kind of down on myself for not 'finding' the time and the funds, but it's not such an easy task I'd set myself, with life and all that stuff going on as well. I feel 'seen'.
I'm also wrapped my work in the area led to that database.
You've given me good food for thought. Appreciated.
I'd hoped to make it so the book is practically free or at least digital versions free to countries with no disposable incomes. Publishers struggle with my ideas like that haha.
On the book – It goes to solutions quickly. It (roughly) follows 12 step programs – a parody of sorts.
Step 2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Assuming you haven’t just purchased a beachfront property in Fukushima, it is possible to remediate mild to moderately contaminated sites. It is even possible to have land in production during the decontamination process. While scores of scientists worked to point out the problem exists, many more turned to seeking solutions.
On serpentine soils, mine tailings and highly radioactive sites some plants survive and even thrive. These are the metallophytes. Some metallophytes are excluders – they exclude certain substances from being taken up, and grow despite high metals in the soil. Other plants are accumulators, they accumulate things from the soil. Hyperaccumulating plants accumulate high concentrations of substances from soils. Metal hyperaccumulating plants (MHP’s) extract high concentrations of metals. In some cases MHP extraction is > 1% metal per dried weight of plant material.
MHP’s use photosynthetic power to mine metals for us. Theoretically, we decontaminate soil if we can grow then remove sufficient plant mass. The drawback was that the MHP’s initially observed were not really suited to the task; they were small, or slow growing, or both. Widespread screening for better plants began in earnest.
Initially, over 400 MHP’s were identified. Further criteria narrowed the pool considerably, including: grow in damaged environments; grow large enough to extract significant metal, and grow fast enough to produce growth in a timely manner. Discoveries are continually being made. A list of some MHP’s and metals they extract is included (Table 1).
MHP’s accumulate appreciable amounts of metal regardless of soil concentrations, but as toxins increase growth of many MHP’s can be inhibited. Further efforts to enhance the capabilities of MHP’s have included: propagation techniques, genetic engineering, and the use of free-living or symbiotic bacteria and fungi.
The observation of polluted sites led to the discovery of MHP’s; the observation of MHP’s has led to the discovery of bacteria and fungi involved in decontamination processes. These in conjunction with MHP’s can enhance plant growth and/or metal uptake. Many genes targeted for genetically engineered MHP’s are found in such; beneficial organisms with desirable functions. It is not necessary to insert such genes in plants to gain the use of these functions; rather, to gain understanding of the organisms ecology, and how one might insert them functionally into a decontamination process.
“Then what’s to stop us, pretty baby. But what is and what should never be” – Led Zeppelin, What Is and What Should Never Be.
Sorry bout the format, ran out of time…
I've scanned those other links – too much pure science, will scare off most punters. In the above, you shift into applied science & intelligent readers will get the gist. For a site like this one, heading further in that direction would work better. Science is okay in the book (if your purpose is to share with other scientists) but beware too much of it.
Me for instance, as physics grad & permaculture designer (not teacher), utility of applied science to empower permaculture as praxis hinges on case studies. If you show how general principles get used in particular localities & ecosystems people kinda grok the steering skill at the interface between nature & humanity. Stewardship as ethos then emerges as folk realise hey I can do this too!
Education gets flawed due to academic antiquated mind-sets. Students get alienated by bad teaching. I was, big time. Pure science is good for sussing out what happens & why but useless for survival, so we need to build a bridge across that divide…
Good feedback again. The charts will condense (and hide) a shit-ton of the science, where each field will link back to studies, but a layperson can just take the information to use and needn't get bogged down. Similar to the database, a huge volume of work behind it, a simple application in front.
Those articles had to get technical they were basically a methods section made slightly more palatable for permaculture practitioners.
There's also a fine line between being too technical, and being patronising, I reckon most people can follow most things, it's the technical language that throws them. Introduce key concepts early, bring them up often, and leave all the superflous language for the arts department.
In that way I've done my job 'properly'. The scientists can drill down to their hearts content, the layperson can read the steps 1, 2, 3 and get on with the job at hand.
A lot of boxes to tick, but as it is a labor of love, they will get ticked. If it were a means to an end (look at my stuff, buy my stuff) I'd have finished it in a half assed manner years ago.
Now if if only someone could convince Elon Musk that rather than spending $44billion on a vanity project buy out of Twitter, that he invest his $44 billion in making a start on this clean up. Maybe he could persuade some of his multi-billionaire mates to chip in a bit too.
No just fuck it. Let's just tax the bastards instead.
" if we dumped all the polluted soils on the planet, the pile might upset the axial tilt.".
Please tell me you were joking when you wrote that?
Alwyn, if it was all in one pile it literally would upset the balance as there is sooo much of it. (As I understand it) I don't think DB finds that funny…rather a threatening situation which he has expressed in lay terms to portray the enormity of the problem.
I really don't think that the amount of material he is talking about can possibly compare with the amount in any of the continental plates that are moving around. Sure, they don't move very fast (up to about 4 inches/year) and they will be tending to move into a spot where another one may be moving out but when you look at the size and thickness of one nothing we can do could possibly compare.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/300572998/elon-musk-reaches-deal-to-acquire-twitter-for-around-66-billion
Aww yeah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB3Cy8x9Y1s
Hilariously funny Dave Armstrong column in today's Dominion Post. Total send up of Luxon and his "crew".
link?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/128449031/captain-luxon-encounters-unexpected-turbulence
Londongrad.
Former mayor and now P.M, Boris Johnson gave a saloon passage into London for Russian oligarchs and any other dirty money looking for a safe haven.
This worship of obscenely wealthy crooks, has recently turned to opprobrium and a rediscovery of meagre moral virtue.
It took a war to get any action.
https://youtu.be/gyk12Wf_TeQ
Yes I think no-one on the left will be unhappy to see a lot more sunlight down that particular sewer.
The USA is finally coming out in public and saying what has been obvious to most serious observers of the Ukrainian/Russian war from the beginning…ie; that the US want the war in the Ukraine to continue until Russia is crippled beyond repair, regardless of the cost of Ukrainian lives and infrastructure.
Many have suggested this has been the goal of the US interventions in Ukrainian politics since 2014…it is now looking more and more like that analysis is now being proved correct.
US Makes It Clear Its Aim Is to ‘Weaken’ Russia
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/04/25/us-makes-it-clear-its-aim-is-to-weaken-russia/
As I have said many times on this forum, the only sane way out of this conflict is negotiated peace, and had been perplexed at the lack of movement in this direction….we now are starting to see why.
It should be made very clear, anyone who supports a protracted war with Russia in the Ukraine cannot then say that they seriously care about Ukrainian lives or the fate of the country as both are going to be utterly and totally devastated by this war…..and we all know that the US has a long and violent recent history of destroying countries for it’s own ends…and looks like it is now going to sacrifice the Ukraine and it’s people for it’s Geo-Political goals….
Just listen to this totally insane cold war warrior to get a feel for the complete madness of US foreign policy….Insane Cold war Warrior alert!!!….Former commanding general of US Army Europe Ben Hodges
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018839442/biden-administration-pledges-700m-in-aid-to-ukraine
…like I said the other day these cold war warriors where a extreme danger to the human race during the Cold War…and now like some sort of demented half dead Zombies they seem to have risen, more bloodthirsty than ever..more craven, more insane, more intense…and more dangerous to the human race than we could have ever dreamed in our worse nightmares….…… I think I might have had a few close calls with one or two of those Zombies wandering aimlessly around, craving blood on this site….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7z2d9ijRgw
Russia is on track to gain total control of the Donbas region and retain full coastal control from Russia through Crimea.
That's the primary objective locked in.
I think it reasonably likely that Ukraine will settle for a cessation of hostilities at the end of this year by losing the whole of Donbass, so long as Ukraine keeps Odessa as its sea port.
That's a deal Putin could live with.
Then it's Guns Down who's paying the bill not me.
I agree. The outcome is likely to be consistent with it's stated goals. Little more, little less. Some of the other military events are being portrayed as losses but I suspect were distractions or fit in with the 'de-militarisation' goals.
Is it really going to see a 'cessation' of hostilities? I doubt it. Officially, yes. But outbreaks of violence and attacks are likely to continue. This is going to be a running sore for decades.
Russia will still have to deal with a hard core of nazi ideology, which despite it's attempts to eradicate, is not going to go away, ever. This thread is an interesting take on Lvov.
ttps://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1515547698434297860.html
I very much doubt Russia will settle for less than violently wresting the northern Black sea coast of Ukraine from Ukrainian control.
And will not stop there.
After seizing Odessa Russia will go on to take Moldova.
As well as continuing the war against the government in Kiev on the pretext of fighting fascism.
Unending expansion is the iron rule of all growth economies forcing them into war and/or global environmental collapse.
Russia doesn't have the capacity to do more than it is.
Its military only have logistical capacity to get what's next door and no more. They couldn't even take Kiev.
Russia's broader security networks are getting rapidly degraded by sanctions that will bite ever-deeper.
No need to over-egg the pudding.
One of the benefits of democracy, is that if things aren't working out, democracies can change direction.
Autocracies don't have that luxury. Autocracies are usually pretty inflexible.
Failure for Autocratic leaders is not an option.
Nothing is off the table for Russian imperialism. Full nationwide mobilisation and transition to a war economy is on the cards for Putin's Russia. Whatever it takes.
Even if Russia achieves its immediate war aims, this war will not end soon.
Russian imagination may be boundless but their realities are not.
The Finnish and Swedish NATO membership requests are already on their way.
Putin is now well boxed in on the west.
Good comment Ad, the only problem with your analysis is that it looks a lot like the US is at the very least, having a large say in the negotiations, which, if true, doesn't bode well in there being any peace in the Ukraine anytime soon….I really really hope I am proved wrong.
What negotiations??
Like squeezing blood out of a stone, eh? Anyway, I put the question to Google & got this:
And this:
So your scepticism seems justified…
Zelensky calls for more talks
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220420-ukraine-calls-for-talks-in-teetering-mariupol-as-moscow-holds
You may not have noticed it Adrian, but World War III for the redivision of the world has begun.
The underdog "have not" imperialist Russia, is the upcoming challenger and aggressor, and will not stop its expansionism until it is stopped either by its rivals or by internal revolt.
Since you’re repeating your same line, I repeat my questions to you (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-04-2022/#comment-1884556):
What kind of peace negotiations do you have in mind? For example, who initiates it and why (e.g. what might trigger it and when), who brokers or mediates it, what would be some of the key terms, et cetera?
Sorry Incognito I missed that question on the 24th.
Negotiations have already been under way, and have been on and off during the entire conflict, however I have found it difficult to find any substantial or unbiased information on the upcoming negotiations or any of the previous negotiations.
I do know that the Russians have been accusing the Ukrainian negotiators of stalling..whether this is true or not I don't know..but if you believe the War mongering rhetoric coming out of the highest places in the US, then things are not looking good for the Ukraine or the Ukrainian people IMO….I can’t see how anyone could still seriously maintain that the US is not running this war.
Austin's assertion that US wants to 'weaken' Russia underlines Biden strategy shift
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/25/politics/biden-administration-russia-strategy/index.html
"the US and its allies have begun to convey a new, longer-term goal for the war: to defeat Russia so decisively on the battlefield that it will be deterred from launching such an attack ever again."
Kremlin accuses Ukraine of changing tune during peace talks, slowing process
https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/kremlin-accuses-ukraine-of-changing-tune-during-peace-talks-slowing-process
I think this article which I just found by Jeffrey Sachs (someone whose opinion I take seriously) explains my own position on negotiated peace in the Ukraine far better than I could….
A negotiated peace is the only way to end Russia's war on Ukraine
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/20/opinions/sachs-ukraine-negotiation-op-ed/index.html
Hmmm, you may have missed more than just the comment I linked to, but that won’t be my problem if or when shit hits the fan here on TS.
I was clearly asking about your personal view, not about info that you or anybody else can find on the internet and link to.
Paraphrasing you (mostly a direct quote), in a nutshell:
… whether this is true or not I don't know … but if you believe … then things are not looking good … I can’t see how anyone would not agree with me.
You start off with hypotheticals (aka speculative assumptions) and end with a preconceived conclusion, which is not consistent with your alleged neutral position and not picking a side. You may still deny it, but it is obvious to anybody else that you do have picked a side. Hiding behind hypotheticals is simply disingenuous.
How about you inform me as to exactly what side I have picked?…seeming as you obviously know more about what I believe than I do myself….
…and I will add yet agian…I advocate and support a negotiated peace that first and foremost of course recognizes Ukraine's sovereignty, while also recognizing Russia's security…which as far as I know, is generally seen as a neutral Ukraine….I fail to see how you and others perceive that position to be favouring one side above the other….but then you have stated that I have "picked a side"….and I am sure you would know….so which one I wonder?
Lots of words that convey nothing of substance and hardly answer anything, but let’s go with the very little that you do provide. So, Ukraine was not neutral before and therefore got invaded, because it presented a threat to Russia, e.g. it was going to invade Russia? And peace requires and depends on Ukraine becoming neutral and stop threatening Russia with invasion, whatever that means? I suppose you mean that Russia must retreat in full and leave Ukraine forthwith in recognition of its sovereignty, is that correct?
Explain yourself instead of spouting vacuous comments with vague reckons and hypotheticals based on stuff that you don’t know (about), by your own admission.
The anti-imperialist side, obviously, which in your case comprises just about every Western nation with a colonial history and/or a military-industrial complex. In addition, you lean so much against the US and the UK, for example, that for all intents and purposes you have picked a side.
Prove me wrong and be honest.
I am not even going to bother answering the whole first part of your comment as it doesn’t warrant me spending any time on it.
“I suppose you mean that Russia must retreat in full and leave Ukraine forthwith in recognition of its sovereignty, is that correct?“…what else could Ukrainian sovereignty mean you think?
“In addition, you lean so much against the US and the UK, for example, that for all intents and purposes you have picked a side”
You have just said that in this Ukraine/Russia war, because I oppose contemporary Western Imperialism and intervention, then I have by extension “picked a side”….now how about you explain me exactly how that works…I ask again..what side do assume I have picked?
I am not really sure what drives this extremely negative obsession with ‘picking sides’ with you people…but it is a very unpleasant trait.
For what I am sure won’t be the last time.. I am a supporter of a neutral Ukraine…natural from Russian influence and US/NATO influence…I would be interested to know what part of that don’t you get?
Night of the Zombies (alternate title: Battalion of the Living Dead) is a 1981 American zombie horror war film….
A top-secret nerve gas is discovered that has kept a battalion of flesh-eating World War II soldiers alive for decades.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Zombies
You really consider yourself to be a serious observer?
When the best you can do, to make your argument for supporting the Russian invasion and genocidal attacks on apartment buildings, shopping malls, theatres and hospitals, is a schlock horror movie?
A movie which depicts the protagonists as evil sub-humans?
Is this what you really think?
Is this truely the thinking behind your 'serious observation'. ?
FYI, Adrian, 1940s Nazi war propagandists, also depicted their protagonists in Eastern Europe as sub-humans, (untermenschen), as justification for invasion and war.
I suppose we shouldn’t expect any better from you, Adrian, considering your long history of genocide denial and support for Assad fascism in Syria.
God you really are an idiot of the first order….talk about a useful idiot…it's like that term was especially created just for you…and I must say, you really do wear it well.
"Adrian, 1940s Nazi war propagandists, also depicted their protagonists in Eastern Europe as sub-humans, (untermenschen), as justification for invasion and war"
But at least you got one thing right for change…one would assume that, extrapolating just one or two steps further from your statement above, that is probably exactly why Russia had and have deep seated and legitimate boarder paranoia issues…it's hard to see why, taking into account the history that you touched on there, why Ukraine just didn't take the option of neutrality that it's own citizens voted for, the Russians supported and all the main European NATO countries supported?….one is only left to speculate on why that sane and reasonable opportunity for peace was so roundly rejected.
Rejected by Russia.
Russia attended the peace talks only for appearances sake, continued shelling civilian infrastructure throughout, refused every offer of a ceasefire. Kept making stupid demands for "Deanazification" (ie Russia's code word for regime change) and demanding Ukraine's surrender.
On the other side of the negotiating table Ukraine offered Russia, that Ukraine would remain neutral in exchange for Russian a withdrawl, to Russia's pre-February, military lines held by Russian backed separatists..With an agreement on further negotiations on the future of the disputed territories in the Donbass. This peace offer Russian negotiators also flatly rejected.
President Zylenksy then went over the heads of the Putin government and phoney peace negotiators, to appeal to the Russian people directly to put before the Russian people the same peace terms.
The Russian government made sharing or broadcasting this video a crime.
Doesn't this tell you something Adrian? Because it certainly tells everyone else
There is a saying: 'If the truth needs to be silenced because it might destroy something. Then that something needs to be destroyed by the truth.'
The Russian Federation is a revanchist wanna'be imperial power. Its leaders don't want peace, just conquest.
Putin doesn't want peace he wants empire and war.
Adrian in this war, you have chosen sides, you and those like you are trying to get others to join you there but you are on the wrong side of history, and you, and your other pro-war propagandists', efforts will prove to be futile, possibly even within Russia.
Because Adrian, you can make all the lame excuses for Russia's imperialist invasion, you like, the slaughtering of civilians, the censoring of Russia's brutality and own losses from the Russian people, the jailing of Russian peace activists and the rejection of Ukraine's peace offers, you only further disgrace yourself as a partisan supporter of imperialist wars.
You may think it is clever Adrian to cheer on Russia's of choice, but this war can end in only one of two ways for your side. Total destruction of the Russian Federation on the battlefield at the hands of Russia's stronger imperial rivals, either that, or the Russian Federation will be overthrown by the Russian people themselves.
I'm hoping for the latter.
1234 We Don't Want Your Bloody War. 2468 Stop The War It's Not Too Late
If the U.S dollar was not the default currency for international trade ,America could not afford these wars and be able to sustain 700 plus bases around the world.
You may have noticed Saudi Arabia and Israel are very quiet regarding support for U.S interference these days.
They have good reason.On their doorstep is Syria, which with Russian help ,defied the U.S.
The world will never be the…same…and as for inflation!!
Saudi Arabia and Israel and most of the Gulf States are at peace and doing good business with each other. Everything is flowing as it should and prices are excellent.
Saudi Arabia GDP is up 29% ytd on higher energy prices.
Norway's GDP and budget surplus is becoming astronomical on energy pricing.
https://www.economy.com/norway/government-budget-balance (prior to the war premium)
The downside is the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund is losing value in over priced markets (74B 2022 ytd)
Imagine if we had a second sovereign wealth fund based solely on taxing milk exports.
The government is going to destroy agriculture in the next few weeks,and try BAU in a high inflation/ interest regime,The NZ dollar has lost 6 % this month,whilst good for exporters,lousy for those trying to redesign an economy.
Our sovereign wealth funds are losing around 800m$ a month.
Spot the Muppets.
I will give you a clue – they are in the middle.
or maybe here are the yellow, green and red kiwi’s
Pataua4life, what’s your problem?
John Key's day in the Bay, no pony-tail pulling involved [BoP Times]
You’re a stupid lazy troll when you copy & paste your RW ‘jokes’ from KB and dump them here on TS. You don’t even try being original, which makes you a try-hard.
Willie smoothes the ruffled feathers of Nat/Lab dinosaur voters addicted to neocolonialism. He
Baffled Nat/Lab voters go into collective funk, eyes glazed over. "But I thought MMP was just rearranging the deck-chairs." Whimper, sniffle. "Sounds like Labour actually intend to do something real. Jacinda is betraying Helen! When Labour refused to accept UNDRIP under Helen everyone realised Labour was rightist, not leftist. Younger generation thinks it knows better. This won't end well." Groan, sniffle.
[link required]
oops, sorry.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/04/24/willie-jackson-co-governance-a-chance-at-equity-for-maori/
$234 TRILLION of derivatives!(face val)
All done in the best…possible ..taste.
'There is no better snapshot of the Fed’s failure as a banking supervisor than this one fact that is called out every quarter in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Report on Bank Trading and Derivative Activities. Table 14 of this report (see page 19) shows that the 25 largest bank holding companies in the U.S. are sitting on $234 trillion notional (face amount) in derivatives but just five bank holding companies are responsible for $200.18 trillion of that exposure or 86 percent of the total. Those mega bank holding companies are: JPMorgan Chase (ticker JPM), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC).
David Parker is my hero!
"Revenue Minister David Parker will introduce a bill which would set out principles of fairness in the tax system.
Speaking at the Victoria University in Wellington, Parker said authorities had “virtually no idea what rate of tax is paid by the very wealthy”.
“We do know the rate paid by wage and salary earners and by small business owners.”
He said New Zealand was a country with inequality. “More than two thirds of all financial assets are held by the top 5%,” he said."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/128452925/revenue-minister-david-parker-lashes-very-wealthy-for-being-undertaxed-calls-for-new-tax-principles
Heartening to hear a cabinet Minister actually saying this. Many things could be done to stem the concentration of wealth – here's hoping.
https://wir2022.wid.world/chapter-4/
https://inequality.org/
Think of the scale and size of the accompanying tax credits on the losses
https://twitter.com/biancoresearch/status/1518253246053339137
I heard about people claiming to be "common law sheriff" (a conspiracy people) intruding on an Anzac Day ceremony in Paraparaumu on Monday.
A twitter video shows someone taking an oath on signing up with the group: "I take this affirmation being of sound mind …" It doesn't sound the stuff of sound minds to me.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/04/video-emerges-of-self-proclaimed-common-law-sheriff-being-told-to-stop-talking-at-paraparaumu-anzac-service.html
https://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/wellington/128448267/anzac-service-hijacking-by-selfproclaimed-sheriffs-prompts-walkout
‘
2022 The year of the conspiracy theorists.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/04/man-handcuffed-dragged-away-by-police-after-yelling-earth-is-flat-during-governor-general-s-anzac-speech.html