Jonathon Pie is a breath of fresh air. He’s on the button about this ridiculous over-reaction to hyperbole and humorous if slightly risque utterances. A personal example:
back in 1991 just before the first Iraq invasion started, I had a conversation with a former friend about the over-reaction of the American Embassy when they warned Americans living in NZ to beware of terrorists. [28 years ago we didn't have any terrorists.] I quipped to the friend… if you come across any terrorists let me know because I know a Yank who could do with being bumped off . (a bully boy I worked with)
That person reported my quip and I found myself under inexplicable siege for some six weeks. Funny to look back on now but it sure wasn't funny at the time. And no apologies from the authorities involved were forthcoming.
The person who made the complaint turned out to be a full blown narcissist.
I'm offended by comb overs, boy bands, blank switch plugs in top of the range cars and the high number of offended people. I demand my concerns are addressed immediately.
Infinite – who understands it? I am reminded of clever Jonathan Cainer.
“Our brains are not capable of comprehending the infinite so, instead, we ignore it and eat cheese on toast.”
― Jonathan Cainer
and –
“Why do we love the idea that people might be secretly working together to control and organise the world? Because we don't like to face the fact that our world runs on a combination of chaos, incompetence and confusion.”
― Jonathan Cainer
"A man in a clown outfit stood outside the gates of Parliament shouting, “Save our bendy bananas!”"
"But Johnson’s political career has been marked by lies and evasions. “He is genuinely a bad person. Not an unlikable person but a bad person, as in he has no morals, no principles and beliefs,” a former close colleague told me. “He would be whatever Prime Minister was necessary to maximize the chances of gaining and then maintaining power.” Between 2008 and 2016, Johnson was a liberal mayor of London. During his campaign, earlier this year, to become the leader of the Conservative Party, he veered between promises to leave the E.U. on October 31st, “do or die,” and strange, chummy disquisitions on his hobby of making model buses and painting the passengers inside."
"Roland Rudd, the chairman of the People’s Vote campaign, which advocates for a new referendum, told me. “I don’t pretend that reversing this madness is going to bring us together. Honestly, it won’t.”"
"One of the riddles of English nationalism, as personified by Rees-Mogg and Johnson, is how seriously to take it. (Rees-Mogg has six children; the sixth is called Sixtus.) “A lot of this stuff sounds like it is sort of pantomime, this right-wing stuff in Britain,” Stewart told me. “Because the tone in which they do it is all a bit Gilbert and Sullivan.” Like other unlikely populist figures, Rees-Mogg operates within an ironic shimmer, knowing what people have come to hear. His descriptions of the perfidy of the British élite have the ring of an insider. “We found ourselves up against the British establishment at its least attractive,” he said. “People who pretend to do one thing and do another.”"
"In the space of a few weeks this fall—in “the compression,” as Baker, of the E.R.G., called it—Johnson made startling political progress. The glue loosened. People diverged. Britain’s constitutional fabric suffered, too, in ways it is too early to understand. But, in the process, Johnson clarified to a great extent what Brexit is going to look like and feel like. The shape of the future is now visible. The uncertainty has receded. The worst is most likely yet to come."
On Brexit – I have paid some money to The Telegraph and am getting Brexist updates these days. Which seem pretty accurate from them.
The latest is under the heading The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I'm James Crisp, The Telegraph's Brussels Correspondent, and Westminster is on an election footing. But there are two problems – Emmanuel Macron and Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn said he wanted to wait until the EU27 granted an extension before agreeing to the election suggested by Boris Johnson, but his stance has jeopardised the agreement on the delay to the Oct 31 Brexit deadline.
Mr Macron has been a lone voice in arguing for a shorter Brexit extension than the three-month flextension to Jan 31 2020 supported by the majority of EU27 leaders.
The EU could still grant the extension to the end of January but, unless Mr Macron caves, the bloc could be forced to call an emergency summit on Monday. Any decision on extension must be unanimous…..
and
Fraser Nelson argues that the working class is so strongly behind Boris Johnson that he is willing to risk a December vote.
In the run-up to Oct 31, you will be able to read a wide variety of articles on the Brexit saga. Please see the links below for a selection of some of today's best articles.
If you want to become a subscriber and read the hundreds of articles we publish every day, try a free 30-day subscription.
The working class behind Boris? Is it a case that the workers feel that people who rush around looking important, throwing criticisms and statements about and hubris (though they don't know what it means and don't care), are people like themselves. Is it that they like to be able to blame others, especially foreigners, for anything that isn't right and imply that the celebrity leader will change all that and 'Make ..(insert country here) .. Great Again? Is it that these talking heads imply that there will be affordable beer and good food, affordable sport-spectating and someone always ready and willing to ease their ailments. Is it that our education has not been the right sort to enable democratic decisions to be analysed and made in a thoughtful way?
I think something is rotten in the state of D…….. or wherever English-speaking democracy reigns. Time for me to clean out the smelly frig I think, that is something useful that I can do, and then perhaps join others getting together to look at the state of our democracies which haven't been great for a while and may never be again at this rate.
The Telegraph and other media outlets run by tories keen to hide their tax haven wealth from the EU and force Brexit through have had a significant hand in the destruction of democracy in the UK.
racist mary and racist nicky – so common – so fucken racist
Newstalk ZB host Marcus Lush was shocked to receive two calls during his show on Thursday night from New Zealand-born women who insisted on mispronouncing the Māori names of the places where they'd been born.
Could you expect a Highland Scot to accurately pronounce Maori place names…?
Have you even heard how the Americans pronounce anything Maori???
Did you know our linguistic vocal cords are formed by the age of around 6 which gives rise to accents?
And that some Maori dont pronounce Anglo place names properly but people dont bat an eyelid?
I think,… its time we celebrated our differences so we dont become clones or cringe worthy tryhards trying too hard to identify with cultures we dont belong to.. its like putting on a fake Japanese accent just to fit in and sound hip. Except its all in reverse.
But, thats how dialects and accents arise, along with all it colloquialisms… Look at England… a Geordie sounds totally different from an East Ender…
ffs it is not about accents or dialects – did you even listen to the original comment I put up – pretty basic stuff and totally doable with the will to do it – without the will we get deliberate offence designed to hurt and belittle
Okey dokeys… but can you imagine going around 'correcting' someone in England from another locality when they 'mispronounced' a local twang or drawl?
I think you might end up with an ale all over your face and called a nitpicker. As they are all English and accept the differences. Black or white these days as well.
Basically, your making people feel unnecessarily bad for being born in a different time , family , culture and / or locality.
There was a gang of Iranian painters I got chatting to,.. I asked where they were from… I heard ' irin'…. was puzzled at that and asked again ..again they replied… ' irin'… and then I learnt… instead of the usual Kiwi drawl ' eye – ran'… they were from Iran and pronounced it' irin'….
I said '' Ohhhhh… 'Eye – ran'…. OK '' ,… they were too busy to even care about the mispronunciation… to my relief…
Yet … I do not pronounce Iran as ' Irin'….
Why ? … because I am not an Iranian and I would actually like other Kiwis to know what Im saying rather than looking at me strangely … this is how language changes over time. This country , was formed of many Scots, Irish , Welsh and English as well as Maori… yet,… you would be hard pressed to find anyone with an original Welsh or Irish accent now unless they were of recent immigrant arrival.
Well , the same can be said for those brought up over generations of familys pronouncing a word in a certain way… it takes time to change that… and many times… it makes people feel forced and uncomfortable. So they would rather be honest and pronounce things as theyve always done. Local parlance, in other words.
You cannot force these things, and in Gisbourne and Northland, the Maoris there speak with their own accent on the English language themselves.
you are just talking shit buddy – this is Aotearoa and we have TWO treaty partners and THREE official languages
I don't care what the racists do apart from using their example of how utterly very fucking far we have to go to get anywhere near equality in this land
Do you really expect Indian, Chinese and every other immigrant to bow the knee to the sacred cow of correct pronunciation of the Maori language ?
Get off the grass racist.
Climb down off that high horse your on and go outside and sniff the roses for a change.
…. '' I don't care what the racists do apart from using their example of how utterly very fucking far we have to go to get anywhere near equality in this land '' …
How old are you ? … 12 ?
Or do you only consort with your select inhouse fellow delusionists?
Get a grip , man.
Do you realize how stupid you sound , – when if the only thing you have to offer is the mispronunciation of a language that constitutes major racial problems and inequality in this country , – while overseas people die in race riots and shootings… well buddy… perhaps it is YOU that has a long way to go.
yes you struggle with a lot of things I'm sure – I certainly feel shame about that dropkick woman from the same town as me and her dimwitted views – I wonder what part of you you feel shame about – lol just jiving, it's pretty obvious bro
"Could you expect a Highland Scot to accurately pronounce Maori place names…?"
Maybe not, but neither of the people in this example were Highland Scots, or even from overseas. Both have lived long lives here so it's not like they're *that far away from good pronunciation. This really had nothing to do with ability.
In my experience, Māori are generally patient and kind with people attempting to get pronunciation right. There's not really an expectation of perfection with the general public.
As an aside, it wouldn't surprise me if Scots learn te reo more easily, because of the whole R thing. I would expect this to be true of people born and bred in the south of NZ as well.
"Did you know our linguistic vocal cords are formed by the age of around 6 which gives rise to accents?"
Not sure how that's relevant tbh, plenty of Pākehā learn to pronounce te reo well later in life.
I think the first woman and Lush were talking a bit past one another. I understand where the elderly lady was coming from. She grew up at a time when all Maori names were incorrectly pronounced but that was the way they were taught to say them. Given her age, it would be hard for her to even remember the correct pronunciations let alone use them. She tried to argue her point of view in a friendly, non-nasty way and Lush acknowledged as much.
But the 49 year old… she was a racist git and he was way too polite to her imo.
I don't see her age being an issue – anyone can make an effort to improve if they want. And if they can't be bothered they out themselves.
The 2nd woman was an idiot. I grew up in mosgiel too and know exactly how racist and uncompromising that place can be and it is NOT as backward as she makes out. She does represent some but not all by any measure imo – just look at me lol
I think we are slowly emerging ourselves in Te Reo. Adult classes are chocka. I think you're right Marty, Nicky thinks she's being staunch. When I got home after an extended period in Oz everyone was saying Kowhai and Whangarei different. I learned to change, not out of a deep seated respect for Te Reo, I didn't want to sound like an ignorant pillock.
In a few minutes, I think 'How to Dad' does a great job of sharing the Te Reo building blocks.
I'm as shit as the next person at some te reo Māori pronunciation – and that is sincere – my cousin corrected me the other day – what did I do? Learned and tried to get it right – this is what living in a community, a country means – giving it a fair attempt and being open to trying again if it is a stuff up. I'm not asking these people to go to te reo Māori classes or become fluent or do anything other than trying to be part of our society – and that is the rub – they don't see Māori as part of their society – they couldn't care less about Māori let alone the language – so fair enough I call that racism and note it.
The first woman was probably casual racism in her yeah, nah, I'm too old, not going to change now. I didn't have too much of a problem with it in the sense of I wouldn't call her racist if I was in the conversation and like Marcus I could probably find some common ground upon which to talk.
The second woman was out and out racist. She's not just saying hey I like how I say things, she's actively holding a cultural position of preventing te reo taking hold and the subtext is that no-one in the South supports Māori. I'd say she's a white supremacy apologist.
I really wanted to hear the start of the conversation with the first woman, how they got onto pronunciation.
Dummy? Not sure about that, I think she was smart enough to know exactly what she was doing. Doesn't hurt to name that kind of racism when it's there, although I doubt I'd bother talking it through with her in real life.
… '' they don't see Māori as part of their society – they couldn't care less about Māori let alone the language '' …
Thats identity politics.
1/ You dont speak for all white New Zealanders – all youve done is make a gross generalisation.
2 / Your assumption can equally be applied to the very people group you choose to champion. Except it is reversed. Many Maori ( and people from other cultures ) dont particularly care about white New Zealand culture as well.
3 / You belittle those who have taken the time to learn Te Reo who are not of Maori ancestry.
4 / If your generalization is true, – then that makes other cultures , – not just white New Zealanders , – participants culpable in the charge of ' not caring about Maori let alone the language' .
Therefore I would charge you with being an inverted racist yourself.
We all have seen the evidence of Maori oppression through colonialism, we all have read the history and the Bellich books, we are aware of the statistics in under achievement and incarceration – and for the most part , many non Maori have agreed, – yet for the last 3-4 decades weve had it rammed down our throats actually…to the point where its become overload. Yet if the plight of Maori is so dire, then the correct pronunciation of the Maori language is the least of their concerns.
It is all too easy to look at the extremes.
That said, it is nice to preserve languages.
However,… English in particular has many accents and dialects- from the Public School accent of the BBC to the Creole to Pidgin…
Thats language. It lives with each and every new generation, it develops with each and every new permutation as there is people.
And not you , not the identity politics crowd or any other force will ever stop that process. Try reading or speaking 12th century English. You'd be lost. You would struggle with even the simplest of pronunciations. You would probably have to learn Frisian or even German to get a handle on it.
mate I LOVE identity politics – and I'm very proud to follow that approach.
Anyway thanks for the compliments – I'm really not too worried in this land of equality we live in – and I'm sorry to be insulting to you – I can't really be bothered keeping up the hostility so peace and love
I'm ambivalent on this one. When pronunciation evolves into mispronunciation, crapping on people for saying it the way everyone around them has said it for 80 years is a bit much.
And I note he used "camembert" not "croissant" – almost nobody says that word correctly lol
But then it's one of them power dynamics: attitudes to English language and pronunciation instructions are descriptive rather than prescriptive, these days. Māori instruction is more prescriptive in order to encourage expansion and consistency and recover usage. Because colonialism.
And then there's the entire meta discussion about when a word in one language becomes a word in another language.
It's one thing to have a lifetime habit that one doesn't want to change (eg how one pronounces where one grew up), but it's another entirely to go on the radio and make the case vehemently that society shouldn't move towards better te reo pronunciation (the second woman).
The other issue about te reo is that pronunciation affects meaning, and is part of literacy. It's not just about 'rightness' and not offending. How words are said in te reo Māori also affects whether one comes to a better understanding of what is being said, including concepts that are hard to say in English, which then leads to better understanding of Te Ao Māori. The words often go layers deep in ways that don't happen so much in English. I heard the second woman not just resisting changing an old habit, but actively working to suppress Te Ao Māori. Racist af.
Yeah, talkback radio callers for the win right there. Salt of the earth lol.
But I don't think it's down to berating individuals for not making an effort, when everyone else would look at them like freaks if they asked after the "Ōpoho" bus rather than "Opoho".
I think that sort of change comes from the local bodies – putting macrons on the bus signs, changing the literature and maps, etc. Like Whanganui DHB did back in the day.
Is it a thing at the moment, the pronunciation of Ōpoho? I didn't even know it had a macron. Would have better if Newstalk had made the whole audio public so we can hear the start, I feel like I'm missing an important part of the conversation.
I don't think the issue is a couple of people mispronouncing a Māori placename, it's the *way it was defended. I wouldn't berate them for how they say the word, but obviously I will berate someone for being a dick about it.
I thought that was the pronunciation Lush was going for? Always just been "Opoho" to me.
But holy shit it just occurred to me that this has been the first time in years talkback has caused a kerfuffle and the bigot/dickhead wasn't the announcer! The last time I can think of that happening was the "Hone" Carter phone calls. Normally it's Lhaws or Tamihere or whomever going for the controversy.
I don't see her age being an issue – anyone can make an effort to improve if they want.
Agreed. But I'd still cut the elderly lady a bit of slack. I would call her problem more ignorance than racism.
One way to bring it home to them is for all Maori to start mispronouncing English place-names especially when on radio or television where they are going to be heard.
Examples:
Wellington… we – ling – ton (as in con).
Onehunga… one – hunga (as in hunger)
St Kilda… st – kil – da (as in dat)
You could have a lot of fun in the process as well as causing an upsurge in pakeha related strokes. 😉
We already have people of all races mispronouncing names, places and the like. What are we all going to do? – draw and quarter them all for a simple error or guillotine them for being brought up in a certain way ?
Geez.
Maybe a simpler way would be to recognize that we all come from different backgrounds and cultures… and to stop trying to squeeze us all into the cookie cutter homogenous mould some would like to see…
Seems I recall the call went out for us all to be tolerant and celebrate our diversity… or is that no longer applicable when it comes to to the pronunciation of either the English or Maori language….
Seems just a little too ‘ convenient when it suits’ to me… but you know the old saying… '' you cant have your cake and eat it too''…
So which one is it?
Celebrating diversity and being tolerant or the cookie cutter?
Anyways,… had enough of this puerile conversation.
The Swedish people warmed to me as I gained a handle on their kooky language. My pal Tedde shared why. 'There are few greater genuine compliments that can be made to a group of people than learning their language.'
As the world grows smaller and sameness infiltrates everywhere, Te Reo is ours and only ours.
That rigid sail system would overcome most of the reasons not to put conventional sails on a tanker. No extra crew, the captain could control them from the bridge. Low maint. They're not 300m high. The wind direction doesn't matter. A 9.2% fuel saving is substantial. I wonder if fuel savings improve beyond that as more of the units are added to a deck.
These points may well be in the article grey, you're a Telegraph subscriber.
I'm a neophyte Telegraph subscriber. Can't get all their stuff at present and have to review what I paid and should pay. So can't give you any more about the sails at present, but even putting up the headlines I find is very bracing, knowing that something is going on in the intelligent side of the world.
I have to decide whether I want to pay monthly or drop in a donation FTTT – whatever options are being offered and for the other UK ones, I would like to get Scottish one too. I may be able to keep up on Bella Caledonia. (Just looking at their page and they are fulminating about David Cameron
' reportedly earning £120,000 per hour to provide audiences with “lessons in leadership” in global affairs. Similarly, Gordon Brown was paid around £75,000 for one speech that claims to give a “comprehensive view of complex issues”.' https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2019/10/24/a-prosperous-future/
At least it won't cost me that much to be informed, and with a spread of media I am likely to be as well grounded in general, as many paying big money to hear the mega-stars, famous in their own galaxy.
I'm going to be donating to the Guardian, want to subscribe to local Scoop, and also The Standard. And I get local paper at a reduced rate. It all adds up. The Guardian, The Telegraph and aljazeera have been my main ones on Brexit with the BBC and Channel 4 FTTT.
Once upon a time I favoured enabling vaping – as a means to wean people off tobacco.
I still do. But, given
1. the harm that can result from allowing an addictive substance – nicotine – to be on-sale
2. those over 18 are supplying it to younger teens and children
3. growing evidence that there is damage to lungs from vaping
I now only favour it by prescription to existing tobacco addicts, where the doctor felt the risk from vaping was worth it for the patient – as part of a process to getting people off tobacco.
“On certain routes during the trial the vessel achieved fuel savings way beyond the average of 8.2% even with average wind conditions,” Hylands said.
“There is a clear potential to achieve higher fuel savings, and hence CO2 savings, on routes with more favourable wind conditions, which further improves the commercial viability of the technology.”
Targeting windy routes is way more efficient than adding more windmills.
That shipping site is amazing. GPS position, headings, speed. Pelican looks very tired in the Maersk file pics. Was probably due to be slipped when the round sails went on.
Weka stuck Harvey's public shaming up the other night but like Harvey, we had so much fun lets do it again.
Phone + Facebook/Twitter account are like the village stocks of old and Harvey is copping rotten fruit for a second day on The Standard. Seems fitting, creep.
If I was the boss at Sky City I would invite the dominant union executive body to select the lab to do the air purity analysis. (I would run my own tests on the quiet.)
If there was a marked difference between data sets, I'd ring the head of the union body and suggest reps from each lab come together for one more comprehensive test. Agree on methodology and deliver a collective report.
Because giant interference arrays are so yesterday.
/
Russia will test its internal RuNet network to see whether the country can function without the global internet, the Russian government announced Monday. The tests will begin after Nov. 1, recur at least annually, and possibly more frequently. It’s the latest move in a series of technical and policy steps intended to allow the Russian government to cut its citizens off from the rest of the world.
“On Monday, the government approved the provision on conducting exercises to ensure the stable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet and public communications networks in the Russian Federation,” notes an article in D-Russia. (The original article is in Russian. We verified a translation with the help of a native Russian speaker.) “The exercises are held at the federal (in the territory of the Russian Federation) and regional (in the territory of one or more constituent entities of the Russian Federation) levels.”
The word “holistic” shows that the exercises follow April’s passage of the sovereign internet law that will require all internet traffic in Russia to pass through official chokepoints, allowing the government to shut down outside access, block websites that they don’t like, and monitor traffic.
'to cut its [Russian] citizens off from the rest of the world'. / sarc
This step to try and be self-sufficient comes after western provocation and Ukraine meddling and all sorts of attacks and provocations from both sides in retaliation to the ones before. It is quite reasonable to try and withdraw from such resource wasting interaction. And of course there are the sanctions that the USA plaster round the place, elephants are more dainty.
Putin and his Chekists are losing the propaganda battle. Their response is to do what their forebears did.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to monitor the online behavior of young Russians and to produce “moral and spiritual education” content for them.
Young Russians have been targeted by several government initiatives in recent years, including a ban on minors attending protests and efforts to provide them with a military and patriotic education. This year, Russia launched a new channel targeting young viewers with 24/7 World War II programming and announced military-patriotic reeducation camps for delinquent youngsters.
Perhaps that is the appropriate thing to do at this point in time? I am so disillusioned with world politics that I no longer can produce the moth-eaten banner left over from last century with words of hope and glory where if everyone is treated properly and allowed to say what they will, the tooth fairy will give us beautiful teeth and we won;t even have to paint them every night.
I am amazed that the government cannot find funding for the Chathams and their airport. These outlying regions need some investment to build further business on. Everything can't be about trees. I hope that there is another agency that would find a place in its budget for them.
I'm going to sand the last one and lay another coat of lacquer over the Simca. I love spray-painting while the All Blacks play their big games. So far we have mirrored results.
Geeez, I so want to get this right. I know how to do this, I'm good at it, I need to relax. I need to be seventeen and painting my tutor's car again. I was brilliant without trying.
Trudeau may have his issues, but Canadians had the wit to give the racist, climate denier fossil fuel loving anti-immigrant nazi the arse.
Bernier spent the campaign promoting a divisive and exclusionary message that could have easily come from far-right parties such as Germany’s AfD or France’s National Front. He vowed to build a border fence to keep out asylum seekers, stoked fears of “radical Islam” in the country and told a rally earlier this year that he wanted to “make Canada great again.”
Bernier founded the party in 2018, after losing a Conservative Party leadership contest to Andrew Scheer, and quickly settled on an anti-immigration message. Despite the party polling around 3% throughout the campaign, Bernier was a highly visible figure during the race and participated in the federal leaders debate. His presence in the election, a sharp contrast with Canada’s progressive multicultural image, drew international media attention, including a profile in The New York Times that described him as a “lanky provocateur.”
Yes Anne, I had the same feeling after the match that it would be Jandal’s fault that the AB’s loss to English. You can’t fault that wiry old fox Jonesy who a masterful game plain to beat the AB’s tonight.
Easy foot-notery above when our predeccessors spent their lives, destroyed their families, for reality. And all I am is the angriest of the footnoters. Massive cream before a massive fall.
I think we're fighting against reality. That is, our mental nature.
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I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...
Winston Peters - Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the NZ First PartyWe all know that politics can be pretty messy at times. Just look at the Dirty Politics saga in New Zealand, the misgovernment of the Australian bushfires or the recent Trump impeachment debacle in the US. In a ...
Last Monday SpaceX launched another clutch of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit, bringing up to 300 the number of these units intended to bring 5G internet to the whole globe. In this post I present a movie showing how all 300 such satellites will be zipping around our planet over ...
The recent floods in Southland have highlighted the issue of Rio Tinto's illegal toxic waste dump in Mataura. But according to Newsroom, there's an even worse mess in Ruakaka near Whangarei:A Northland property stockpiled one million litres of flammable and toxic chemicals. Almost two years since the situation came to ...
It’s amazing just how many attack ads $100,000 buys you these days. The National Party has really been going to town lately, with their latest Twitter campaign making a number of questionable and blatantly false assertions, one being that poverty has worsened under the Labour led Government.The National Party's claim ...
OMV's exploratory drilling in the Great South Basin has failed to find oil. Good. Firstly, because we can't afford to burn the oil and gas we've already found, so there's just no point looking for more. And secondly, because offshore, deep-water drilling poses a risk of an environmental catastrophe, which ...
The government has announced it will strengthen whistleblower protections. The major change is "allowing people to report serious wrongdoing direct to an external authority if they wish", which fixes one of the big flaws in the Act. At present, whistleblowers must generally make their disclosure direct to the body they ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bruce Lieberman CARLSBAD, CA. – When it comes to paying the electric bill, most people don’t give it a second thought – it’s something that in effect is “baked in.” But across California and several other states, local governments increasingly are ...
Excerpts from Being and Being Bought, by Kajsa Ekis Ekman, Spinifex Press, 2013. Part 4 Ekman, a Swedish journalist and critic, brings together a Marxist and feminist analysis of prostitution and surrogacy in this groundbreaking book. This is the fourth part of a synopsis and brief commentary of the book by Daphna ...
The Democracy Virus: China’s authoritarian political system enables a level of social surveillance and control that liberal democratic societies cannot match. The Chinese Government makes full use of the latest digital technology to both punish – and reward – its citizens. The plans it formulates cannot be challenged, or hindered. Where ...
Another day, another IPCA report on criminal conduct by policy. This time they kicked a child in the head when he was handcuffed:Police chased him and yelled out for him to stop. When he turned to face the police, he threatened them with a hammer. That's when the officers tasered ...
The investigation of two of the five parties in Parliament for fraud around their election donations has pushed the issue of party funding back into the spotlight. And while there are obvious things we can do to tighten up the donations regime - a much lower declaration threshold, realtime disclosure ...
While the south of New Zealand has been struggling with too much rain in recent days, here in the north we are so very short of it (though Saturday’s forecast looks promising). Basically, we have had almost none since Christmas.As someone who relies on rain to wash the car, ...
Former National Party MP Jami-Lee RossIt comes as no surprise that Jami-Lee Ross has been named as one of the defendants in the X2 $100,000 National Party donations case currently before the courts. Click bait journalists who were chaffing at the bit to discredit the former senior whip had already ...
Stand Clear! Winston Peters is encouraging voters to think of RNZ as belonging to “The Media Party”. He wants them to see it as a politically partisan institution with its own, vicious attack-dogs in the electoral fight. If he succeeds, it will be, and probably should be, the end of ...
"You're going to need a longer runway" Gratton et al explore the ongoing effects of upward-creeping temperatures on aviation in Greece in the period since 1955 at a range of airports in that country. For longer runways impacts are measurable but with little impact on operations. For airports with shorter runways, ...
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...
Former National Party chief whip Jami-Lee Ross is one of the four people charged over National's multiple fraudulent donations. How unsurprising. Meanwhile, just days ago National leader Simon Bridges was trying to pretend the charges were nothing to do with his party. Yeah, right. When your chief whip effectively publicly ...
If you've been watching FYI for a while, you'll have noticed that the police have a bad habit of demanding ID from requesters. They have apparently been repeatedly told to stop doing this by the Ombudsman, but we all know what law enforcement thinks of the law, so thye keep ...
Collateral Damage: For the Green Phoenix to be reborn, the funeral pyre so patiently assembled by its identity politicians over the course of many fractious years – but with growing intensity over the past three – first has to be ignited. The terrible probability, of course, is that, in setting ...
If you follow politics in New Zealand you've likely noticed that the right wing have been going on and on about the Coalition Government failing to reduce poverty. In fact they’ve been incessantly claiming, in the absence of any conclusive data, that poverty has been getting worse.Yesterday, NewstalkZB reported:Mike Hosking: ...
The Herald reported over the weekend that an Auckland business owner is being targeted with asset forfeiture laws over a workplace death:A workplace fatality has seen police use a law usually associated with drugs and organised crime to seize millions of dollars in assets from a business owner because of ...
Just days after talking about how people feel "squeezed" and promising tax and service cuts as a "solution", National is talking about cancelling a rise in the minimum wage if elected: National is considering scrapping the Government's planned minimum wage increase if it wins this year's election, the party's finance ...
Nobody thinks about the next century anymore. That at least is Sci-Fi writer William Gibson’s observation (in this BBC 4 short interview, starting at 1:43:50 ). He calls it “Futures Fatigue”, but isn’t judgemental about it. Gibson notes that in the 20th century speculation about the 21st (and beyond) was common. Now ...
A Labour government desperate for the numbers crawls into bed with Winston Peters. Winston ignores the law and secretly takes money under the table from someone. When it is exposed just months out from an election, he is investigated by the Serious Fraud Office. That's what happened back in 2008. ...
So the Serious Fraud Office has another secret $100,050 National Party donation before the Courts in a major scandal that looks set to quash any chances Simon Bridges had of winning the 2020 election.Yesterday, Newsroom reported:The Serious Fraud Office prosecution of four people over donations to the National Party involves ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Iceberg twice the size of Washington, D.C., breaks off Pine Island glacier in Antarctica Story Highlights: The Pine Island ...
Prof Philippa Howden-ChapmanHousing policy is building up to be the key election issue again. In this blog I reflect on the importance of the role of the New Zealand Government in improving access to affordable housing. I look at what the Government has been doing to increase quality public housing ...
Writing on The Spinoff, Danyl Mclauchlan argues that we have a vacuum in our political system, in that there is no longer an anti-establishment party anymore:I think there’s a vacuum in our political system. There are obvious problems with the status quo but no real critics offering reform. It’s a ...
Stuff today has a piece about the government discovering it has been oversubsidising polluters for a decade under the Emissions Trading scheme:The Government is pledging to urgently fix an issue within the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), after it emerged some polluters are likely being over-compensated with taxpayer-funded carbon credits. [...] ...
The Marlborough District Council, tired of public scrutiny, wants to increase the amount it charges for LGOIMA requests:The cost of requesting official information from Marlborough's government agency could almost double after a jump in "fishing expeditions". Charges could be raised from $60 to $100 an hour for information supplied by ...
When Winston Peters was caught money laundering donations and stalking journalists, the Greens were conspicuous by their silence. It was another example of how getting along with their government partners was eroding their values and their own reputation. It was obviously unsustainable, and so now James Shaw has finally spoken ...
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...
With over 69,000 confirmed cases and 1,600 deaths, here’s your round-up of the latest coronavirus news. New disease and virus have now officially been named On the 11th February, the WHO Director General announced a new name for the disease: COVID-19 which is short for coronavirus disease 2019. The naming ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week, i.e., Sun, Feb 9, 2020 through Sat, Feb 15, 2020 Editor's Pick ANALYSIS-Climate change opens up 'frontier' farmland, but at what cost to the planet?Climate change could expand farmland globally by ...
After cross-examination Jones knew he would lose the defamation case he took against film maker Renae Maihi. That’s why he threw in the towel. The weight of evidence was clearly against the old tycoon with the defense presenting fifty articles to confirm Jones’ racist views.Being unable to harass somebody into ...
Sprung! Former NZ First president, Lester Gray, chats with RNZ's Guyon Espiner in the carpark of a Tauranga shopping centre.(Photo supplied anonymously to NZ First and The BFD.)IT’S CLEAR THAT an important aspect of Jacinda Ardern’s political success is her willingness to seek – and take – advice. This ...
Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew MoorePublic health responses to infectious diseases such as COVID-19 require us to draw on our common humanity and be explicit about our values. Recognising this will help us make good decisions in difficult situations so that, for example, the need to impose restrictive measures ...
The Helen Clark Foundation has released its report on the housing crisis, and found that house-hoarders are to blame for it:Property investors are to blame for New Zealand's high house prices, a new research paper published by the Helen Clark Foundation says. [...] McArthur said previous attempts to address housing ...
The Abortion Legislation Committee has reported back on the Abortion Legislation Bill and recommended that it be passed with some amendments. Unfortunately, the latter include even more hoops to jump through for those seeking abortions after 20 weeks, including a time-wasting requirement to consult a second doctor. No-one casually seeks ...
Brexit is likely to be a disaster for the UK (how sad, never mind). But now that they're out of the EU, the latter has finaly taken the opportunity to blacklist one of their key tax havens:The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU ...
I’m not quite sure of what to make of the new figures for COVID-19 (as we must now call the novel coronavirus – though I’m not sure the capitalisation is correct) from Hubei province:Image from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51495484The spike yesterday is a consequence of a using a different way of ...
Bob Jones has dropped his defamation case against Renae Maihi. Good. But at the same time, it perfectly exposes what the case was all about: not protecting Jones' reputation, but punishing someone who had dared to criticise him, and deterring others from doing the same. This rich pompous asshat dragged ...
As I've done for the past few years, I'm curating and presenting The Listening Lounge, the talk programme at Splore. On the morning of Saturday the 22nd at the Living Lounge stage, the korero goes like this.Yes, we're talking about drugs again, not just because I'm professionally interested in drug ...
What Were They Thinking? RNZ's CEO Paul Thompson (left) and Jim Mather, Chairman of the RNZ Board of Governors, attempt to justify the debacle arising out of their attempt to downgrade RNZ Concert to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select Committee at Parliament on Thursday, 13 February 2020.WHAT IS ...
Dame Tariana Turia with former PM John KeyWhat is it about Tariana Turia’s grudge against the Labour Party? Not content with attacking the Government over Whānau Ora funding, which was increased by $80 million in 2019, she has now made it personal by saying that Jacinda Ardern is out of her ...
Back in 2017, right after being elected, Jacinda Ardern promised that there would be no new mines on conservation land. Since then, her government has done nothing to make that happen, and now the policy has been officially "parked" for the election:West Coast-Tasman MP Damien O'Connor says the "no new ...
So the guy who advocated for public burning and beheading feels offended because someone called him a racist!Perhaps Bob Jones hasn't heard of the very old saying; Live by the sword, die by the sword?I mean for someone who often writes opinionated nonsense about Maori; this is a ridiculous case ...
The government today announced a major support package aimed at reducing homelessness. A thousand new transitional housing places, more support for people to find homes (or not lose them in the first place), all good stuff. The one problem with it is that they're going to start charging people in ...
Courtroom Drama: There is no off-switch in a courtroom. Neither is it possible to turn the page in disgust. Ill-formed and ill-defended opinions will be exposed ruthlessly and unapologetically. As Shakespeare put it: “Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.” Sometimes the ...
As of today, the novel coronavirus spreading in China is called COVID-19. Why does it matter? Around the office, we’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks about how 2019-nCoV needed its own name. First, it was getting annoying calling it by the above designation, and ‘novel coronavirus’ doesn’t ...
by Philip Ferguson Last month B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, reported: “In 2019, Israeli security forces killed 133 Palestinians, including 28 minors. Of the casualties, 104 were killed in the Gaza Strip, 26 in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and three within ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Arms (Firearms Prohibition Orders) Amendment Bill (No 2) (Brett Hudson)Its basicly more "tough on crime" nonsense (its already illegal for unlicensed people to own guns) designed to wedge NZ First against its arsehole base. ...
One of our most immediate priorities upon forming Government was to get people out of sleeping in cars, garages, or on the street and into safe and warm housing. Since then, we've made major progress towards breaking the cycle of homelessness, including expanding Housing First, building more state houses, and ...
Kids learn better with a full stomach. That's why we launched our Lunches in Schools programme, which is already providing free and healthy school lunches to thousands of children so they can focus on what's important - learning. ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland This afternoon to a crowd of over 100 people in Mataura -- Mark Patterson, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland launched a parliamentary petition regarding the aluminium dross issue in Mataura, Southland. The petition asks that the ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development New Zealand First Deputy Leader and Spokesperson for Finance, Fletcher Tabuteau has welcomed Statistics New Zealand’s latest report as a timely reminder of the value that this Coalition Government brings to every day New Zealanders: “This Coalition Government has meant a ...
Today New Zealand First made a pledge to campaign at the election to fund St John Ambulance the 90 per cent it has asked for. Government funding would allow St. John’s to achieve fully funded status. Leader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters publicly declared his determination to deliver ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order Newly released Police data shows once again the number of fleeing drivers have continued to skyrocket with a record 512 incidents occurring in December – almost tripling the number of incidents occurring just ten years ago, says New Zealand First Law and ...
While the Provincial Growth Fund has provided $2 million to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia, Regional Economic Minister Shane Jones said he is greatly concerned that there are “issues” in implementing the projects. The Minister said the immediate solution was to pipe water from a bore ...
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland NZ First is calling on Rio Tinto to accept its responsibilities to the Southland community and enable the immediate removal of the toxic Aluminium Dross from the Mataura Paper Mill site. New Zealand First List MP for Clutha-Southland, Mark Patterson ...
The Coalition Government has announced that a further $500,000 will be given to help residents in Southland and Otago to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. It follows prior government assistance of $200,000 earlier this month where the Southland Mayoral Relief Fund received $100,000 to support communities impacted by ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones was on RNZ’s Morning Report talking about the recent droughts in the Northland region and what the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is doing to alleviate its impact. The PGF recently announced a funding of $2 million for temporary water supplies to Kaikohe and Kaitaia, ...
Speaking to The Country’s Jamie Mackay, New Zealand First MP and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones talks water storage, plant-based meat imitation, and superstar Hollywood director James Cameron. While water storage may have its critics, Minister Jones defended the scheme by saying: “unless we invest and continue to invest” in this ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones is accusing northern iwi leaders of selling out Māori by voting for ideologically-driven court cases rather than practical steps to increase water supply. “I just think that iwi leaders who think that water issues are going to be solved by perpetually fighting in the ...
A dairy owner in St Kilda, Dunedin was delighted to hear that an attempted robbery of his establishment was foiled by a government-funded security system. Sean Lee was delighted at how well the anti-theft smoke system worked. When a knife-wielding man entered the store, the shop assistant immediately pressed a ...
Customs says it stopped more than three tonnes of illegal drugs coming into New Zealand last year. This includes 1,180kg of methamphetamine, 329kg of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine precursors, which could have been converted into 246kg of methamphetamine, 739kg and 6469 pills of MDMA or Ecstasy and 60kg of cocaine. Offshore, ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development Up to $2 million will be allocated from the Provincial Growth Fund to set up temporary water supplies in Kaikohe and Kaitaia where drought is biting hard, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Drought conditions in Northland have led to ...
Darroch Ball, Spokesperson for Law and Order New Zealand First welcomes the deployment of an Eagle Police helicopter in Christchurch in what is a step towards fulfilling its long-standing goal to increase the use of police helicopters for the front line, particularly in addressing the scourge of fleeing drivers. Christchurch leads ...
It may have been the first sitting week of 2020, but our Government is already in full-swing - managing a strong economy, investing in infrastructure, and working to break the cycle of homelessness. Read below for all that, and more... ...
In a heated debate in Parliament, National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett claimed that “nearly 1600 patched gang members have been added” since the Coalition Government took power. To illustrate her point, she altered a chart used by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to show her government’s progress in housing to instead ...
Speech by the Rt Hon Winston Peters at Parliament’s Opening 2020 "We all need insurance" This year New Zealanders are going to have a clear choice to make That choice is between: Optimism versus pessimism; More progress versus back to the future; Investment versus divestment; Unity versus division. New Zealand ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has slammed the Board of Auckland Airport following the airport's runway closing twice within two weeks due to maintenance. Around 2,000 passengers were affected by last week’s runway closures, according to 1NEWS. Another maintenance closure on January 24 saw two international flights and three domestic flights ...
Jenny Marcroft, Spokesperson for Broadcasting New Zealand First supports the commissioning of a business case to assess the viability of a new public media entity. “A strong media environment is critical for a healthy democracy. New Zealand First is a strong supporter of a diverse, independent media,” New Zealand First broadcasting spokesperson ...
Pounamou and technology industries in the West Coast region are set to receive more than $2 million in Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding. This was announced by the Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau during Waitangi Day commemorations in Hokitika. He said $800,000 would be given to Development West ...
New legislation is being proposed which aims to reduce the stress and financial hardship caused by late payments to small businesses. The Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash is considering stricter rules around payment practices between businesses. “Late payments from large organisations to smaller suppliers can be crippling for these ...
A new partnership programme between the New Zealand Police and Fiji Police will focus on combatting transnational organised crime and enhancing investigative skills, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the first day of her visit to Fiji. The programme will see: · New Zealand Institute of Environmental Science and Research ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama met today in Suva, and renewed their commitment to continue to strengthen Fiji-New Zealand relations on a foundation of shared values and equal partnership. The Prime Ministers acknowledged the kinship between Fijians and New Zealanders, one that has endured over ...
A $19.9 million investment from the Provincial Growth Fund will help develop essential infrastructure for an industrial hub in the Bay of Plenty town of Kawerau, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says. “The funding will go to three projects to further develop the Putauaki Trust Industrial Hub, an industrial ...
The Provincial Growth Fund is investing $8.3 million on a roading package for Mahia that will lead to greater and wider economic benefits for the region and beyond, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced at an event in Mahia today. The $8.3 million announced consists of: $7 ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed new reporting showing the Coalition Government is on track to meet its child poverty targets, with 18,400 children lifted out of poverty as a result of the Families Package. Stats NZ has released the first set of comprehensive child poverty statistics since the Government ...
Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter today announced that Bikes in Schools facilities have been rolled out to 20,000 more kiwi kids under this Government. She made the announcement at the opening of a new bike track at Henderson North School in Auckland. “Bikes in Schools facilities give kids ...
Benefit settings rise in line with wages as of 1 April Main benefits will increase by over 3 percent, instead of 1.66 percent, on 1 April with the Government’s decision to annually adjust benefit rates to increases in the average wage. The Minister for Social Development, Carmel Sepuloni, said ...
Strengthening New Zealand’s political and business ties with India will be the focus of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters’ and Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker’s visit to India this week. The Ministers are co-leading a high level business delegation to India to support increased people and economic engagement ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio continues to champion for greater Pacific participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers with the announcement of the Toloa Awards, with 8 recipients of the Toloa Community Fund and 13 Toloa Tertiary Scholarships. “The Toloa Programme encourages more Pacific peoples ...
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage has extended the date for people to have their say on proposed changes to improve management of whitebait across New Zealand. Submissions were due to close on 2 March 2020 but will now remain open until 9am on Monday 16 March 2020. “I have ...
The endangered toroa/Antipodean albatross has new international protection for its 100,000km annual migration, thanks to collaborative efforts led by New Zealand, Australia and Chile. Today, 130 countries agreed to strictly protect Antipodean albatross at the Conference of Parties on the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild ...
No sales to under-18-year-olds No advertising and sponsorship of vaping products and e-cigarettes No vaping or smokeless tobacco in smokefree areas Regulates vaping product safety comprehensively, - including devices, flavours and ingredients Ensure vaping products are available for those who want to quit smoking Vaping regulation that balances ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little will travel to Berlin tomorrow to represent New Zealand at a high-level summit on nuclear disarmament. This year, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) celebrates 50 years since it entered into force. “New Zealand’s proud record and leadership on nuclear disarmament is unwavering, so it’s important we are present ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will visit two of New Zealand’s most important Pacific partners, Fiji and Australia, next week. The visit to Fiji will be the first by a New Zealand Prime Minister in four years and comes during the 50th anniversary of Fijian independence and diplomatic relations between our ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little and New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball, have today announced the appointment of the Chief Commissioner of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the location, and the membership of the Establishment Advisory Group. Colin Carruthers QC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of the CCRC for an ...
Māori Development Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta and Agriculture Minister Hon Damien O’Connor co-announced the first horticultural finalists for the Ahuwhenua Trophy celebrating excellence in the Māori agricultural sector. The three finalists are Ngai Tukairangi Trust from Mt Maunganui, Otama Marere Trust from Tauranga, and Hineora Orchard Te Kaha 15B Ahuwhenua ...
A new kete of resources to strengthen support for students with dyslexia will provide extra tools for the new Learning Support Coordinators (LSCs) as they start in schools, Associate Education Minister Tracey Martin announced today. The Minister launched the kete in Wellington this morning, at the first of three induction ...
The Government continues to make progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the First Reading of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and its referral to the Social Services and Community Select Committee. “Now is the opportunity for landlords, tenants and others who want ...
Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Hon James Marape will visit New Zealand from 21-25 February, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “New Zealand and Papua New Guinea have a warm and friendly relationship. I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Marape here and strengthening the relationship between our two countries,” ...
Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on every day of the school week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. The Government’s free and healthy school lunch programme is under way for 7,000 students at 31 schools in Hawke’s Bay / Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty / Waiariki, extending ...
The Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni today announced a new approach that continues to broaden the Government’s social sector focus from a narrow, investment approach to one centred on people and wellbeing. Minister Sepuloni said redefining the previous approach to social investment by combining science, data and lived experience ...
The Government is strengthening the Protected Disclosures Act to provide better protection for whistle blowers, Minister of State Services Chris Hipkins said today. “The Protected Disclosures Act is meant to encourage people to speak up about serious wrongdoing in the workplace and protect them from losing their jobs or being ...
Nǐn hǎo (Hello in Mandarin). Xīn Nián Kuài Lè (Happy New Year in Mandarin) Néi Hóu (Hello in Cantonese). Sun Nin Fai Lok (Happy New Year in Cantonese) Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you for your invitation to attend this celebration today. I would like to acknowledge ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ...
Kia ora. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Pāremata. E ngā mana whenua ki tēnei rohe Taranaki Whānui, Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Raukawa – kei te mihi, kei te mihi, kei te mihi. E ngā mana, e ngā ...
Tougher penalties for gun crime are a step closer with the passage of firearms reform legislation through another stage in Parliament. The Arms Legislation Bill has tonight passed its Second Reading. “The changes have one objective - to prevent firearms falling into the wrong hands,” said Police Minister Stuart Nash. ...
Introduction Mr Speaker We all know why we are here today. It has been a long journey. The journey did not actually begin on 15 March 2019. It began on 30 June 1997. Almost 23 years ago, Justice Sir Thomas Thorp told us what was wrong with our firearms legislation. ...
The Government’s work to put trades and vocational education back on the agenda took another major step forward today with the passing of the Education (Vocational Education and Training Reform) Amendment Bill, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said. “This is a watershed day for trades and vocational education. These law changes formalise ...
Speeding up the return of Christchurch regeneration activities to local leadership is behind the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament today by Minister Megan Woods. “As we approach nine years since the February 2011 earthquake in Canterbury, and with the transition to local leadership well underway, the time ...
Hundreds of New Zealanders and international visitors will be able to get back out into nature with the Milford Track partially reopening next week, after extensive assessments and repairs, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. The popular Great Walk has been closed since 3 February after an extreme ...
Up to 110 new EV chargers nationwide in cities and regions 50 electric vehicles for ride-sharing The Government is helping deliver more infrastructure and options for low emissions transport through new projects, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. Tauranga, Nelson, Levin, New Plymouth and Oamaru are just some ...
New Zealanders are increasingly better off under this Government as wages rise and families have more disposable income, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. Stats NZ reported today that average household disposable incomes after housing costs rose 4.9% in 2019. This was the highest rise in four years and came as ...
All New Zealanders need to have their voices heard at work to ensure we have an inclusive and productive economy. Today we introduce a Bill to do this for workers in the New Zealand screen industry, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. “The Screen Industry Workers Bill will ...
The Government has announced further help for the Southland and Otago regions to speed up recovery efforts from the floods. “I’ve approved Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG), making $500,000 available to help with the clean-up in Fiordland, Southland, and the Clutha district in Otago,” Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni said. ...
Following the announcement that more than 340 schools will be funded to run events promoting vocational education, the Government has announced it will fund a further 257 events to be run by employers and industry. “These industry-run events will allow more than 30,000 students to connect with more than 2,000 ...
Today the Government is making progress on a fairer and more secure rental market for renters and landlords with the introduction of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill in Parliament. “This Bill includes a series of reforms to improve the wellbeing of the 609,700 households that live in rented homes, and ...
A Government programme to wipe out pea weevil has achieved a world first, with Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor today announcing the successful eradication of the noxious pest from Wairarapa. This means the nearly four-year ban on pea plants and pea straw was lifted today. Commercial and home gardeners can again grow ...
Southland residents hit by flooding caused by heavy rainfall can now access help finding temporary accommodation with the Government activating the Temporary Accommodation Service, Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare announced today. “The Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help ...
“Is that it?” That’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s response to Simon Bridges’ much-hyped economic speech today. “Simon Bridges just gave the most over-hyped and under-delivered speech that I can remember during my time in politics,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s not surprising. Simon Bridges literally said on the radio this morning ...
The Government's looking at law changes to ensure small businesses are paid on time. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash said he is willing to legislate, if necessary, to ensure payments within 20 days, with interest imposed for late payments. He said prompt payment and cash flow are vital to small ...
Meridian Energy has made a record first half profit with improved revenue. The South Island generator's net profit for the six months ended December rose 26 percent to $191 million. Revenue was up 5 percent to $1.78bn on record hydro generation from the South Island lakes. It had significant customer ...
Economists are predicting a flat - or slightly down - March quarter, as the effects of the Covid-19 coronavirus and the drought come to a head. The Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) latest Quarterly Economic Predictions picks the virus impact will be short and sharp, with the economy gradually recovering ...
New Zealanders throw away 295 million single-use cups per year. Alice Neville ponders our obsession with takeaway culture, and looks at what’s needed for consumers to change their behaviour. How many commuters did you see clutching single-use takeaway coffee cups on your way to work this morning? Or how many empty ...
New Conservative is extremely concerned over what is tantamount to the confiscation by government of private land, without compensation. Taranaki farmers and landowners have had portions of their properties classed as “Significant Natural Areas” ...
Half of New Zealanders are more likely to vote for a political party in this year’s general election that promises to ‘significantly and urgently’ improve the unhealthy state of homes in Aotearoa. The Consumerlink survey, carried out for the Green Building ...
Mike, a 30-something professional, cares enough about better cannabis policy that he and other local supporters will be at the Riccarton Sunday Market, March 1st from 9am-2pm. “I don't want my kids to grow up in a country that criminalises them for ...
The Salvation Army is strongly opposed to the Government’s new Racing Bill. Today, Salvation Army staff will make our oral submission to the Bill. “Harm from gambling is already at unacceptable levels in this country and increasing availability and ...
One of the men charged over donations to the National Party was at one stage to have gone to the party's candidate college, which identifies and train potential members of Parliament. ...
Child poverty figures released today by Statistics New Zealand show further urgent Government action is needed to lift more children and whānau out of poverty, says The Salvation Army, which is calling for a change in core welfare benefits to be ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentChild poverty, welfare Max Rashbrooke (RNZ): Child poverty stats promising, but more is needed Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Child poverty ...
Data released under the Official Information Act today reveals almost 12,000 more children are dependent on welfare benefits since December 2017. "At 31 December 2019 there were 206,395 children aged 0-18 reliant on caregiver on a main benefit ...
The Government would consider direct assistance to tourism industry players if the fallout from coronavirus lasts well beyond the first half of the year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute Opposition leader Anthony Albanese sought to claim the climate policy high ground last week with his commitment to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. But figures on Australia’s emissions from the Department of the Environment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Marston, Head of School, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland The Australian government touts compulsory income management as a way to stop welfare payments being spent on alcohol, drugs or gambling. The Howard government introduced the BasicsCard more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Clarkson, Professor in Archaeology, The University of Queensland About 74,000 years ago a volcanic eruption at what is now Lake Toba in Sumatra, Indonesia, created one of the most dramatic natural disasters of the past 2 million years. The plume of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Omer Yezdani, Director, Office of Planning and Strategic Management, Australian Catholic University Philanthropy is a growing source of revenue for Australian universities. It’s essential to advancing quality research, equity and learning. On average, Australia’s top five fundraising universities receive nearly 20 times ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Dawson, Honorary Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne The assumption that retired people have minimal housing costs underpins the settings of our retirement incomes system. But the real state of housing for older Australians today makes it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Keating, Visiting Fellow, College of Business & Economics, Australian National University We are continually being told that more of us are employed than ever before. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe points out (correctly) that a higher proportion of us are in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben McCann, Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide Berlin. February 26 1920. A new silent film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, is released to unsuspecting German audiences and quickly becomes a worldwide sensation. “When will I die?” asks one character ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New child poverty statistics show little change yet, Greenpeace call for fishing policy review over donations, and a focus on Covid-19 effects on forestry.New figures were released yesterday on one of the most important issues facing the country – how many ...
He may be marooned in Texas, but Joseph Parker is closer to a return to boxing's big time than you'd think. Joseph Parker’s road back to boxing relevance won’t ever lead to the now fully resurgent Tyson Fury. But that doesn’t mean the Gypsy King won’t be a key figure ...
A cruel string of injuries could have prematurely ended Shiray Kaka's sevens career. But with determination and meditation, she's back in the Black Ferns, focused on finally playing at the Olympics. This time last year, Shiray Kaka was living in Japan, studying to be a dog trainer and setting up ...
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: the author backgrounds his interest in the story. A few years ago I become obsessed ...
A jury didn't accept abused woman Karen Ruddelle killed her partner in self-defence. What does that say about our attitudes towards women in violent relationships? Karen Anne Ruddelle was charged with murdering her partner. Last week, at the High Court in Auckland, she was acquitted of murder but convicted of ...
Former regional parks chair Sandra Coney says a purchase of the disputed land at Ihumātao by Auckland Council would be entirely in keeping with historical precedent and the actions of local government in preserving open spaces for future generations. With various claims being made about the Government stepping in to ...
If RNZ hopes to court the youth audience with its new brand it should take some cues from the ones who’ve had that audience all along: student radio. RNZ has had a month from hell. News the state-run broadcaster was considering scaling back its long-running RNZ Concert network to make room ...
The Grace Millane murder case wasn't a who-dunnit - in fact it was easily solved. But it sparked intense public interest and international media coverage. What were the ingredients that caught the world's attention? A media frenzy descended on the High Court in Auckland last week as a sentence was handed down ...
OPINION:By Murray Horton in Christchurch For as long as the Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa (Cafca) has existed – more than 45 years now – we have called for the closure of the aluminium smelter, owned by giant transnational corporation, Rio Tinto. There are numerous grounds for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The inquiry into allegations of misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan is examining 55 separate incidents or issues, according to the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force report, tabled Tuesday. These involve “predominantly” allegations ...
Tourism bosses have been invited to join a new advisory group, allowing them to stay in "constant communication" with the government in their response to the coronavirus. ...
Alex Casey delivers her eighth power rankings for The Bachelorette NZ, where a humble avocado changed everything forever. Click here for previous instalments. Glass me with the talking bottle, slice my hand off with a fax machine and send me straight to the Centre De Emergencies, because this was the most ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition government has supported Labor’s motion in the Senate to call for men’s rights activist Bettina Arndt to be stripped of her Order of Australia award over her comments on last week’s horrendous murder-suicide ...
he Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa welcomes the withdrawal of the hugely controversial resolution on anti-semitism from the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting. It is a victory for free speech and human rights. PSNA looks forward to working with other organisations ...
Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama is calling on New Zealand to back his country in pushing Australia to commit more to climate change action. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Fileborn, Lecturer in Criminology, University of Melbourne The downfall of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has come to a head following his conviction for rape in the third degree and a criminal sex act in the first degree. He was acquitted ...
After days of rumours, Mediaworks have removed Hannah Tamaki as a cast member for the 2020 season of Dancing with the Stars. Sam Brooks reflects on the controversy.On Sunday, the NZ Herald gossip column Spy broke the news that Hannah Tamaki – wife of Destiny Church founder Brian and head of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rick Sarre, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice, University of South Australia Queensland Coroner James McDougall has handed down his findings into the tragic deaths of four people on Dreamworld’s Thunder River Rapids ride in 2016. He reported a litany of failings ...
Sri Krishnamurthi reflects in this special report on what life is really like trying to live and cope with the effects of a stroke for three years. Those were the most horrifying days of my life. It’s only now that I find the courage to write about my trials ...
Dear Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister), Hon David Clark (Minister of Health) and Hon Chris Hipkins (Minister of Education) We are students, educators, staff and leaders across the tertiary sector in Aotearoa New Zealand. We have an urgent message ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan N Williams, Associate Director/National Technical Leader-Aboriginal Heritage, EMM Consulting Pty Ltd, UNSW The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without a substantial decrease in our use of fossil fuels, we are on track for a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Onno van der Groen, Research Fellow in the school of medical and health sciences, Edith Cowan University You may have heard of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that has been touted as having stress-busing properties, and is the subject of countless hours ...
Over the weekend, a Twitter spat blew up into a full blown controversy when New Zealander Jason Lei Howden blew up his own movie with a bizarre series of tweets.The trailer for Guns Akimbo makes it look like a fun romp, the sort of film your flatmate who keeps all ...
By underfunding investment in the young we've been able to create budget surpluses to be siphoned into the NZ Super Fund at the current rate of nearly $2.5b a year. This has some serious impacts for a lot of families. ...
‘Over the last six months I’ve realised there are always more tears.’ In August, Emily Writes wrote about the tough months following her son’s hospitalisation and diagnosis. This is what’s happened since.Part 1:Ward One: Emily Writes on love and fear and hope at her son’s hospital bedSix months ago I ...
Mercury's first half profit has dropped as weak wholesale conditions and intense competition drove down revenue. The power generator and retailer's net profit dropped 20.2 percent in the six months to December to $83 million, reflecting below average generation and divestment of its smart metering business. Revenue was down 14 ...
He’s been the country’s leading supporter of the strangest films in the world, and now he’s made his first feature film. Sam Brooks talks to Auckland film champ Ant Timpson about his directorial debut, Come to Daddy.My first encounter with industry legend Ant Timpson was from afar, at a 2010 ...
Summerset's annual profit is down with higher wages expected to continue to be a drag on earnings over the coming year. The retirement village operator's net profit fell 18.3 percent to $175.3 million in the year to December, as expenses rose, while the construction of fewer living units contributed to ...
NZME media group has slumped to a large loss after writing down the value of its business as it pursues a merger with its rival Stuff. The company's loss for the year ended December was $165 million, which included a write down of $175m in the value of the business, ...
Whoopee! A pay rise. No – to be precise, a rise in the national super which is paid to some of the team at Point of Order. Super was included in the boost to benefits announced yesterday by Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Fair to say, this boost did not ...
Movie Mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of rape. But the problem is much bigger and more insidious than a few bad men, writes Victoria University's Jan Jordan. In May 2017, New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor had a conversation with Hollywood actress Rose McGowan that began the downfall of movie ...
Jamela Alindogan reports on journalists in the Philippines protesting and demanding better protection of press freedoms. Video: Al JazeeraBy Neil Joshua N. Servallos in Manila The University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, which has the biggest and oldest journalism school, has released a statement supporting television broadcaster ...
Homeownership has long been touted as the great Kiwi dream, but not everyone’s looking for a permanent fix. Jihee Junn explores the rising phenomenon of renters by choice.Even if I had a hundred grand sitting in the bank for me to spend right now, I’m not sure buying a house ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jamie Parr, Lecturer, Australian Catholic University German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) is sometimes dismissed as a malevolent figure, obsessed with the problem of nihilism and the “death of God”. Understandably, these ideas are unsettling: few of us have the courage to confront ...
US politics ain’t for the faint-of-heart. Signs of desperation are emerging in the Democratic Party as Senator Bernie Sanders surges to the lead after three key polls – and party grandees worry whether mainstream United States is ready to elect a “socialist”. Then, Republicans fear the US intelligence agencies, labelled ...
The Opportunities Party (TOP) today proudly announced the first tranche of candidates that will contest the upcoming 2020 New Zealand General Election. After two successive “smile and wave” governments Kiwis can see through the charade. Politics has ...
Media company NZME sees a further modest fall in revenues and earnings - and declares itself the "right owner" for rival Stuff Ltd as it gives more details of its push for political and regulator support. ...
Media company NZME declares itself the "right owner" of Stuff and gives more details of its push for political and regulator support. NZME expects further details of its proposed bid to buy rival Stuff to be made public in "coming weeks" - and any Kiwishare offered to the Government to be ...
The Council of Trade Unions is pleased that the Government is continuing to shine light on the issue of poverty in New Zealand and specifically child poverty with new statistics out today. CTU policy director and economist Andrea Black was at the ...
Forest & Bird is concerned at misinformation circulating regarding a policy statement aimed at protecting New Zealand’s unique biodiversity. The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity is being consulted on by the ...
QUOTE from; Article: NZ Energy and Environment Business Week https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2002/S00150/govt-vehicle-fleet-emissions-heading-in-wrong-direction.htm First published in Energy and Environment on February 13, 2020. “The latest data shows the Government’s attempts to electrify its vehicle fleet and cut its emissions ...
The defendants in the National Party donations case have pleaded not guilty to charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office. The four men entered their pleas today during their first appearance in the Auckland District Court. Yikun Zhang (48), Shijia (Colin) ...
Open mike 26/10/2019 
The Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change book is now available! The book uses cartoons, humor, and critical thinking to expose how and why some people reject climate science. It's now available for sale on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book outlets. If you're near the DC area, you're very welcome to ...6 hours ago
by the Council of Disobedient Women When Moana Maniapoto recently lamented that Rachel Stewart was no longer writing for the Herald, political commentator Morgan Godfery was quick to brag on Twitter, like a schoolyard bully, how proud he was of “driving Rachel Stewart from the Herald”. What a contrast Morgan ...17 hours ago
You’re probably aware that the Achievement Standards used to assess senior school students’ learning are being reviewed. Science is one of the ‘pilot’ subjects in this process, where a ‘Subject Expert Group’ has developed 4 draft Science standards¹ (a significant step away from the current 30+, and a response to ...18 hours ago
It seems we can’t even get through a week these days without the National Party's leader, Simon Bridges, making some sort of silly announcement about a policy that doesn’t actually exist.Usually concerning Bridges’ gut instinct and the undoing of whatever the Government has recently announced, National’s reactionary opinions and uncosted ...20 hours ago
Oh look! NZ First's secret slush fund was laundering donations from Talley's:One of the country's biggest fishing companies, Talley's, and its managing director donated nearly $27,000 to the New Zealand First Foundation, which has been bankrolling the New Zealand First Party. The foundation received $26,950 from seafood giant Talley's and ...21 hours ago
High Risk Call: Insensitive though it may seem to even pose the question: how will the electorate respond to what the Prime Minister’s opponents will undoubtedly characterise as an attack on New Zealanders’ freedom of speech? At more than twelve month’s remove from the terrible events of 15 March 2019, ...2 days ago
I am about to mail my overseas ballot to Florida so that it can be counted in the Democratic primary on March 17. In Florida you have closed as opposed to open primaries, which means that one must declare a party preference in order to vote in a party primary. ...4 days ago
In mid-December the Israeli secret police, the Shin Beit, revealed it had arrested dozens of Palestinian left-wing activists, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the previous few months. Among those arrested was one of the central leaders of the PFLP, Khalida Jarrar. As ...7 days ago
I am among the most pro-free speech people I know. I don’t doubt there are others more strident than me, but I’m certainly up there. And my support for freedom of expression isn’t limited to opposition to government-imposed restrictions. It extends to a belief that employers should have limited powers ...1 week ago
One of our most immediate priorities upon forming Government was to get people out of sleeping in cars, garages, or on the street and into safe and warm housing. Since then, we've made major progress towards breaking the cycle of homelessness, including expanding Housing First, building more state houses, and ...2 hours ago
Mark Patterson MP, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland This afternoon to a crowd of over 100 people in Mataura -- Mark Patterson, New Zealand First List MP based in Clutha-Southland launched a parliamentary petition regarding the aluminium dross issue in Mataura, Southland. The petition asks that the ...1 day ago
New legislation is being proposed which aims to reduce the stress and financial hardship caused by late payments to small businesses. The Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash is considering stricter rules around payment practices between businesses. “Late payments from large organisations to smaller suppliers can be crippling for these ...2 hours ago
The government is planning for a serious hit to the New Zealand economy following the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. ...42 mins ago
Simon Bridges would have a testing time putting together a Cabinet that balanced talent with experience and not too many sore egos ...44 mins ago
The Government's looking at law changes to ensure small businesses are paid on time. Small Business Minister Stuart Nash said he is willing to legislate, if necessary, to ensure payments within 20 days, with interest imposed for late payments. He said prompt payment and cash flow are vital to small ...58 mins ago
Meridian Energy has made a record first half profit with improved revenue. The South Island generator's net profit for the six months ended December rose 26 percent to $191 million. Revenue was up 5 percent to $1.78bn on record hydro generation from the South Island lakes. It had significant customer ...1 hour ago
Economists are predicting a flat - or slightly down - March quarter, as the effects of the Covid-19 coronavirus and the drought come to a head. The Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER) latest Quarterly Economic Predictions picks the virus impact will be short and sharp, with the economy gradually recovering ...1 hour ago
New Zealanders throw away 295 million single-use cups per year. Alice Neville ponders our obsession with takeaway culture, and looks at what’s needed for consumers to change their behaviour. How many commuters did you see clutching single-use takeaway coffee cups on your way to work this morning? Or how many empty ...1 hour ago
New Conservative is extremely concerned over what is tantamount to the confiscation by government of private land, without compensation. Taranaki farmers and landowners have had portions of their properties classed as “Significant Natural Areas” ...1 hour ago
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.
The Government's looking at law changes to ensure small businesses are paid on time. ...2 hours ago
The Government would consider direct assistance to tourism industry players if the fallout from coronavirus lasts well beyond the first half of the year. ...2 hours ago
OneCoin cryptocurrency scheme not direct focus of probe, Govt says; and NZME encouraged by talks with Government over plan to buy Stuff. ...2 hours ago
He may be marooned in Texas, but Joseph Parker is closer to a return to boxing's big time than you'd think. Joseph Parker’s road back to boxing relevance won’t ever lead to the now fully resurgent Tyson Fury. But that doesn’t mean the Gypsy King won’t be a key figure ...6 hours ago
A cruel string of injuries could have prematurely ended Shiray Kaka's sevens career. But with determination and meditation, she's back in the Black Ferns, focused on finally playing at the Olympics. This time last year, Shiray Kaka was living in Japan, studying to be a dog trainer and setting up ...6 hours ago
ReadingRoom is devoting all week to the best-selling book in New Zealand right now, In The Clearing, the brilliant new thriller by Ngāpuhi author JP Pomare, inspired by creepy Australian cult The Family. Today: the author backgrounds his interest in the story. A few years ago I become obsessed ...6 hours ago
A jury didn't accept abused woman Karen Ruddelle killed her partner in self-defence. What does that say about our attitudes towards women in violent relationships? Karen Anne Ruddelle was charged with murdering her partner. Last week, at the High Court in Auckland, she was acquitted of murder but convicted of ...6 hours ago
Former regional parks chair Sandra Coney says a purchase of the disputed land at Ihumātao by Auckland Council would be entirely in keeping with historical precedent and the actions of local government in preserving open spaces for future generations. With various claims being made about the Government stepping in to ...6 hours ago
The Grace Millane murder case wasn't a who-dunnit - in fact it was easily solved. But it sparked intense public interest and international media coverage. What were the ingredients that caught the world's attention? A media frenzy descended on the High Court in Auckland last week as a sentence was handed down ...6 hours ago
Water meters might work, but they sure don't get you elected. ...15 hours ago
By underfunding investment in the young we've been able to create budget surpluses to be siphoned into the NZ Super Fund at the current rate of nearly $2.5b a year. This has some serious impacts for a lot of families. ...19 hours ago
The Government hits another pothole in its efforts to reduce transport emissions, ...20 hours ago
Mercury's first half profit has dropped as weak wholesale conditions and intense competition drove down revenue. The power generator and retailer's net profit dropped 20.2 percent in the six months to December to $83 million, reflecting below average generation and divestment of its smart metering business. Revenue was down 14 ...20 hours ago
Summerset's annual profit is down with higher wages expected to continue to be a drag on earnings over the coming year. The retirement village operator's net profit fell 18.3 percent to $175.3 million in the year to December, as expenses rose, while the construction of fewer living units contributed to ...20 hours ago
NZME media group has slumped to a large loss after writing down the value of its business as it pursues a merger with its rival Stuff. The company's loss for the year ended December was $165 million, which included a write down of $175m in the value of the business, ...20 hours ago
Whoopee! A pay rise. No – to be precise, a rise in the national super which is paid to some of the team at Point of Order. Super was included in the boost to benefits announced yesterday by Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. Fair to say, this boost did not ...21 hours ago
Movie Mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted of rape. But the problem is much bigger and more insidious than a few bad men, writes Victoria University's Jan Jordan. In May 2017, New York Times journalist Jodi Kantor had a conversation with Hollywood actress Rose McGowan that began the downfall of movie ...21 hours ago
The New Zealand stock exchange has fallen more than 2 percent on the opening, following drops in global stock markets amid coronavirus fears. ...22 hours ago
Media company NZME sees a further modest fall in revenues and earnings - and declares itself the "right owner" for rival Stuff Ltd as it gives more details of its push for political and regulator support. ...23 hours ago
Free speech? Apparently we have to be very careful about what we say.
"… hyperbole and irony and a certain moral ambiguity to make a comment about free speech…"
Jonathon Pie is a breath of fresh air. He’s on the button about this ridiculous over-reaction to hyperbole and humorous if slightly risque utterances. A personal example:
back in 1991 just before the first Iraq invasion started, I had a conversation with a former friend about the over-reaction of the American Embassy when they warned Americans living in NZ to beware of terrorists. [28 years ago we didn't have any terrorists.] I quipped to the friend… if you come across any terrorists let me know because I know a Yank who could do with being bumped off . (a bully boy I worked with)
That person reported my quip and I found myself under inexplicable siege for some six weeks. Funny to look back on now but it sure wasn't funny at the time. And no apologies from the authorities involved were forthcoming.
The person who made the complaint turned out to be a full blown narcissist.
Yes, satisfying the offended is an infinite task.
I'm offended by comb overs, boy bands, blank switch plugs in top of the range cars and the high number of offended people. I demand my concerns are addressed immediately.
Infinite – who understands it? I am reminded of clever Jonathan Cainer.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/391103.Jonathan_Cainer
He does have a point..
always appreciate your contributions on the standard Peter
When you respond to a comment Anker, press the Reply place under it if there is one and your comment then goes alongside the originating one.
Chile seems to be having problems.
Brexit news –
Business and finance in UK –
https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/pound-languishes-red-eu-delays-brexit-extension-verdict-191025120015250.html
EU agrees delay but time not certain.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/eu-uk-brexit-delay-delays-decision-length-191025103931252.html
A lengthy and entertaining opinion piece on how Brexit will end, in The New Yorker.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/04/how-brexit-will-end
Excerpts:
Drowsy M Kram – Thanks a bunch (of bananas). I'll have a glass of cleansing water to drink beside me as I read.
The Rohe, of the river people and the march to stop violence against the senseless murders of maori woman.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/401793/maori-whanganui-community-rally-together-after-spate-of-deaths
On Brexit – I have paid some money to The Telegraph and am getting Brexist updates these days. Which seem pretty accurate from them.
The latest is under the heading The Nightmare Before Christmas.
I'm James Crisp, The Telegraph's Brussels Correspondent, and Westminster is on an election footing. But there are two problems – Emmanuel Macron and Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn said he wanted to wait until the EU27 granted an extension before agreeing to the election suggested by Boris Johnson, but his stance has jeopardised the agreement on the delay to the Oct 31 Brexit deadline.
Mr Macron has been a lone voice in arguing for a shorter Brexit extension than the three-month flextension to Jan 31 2020 supported by the majority of EU27 leaders.
The EU could still grant the extension to the end of January but, unless Mr Macron caves, the bloc could be forced to call an emergency summit on Monday. Any decision on extension must be unanimous…..
and
Fraser Nelson argues that the working class is so strongly behind Boris Johnson that he is willing to risk a December vote.
In the run-up to Oct 31, you will be able to read a wide variety of articles on the Brexit saga. Please see the links below for a selection of some of today's best articles.
If you want to become a subscriber and read the hundreds of articles we publish every day, try a free 30-day subscription.
The working class behind Boris? Is it a case that the workers feel that people who rush around looking important, throwing criticisms and statements about and hubris (though they don't know what it means and don't care), are people like themselves. Is it that they like to be able to blame others, especially foreigners, for anything that isn't right and imply that the celebrity leader will change all that and 'Make ..(insert country here) .. Great Again? Is it that these talking heads imply that there will be affordable beer and good food, affordable sport-spectating and someone always ready and willing to ease their ailments. Is it that our education has not been the right sort to enable democratic decisions to be analysed and made in a thoughtful way?
I think something is rotten in the state of D…….. or wherever English-speaking democracy reigns. Time for me to clean out the smelly frig I think, that is something useful that I can do, and then perhaps join others getting together to look at the state of our democracies which haven't been great for a while and may never be again at this rate.
The latest Brexit survey suggests that violence against MPs is a price people are willing to pay…https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2019/10/25/new-brexit-survey-shows-why-we-need-to-make-corbyn-prime-minister-as-soon-as-possible/
The Telegraph and other media outlets run by tories keen to hide their tax haven wealth from the EU and force Brexit through have had a significant hand in the destruction of democracy in the UK.
racist mary and racist nicky – so common – so fucken racist
Could you expect a Highland Scot to accurately pronounce Maori place names…?
Have you even heard how the Americans pronounce anything Maori???
Did you know our linguistic vocal cords are formed by the age of around 6 which gives rise to accents?
And that some Maori dont pronounce Anglo place names properly but people dont bat an eyelid?
I think,… its time we celebrated our differences so we dont become clones or cringe worthy tryhards trying too hard to identify with cultures we dont belong to.. its like putting on a fake Japanese accent just to fit in and sound hip. Except its all in reverse.
Anyways… maybe Im too middle of the road.
Heres some Scotties for ya.
Face it, whether we like it or not, language is a living , evolving thing… we butcher each others language everyday. Sadly.
But unless we live in total isolation,.. language, and its pronunciation… is going to change over time.
But, thats how dialects and accents arise, along with all it colloquialisms… Look at England… a Geordie sounds totally different from an East Ender…
ffs it is not about accents or dialects – did you even listen to the original comment I put up – pretty basic stuff and totally doable with the will to do it – without the will we get deliberate offence designed to hurt and belittle
they DELIBERATELY mispronounce even after being corrected – if you think that's okay then bully for you
Okey dokeys… but can you imagine going around 'correcting' someone in England from another locality when they 'mispronounced' a local twang or drawl?
I think you might end up with an ale all over your face and called a nitpicker. As they are all English and accept the differences. Black or white these days as well.
Basically, your making people feel unnecessarily bad for being born in a different time , family , culture and / or locality.
There was a gang of Iranian painters I got chatting to,.. I asked where they were from… I heard ' irin'…. was puzzled at that and asked again ..again they replied… ' irin'… and then I learnt… instead of the usual Kiwi drawl ' eye – ran'… they were from Iran and pronounced it' irin'….
I said '' Ohhhhh… 'Eye – ran'…. OK '' ,… they were too busy to even care about the mispronunciation… to my relief…
Yet … I do not pronounce Iran as ' Irin'….
Why ? … because I am not an Iranian and I would actually like other Kiwis to know what Im saying rather than looking at me strangely … this is how language changes over time. This country , was formed of many Scots, Irish , Welsh and English as well as Maori… yet,… you would be hard pressed to find anyone with an original Welsh or Irish accent now unless they were of recent immigrant arrival.
Well , the same can be said for those brought up over generations of familys pronouncing a word in a certain way… it takes time to change that… and many times… it makes people feel forced and uncomfortable. So they would rather be honest and pronounce things as theyve always done. Local parlance, in other words.
You cannot force these things, and in Gisbourne and Northland, the Maoris there speak with their own accent on the English language themselves.
Live and let live.
NB.
I do pronounce Iran as ' eye – rharn… for some reason… but still it is not a shadow on the correct pronunciation.
you are just talking shit buddy – this is Aotearoa and we have TWO treaty partners and THREE official languages
I don't care what the racists do apart from using their example of how utterly very fucking far we have to go to get anywhere near equality in this land
Dont be a joke.
Your real problem is white New Zealanders.
Do you really expect Indian, Chinese and every other immigrant to bow the knee to the sacred cow of correct pronunciation of the Maori language ?
Get off the grass racist.
Climb down off that high horse your on and go outside and sniff the roses for a change.
…. '' I don't care what the racists do apart from using their example of how utterly very fucking far we have to go to get anywhere near equality in this land '' …
How old are you ? … 12 ?
Or do you only consort with your select inhouse fellow delusionists?
Get a grip , man.
Do you realize how stupid you sound , – when if the only thing you have to offer is the mispronunciation of a language that constitutes major racial problems and inequality in this country , – while overseas people die in race riots and shootings… well buddy… perhaps it is YOU that has a long way to go.
Get off the computer and go outside.
jeepers you are thick – piss off and bigfoot yourself dummy
Well… that was an enlightening exchange.
he knows I still love him as a human being
What does your wife think of your anti-white racist views Mars.?
Or your son?
what anti-white racist views? Not something I've seen from marty.
are you back are you bm – oh dreary
Just passing through.
Having scoped you out, I struggle to get past the racist bullshit you write about especially considering your family dynamic.
Don’t you feel any sort of shame or guilt?
yes you struggle with a lot of things I'm sure – I certainly feel shame about that dropkick woman from the same town as me and her dimwitted views – I wonder what part of you you feel shame about – lol just jiving, it's pretty obvious bro
When somebody is baiting you, don’t give them the satisfaction of biting, at least not publically.
he's okay – just sad cos the cup is over
Is it?
yep – spose some beatings are in store for some victims now
It is not over yet. Woo hoo woo woo hoo lol
Yeah it is over mate – no one of any note cares now
But I share Marty's concerns for domestic violence victims tonight.
That's a bit parochial, but at least that bloody advert won't be seen for another four years. At least you're half happy, right?
I don't care anything about rugby or the abs. They burned me off way back in the tour days. The english I really care even less about sorry.
Don't be sorry, mate, I don't really care about it either.
Thanks for that WK
Here is a recent one from the the Western Isles fa ya.
Peat and Diesel are a new group who have taken the Western Isles by storm.
"Could you expect a Highland Scot to accurately pronounce Maori place names…?"
Maybe not, but neither of the people in this example were Highland Scots, or even from overseas. Both have lived long lives here so it's not like they're *that far away from good pronunciation. This really had nothing to do with ability.
In my experience, Māori are generally patient and kind with people attempting to get pronunciation right. There's not really an expectation of perfection with the general public.
As an aside, it wouldn't surprise me if Scots learn te reo more easily, because of the whole R thing. I would expect this to be true of people born and bred in the south of NZ as well.
"Did you know our linguistic vocal cords are formed by the age of around 6 which gives rise to accents?"
Not sure how that's relevant tbh, plenty of Pākehā learn to pronounce te reo well later in life.
I’ve just been listening to that exchange online.
I think the first woman and Lush were talking a bit past one another. I understand where the elderly lady was coming from. She grew up at a time when all Maori names were incorrectly pronounced but that was the way they were taught to say them. Given her age, it would be hard for her to even remember the correct pronunciations let alone use them. She tried to argue her point of view in a friendly, non-nasty way and Lush acknowledged as much.
But the 49 year old… she was a racist git and he was way too polite to her imo.
I don't see her age being an issue – anyone can make an effort to improve if they want. And if they can't be bothered they out themselves.
The 2nd woman was an idiot. I grew up in mosgiel too and know exactly how racist and uncompromising that place can be and it is NOT as backward as she makes out. She does represent some but not all by any measure imo – just look at me lol
I think we are slowly emerging ourselves in Te Reo. Adult classes are chocka. I think you're right Marty, Nicky thinks she's being staunch. When I got home after an extended period in Oz everyone was saying Kowhai and Whangarei different. I learned to change, not out of a deep seated respect for Te Reo, I didn't want to sound like an ignorant pillock.
In a few minutes, I think 'How to Dad' does a great job of sharing the Te Reo building blocks.
I'm as shit as the next person at some te reo Māori pronunciation – and that is sincere – my cousin corrected me the other day – what did I do? Learned and tried to get it right – this is what living in a community, a country means – giving it a fair attempt and being open to trying again if it is a stuff up. I'm not asking these people to go to te reo Māori classes or become fluent or do anything other than trying to be part of our society – and that is the rub – they don't see Māori as part of their society – they couldn't care less about Māori let alone the language – so fair enough I call that racism and note it.
I don't see racism so much, I see lazy and stubborn. "It was Wonger Ray the day I was born and it'll be bloody Wonger Ray till the day I die."
It's an attitude that is dying out, it's rare in someone younger than 50. At 49 Marcus' caller was an entertaining cringe of an exception.
The first woman was probably casual racism in her yeah, nah, I'm too old, not going to change now. I didn't have too much of a problem with it in the sense of I wouldn't call her racist if I was in the conversation and like Marcus I could probably find some common ground upon which to talk.
The second woman was out and out racist. She's not just saying hey I like how I say things, she's actively holding a cultural position of preventing te reo taking hold and the subtext is that no-one in the South supports Māori. I'd say she's a white supremacy apologist.
That first woman was the sort of gnarly ol trout, her hubby could stick his head round the door and be Nga Puhi as.
The second woman, all those reasons to burn her. She's just a dummy weka, they're everywhere.
I really wanted to hear the start of the conversation with the first woman, how they got onto pronunciation.
Dummy? Not sure about that, I think she was smart enough to know exactly what she was doing. Doesn't hurt to name that kind of racism when it's there, although I doubt I'd bother talking it through with her in real life.
Marty , your statement :
… '' they don't see Māori as part of their society – they couldn't care less about Māori let alone the language '' …
Thats identity politics.
1/ You dont speak for all white New Zealanders – all youve done is make a gross generalisation.
2 / Your assumption can equally be applied to the very people group you choose to champion. Except it is reversed. Many Maori ( and people from other cultures ) dont particularly care about white New Zealand culture as well.
3 / You belittle those who have taken the time to learn Te Reo who are not of Maori ancestry.
4 / If your generalization is true, – then that makes other cultures , – not just white New Zealanders , – participants culpable in the charge of ' not caring about Maori let alone the language' .
Therefore I would charge you with being an inverted racist yourself.
We all have seen the evidence of Maori oppression through colonialism, we all have read the history and the Bellich books, we are aware of the statistics in under achievement and incarceration – and for the most part , many non Maori have agreed, – yet for the last 3-4 decades weve had it rammed down our throats actually…to the point where its become overload. Yet if the plight of Maori is so dire, then the correct pronunciation of the Maori language is the least of their concerns.
It is all too easy to look at the extremes.
That said, it is nice to preserve languages.
However,… English in particular has many accents and dialects- from the Public School accent of the BBC to the Creole to Pidgin…
Thats language. It lives with each and every new generation, it develops with each and every new permutation as there is people.
And not you , not the identity politics crowd or any other force will ever stop that process. Try reading or speaking 12th century English. You'd be lost. You would struggle with even the simplest of pronunciations. You would probably have to learn Frisian or even German to get a handle on it.
THATS how much languages change, marty.
mate I LOVE identity politics – and I'm very proud to follow that approach.
Anyway thanks for the compliments – I'm really not too worried in this land of equality we live in – and I'm sorry to be insulting to you – I can't really be bothered keeping up the hostility so peace and love
I'm ambivalent on this one. When pronunciation evolves into mispronunciation, crapping on people for saying it the way everyone around them has said it for 80 years is a bit much.
And I note he used "camembert" not "croissant" – almost nobody says that word correctly lol
But then it's one of them power dynamics: attitudes to English language and pronunciation instructions are descriptive rather than prescriptive, these days. Māori instruction is more prescriptive in order to encourage expansion and consistency and recover usage. Because colonialism.
And then there's the entire meta discussion about when a word in one language becomes a word in another language.
It's one thing to have a lifetime habit that one doesn't want to change (eg how one pronounces where one grew up), but it's another entirely to go on the radio and make the case vehemently that society shouldn't move towards better te reo pronunciation (the second woman).
The other issue about te reo is that pronunciation affects meaning, and is part of literacy. It's not just about 'rightness' and not offending. How words are said in te reo Māori also affects whether one comes to a better understanding of what is being said, including concepts that are hard to say in English, which then leads to better understanding of Te Ao Māori. The words often go layers deep in ways that don't happen so much in English. I heard the second woman not just resisting changing an old habit, but actively working to suppress Te Ao Māori. Racist af.
Yeah, talkback radio callers for the win right there. Salt of the earth lol.
But I don't think it's down to berating individuals for not making an effort, when everyone else would look at them like freaks if they asked after the "Ōpoho" bus rather than "Opoho".
I think that sort of change comes from the local bodies – putting macrons on the bus signs, changing the literature and maps, etc. Like Whanganui DHB did back in the day.
And the schools, of course.
Is it a thing at the moment, the pronunciation of Ōpoho? I didn't even know it had a macron. Would have better if Newstalk had made the whole audio public so we can hear the start, I feel like I'm missing an important part of the conversation.
I don't think the issue is a couple of people mispronouncing a Māori placename, it's the *way it was defended. I wouldn't berate them for how they say the word, but obviously I will berate someone for being a dick about it.
I thought that was the pronunciation Lush was going for? Always just been "Opoho" to me.
But holy shit it just occurred to me that this has been the first time in years talkback has caused a kerfuffle and the bigot/dickhead wasn't the announcer! The last time I can think of that happening was the "Hone" Carter phone calls. Normally it's Lhaws or Tamihere or whomever going for the controversy.
Agreed. But I'd still cut the elderly lady a bit of slack. I would call her problem more ignorance than racism.
One way to bring it home to them is for all Maori to start mispronouncing English place-names especially when on radio or television where they are going to be heard.
Examples:
Wellington… we – ling – ton (as in con).
Onehunga… one – hunga (as in hunger)
St Kilda… st – kil – da (as in dat)
You could have a lot of fun in the process as well as causing an upsurge in pakeha related strokes. 😉
Bugger… that should have been sti – kil – da (as in dat). That'd stump em.
Why?- whats the point?
We already have people of all races mispronouncing names, places and the like. What are we all going to do? – draw and quarter them all for a simple error or guillotine them for being brought up in a certain way ?
Geez.
Maybe a simpler way would be to recognize that we all come from different backgrounds and cultures… and to stop trying to squeeze us all into the cookie cutter homogenous mould some would like to see…
Seems I recall the call went out for us all to be tolerant and celebrate our diversity… or is that no longer applicable when it comes to to the pronunciation of either the English or Maori language….
Seems just a little too ‘ convenient when it suits’ to me… but you know the old saying… '' you cant have your cake and eat it too''…
So which one is it?
Celebrating diversity and being tolerant or the cookie cutter?
Anyways,… had enough of this puerile conversation.
Good grief. Have you not got a sense of humour? It's a joke mate.
J…O…K…E
A bit of light hearted banter at the expense of pakeha.
Yes it is fun
Ha! Touche Marty.
The Swedish people warmed to me as I gained a handle on their kooky language. My pal Tedde shared why. 'There are few greater genuine compliments that can be made to a group of people than learning their language.'
As the world grows smaller and sameness infiltrates everywhere, Te Reo is ours and only ours.
I heard Sir Peter Jackson was trying to get Andy Foster to change Wellington's name to Wellywood. Just a rumour. I can't guarantee that it's true.
Shipping going forward.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/10/25/shipping-giant-maersk-uses-mechanical-sails-cut-fuel-consumption/
Energenie?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/10/25/death-knell-fossil-fuels-iea-claims-offshore-wind-can-power/
Big firms with numbers of outlets cut out mini local businesses and drain funds from the circular local economy and multiplier effect in my opinion.
In the UK –
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/10/25/death-knell-fossil-fuels-iea-claims-offshore-wind-can-power/
That rigid sail system would overcome most of the reasons not to put conventional sails on a tanker. No extra crew, the captain could control them from the bridge. Low maint. They're not 300m high. The wind direction doesn't matter. A 9.2% fuel saving is substantial. I wonder if fuel savings improve beyond that as more of the units are added to a deck.
These points may well be in the article grey, you're a Telegraph subscriber.
This story on same ship says 8.2%
"The Finnish developer of the technology explained that this was equivalent to approximately 1,400 tonnes of CO2."
Doesnt tell how much oil the tanker carried in the 12 month period , could it be over 750,000 tons?
DWT is 110,000 tonnes
Currently off west coast of Africa at 10 kts
I'm a neophyte Telegraph subscriber. Can't get all their stuff at present and have to review what I paid and should pay. So can't give you any more about the sails at present, but even putting up the headlines I find is very bracing, knowing that something is going on in the intelligent side of the world.
I have to decide whether I want to pay monthly or drop in a donation FTTT – whatever options are being offered and for the other UK ones, I would like to get Scottish one too. I may be able to keep up on Bella Caledonia. (Just looking at their page and they are fulminating about David Cameron
' reportedly earning £120,000 per hour to provide audiences with “lessons in leadership” in global affairs. Similarly, Gordon Brown was paid around £75,000 for one speech that claims to give a “comprehensive view of complex issues”.' https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2019/10/24/a-prosperous-future/
At least it won't cost me that much to be informed, and with a spread of media I am likely to be as well grounded in general, as many paying big money to hear the mega-stars, famous in their own galaxy.
I'm going to be donating to the Guardian, want to subscribe to local Scoop, and also The Standard. And I get local paper at a reduced rate. It all adds up. The Guardian, The Telegraph and aljazeera have been my main ones on Brexit with the BBC and Channel 4 FTTT.
Another advantage over conventional sails, unlike most mono hull sailing vessels, it wouldn't lean over.
It would be history repeating itself – the rise of steam turned all the sailing ships into colliers – time being less critical for that cargo.
Once upon a time I favoured enabling vaping – as a means to wean people off tobacco.
I still do. But, given
1. the harm that can result from allowing an addictive substance – nicotine – to be on-sale
2. those over 18 are supplying it to younger teens and children
3. growing evidence that there is damage to lungs from vaping
I now only favour it by prescription to existing tobacco addicts, where the doctor felt the risk from vaping was worth it for the patient – as part of a process to getting people off tobacco.
Duke, that article also notes
“On certain routes during the trial the vessel achieved fuel savings way beyond the average of 8.2% even with average wind conditions,” Hylands said.
“There is a clear potential to achieve higher fuel savings, and hence CO2 savings, on routes with more favourable wind conditions, which further improves the commercial viability of the technology.”
Targeting windy routes is way more efficient than adding more windmills.
That shipping site is amazing. GPS position, headings, speed. Pelican looks very tired in the Maersk file pics. Was probably due to be slipped when the round sails went on.
One for marty.
Hope you can understand the point…
And get off the demanding , petulant one way rail road track.
Live and let live.
ta mate
Aww…
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/harvey-weinstein-mocked-during-rare-public-appearance
Weka stuck Harvey's public shaming up the other night but like Harvey, we had so much fun lets do it again.
Phone + Facebook/Twitter account are like the village stocks of old and Harvey is copping rotten fruit for a second day on The Standard. Seems fitting, creep.
Some Sky City workers are refusing to go to work now after the fire.
Some are feeling sick in the complex from acrid smoke smells apparently.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/skycity-workers-could-strike-over-work-conditions-after-convention-centre-fire
TV3 news said today 26th October news tonight.
There would be a massive air-cond system at Sky City. All of the air in the building can be exchanged rapidly. Change filters, clean towers etc.
I don't mean to belittle concerns, I've had a cough and had to take paid time off. Caught a 20lber
Seriously, of course the air purity should be checked. A 3 hour job when being closed costs $1000 a minute.
If I was the boss at Sky City I would invite the dominant union executive body to select the lab to do the air purity analysis. (I would run my own tests on the quiet.)
If there was a marked difference between data sets, I'd ring the head of the union body and suggest reps from each lab come together for one more comprehensive test. Agree on methodology and deliver a collective report.
Because giant interference arrays are so yesterday.
/
Russia will test its internal RuNet network to see whether the country can function without the global internet, the Russian government announced Monday. The tests will begin after Nov. 1, recur at least annually, and possibly more frequently. It’s the latest move in a series of technical and policy steps intended to allow the Russian government to cut its citizens off from the rest of the world.
“On Monday, the government approved the provision on conducting exercises to ensure the stable, safe and holistic functioning of the Internet and public communications networks in the Russian Federation,” notes an article in D-Russia. (The original article is in Russian. We verified a translation with the help of a native Russian speaker.) “The exercises are held at the federal (in the territory of the Russian Federation) and regional (in the territory of one or more constituent entities of the Russian Federation) levels.”
The word “holistic” shows that the exercises follow April’s passage of the sovereign internet law that will require all internet traffic in Russia to pass through official chokepoints, allowing the government to shut down outside access, block websites that they don’t like, and monitor traffic.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/10/russia-will-test-its-ability-disconnect-internet/160861/?
'to cut its [Russian] citizens off from the rest of the world'. / sarc
This step to try and be self-sufficient comes after western provocation and Ukraine meddling and all sorts of attacks and provocations from both sides in retaliation to the ones before. It is quite reasonable to try and withdraw from such resource wasting interaction. And of course there are the sanctions that the USA plaster round the place, elephants are more dainty.
Putin and his Chekists are losing the propaganda battle. Their response is to do what their forebears did.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to monitor the online behavior of young Russians and to produce “moral and spiritual education” content for them.
Young Russians have been targeted by several government initiatives in recent years, including a ban on minors attending protests and efforts to provide them with a military and patriotic education. This year, Russia launched a new channel targeting young viewers with 24/7 World War II programming and announced military-patriotic reeducation camps for delinquent youngsters.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/10/17/putin-orders-monitoring-youth-behavior-online-a67776
Perhaps that is the appropriate thing to do at this point in time? I am so disillusioned with world politics that I no longer can produce the moth-eaten banner left over from last century with words of hope and glory where if everyone is treated properly and allowed to say what they will, the tooth fairy will give us beautiful teeth and we won;t even have to paint them every night.
I am amazed that the government cannot find funding for the Chathams and their airport. These outlying regions need some investment to build further business on. Everything can't be about trees. I hope that there is another agency that would find a place in its budget for them.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/401845/chatham-islands-airport-misses-out-on-government-funding
I'm going to sand the last one and lay another coat of lacquer over the Simca. I love spray-painting while the All Blacks play their big games. So far we have mirrored results.
Damn I want to blame the gun, but it was me, I hovered too long on the B pillar and I've got 3 runs.
Geeez, I so want to get this right. I know how to do this, I'm good at it, I need to relax. I need to be seventeen and painting my tutor's car again. I was brilliant without trying.
I've wiped it back to where it was with prepsol and invited a woman I know that usually has a smoke over for a curry.
I hope she gets here soon because I long for the day that the All Blacks play stoned.
ding dong, brb
Hey, everyone gets their own pattern, I've got a purple quilt sort of thing going on. Cynthia says "Hi"
I didn't have the overhead booth fans on. I should of asked myself "Why can I hear Miles so clearly while in here?"
I'm expecting the enhanced booth vacuum to have a favourable effect over my spray fan.
The lads and I need to dust on some coats of glass and get up to Cynthia's party cones.
Miles Davis? Do I even have to ask?
I like the sound of Cynthia; Hya-Cynthia.
Geez I was going well, all the top surfaces glistening, cat walked over it. Who visits with a cat? Tyler, cat, yeah I know.
That was different. Thanks for keeping us up with the play. Great try.
Bugger!
Trudeau may have his issues, but Canadians had the wit to give the racist, climate denier fossil fuel loving anti-immigrant nazi the arse.
Bernier spent the campaign promoting a divisive and exclusionary message that could have easily come from far-right parties such as Germany’s AfD or France’s National Front. He vowed to build a border fence to keep out asylum seekers, stoked fears of “radical Islam” in the country and told a rally earlier this year that he wanted to “make Canada great again.”
Bernier founded the party in 2018, after losing a Conservative Party leadership contest to Andrew Scheer, and quickly settled on an anti-immigration message. Despite the party polling around 3% throughout the campaign, Bernier was a highly visible figure during the race and participated in the federal leaders debate. His presence in the election, a sharp contrast with Canada’s progressive multicultural image, drew international media attention, including a profile in The New York Times that described him as a “lanky provocateur.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/canada-peoples-party-bernier-far-right_n_5daf6efce4b0f34e3a7e29af?
The ABs lose.
It'll be Jacinda's fault. It's her what done it you wait and see. 😉
Yes Anne, I had the same feeling after the match that it would be Jandal’s fault that the AB’s loss to English. You can’t fault that wiry old fox Jonesy who a masterful game plain to beat the AB’s tonight.
Wall of putative claims not based on reality. Meeting the wall of reality.
Does anyone know how to get to the subjectivists? Cult disentanglers are central to a future. I have 2 siblings I can't do shit with.
Easy foot-notery above when our predeccessors spent their lives, destroyed their families, for reality. And all I am is the angriest of the footnoters. Massive cream before a massive fall.
I think we're fighting against reality. That is, our mental nature.
Though beyond that, all species come bam against the wall of natural selection. We're just locomotive powered. Severe dip-off.
I have to say, being a social animal, I more enjoy subjectivists being fucked in the face than my early demise. .