Time for New Zealand to assert its independence from foreign superpowers.
“Twenty-nine academics, researchers and human rights advocates have written an open letter to Jacinda Ardern in support of China critic and Canterbury University politics professor Anne-Marie Brady.
“We have been shocked and disturbed by the reports of intimidation and harassment suffered by Professor Anne-Marie Brady,” the letter said.
“Attempts to intimidate and harass one academic in New Zealand have implications for freedoms of all the others – and indeed, for the freedoms of all who live here.”
The group also urged the prime minister to “make a clear statement in defence of academic freedom” in light of the case and to be “very clear that any intimidation and threats aimed at silencing academic voices in this country will not be tolerated”.
Damn right. Prof Brady: “The Education Act requires all political leaders and government agencies to protect and defend our academic freedom and uphold the critic and conscience role of the academic. So I do my job, and I expect the government to do their job.”
A spokesperson for the prime minister said she supported and defended the legal right to academic freedom, as set out in law. “The matters contained in this letter are under investigation by the police and it is not appropriate to comment on them before the investigation is finished.” But Prof Brady said the investigation was over, and the issue was now in the government’s hands. [RNZ]
So another Schrodinger’s Cat situation. The police investigation is over and is not over simultaneously. Truth lies somewhere between the two? Could be the PM’s spokesperson is misrepresenting the situation?
Perhaps someone will open the box and report whether the Cat is really alive or dead. And if the truth is that a police report must be written and obtained by the PM before the truth can be ascertained by her, the slowly-grinding wheels of public service bureaucracy will probably ensure that she goes to the xmas break none the wiser. Her relief at not having to do her job will probably be considerable! Will Chinese agents successfully eliminate Professor Brady while we wait?
Andrews actually went into the campaign beset by a number of controversies in his Victorian Labor Party but voters seem to have responded to his plans for major infrastructure spending across the state. And of course, all those Labor campaign billboards of state Liberal leader Guy hanging out with Peter Dutton, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison helped.
There is a new game in town. Well, in America. Combining both waste and storm water for treatment, treated waters are redirected to spreading basins where they can percolate into the land and recharge aquifers.
While these methods are land intensive, they bring up some points worth noting.
We have done nothing towards recharging aquifers, despite corporate entities showing it is liquid gold.
2. We have significant wastewater resources in both rural and urban settings that contain revenue streams, we have not tapped these, namely: water for irrigation, composts for agriculture, biogas for power.
The resources are right there waiting for some government body to wake up. NZ water revenue should be returned, 100%, to NZ. The revenue generated can pay for improvements to water treatment and storm water diversion. Here we need to think big, but on a catchment by catchment basis.
In 2017 391 billion litres of bottled water were sold.
Billions, that’s what we are giving away. Take it back and get NZ on track.
There is an aquifer-recharge project being “scoped” in Southland, at Five Rivers, where it is proposed river water be “directed” into a depleted aquifer. In theory, the water will be taken at high flow, but I’ve concerns about the mixing of previously seperate “waters”, especially in light of their bacterial (and nitrogenous) make-up; natural filtering and time can clean surface water before it gets into an aquifer and this “direct injection” through reverse bore, will result in an “unnatural” introduction of pathogens, potentially. Of course, it may be that there’s no problem, but if successful there, other farming operations might see potential to fill their own aquifers with flood water, say, and be able to irrigate at a greater rate and thereby, intensify their farming operations. Mike Joy wouldn’t be a supporter, I’m guessing. I know there’s a lot of natural river/aquifer interaction in many cases, but it seems to me these geo-engineering jobs don’t always pan out well (if ever). All in my opinion, naturally 🙂
Wetlands are spreading basins. They could also be for tourism, aquaculture, ornithology, duck season, boating, walking, education…
The idea of topping aquifers from river flow is insane. We get our highly polluted shit and run it into our pristine sources. Then our potential for $ per litre goes down to parts of a cent per litre for shitty irrigation. How is that a good thing?
We need to stop falling over ourselves to accommodate farmers. Why build such an obviously shitty system? Farmers… that’s all.
Farmers should be playing a large part in recharging groundwater, but no, they merely take it. Imagine if we were to do something as simple as put floodgates at storm culverts letting the drainage systems of the country fill before overflowing (same flow capacity as it is governed by diameter of pipes under roads). All of a sudden the entire countryside is holding and percolating water after storm events. And that’s just getting started. Add swales and ponds…
Those stormwater drains, it makes no difference if they’re full or empty, except, when full they replenish the land, and are vast potential aquaculture infrastructure.
Who is it ‘scoping’ five rivers? They need a boot up the ass.
Well now, I couldn’t have said it like that, could I 🙂
Because there was such a hue and cry about “visible” dammed/damned water storage proposed by farmers in, especially North Canterbury, the industry has looked for hidden opportunities and aquifer recharge occurred to them. Have you done any work on the biology of aquifers? There’s living creatures down in them cold, dark waters! They probably won’t enjoy a dose of what their surface-dwelling cousins have to put up with .
A subterranean cave was explored by Charles Mitchell and some peers. They discovered sixty year old kokopu that had no food source. They’d lived purely through minerals ingested from water. Blind, albino kokopu.
One ‘silly idea’ I’ve had for Canterbury is to follow the Hawaiian example and run a tunnel through the mountain range taking west coast excess water to Canterbury.
Who was opposed to water bodies in Canterbury? Was it a large dam, or on farm ponds? I reckon turning the region into a monoculture desert is ugly enough, and ponds and plantings would improve the place. But what do I know.
Years ago “think big style” with electricity it was decided to redirect high flow water going into other waterway systems into the Taupo water system. So it’s gravitational potential energy could best be utilised.
There is no reason why your idea, that has been proposed for many rears, cannot be a reality.
Tunnel boring machines in the 1meter diameter range are cheap and you could create a little team of people running a site, creating a tube from one side to the other. The rock waste can be used in civil engineering.
If a big earthquake happens and the tube gets ruined, you accept it as part of reality, you then go in and fix it.
Making farms more productive because of water supply, because they become more drought resistant, or crops get water at the correct time of their life cycle. When farmland produces more from increasing the efficient use of sunlight everything is a benifit.
They absorb more CO2.
The farms Eco systems benifit.
If the farm is more efficient, profitable, it can invest in projects were fence to drain distances increase, a small area of trees and a wetland can be added, etc.
They can invest in environmental solutions. A farm of 100Ha doing mainstream farming can decide to try a few Ha in some radical new way, with the intent of lowering urea use, or improving production due to animal health benifits rather than off farm inputs. Diets creating less methane, plants that result in less nitrate leaching, etc etc.
The no to everything for farming is the wrong approach, and bringing water from the west coast as part of solving water issues should have happened decades ago.
Auckland city steals the Wiakato systems water for example. That happened because it was a good idea.
Are you on the turn @DJ?
Not too many days/weeks ago, you were coming in here as just another pompous trolling git.
These days……reading your thoughts and contributions is worthwhile
I saw something interesting by DJ the other day. Looked like real thought and not knee jerk stuff. Mmmm. You can’t be sure about anything these days. Grizzle.
That’s too far-fetched for me to believe 🙂
That said, we discovered a dog who’d been trapped in a glasshouse for 6 weeks over winter (hail and snow) without food, seemingly, who lived, though very thin (she went in plump). Curiously, there was no dog poo on the ground 🙂
Obscene profits being made (taken off NZ for private concerns).
A rich asshole I know was jizzing over these profits a decade ago as National came in. The Nats and their donors were in there like a shark feeding frenzy.
We have the Central Inceptor at a cost of $1.2b
Yet in a time of where “user Pays” still exists where greenfield developments have to provide infrastructure at the cost of the new locals and when these developments will have additional rates applied to pay for their infrastructure https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12159099 https://www.watercare.co.nz/About-us/News-media/Central-Interceptor-one-step-closer-to-start-date
Why do these wealthy inner city areas expect the rest of Auckland to pay for solutions to THEIR waste water issues ?
They already have the best public transport service available, subsidised by all rate payers. And as they are increasingly serviced e.g. new rail link, the value of their properties increase, yet they make no additional contributions for this.
“During wet weather the central wastewater network currently overflows to local waterways and the Waitematā Harbour at more than 100 locations and to the north-eastern Manukau Harbour at 14 locations. The Central Interceptor is expected to reduce the volume of overflows by over 80 per cent.”
Sounds really good. Not comprehensive but it is a large improvement.
I’m guessing actinobacteria are still the major issue in biological treatment (clumping), however, am very pleased they’ve not gone the silly chemical sanitation route, which produces treated yet unusable water. The clumping could be used for solids removal and processing as solid compost making the water treatment a lot easier. I’ve seen similar on a farm where solids were taken out before effluent ponding, the solids becoming compost. The Farmer could not get enough of the compost though it sat for a year and let the worms have at it to finish.
The composts from these processes can then feed non-edible crops to make them removed from human consumption/western sensibilities e.g. timber crops.
Exactly Herodotus, are the developers in particular those that are contributing the most to wastewater pollution with large high rises, are not being charged a new levy for ‘user pays’ with new builds for pollution and wastewater, as because as you rightly say, they are also getting the cream of public transport money too.
And often the inner city apartments are not good options for Kiwi families who sound like they are one of the poorest demographics now. But new builds and in particular apartments are open to be speculated on by the world’s wealthy as they are exempt from the OIA.
Meanwhile the poor on the outer city limits with no or few public transport options are forced to pay the petrol tax that the mostly inner/central city folks are largely exempted from for commuting to work or university.
Of course getting to the airport is a priority for work and holidays which is why that is PRIORITY number one for public transport. We can’t let the politicians get stuck in traffic going to Wellington or Phil Goff’s trip to China or expect them to pay an airline levy for the public transport link that Auckland ratepayers are expected to pay for.
Rampant development around beaches and more and more run off from roads are having a horrible effect.
Long Bay (rampant development) was the only beach to experience a more extreme red alert last summer with a reading of 810 enterococci/100ml taken on New Year’s Day after heavy rainfall.
Apparently…
“Recent historical data for the water quality of our swimming beaches is not available for comparison.
North Shore City Council stopped routine monitoring in 2008 because it was confident of its ability to identify water quality issues after analysing the previous 10 years worth of data.
Auckland Council resumed water quality testing on the North Shore last November because it felt there was an inconsistent approach to water safety across the city.”
I think the shell fish has also been effected around Long Bay regional park area, but any media about the pollution is quickly pulled. The developer seems to be able to keep it out of the media, surprise surprise.
P>S> hope those that once believed that the new housing was necessary for affordable housing for Kiwis, are now able to comprehend that allowing new builds to be sold and speculated around the world, firmly puts a stop to that idea and they are instead a way to do a Natz and keep the lazy economy moving within the Ponzi, while making the Kiwis who are rate payers pay for it and the residents and future generations pay for it with increased pollution and loss of quality of life, and new charges being dreamed up, for anything from petrol to wastewater around the city .
If we use this new diversion drain (central interceptor), AND capture roof water for gardens, we might actually cope in Auckland. Road runoff could be diverted more creatively too. Some to wetlands, some to industry…
Took the girls to the Santa Parade over in Richmond yesterday.
What kind of flag is that mum? They asked as a ‘redneck’ float went past.
That’s the confederate flag, it’s a symbol of white people using black people for slaves in the USA.
Woah, why is it in the parade mum?
Because, it was on the roof of a popular ‘redneck’ race car in a 1980’s TV series, which made a whole generation relate that flag to nothing else but two men and a Chrysler.
Some might say people are going PC mad, others might say we need to learn about real history rather than the Dukes of Hazard.
Was wondering if anyone else noticed….. looks like they did…PS the beer cans were tacky as.
“Because, it was on the roof of a popular ‘redneck’ race car in a 1980’s TV series, which made a whole generation relate that flag to nothing else but two men and a Chrysler.”
I think you kind of nailed it on the head here
I would think there are quite a lot of people who just aren’t aware of the fairly recent controversy around it, as they just don’t take a huge amount of interest in current US cultural issues.
They do just associate it with TDoH and that is what they got brought up as to what the flag represents. Personally I don’t actually put any blame on them, US events can sometimes be exceedingly dull and have zero relevance to NZ
Slight side point
Pretty sure the car was a Dodge Charger. Chrysler was the Aussie version.
Chrysler was owned by Dodge and the Dodge shared some structure, but it was a different shape etc.
The parent company was Chrysler right from the beginning in the 1920s up until the merger/bailout/buyout by Fiat a few years ago. The Dodge name was acquired not long after startup, and a bunch of other brands like De Soto, Plymouth, Imperial etc were acquired/created, used for a while, then killed/sold. Chrysler also got involved in various games of Big Boy’s Monopoly in buying and selling other car companies around the the world, such as the Rooted Group that was responsible for atrocities such as the Hillman Scavenger …
mmmm @ Andre.
I saw you more in a black Super Snipe.
It had that really really huge bonnet ahead of its steering wheel and some serious straight in-line cylinders. It was mainly driven by those that had reason (such as a J Toebes – gone but not forgotten).
But then it had many others who could only pretend and tryhard jobbie jobbie to emulate
Chris T is correct, and to give some context to the Dukes Of Hazard the car was named the General Lee and the thing they were celebrating was Lee being a “rebel”, and so were the Dukes. There’s also Billy Idols song Rebel Yell which refers to the shouts of the confederate army when going into battle. Of course we know better now, I see trucks with the flag all the time, either that or a Jim Beam flag, I doubt they put much thought into it other than it “looks cool”. Watch the TV series Atlanta which cleverly takes the piss out of southern racists.
I don’t think there is a “fairly recent controversy” over it. There’s been negative connotations surrounding that flag for decades.
I also find it difficult to reconcile that a bunch of people would openly parade around with that flag looking nothing like DoH and not have a second thought about how they come across.
The USA is our default godfather don’t you know, just listen to the news from RadioNZ every day, what other country gets the same coverage? And their citizens are a dime a dozen around the country. Free to enter almost at will and probably easy residency though few would give up their own States citizenship. They like having the best of both worlds, maybe ‘to have their cake and eat it too’.
Ain’t that the truth @ Greywarshark.
They’re probably the lowest of the low on that demographic immigration spreadsheet – oops, I meant ‘best practiced risk analysis’ immigration criteria reference’, just next to mother Britain and slightly above a Canadian.
I’m not exactly sure of the weightings or where the Okkers rank.
As for giving up their own States citizenship, I have a close relative who has now lived far more of his life in NuZull than the Greatest Nation on Earth. He even has one of those ONZ or Merity trinkets. Trying to renounce US citizenship was like being placed on a charge of treason.
I’m saying yes, he wanted to renounce his US citizenship. He no longer felt any sort of affinity with the place and had become more than disillusioned with its policies overseas (not that he ever publicly stated them). Most of his US based relatives had already karked it.
I think he retains dual citizenship to this day – the threats of tax audits and various other hurdles meant renouncing it just wasn’t worth it.
Oh, and to clarify…..I meant that non-US, non-Canadian, non-Brit dontcha know immigrants figure on the best practice risk analysis reference crib sheet whilst, as you suggest, the US citizen is automatically an asset and due for a rubber stamp on the PR application.
Anyway if you want people not fly those flags then a start, is to get people of NZ to understand history.
Because at present there is a dumbing down the NZ education system for arts and reducing tertiary departments for the arts, discouraging people to study the arts in NZ (apart from Law of course when we have all manner of fascists operating because they have no understanding of history, let alone morals), removing resources for the arts aka libraries, undermining history of western and local history at government and council level in real terms apart from surface representation with no real deep understanding of history, art and culture from different view points.
No floats from Hawera, far out those ‘lions’ really did my head in.
Am pretty sure both of those float theme’s came from similar generations.
There is a lack of diversity in Richmond, which results in a lack of understanding especially when it comes to different cultures. Tunnel vision as. Spot the brown person. You get the picture.
I know at the local school here in Motueka, they do learn about many different cultures. This is in part due to such diversity within the students and families here. And it’s awesome. It makes a huge difference, it really does, one of the reasons this white girl moved her little family here.
Absolutely get where you are coming from SaveNZ re history/culture/arts knowledge of different view points etc.
Western MSM expose their own total lack of integrity and pretense of being institutions of fair and balanced reporting through their own deafening silence in the defense of the creator of the most effective whistle blower delivery system the world has ever seen..
ON CONTACT: CRUCIFYING JULIAN ASSANGE
Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force WikiLeaks publisher, Julian Assange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.
Yes it is a very sad indictment on western ‘liberial’ media including our own RNZ that nearly all the (now former) heroes of western reportage Robert Fisk, John Pilger, Seymour Hersh, Glenn Greenwald etc are all now effectively barred from having a voice on any of the outlets that used to champion them, we really are living is a Orwellian period of, half truths and out right lies.
love him or not, bomber bradbury being banned (alliteration!), from rnz the panel is another example.
i heard the segment when it was broadcast, and yes, twas bombastic.
i couldn’t disagree with him and found it refreshing to hear that attitude put so forthrightly.
Evidence-based public policy often uses science as basis, and science often uses stats. Don’t assume stats are reliable. Those commissioning research are inclined to try to leverage the outcome:
“A stunning report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes that researchers often make “inappropriate requests” to statisticians. And by “inappropriate,” the authors aren’t referring to accidental requests for incorrect statistical analyses; instead, they’re referring to requests for unscrupulous data manipulation or even fraud.”
“The authors surveyed 522 consulting biostatisticians and received sufficient responses from 390. Then, they constructed a table (shown below) that ranks requests by level of inappropriateness. For instance, at the very top is “falsify the statistical significance to support a desired result,” which is outright fraud. At the bottom is “do not show plot because it did not show as strong an effect as you had hoped,” which is only slightly naughty.”
My supervisor was dead set against me removing data that could be dubious in case it also removed the result. I did it anyway as science idealistically is about getting to the truth of a thing, not a convenience. Had to argue black and blue to get things done ‘properly.’
This was UoA, 2016.
The result was that my result was that much stronger, even with a smaller data set. It really annoyed me when he tried to stifle my enthusiasm for getting to the crux of things. I’d prefer no result to a BS result, any day.
Yeah, me too. Doing college science in the sixties, we were taught never to eliminate anomalous data points, always put them on the graph even if miles away from the trend line makes them look wacky. Authenticity.
So you can imagine how I felt when reading the Climategate emails, seeing actual professors agreeing to remove outliers so they could defeat climate deniers more convincingly!! They say the end justifies the means. History shows that everyone slides down a slippery slope into evil if they use that attitude.
Sometimes outliers should be clearly taken out (a female in an all male dataset on muscle power) and some should be left in (Bill Gate’s income clearly belongs to a dataset about American incomes) … or not, depending on the point of the analysis.
Sometimes the answer is clear about what to do and sometimes it’s not clear which way to go (Does Peter Thiel’s income belong in a dataset about NZer’s incomes?). Usually, if you’re stuck not knowing what to do then analyse with and without outliers and see what difference it makes (and present both answers if there are clear differences).
Unfortunately, people want clear cut answers and sound nibbles – equivocation is taken as a weakness.
Reminds me of the Stanford prison experiment, which as far as I can see had no real concret ‘scientific’ results to speak of , but nonetheless was ( and probably still is) used as some sort of meaningful insight to human behaviour under certain conditions.
I just went to remind myself, and the wiki account has a bunch of interesting nuances. Critics make valid points, but I still agree with Zimbardo’s thesis. Human nature is indeed context-driven. Warping via context can be designed.
” but I still agree with Zimbardo’s thesis. Human nature is indeed context-driven. ”
I too agree completely with that thesis, this was the point I was trying to make with a producer from RNZ during an email exchange earlier in the year, her position was, we give people the stories they want to hear, so (according to her) people are more interested in peoples stories/lives from France or the USA than they are of people in Africa/Asia or the Middle East, to which I responded, people would be concerned or interested in other peoples lives and interests of any country in the World if those peoples lives were contextualised, given form and substance, a privilege that RNZ rarely gives to these ‘other’ people…so in fact the editorial decisions of RNZ becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
Russell was the first thinker I stumbled across and liked ( probably because of his support of Muhammad Ali ) when I was a angry young 14 or 15 yo punk, I somehow found an audio of his debate with Father Frederick C. Copleston, it was a pivotal moment for me, there was something about the way these two thinkers with completely opposing concepts of reality sparred with an intellectual grace that greatly impressed me at the time, and still does.
I think Grey’s point was that good manners and a bit of grace in a genuine debate between intellectually mature people is as rare as a flying Dodo and a flying Moa doing air-acrobatics in your backyard.
That remark wasn’t being sarcastic or pointed at you Adrian – it was a great phrase that I liked the sound of and would like to aspire to. So there is no problem at all. We have enough already without misunderstanding each other. Sorry about that.
And ianmac you have also expressed yourself well. Very funny. The blog has been very interesting lately.
The data are unreliable, the stats are unreliable, the scientists are unreliable and thus so-called evidence-based public policy is unreliable? Is that your message, Dennis? So, we might as well flick a coin to make important decisions? An almost 50% chance of getting it right?
Things aren’t that bad. Yet. I think it signals a trend that has serious implications for public policy formulation. Reliance on stats is no longer a good idea. There’s still quite a prevalent tendency for folks to have blind faith in scientists. Sceptical appraisal makes more sense now.
The other thing to learn from this study is the extent to which motivation is likely to warp the findings of scientists. Climate science has exposed that too, but admissions from so many researchers that they had been offered inducements to produce suitable results indicates the likelihood of a proportion of acceptance.
Since those who take the money are unlikely to admit doing so, we can only speculate on that proportion. The bottom line is that truth and reality are not the only factors incentivising scientific discoveries: we now have good reason to suspect that some such are fake news. Which is where the scientific discipline of replication comes in. Such discoveries become reliable when confirmed by other researchers operating independently. Initial discoveries ought to be regarded as provisional. Of course, the media will ignore that need for caution.
I do struggle a little with the ambiguous term “scientific discovery” but can’t formulate a decent argument for discussion right now except to say that provisional findings make for poor public policy or (better) not at all. Maybe another time.
White women are a conservative force in the USA: “white women voters overwhelmingly threw their support behind conservative Republican male candidates. Again. They did it for President Trump, who won an estimated 53 percent of the white female vote in 2016. And they did it with Roy Moore, accused of sexually predatory behavior, in Alabama’s special Senate election last year.” https://www.vogue.com/article/white-women-voters-conservative-trump-gop-problem
““Our perception that white women are going to vote the way ‘we’ think they should has been proven false over and over again,” Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, historian and author of Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy, tells Vogue. She points to white women’s historic role in upholding racial segregation, from campaigning against the United Nations (on the grounds that it would upend the racial divide) to rallying against school integration after Brown v. Board of Education, including leading the charge against busing black students to new districts. The Confederate monuments that have caused so much modern-day controversy, McRae adds, were often funded by white women’s organizations, prior to the 19th Amendment.”
“The latest gut punches, courtesy of CNN polling: In the Georgia governor’s race, an estimated 75 percent of white women—more even than white men!—voted for Republican Brian Kemp, who is passionately pro-life, over Stacey Abrams, a staunch protector of women’s reproductive rights, while 97 percent of black women supported her. In Texas, 60 percent of white women cast their ballots for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, a supporter of alleged assaulters President Trump and Brett Kavanaugh, over Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is dedicated to improving women’s health care. (Ninety-four percent of black women backed O’Rourke.)”
@ Dennis Frank. Interesting juxtaposition between your post on 6, showing how statistics are being manipulated with your post 7 suggesting that an estimated white women voted 53% in 2016 for Trump (also suggests that estimated 47% white women did not vote for Trump). Then add in voters who did not vote, any statistical error and based on who identifies as ‘white’ and who identifies as a ‘women’. Not sure what the point of your post of 7 is, actually? would be more interesting if you had the entire estimated voting gender/ethnicity.. otherwise what is the point of it especially as it seems like your selected demographic of ‘white women’ is actually pretty even between Trump and not voting for Trump (if that was the point of the statistic).
It actually shows that relying on identity politics in politics is probably not a good idea.. people are voting on their perception of who they think is the better candidate.. and going on about reproductive rights aka abortion, to christians might not be a good idea..
75% identified as Christian in US in 2015. But the number is dropping fast.
107:100 boys:girls, so close to half of them female.
> 60% white.
> 325 million Americans.
325 x 0.6 x 0.5 x 0.75 = approx 73 125 000 white christian women voters in US.
Churches with patriarchal bias = pretty much all of them.
1 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent.”
Or this gem
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
Anyone with half a heart only has to read that cursed book to reject it.
Brainwashing in US however, runs very deep. All that patriotism doesn’t leave much room for grey matter. Republicans, like our own right w(h)ingers, love repugnant rhetoric espousing them as natural leaders. Here’s another pearl of wisdom from the ‘good book’.
1 Peter 2:18 “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.”
Here’s some breakdown of beliefs and political affiliation. Actual proportions of each religion would be nice to have as well.
the scary one is “Sources of guidance on right and wrong”
Republicans use religion to guide them 44% of the time, science 6%. Religion to guide them in their sexist racist homophobic genocidal ways. Science because Space Force!
Thanks WtB. I thought you were green, but you come in many colours like Josephs coat I see. The saying religiously-related applying to me:
‘The Lord loves a tryer’. Thanks for the help with the maths.
I was just reporting the Vogue writer’s framing (women voting against their common interests) but I agree with you that identity politics is unreliable. Stats are equally so. One could likewise argue that the conservative women identify with their husbands, their class interests, their skin colour etc…
Next May’s European elections will be pretty interesting as a real stress test for anti-immigration populism.
Here comes Yanis Varoufakis for EU Parliament, proposing to represent …………. Germany.
Yesterday he accepted the nomination on behalf of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), which he launched in 2016 to “democratize” the continent. He calls it the European Spring, after the Arab Spring.
My son is leaving to work again in Germany so I will report to you what the mood is over there now as when Sam (my Son) was in Germany working last during 2005 to 2006 he said then that Arabs/Turks and others were coming in and locals were fearful then to walk the streets at night so interesting times indeed.
Not unusual or recent my wife and I took a stroll in Southern French city in early 90s and began to notice we were in an area of group’s of men standing about, a lady pulled over in her car and suggested we hop in as the area was not safe for us and as we were feeling intimidated by the looks we were recieving we did.
That’s interesting. A boy on a bicycle in some USA city suburb was stopped by a large man with the Orthodox Jew hat and curl on. He was refused entry.
He felt quite uneasy.
nd who were afraid? It can be important for women in any town and city to know they will be safe at night, and if they have fears, they may hesitate to try but the fear may be unjustified.
I can’t say who we we afraid of but the looks we recieved from these men was not of welcome and the feeling was not good. On the same trip we arrived early in the morning from an overnight train and found ourselves in the midst of many homeless and rough sleepers with smiles we felt quite comfortable to sit take coffee and a bun. As a traveller I find it’s best to trust your feelings. In Sth East Asia I poke my nose into most situations but found in Cambodia stepping outside the tourist areas was quite uncomfortable. But seeing the horror museums and reading that to survive meant being able to smash your mother’s skull with a hoe I understand how the locals might feel less socially inclusive.
“The European Union has called on Russia and Ukraine to “act with utmost restraint to de-escalate” the situation in the Black Sea.
Ukraine says that three of its ships have been seized by the Russian coast guard, including two that were fired upon, and two crew members were wounded. Russia has blamed Ukraine for preparing and orchestrating “provocations.”
The EU, in a statement from foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijanic, also said that it expected Russia to “restore freedom of passage” through the Kerch Strait after Moscow blockaded it.”
nothing happened, nothing to see, move along citizen
Hmmm
Interesting timing, just as Kiev launches a move occupying village in buffer area between the front lines in Eastern Ukraine. , and as Poroshenkos ratings hit an all time low(7.8%) with elections coming up and Yulia Tymoshenko looking set to win
Poroshenko now has the consent of his national defence and security council to declare martial law , which would suspend parliament and elections , can be used to ban protests and activities by political parties, and allows for media, TV stations and newspapers to be shut down.
Russia has called for an emergency meeting of theUN SC scheduled in about 9 hours.
Poroshenko has scheduled a meeting with Stoltenberg.
Basically a squabble over whether Ukraine gave advance notice of intention to move through that Kerch area, which they say they did. The Russian coastguard says they didn’t.
Previously Ukraine has obeyed that protocol
poor russia, so hard done buy the big angry heavily armed superpower Ukraine, who always goes walkabouts invading in Russia, seizing Russian ships n just. Luckily Russia is calling for the help of the UN. Cause what would Russia do otherwise. Cry a bucket?
A day after Russia’s massive PD-50 drydock suddenly sank underneath the country’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, as it was receiving a long-awaited overhaul in frigid Murmansk, just how big a deal this may end up being for the Russian Navy is becoming clearer. The dry dock, which is the largest of its kind in Russian hands, appears to have sunk at first on a steep incline before it disappeared totally beneath the water’s surface. Russian officials are now saying that it could be many months before it is raised from the seabed 160 feet below and that doing so would be a very tedious and delicate operation. That’s if they decide to salvage it at all.
Regardless, PD-50 services all types of vessels that make up Russia’s most powerful fleet, including its largest submarines. So leaving it out of action for years, or even losing it altogether, would be a major hit for the Northern Fleet and the Russian Navy’s overall readiness.
Ukraine is seen as in the USA oriented nations, and which country knows what they will do next. White the USA surrounds itself with defensive sites. Didn’t help with September 2001 though.
malcolm gladwell has a great podcast series.
one of the episodes was looking at the movement of people across the mexican/u.s. border over 40 or so years.
the surprising conclusion was that when movement was less stringently controlled (up till the last 10 years), mexicans were far more likely to return and stay home, (not be aliens/illegal), than when the border got tightly controlled.
i thoroughly recommend revisionist history podcast.
i am not sure what this episode was.
another goodie was looking at french fries and how much better they tasted when they were cooked in beef fat compared to vege oils.
vege oils that are not good for you…
there are whole familys that are almost nomadic, they travel the various states for the harvest seasons and once done go back home. Rinse repeat every year.
but hey, what ever gets one elected as the candidate not beholden to corporate interest, self funded, and only worried about the economic anxiety of the white male working class.
After all, all mexicans are rapists and drug peddler. So said the Orange Saviour in 2015. In front of a camera and people and everyone just nodded and said: It is good.
“I think it’s just PC gone – I don’t know if it’s mad, but too far. You guys this morning are telling me that man didn’t walk on the moon, now you’re telling me Santa’s a woman – I just want a few things I can believe in.”
“…….We’ve got discrimination rules and they’re absolutely right, you know, whether it’s gender, whether it’s ethnicity,” said Mr Bridges.
“But I think the truth is on Santa, this is a traditional thing. Mary Poppins is a woman, Santa Claus is a man. That’s how it should be……”
My point is that you begin by a personal attack on AM Brady, with the intention of diminishing her credibility, as a preamble to dismissing whatever she has to say.
It seems like a shabby way to argue.
A.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
No Antione. You don’t have a point. I was quite explicit in saying “some may”, and gave another possibility too before writing that I wasn’t offering an opinion on either or either way.
I listened to what she said. Have you? I put up opinion and thoughts you could have engaged with.
You’ve chosen not to engage and to splatter a post with bullshit. So your comment’s now over here on Open Mike.
If I say “some may say X is a swivel-eyed loon but I couldn’t possibly comment”, then everyone will understand this as a coy way of saying “X is a swivel-eyed loon”.
Well, comport yourself as you like but don’t expect the rest of us to be impressed.
Sure. My bias was stated. And then there was substantive opinion and thought to read and commented on in light of that bias.
You want to spend a day engaged in stirring up vacuous personal bullshit in lieu of engaging with substantive content? That’s what bullshit message boards and facebook are for.
Hospital Workers get rises of 24% to 40% on their hourly rate, some back dated 6 mths and this over 2 and a half years. A piece of good news in the Herald today.
Thousands of hospital service workers will get pay rises of up to 40 per cent over the next three years.
The pay rises, of between 24 and 40 per cent on workers’ current rates will affect 3500 service workers, including cleaners, laundry workers, orderlies, catering and security staff across the 20 District Health Boards.
The immediate increase could be as high as 10 per cent for some and is backdated till June 25 this year.
Christmas Customs: St. Nicholas – der Heilige Nikolaus
Wer ist Sankt Nikolaus?
– Who is Saint Nicholas?
For a long time in Austria and some regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria, St. Nicholas was the main character in the Christmas celebration.
But he was not Santa Claus, and he arrived earlier – on the 6th of December. His usual, less friendly escort went by different names in different places: “Belsnickle,” “Niglo,” “Pelznickel,” and others. Santa Claus or Father Christmas is a more recent tradition. Since the Germans (and the Dutch) brought many of their customs to America directly or indirectly, we need to look first at Europe in order to understand the American and worldwide Christmas celebration of today.
I am german, i am bavarian. Thanks for the history lesson. We only have St. Nicolaus on the 6th of December, on the eve of the 24th we give pressies, go to midnight mess if so inclined, and that was that. No one crawling through the chimney or anything. 25th and 26th are Christmas Holidays without any importance other then visiting family and eating way to much food, and drinking way to much booze.
Santa Claus is if anything dutch in nature, and then co-opted by Coca Cola. The dutch would have called him Sinter Claas, and his helper is generally refered to as het swarte piet. The black pete.
Hence my comment in the first place about the gender and the reality of Saint Nicolaus, Bishop of Bari whom the legend says went out during a particular hard winter and left overings of food, clothes and toys for the children in front of the houses of the poor.
He should not be ‘played by a women’ cause he was a man, in saying that in the convent that i grew up and lived in for many years it was Nuns who played the part of St. Nicolaus and Kramperl (his helper) was also played by a Nun. They came with the book of good deeds and bad deeds, scared the small children witless and us older ones running down the halls of the convent screeching trying to figure out who played whom. However we never did. The Nuns always outsmarted us. Such are nuns, what can i say.
However, fat Coca Cola Santa can and should be played by whomever applies for hte role and is best suited.
That is what my comment relates too.
As for those that like this bit, St. Barbara is held on the fourth of December, Patron Saint of miners. I have her in mind, while the bodies of the pike river miners are recovered. She is often depicted with a lantern in her hand, surrounded by praying/crying women and children at the entrance of a mining shaft.
yeah, i am very bavarian, and i like my little customs. So light a candle on the 4th Dec, for all the miners everywhere. And give sweets to the kids on the 6th of december thanks to Saint Nicolaus.
I’m not so interested in who “Father Christmas” was . I like to think about who he can be, from this moment on. This year, courtesy of my now-convincingly festive white beard, I’m going to play “Father Christmas’s ” dad, Grandfather Christmas and give out to children, hope and encouragement along with packets of vegetable seeds 🙂
Natioal Party may be behind these sudden vehicle liciencing issues being stirred up tas both Davaville and westland are both Labour strongholds we now await to see if a “Garage in a National stronghold is also pulled up” as the whole NZTA handling of vehicle licieces debate hots up.
Seocond garage found is “Westland tyre and Autos” is clearly a laour strondhold whom the NZTA agency has targetted now who has had that garage in Westland WoF licience evoked.
Will NZTA now target the National strongholds of West and north Auckland,,hamiton, Tauranga, Otago, and Southland?
We await for this with interest.
National Party seems to be causing trouble and friction among communities, only in labour held areas. it seems to be the new game of National politics.
So watch their ‘dark ops’ of “dirty politics” as time goes by.
Quote;
“It’s a reasonable bet that when Simon Bridges took on the job as leader in February he didn’t expect it would mostly involve wall-to-wall disaster management of National’s problems that would overshadow his attempts to harass the coalition government for its failings.”
As my bolg suggested; – National is trying now quietly to find as your article says; –
“problems that would overshadow his attempts to harass the coalition government for its failings.”
The Wof issue is one of those I suggest, as we already had this over the truck trailer issue last wanter when a Nelson enginerering shop signed off many truck trailers with false certificates, so now Bridges is causing further unrest amost the private vehicle liciencing now too.
Watch for this slimy Bridges character as he is a very slippery character.
So we do womder if he can dinger a Garage in his seat of Tauranga now for licience breaches of Wof’s?
Border Patrol fired off shots at a group trying to go through the fence. We ran and hid under train. They sent in CS gas. Babies are scared and crying. pic.twitter.com/FCM1DcG2o8— WendyFry (@WendyFry_) November 25, 2018
Shocking. What is the international game plan as signed up with UN about this?
Or has USA lost every sense of appropriate behaviour, decency, respect for humanity? Time for a Billy Graham mass Christian campaign calling all the sinners back to the fold, and also making America great again in one package. At present there is an evil message being absorbed under a false flag.
I was short of anybody with that pulling power to ‘USA Christians’. So I picked the wrong guy did I. But is there a new, better sort of preacher that would turn this tide of negativity, racism, hate and bellicose scapegoating that mixed together looks nasty.
You came up with a doozy of a link. So interesting and relevant to the voting for the Republicans and the connection with religion.
Also this on North Korea. I didn’t know the history and see why they have ‘ambivalent’ attitudes to the USA.
Graham lent his imprimatur to this recommendation. Thus Graham was advocating a policy to the U.S. Commander-in-Chief that on Nixon’s own estimate would have killed a million people.
The German High Commissioner Seyss-Inquart was sentenced to death at Nuremberg for breaching dikes and other crimes in Holland in World War II.
(His execution did not deter the USAF from destroying the Toksan dam in North Korea, in 1953, thus deliberately wrecking the system that irrigated 75 percent of North Korea’s rice farms.)
You came up with a doozy of a link with that nypress one. So interesting and relevant to Republicans and voting and religion; this time anti-Jewish. And Billy Graham is very anti – doesn’t come across as a decent Christian for sure.
Also this on North Korea. I didn’t know the history and see why they have ‘ambivalent’ attitudes to the USA.
Graham lent his imprimatur to this recommendation. Thus Graham was advocating a policy to the U.S. Commander-in-Chief that on Nixon’s own estimate would have killed a million people.
The German High Commissioner Seyss-Inquart was sentenced to death at Nuremberg for breaching dikes and other crimes in Holland in World War II.
(His execution did not deter the USAF from destroying the Toksan dam in North Korea, in 1953, thus deliberately wrecking the system that irrigated 75 percent of North Korea’s rice farms.)
and a useless fat ugly man is feeling all powerful, probably sexually aroused by the fear he creates and while watching fox news, eating literal shit sandwiches from MacDo gets off every time another canister gets shot across the border.
Cause nothing says powerful man more then crying mothers and children.
And this is how it starts. And this is how it always started. Some useless sadistic piece of shit supported by people cause……economic anxiety. T’was thus in Germany, and now we get to watch the sequel.
Holy shit I just got all the way to the bottom of open mic. And not a single thread was a complete waste of time scrolling paste petty bullshit. . I don’t even think I read a single pointless slogan.
Take bow people. 😏
Can we step back from little comments that add nothing. I did one yesterday and I promise not to do it again for a while. Could we all step back and let it go, unless having a rare poke whn the time is appropriate.
Jacinda dismantled him at her post-cabinet presser today. He’s desperate. And National are trying to get their polling back above 40% before it becomes a downward spiral.
Quite like the idea of referendums being included in the election. Cheaper than doing them separately. And possibly will make for a greater turn out of voters.
I don’t mind a referendum but the binding bit sticks in the craw.
It all depends on the wording of the question.
E.g. marijuana. I am all for decriminilising the weed.
That would also go hand in hand with restrictions and decent education.
Not the DARE type, Mr Mackey “drugs are bad mmkay?”
I have no care for legalisation, i.e. handing pot over to big business a la alcohol.
Plus it might mean celebrity survivor fans have a large influence.
Kia ora Newshub These helicopter are crashing often.
The virus outbreak up In North Land condolences to anyone who has lost love ones.
It a big mystery around Whale stranding 145 stranded down South have died that’s sad. The worst thing one can do is give the issue publicity
The NZ CEO over half don’t use twitter ???????? Equality half Wahine CEO is needed to fix most of our problems.
I agree the addiction needs to be treated so the people doing dump things will be able to straighten up there act that’s a smart way to a positive solution to a bad problem.
I back welcoming Refugees they are people in need we can not ignore there suffering
and ha the west has cause most of these Refugee problems.
With the Smoking tax debate its a addiction tax’s don’t treat the addiction they just rake money from poor people who can’t beat the addiction billions should be invested to find better treatments for the smokers addiction not higher TAX.
Ka kite ano
Eco Maori encourages all the WORLDS CHILDREN to protest about the inaction of the
Worlds Governments to do everything in there POWER’S to mitigate Climate Change as it is there FUTURE we are poisoning and turning into hell for all as it is our children who have to clean up there MESS.
And if teachers really care about there children they will tau toko/support there STAND.
Scott Morrison has been labelled “out of touch” for angrily condemning a national student strike to protest government inaction on climate change.
The prime minister implored children to stay in class rather than protesting things that “can be dealt with outside of school”.
Everything you want to know about climate change in #MyClimateQuestions
Read more
“Each day I send my kids to school and I know other members’ kids should also go to school but we do not support our schools being turned into parliaments,” Morrison told parliament on Monday. Ka kite ano Links Below
When school started in August this year, I decided enough was enough. Sweden had just experienced its hottest summer ever. The election was coming up. No one was talking about climate change as a crisis.
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So I decided to walk out of school and sit on the ground outside the Swedish parliament to demand our politicians treat climate change for what it is: the biggest issue we have ever faced.
Because if climate change has to stop, then we must stop it. It is black and white. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival. Either we continue as a civilisation or we don’t. One way or another, we have to change. Countries like mine and Australia must start reducing our emissions dramatically if we believe in equality and climate justice.Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, one of the leading cause of climate change. Your politicians want to help Adani build one of the biggest coal mines in the world. Right now, there are no policies to change this. There are no rules to keep coal in the ground. We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules because the rules have to be changed
Here you go he does not care about the billions of lives his ignorance is going to harm
donald trump has told reporters he doesn’t believe his own government’s climate change findings that the US economy will suffer substantially with continued warming from greenhouse gas pollution.
“I’ve seen it, I’ve read some of it, and it’s fine,” he said outside the White House on Monday. “I don’t believe it.”
From Facebook to climate change: how to bury bad news
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The report, called the National Climate Assessment, was quietly released the day after Thanksgiving. Also last Friday, the government slipped out another environment internal report with bad news about emissions from oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Link below ka kite ano
Kia ora Newshub Tova Bulling is not acceptable and should be stamped out of all organizations.
That virus in North Land is shocking and in a place with high Maori population this tell me that we are a second class people .
The closing off Queen’s st to all but the essential vehicles is a really good move there are quite a few city’s around the world doing this with big success clean air.
Our children always have there faces in there Ph not I . I just do a lot of research for my mission I will be doing Eco Maori influencing for a long time.
The health supplements is not regulated.
Condolences to all the people who lost there houses in the big fire in Australia .
Everyone is buying Tesla cars A with GM lay off and some ones trade war is hurting the poor.
I have a consumers complaint every time I go to buy some thing some how they have not got the product I want so they say they will ring back but know O that’s just the bulling sandfly being muppets trying there best to try and upset me but no they are just small fry in Eco Maoris Papatuanuku.
Ka kite ano P.S some people think they know my whapapa but there is one line no one knows about.
Kia ora The Crowd Goes Mulls James & Wairangi Wild fingers crossed for the Black Caps.
The League dramas that move will get the punters out.
Yes Its cool that Joe Schmidts is stepping aside for his whano .
At the Bowls guys the Crowd is growing thats the way Tau toko them not to much cups of teas tho A.
That Hand glider person was lucky he only broke his wrist he would have had to change his ——
That was a good UFC KO kick the ref in the teeth lol we no what’s really in the water bottle mulls Ka kite ano
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
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Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
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Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
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The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
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Time for New Zealand to assert its independence from foreign superpowers.
“Twenty-nine academics, researchers and human rights advocates have written an open letter to Jacinda Ardern in support of China critic and Canterbury University politics professor Anne-Marie Brady.
“We have been shocked and disturbed by the reports of intimidation and harassment suffered by Professor Anne-Marie Brady,” the letter said.
“Attempts to intimidate and harass one academic in New Zealand have implications for freedoms of all the others – and indeed, for the freedoms of all who live here.”
The group also urged the prime minister to “make a clear statement in defence of academic freedom” in light of the case and to be “very clear that any intimidation and threats aimed at silencing academic voices in this country will not be tolerated”.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/376782/shocked-and-disturbed-by-alleged-chinese-govt-intimidaiton
Damn right. Prof Brady: “The Education Act requires all political leaders and government agencies to protect and defend our academic freedom and uphold the critic and conscience role of the academic. So I do my job, and I expect the government to do their job.”
A spokesperson for the prime minister said she supported and defended the legal right to academic freedom, as set out in law. “The matters contained in this letter are under investigation by the police and it is not appropriate to comment on them before the investigation is finished.” But Prof Brady said the investigation was over, and the issue was now in the government’s hands. [RNZ]
So another Schrodinger’s Cat situation. The police investigation is over and is not over simultaneously. Truth lies somewhere between the two? Could be the PM’s spokesperson is misrepresenting the situation?
Perhaps someone will open the box and report whether the Cat is really alive or dead. And if the truth is that a police report must be written and obtained by the PM before the truth can be ascertained by her, the slowly-grinding wheels of public service bureaucracy will probably ensure that she goes to the xmas break none the wiser. Her relief at not having to do her job will probably be considerable! Will Chinese agents successfully eliminate Professor Brady while we wait?
Yes I agree Parliament needs to be cleanned up pronto!!!!!
Fix the beehive and get rid of the National party clingon’s Jacinda Ardern firstly please.
These “anti-Government sypathisers are stopping your voters from communication with your Government ministers.
This we have discovered during our research.
So if you want “inclusion” in your Government please remove all National Party sympathizers from being in MP,s offices and in Government agencies.
Great to see Labor absolutely creaming the Liberals in Victoria on the weekend.
Not long before they clean them out in next years Federal elections.
Good news Ad.
Andrews actually went into the campaign beset by a number of controversies in his Victorian Labor Party but voters seem to have responded to his plans for major infrastructure spending across the state. And of course, all those Labor campaign billboards of state Liberal leader Guy hanging out with Peter Dutton, Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison helped.
Wastewater being dumped in the ocean is still an issue, and now AK’s richer tenants are making noise, something might get done.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12165591
There is a new game in town. Well, in America. Combining both waste and storm water for treatment, treated waters are redirected to spreading basins where they can percolate into the land and recharge aquifers.
https://phys.org/news/2017-08-tool-parched-regions-replenish-aquifers.html
While these methods are land intensive, they bring up some points worth noting.
We have done nothing towards recharging aquifers, despite corporate entities showing it is liquid gold.
2. We have significant wastewater resources in both rural and urban settings that contain revenue streams, we have not tapped these, namely: water for irrigation, composts for agriculture, biogas for power.
The resources are right there waiting for some government body to wake up. NZ water revenue should be returned, 100%, to NZ. The revenue generated can pay for improvements to water treatment and storm water diversion. Here we need to think big, but on a catchment by catchment basis.
In 2017 391 billion litres of bottled water were sold.
Billions, that’s what we are giving away. Take it back and get NZ on track.
There is an aquifer-recharge project being “scoped” in Southland, at Five Rivers, where it is proposed river water be “directed” into a depleted aquifer. In theory, the water will be taken at high flow, but I’ve concerns about the mixing of previously seperate “waters”, especially in light of their bacterial (and nitrogenous) make-up; natural filtering and time can clean surface water before it gets into an aquifer and this “direct injection” through reverse bore, will result in an “unnatural” introduction of pathogens, potentially. Of course, it may be that there’s no problem, but if successful there, other farming operations might see potential to fill their own aquifers with flood water, say, and be able to irrigate at a greater rate and thereby, intensify their farming operations. Mike Joy wouldn’t be a supporter, I’m guessing. I know there’s a lot of natural river/aquifer interaction in many cases, but it seems to me these geo-engineering jobs don’t always pan out well (if ever). All in my opinion, naturally 🙂
Seems like insanity to me Robert.
Aquifers are generally pristine for the very reason that it takes a very long time for water to filter down to them.
“Spreading basins” could be elegant…or revolting. The American feed lots for cattle show how appalling some of their “great ideas” can be.
Wetlands are spreading basins. They could also be for tourism, aquaculture, ornithology, duck season, boating, walking, education…
The idea of topping aquifers from river flow is insane. We get our highly polluted shit and run it into our pristine sources. Then our potential for $ per litre goes down to parts of a cent per litre for shitty irrigation. How is that a good thing?
We need to stop falling over ourselves to accommodate farmers. Why build such an obviously shitty system? Farmers… that’s all.
Farmers should be playing a large part in recharging groundwater, but no, they merely take it. Imagine if we were to do something as simple as put floodgates at storm culverts letting the drainage systems of the country fill before overflowing (same flow capacity as it is governed by diameter of pipes under roads). All of a sudden the entire countryside is holding and percolating water after storm events. And that’s just getting started. Add swales and ponds…
Those stormwater drains, it makes no difference if they’re full or empty, except, when full they replenish the land, and are vast potential aquaculture infrastructure.
Who is it ‘scoping’ five rivers? They need a boot up the ass.
Well now, I couldn’t have said it like that, could I 🙂
Because there was such a hue and cry about “visible” dammed/damned water storage proposed by farmers in, especially North Canterbury, the industry has looked for hidden opportunities and aquifer recharge occurred to them. Have you done any work on the biology of aquifers? There’s living creatures down in them cold, dark waters! They probably won’t enjoy a dose of what their surface-dwelling cousins have to put up with .
A subterranean cave was explored by Charles Mitchell and some peers. They discovered sixty year old kokopu that had no food source. They’d lived purely through minerals ingested from water. Blind, albino kokopu.
One ‘silly idea’ I’ve had for Canterbury is to follow the Hawaiian example and run a tunnel through the mountain range taking west coast excess water to Canterbury.
Who was opposed to water bodies in Canterbury? Was it a large dam, or on farm ponds? I reckon turning the region into a monoculture desert is ugly enough, and ponds and plantings would improve the place. But what do I know.
Ponds and plantings, yes, but the driver was increased intensification of dairying. Jaded greenies kicked up a stink 🙂
You have pretty much covered the solution.
Years ago “think big style” with electricity it was decided to redirect high flow water going into other waterway systems into the Taupo water system. So it’s gravitational potential energy could best be utilised.
There is no reason why your idea, that has been proposed for many rears, cannot be a reality.
Tunnel boring machines in the 1meter diameter range are cheap and you could create a little team of people running a site, creating a tube from one side to the other. The rock waste can be used in civil engineering.
If a big earthquake happens and the tube gets ruined, you accept it as part of reality, you then go in and fix it.
Making farms more productive because of water supply, because they become more drought resistant, or crops get water at the correct time of their life cycle. When farmland produces more from increasing the efficient use of sunlight everything is a benifit.
They absorb more CO2.
The farms Eco systems benifit.
If the farm is more efficient, profitable, it can invest in projects were fence to drain distances increase, a small area of trees and a wetland can be added, etc.
They can invest in environmental solutions. A farm of 100Ha doing mainstream farming can decide to try a few Ha in some radical new way, with the intent of lowering urea use, or improving production due to animal health benifits rather than off farm inputs. Diets creating less methane, plants that result in less nitrate leaching, etc etc.
The no to everything for farming is the wrong approach, and bringing water from the west coast as part of solving water issues should have happened decades ago.
Auckland city steals the Wiakato systems water for example. That happened because it was a good idea.
Are you on the turn @DJ?
Not too many days/weeks ago, you were coming in here as just another pompous trolling git.
These days……reading your thoughts and contributions is worthwhile
I saw something interesting by DJ the other day. Looked like real thought and not knee jerk stuff. Mmmm. You can’t be sure about anything these days. Grizzle.
That’s too far-fetched for me to believe 🙂
That said, we discovered a dog who’d been trapped in a glasshouse for 6 weeks over winter (hail and snow) without food, seemingly, who lived, though very thin (she went in plump). Curiously, there was no dog poo on the ground 🙂
6 weeks and nobody noticed? Bloody hell.
100% WeTheBleeple
Labour promised to stop water bottling before the election remember that!
How quickly people forget?
Labour need to review their broken promises and explain why these promises have not been kept here before the end of this year.
As a careful thought review of their performance in their first year of service to the community.
Those promises all need to be kept.
Obscene profits being made (taken off NZ for private concerns).
A rich asshole I know was jizzing over these profits a decade ago as National came in. The Nats and their donors were in there like a shark feeding frenzy.
Yes wethebleeple
“Money talks truth walks” is these rich lazy pricks only thought.
No care for well being of the community.
Toxic Leeches they all are.
Yes wethebleeple
“Money talks truth walks” is these rich lazy pricks only thought.
No care for well being of the community.
Toxic Leeches they all are.
Labour had better send them away in a leaky boat.
Nope.
I do remember a policy to do a commercial water levy. NZ1 scotched that.
We have the Central Inceptor at a cost of $1.2b
Yet in a time of where “user Pays” still exists where greenfield developments have to provide infrastructure at the cost of the new locals and when these developments will have additional rates applied to pay for their infrastructure https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12159099
https://www.watercare.co.nz/About-us/News-media/Central-Interceptor-one-step-closer-to-start-date
Why do these wealthy inner city areas expect the rest of Auckland to pay for solutions to THEIR waste water issues ?
They already have the best public transport service available, subsidised by all rate payers. And as they are increasingly serviced e.g. new rail link, the value of their properties increase, yet they make no additional contributions for this.
Thanks for that heads up.
“During wet weather the central wastewater network currently overflows to local waterways and the Waitematā Harbour at more than 100 locations and to the north-eastern Manukau Harbour at 14 locations. The Central Interceptor is expected to reduce the volume of overflows by over 80 per cent.”
Sounds really good. Not comprehensive but it is a large improvement.
I’m guessing actinobacteria are still the major issue in biological treatment (clumping), however, am very pleased they’ve not gone the silly chemical sanitation route, which produces treated yet unusable water. The clumping could be used for solids removal and processing as solid compost making the water treatment a lot easier. I’ve seen similar on a farm where solids were taken out before effluent ponding, the solids becoming compost. The Farmer could not get enough of the compost though it sat for a year and let the worms have at it to finish.
The composts from these processes can then feed non-edible crops to make them removed from human consumption/western sensibilities e.g. timber crops.
Exactly Herodotus, are the developers in particular those that are contributing the most to wastewater pollution with large high rises, are not being charged a new levy for ‘user pays’ with new builds for pollution and wastewater, as because as you rightly say, they are also getting the cream of public transport money too.
And often the inner city apartments are not good options for Kiwi families who sound like they are one of the poorest demographics now. But new builds and in particular apartments are open to be speculated on by the world’s wealthy as they are exempt from the OIA.
Meanwhile the poor on the outer city limits with no or few public transport options are forced to pay the petrol tax that the mostly inner/central city folks are largely exempted from for commuting to work or university.
Of course getting to the airport is a priority for work and holidays which is why that is PRIORITY number one for public transport. We can’t let the politicians get stuck in traffic going to Wellington or Phil Goff’s trip to China or expect them to pay an airline levy for the public transport link that Auckland ratepayers are expected to pay for.
Rampant development around beaches and more and more run off from roads are having a horrible effect.
Long Bay (rampant development) was the only beach to experience a more extreme red alert last summer with a reading of 810 enterococci/100ml taken on New Year’s Day after heavy rainfall.
Apparently…
“Recent historical data for the water quality of our swimming beaches is not available for comparison.
North Shore City Council stopped routine monitoring in 2008 because it was confident of its ability to identify water quality issues after analysing the previous 10 years worth of data.
Auckland Council resumed water quality testing on the North Shore last November because it felt there was an inconsistent approach to water safety across the city.”
I think the shell fish has also been effected around Long Bay regional park area, but any media about the pollution is quickly pulled. The developer seems to be able to keep it out of the media, surprise surprise.
Dirty water: Raw sewage flowing into Auckland Harbour will increase with new housing projects
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11785299
P>S> hope those that once believed that the new housing was necessary for affordable housing for Kiwis, are now able to comprehend that allowing new builds to be sold and speculated around the world, firmly puts a stop to that idea and they are instead a way to do a Natz and keep the lazy economy moving within the Ponzi, while making the Kiwis who are rate payers pay for it and the residents and future generations pay for it with increased pollution and loss of quality of life, and new charges being dreamed up, for anything from petrol to wastewater around the city .
I can affirm that (Long Bay) having heard it directly from a marine biologist investigating the site.
If we use this new diversion drain (central interceptor), AND capture roof water for gardens, we might actually cope in Auckland. Road runoff could be diverted more creatively too. Some to wetlands, some to industry…
Took the girls to the Santa Parade over in Richmond yesterday.
What kind of flag is that mum? They asked as a ‘redneck’ float went past.
That’s the confederate flag, it’s a symbol of white people using black people for slaves in the USA.
Woah, why is it in the parade mum?
Because, it was on the roof of a popular ‘redneck’ race car in a 1980’s TV series, which made a whole generation relate that flag to nothing else but two men and a Chrysler.
Some might say people are going PC mad, others might say we need to learn about real history rather than the Dukes of Hazard.
Was wondering if anyone else noticed….. looks like they did…PS the beer cans were tacky as.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108856953/richmond-santa-parade-features-redneck-xmas-float-sporting-confederate-flag
That is so bad, its supposed to be about the kids!
What idiot would think, I know let’s advertise alcohol and bring in some racist overtones for the kids this year.
“Because, it was on the roof of a popular ‘redneck’ race car in a 1980’s TV series, which made a whole generation relate that flag to nothing else but two men and a Chrysler.”
I think you kind of nailed it on the head here
I would think there are quite a lot of people who just aren’t aware of the fairly recent controversy around it, as they just don’t take a huge amount of interest in current US cultural issues.
They do just associate it with TDoH and that is what they got brought up as to what the flag represents. Personally I don’t actually put any blame on them, US events can sometimes be exceedingly dull and have zero relevance to NZ
Slight side point
Pretty sure the car was a Dodge Charger. Chrysler was the Aussie version.
Chrysler was owned by Dodge and the Dodge shared some structure, but it was a different shape etc.
Yes that’s the one, a Dodge Charger, you are correct, Chrysler was the Aussie version. Is Mopar the umbrella for all of them?
I think you are correct in saying that many don’t pay much attention to current events in the USA, and as a result may not know any better.
The parent company was Chrysler right from the beginning in the 1920s up until the merger/bailout/buyout by Fiat a few years ago. The Dodge name was acquired not long after startup, and a bunch of other brands like De Soto, Plymouth, Imperial etc were acquired/created, used for a while, then killed/sold. Chrysler also got involved in various games of Big Boy’s Monopoly in buying and selling other car companies around the the world, such as the Rooted Group that was responsible for atrocities such as the Hillman Scavenger …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler
Thanks Andre 🙂
The Hillman Scavenger?
I’ve heard of a Hillman Avenger and Hillman Hunter, but not a Hillman Scavenger.
And what about the Hillman Shrimp?
I learned to drive in a Humbug 80 (along with a left hand drive series2 Landy that I took my license test in).
But I always figured the Hillman Minx couldn’t become a bigger object of derision no matter what you did to the name.
Yep, Minx is hard to ‘upgrade’..
mmmm @ Andre.
I saw you more in a black Super Snipe.
It had that really really huge bonnet ahead of its steering wheel and some serious straight in-line cylinders. It was mainly driven by those that had reason (such as a J Toebes – gone but not forgotten).
But then it had many others who could only pretend and tryhard jobbie jobbie to emulate
Aah
Wrong way round, sorry
Cheers for that info’
Chris T is correct, and to give some context to the Dukes Of Hazard the car was named the General Lee and the thing they were celebrating was Lee being a “rebel”, and so were the Dukes. There’s also Billy Idols song Rebel Yell which refers to the shouts of the confederate army when going into battle. Of course we know better now, I see trucks with the flag all the time, either that or a Jim Beam flag, I doubt they put much thought into it other than it “looks cool”. Watch the TV series Atlanta which cleverly takes the piss out of southern racists.
I don’t think there is a “fairly recent controversy” over it. There’s been negative connotations surrounding that flag for decades.
I also find it difficult to reconcile that a bunch of people would openly parade around with that flag looking nothing like DoH and not have a second thought about how they come across.
Yes there have been connections to slavery etc for decades, but the flag was largely put up with.
They even had it on the car in that dire movie version in 2005 with no controversy
It has only really got as massive as it is now since Charleston in 2015.
It fact they actually removed production and sales of their General Lee toys straight after because of this.
https://ew.com/article/2015/06/24/dukes-hazzard-general-lee-confederate-flag/
Maybe there was little controversy because the movie makers saw it as a significant issue back in 2005, and they had to address it within the script.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7v8vQpmZg
The trailer also does it’s best to show the car lots and lots and obscure the flag.
It wasn’t just the flag. Within months after Charleston the flag was banned from most shops, was being removed from display every where.
As I say, before the Charleston event it was largely just put up with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_display_of_the_Confederate_flag#Reactions_to_2015_Charleston_church_shooting
It is also what kicked off the demolition and/or removal of statues and monuments.
The USA is our default godfather don’t you know, just listen to the news from RadioNZ every day, what other country gets the same coverage? And their citizens are a dime a dozen around the country. Free to enter almost at will and probably easy residency though few would give up their own States citizenship. They like having the best of both worlds, maybe ‘to have their cake and eat it too’.
Ain’t that the truth @ Greywarshark.
They’re probably the lowest of the low on that demographic immigration spreadsheet – oops, I meant ‘best practiced risk analysis’ immigration criteria reference’, just next to mother Britain and slightly above a Canadian.
I’m not exactly sure of the weightings or where the Okkers rank.
As for giving up their own States citizenship, I have a close relative who has now lived far more of his life in NuZull than the Greatest Nation on Earth. He even has one of those ONZ or Merity trinkets. Trying to renounce US citizenship was like being placed on a charge of treason.
Are you saying he wanted to give up USA citizenship, or can you become dual under NZ law? And they didn’t like him wanting to be in Godzone??
I’m saying yes, he wanted to renounce his US citizenship. He no longer felt any sort of affinity with the place and had become more than disillusioned with its policies overseas (not that he ever publicly stated them). Most of his US based relatives had already karked it.
I think he retains dual citizenship to this day – the threats of tax audits and various other hurdles meant renouncing it just wasn’t worth it.
Oh, and to clarify…..I meant that non-US, non-Canadian, non-Brit dontcha know immigrants figure on the best practice risk analysis reference crib sheet whilst, as you suggest, the US citizen is automatically an asset and due for a rubber stamp on the PR application.
Were their any float’s from Hawera?
Anyway if you want people not fly those flags then a start, is to get people of NZ to understand history.
Because at present there is a dumbing down the NZ education system for arts and reducing tertiary departments for the arts, discouraging people to study the arts in NZ (apart from Law of course when we have all manner of fascists operating because they have no understanding of history, let alone morals), removing resources for the arts aka libraries, undermining history of western and local history at government and council level in real terms apart from surface representation with no real deep understanding of history, art and culture from different view points.
If this is the standard https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/11/students-launch-petition-after-confusion-by-word-trivial-in-nzqa-exam.html we might have a lot more flags flying whether confederate or CCP or who know who else we can sell out to or start a race war over.
No floats from Hawera, far out those ‘lions’ really did my head in.
Am pretty sure both of those float theme’s came from similar generations.
There is a lack of diversity in Richmond, which results in a lack of understanding especially when it comes to different cultures. Tunnel vision as. Spot the brown person. You get the picture.
I know at the local school here in Motueka, they do learn about many different cultures. This is in part due to such diversity within the students and families here. And it’s awesome. It makes a huge difference, it really does, one of the reasons this white girl moved her little family here.
Absolutely get where you are coming from SaveNZ re history/culture/arts knowledge of different view points etc.
Western MSM expose their own total lack of integrity and pretense of being institutions of fair and balanced reporting through their own deafening silence in the defense of the creator of the most effective whistle blower delivery system the world has ever seen..
ON CONTACT: CRUCIFYING JULIAN ASSANGE
Chris Hedges and Joe Lauria, journalist and editor-in-chief, Consortium, discuss efforts to force WikiLeaks publisher, Julian Assange, out of the Ecuador Embassy in London and extradite him to the USA to stand trial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hyZktgMp4Q
Chris Hedges discussed the Death of the Liberal Class back in 2011.
Very prescient of him as it is only now that most commentators have noticed this.
Yes it is a very sad indictment on western ‘liberial’ media including our own RNZ that nearly all the (now former) heroes of western reportage Robert Fisk, John Pilger, Seymour Hersh, Glenn Greenwald etc are all now effectively barred from having a voice on any of the outlets that used to champion them, we really are living is a Orwellian period of, half truths and out right lies.
love him or not, bomber bradbury being banned (alliteration!), from rnz the panel is another example.
i heard the segment when it was broadcast, and yes, twas bombastic.
i couldn’t disagree with him and found it refreshing to hear that attitude put so forthrightly.
Evidence-based public policy often uses science as basis, and science often uses stats. Don’t assume stats are reliable. Those commissioning research are inclined to try to leverage the outcome:
“A stunning report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes that researchers often make “inappropriate requests” to statisticians. And by “inappropriate,” the authors aren’t referring to accidental requests for incorrect statistical analyses; instead, they’re referring to requests for unscrupulous data manipulation or even fraud.”
“The authors surveyed 522 consulting biostatisticians and received sufficient responses from 390. Then, they constructed a table (shown below) that ranks requests by level of inappropriateness. For instance, at the very top is “falsify the statistical significance to support a desired result,” which is outright fraud. At the bottom is “do not show plot because it did not show as strong an effect as you had hoped,” which is only slightly naughty.”
How prevalent is the coercion? Quite prevalent: “a whopping 24% — nearly 1 in 4 — said they were asked to remove or alter data. Unequivocally, that is a request to commit scientific fraud.” https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/10/30/1-4-statisticians-say-they-were-asked-commit-scientific-fraud-13554?fbclid=IwAR2K2vQwDeiso_lEA5U3Z_G3b3nh7E2mI62n-LcTlk5_ouSVikR9tqjpm0Y
My supervisor was dead set against me removing data that could be dubious in case it also removed the result. I did it anyway as science idealistically is about getting to the truth of a thing, not a convenience. Had to argue black and blue to get things done ‘properly.’
This was UoA, 2016.
The result was that my result was that much stronger, even with a smaller data set. It really annoyed me when he tried to stifle my enthusiasm for getting to the crux of things. I’d prefer no result to a BS result, any day.
Yeah, me too. Doing college science in the sixties, we were taught never to eliminate anomalous data points, always put them on the graph even if miles away from the trend line makes them look wacky. Authenticity.
So you can imagine how I felt when reading the Climategate emails, seeing actual professors agreeing to remove outliers so they could defeat climate deniers more convincingly!! They say the end justifies the means. History shows that everyone slides down a slippery slope into evil if they use that attitude.
The most interesting discoveries are often the outliers.
One salt tolerant species of Taro – do not report Taro are not salt tolerant – cultivate that superstar!
Sometimes outliers should be clearly taken out (a female in an all male dataset on muscle power) and some should be left in (Bill Gate’s income clearly belongs to a dataset about American incomes) … or not, depending on the point of the analysis.
Sometimes the answer is clear about what to do and sometimes it’s not clear which way to go (Does Peter Thiel’s income belong in a dataset about NZer’s incomes?). Usually, if you’re stuck not knowing what to do then analyse with and without outliers and see what difference it makes (and present both answers if there are clear differences).
Unfortunately, people want clear cut answers and sound nibbles – equivocation is taken as a weakness.
Very pleased to hear/see you stood your ground!
Reminds me of the Stanford prison experiment, which as far as I can see had no real concret ‘scientific’ results to speak of , but nonetheless was ( and probably still is) used as some sort of meaningful insight to human behaviour under certain conditions.
That was a doozy, indeed. They even made a movie about it: “The 2015 film The Stanford Prison Experiment is based on the experiment.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment
I just went to remind myself, and the wiki account has a bunch of interesting nuances. Critics make valid points, but I still agree with Zimbardo’s thesis. Human nature is indeed context-driven. Warping via context can be designed.
” but I still agree with Zimbardo’s thesis. Human nature is indeed context-driven. ”
I too agree completely with that thesis, this was the point I was trying to make with a producer from RNZ during an email exchange earlier in the year, her position was, we give people the stories they want to hear, so (according to her) people are more interested in peoples stories/lives from France or the USA than they are of people in Africa/Asia or the Middle East, to which I responded, people would be concerned or interested in other peoples lives and interests of any country in the World if those peoples lives were contextualised, given form and substance, a privilege that RNZ rarely gives to these ‘other’ people…so in fact the editorial decisions of RNZ becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.
Stanford been debunked according to a report I heard recently.
And Bertrand Russell (I think) comes to mind on fools being quick in decision making while wisdom takes longer.
Russell was the first thinker I stumbled across and liked ( probably because of his support of Muhammad Ali ) when I was a angry young 14 or 15 yo punk, I somehow found an audio of his debate with Father Frederick C. Copleston, it was a pivotal moment for me, there was something about the way these two thinkers with completely opposing concepts of reality sparred with an intellectual grace that greatly impressed me at the time, and still does.
Oh for intellectual grace Oh Lord.
not quite sure what the problem with good manners and a bit of grace in a debate is…
I think Grey’s point was that good manners and a bit of grace in a genuine debate between intellectually mature people is as rare as a flying Dodo and a flying Moa doing air-acrobatics in your backyard.
That remark wasn’t being sarcastic or pointed at you Adrian – it was a great phrase that I liked the sound of and would like to aspire to. So there is no problem at all. We have enough already without misunderstanding each other. Sorry about that.
And ianmac you have also expressed yourself well. Very funny. The blog has been very interesting lately.
The data are unreliable, the stats are unreliable, the scientists are unreliable and thus so-called evidence-based public policy is unreliable? Is that your message, Dennis? So, we might as well flick a coin to make important decisions? An almost 50% chance of getting it right?
Things aren’t that bad. Yet. I think it signals a trend that has serious implications for public policy formulation. Reliance on stats is no longer a good idea. There’s still quite a prevalent tendency for folks to have blind faith in scientists. Sceptical appraisal makes more sense now.
The other thing to learn from this study is the extent to which motivation is likely to warp the findings of scientists. Climate science has exposed that too, but admissions from so many researchers that they had been offered inducements to produce suitable results indicates the likelihood of a proportion of acceptance.
Since those who take the money are unlikely to admit doing so, we can only speculate on that proportion. The bottom line is that truth and reality are not the only factors incentivising scientific discoveries: we now have good reason to suspect that some such are fake news. Which is where the scientific discipline of replication comes in. Such discoveries become reliable when confirmed by other researchers operating independently. Initial discoveries ought to be regarded as provisional. Of course, the media will ignore that need for caution.
Good reply, thanks.
I do struggle a little with the ambiguous term “scientific discovery” but can’t formulate a decent argument for discussion right now except to say that provisional findings make for poor public policy or (better) not at all. Maybe another time.
White women are a conservative force in the USA: “white women voters overwhelmingly threw their support behind conservative Republican male candidates. Again. They did it for President Trump, who won an estimated 53 percent of the white female vote in 2016. And they did it with Roy Moore, accused of sexually predatory behavior, in Alabama’s special Senate election last year.” https://www.vogue.com/article/white-women-voters-conservative-trump-gop-problem
““Our perception that white women are going to vote the way ‘we’ think they should has been proven false over and over again,” Elizabeth Gillespie McRae, historian and author of Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy, tells Vogue. She points to white women’s historic role in upholding racial segregation, from campaigning against the United Nations (on the grounds that it would upend the racial divide) to rallying against school integration after Brown v. Board of Education, including leading the charge against busing black students to new districts. The Confederate monuments that have caused so much modern-day controversy, McRae adds, were often funded by white women’s organizations, prior to the 19th Amendment.”
“The latest gut punches, courtesy of CNN polling: In the Georgia governor’s race, an estimated 75 percent of white women—more even than white men!—voted for Republican Brian Kemp, who is passionately pro-life, over Stacey Abrams, a staunch protector of women’s reproductive rights, while 97 percent of black women supported her. In Texas, 60 percent of white women cast their ballots for Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, a supporter of alleged assaulters President Trump and Brett Kavanaugh, over Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is dedicated to improving women’s health care. (Ninety-four percent of black women backed O’Rourke.)”
@ Dennis Frank. Interesting juxtaposition between your post on 6, showing how statistics are being manipulated with your post 7 suggesting that an estimated white women voted 53% in 2016 for Trump (also suggests that estimated 47% white women did not vote for Trump). Then add in voters who did not vote, any statistical error and based on who identifies as ‘white’ and who identifies as a ‘women’. Not sure what the point of your post of 7 is, actually? would be more interesting if you had the entire estimated voting gender/ethnicity.. otherwise what is the point of it especially as it seems like your selected demographic of ‘white women’ is actually pretty even between Trump and not voting for Trump (if that was the point of the statistic).
It actually shows that relying on identity politics in politics is probably not a good idea.. people are voting on their perception of who they think is the better candidate.. and going on about reproductive rights aka abortion, to christians might not be a good idea..
Is there a correlation between white women’s numbers who are linked to religious groups and churches with a patriarchal bias, and Republican voting?
75% identified as Christian in US in 2015. But the number is dropping fast.
107:100 boys:girls, so close to half of them female.
> 60% white.
> 325 million Americans.
325 x 0.6 x 0.5 x 0.75 = approx 73 125 000 white christian women voters in US.
Churches with patriarchal bias = pretty much all of them.
1 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent.”
Or this gem
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
Anyone with half a heart only has to read that cursed book to reject it.
Brainwashing in US however, runs very deep. All that patriotism doesn’t leave much room for grey matter. Republicans, like our own right w(h)ingers, love repugnant rhetoric espousing them as natural leaders. Here’s another pearl of wisdom from the ‘good book’.
1 Peter 2:18 “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel.”
Here’s some breakdown of beliefs and political affiliation. Actual proportions of each religion would be nice to have as well.
http://www.pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/party-affiliation/
the scary one is “Sources of guidance on right and wrong”
Republicans use religion to guide them 44% of the time, science 6%. Religion to guide them in their sexist racist homophobic genocidal ways. Science because Space Force!
Thanks WtB. I thought you were green, but you come in many colours like Josephs coat I see. The saying religiously-related applying to me:
‘The Lord loves a tryer’. Thanks for the help with the maths.
I was just reporting the Vogue writer’s framing (women voting against their common interests) but I agree with you that identity politics is unreliable. Stats are equally so. One could likewise argue that the conservative women identify with their husbands, their class interests, their skin colour etc…
Nice poem by poet Essa May Ranapiri
HOW COULD I MISS YOU WITH KUMARA IN THE OVEN
started reading the book backwards
to get through the 25 minutes
from notes to final section
to the middle to first line of first
poem to
acknowledgements to
isbn
every last word so brand new
i don’t need to be afraid of what comes next
if i’ve already looked at where the monster ends up
splotching plate with aioli
spearing each chip with the fork
i rinsed clean in the sink
after it lay in the sink
for about a week
i’m reminded our people travelled so far
and how far we’ve come coz
i’m scared to leave the couch
https://www.maoriart.org.nz/blog/how-could-i-miss-you-with-kumara-in-the-oven-a-poem-by-essa-may-ranapiri?fbclid=IwAR2KuVmSxqtrMzvrFLWzLHNM39i9XsOoxxRLYXMqwcMPQnqPOtKph2L_rI4
Very good poem. Thank you.
Next May’s European elections will be pretty interesting as a real stress test for anti-immigration populism.
Here comes Yanis Varoufakis for EU Parliament, proposing to represent …………. Germany.
Yesterday he accepted the nomination on behalf of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25), which he launched in 2016 to “democratize” the continent. He calls it the European Spring, after the Arab Spring.
Ha, that’s funny, wonder what those gangsters at Deutsche Bank make of that?
Ad,
My son is leaving to work again in Germany so I will report to you what the mood is over there now as when Sam (my Son) was in Germany working last during 2005 to 2006 he said then that Arabs/Turks and others were coming in and locals were fearful then to walk the streets at night so interesting times indeed.
BTW @ CG – what happened with that visa situation you mentioned a few days ago?
Not unusual or recent my wife and I took a stroll in Southern French city in early 90s and began to notice we were in an area of group’s of men standing about, a lady pulled over in her car and suggested we hop in as the area was not safe for us and as we were feeling intimidated by the looks we were recieving we did.
That’s interesting. A boy on a bicycle in some USA city suburb was stopped by a large man with the Orthodox Jew hat and curl on. He was refused entry.
He felt quite uneasy.
nd who were afraid? It can be important for women in any town and city to know they will be safe at night, and if they have fears, they may hesitate to try but the fear may be unjustified.
I can’t say who we we afraid of but the looks we recieved from these men was not of welcome and the feeling was not good. On the same trip we arrived early in the morning from an overnight train and found ourselves in the midst of many homeless and rough sleepers with smiles we felt quite comfortable to sit take coffee and a bun. As a traveller I find it’s best to trust your feelings. In Sth East Asia I poke my nose into most situations but found in Cambodia stepping outside the tourist areas was quite uncomfortable. But seeing the horror museums and reading that to survive meant being able to smash your mother’s skull with a hoe I understand how the locals might feel less socially inclusive.
comments from friends in the US, Mexico closed its side of the border, and the US are firing tear gas into Mexico?
still waiting for something official well at least more then twitter,
https://twitter.com/annie_rose23/status/1066782639007232001?s=21
oh well, surely he is gonna make America great again, and bring freedoms and peace to some if not many, or something something something,
totally unrelated of course,
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/world/the-latest-ukraine-russia-opens-fire-on-ukrainian-vessels/878291999
“The European Union has called on Russia and Ukraine to “act with utmost restraint to de-escalate” the situation in the Black Sea.
Ukraine says that three of its ships have been seized by the Russian coast guard, including two that were fired upon, and two crew members were wounded. Russia has blamed Ukraine for preparing and orchestrating “provocations.”
The EU, in a statement from foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijanic, also said that it expected Russia to “restore freedom of passage” through the Kerch Strait after Moscow blockaded it.”
nothing happened, nothing to see, move along citizen
Hmmm
Interesting timing, just as Kiev launches a move occupying village in buffer area between the front lines in Eastern Ukraine. , and as Poroshenkos ratings hit an all time low(7.8%) with elections coming up and Yulia Tymoshenko looking set to win
Poroshenko now has the consent of his national defence and security council to declare martial law , which would suspend parliament and elections , can be used to ban protests and activities by political parties, and allows for media, TV stations and newspapers to be shut down.
Russia has called for an emergency meeting of theUN SC scheduled in about 9 hours.
Poroshenko has scheduled a meeting with Stoltenberg.
Basically a squabble over whether Ukraine gave advance notice of intention to move through that Kerch area, which they say they did. The Russian coastguard says they didn’t.
Previously Ukraine has obeyed that protocol
poor russia, so hard done buy the big angry heavily armed superpower Ukraine, who always goes walkabouts invading in Russia, seizing Russian ships n just. Luckily Russia is calling for the help of the UN. Cause what would Russia do otherwise. Cry a bucket?
TBF, poor Russia has a few problems of her own.
A day after Russia’s massive PD-50 drydock suddenly sank underneath the country’s only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, as it was receiving a long-awaited overhaul in frigid Murmansk, just how big a deal this may end up being for the Russian Navy is becoming clearer. The dry dock, which is the largest of its kind in Russian hands, appears to have sunk at first on a steep incline before it disappeared totally beneath the water’s surface. Russian officials are now saying that it could be many months before it is raised from the seabed 160 feet below and that doing so would be a very tedious and delicate operation. That’s if they decide to salvage it at all.
Regardless, PD-50 services all types of vessels that make up Russia’s most powerful fleet, including its largest submarines. So leaving it out of action for years, or even losing it altogether, would be a major hit for the Northern Fleet and the Russian Navy’s overall readiness.
http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24572/russias-dry-dock-accident-could-have-far-larger-repercussions-than-a-damaged-carrier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIbvlwbq_CQ
I wonder if that is connected to climate change. Less ice in Murmansk, was it set on an ice plateau?
Whooosh!
Such malice Sabine and Joe90, aint good for your liver.
Ukraine is seen as in the USA oriented nations, and which country knows what they will do next. White the USA surrounds itself with defensive sites. Didn’t help with September 2001 though.
malcolm gladwell has a great podcast series.
one of the episodes was looking at the movement of people across the mexican/u.s. border over 40 or so years.
the surprising conclusion was that when movement was less stringently controlled (up till the last 10 years), mexicans were far more likely to return and stay home, (not be aliens/illegal), than when the border got tightly controlled.
i thoroughly recommend revisionist history podcast.
i am not sure what this episode was.
another goodie was looking at french fries and how much better they tasted when they were cooked in beef fat compared to vege oils.
vege oils that are not good for you…
there are whole familys that are almost nomadic, they travel the various states for the harvest seasons and once done go back home. Rinse repeat every year.
but hey, what ever gets one elected as the candidate not beholden to corporate interest, self funded, and only worried about the economic anxiety of the white male working class.
After all, all mexicans are rapists and drug peddler. So said the Orange Saviour in 2015. In front of a camera and people and everyone just nodded and said: It is good.
This happens in Queensland too. I met a few Thai couples who came over each year to pick tomatoes then went back.
Bridges weighs in on the great 2018 Santagate controversy.
Good to see him talking about the “important” issues
https://en.brinkwire.com/news/santa-claus-is-a-man-and-thats-how-it-should-be-simon-bridges/
“I think it’s just PC gone – I don’t know if it’s mad, but too far. You guys this morning are telling me that man didn’t walk on the moon, now you’re telling me Santa’s a woman – I just want a few things I can believe in.”
“…….We’ve got discrimination rules and they’re absolutely right, you know, whether it’s gender, whether it’s ethnicity,” said Mr Bridges.
“But I think the truth is on Santa, this is a traditional thing. Mary Poppins is a woman, Santa Claus is a man. That’s how it should be……”
Saint Nicolaus was a man, Santa Claus is a fat made up american bloke in costume created to sell coca cola.
gosh that man is tedious.
My point is that you begin by a personal attack on AM Brady, with the intention of diminishing her credibility, as a preamble to dismissing whatever she has to say.
It seems like a shabby way to argue.
A.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
No Antione. You don’t have a point. I was quite explicit in saying “some may”, and gave another possibility too before writing that I wasn’t offering an opinion on either or either way.
I listened to what she said. Have you? I put up opinion and thoughts you could have engaged with.
You’ve chosen not to engage and to splatter a post with bullshit. So your comment’s now over here on Open Mike.
Oh, come on.
If I say “some may say X is a swivel-eyed loon but I couldn’t possibly comment”, then everyone will understand this as a coy way of saying “X is a swivel-eyed loon”.
Well, comport yourself as you like but don’t expect the rest of us to be impressed.
A.
Sure. My bias was stated. And then there was substantive opinion and thought to read and commented on in light of that bias.
You want to spend a day engaged in stirring up vacuous personal bullshit in lieu of engaging with substantive content? That’s what bullshit message boards and facebook are for.
I don’t have a response to the remainder of your comment. Don’t know enough about the case and wouldn’t comment on here if I did.
A.
Hospital Workers get rises of 24% to 40% on their hourly rate, some back dated 6 mths and this over 2 and a half years. A piece of good news in the Herald today.
Which ‘hospital workers’ if I may ask? Everyone??
A.
Antoine, good point. Orderlies, laundry workers, cleaners, kitchen workers and attendants. Cheers.
Thank you, and good news. (It was nationwide?)
A.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/108861000/pay-rise-of-up-to-40-per-cent-for-thousands-of-hospital-services-workers
Very surprising that this didn’t get more attention here today …
Antione, yes MECA Multi Employer Collective Agreement.
Sabine at 11.1
“Saint Nicolaus was a man,Santa Claus is a fat made up american bloke in costume”
He was a man; – yes – and Saint Nicholas was not Santa Claus either!
According to this German historical record of the two men, known as “Santa Claus and Saint Nicholas.. – No mention of Coca cola though, sarc’.
https://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/holidays-and-celebrations/christmas/saint-nicholas/
Christmas Customs: St. Nicholas – der Heilige Nikolaus
Wer ist Sankt Nikolaus?
– Who is Saint Nicholas?
For a long time in Austria and some regions of Germany, particularly in Bavaria, St. Nicholas was the main character in the Christmas celebration.
But he was not Santa Claus, and he arrived earlier – on the 6th of December. His usual, less friendly escort went by different names in different places: “Belsnickle,” “Niglo,” “Pelznickel,” and others. Santa Claus or Father Christmas is a more recent tradition. Since the Germans (and the Dutch) brought many of their customs to America directly or indirectly, we need to look first at Europe in order to understand the American and worldwide Christmas celebration of today.
I am german, i am bavarian. Thanks for the history lesson. We only have St. Nicolaus on the 6th of December, on the eve of the 24th we give pressies, go to midnight mess if so inclined, and that was that. No one crawling through the chimney or anything. 25th and 26th are Christmas Holidays without any importance other then visiting family and eating way to much food, and drinking way to much booze.
Santa Claus is if anything dutch in nature, and then co-opted by Coca Cola. The dutch would have called him Sinter Claas, and his helper is generally refered to as het swarte piet. The black pete.
Hence my comment in the first place about the gender and the reality of Saint Nicolaus, Bishop of Bari whom the legend says went out during a particular hard winter and left overings of food, clothes and toys for the children in front of the houses of the poor.
He should not be ‘played by a women’ cause he was a man, in saying that in the convent that i grew up and lived in for many years it was Nuns who played the part of St. Nicolaus and Kramperl (his helper) was also played by a Nun. They came with the book of good deeds and bad deeds, scared the small children witless and us older ones running down the halls of the convent screeching trying to figure out who played whom. However we never did. The Nuns always outsmarted us. Such are nuns, what can i say.
However, fat Coca Cola Santa can and should be played by whomever applies for hte role and is best suited.
That is what my comment relates too.
As for those that like this bit, St. Barbara is held on the fourth of December, Patron Saint of miners. I have her in mind, while the bodies of the pike river miners are recovered. She is often depicted with a lantern in her hand, surrounded by praying/crying women and children at the entrance of a mining shaft.
yeah, i am very bavarian, and i like my little customs. So light a candle on the 4th Dec, for all the miners everywhere. And give sweets to the kids on the 6th of december thanks to Saint Nicolaus.
I’m not so interested in who “Father Christmas” was . I like to think about who he can be, from this moment on. This year, courtesy of my now-convincingly festive white beard, I’m going to play “Father Christmas’s ” dad, Grandfather Christmas and give out to children, hope and encouragement along with packets of vegetable seeds 🙂
I found an educational video on Santa that might give you some ideas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpguHbHq3aE
Mihingarangi Forbes had a good idea on RNZ this arvo.
Having a kiwi character be the equivalent.
I think her suggestion was Rongo Ma Tane, God of cultivated plants and food.
How to make Auckland a city of the future? Give it back to the artists
https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/arts/how-to-make-auckland-city-of-the-future-give-it-back-to-artists/?fbclid=IwAR1PAjjOSuzW2bEys2T–1zb7PgQfkAppDMf6rZiEafZUHSstTi01Mgx8iI
Natioal Party may be behind these sudden vehicle liciencing issues being stirred up tas both Davaville and westland are both Labour strongholds we now await to see if a “Garage in a National stronghold is also pulled up” as the whole NZTA handling of vehicle licieces debate hots up.
Seocond garage found is “Westland tyre and Autos” is clearly a laour strondhold whom the NZTA agency has targetted now who has had that garage in Westland WoF licience evoked.
Will NZTA now target the National strongholds of West and north Auckland,,hamiton, Tauranga, Otago, and Southland?
We await for this with interest.
National Party seems to be causing trouble and friction among communities, only in labour held areas. it seems to be the new game of National politics.
So watch their ‘dark ops’ of “dirty politics” as time goes by.
Yes SaveNZ
you hit the mark there with the ‘Bridges issue’ here in your article see this statement made in the article https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/arts/how-to-make-auckland-city-of-the-future-give-it-back-to-artists/?fbclid=IwAR1PAjjOSuzW2bEys2T–1zb7PgQfkAppDMf6rZiEafZUHSstTi01Mgx8iI
Go to this site inside your article,
https://www.noted.co.nz/currently/politics/simon-bridges-9-months-of-disaster-management/
Quote;
“It’s a reasonable bet that when Simon Bridges took on the job as leader in February he didn’t expect it would mostly involve wall-to-wall disaster management of National’s problems that would overshadow his attempts to harass the coalition government for its failings.”
As my bolg suggested; – National is trying now quietly to find as your article says; –
“problems that would overshadow his attempts to harass the coalition government for its failings.”
The Wof issue is one of those I suggest, as we already had this over the truck trailer issue last wanter when a Nelson enginerering shop signed off many truck trailers with false certificates, so now Bridges is causing further unrest amost the private vehicle liciencing now too.
Watch for this slimy Bridges character as he is a very slippery character.
So we do womder if he can dinger a Garage in his seat of Tauranga now for licience breaches of Wof’s?
The United States of America is firing chemical agents at women and children.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ds4MbkzU4AENr_m.jpg
Shocking. What is the international game plan as signed up with UN about this?
Or has USA lost every sense of appropriate behaviour, decency, respect for humanity? Time for a Billy Graham mass Christian campaign calling all the sinners back to the fold, and also making America great again in one package. At present there is an evil message being absorbed under a false flag.
The warmongering, anti-Semitic piece of shit’s memory should be rendered damnatio memoriae.
http://www.nypress.com/billy-graham-war-criminal/
I was short of anybody with that pulling power to ‘USA Christians’. So I picked the wrong guy did I. But is there a new, better sort of preacher that would turn this tide of negativity, racism, hate and bellicose scapegoating that mixed together looks nasty.
Anyone, as long as they take their damn fool book seriously.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+14%3A13-21&version=NIV
You came up with a doozy of a link. So interesting and relevant to the voting for the Republicans and the connection with religion.
Also this on North Korea. I didn’t know the history and see why they have ‘ambivalent’ attitudes to the USA.
Graham lent his imprimatur to this recommendation. Thus Graham was advocating a policy to the U.S. Commander-in-Chief that on Nixon’s own estimate would have killed a million people.
The German High Commissioner Seyss-Inquart was sentenced to death at Nuremberg for breaching dikes and other crimes in Holland in World War II.
(His execution did not deter the USAF from destroying the Toksan dam in North Korea, in 1953, thus deliberately wrecking the system that irrigated 75 percent of North Korea’s rice farms.)
You came up with a doozy of a link with that nypress one. So interesting and relevant to Republicans and voting and religion; this time anti-Jewish. And Billy Graham is very anti – doesn’t come across as a decent Christian for sure.
Also this on North Korea. I didn’t know the history and see why they have ‘ambivalent’ attitudes to the USA.
Graham lent his imprimatur to this recommendation. Thus Graham was advocating a policy to the U.S. Commander-in-Chief that on Nixon’s own estimate would have killed a million people.
The German High Commissioner Seyss-Inquart was sentenced to death at Nuremberg for breaching dikes and other crimes in Holland in World War II.
(His execution did not deter the USAF from destroying the Toksan dam in North Korea, in 1953, thus deliberately wrecking the system that irrigated 75 percent of North Korea’s rice farms.)
and a useless fat ugly man is feeling all powerful, probably sexually aroused by the fear he creates and while watching fox news, eating literal shit sandwiches from MacDo gets off every time another canister gets shot across the border.
Cause nothing says powerful man more then crying mothers and children.
And this is how it starts. And this is how it always started. Some useless sadistic piece of shit supported by people cause……economic anxiety. T’was thus in Germany, and now we get to watch the sequel.
Seems good coverage of the Russian Ukraine matter with good accessabile map.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/russia-closes-water-route-in-fresh-confrontation-with-ukraine/2018/11/25/a57adc3e-f0c1-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html?utm_term=.c23cd49b3969
A Daily Mail version of the Russia Ukraine interaction.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6427285/Russian-Navy-opens-fire-Ukrainian-navy-boat-blocking-key-shipping-route-Crimea.html
Holy shit I just got all the way to the bottom of open mic. And not a single thread was a complete waste of time scrolling paste petty bullshit. . I don’t even think I read a single pointless slogan.
Take bow people. 😏
and you came along, and said nothing much of importance.
Take a bow. 🙂
Can we step back from little comments that add nothing. I did one yesterday and I promise not to do it again for a while. Could we all step back and let it go, unless having a rare poke whn the time is appropriate.
True
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has started trolling Fox News in Spanish…
https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-fox-news-shoes/#pnwtiu3sCqqf
Anyone else splitting their sides laughing with simon bridges and nationals…. no new taxes announcement?
Was simon asleep during the johnkey years of government?
I’m pretty sure key promised the same then nek minute….. it’s a levy, it’s a fee, it’s not a tax, don’t forget raising gst.
No new taxes…. dosen’t mean we can’t increase the current ones.
Oh and if a CGT is introduced he is going to get rid of it, to help the poor (sarc)
Jacinda dismantled him at her post-cabinet presser today. He’s desperate. And National are trying to get their polling back above 40% before it becomes a downward spiral.
Hehehe nice.
Simon must be having a panic attack. I count 10 separate tweets and 2 retweets today.
https://mobile.twitter.com/simonjbridges?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
lmao the comments on his twitter.
It’s almost like he sends a tweet, bums out re the response, then decides to try again in desperation that someone, anyone will show him some support.
Freaking funny as, cheers for that Fireblade.
Possibly as many as 3 binding referendums at the next election? Our ballot papers will look like those enormous long ones they have in America.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/11/triple-header-referendum-looms-for-2020.html
Quite like the idea of referendums being included in the election. Cheaper than doing them separately. And possibly will make for a greater turn out of voters.
Agreed Cinny
I don’t mind a referendum but the binding bit sticks in the craw.
It all depends on the wording of the question.
E.g. marijuana. I am all for decriminilising the weed.
That would also go hand in hand with restrictions and decent education.
Not the DARE type, Mr Mackey “drugs are bad mmkay?”
I have no care for legalisation, i.e. handing pot over to big business a la alcohol.
Plus it might mean celebrity survivor fans have a large influence.
Kia ora Newshub These helicopter are crashing often.
The virus outbreak up In North Land condolences to anyone who has lost love ones.
It a big mystery around Whale stranding 145 stranded down South have died that’s sad. The worst thing one can do is give the issue publicity
The NZ CEO over half don’t use twitter ???????? Equality half Wahine CEO is needed to fix most of our problems.
I agree the addiction needs to be treated so the people doing dump things will be able to straighten up there act that’s a smart way to a positive solution to a bad problem.
I back welcoming Refugees they are people in need we can not ignore there suffering
and ha the west has cause most of these Refugee problems.
With the Smoking tax debate its a addiction tax’s don’t treat the addiction they just rake money from poor people who can’t beat the addiction billions should be invested to find better treatments for the smokers addiction not higher TAX.
Ka kite ano
Eco Maori encourages all the WORLDS CHILDREN to protest about the inaction of the
Worlds Governments to do everything in there POWER’S to mitigate Climate Change as it is there FUTURE we are poisoning and turning into hell for all as it is our children who have to clean up there MESS.
And if teachers really care about there children they will tau toko/support there STAND.
Scott Morrison has been labelled “out of touch” for angrily condemning a national student strike to protest government inaction on climate change.
The prime minister implored children to stay in class rather than protesting things that “can be dealt with outside of school”.
Everything you want to know about climate change in #MyClimateQuestions
Read more
“Each day I send my kids to school and I know other members’ kids should also go to school but we do not support our schools being turned into parliaments,” Morrison told parliament on Monday. Ka kite ano Links Below
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/26/scott-morrison-tells-students-striking-over-climate-change-to-be-less-activist
This Swedish girl is protesting about the MESS the WORLD GOVERNMENTS are making of her future KA PAI /GOOD
When school started in August this year, I decided enough was enough. Sweden had just experienced its hottest summer ever. The election was coming up. No one was talking about climate change as a crisis.
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So I decided to walk out of school and sit on the ground outside the Swedish parliament to demand our politicians treat climate change for what it is: the biggest issue we have ever faced.
Because if climate change has to stop, then we must stop it. It is black and white. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival. Either we continue as a civilisation or we don’t. One way or another, we have to change. Countries like mine and Australia must start reducing our emissions dramatically if we believe in equality and climate justice.Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, one of the leading cause of climate change. Your politicians want to help Adani build one of the biggest coal mines in the world. Right now, there are no policies to change this. There are no rules to keep coal in the ground. We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules because the rules have to be changed
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/26/im-striking-from-school-for-climate-change-too-save-the-world-australians-students-should-too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YQIaOldDU8
P.S I was just thinking that I did not see Paddy on the show Maui Dolphins are my favorites Tangaroa Mammal
Video for the above post
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YQIaOldDU8
Some Eco Maori Music For The Minute
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOFvJVroAJE
Here you go he does not care about the billions of lives his ignorance is going to harm
donald trump has told reporters he doesn’t believe his own government’s climate change findings that the US economy will suffer substantially with continued warming from greenhouse gas pollution.
“I’ve seen it, I’ve read some of it, and it’s fine,” he said outside the White House on Monday. “I don’t believe it.”
From Facebook to climate change: how to bury bad news
Read more
The report, called the National Climate Assessment, was quietly released the day after Thanksgiving. Also last Friday, the government slipped out another environment internal report with bad news about emissions from oil and gas drilling on federal lands. Link below ka kite ano
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/26/trump-national-climate-assessment-dont-believe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szHhWhZZzTs#action=share
Eco Maori music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClU3fctbGls
Kia ora Newshub Tova Bulling is not acceptable and should be stamped out of all organizations.
That virus in North Land is shocking and in a place with high Maori population this tell me that we are a second class people .
The closing off Queen’s st to all but the essential vehicles is a really good move there are quite a few city’s around the world doing this with big success clean air.
Our children always have there faces in there Ph not I . I just do a lot of research for my mission I will be doing Eco Maori influencing for a long time.
The health supplements is not regulated.
Condolences to all the people who lost there houses in the big fire in Australia .
Everyone is buying Tesla cars A with GM lay off and some ones trade war is hurting the poor.
I have a consumers complaint every time I go to buy some thing some how they have not got the product I want so they say they will ring back but know O that’s just the bulling sandfly being muppets trying there best to try and upset me but no they are just small fry in Eco Maoris Papatuanuku.
Ka kite ano P.S some people think they know my whapapa but there is one line no one knows about.
Kia ora The Crowd Goes Mulls James & Wairangi Wild fingers crossed for the Black Caps.
The League dramas that move will get the punters out.
Yes Its cool that Joe Schmidts is stepping aside for his whano .
At the Bowls guys the Crowd is growing thats the way Tau toko them not to much cups of teas tho A.
That Hand glider person was lucky he only broke his wrist he would have had to change his ——
That was a good UFC KO kick the ref in the teeth lol we no what’s really in the water bottle mulls Ka kite ano