The horrific attacks in Germany all have one thing in common
The reality is that Germany has suffered a series of attacks which are equally worrying but which apparently have little in common. While more information will no doubt come out in the coming days, the causes of each case could so far be summed up as follows:
Psychological instability mixed with neo-Nazi inspirations.
Inspiration from Daesh.
A record of violent behaviour.
Suicidal tendencies with a link to Daesh.
One factor in common, however, is that the attackers were all people who almost certainly felt marginalised within German society. Those responsible for the events in Ansbach, Reutlingen and Würzburg, meanwhile, also had an extra element in common – that they’d all previously lived in countries with recent histories of extremely violent conflict. But all four people had very real psychological issues, whether these were related to marginalisation or the horrors of war.
Whenever there’s injustice, marginalisation, and/or indoctrination, there’s also desperation, anger, hatred, and/or mental torment. And violence is just one consequence of these feelings – whether it manifests itself as neo-Nazi attacks, Daesh-inspired attacks, or any other kind of attack.
If Germany is to avoid another week like the one it’s just had, one action it can and must take is to pay much more attention to the psychological needs of the most vulnerable people in its society – no matter where they were born.
Consider: Ukraine and Greece .. Iraq, Libya and Syria … Bolivia, Venezuela and a string of other nations whose policies displeased Washington and Wall Street. Great overarching narratives on the governance of these nations are built – prior to interventions overt or covert – on the back of dodgy evidence. By weight of repetition, and through the sober intonations of politicians and ‘impartial experts’, these narratives acquire the status of unassailable truth. I’ve heard experienced academics – men and women who routinely and rightly take their students to task for failing to substantiate assertions in their essays – trot out such unconsciously pro-imperialist views without a shred of evidence. I’ve had a seasoned and courageous leftwing activist tell me, when challenged to back up a claim that Assad is every bit as bad as ISIS, that she’d see if she could “dig something up” – then lose her temper when I said that smacked of looking for evidence to prop up an a priori conclusion. (Other than a link to Al Jazeera, its own source that splendid chap at Syrian Observatory, I’ve yet to hear back.) And I’ve had a Jewish friend tell me the dirt on Assad “can’t all be made up”. Lesser chaps than I might fall into the slough of despond when such as he – kinsman to folk who do know a thing or two about industrial scale smear – talk like this.
in every instance where the west has put its military and financial weight behind unseating an alleged tyrant in the middle east the results have been: murderous chaos … privatisation … the destruction of welfare provision … fat profits not only for arms suppliers but Big Capital in general, aided by opportunist politicians – check Haliburton-Cheney, Clinton-ExxonMobil. In sum, those with most to gain by removing the ‘tyrant’ just happen to be those controlling the narrative on his tyranny. That doesn’t automatically invalidate the narrative but should make us suspicious. So why doesn’t it? Why do so many on the left and centre-left repeat and relay that narrative without troubling to do a bit of independent appraisal of the evidence? And, yes, I do know that some folk have jobs, kids and busy lives. Not everyone can sink hour on hour into investigating every single claim by billionaire media but what we can all do is make room for old fashioned scepticism and that perennially useful question, cui bono?
This opinion piece doesn’t absolve Assad. Nor does saying he’s not as bad as the rest add any justification for the atrocities that this war has led to, and that his regime has undoubtedly contributed to.
Assad was asked to step down in 2011 by many world leaders shocked by him ordering military strikes that killed thousands of civilian protesters in cities around the country so he could snuff out the popular uprising. Remember Homs?
China and Russia, voted against the UN resolution in 2012 that was led by Morocco requesting Assad step down to enable peaceful democratic transition. These two powers had a clear self interest to block this – and knew that the end game in doing so would be civil war.
I am definitely not defending the Western powers involvement in all this, but it is absolutely reasonable to assume that had Assad stood down in 2012 all of this bloodshed and destruction might have been avoided.
Any argument that Assad decided to stay on in power in order to stop Syria becoming a puppet state of the West is negated by the fact that it was already a puppet state of Russia and Assad had demonstrated he was quite willing to bomb civilians in order to retain pesonal power.
The reality now, irrespective of the arguments surrounding the causes of the civil war, is that there are multiple Syrian factions (including Assad) waging a horrific war against one another, while other nations – none of whom have clean hands – provide money, weaponry and direct military support
The tragedy of 5 years of war is evident to the world….. miilions of people displaced, families irreparably harmed, hundreds of thousands slaughtered – and mindless, amoral, unceasing bombing and destruction of their homes…. these pictures are too moving to describe: http://www.boredpanda.com/before-after-war-photos-aleppo-syria/
Any argument that Assad decided to stay on in power in order to stop Syria becoming a puppet state of the West is negated by the fact that it was already a puppet state of Russia and Assad had demonstrated he was quite willing to bomb civilians in order to retain pesonal power.
Sorry mate, but NATO member Turkey, as well as France and the USA, have also been quite willing to bomb civilians in order to get their own political way in Syria.
The west has ratcheted up pressure and sanctions on Assad for years in the hope that his country would spiral out of control and Israel + Saudi Arabia would win.
A climate crisis (worst drought in 1200 years) provided the background of social instability that the western regime change programme could exploit.
And exploit they did, by infiltrating thousands if jihadist terrorists, weapons and money into Syria in an illegal attempt to destroy the legal government of a foreign country.
Bottom line is that had the west had its way, and Russia not defended their long time ally, the black flag of ISIS would now be flying over Damascus, and millions of women would now be living under Sharia law, and members of all ethnic and religious miniorities enslaved or beheaded.
TL/DR the west needs to stop trying to get rid of secular heads of state in the ME and replacing them with head chopping, pilot burning, Christian slaying, Kurd killing Islamic fundamentalists.
I find it incredibly depressing that an increasing number of decent and I assume civilised people think it’s okay to go to extremes and take anything they don’t agree with as a means of justifying or excusing their ‘less evil’ version of a monster – not that your argument goes this far CV
but frankly I find it absolutely terrifying that there is so much burgeoning emotionally driven support for out and out fascists
what was it that John Stewart said.. something along the lines that ‘it’s fine to provide gymnastic arguments to support my lying, racist, despot – so long as he gets into power’
I don’t even know what this means in this context. The US/Turkey/Qatar/Saudi Arabia decided to try and replace Assad with ISIS. That wasn’t for the good of the Syrian people mind you, or protecting protestors, or democracy or whatever other BS PR they put out. That was for their own geopolitical rationales.
The only reason the black flag of ISIS is not over Damascus right now is because the Russians had enough of the west and their mates sponsoring Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.
Was Assad wrong to shoot hundreds of protestors? Yes. Was the west wrong in using that to justify a regime change effort by Islamist proxies which has now killed 400,000 Syrians. Yes.
Assad is more than guilty of murdering ‘hundreds’ – it was thousands of unarmed Syrians he murdered in the civil protests during 2011 –
And Assad’s regime – amply supported by Russia and its allies – has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians during the 5 years since
framing the massive number of people killed as “regime change effort” suggests blame for the shelling and bombing of cities, and monstrous war crimes inflicted on civilians for the past 5 years is all on the shoulders of the Islamists and those behid the ‘regime change effort’ – and that this destruction is somehow not also the result of Assad (with Russia’s support) fighting a war to retain absolute power and in Russia’s case to control access to a strategic port
it still holds that if the Russians and Chinese had backed the UN resolution to get Assad to step down in 2012 this war might have been prevented, and if there had been a UN managed transition of power four years ago a humane democratic Syrian leader may have emerged to establish a stronger more unified force against ISIS…
but this is all ifs
your framing that the black flag of ISIS isn’t over Damascus because of the Russians suggests that you think they are saviours – and that you don’t believe they have equally sponsored terrorism in the Middle East
let’s not kid ourselves, the great powers will continue to play dirty games in the dire politics of this region probably for hundreds of years to come… which is why it is imperative to expose them wherever we can, and hold them to account rather than picking sides or excusing dictatorial regimes
let’s hope to heck that for at least a short while Russia and the US can work together once this war ends to help Syria rebuild, recover and establish democratic institutions – much as they did for Germany and Japan after WW2
Shock claim that US commander masterminded Turkey failed coup leads to torching of NATO base vicinity
The situation in Turkey is now at the hysterical stage. Last night an area close to a US-NATO base in Turkey was set alight. Sabotage is suspected, though no one has claimed responsibility.
However, it is likely the fire was begun as a direct result of claims in a pro-Government paper, Yeni Safak, that US commander John F Campbell (retired) was the architect of the coup attempt. If this allegation turns out to be true there will be major repercussions with regard to Turkey’s role in NATO and the entire Midle East region will be affected. If they turn out to be false, given that the paper is a mouthpiece of President Erdogan, US-Turkey relation will be seriously harmed.
That would be the “fake” coup that allowed Erdogan to massacre those on the list (kept so close it could be used within hours) of people who opposed the government.
Now they have taken treasonous school children captive.
Best explanation is that it was a real coup, but Erdogan got several hours notice (information from Russian intelligence), and let it happen after taking steps to ensure that it would fail.
The coup plotters had to push their launch forward by several hours and only had a fraction of the forces they thought that they would have.
Democrats in the United States have been scrambling to contain damaging revelations of an insider effort to hobble Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, with the party boss abruptly announcing her resignation on the eve of the convention to officially nominate Hillary Clinton.
I am disappointed that Bernie has fallen in behind Hilary. They must have something over him for him to have capitulated like that. Should be an interesting convention!
+100 Garibaldi…why did Bernie fall in behind Clinton?…is he a phony?…he certainly doesn’t have the fight that Corbyn has …or courage of his convictions…and nor does Elisabeth Warren imo
I have been told that candidates sign an agreement from the outset that they will support whoever is ultimately selected, and I don’t think Bernie is the type to break such an agreement. His stated aim is to change politics, and I think he will from now on concentrate on getting like-minded people into congress.
Interesting parallels with UK Labour. Claims in the Daily Telegraph that Labour Party General Secretary, Iain McNicol, tried to stitch things up to keep Corbyn off ballot …
… McNicol as the UK’s answer to Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters have accused the head of the Labour Party of “subverting” internal rules and keeping legal advice “hidden” to effectively block him running for the leadership, legal papers have revealed.
In documents seen by The Telegraph, Mr Corbyn’s backers claim Iain McNicol, Labour’s general secretary, went to “great lengths” to keep secret a crucial party board meeting about his future.
They also accuse Mr McNicol of trying to “manufacture a situation whereby Jeremy Corbyn’s name will be omitted from the leadership ballot” despite being bound to remain impartial during the contest.
“There is no greater crime being perpetuated on future generations than that committed by those who deny climate change. The scientific consensus is so overwhelming that to argue against it is to perpetuate a dangerous fraud. Denial has become a yardstick by which intelligence can be tested. The term climate sceptic is now interchangeable with the term mindless fool.”
Indeed. In opposing taking real meaningful government actions to combat climate change, claiming climate change does not exist, does not cut it anymore.
Those who oppose taking real meaningful action to combat climate change take a much more subtle approach these days.
Taking a position and verbalising it is not a crime, and never should be
Yes, it often is and should be.
“Taking a position and verbalising it” can describe fraud, incitement to violence, incitement to riot, conspiracy, obtaining credit by deception, blackmail, reckless endangerment, negligence, perjury, and a variety of other criminal offences.
Actually, if I’m at all familiar with the research into climate change and I advise someone that, for example, they’ll be fine if they build an expensive home on beachfront property with the intention of selling it in twenty or fify years time, then I could well be charged with “causing loss by deception” under section240 of the Crimes Act 1961.
A serious lapse of judgement by wikileaks dumping millions of private emails and personal information about all women voters in Turkey has potentially put thousands in extreme danger:
We are talking about millions of women whose private, personal information has been dumped into the world, with nary an outcry. Their addresses are out there for every stalker, ex-partner, disapproving relative or random crazy to peruse as they wish. And let’s remember that, every year in Turkey, hundreds of women are murdered, most often by current or ex-husbands or boyfriends, and thousands of women leave their homes or go into hiding, seeking safety.
great of the piece’s author to draw such huge publicity to the existence and location of these databases, as well as carefully describing their contents, for the sake of her own career. She even says that other news outlets did not really examine the leaked info in the detail she did, and missed presenting these facts.
Now she’s let all the non IT savvy stalkers in the world know.
Highly educated and highly stupid all at the same time.
First of the 60 UK Labour frontbenchers who resigned en masse … asks to return.
Sarah Champion, MP for Rotherham, is to rejoin the shadow cabinet less than a month after her dramatic resignation. On 28 June, in the aftermath of Brexit, she tweeted: “I have just stepped down from my shadow minister job, but not my responsibilities to my constituents, party or victims of abuse.”
Champion now formally retracts her resignation and asks Corbyn to be reinstated as Shadow Home Office Minister. Welcomed back with open arms. Expected to be first of many returnees, now that the writing’s on the wall.
As Left-Wing Activist / Corbyn-supporter, Aaaron Bastani tweeted:
Champion, like much of party, was persuaded by arguments generated by instigators of coup: that Boris would be PM & call immediate election … Consciously created, exploited, dynamic of urgency. Many excellent MPs made decisions I think they now regret. Am told all welcome to return
Donald Trump comes out of his convention ahead of Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House, topping her 44% to 39% in a four-way matchup including Gary Johnson (9%) and Jill Stein (3%) and by three points in a two-way head-to-head, 48% to 45%. That latter finding represents a 6-point convention bounce for Trump … There hasn’t been a significant post-convention bounce in CNN’s polling since 2000 …
… The new findings mark Trump’s best showing in a CNN/ORC Poll against Clinton since September 2015. Trump’s new edge rests largely on increased support among independents … Pre-convention, independents split 34% Clinton to 31% Trump, with sizable numbers behind Johnson (22%) and Stein (10%). Now, 46% say they back Trump, 28% Clinton, 15% Johnson and 4% Stein …
… Beyond boosting his overall support, Trump’s favorability rating is also on the rise (46% of registered voters say they have a positive view, up from 39% pre-convention), while his advantage over Clinton on handling top issues climbs. He now holds double-digit margins over Clinton as more trusted on the economy and terrorism … (and has) … cut into Clinton’s edge on managing foreign policy (50% said they trusted her more, down from 57% pre-convention).
The convention also helped Trump make strides in his personal image. A majority (52%) now say Trump is running for president for the good of the country rather than personal gain, just 44% say the same about Clinton. He’s increased the share who call him honest and trustworthy (from 38% to 43%), and who would be proud to have him as president (from 32% to 39%). And nearly half now say he’s in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives (46% say so, 37% did before the convention) …
… Clinton’s ratings on these same measures took a hit, though in most cases her drop-off was not quite as large as Trump’s gain. Perhaps most troubling for the Clinton supporters gathering in Philadelphia this week: 68% now say Clinton is not honest and trustworthy, her worst rating on that measure in CNN/ORC polling.
CNN/ORC Trump 48, Clinton 45 ……………………………………………… Trump +3 CBS News Trump 44, Clinton 43 ……………………………………………… Trump +1 Economist/YouGov Trump 42, Clinton 47 ………………………………. Clinton +5 LA Times/USC Trump 45, Clinton 41 ……………………………………….. Trump +4 CNN/ORC Clinton 39, Trump 44, Johnson 9, Stein 3 ………………… Trump +5 Economist/YouGov Clinton 40, Trump 38, Johnson 5, Stein 3 …. Clinton +2 CBS News Clinton 39, Trump 40, Johnson 12 …………………………… Trump +1
Video of departing Democratic Party chair person Debbie Wasserman Schultz being booed down at a breakfast meeting of Florida’s Democratic convention voting delegates.
Wasserman Schultz had to be escorted out of her own party’s breakfast event by security.
I am not sure how reliable this is, but the claim is that Sanders will be “placed in nomination” at the DNC. I take it that such a move would be intended to show the strength of Bernie’s support base, thus weakening Hillary’s ability to get away with making only minor policy concessions. http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-speech-hot-mic-nomination/
Hi Anne. There’s no way that I can be clearer than I have been that I think Trump would be a far better POTUS for NZ than Hillary Clinton.
Less likely to go to guns against China and Russia in the Pacific. Will put the TPP into the shredder by lunch time. Won’t ask NZ troops to take part in “coalition” wars of regime change.
Suggests just over half of Sanders supporters who voted in the Democratic Primaries will support Clinton come Election Day. Just 5% say they will back Trump, but almost 40% are intending to back one of the minor candidates – Stein slightly ahead of Johnson.
Poll probably conducted immediately prior to Debbie Wasserman Schultz revelations, though. May cut into that Clinton support.
Sanders Supporters who voted in Dem Primaries Favourability towards Clinton
Unfavourable … 58%
Favourable ……. 42%
(They’re overwhelmingly unfavourable to Trump and are more favourable to the Greens’ Jill Stein than other partisans. Will their antagonism towards Trump ultimately triumph over their anger at Clinton and see them holding their collective noses to tick Hillary ? Or have the latest revelations changed everything ?)
Sanders Supporters who voted in Dem primaries Feelings about Clinton as Dem Candidate
Enthusiastic ………………………………………… 8%
Satisfied but not Enthusiastic ……………… 29%
Dissatisfied but not Upset …………………… 34%
Upset ………………………………………………….. 29%
Not sure if you were the one put up a link to this…but I read that Bernie’s supporters may vote Clinton…but they are now for the most part passive voters.
They aren’t going to campaign for Clinton, they aren’t going to push their friends and family to turn out on the day for Clinton, they might not even make it to a polling booth on the day if they get busy.
Donald Trump is riding high in the polls, surging past Hillary Clinton to leads in all six of the latest national polls released since Saturday.
That’s good news for Trump. Some wondered if the Republican National Convention last week might not give the Republican nominee the post-convention polling bump most presidential candidates get — but it’s looking like it did.
The liberal media piece then spends several hundred words reassuring lefties why this isn’t really a big problem for Clinton and why 6 polls are just rogues.
A fascinating read in intellectual self-deception.
Did anybody hear Merepeka Raukawa-Tait on TVNZ’s Breakfast 7.15 this morning. My God did she sock it to the Government about the moribund CYFS Department and the ineffective treatment of our young children. She basically said that if the Department cannot deliver and do their job it should be disbanded and allow others who can have “access to the front doors” of these vulnerable children, to do the job. It was in answer to the Government’s idea to have the police pay informants who witness abuse. The lady said it was a shocking indictment that they have to go as low as pay informants when they should be tackling the root of the problem – which of course we all know.
What a hopeless Government we have. This lady was eloquent, to the point and didn’t waffle, and is wasted wherever she is and should be elevated to a role where she can really deliver on what she wants to see happen to these children. She is what our pollies should be, passionate and bloody determined that our littlies and older children should not have to put up with the shit that is happening in their lives. God bless her and I hope she is cherry picked for Government – not that I think such a great lady would want to soil her life by association with Government and the people in it. All power to her.
Putin is hardly a red under the bed, he’s one of the finest examples of the 0.001% using whatever means available to screw over everybody else for his own benefit. A perfect fit with Trump.
Let’s assume for a minute your US conspiracy theory is true, what if like dropping an attomic Bombs was an excuse to put an end to the war & that say if Russia did the hack then the ends justified the means – a bloodless move to avoid WWIII?, Hillary is not the Victim, she used her unsecured personal email server for her corrupt private deeds & for sharing classified information on a vunrable server, a 12yr old could have used A malware bomb that then sends a copy in her name to bypass DNC & Govt emailservers (bypassing security in place), sure she’s a digital native who compromised National Security but is innocent & snowden leaked classified info yet is the traitor? – did I get that right?
From zerohedge.
“Hillary Clinton is implicitly running on only two themes…..
1) Trump is scary. I am not Trump.
2)Things aren’t really bad. I’ll continue along the path we’ve been on.”
If this is true then she will lose the election because a large majority think the country is headed in the wrong direction. She should have chosen Bernie !
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In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term “bulk billed” refers to a GP visit they don’t have to pay ...
Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
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The horrific attacks in Germany all have one thing in common
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/07/25/horrific-attacks-germany-one-thing-common/
Assad the tyrant?
https://off-guardian.org/2016/07/25/assad-the-tyrant/#comments
Excellent post – especially the link. I recommend everyone read it.
This opinion piece doesn’t absolve Assad. Nor does saying he’s not as bad as the rest add any justification for the atrocities that this war has led to, and that his regime has undoubtedly contributed to.
Assad was asked to step down in 2011 by many world leaders shocked by him ordering military strikes that killed thousands of civilian protesters in cities around the country so he could snuff out the popular uprising. Remember Homs?
China and Russia, voted against the UN resolution in 2012 that was led by Morocco requesting Assad step down to enable peaceful democratic transition. These two powers had a clear self interest to block this – and knew that the end game in doing so would be civil war.
I am definitely not defending the Western powers involvement in all this, but it is absolutely reasonable to assume that had Assad stood down in 2012 all of this bloodshed and destruction might have been avoided.
Any argument that Assad decided to stay on in power in order to stop Syria becoming a puppet state of the West is negated by the fact that it was already a puppet state of Russia and Assad had demonstrated he was quite willing to bomb civilians in order to retain pesonal power.
The reality now, irrespective of the arguments surrounding the causes of the civil war, is that there are multiple Syrian factions (including Assad) waging a horrific war against one another, while other nations – none of whom have clean hands – provide money, weaponry and direct military support
The tragedy of 5 years of war is evident to the world….. miilions of people displaced, families irreparably harmed, hundreds of thousands slaughtered – and mindless, amoral, unceasing bombing and destruction of their homes…. these pictures are too moving to describe:
http://www.boredpanda.com/before-after-war-photos-aleppo-syria/
Sorry mate, but NATO member Turkey, as well as France and the USA, have also been quite willing to bomb civilians in order to get their own political way in Syria.
The west has ratcheted up pressure and sanctions on Assad for years in the hope that his country would spiral out of control and Israel + Saudi Arabia would win.
A climate crisis (worst drought in 1200 years) provided the background of social instability that the western regime change programme could exploit.
And exploit they did, by infiltrating thousands if jihadist terrorists, weapons and money into Syria in an illegal attempt to destroy the legal government of a foreign country.
Bottom line is that had the west had its way, and Russia not defended their long time ally, the black flag of ISIS would now be flying over Damascus, and millions of women would now be living under Sharia law, and members of all ethnic and religious miniorities enslaved or beheaded.
TL/DR the west needs to stop trying to get rid of secular heads of state in the ME and replacing them with head chopping, pilot burning, Christian slaying, Kurd killing Islamic fundamentalists.
so two wrongs make a right CV…
I find it incredibly depressing that an increasing number of decent and I assume civilised people think it’s okay to go to extremes and take anything they don’t agree with as a means of justifying or excusing their ‘less evil’ version of a monster – not that your argument goes this far CV
but frankly I find it absolutely terrifying that there is so much burgeoning emotionally driven support for out and out fascists
what was it that John Stewart said.. something along the lines that ‘it’s fine to provide gymnastic arguments to support my lying, racist, despot – so long as he gets into power’
I don’t even know what this means in this context. The US/Turkey/Qatar/Saudi Arabia decided to try and replace Assad with ISIS. That wasn’t for the good of the Syrian people mind you, or protecting protestors, or democracy or whatever other BS PR they put out. That was for their own geopolitical rationales.
The only reason the black flag of ISIS is not over Damascus right now is because the Russians had enough of the west and their mates sponsoring Islamic terrorism in the Middle East.
Was Assad wrong to shoot hundreds of protestors? Yes. Was the west wrong in using that to justify a regime change effort by Islamist proxies which has now killed 400,000 Syrians. Yes.
Assad is more than guilty of murdering ‘hundreds’ – it was thousands of unarmed Syrians he murdered in the civil protests during 2011 –
And Assad’s regime – amply supported by Russia and its allies – has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians during the 5 years since
framing the massive number of people killed as “regime change effort” suggests blame for the shelling and bombing of cities, and monstrous war crimes inflicted on civilians for the past 5 years is all on the shoulders of the Islamists and those behid the ‘regime change effort’ – and that this destruction is somehow not also the result of Assad (with Russia’s support) fighting a war to retain absolute power and in Russia’s case to control access to a strategic port
it still holds that if the Russians and Chinese had backed the UN resolution to get Assad to step down in 2012 this war might have been prevented, and if there had been a UN managed transition of power four years ago a humane democratic Syrian leader may have emerged to establish a stronger more unified force against ISIS…
but this is all ifs
your framing that the black flag of ISIS isn’t over Damascus because of the Russians suggests that you think they are saviours – and that you don’t believe they have equally sponsored terrorism in the Middle East
let’s not kid ourselves, the great powers will continue to play dirty games in the dire politics of this region probably for hundreds of years to come… which is why it is imperative to expose them wherever we can, and hold them to account rather than picking sides or excusing dictatorial regimes
let’s hope to heck that for at least a short while Russia and the US can work together once this war ends to help Syria rebuild, recover and establish democratic institutions – much as they did for Germany and Japan after WW2
Didn’t Assad use chemical weapons on civilian areas in Damascus? Seems pretty valid to have a bad opinion on him.
Pfffft.
No he didn’t.
The chemical signatures of those weapons did not match those from Assad’s armoury.
Basically, anti-Assad forces produced and used those chemical weapons as a false flag and almost got away with it.
Russia presented the chemical analysis to Obama, and that is why Obama did not trigger his “red line” against Assad.
Russia brokered the deal where Assad handed over all his chemical weapon stockpiles which were then destroyed.
+100 Paul …yes very good thought provoking article
Shock claim that US commander masterminded Turkey failed coup leads to torching of NATO base vicinity
http://www.thecanary.co/2016/07/25/us-commander-accused-masterminding-turkey-coup-leads-torching-nato-base-vicinity/
That would be the “fake” coup that allowed Erdogan to massacre those on the list (kept so close it could be used within hours) of people who opposed the government.
Now they have taken treasonous school children captive.
Best explanation is that it was a real coup, but Erdogan got several hours notice (information from Russian intelligence), and let it happen after taking steps to ensure that it would fail.
The coup plotters had to push their launch forward by several hours and only had a fraction of the forces they thought that they would have.
Email leak rocks Democrats
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11681153
The democrats caught out being most undemocratic toward one of their own.
Thing is they are mostly all owned by unseen corporate masters.
They are trying to blame the email leak on Putin lol
Now Snowden has chimed in: he says the NSA can use XKEYSCORE to definitively assess who did leak the emails.
Guccifer 2.0 claims responsibility. He is Romanian and no doubt offended the Democrats are spinning this into a Russian conspiracy.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/dnc-hacker-guccifer-20-interview
I’d avoid pissing off hackers Romanian or otherwise if I were them.
Which would account for the reference to two hacking groups with links to Moscow. Don’t forget to denounce that as establishment propaganda.
Uh what?
The NSA’s XKEYSCORE programme can definitively reveal where the email leaks came from.
There doesn’t need to be any mystery or misinformation here.
I am disappointed that Bernie has fallen in behind Hilary. They must have something over him for him to have capitulated like that. Should be an interesting convention!
Yeah, it’s called Trump!.
+100 Garibaldi…why did Bernie fall in behind Clinton?…is he a phony?…he certainly doesn’t have the fight that Corbyn has …or courage of his convictions…and nor does Elisabeth Warren imo
I have been told that candidates sign an agreement from the outset that they will support whoever is ultimately selected, and I don’t think Bernie is the type to break such an agreement. His stated aim is to change politics, and I think he will from now on concentrate on getting like-minded people into congress.
Interesting parallels with UK Labour. Claims in the Daily Telegraph that Labour Party General Secretary, Iain McNicol, tried to stitch things up to keep Corbyn off ballot …
… McNicol as the UK’s answer to Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/25/labour-leadership-contest-legal-documents-reveal-depth-of-split/?x
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11681154
“There is no greater crime being perpetuated on future generations than that committed by those who deny climate change. The scientific consensus is so overwhelming that to argue against it is to perpetuate a dangerous fraud. Denial has become a yardstick by which intelligence can be tested. The term climate sceptic is now interchangeable with the term mindless fool.”
Telling it like it is
Indeed. In opposing taking real meaningful government actions to combat climate change, claiming climate change does not exist, does not cut it anymore.
Those who oppose taking real meaningful action to combat climate change take a much more subtle approach these days.
how about the people who deny that 2 deg C warming is a done deal. Aren’t they lying to the public about climate change as well?
Yes trump is a liar.
yeah in that case he’s lying, but on the points CV agrees with Trump is telling the truth…
In answer to your query CV I would say;
Miracles we can do now*
The impossible takes a little longer.
*[If we choose to.]
Taking a position and verbalising it is not a crime, and never should be
The wording and logic is wrong
Think it through
Yes, it often is and should be.
“Taking a position and verbalising it” can describe fraud, incitement to violence, incitement to riot, conspiracy, obtaining credit by deception, blackmail, reckless endangerment, negligence, perjury, and a variety of other criminal offences.
“There is no greater crime being perpetuated on future generations than that committed by those who deny climate change”
Denial is not a crime!
Officer: you know who murdered that child
Offender [lying]: no I do not
That denial is a crime.
Insurance company: do you have a history of heart disease?
Offender [lying]: no I do not
That denial is a crime.
employee: have you used that coffee cup to hold cyanide?
Offender [lying]: no I have not
That denial is a crime.
You can’t seriously be that big of a dolt…can you?
The context, is so called climate change denial, which is not a crime
No matter who claims it to be!
Actually, if I’m at all familiar with the research into climate change and I advise someone that, for example, they’ll be fine if they build an expensive home on beachfront property with the intention of selling it in twenty or fify years time, then I could well be charged with “causing loss by deception” under section240 of the Crimes Act 1961.
You genuinely are operating at a low frequency which explains your interpretations of ‘ actual knowledge’
Another option is that you’re a total dickhead, which is essentially one and the same
In case you do have a mental health problem, my apologies and I withdraw
Whatever your condition, stay off my comments as well
Lol
You’re not operating at a higher frequency, it’s just a mosquito buzzing around where your brain should be.
A serious lapse of judgement by wikileaks dumping millions of private emails and personal information about all women voters in Turkey has potentially put thousands in extreme danger:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zeynep-tufekci/wikileaks-erdogan-emails_b_11158792.html
great of the piece’s author to draw such huge publicity to the existence and location of these databases, as well as carefully describing their contents, for the sake of her own career. She even says that other news outlets did not really examine the leaked info in the detail she did, and missed presenting these facts.
Now she’s let all the non IT savvy stalkers in the world know.
Highly educated and highly stupid all at the same time.
Coup Crumbling
First of the 60 UK Labour frontbenchers who resigned en masse … asks to return.
Sarah Champion, MP for Rotherham, is to rejoin the shadow cabinet less than a month after her dramatic resignation. On 28 June, in the aftermath of Brexit, she tweeted: “I have just stepped down from my shadow minister job, but not my responsibilities to my constituents, party or victims of abuse.”
Champion now formally retracts her resignation and asks Corbyn to be reinstated as Shadow Home Office Minister. Welcomed back with open arms. Expected to be first of many returnees, now that the writing’s on the wall.
As Left-Wing Activist / Corbyn-supporter, Aaaron Bastani tweeted:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sarah-champion-unresigns-labour-shadow-8490897#ICID=sharebar_twitter
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2016/jul/25/mcdonnell-accused-of-downplaying-seriousness-of-malhotra-office-row-politics-live
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/07/sarah-champion-wants-un-resign-and-join-jeremy-corbyns-shadow-cabinet
Trump post-Convention Poll Bounce
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/25/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-poll/index.html
Most Recent 2016 Presidential Polls
Polls released Monday July 25
CNN/ORC Trump 48, Clinton 45 ……………………………………………… Trump +3
CBS News Trump 44, Clinton 43 ……………………………………………… Trump +1
Economist/YouGov Trump 42, Clinton 47 ………………………………. Clinton +5
LA Times/USC Trump 45, Clinton 41 ……………………………………….. Trump +4
CNN/ORC Clinton 39, Trump 44, Johnson 9, Stein 3 ………………… Trump +5
Economist/YouGov Clinton 40, Trump 38, Johnson 5, Stein 3 …. Clinton +2
CBS News Clinton 39, Trump 40, Johnson 12 …………………………… Trump +1
The DNC Convention has not started smoothly with lots of anti-Clinton booing by pro-Sanders delegates.
We also know that the convention is receiving a tonne of live media coverage.
We also know that the general public is way more keen on Sanders than Clinton.
Maybe the Democrats are going to find it hard to get a good bounce from their 4 day convention.
Sanders has tweeted, asking the maddies to tone it down.
He’s not in charge of these people any more and I predict the volume is going to go up not down.
Video of departing Democratic Party chair person Debbie Wasserman Schultz being booed down at a breakfast meeting of Florida’s Democratic convention voting delegates.
Wasserman Schultz had to be escorted out of her own party’s breakfast event by security.
https://twitter.com/NDN_BrentBatten/status/757568128419237889
Good to see you using moderate and inclusive language, to try and not starting a flame war there te reo putake.
I am not sure how reliable this is, but the claim is that Sanders will be “placed in nomination” at the DNC. I take it that such a move would be intended to show the strength of Bernie’s support base, thus weakening Hillary’s ability to get away with making only minor policy concessions. http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-speech-hot-mic-nomination/
CV @ 8.1
“I’m hoping the Democrats are going to find it hard to get a good bounce from their 4 day convention.”
Fify. 🙄
Hi Anne. There’s no way that I can be clearer than I have been that I think Trump would be a far better POTUS for NZ than Hillary Clinton.
Less likely to go to guns against China and Russia in the Pacific. Will put the TPP into the shredder by lunch time. Won’t ask NZ troops to take part in “coalition” wars of regime change.
And on all of those points you’re delusional.
Just released Economist/YouGov Poll
Suggests just over half of Sanders supporters who voted in the Democratic Primaries will support Clinton come Election Day. Just 5% say they will back Trump, but almost 40% are intending to back one of the minor candidates – Stein slightly ahead of Johnson.
Poll probably conducted immediately prior to Debbie Wasserman Schultz revelations, though. May cut into that Clinton support.
Sanders Supporters who voted in Dem Primaries
Favourability towards Clinton
Unfavourable … 58%
Favourable ……. 42%
(They’re overwhelmingly unfavourable to Trump and are more favourable to the Greens’ Jill Stein than other partisans. Will their antagonism towards Trump ultimately triumph over their anger at Clinton and see them holding their collective noses to tick Hillary ? Or have the latest revelations changed everything ?)
Sanders Supporters who voted in Dem primaries
Feelings about Clinton as Dem Candidate
Enthusiastic ………………………………………… 8%
Satisfied but not Enthusiastic ……………… 29%
Dissatisfied but not Upset …………………… 34%
Upset ………………………………………………….. 29%
Not sure if you were the one put up a link to this…but I read that Bernie’s supporters may vote Clinton…but they are now for the most part passive voters.
They aren’t going to campaign for Clinton, they aren’t going to push their friends and family to turn out on the day for Clinton, they might not even make it to a polling booth on the day if they get busy.
The liberal media piece then spends several hundred words reassuring lefties why this isn’t really a big problem for Clinton and why 6 polls are just rogues.
A fascinating read in intellectual self-deception.
http://www.vox.com/2016/7/25/12270288/donald-trump-polls-beat-clinton
Did anybody hear Merepeka Raukawa-Tait on TVNZ’s Breakfast 7.15 this morning. My God did she sock it to the Government about the moribund CYFS Department and the ineffective treatment of our young children. She basically said that if the Department cannot deliver and do their job it should be disbanded and allow others who can have “access to the front doors” of these vulnerable children, to do the job. It was in answer to the Government’s idea to have the police pay informants who witness abuse. The lady said it was a shocking indictment that they have to go as low as pay informants when they should be tackling the root of the problem – which of course we all know.
What a hopeless Government we have. This lady was eloquent, to the point and didn’t waffle, and is wasted wherever she is and should be elevated to a role where she can really deliver on what she wants to see happen to these children. She is what our pollies should be, passionate and bloody determined that our littlies and older children should not have to put up with the shit that is happening in their lives. God bless her and I hope she is cherry picked for Government – not that I think such a great lady would want to soil her life by association with Government and the people in it. All power to her.
I wonder if the polls are just as fixed as the rest of the political crims….
Why Putin might be trying to mess with Clinton (besides being buddy-buddy with Trump)…
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/clinton-putin-226153
How the war party establishment labels everyone that they do not like “Putin’s useful idiot”
From Snowden to Trump to Tsipras to Jeremy Corbyn
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-24/presenting-putins-useful-idiot-anyone-who-disagrees-establishment
Let me remind people that Putin’s popularity in Russia is 80% to 85%.
This compares to Hillary Clinton’s own 35% to 40% favourability rating in the US.
And 55% unfavourable rating.
Andre, move past it
It’s not the reds under the bed
The NSA are the world hackers!
Putin is hardly a red under the bed, he’s one of the finest examples of the 0.001% using whatever means available to screw over everybody else for his own benefit. A perfect fit with Trump.
Which makes either of them worse than Hillary, bankers [name the establishment], how?
Andre, your comments don’t make sense and you seem to not identify bullshit when it’s in front of you
Did you say you were American, or were raised there?
Let’s assume for a minute your US conspiracy theory is true, what if like dropping an attomic Bombs was an excuse to put an end to the war & that say if Russia did the hack then the ends justified the means – a bloodless move to avoid WWIII?, Hillary is not the Victim, she used her unsecured personal email server for her corrupt private deeds & for sharing classified information on a vunrable server, a 12yr old could have used A malware bomb that then sends a copy in her name to bypass DNC & Govt emailservers (bypassing security in place), sure she’s a digital native who compromised National Security but is innocent & snowden leaked classified info yet is the traitor? – did I get that right?
Thought this was good, and timely. Also funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=419MIT7xNhs
Yes – and our Labour Party hasn’t been left since 1984.Thanks Adam, I love that guy.
From zerohedge.
“Hillary Clinton is implicitly running on only two themes…..
1) Trump is scary. I am not Trump.
2)Things aren’t really bad. I’ll continue along the path we’ve been on.”
If this is true then she will lose the election because a large majority think the country is headed in the wrong direction. She should have chosen Bernie !
NatWest paves way for introduction of negative interest rates
Does that mean savers can then claim taxes off the government for the negative interest?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/25/natwest-paves-way-for-introduction-of-negative-interest-rates?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=183253&subid=13842748&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
China seeks to eradicate ‘vile effect’ of independent journalism
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/26/china-seeks-to-eradicate-vile-effect-of-independent-journalism