The uselessness of western political leaders has been on display again. Interestingly, the Ukraine president pointed to it a week ago. Their appeasement policy!
Zelensky's closely watched address to the Munich Security Conference came just one day after President Biden warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine, and that he plans to target Kyiv.
Zelensky said:
"The security architecture of Europe and beyond is almost destroyed. It's too late now to talk about fixing it. It's high time for a new one," he continued.
"15 years ago, it was the Russian Federation that made a statement here challenging the global security order. How did the world respond? Appeasement."
Zelensky went on to criticize NATO for claiming it has an "open-door" policy while refusing to let Ukraine in, and called for the alliance to provide a time frame for his country's eventual membership.
"Be honest about it. Open doors are good, but we need open answers. Not years and years of closed questions," Zelensky said. Ukraine will never be a "buffer" between Russia and the West, he added.
Zelensky also criticized the West for claiming that Putin has made the decision to invade, but not imposing sanctions until the attack has begun: "What are you waiting for? We don’t need sanctions after bombardment happens, after we have no borders, no economy. Why would we need those sanctions then?"
The bottom line: "Ukraine is longing for peace. Europe is longing for peace. The world is saying it doesn’t want any war, while Russia is claiming she doesn’t want to intervene. Someone here is lying," Zelensky said, before receiving a standing ovation.
Why did the US issue a formal statement to the world in 2008 that Ukraine would be joining NATO and then refuse to implement that? Putin objected, so the US caved to him. Appeasement became the norm.
The thing to notice here is that collusion between the political left and right in all western countries has been evident ever since. There has been no dissent from appeasement. All the retards were dead keen to teach Putin that he could do whatever he wanted. So he learnt the intended lesson.
Maybe as horrendous as this is for Ukraine that it proves to be the moment when appeasement finally ends.
No serious person can pretend any longer that all Putin wants is ‘respect’ and that the problem is ‘baiting bear’ (as an aside, Comrade Trotter really has lost the plot well and truly).
Putin’s played a divide and conquer game for years, sowing division in West and taking advantage of it.
Maybe this prove a massive miscalculation on his part if its turns out to be the moment he’s finally made pariah and we stop the pretence of Russia being a normal nation capable of being part of all manner of normal international activities.
It’s what the like of Kasparov has been calling for for years, that we had tools short of military one to genuinely hurt him, it just took commitment and solidarity on the grounds art of West.
If Putin has pushed even China and Hungry too far, hopefully it’ll be easier to actually follow through on serious action.
There is of course still the chance, someone blinks and let’s him off from feeling a real impact but weirdly I’m feeling a bit more positive that this could be turning point. I just hope I’m not being naïve.
You ask "Why did the US issue a formal statement to the world in 2008"?
The only statement I am aware of is one by then President Bush and the two candidates in the 2008 election, Obama and McCain that they would offer backing to Ukraine's membership of NATO. The US can't just offer membership to anyone. NATO comprises 30 states and operates by consensus. It would appear to be Germany and France who opposed the proposal at that time.
That's what I recalled from watching the interview with the professor I quoted from yesterday. According to Wikipedia it was the head of NATO who said Ukraine would be joining (not the US). Here's the key portions of their timeline:
At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy, of course without outside interference. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also stressed that Russia will not be able to veto Ukraine's accession to NATO "as we will not return to the era of spheres of interest, when large countries decide what smaller ones should do."
In March 2016, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated that it would take at least 20–25 years for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO.
A typical bureaucratic stance. Bureaucrats assume everyone else is as slow to get anything done as them & lawyers.
On 8 June 2017, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a law making integration with NATO a foreign policy priority. In July 2017 Poroshenko announced that he would seek the opening of negotiations on a Membership Action Plan with NATO. In that same month President Poroshenko began proposing a 'patronage system', tying individual regions with European States.
On the 10th of March 2018, NATO added Ukraine in the list of NATO aspiring members (others including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia). Several months later, in late June, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a National Security bill: the bill defines the principles of state policy on national security and defence as well as focusing on Ukraine's integration into the European security, economic and legal system; improvement in mutual relations with other states and eventual membership in EU and NATO.
On September 20, 2018, the Ukrainian parliament approved amendments to the constitution that would make the accession of the country to NATO and the EU a central goal and the main foreign policy objective.
On 7 February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament voted with a majority of 334 out of 385 to change the Ukrainian constitution in order to help Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union. After the vote, Ukrainian president Poroshenko declared: "This is the day when the movement of Ukraine to the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance will be consolidated in the Constitution as a foreign political landmark."
This is true, but the appeasement applies to a lot more than just NATO membership and I don’t think anyone comes out looking too good.
Germany have been pathetic regarding Russian gas, Britain has shamefully turned a blind eye over oligarchs money. One could go on and on.
It’s all helped lead us to this point.
Noam Chompsky on NATO expansion and the Ukraine….of course this part of the puzzle is never allowed even the slightest airing on any western media…wonder why that is?
You can see a version of it any time you like on Fox, but then admitting similarities between the so called ‘anti imperialist’ left and US nationalist right on Putin and Russia is somewhat inconvenient isn’t it.
I would love to see Chomsky sit down with someone from Baltic states and ask ‘Why is NATO expanding to the borders of Russia’ as they’d be able to give a simple answer as to why they were banging on the door, pleading to be let in.
Chomsky fails to mention that Mearscheimer is a ‘neo realist’ who entire outlook is based on achieving ‘balance’ and if they meant letting dictator like Putin dominate ‘his’ region then that’s what we have to accept, regardless of what they means for the aspirations of the people in Eastern Europe.
But then the cult of Chomsky just tends to take anything he says uncritically as the words of some great sage.
Pretty good picture now how little vaccination does to slow Omicron transmission. We've got one of the worlds highest vax rates and currently the highest r value as well.
The Government, the Ministry of Health and informed members of the public have known since Omicron was first identified that the current Covid vaccines were not effective against this new variant. Hence the booster injection campaign and the current race by the world's scientists to procure a vaccine that is effective. Pfizer has almost completed their trials and hopefully a new vaccine will be available very soon.
The reason we have one of the world's highest vax rates at this point is because we tend to lag behind other countries, in large part due to our geographical isolation. So, no matter what the issue may be, we are always playing catch-up.
In other words, most other countries have gone through the Omicron peak and are coming out the other side. We have yet to hit our peak, and in a few weeks time should be coming out the other side too.
So, there is nothing sinister about the present stats – something you probably know only too well. 🙄
Bloomfield pointed this week to new studies showing vaccination gives meaningful protection against contracting omicron and thus slows spread. Details in this post
Sure, but given to slow Omicron a booster is needed, to have any chance of slowing it down… the mandates and passports had to be extended to boosters immediately. We cant boost fast enough now given it takes @ 14 days forna booster to take full effect.
Hell we needed Rats ready to roll 3 weeks ago instead it's a 3 hour wait at my closest testing station plenty wont bother…
Oh I dunno. They say the R value of Omicron without any control is 10. We are around 3.5 while in the exponential growth phase, which is a huge reduction. Vaccination (especially recent boosting) will be an important part of that, given it is proven to greatly reduce transmission of omicron, which has been in the news lately. You might already know that. Ashley Bloomfield:
"One of the studies, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that compared with being unvaccinated the odds of contracting Omicron after receiving three doses dropped by 67 percent – two thirds – and for Delta the risk declined by a stunning 93 percent."
Useful article too from our Prof Rod Jackson on the Omicron situation for NZ.
“However, what makes Omicron worse than Delta for unvaccinated New Zealanders is that almost all of them will be infected in the next few months. A significant proportion would have escaped Delta, at least until new effective antiviral drugs became widely available.”
To go from zero to boosted takes such a long time. I know a few "researchers" who aren't vaxxed, on an individual level the odds are they will be OK, but much worse odds than they needed to be!
Got covid – but was fully vaxxed, so only had a mild illness.For 5 days (s)he lay in bed, while Russia invaded the Ukraine. (S)he made a pertinent comment:
By the way, this is what ACTUAL tyranny looks like anti-vaxxers! It's not losing your job because you are afraid of a needle. It's having cluster bombs dropping on your head.
Can anyone point to one substantial achievement this achieved in either term in office?
With covid now rampant and New Zealand having one of the highest R values in the world and testing crippled, this government has failed at covid.
So all the policies that come out of covid are failures. Child poverty, suicide prevention, road tolls, homelessness, home building, mental health. All the grandiose promises and we’ve simply gone backwards on all major indicators.
You seem desperate to attack this government – I would be unsurprised if you were hoping for thousands of NZ covid deaths as it seems the governments actions in saving thousands of lives appears to greatly upset you
"Not letting covid in or flourish" was good, and all things (good and bad) end.
It's regrettable many businesses have suffered a downturn or worse during this on-going pandemic, but even if our Govt had prioritised businesses from the get-go I wouldn't have spent up big, and surging Omicron cases numbers guarantee that I'll be prioritising public and personal health a little longer.
During the first wave of the pandemic (February–July 2020), it is now well-recognized that some countries and jurisdictions in the East (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong) and Southeast (Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore) Asia, and Australasia (Australia, New Zealand) reacted more quickly, comprehensively, and effectively than Western European countries and the Americas.
…
2.1. Australasia Government trust: generally high Testing capacity: initially limited, but rapidly increased Track/Isolation/Quarantine: rapid expansion of capacity, strongly enforced Compliance with social distancing restrictions: high to very high Masking: not initially universally mandated Effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 control: very good to excellent
…
For example, the UK, Denmark, France, Germany and Sweden only compensated employees for hours that were no longer worked (capped by either a fraction of their total wages or a maximum payment limit). Elsewhere (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and the USA), all employees were given a wage subsidy if their businesses had suffered a major loss of turnover (ranging over 15–50%) during the pandemic.
Some of us still don't get how lucky we are (and were) – the "are we there yet" crowd, agitating for a return to mask-less and 'pass-less' BAU, are intent on undermining the measures safeguarding public health, but the more united we are against COVID-19, the faster we all get through this, imho.
So all the policies that come out of covid are failures. Child poverty, suicide prevention, road tolls, homelessness, home building, mental health. All the grandiose promises and we’ve simply gone backwards on all major indicators.
You made quite a few bold assertions without any support to back them up. Usually, this calls for moderation.
Now it‘s your turn to provide evidence for your assertions. Your entire comment comes across as a troll attempt at wasting people’s time in order to achieve some lazy political point scoring. However, you’ve been caught out before making up lies and other BS, e.g. https://thestandard.org.nz/everyone-is-over-covid/#comment-1866535.
PS I believe unemployment is down and at a record low.
"PS I believe unemployment is down and at a record low."
Do you accept that not everyone that find themselves out of their callings, jobs and careers are reflected in employment stats?
There are more non-travelling reserves, in Jacinda's team of 5 million than you acknowledge.
(Fun Fact: I wanted to make a reference to 1st XI or XV, but found Roman numerals only go up to 4,999, or it can be referenced as a V with two horizontal lines above it. Then it got hard and …)
Sure, I accept that. Unemployment is (also) not the same as underemployment. Anyway, any real or perceived achievement by Government can be countered and eroded to a failure if one sets their (biased-partisan) mind to it, which is what some commenters here know all too well. Hence my reply to DukeEll and before I put my Moderator hat on.
Some general principles to consider when looking at reporting of the war in the Ukraine, prompted by my re-reading Jon Sumida's "Decoding Clausewitz: A New Approach to On War" (2008) to try help work out what is going there.
Sumida says of Clauswitz: (worth quoting at length) –
"…In a war in which the objective of the attacker is the destruction of the defender’s sovereignty, the difficulties for the attacker are increased by the inherently greater strength of the defender’s political, or policy, motive. This is because the moral stakes for the defender are about existence, which is essential, whereas the attacker is concerned simply with gain, which is discretionary. Moreover, the resources available to the defense for military action can overmatch those of the attacker if the defender government’s will to resist enjoys broad internal political support. Under these circumstances, the regular forces of the defender can be augmented by the armed action of an aroused citizenry—that is, by guerrilla war—while the attacker cannot count on counterbalancing involvement from its own civilian population. A defender that has demonstrated a determination to resist even a greatly superior attacker can also expect the assistance of other powers, which are likely to recognize that their own independence is threatened by the offensive success of a state with aggrandizing or even hegemonic intentions. In short, effective defense against attack is not just about military action, but the interplay between military performance and a variety of internal and external political dynamics. This is probably what Clausewitz had foremost in mind when he stated that “war is simply a continuation of political intercourse, with the addition of other means…”
From this, we can also call into question the traditional definition of victory as being the battlefield destruction of the defenders armies, since guerilla warfare is also as much a continuation of political intercourse as a full scale conventional war.
The other thing I've been considering is I've just finished reading David Stahel's four books on the first six months of Barbarossa in conjunction with Glantz's older trilogy on the Smolensk battles of 1941 and I am struck by the similarities of this Russian army with very poor performance of the Red Army between June and November 1941. It seems to me Putin's truncated military harks back more to the Winter War than to Operation Bagration.
So far we read the Russians have commtted initially around a third of their combat units to action. That would be around 40,000 men of a manoeuvre force (not counting support units) of about 120,000. Now, if reports of 3-4000 Russian KIA (plus that implies at least 10,000 WIA) are true that would indicate that most of the Russian first wave is now incapable of further offensive operations (generally speaking 25% losses will do this) so if the Ukranian claims are true simple maths tells us the Russians must now be committing their second wave, probably designated for an exploitation phase, to try and secure first wave objectives. Clauswitz of course noted the need for strong reserves if an offensive is to maintain it's impetus after the initial attritional phase so if it passes that the Ukranians have forced the early commitment of the exploitation units then they are still in with a chance.
None of the above is based on any reality. You have just plucked numbers out of thin air
Just as 'likely' is an Ukrainian armistice when Zeleneskyy does an' Ashraf Ghani'. I have no evidence of that either but Im guessing hes already in Lviv – to continue the fight of course( just as Churchill made sure to leave London for the country as often as possible during the Blitz)
Perhaps you are right. On the other hand you are probably wrong.
The Economist posted this comment, and included a link to the video mentioned.
"ON THE MORNING of February 26th Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of himself on Twitter. After a night of the worst fighting Kyiv had seen since the second world war, and of propaganda from Moscow claiming that he had fled the capital in fear, Ukraine’s president emerged from his office red-eyed and unshaven. He was holding a smartphone in his right hand as he filmed himself walking past the House with Chimaeras, a famous Kyiv landmark that serves as the presidential residence. He smiled at the camera and declared: “Good morning to all Ukrainians! There are a lot of fakes out there…[but] I am here.”
I'm afraid you can't read the full story. That requires that you are a subscriber to the magazine. However the time referred to is only about 12 hours before you posted your comment so I don't think he has fled.
On the 24th on OM Jenny posted an article from Stuff profiling an electric ute. Part of the thrust of her comment appeared to be aimed at the Politically motivated Groundswell group and how hard done by they are and their spurious arguments for joining the "Freedom Protest".
There were several commenters who decided to comment on the qualities of the two wheel drive and dismissed the ute as varying degrees of rubbish.
Their arguments appeared to be based on the grunty 4 wheel drives. One suggesting they were the minimum spec for every builder. Ad apparently has several thousand of them.
So one wonders why Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi and others would bother producing 2 wheel drive versions of their utes or what market they are targeting with all of their models.
Electricity users on low-usage plans told their daily fixed charges are doubling
The doubling of the daily charge stems from a decision by Energy Minister Megan Woods in September to phase out the requirement for power companies to offer low-user tariffs
Woods’ expectation has been that power companies would use the extra revenues to apply an equivalent reduction in charges paid by households that use more power, meaning consumers overall would be no better or worse off on average as a result of the change despite there being winners and losers.
However, the Government did not seek a guarantee from power companies that tariff changes would cancel out on aggregate.
Will Labour now increase and extend (to all year round) The Winter Energy Payment for beneficiaries and low income earners facing the doubling in cost?
Daily charge up . The charge for power used is down.
The reasons for changing which does impact me is that 'the poor' which you are so concerned about dont benefit so much as they have older homes and larger families which use above the low user maximum
My power compnay says it will mean $38 more per year in lines charges
Daily charge up . The charge for power used is down.
Again, whether that will totally offset the increase will vary from region to region, and sometimes from home to home. Additionally, the change means power companies will be able to raise the daily charge by a further 34.5c a day, including GST next year, and again in 2024 and 2025.
The reasons for changing which does impact me is that 'the poor' which you are so concerned about dont benefit so much as they have older homes and larger families which use above the low user maximum.
Yes, we know the reasoning. However, the Government failed to secure a guarantee from power companies that tariff changes would cancel out on aggregate.
Moreover, the doubling in cost will still impact the poor currently on the lower use charge. Not all poor people have large families and stay in larger homes.
What is Labour going to do for them?
Are they going to just let them carry the full burden?
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The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
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For the forseeable future, please comment on the Convoy protest in one of the dedicated threads so we can keep Open Mike for other discussions.
https://thestandard.org.nz/convoy-protest-27-2-22
Tony and PsyclingLeft, I've copy and pasted your comments across and deleted them from here, please use the dedicated posts from now on.
oh sorry bout that Weka. I was heading off to work and didnt see a Convoy one for today at that time. Early Sunday i know. Cheers.
just use the one from the day before if there isn't a new one 👍
The uselessness of western political leaders has been on display again. Interestingly, the Ukraine president pointed to it a week ago. Their appeasement policy!
Why did the US issue a formal statement to the world in 2008 that Ukraine would be joining NATO and then refuse to implement that? Putin objected, so the US caved to him. Appeasement became the norm.
The thing to notice here is that collusion between the political left and right in all western countries has been evident ever since. There has been no dissent from appeasement. All the retards were dead keen to teach Putin that he could do whatever he wanted. So he learnt the intended lesson.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/26/the-world-shuns-pariah-putin?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Maybe as horrendous as this is for Ukraine that it proves to be the moment when appeasement finally ends.
No serious person can pretend any longer that all Putin wants is ‘respect’ and that the problem is ‘baiting bear’ (as an aside, Comrade Trotter really has lost the plot well and truly).
Putin’s played a divide and conquer game for years, sowing division in West and taking advantage of it.
Maybe this prove a massive miscalculation on his part if its turns out to be the moment he’s finally made pariah and we stop the pretence of Russia being a normal nation capable of being part of all manner of normal international activities.
It’s what the like of Kasparov has been calling for for years, that we had tools short of military one to genuinely hurt him, it just took commitment and solidarity on the grounds art of West.
If Putin has pushed even China and Hungry too far, hopefully it’ll be easier to actually follow through on serious action.
There is of course still the chance, someone blinks and let’s him off from feeling a real impact but weirdly I’m feeling a bit more positive that this could be turning point. I just hope I’m not being naïve.
You ask "Why did the US issue a formal statement to the world in 2008"?
The only statement I am aware of is one by then President Bush and the two candidates in the 2008 election, Obama and McCain that they would offer backing to Ukraine's membership of NATO. The US can't just offer membership to anyone. NATO comprises 30 states and operates by consensus. It would appear to be Germany and France who opposed the proposal at that time.
That's what I recalled from watching the interview with the professor I quoted from yesterday. According to Wikipedia it was the head of NATO who said Ukraine would be joining (not the US). Here's the key portions of their timeline:
A typical bureaucratic stance. Bureaucrats assume everyone else is as slow to get anything done as them & lawyers.
This is true, but the appeasement applies to a lot more than just NATO membership and I don’t think anyone comes out looking too good.
Germany have been pathetic regarding Russian gas, Britain has shamefully turned a blind eye over oligarchs money. One could go on and on.
It’s all helped lead us to this point.
Noam Chompsky on NATO expansion and the Ukraine….of course this part of the puzzle is never allowed even the slightest airing on any western media…wonder why that is?
You can see a version of it any time you like on Fox, but then admitting similarities between the so called ‘anti imperialist’ left and US nationalist right on Putin and Russia is somewhat inconvenient isn’t it.
I would love to see Chomsky sit down with someone from Baltic states and ask ‘Why is NATO expanding to the borders of Russia’ as they’d be able to give a simple answer as to why they were banging on the door, pleading to be let in.
Chomsky fails to mention that Mearscheimer is a ‘neo realist’ who entire outlook is based on achieving ‘balance’ and if they meant letting dictator like Putin dominate ‘his’ region then that’s what we have to accept, regardless of what they means for the aspirations of the people in Eastern Europe.
But then the cult of Chomsky just tends to take anything he says uncritically as the words of some great sage.
Pretty good picture now how little vaccination does to slow Omicron transmission. We've got one of the worlds highest vax rates and currently the highest r value as well.
The Government, the Ministry of Health and informed members of the public have known since Omicron was first identified that the current Covid vaccines were not effective against this new variant. Hence the booster injection campaign and the current race by the world's scientists to procure a vaccine that is effective. Pfizer has almost completed their trials and hopefully a new vaccine will be available very soon.
The reason we have one of the world's highest vax rates at this point is because we tend to lag behind other countries, in large part due to our geographical isolation. So, no matter what the issue may be, we are always playing catch-up.
In other words, most other countries have gone through the Omicron peak and are coming out the other side. We have yet to hit our peak, and in a few weeks time should be coming out the other side too.
So, there is nothing sinister about the present stats – something you probably know only too well. 🙄
Bloomfield pointed this week to new studies showing vaccination gives meaningful protection against contracting omicron and thus slows spread. Details in this post
https://thestandard.org.nz/dont-give-up-new-zealand-omicron-vaccination-protection-and-why-its-the-wrong-time-to-let-it-rip/
Sure, but given to slow Omicron a booster is needed, to have any chance of slowing it down… the mandates and passports had to be extended to boosters immediately. We cant boost fast enough now given it takes @ 14 days forna booster to take full effect.
Hell we needed Rats ready to roll 3 weeks ago instead it's a 3 hour wait at my closest testing station plenty wont bother…
we are slowing omicron. With all the things we do. Imagine what it would be like if we did none of those things.
Booster takes 14 days for full effect, but that doesn't mean there is no effect before day 14.
Looks like significant benefits are there before 7 days.
Chart on page 18
Oh I dunno. They say the R value of Omicron without any control is 10. We are around 3.5 while in the exponential growth phase, which is a huge reduction. Vaccination (especially recent boosting) will be an important part of that, given it is proven to greatly reduce transmission of omicron, which has been in the news lately. You might already know that. Ashley Bloomfield:
"One of the studies, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that compared with being unvaccinated the odds of contracting Omicron after receiving three doses dropped by 67 percent – two thirds – and for Delta the risk declined by a stunning 93 percent."
Useful article too from our Prof Rod Jackson on the Omicron situation for NZ.
“However, what makes Omicron worse than Delta for unvaccinated New Zealanders is that almost all of them will be infected in the next few months. A significant proportion would have escaped Delta, at least until new effective antiviral drugs became widely available.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/rod-jackson-omicron-outbreak-our-time-to-vaccinate-is-running-out/LESRTJN7KDQSHNRTVCIZM7VP7I/
Thanks, very good article.
To go from zero to boosted takes such a long time. I know a few "researchers" who aren't vaxxed, on an individual level the odds are they will be OK, but much worse odds than they needed to be!
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/02/live-updates-latest-on-parliament-protest-covid-19-community-outbreak-sunday-february-27.html
The CDC hasn't controlled or prevented much, have they?
Just saying.
If politics is concentrated economics, war is concentrated politics.
War! Hey! What is it good for?
Business!
Follow the money
The person who hosts https://www.sorryantivaxxer.com/post/station-break-vaxman-has-covid
Got covid – but was fully vaxxed, so only had a mild illness.For 5 days (s)he lay in bed, while Russia invaded the Ukraine. (S)he made a pertinent comment:
Can anyone point to one substantial achievement this achieved in either term in office?
With covid now rampant and New Zealand having one of the highest R values in the world and testing crippled, this government has failed at covid.
So all the policies that come out of covid are failures. Child poverty, suicide prevention, road tolls, homelessness, home building, mental health. All the grandiose promises and we’ve simply gone backwards on all major indicators.
Covid deaths/million:
USA – 2910
UK – 2355
Sweden – 1677
Australia – 197
New Zealand – 11
Quite an achievement.
AND cases per million
USA. 241,000
UK – 274,600
Sweden – 239,300
Australia – 122,900
New Zealand –14,200
Not really, not in the light of covid now running rampant and all the other policy failures that came before this
You seem desperate to attack this government – I would be unsurprised if you were hoping for thousands of NZ covid deaths as it seems the governments actions in saving thousands of lives appears to greatly upset you
So no other achievement than not letting covid in or flourish, except that it is now
"Not letting covid in or flourish" was good, and all things (good and bad) end.
It's regrettable many businesses have suffered a downturn or worse during this on-going pandemic, but even if our Govt had prioritised businesses from the get-go I wouldn't have spent up big, and surging Omicron cases numbers guarantee that I'll be prioritising public and personal health a little longer.
Some of us still don't get how lucky we are (and were) – the "are we there yet" crowd, agitating for a return to mask-less and 'pass-less' BAU, are intent on undermining the measures safeguarding public health, but the more united we are against COVID-19, the faster we all get through this, imho.
What exactly is your point, that our case rate or death will catch up with the US or UK?
Because if it’s not (and there’s no credible evidence to suggest it will) then we’re still doing waaaay better than most other countries.
It's so good the approach in handling covid in this country was such that I did not die.
Now I can spend my time whingeing about how bad everything is.
NSW deaths per week from Covid are 163- peaked at 240pw ( we are 63% of that states population)
NZ deaths per week from Covid , maybe under 10 currently
Not correct. Duke Ell. But you know that!!
You made quite a few bold assertions without any support to back them up. Usually, this calls for moderation.
Let me start this off with this on child poverty: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/127873784/child-poverty-tracks-down-but-government-doesnt-meet-key-target.
Now it‘s your turn to provide evidence for your assertions. Your entire comment comes across as a troll attempt at wasting people’s time in order to achieve some lazy political point scoring. However, you’ve been caught out before making up lies and other BS, e.g. https://thestandard.org.nz/everyone-is-over-covid/#comment-1866535.
PS I believe unemployment is down and at a record low.
"PS I believe unemployment is down and at a record low."
Do you accept that not everyone that find themselves out of their callings, jobs and careers are reflected in employment stats?
There are more non-travelling reserves, in Jacinda's team of 5 million than you acknowledge.
(Fun Fact: I wanted to make a reference to 1st XI or XV, but found Roman numerals only go up to 4,999, or it can be referenced as a V with two horizontal lines above it. Then it got hard and …)
Sure, I accept that. Unemployment is (also) not the same as underemployment. Anyway, any real or perceived achievement by Government can be countered and eroded to a failure if one sets their (biased-partisan) mind to it, which is what some commenters here know all too well. Hence my reply to DukeEll and before I put my Moderator hat on.
Some general principles to consider when looking at reporting of the war in the Ukraine, prompted by my re-reading Jon Sumida's "Decoding Clausewitz: A New Approach to On War" (2008) to try help work out what is going there.
Sumida says of Clauswitz: (worth quoting at length) –
"…In a war in which the objective of the attacker is the destruction of the defender’s sovereignty, the difficulties for the attacker are increased by the inherently greater strength of the defender’s political, or policy, motive. This is because the moral stakes for the defender are about existence, which is essential, whereas the attacker is concerned simply with gain, which is discretionary. Moreover, the resources available to the defense for military action can overmatch those of the attacker if the defender government’s will to resist enjoys broad internal political support. Under these circumstances, the regular forces of the defender can be augmented by the armed action of an aroused citizenry—that is, by guerrilla war—while the attacker cannot count on counterbalancing involvement from its own civilian population. A defender that has demonstrated a determination to resist even a greatly superior attacker can also expect the assistance of other powers, which are likely to recognize that their own independence is threatened by the offensive success of a state with aggrandizing or even hegemonic intentions. In short, effective defense against attack is not just about military action, but the interplay between military performance and a variety of internal and external political dynamics. This is probably what Clausewitz had foremost in mind when he stated that “war is simply a continuation of political intercourse, with the addition of other means…”
From this, we can also call into question the traditional definition of victory as being the battlefield destruction of the defenders armies, since guerilla warfare is also as much a continuation of political intercourse as a full scale conventional war.
The other thing I've been considering is I've just finished reading David Stahel's four books on the first six months of Barbarossa in conjunction with Glantz's older trilogy on the Smolensk battles of 1941 and I am struck by the similarities of this Russian army with very poor performance of the Red Army between June and November 1941. It seems to me Putin's truncated military harks back more to the Winter War than to Operation Bagration.
So far we read the Russians have commtted initially around a third of their combat units to action. That would be around 40,000 men of a manoeuvre force (not counting support units) of about 120,000. Now, if reports of 3-4000 Russian KIA (plus that implies at least 10,000 WIA) are true that would indicate that most of the Russian first wave is now incapable of further offensive operations (generally speaking 25% losses will do this) so if the Ukranian claims are true simple maths tells us the Russians must now be committing their second wave, probably designated for an exploitation phase, to try and secure first wave objectives. Clauswitz of course noted the need for strong reserves if an offensive is to maintain it's impetus after the initial attritional phase so if it passes that the Ukranians have forced the early commitment of the exploitation units then they are still in with a chance.
None of the above is based on any reality. You have just plucked numbers out of thin air
Just as 'likely' is an Ukrainian armistice when Zeleneskyy does an' Ashraf Ghani'. I have no evidence of that either but Im guessing hes already in Lviv – to continue the fight of course( just as Churchill made sure to leave London for the country as often as possible during the Blitz)
Perhaps you are right. On the other hand you are probably wrong.
The Economist posted this comment, and included a link to the video mentioned.
"ON THE MORNING of February 26th Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of himself on Twitter. After a night of the worst fighting Kyiv had seen since the second world war, and of propaganda from Moscow claiming that he had fled the capital in fear, Ukraine’s president emerged from his office red-eyed and unshaven. He was holding a smartphone in his right hand as he filmed himself walking past the House with Chimaeras, a famous Kyiv landmark that serves as the presidential residence. He smiled at the camera and declared: “Good morning to all Ukrainians! There are a lot of fakes out there…[but] I am here.”
https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/02/26/how-volodymyr-zelensky-found-his-roar
I'm afraid you can't read the full story. That requires that you are a subscriber to the magazine. However the time referred to is only about 12 hours before you posted your comment so I don't think he has fled.
Here.
https://archive.li/hlzU4
Thank you. I didn't know about this site. I am an Economist subscriber so I've never needed it to read the mag.
Did you post that link from your own subscription or how does it work?
Seems to bypass most paywalls. But not the Harold's.
On the 24th on OM Jenny posted an article from Stuff profiling an electric ute. Part of the thrust of her comment appeared to be aimed at the Politically motivated Groundswell group and how hard done by they are and their spurious arguments for joining the "Freedom Protest".
There were several commenters who decided to comment on the qualities of the two wheel drive and dismissed the ute as varying degrees of rubbish.
Their arguments appeared to be based on the grunty 4 wheel drives. One suggesting they were the minimum spec for every builder. Ad apparently has several thousand of them.
So one wonders why Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Mitsubishi and others would bother producing 2 wheel drive versions of their utes or what market they are targeting with all of their models.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/127889980/electricity-users-on-lowusage-plans-told-their-daily-fixed-charges-are-doubling
Will Labour now increase and extend (to all year round) The Winter Energy Payment for beneficiaries and low income earners facing the doubling in cost?
And if not why not?
Are the poor meant to carry this burden?
The Daily charge rises but the high users pay LESS per kWhr
eg Mercury has 18.8c per kWh for all users from April which is much lower than my low user rate from April 23.84c/32.9 c kWh
Mercury says electricity and gas prices vary from region to region, and sometimes from home to home.
So while the doubling cost may not impact you personally, I'm asking what is going to be done for the poor that are impacted by this doubling in cost?
You didnt understand did you.
Daily charge up . The charge for power used is down.
The reasons for changing which does impact me is that 'the poor' which you are so concerned about dont benefit so much as they have older homes and larger families which use above the low user maximum
My power compnay says it will mean $38 more per year in lines charges
Again, whether that will totally offset the increase will vary from region to region, and sometimes from home to home. Additionally, the change means power companies will be able to raise the daily charge by a further 34.5c a day, including GST next year, and again in 2024 and 2025.
Yes, we know the reasoning. However, the Government failed to secure a guarantee from power companies that tariff changes would cancel out on aggregate.
Moreover, the doubling in cost will still impact the poor currently on the lower use charge. Not all poor people have large families and stay in larger homes.
What is Labour going to do for them?
Are they going to just let them carry the full burden?
Minimum wage up from $15.75 which was Nationals end point to $21.20 in April this year
Thats a 35% increase . benefits have also risen and a 'winter' benefit rise as well.
A friend on unemployment benefit has seen it rise from $212 to $278 before this years cost of living increase and excluding winter bump.
Too little too late.
The current living wage is $22.75 and is due to increase in September.
In 2019 the welfare expert advisory group recommended benefit levels be increased by up to 47 percent immediately.