Classic political analysis brought to bear on a Labour Party intent on eliminating civil liberties to prove to voters that it can out-flank the Nats on the right. Gordon Campbell provides novice journos a textbook lesson on how to expose Labour's lack of credibility.
So
it is hardly surprising that the Security Information in Proceedings Legislation Bill slipped into Parliament in late November, virtually unnoticed. This was unfortunate, because the Bill quietly erodes the principles of natural justice in this country. In essence, the Bill formalises a system whereby, in an expanding range of courtroom situations, people will be unable to know, let alone challenge, all the evidence being used to prosecute their case.
If the Crown decides for example that the revelation of secret information might disrupt our international relations, threaten our national security, undermine our economic well-being or unduly disturb departmental best practice, then the accused may end up being prevented from knowing all the evidence being weighed against them. Good luck with defending yourself when you don’t know what the courts are relying on to decide your fate.
What would the title of the legislation be if Labour were honest? It would be called the Protest Leader's Elimination Bill. That would tell the truth about Labour's intent. Stack the courts in favour of the prosecution. Labour's century-long campaign to ramp up state power to achieve total control of the populace thus obtains a final solution – to the problem of democratic freedom.
I read that article yesterday with considerable disquiet.
If Campbell’s right, it too broadly dispenses with habeus corpus, the cornerstone of our legal system’s right to a fair trial.
One hopes that it will be rigorously challenged by the Law Society, Green Party, all other parties, & scores of civil libertarians in Select Committee. And that the media will cover it properly. They never know, one day one of their journos might be on the receiving end of it.
IMO, protecting the principles of natural justice should be a higher priority than protecting the flow of classified information to the security services.
Add to that sentence… protecting the principles of natural justice – and the rights of citizens wrongly suspected of subversion – should be a higher priority than protecting the flow of classified information to the security services.
From experience (in my case on the say-so of another) I can assure you that natural justice has never taken precedence over matters pertaining to security concerns. In other words all that has changed is the government is legislating for something that has been the abiding principle for many decades.
Having said the above, I take issue with your final paragraph. To infer as you have that Labour has been running a century-longcampaignto ramp up state power to achieve total control of the populace… " is conspiratorial nonsense.
You shouldn't need the words "wrongly suspected of subversion" in your proposed change.
It is quite sufficient to say "protecting the principles of natural justice – and the rights of citizens – should be a higher priority" ie all citizens.
I concede alwyn "and the rights of citizens" is more appropriate. Thanks for pointing it out. My mind was trapped in my own experience three decades ago.
But Anne, Labour have always been statist control freaks! If I was wrong about that you'd be able to cite instances of protest leaders joining the Labour Party, being allocated safe seats to campaign in, becoming MPs and then cabinet ministers.
Okay, so Goff was PYM – but he never got a reputation of being a leader of the rabble in those days. He was a follower.
Anyway, you tacitly concede my point by failing to provide an innocent explanation for why Labour is doing what they're doing. Here's one you could try: incompetence. Faafoi doesn't know what he's doing (according to this theory), he's just operating on autopilot advancing an agenda provided to him by his advisors. If I were a conspiracy theorist I'd call them the Deep State. Instead, I suspect they represent the shallow state; public servants who believe state security must prevail over civil rights. Deeply shallow folk.
No Dennis they have not… always been control freaks.
That is a wrong interpretation of their principles and policies down the decades. For example, Michael Joseph Savage was a gentleman with no aspiration to hold power for power's sake. He wanted to raise the standard of living for everyone and not just the chosen few. He and his ministers had to introduce legislation to make it start to happen.
The only thing that has changed is the strategies – taking into account changing modern day conditions. But the principle is still the same… to raise the standard of living for everyone. Unfortunately the "chosen few" have almost all the money and power so there will always be a need to redress the balance by way of legislation.
Some people may disagree with the way Labour goes about it, and that is part of being a democracy, but it is NOT being "control freaks".
Good to see James taking this initiative on behalf of the govt:
Climate Change Minister James Shaw has agreed to visit Southland and meet Groundswell NZ leaders. However, a date is yet to be set for the farmer protest group to have their first official meeting with a government minister. Shaw released a letter from Southland MP Joseph Mooney, which invited him to the electorate to ‘’meet with Groundswell NZ to discuss their concerns around the National Policy Statement for National Biodiversity, Significant Natural Areas, Freshwater and other legislation affecting rural communities”.
The letter was sent to Shaw on August 5… Shaw replied on October 11, saying: “I appreciate the invite and your offer to facilitate and host this meeting. I have asked my office and officials to identify an appropriate time for the meeting.’’ A spokesperson from Shaw’s office said the Minister had been advised the best time to meet with Groundswell NZ would be once the exposure draft of the proposed National Environmental Standards for Indigenous Biodiversity had been released next year.
While several countries in Africa, like South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are developing green hydrogen plans, Namibia is the more advanced.
In simple terms, the renewable energy from the sun and wind will be used to separate hydrogen molecules from desalinated water. Those hydrogen molecules in their pure form or in derivative green ammonia can make up a variety of products, including sustainable fuels.
The preferred bidder, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, is set to start production in 2026 and will have the rights to the project for 40 years, once the necessary feasibility processes are concluded. The firm says the four years of construction are likely to create 15,000 direct jobs and 3,000 more during full operations – and that 90% of them will be filled by locals. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59722297
I breath high concentration molecular hydrogen, and drink molecular hydrogen infused water. It's way of the future. I also believe cold fusion power is close to becoming a reality.
Hitch yourself to a balloon, fill it up. You can get nicely high doing that. Stratospheric, even. Ascension has been a cultural trend for several decades eh?
But on a serious note, sounds interesting. Scouting the current opportunities or already have options in mind? Your expertise is engineering? Or project management? Both? I'm just curious so if there's confidentiality involved just a scenario summary would be cool…
Setting up a global Hydrogen Centre of Excellence for one of the major process control system vendors. Still some factors outside of my control involved – so no promises yet.
And then there is the nuclear fission reactor in the centre of the earth. Which allows a magnetic field to form, and in turn keeps the solar wind from stripping off our atmosphere. Which lets us breathe.
Despite its geological significance, this heat energy coming from Earth's interior is actually only 0.03% of Earth's total energy budget at the surface, which is dominated by 173,000 TW of incoming solar radiation.
I made no mention of the energy budget at the surface – merely pointing out that this decay heat in the core of the earth is vital for existence the existence of life.
This internal core heat also drives plate tectonics which has a multitude of implications for life on earth as well.
I'm upfront and probably more transparent than any other regular participant here – other than maybe Lynn- and I realised long ago that would make me a target for the cheap shots.
As for 'sustainability' – the version you promote pretty much means running into resource limits more slowly – but not allowed to innovate past them.
I'm not taking cheap shots, I'm pointing out that there are plenty of explanations of what sustainability is but you don't seem to understand what it is. That's ok, I'm sure if you tried to explain technical aspects of your work some people might struggle to grasp it. Sustainability requires learning a new way of thinking, lots of people don't get it.
As for 'sustainability' – the version you promote pretty much means running into resource limits more slowly – but not allowed to innovate past them.
I agree. This is why I write about the Powerdown 🙂
eg in NZ, we have good hydro infrastructure. What would it look like if we largely worked within that capacity?
We can also do grid tied solar, solar hot water, passive solar, none of which require batteries, but do require a bit of behavioural change.
The interesting thing about living on solar with batteries is you soon get acutely aware of how much power you use, when you use it, and what actually matters. This isn't a bad thing, and it's what we need.
I see richard prebbles latest effort at rewriting history is something about deregulating broadcasting. I have yet to see him explain away his efforts at deregulating housing, and how it cost kiwis hundreds of millions to fix badly designed and built houses, and how it led to a shortage of low cost housing , which plagues NZ today,..For those who came in late, there will be footage of prebble ,on parliament steps, tearing up, and burning the housing regs as they were. NZ's housing problems can be directly sheeted home to prebble and the act party. something that should be taught in schools….
If anyone is rewriting history it would appear to be woodart.
ACT was led by Prebble from 1996 until 2004. He retired from Parliament in 2005. During his time in Parliament as an ACT MP they were never part of the Government. They were on the cross benches during the National led Government from 1996 until 1999 and in the Opposition from 1999 until 2004 when there was a Clark/Labour led Government.
Just how could Prebble and the ACT party be responsible for NZ's housing problems? You are dreaming.
Indeed, Prebble was a Labour Party man from 75 to 93. Woodart was however blaming ACT for the problems, and they weren't even in existence then.
His precise words were "NZ's housing problems can be directly sheeted home to prebble and the act party."
The only Government Prebble was part of was a Labour one as a Labour MP. That was from 1984 to 1990. Do we blame Labour? If so should we complain that it was the fault of the Housing Minister?
Hm. That would be Phil Goff for 3 years, Helen Clark for 2 years and Jonathon Hunt for 1. No Prebble in the job though.
so, in your self-appointed job of know-it-all-ism, do you deny prebble on the steps of parliament burning building regs, and telling the reporters that building derugulation would be the key to success, and do you deny that a budding act party taking that deregulation mantra on board and using it in their manifesto? I never claimed he was an M.P. at that time, that was you, as, usual, NOT reading properly, and running off at the keyboard in your usual haste to be a smartarse.
I have no idea whether he did any of those things and I don't really care. I am one of those people who think that the Government of the days passes the laws of the country and not that the Opposition does so.
I realise that this tends to spoil the rants of some of the more fantasy promoting members of society but that is just tough s**t.
I suppose my views are in some ways a variation on Richard Feynman's statement.
"It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong."
If you are going to argue that some party is responsible for laws that they never passed, and never were in a Government so that they never could pass them I would have to say that you are wrong. I would also tend to think that the second clause of Feynman's statement can't apply to you.
Woodart, it was the fourth National Government (with Ruth Richardson Treasurer,) loosened housing rules that led to leaky homes, and increased state house rents to market related charges, this so impacted the poor that Food kitchens appeared for the first time since the '30s. Bolger and Shippley were Leaders of that debacle.
At the time one of the National women MPs gave out recipes for basic meals. Trouble was she was saying "Now from your store cupboard (Pantry)take…" this aimed at people who ran out of food Saturday waiting for money on Tuesday. That was also when Bolger famously said "A lunch is only two pieces of bread with something between them".
Our school started a” Breakfast and homework club" We also provided apples a snack and children could make a sandwich for lunch. Fillings were basic marmite cheese or fish paste. About 30 to forty would be there Thus Fri Mon, with 12 to 15 other days. We had music playing so conversations were private.
It was an eye opener to see how those children were more settled learned and were more open and hopeful. Teachers would contribute to it as they saw the difference. Policies should always start with the children in mind.
That Government put the surcharge on superannuation as well. It lasted two terms.
Sorry, but the tax surcharge on superannuation was introduced by the Lange Labour Government in 1985. It was not introduced by the National Government of which Ruth Richardson was a prominent participant. The surcharge was very belatedly removed by the National Government in 1998.
Well that may be but National certainly weren't very honest about the topic. As far as I remember it they promised to remove the surcharge in their 1990 manifesto. Then then reneged on the promise throughout their first 2 terms and only removed it 8 years after it was first a firm promise. I was living in Australia from 1989 to 1996 and I was very surprised that the surcharge was still there when I came back.
In 91 and 92 it could be pretty easily justified. The books were in a terrible mess when they took over. However after they had been in office for a full term that claim really doesn't cut it any more. If you haven't fixed a problem after a full term you simply aren't being competent or you aren't being honest.
It all started with Muldoon his loans and the pause before he handed over the reins. I think Lange let the cat out of the bag about devaluation, and money flew out the country until it happened and was returned afterwards. Right mess. Cheers Alwyn. Though one term to turn things around is a big ask. Some problems are so entrenched and so many livelihoods have been upset already. Our next big test.. Omicron out in Auckland
Patricia
And you could provide a semi scientific finding on its efficacy. It's taken Covid to make government to listen to science instead of going for gut feelings with orchestrated reports as to value or ear-whispering from wealthies of the wrong wing plus Treasury.
I reread the rest of your comment and what you are saying in fact confirms what you quote Bolger as saying.
You quote him as saying "A lunch is only two pieces of bread with something between them".
Then you say what you were providing as a least the main part of the children's lunch
" children could make a sandwich for lunch. Fillings were basic marmite cheese or fish paste"
That sounds as if Bolger was pretty much on target doesn't it? Given his background of course that was probably exactly what he, and his children, of which he had nine, did have for lunch. He was himself one of 5 kids born to a couple who had emigrated in 1930 from Ireland and he left school at 15 to work on the farm. I doubt there was very much spare money for a fancy lunch in that family.
Biggest thing I am with is what are we doing about masks in NZ? I see a lot of people internationally saying shift to more technical masks, but I don't know what to buy or even if I can buy them here. Anyone got a good explainer on that?
If you want this quality there is 3M 8210 that meets AS/ANZ 1716:2012 P2. P2 is the local equivalent standard to N95. You can buy these from Mitre10 (often out of stock or NZ Safety Blackwoods.(good stock at some branches, phone 0800 660 660) Packet of 20 about $70.
KN95 rated respirators are not always meeting quality tests. (see above link)
I've never washed them myself but here's what a microbiologist found when he washed and then tested a variety of masks . It's also a guide to the effectiveness of homemade versus bought masks.
I've come to the conclusion that the only reason why COVID is still around is that too many people are making too much money and power from it. So yes it will likely to be around until enough people figure this out.
Remembering it's the CCP's fault in the first place, Covid's been so profitable, and messed with freedums to such an extent, that vested interests (?) will be plotting to keep it going forever, just like they will with the next crisis.
Thank goodness for Western freedum fighters (Trump, Johnson, Bolsonaro) – it's only these 'clear thinkers', and Tucker Carlson, that give me hope. /sarc
“…Under the government scheme, Japan aims to set standards for compensation for damage caused by what it described as harmful rumours on local industries such as fishing, tourism and agriculture while reinforcing monitoring capability and transparency to avoid reputational damage.
Japan also expects the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to compile an interim safety assessment next year, based on its review over the safety of the treated water, the competence of local analytical laboratories and regulatory frameworks, the government said.
In an effort to improve transparency to gain the trust of the international community, Japan asked the IAEA in April to conduct a review to assess and advise on the handling of the water.
A decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country’s northeastern coast, disabling the plant and causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, nearly 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated water have accumulated at the site.
The water, enough to fill about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is stored in huge tanks at an annual cost of about 100 billion yen (NZ$1.3b), and space is running out.
Japan has argued the release is necessary to press ahead with the complex decommissioning of the plant. It says similarly filtered water is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world.”
… … … … … …
One hopes they are right & that discharging this treated contaminated water into the ocean won’t have any harmful effects on the oceanic ecosystem.
The primary isotope involved is tritium or Hydrogen3.
Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen, which allows it to readily bind to hydroxyl radicals, forming tritiated water, and to carbon atoms. Since tritium is a low energybeta emitter, it is not dangerous externally (its beta particles are unable to penetrate the skin), but it can be a radiation hazard when inhaled, ingested via food or water, or absorbed through the skin. HTO has a short biological half-life in the human body of 7 to 14 days, which both reduces the total effects of single-incident ingestion and precludes long-term bioaccumulation of HTO from the environment.
The very slow rate of the planned release, the vast dilution within the massive volume of the Pacific over time means that any actual radiation will be far, far below the background level. The only possible concern is bio-accumulation, but even that stretches the case as no-one demonstrated this occurs for tritium. Nor is this release unique, tritium has been released by nuclear processes as a part of normal operation for decades – with absolutely no evidence of harm.
All of this information is readily available to anyone writing an article on the topic, but mentioning it would of course spoil the scare factor.
One simple reality that gets ignored here all the time is that this planet we live on is bathed in a low level of background radiation all the time – and every living thing has evolved in it's presence. The idea that it 'damages DNA' is one of the pervasive fearmongering myths often propagated. DNA gets damaged all the time, from all manner of causes both from ionising radiation and other oxidants- yet all living creatures have molecular repair mechanisms that work to repair this damage all the time.
Indeed there is good evidence from places where due to altitude or geological conditions people live their whole lives with substantially elevated background radiation levels. And remarkably enough they show reduced rates of cancer. This fact has been well known for decades but has been consistently denied and censored.
So when you see articles like this, and there will be the usual steady trickle of them, that do not include any relevant science or even mention the word tritium, feel free not to be overly frightened.
Remember how someone said COVID infections in children are relatively mild?
The post mortem of fourteen month old who died from COVID revealed serious brain damage. But relatively mild brain damage, I guess.
/
Findings
Lesions included microthrombosis, pulmonary congestion, interstitial oedema, lymphocytic infiltrates, bronchiolar injury, collapsed alveolar spaces, cortical atrophy, and severe neuronal loss. SARS-CoV-2 staining was observed along the apical region of the choroid plexus (ChP) epithelium and in ependymal cells of the lateral ventricle, but was restricted to ChP capillaries and vessels in some regions. SARS-CoV-2 infection of brain tissue was confirmed by RT-qPCR in fragments of the ChP, lateral ventricle, and cortex.
Interpretation
Our results show multisystemic histopathological alterations caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and contribute to knowledge regarding the course of fatal COVID-19 in children. Furthermore, our findings of ChP infection and viral neurotropism suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may invade the central nervous system by blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier disruption.
[…]
Major complications include neurological manifestations that occur in up to 67% of severely affected patients [[3]]. Neurological sequelae may be acute or chronic, and may include headache, vomiting, dizziness, hypogeusia and hyposmia, persistent fatigue, memory dysfunction, gait disorders, and meningitis/encephalitis [4,5,6]. A post-mortem case series detected SARS-CoV-2 in the brains of 53% of patients who died of COVID-19, with viral proteins in cranial nerves and in isolated cells of the brainstem [[7]]. As suggested previously for SARS-CoV, neuroinvasion of the brainstem cardiorespiratory centre may promote respiratory failure in COVID-19 [[8]]. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been demonstrated in cortical neurons and in cerebrovascular endothelium [[9]]. Although detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is uncommon, it has been reported in two adults [[10]] and one infant [[11]].
But NZ should totally be like NSW, they said. Open up and let business thrive, they said. So what happens when Covid spreads like crazy?
"Concern is growing at the impact of rising coronavirus cases on New Year’s Eve plans in NSW.
Australian Cruise Group executive director Sudhir Warrier, who is in charge of the cruises in Sydney Harbour during the NYE fireworks, said ticket sales are badly down this year. He told Sky News earlier this morning:
"Business has completely dried up in the last 10 days or so, consumer confidence is totally shattered."
Living with the virus is such fun….not! Check out Denmark's outbreak, now one of the world's worst and the hospitalisation and death rate is rising too, albeit there is a lag…30 deaths there 2 days ago, population the same as NZ. As one commenter in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that even if Omicron is 70% less severe tban Delta as one non-peered British survey suggested, a 400% increase in transmission rate means just as many or more deaths per million. Denmark comparison with Australia by Aussie Doctor Crabb depicted here:
At the moment I'm getting around the ill-fitting ear-loop surgical mask by double-bagging my stubbled dial with a large behind the head tie cloth mask with a removable filter. I'm also fiddling around with duck-billed N95s under the cloth mask should things go pear shaped. Thinking about some sort of eye protection, too.
I would go for the long bird beak face covering if I were you, and if you want maximum protection, you can use a thick layer of vaseline on any exposed skin to stop it getting into the pores…
Now, I realise you're a detestable POS who could only image anyone giving a rat's arse about you, but as a family we're committed to doing everything we can to reduce an extremely vulnerable and much loved member's aggregaterisk. And despite the ignorant, sneering reckons of filth like yourself, if the science said Csixteen masks and goose fat were the go, we'd be in.
Spiderman: No Way Home breaking a billion at the box office happened and The Matrix Resurrections sucking happened but I'm going to go a step further and predict Spiderman: No Way Home will take in more at the box office by itself than the three MSheU movies of phase 4 combined (basically I'm predicting it'll take 1.2 billion)
Also Spider hasn't been released in China yet still did bonkers at the box office (like The Joker) something studios to think about maybe…
So what does this all mean?
We've all heard 'get woke go broke' but in reality it should be 'get woke and leave more money on the table except for a few movies that did actually lose money and not forgetting the TV series cancelled' but that doesn't really roll off the tongue
Disney Star Wars didn't just leave money on the table, it also tanked the next film in the spin off series, the Han Solo movie (remember that) plus it stopped dead in the track all the other plans for movies
So is it all bad news?
Spiderman to me is the anti Ghostbusters 2016, its fun, it treats the source material and fans with respect, tells a good story and isn't woke (well its a little woke but nothing major)
What is interesting to me is that it feels like two movies added together, you have the first 30-40 minutes of typical Marvel/Disney 'humour' and then it gets a bit more serious (though the jokes work better)
So is this enough to turn the entertainment ship around…yes, yes it is.
It won't happen overnight as there are far too many movies in production to change, yes we'll have to put up with Disney ruining all other superhero movies (hey you like nostalgia, heres nostalgia and cameos)
But I believe that eventually studio heads will stop listening to people that listen to twitter and will go back to wanting to make money, that Gordon Gekko (or the spirit anyway) will decide that giving the paying audience what they want will make them more money, that not insulting the paying audience is the way to go, that people go to the movies for entertainment and escapism not reeducation and blame and if the product Hollywood puts out provides that then the audiences will pay
Except the studios have always been about making money.
Not sure how "woke" Solo was. It was pretty good, in general, but the plot points were a bit run of the mill – omg lost love turns up, betrayals, betrayals predicted, yadda yadda. Some funny bits in it though. It also fell into the trap of providing the origin story for darn near every single wardrobe item in the original movies, lol.
Matrix – well, the first matrix was pretty good, but went downhill from there. Latest one looks mildly interesting, but I won't rush to see it.
Damned if I see what your problem is with ghostbusters. I lived through both the north korea/invisible car Bond flick and the Clooney batman, ffs.
I don't know what the problem is either and PR won't say.
PR, what exactly is woke about MCU phases 1 – 3? Be specific, because then we will know what you are talking about. And no, I don't want to watch a youtube of some dude spending 30 minutes explaining something you could outline in one comment.
Thor never fought Hela, in fact she destroyed his hammer.
Black Panther was, according to the media, the single greatest achievement in movie making and the first time a black person had been in a movie, let alone a super hero movie (sarcasm)
Captain Marvel was, funnily enough, Marvels inferior response to Wonder Woman, why they didn't go with a Black Widow movie is something we'll never know
Avengers End Game…well…theres this scene (if you're going into battle why do you take your helmet off)
Thor never fought Hela, in fact she destroyed his hammer.
So you want the films to be always faithful to the comics? How is changing the storylines woke?
Black Panther was, according to the media, the single greatest achievement in movie making and the first time a black person had been in a movie, let alone a super hero movie (sarcasm)
So nothing about the film, just the publicity around it.
Captain Marvel was, funnily enough, Marvels inferior response to Wonder Woman, why they didn't go with a Black Widow movie is something we'll never know
The original CM is inferior? What about the film?
Avengers End Game…well…theres this scene (if you're going into battle why do you take your helmet off)
What's woke about it? As opposed to bog standard put the pretty chicks up front, which has been happening forever (assuming this is what you meant). Or did you mean there are too many chicks?
Marvel phases 1-3 consists of approximately 23 movies. I am not going to go through every single one to point out where and how its woke.
The links I post to talk about why its woke and, more importantly, give examples of clips of the movies but since you don't want to watch them (your loss) I have to do my best.
'So you want the films to be always faithful to the comics? How is changing the storylines woke?'
I do prefer movies to be faithful and respectful to the source material but if they move away from the source material then at least be respectful
For example, Thor gives up his role of leader for Valkyrie completely negating the lessons learned about being king from his father and then he becomes fat Thor because…I don't know funny or something
'So nothing about the film, just the publicity around it.'
The movie itself was nothing special (though Chadwick Boseman was very good) but yeah it just wasn't publicity, the whole marketing campaign made the movie itself into a cultural touchstone, that you had to not just like it but love it and if you didn't then you must be racist
'The original CM is inferior? What about the film?'
Yes the Captain Marvel is vastly inferior to the Wonder Woman movie. One of the reasons is because Captain Marvel is similar to Rey Skywalker (Palpatine) in that both of them suffer the same problem as being really boring.
The reason they're boring is that nowadays woman in superhero movies arn't allowed to be flawed, weak or have to try.
For example Luke Skywalker has to train to become a jedi, the first time he faces Vader he loses a hand and doesn't defeat until the end of the third movie and still loses to the Emperor until Vader steps up
Rey on the other hand beats up anyone she meets, resists Kylos mind tricks (with no training), defeats Kylo (trained by Luke remember), moves a landslide (with no training), uses mind tricks on stormtroops (again no training), can fly the Falcon (remember Luke couldn't), can repair the Falcon (Han couldn't)
There are more examples but that should be enough. Basically in Disney movies women are already strong and powerful, they just need to remember (thats also pretty much Captain Marvel) because men are holding them back
Its like playing a video game on the easiest setting, theres no challenge and it all becomes a bit boring when there are no stakes
Marvel phases 1-3 consists of approximately 23 movies. I am not going to go through every single one to point out where and how its woke.
I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to describe maybe three times something was woke and how it was woke. At the moment you are asserting wokeness, and then describing things I wouldn't call woke. You've failed to make the argument.
'So you want the films to be always faithful to the comics? How is changing the storylines woke?'
I do prefer movies to be faithful and respectful to the source material but if they move away from the source material then at least be respectful
For example, Thor gives up his role of leader for Valkyrie completely negating the lessons learned about being king from his father and then he becomes fat Thor because…I don't know funny or something
Sure. How is that woke though? Rather than just a move away from the original?
'So nothing about the film, just the publicity around it.'
The movie itself was nothing special (though Chadwick Boseman was very good) but yeah it just wasn't publicity, the whole marketing campaign made the movie itself into a cultural touchstone, that you had to not just like it but love it and if you didn't then you must be racist
Again, you're not describing the film as woke, but the promotion and media around it. Is there anything about the film itself that is woke?
'The original CM is inferior? What about the film?'
Yes the Captain Marvel is vastly inferior to the Wonder Woman movie. One of the reasons is because Captain Marvel is similar to Rey Skywalker (Palpatine) in that both of them suffer the same problem as being really boring.
The reason they're boring is that nowadays woman in superhero movies arn't allowed to be flawed, weak or have to try.
For example Luke Skywalker has to train to become a jedi, the first time he faces Vader he loses a hand and doesn't defeat until the end of the third movie and still loses to the Emperor until Vader steps up
Rey on the other hand beats up anyone she meets, resists Kylos mind tricks (with no training), defeats Kylo (trained by Luke remember), moves a landslide (with no training), uses mind tricks on stormtroops (again no training), can fly the Falcon (remember Luke couldn't), can repair the Falcon (Han couldn't)
Thanks!! That's a really good explanation. I'm curious now if this is something specific to female characters, or more a feature of how contemporary characters generally are written (as compared to say Luke Skywalker). Or both.
There are more examples but that should be enough. Basically in Disney movies women are already strong and powerful, they just need to remember (thats also pretty much Captain Marvel) because men are holding them back
Its like playing a video game on the easiest setting, theres no challenge and it all becomes a bit boring when there are no stakes
This is a good point. I'll keep that in mind next time I watch.
Essentially its denigrating male characters to specifically make female characters more impressive.
Rey beats Luke.
Leia also is better with a lightsaber than Luke.
Thor gives up leadership to Valkyrie and becomes a fat joke.
Red Guardian becomes a fat joke.
Loki suddenly becomes a weak, snivelling, coward.
Kate Bishop defeats the Kingpin.
In the Falcon and The Winter Soldier the Falcon wouldn't even fight against the terrorist Karli (gender swopped by the way)
Captain America Steve Rogers is now Captain Rogers
Did you know Dr Strange was going to appear in Wandavision:
“Some people might say, ‘Oh, it would’ve been so cool to see Doctor Strange,’” says Feige. “But it would have taken away from Wanda, which is what we didn’t want to do. We didn’t want the end of the show to be commoditized to go to the next movie — here’s the white guy, ‘Let me show you how power works.’”
The phase 4 is when the M She U comes into its own.
Wandavision removed Dr Strange because they didn't want a man overshadowing Wanda
Look at the treatment of Loki in his own tv series
Apparantly the big shock now is when someone reveals their helmet or face covering to reveal a women, its heavy handed, not subtle and not interesting
My main point is that if Iron Man, Thor, Captain America (not sure why Hulk doesn't work in his own movie) had started off as woke then we wouldn't be talking about woke marvel because it wouldn't be the behemoth it is now
If Bond had started off as whatever he is now he wouldn't have gone nearly 60 years
Predator wouldn't have been around nearly 30 years
Dr Who
All the rest of the franchises.
They wouldn't be as popular as they are now.
People don't respond to woke in moves and by that I mean popular movies, movies that people like going to
You can certainly have woke movies but woke and popular never get off the ground so for these people to get their message across they insert it into other franchises
You want a woke, popular franchise then by all means start one up, just stop ruining already popular franchises
If Bond had started off as whatever he is now he wouldn't have gone nearly 60 years
Bond in the books is a cruel, misogynistic killer. Sure they could have made a film like that, but guess what, women don't want to watch that anymore. Craig was a move in a better direction in terms of the original Bond without being basically a retrograde 1950s dude.
There are all sorts of problems with No Time To Die, but if it had been woke, the Nomi character would have been an actual character rather than a lame attempt to address the whole only white dudes are 007 thing. I suspect at least some of the problems with the film are due to the pandemic. It did have a pasted together feel to it.
Bond is moving with the times. There's a lot of shit they did in the 1960s that would nuke a movie at the box office today. Making him slightly less of a complete sociopath doesn't a "woke" make.
The books are still popular so they still resonate with people.
I recently received a box set of the James Bond movies and books (not including the Craig era) which I'm working my through and I'd very much like to see more faithful adaptations
Moore might be the weakest Bond for me – not much of an edge of violence. Connery and Craig tended to fight, or just move, with aggression.
I quite like the Craig movies. Was surprised they did the rope trick in casino royale – that was in the book. Didn't remember the joke about scratchning his nuts though.
Yes, there's an audience for the same of stuff, time and time again. But that audience dies out. The Bond franchise has spent at least 35 years tweaking itself as the world changes – it's one of the reasons I like it.
Basically how bad the Disney movies and how turned off the fans were bled over into the Solo movie (first Star Wars movie to bomb) and as for wokeness lets not forget that droid going on about robot rights or Landos 'gender fluidity'
The failure of this movie led to more movies being cancelled (probably a good thing)
Anyway, the holiday schedule being what it is I went out and watched the latest matrix. You'd hate it, lots of existential confusion followed by infinitely mounting odds that were eventually overcome by (spoilers) the power of love managing to break the established laws of the universe.
What I don't get is that Hollywood and especially Disney love money yet they've lost out on so much money you'd think it has to be deliberate
Think about it, you buy Lucasfilm for 4 billion but you run the franchise so badly you only get four profitable films out of it and Solo tanks so badly they won't make any more movies for years
You spend another 4 billion on Marvel studios and proceed to make people bored of superhero movies (yay lets put out The Marvels, thats what everyone wants)
Hollywood needs to stop listening to the people listening to twitter and go back to cocaine and wanton excess and make some good entertaining movies
Well, Disney is in it for the long haul. They buy an IP not for the movies alone, but the streaming of past titles, spinoff series (that can experiment with different ideas while also marketing the rest of the library), and merch licensing.
Solo only tanked on the opportunity cost break-even projections. Ony in the world of those funny finances is a hundred million more income than the 300mil budget "tanking". But the people who predicted that opportunity cost probably predicted it as badly as they predicted how many people would go see Solo, lol.
It tanked so badly it stopped movies being made and there are no plans for any in the near future.
I damn well know that if I had Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the same movie I'd have made sure they had a scene together, preferably in the Falcon
I'd also put a kibosh on actors shitting on fans
And no more 'subverting expectations' unless it's making a good movie
If I tanked that badly, I'd have a hundred million dollars more than I started with lol
But the cusp of it seems to be that you don't want surprises and you want lazy callbacks to yesteryear.
I quite like script surprises. Genuine ones, not heavily foreshadowed or part of the well-trodden story arc the movie is plodding along with. Unexpected takes. Asking ethical or moral questions, exploring them, and then not answering them.
One of my favourite movies of all time is Predator.
Starts off as a typical bombastic over the top 80s action movie, changes tack to slasher horror and ends as a lone survivor fight to the death movie.
I do like surprises but I'd rather those surprises came in new franchises or if they must do it with existing properties then do it well, put some thought into it
Todays script writers and directors are simply not as good, or not allowed to be as good, as they were in previous decades
The best picture winner at the Oscars are a bit of a joke but start at the 2020s and work your way back through the decades and then tell me if we're not in one helluva slump
Look at all the current movies of today, go back a decade or two and compare the movies nominated
IE compare the 2020, 2019, 2018 offerings to 2005, 2006 and 2007 and see which eras movies were better (or indeed more popular)
No no you're selling Predator short.
Its a bombastic action movie upto the terrorist camp then it morphs into a slasher horror then, after the scene with Billy buying time on the bridge, it turns into a survivalist movie where Arnie turns the tables on the Predator
The Predator had the advantage of superior technology but once that technology was negated Arnie had the advantage with his greater knowledge of low-tech traps and in the end Arnies experience saw him take out the physically superior but inexperienced and prideful Predator (at least thats how I saw it)
The virgin trope character uses her wits and guile to kill jason or whomever, too.
As for the oscar movies, meh. Seem to be more movies in the offing in later years, but other than that I still don't get what you're actually pointing out. I mean, if you're saying it's a woke thing, in the heat of the night and driving miss daisy were pretty woke for their time, too.
New batman might be interesting. Justice League went off the rails with the "find the macguffin and keep it away from the cgi bad guy" trope, amongst other things.
'New batman might be interesting. Justice League went off the rails with the "find the macguffin and keep it away from the cgi bad guy" trope, amongst other things'
I quite liked the Snyder cut, maybe a bit too long but by all accounts much more improved on what Warners put out
I'll reserve judgement on Robert Pattinson but he is a good actor so you never know
…with officials warning it will not keep up with ambitious plans to grow the aerospace sector unless it gets extra resourcing.
What? How does ambitious ideas for space work in with our needs to deal with climate change control, and the fact that nearly all our business activity sends profit into the pockets of overseas investors, and what we actually make is commodity stuff that the smartarse laboratory rats are planning to create artificially, so eating into our national income! This place is going quietly mad, except for outbreaks of noisy mad.
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. 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 economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
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 ...
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. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
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 ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
Leftist ends the year on an exemplary high: http://werewolf.co.nz/2021/12/gordon-campbell-on-the-obscure-bill-that-erodes-our-system-of-justice/
Classic political analysis brought to bear on a Labour Party intent on eliminating civil liberties to prove to voters that it can out-flank the Nats on the right. Gordon Campbell provides novice journos a textbook lesson on how to expose Labour's lack of credibility.
So
What would the title of the legislation be if Labour were honest? It would be called the Protest Leader's Elimination Bill. That would tell the truth about Labour's intent. Stack the courts in favour of the prosecution. Labour's century-long campaign to ramp up state power to achieve total control of the populace thus obtains a final solution – to the problem of democratic freedom.
I read that article yesterday with considerable disquiet.
If Campbell’s right, it too broadly dispenses with habeus corpus, the cornerstone of our legal system’s right to a fair trial.
One hopes that it will be rigorously challenged by the Law Society, Green Party, all other parties, & scores of civil libertarians in Select Committee. And that the media will cover it properly. They never know, one day one of their journos might be on the receiving end of it.
From the linked article:
Add to that sentence… protecting the principles of natural justice – and the rights of citizens wrongly suspected of subversion – should be a higher priority than protecting the flow of classified information to the security services.
From experience (in my case on the say-so of another) I can assure you that natural justice has never taken precedence over matters pertaining to security concerns. In other words all that has changed is the government is legislating for something that has been the abiding principle for many decades.
Having said the above, I take issue with your final paragraph. To infer as you have that Labour has been running a century-long campaign to ramp up state power to achieve total control of the populace… " is conspiratorial nonsense.
You shouldn't need the words "wrongly suspected of subversion" in your proposed change.
It is quite sufficient to say "protecting the principles of natural justice – and the rights of citizens – should be a higher priority" ie all citizens.
I concede alwyn "and the rights of citizens" is more appropriate. Thanks for pointing it out. My mind was trapped in my own experience three decades ago.
But Anne, Labour have always been statist control freaks! If I was wrong about that you'd be able to cite instances of protest leaders joining the Labour Party, being allocated safe seats to campaign in, becoming MPs and then cabinet ministers.
Okay, so Goff was PYM – but he never got a reputation of being a leader of the rabble in those days. He was a follower.
Anyway, you tacitly concede my point by failing to provide an innocent explanation for why Labour is doing what they're doing. Here's one you could try: incompetence. Faafoi doesn't know what he's doing (according to this theory), he's just operating on autopilot advancing an agenda provided to him by his advisors. If I were a conspiracy theorist I'd call them the Deep State. Instead, I suspect they represent the shallow state; public servants who believe state security must prevail over civil rights. Deeply shallow folk.
No Dennis they have not… always been control freaks.
That is a wrong interpretation of their principles and policies down the decades. For example, Michael Joseph Savage was a gentleman with no aspiration to hold power for power's sake. He wanted to raise the standard of living for everyone and not just the chosen few. He and his ministers had to introduce legislation to make it start to happen.
The only thing that has changed is the strategies – taking into account changing modern day conditions. But the principle is still the same… to raise the standard of living for everyone. Unfortunately the "chosen few" have almost all the money and power so there will always be a need to redress the balance by way of legislation.
Some people may disagree with the way Labour goes about it, and that is part of being a democracy, but it is NOT being "control freaks".
Good to see James taking this initiative on behalf of the govt:
Can't rush these things, good things take time to grow. Surely.
I'm sure James will get down to Southland sometime before 2026 anyway. He might fit it in when there is no gathering of the jet setters to go to.
just a little matter of trying to sort NZ's response to the climate catastrophe, during a global pandemic.
Grassroots farming pleads for audience with Greens.
Liking this.
Looks like Africa's going Green:
I breath high concentration molecular hydrogen, and drink molecular hydrogen infused water. It's way of the future. I also believe cold fusion power is close to becoming a reality.
Yes. If all goes to plan I may find myself becoming heavily involved in hydrogen projects this year.
Hitch yourself to a balloon, fill it up. You can get nicely high doing that. Stratospheric, even. Ascension has been a cultural trend for several decades eh?
But on a serious note, sounds interesting. Scouting the current opportunities or already have options in mind? Your expertise is engineering? Or project management? Both? I'm just curious so if there's confidentiality involved just a scenario summary would be cool…
Setting up a global Hydrogen Centre of Excellence for one of the major process control system vendors. Still some factors outside of my control involved – so no promises yet.
Excellent, I'll bet in ten years battery vehicles will be fazing out, they ar a blind ally , hydrogen fuel made by fusion is the future.
Already happens. We get 100% of our energy from H fusion. (Only trouble its 90 m miles away)
And then there is the nuclear fission reactor in the centre of the earth. Which allows a magnetic field to form, and in turn keeps the solar wind from stripping off our atmosphere. Which lets us breathe.
Us clever monkeys can surely tap into that?
Disappointing though, if we were to interrupt its action.
We do. It’s called hydrothermal energy.
Or, more correctly, geothermal energy.
OK may 99% then
99.97%
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget
Ok nearly!!! then
I made no mention of the energy budget at the surface – merely pointing out that this decay heat in the core of the earth is vital for existence the existence of life.
This internal core heat also drives plate tectonics which has a multitude of implications for life on earth as well.
have a look at the cautions around efficiencies and sustainability.
Everyone in the hydrogen game is well aware of the efficiency issue, but that's by no means the only component in play.
And I'm seeing 'sustainability' as another one of those poorly defined 'progressive' words that can be stretched to cover off almost anything.
bwaghorn isn't afaik in the hydrogen game. Buyer beware.
Yes, I know you don't understand what sustainability is, despite many attempts to explain it.
I'm upfront and probably more transparent than any other regular participant here – other than maybe Lynn- and I realised long ago that would make me a target for the cheap shots.
As for 'sustainability' – the version you promote pretty much means running into resource limits more slowly – but not allowed to innovate past them.
I'm not taking cheap shots, I'm pointing out that there are plenty of explanations of what sustainability is but you don't seem to understand what it is. That's ok, I'm sure if you tried to explain technical aspects of your work some people might struggle to grasp it. Sustainability requires learning a new way of thinking, lots of people don't get it.
no, it really doesn't.
Could it be worse than mining flat out to build batteries that will be dumped in some third world shit hole 10 years later!!
I agree. This is why I write about the Powerdown 🙂
eg in NZ, we have good hydro infrastructure. What would it look like if we largely worked within that capacity?
We can also do grid tied solar, solar hot water, passive solar, none of which require batteries, but do require a bit of behavioural change.
The interesting thing about living on solar with batteries is you soon get acutely aware of how much power you use, when you use it, and what actually matters. This isn't a bad thing, and it's what we need.
I see richard prebbles latest effort at rewriting history is something about deregulating broadcasting. I have yet to see him explain away his efforts at deregulating housing, and how it cost kiwis hundreds of millions to fix badly designed and built houses, and how it led to a shortage of low cost housing , which plagues NZ today,..For those who came in late, there will be footage of prebble ,on parliament steps, tearing up, and burning the housing regs as they were. NZ's housing problems can be directly sheeted home to prebble and the act party. something that should be taught in schools….
We really should rename the right wing the wrong wing, what lasting good have they ever achieved.
That's very neat and apt bwaghorn – we should do that. The wrong wing huh!
Cheers and happy new years, to be honest when I reread that comment I cringed at my attempt at humor,
If anyone is rewriting history it would appear to be woodart.
ACT was led by Prebble from 1996 until 2004. He retired from Parliament in 2005. During his time in Parliament as an ACT MP they were never part of the Government. They were on the cross benches during the National led Government from 1996 until 1999 and in the Opposition from 1999 until 2004 when there was a Clark/Labour led Government.
Just how could Prebble and the ACT party be responsible for NZ's housing problems? You are dreaming.
I could have sworn that Prebble was in the labour govt.
Ah yes 75 to 93.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Prebble
OOps
Indeed, Prebble was a Labour Party man from 75 to 93. Woodart was however blaming ACT for the problems, and they weren't even in existence then.
His precise words were "NZ's housing problems can be directly sheeted home to prebble and the act party."
The only Government Prebble was part of was a Labour one as a Labour MP. That was from 1984 to 1990. Do we blame Labour? If so should we complain that it was the fault of the Housing Minister?
Hm. That would be Phil Goff for 3 years, Helen Clark for 2 years and Jonathon Hunt for 1. No Prebble in the job though.
Oops.
so, in your self-appointed job of know-it-all-ism, do you deny prebble on the steps of parliament burning building regs, and telling the reporters that building derugulation would be the key to success, and do you deny that a budding act party taking that deregulation mantra on board and using it in their manifesto? I never claimed he was an M.P. at that time, that was you, as, usual, NOT reading properly, and running off at the keyboard in your usual haste to be a smartarse.
I have no idea whether he did any of those things and I don't really care. I am one of those people who think that the Government of the days passes the laws of the country and not that the Opposition does so.
I realise that this tends to spoil the rants of some of the more fantasy promoting members of society but that is just tough s**t.
I suppose my views are in some ways a variation on Richard Feynman's statement.
"It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart you are. If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong."
If you are going to argue that some party is responsible for laws that they never passed, and never were in a Government so that they never could pass them I would have to say that you are wrong. I would also tend to think that the second clause of Feynman's statement can't apply to you.
for a climb-down ,its a crock.
Woodart, it was the fourth National Government (with Ruth Richardson Treasurer,) loosened housing rules that led to leaky homes, and increased state house rents to market related charges, this so impacted the poor that Food kitchens appeared for the first time since the '30s. Bolger and Shippley were Leaders of that debacle.
At the time one of the National women MPs gave out recipes for basic meals. Trouble was she was saying "Now from your store cupboard (Pantry)take…" this aimed at people who ran out of food Saturday waiting for money on Tuesday. That was also when Bolger famously said "A lunch is only two pieces of bread with something between them".
Our school started a” Breakfast and homework club" We also provided apples a snack and children could make a sandwich for lunch. Fillings were basic marmite cheese or fish paste. About 30 to forty would be there Thus Fri Mon, with 12 to 15 other days. We had music playing so conversations were private.
It was an eye opener to see how those children were more settled learned and were more open and hopeful. Teachers would contribute to it as they saw the difference. Policies should always start with the children in mind.
That Government put the surcharge on superannuation as well. It lasted two terms.
The last sentence is incorrect Patricia.
Sorry, but the tax surcharge on superannuation was introduced by the Lange Labour Government in 1985. It was not introduced by the National Government of which Ruth Richardson was a prominent participant. The surcharge was very belatedly removed by the National Government in 1998.
You are correct Alwyn My bad
Well that may be but National certainly weren't very honest about the topic. As far as I remember it they promised to remove the surcharge in their 1990 manifesto. Then then reneged on the promise throughout their first 2 terms and only removed it 8 years after it was first a firm promise. I was living in Australia from 1989 to 1996 and I was very surprised that the surcharge was still there when I came back.
In 91 and 92 it could be pretty easily justified. The books were in a terrible mess when they took over. However after they had been in office for a full term that claim really doesn't cut it any more. If you haven't fixed a problem after a full term you simply aren't being competent or you aren't being honest.
It all started with Muldoon his loans and the pause before he handed over the reins. I think Lange let the cat out of the bag about devaluation, and money flew out the country until it happened and was returned afterwards. Right mess. Cheers Alwyn. Though one term to turn things around is a big ask. Some problems are so entrenched and so many livelihoods have been upset already. Our next big test.. Omicron out in Auckland
Patricia
And you could provide a semi scientific finding on its efficacy. It's taken Covid to make government to listen to science instead of going for gut feelings with orchestrated reports as to value or ear-whispering from wealthies of the wrong wing plus Treasury.
I reread the rest of your comment and what you are saying in fact confirms what you quote Bolger as saying.
You quote him as saying "A lunch is only two pieces of bread with something between them".
Then you say what you were providing as a least the main part of the children's lunch
" children could make a sandwich for lunch. Fillings were basic marmite cheese or fish paste"
That sounds as if Bolger was pretty much on target doesn't it? Given his background of course that was probably exactly what he, and his children, of which he had nine, did have for lunch. He was himself one of 5 kids born to a couple who had emigrated in 1930 from Ireland and he left school at 15 to work on the farm. I doubt there was very much spare money for a fancy lunch in that family.
Depends if you have the bread.
A wee something to jigger the day.
https://twitter.com/TheNeuroTimes/status/1475125013464428545
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1475125013464428545.html
Faarrk, there's a lot in that.
Biggest thing I am with is what are we doing about masks in NZ? I see a lot of people internationally saying shift to more technical masks, but I don't know what to buy or even if I can buy them here. Anyone got a good explainer on that?
This article is a guide to medical quality respirators in NZ
https://nzohs.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Guide-P2-Respiratory-Protection-in-ANZ-Final-2.pdf
If you want this quality there is 3M 8210 that meets AS/ANZ 1716:2012 P2. P2 is the local equivalent standard to N95. You can buy these from Mitre10 (often out of stock or NZ Safety Blackwoods.(good stock at some branches, phone 0800 660 660) Packet of 20 about $70.
KN95 rated respirators are not always meeting quality tests. (see above link)
thanks. I think the issue isn't so much what I want but what should I want.
how resusable are teh P2s for pandemic purposes? Washable?
I've never washed them myself but here's what a microbiologist found when he washed and then tested a variety of masks . It's also a guide to the effectiveness of homemade versus bought masks.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/456413/disposable-masks-washed-10-times-still-more-protective-than-triple-layer-fabric-masks-study
What you need in a high risk situation is a mask rated P2 or N95. I checked out the ones linked to above carefully before I chose them for myself.
I've come to the conclusion that the only reason why COVID is still around is that too many people are making too much money and power from it. So yes it will likely to be around until enough people figure this out.
So is it a big …hoax?
No.
I agree.
Pfizer is not going to want to give this up, they have too much invested.
Theres also a lot of media, politicians, other corporations that'll want to see this continue.
And lots of people who want to keep their loved ones alive, them too.
Pfizer are going to make coin no matter what. The research into this vaccine put them onto the fast track for others.
So not a hoax…just a money making construct.
' the only reason why COVID is still around is that too many people are making too much money and power from it.'
The ONLY reason.
Remembering it's the CCP's fault in the first place, Covid's been so profitable, and messed with freedums to such an extent, that vested interests (?) will be plotting to keep it going forever, just like they will with the next crisis.
Thank goodness for Western freedum fighters (Trump, Johnson, Bolsonaro) – it's only these 'clear thinkers', and Tucker Carlson, that give me hope. /sarc
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2021/12/japan-maps-out-plan-to-release-contaminated-fukushima-water-into-ocean.html
“…Under the government scheme, Japan aims to set standards for compensation for damage caused by what it described as harmful rumours on local industries such as fishing, tourism and agriculture while reinforcing monitoring capability and transparency to avoid reputational damage.
Japan also expects the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to compile an interim safety assessment next year, based on its review over the safety of the treated water, the competence of local analytical laboratories and regulatory frameworks, the government said.
In an effort to improve transparency to gain the trust of the international community, Japan asked the IAEA in April to conduct a review to assess and advise on the handling of the water.
A decade after a massive earthquake and tsunami ravaged the country’s northeastern coast, disabling the plant and causing the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, nearly 1.3 million tonnes of contaminated water have accumulated at the site.
The water, enough to fill about 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools, is stored in huge tanks at an annual cost of about 100 billion yen (NZ$1.3b), and space is running out.
Japan has argued the release is necessary to press ahead with the complex decommissioning of the plant. It says similarly filtered water is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world.”
… … … … … …
One hopes they are right & that discharging this treated contaminated water into the ocean won’t have any harmful effects on the oceanic ecosystem.
The primary isotope involved is tritium or Hydrogen3.
The very slow rate of the planned release, the vast dilution within the massive volume of the Pacific over time means that any actual radiation will be far, far below the background level. The only possible concern is bio-accumulation, but even that stretches the case as no-one demonstrated this occurs for tritium. Nor is this release unique, tritium has been released by nuclear processes as a part of normal operation for decades – with absolutely no evidence of harm.
All of this information is readily available to anyone writing an article on the topic, but mentioning it would of course spoil the scare factor.
One simple reality that gets ignored here all the time is that this planet we live on is bathed in a low level of background radiation all the time – and every living thing has evolved in it's presence. The idea that it 'damages DNA' is one of the pervasive fearmongering myths often propagated. DNA gets damaged all the time, from all manner of causes both from ionising radiation and other oxidants- yet all living creatures have molecular repair mechanisms that work to repair this damage all the time.
Indeed there is good evidence from places where due to altitude or geological conditions people live their whole lives with substantially elevated background radiation levels. And remarkably enough they show reduced rates of cancer. This fact has been well known for decades but has been consistently denied and censored.
So when you see articles like this, and there will be the usual steady trickle of them, that do not include any relevant science or even mention the word tritium, feel free not to be overly frightened.
Remember how someone said COVID infections in children are relatively mild?
The post mortem of fourteen month old who died from COVID revealed serious brain damage. But relatively mild brain damage, I guess.
/
Findings
Lesions included microthrombosis, pulmonary congestion, interstitial oedema, lymphocytic infiltrates, bronchiolar injury, collapsed alveolar spaces, cortical atrophy, and severe neuronal loss. SARS-CoV-2 staining was observed along the apical region of the choroid plexus (ChP) epithelium and in ependymal cells of the lateral ventricle, but was restricted to ChP capillaries and vessels in some regions. SARS-CoV-2 infection of brain tissue was confirmed by RT-qPCR in fragments of the ChP, lateral ventricle, and cortex.
Interpretation
Our results show multisystemic histopathological alterations caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and contribute to knowledge regarding the course of fatal COVID-19 in children. Furthermore, our findings of ChP infection and viral neurotropism suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may invade the central nervous system by blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier disruption.
[…]
Major complications include neurological manifestations that occur in up to 67% of severely affected patients [[3]]. Neurological sequelae may be acute or chronic, and may include headache, vomiting, dizziness, hypogeusia and hyposmia, persistent fatigue, memory dysfunction, gait disorders, and meningitis/encephalitis [4,5,6]. A post-mortem case series detected SARS-CoV-2 in the brains of 53% of patients who died of COVID-19, with viral proteins in cranial nerves and in isolated cells of the brainstem [[7]]. As suggested previously for SARS-CoV, neuroinvasion of the brainstem cardiorespiratory centre may promote respiratory failure in COVID-19 [[8]]. The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein has been demonstrated in cortical neurons and in cerebrovascular endothelium [[9]]. Although detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is uncommon, it has been reported in two adults [[10]] and one infant [[11]].
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanam/article/PIIS2667-193X(21)00038-7/fulltext
Road chaos update:
Usual problems – holiday traffic, crashes, same as every year.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/12/auckland-traffic-commuter-chaos-as-debris-blocks-road-car-breaks-down-on-harbour-bridge.html
Fantasy problems – the Covid checkpoints. (Wasn't it supposed to be civil war?).
A large helping of humble pie on the menu for Seymour, Luxon and a couple of commenters here. They must be so disappointed.
NSW has recorded 11,201 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours. 625 people in Hospital, 61 in ICU and 3 more deaths.
But NZ should totally be like NSW, they said. Open up and let business thrive, they said. So what happens when Covid spreads like crazy?
"Concern is growing at the impact of rising coronavirus cases on New Year’s Eve plans in NSW.
Australian Cruise Group executive director Sudhir Warrier, who is in charge of the cruises in Sydney Harbour during the NYE fireworks, said ticket sales are badly down this year. He told Sky News earlier this morning:
"Business has completely dried up in the last 10 days or so, consumer confidence is totally shattered."
(Guardian Australia)
Living with the virus is such fun….not! Check out Denmark's outbreak, now one of the world's worst and the hospitalisation and death rate is rising too, albeit there is a lag…30 deaths there 2 days ago, population the same as NZ. As one commenter in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that even if Omicron is 70% less severe tban Delta as one non-peered British survey suggested, a 400% increase in transmission rate means just as many or more deaths per million. Denmark comparison with Australia by Aussie Doctor Crabb depicted here:
https://twitter.com/CrabbBrendan/status/1476001705032499203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1476001705032499203%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Faustralia-news%2Flive%2F2021%2Fdec%2F29%2Faustralia-covid-news-live-case-numbers-nsw-vic-qld-morrison-vaccines-omicron-testing-delays
@Weka
About masks.
https://masks4all.co/faqs-on-better-masks/
https://buynz.org.nz/NZ-Made-Face-Masks/8490/
thanks. I think that confirms I'm better off today with my closely fitting double cloth mask than the surgical one that has gaps at the side.
At the moment I'm getting around the ill-fitting ear-loop surgical mask by double-bagging my stubbled dial with a large behind the head tie cloth mask with a removable filter. I'm also fiddling around with duck-billed N95s under the cloth mask should things go pear shaped. Thinking about some sort of eye protection, too.
I would go for the long bird beak face covering if I were you, and if you want maximum protection, you can use a thick layer of vaseline on any exposed skin to stop it getting into the pores…
Now, I realise you're a detestable POS who could only image anyone giving a rat's arse about you, but as a family we're committed to doing everything we can to reduce an extremely vulnerable and much loved member's aggregate risk. And despite the ignorant, sneering reckons of filth like yourself, if the science said Csixteen masks and goose fat were the go, we'd be in.
(a seasonal bot could be fatal so this ain't new)
Pop culture thoughts
So first to my predictions:
Spiderman: No Way Home breaking a billion at the box office happened and The Matrix Resurrections sucking happened but I'm going to go a step further and predict Spiderman: No Way Home will take in more at the box office by itself than the three MSheU movies of phase 4 combined (basically I'm predicting it'll take 1.2 billion)
Also Spider hasn't been released in China yet still did bonkers at the box office (like The Joker) something studios to think about maybe…
So what does this all mean?
We've all heard 'get woke go broke' but in reality it should be 'get woke and leave more money on the table except for a few movies that did actually lose money and not forgetting the TV series cancelled' but that doesn't really roll off the tongue
Disney Star Wars didn't just leave money on the table, it also tanked the next film in the spin off series, the Han Solo movie (remember that) plus it stopped dead in the track all the other plans for movies
So is it all bad news?
Spiderman to me is the anti Ghostbusters 2016, its fun, it treats the source material and fans with respect, tells a good story and isn't woke (well its a little woke but nothing major)
What is interesting to me is that it feels like two movies added together, you have the first 30-40 minutes of typical Marvel/Disney 'humour' and then it gets a bit more serious (though the jokes work better)
So is this enough to turn the entertainment ship around…yes, yes it is.
It won't happen overnight as there are far too many movies in production to change, yes we'll have to put up with Disney ruining all other superhero movies (hey you like nostalgia, heres nostalgia and cameos)
But I believe that eventually studio heads will stop listening to people that listen to twitter and will go back to wanting to make money, that Gordon Gekko (or the spirit anyway) will decide that giving the paying audience what they want will make them more money, that not insulting the paying audience is the way to go, that people go to the movies for entertainment and escapism not reeducation and blame and if the product Hollywood puts out provides that then the audiences will pay
Spoiler warning:
Except the studios have always been about making money.
Not sure how "woke" Solo was. It was pretty good, in general, but the plot points were a bit run of the mill – omg lost love turns up, betrayals, betrayals predicted, yadda yadda. Some funny bits in it though. It also fell into the trap of providing the origin story for darn near every single wardrobe item in the original movies, lol.
Matrix – well, the first matrix was pretty good, but went downhill from there. Latest one looks mildly interesting, but I won't rush to see it.
Damned if I see what your problem is with ghostbusters. I lived through both the north korea/invisible car Bond flick and the Clooney batman, ffs.
lol.
I don't know what the problem is either and PR won't say.
PR, what exactly is woke about MCU phases 1 – 3? Be specific, because then we will know what you are talking about. And no, I don't want to watch a youtube of some dude spending 30 minutes explaining something you could outline in one comment.
There was wokeness in 1 -3
Thor never fought Hela, in fact she destroyed his hammer.
Black Panther was, according to the media, the single greatest achievement in movie making and the first time a black person had been in a movie, let alone a super hero movie (sarcasm)
Captain Marvel was, funnily enough, Marvels inferior response to Wonder Woman, why they didn't go with a Black Widow movie is something we'll never know
Avengers End Game…well…theres this scene (if you're going into battle why do you take your helmet off)
Which bits were woke?
So you want the films to be always faithful to the comics? How is changing the storylines woke?
So nothing about the film, just the publicity around it.
The original CM is inferior? What about the film?
What's woke about it? As opposed to bog standard put the pretty chicks up front, which has been happening forever (assuming this is what you meant). Or did you mean there are too many chicks?
Marvel phases 1-3 consists of approximately 23 movies. I am not going to go through every single one to point out where and how its woke.
The links I post to talk about why its woke and, more importantly, give examples of clips of the movies but since you don't want to watch them (your loss) I have to do my best.
'So you want the films to be always faithful to the comics? How is changing the storylines woke?'
I do prefer movies to be faithful and respectful to the source material but if they move away from the source material then at least be respectful
For example, Thor gives up his role of leader for Valkyrie completely negating the lessons learned about being king from his father and then he becomes fat Thor because…I don't know funny or something
'So nothing about the film, just the publicity around it.'
The movie itself was nothing special (though Chadwick Boseman was very good) but yeah it just wasn't publicity, the whole marketing campaign made the movie itself into a cultural touchstone, that you had to not just like it but love it and if you didn't then you must be racist
'The original CM is inferior? What about the film?'
Yes the Captain Marvel is vastly inferior to the Wonder Woman movie. One of the reasons is because Captain Marvel is similar to Rey Skywalker (Palpatine) in that both of them suffer the same problem as being really boring.
The reason they're boring is that nowadays woman in superhero movies arn't allowed to be flawed, weak or have to try.
For example Luke Skywalker has to train to become a jedi, the first time he faces Vader he loses a hand and doesn't defeat until the end of the third movie and still loses to the Emperor until Vader steps up
Rey on the other hand beats up anyone she meets, resists Kylos mind tricks (with no training), defeats Kylo (trained by Luke remember), moves a landslide (with no training), uses mind tricks on stormtroops (again no training), can fly the Falcon (remember Luke couldn't), can repair the Falcon (Han couldn't)
There are more examples but that should be enough. Basically in Disney movies women are already strong and powerful, they just need to remember (thats also pretty much Captain Marvel) because men are holding them back
Its like playing a video game on the easiest setting, theres no challenge and it all becomes a bit boring when there are no stakes
I'm not asking you to. I'm asking you to describe maybe three times something was woke and how it was woke. At the moment you are asserting wokeness, and then describing things I wouldn't call woke. You've failed to make the argument.
Sure. How is that woke though? Rather than just a move away from the original?
Again, you're not describing the film as woke, but the promotion and media around it. Is there anything about the film itself that is woke?
Thanks!! That's a really good explanation. I'm curious now if this is something specific to female characters, or more a feature of how contemporary characters generally are written (as compared to say Luke Skywalker). Or both.
This is a good point. I'll keep that in mind next time I watch.
What are some films (any genre or time period) where this doesn't happen with the women characters?
Alien and Aliens, Mad Max Fury Road, Terminator 1and 2, Ghostbusters, Spy, The Hunger Games, The Harry Potter series
Some of my favourite movies of all time
Essentially its denigrating male characters to specifically make female characters more impressive.
Rey beats Luke.
Leia also is better with a lightsaber than Luke.
Thor gives up leadership to Valkyrie and becomes a fat joke.
Red Guardian becomes a fat joke.
Loki suddenly becomes a weak, snivelling, coward.
Kate Bishop defeats the Kingpin.
In the Falcon and The Winter Soldier the Falcon wouldn't even fight against the terrorist Karli (gender swopped by the way)
Captain America Steve Rogers is now Captain Rogers
Did you know Dr Strange was going to appear in Wandavision:
The phase 4 is when the M She U comes into its own.
Wandavision removed Dr Strange because they didn't want a man overshadowing Wanda
Look at the treatment of Loki in his own tv series
Apparantly the big shock now is when someone reveals their helmet or face covering to reveal a women, its heavy handed, not subtle and not interesting
My main point is that if Iron Man, Thor, Captain America (not sure why Hulk doesn't work in his own movie) had started off as woke then we wouldn't be talking about woke marvel because it wouldn't be the behemoth it is now
If Bond had started off as whatever he is now he wouldn't have gone nearly 60 years
Predator wouldn't have been around nearly 30 years
Dr Who
All the rest of the franchises.
They wouldn't be as popular as they are now.
People don't respond to woke in moves and by that I mean popular movies, movies that people like going to
You can certainly have woke movies but woke and popular never get off the ground so for these people to get their message across they insert it into other franchises
You want a woke, popular franchise then by all means start one up, just stop ruining already popular franchises
Show some creativity is all I'm saying
Bond in the books is a cruel, misogynistic killer. Sure they could have made a film like that, but guess what, women don't want to watch that anymore. Craig was a move in a better direction in terms of the original Bond without being basically a retrograde 1950s dude.
There are all sorts of problems with No Time To Die, but if it had been woke, the Nomi character would have been an actual character rather than a lame attempt to address the whole only white dudes are 007 thing. I suspect at least some of the problems with the film are due to the pandemic. It did have a pasted together feel to it.
It was going to be even more woke however, due to test screenings, they did a lot of reshoots and changed the scripts.
Phoebe Waller-Bridges (also provided the voice of the robots rights robot in Solo) ideas were toned down.
So yes, in effect, it was pasted together. Search the first trailer then the last trailer and you'll see exactly what I mean.
Bond is moving with the times. There's a lot of shit they did in the 1960s that would nuke a movie at the box office today. Making him slightly less of a complete sociopath doesn't a "woke" make.
I disagree.
The books are still popular so they still resonate with people.
I recently received a box set of the James Bond movies and books (not including the Craig era) which I'm working my through and I'd very much like to see more faithful adaptations
I do admit to liking Roger Moore though…
We all have our flaws.
Moore might be the weakest Bond for me – not much of an edge of violence. Connery and Craig tended to fight, or just move, with aggression.
I quite like the Craig movies. Was surprised they did the rope trick in casino royale – that was in the book. Didn't remember the joke about scratchning his nuts though.
Yes, there's an audience for the same of stuff, time and time again. But that audience dies out. The Bond franchise has spent at least 35 years tweaking itself as the world changes – it's one of the reasons I like it.
Tweak yes but killing Bond, thats a step too far for me and the way he just gave up at the end
No not my Bond
Basically how bad the Disney movies and how turned off the fans were bled over into the Solo movie (first Star Wars movie to bomb) and as for wokeness lets not forget that droid going on about robot rights or Landos 'gender fluidity'
The failure of this movie led to more movies being cancelled (probably a good thing)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Star_Wars_films#Unproduced_films
The Matrix is easy to deal with. There is only one Matrix movie, the first one. The rest are fan fiction.
'Damned if I see what your problem is with ghostbusters. I lived through both the north korea/invisible car Bond flick and the Clooney batman, ffs.'
Firstly it was really bad. Every male actor without exception was either dumb, cowardly, cruel or a combination of all three.
Compare Annie Potts to Chris Hemsworth to see what I mean
Its biggest sin is that it wasn't funny. The actors are talented, the director is talented but this wasn't any good.
But my personal issue with it is headlines like this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/ghostbusters-the-bros-who-hate-it-and-the-art-of-modern-misogyny/2016/07/14/1dfba61a-49bd-11e6-bdb9-701687974517_story.html
https://ew.com/article/2016/06/09/melissa-mccarthy-mocks-male-ghostbusters-haters/
That to criticize the movie is to criticize women, that you can't possibly dislike the movie, the movie can't possibly be bad
Oh no its sexist men, men who hate and fear women that derailed the film.
The movie sucked, it was no good, not funny, it was a reboot that no one asked for or wanted.
Also yes invisible car bond and bat nipples were really bad. They both deserved to go on hiatus. No argument there.
Who judges a movie by the headlines it draws?
Anyway, the holiday schedule being what it is I went out and watched the latest matrix. You'd hate it, lots of existential confusion followed by infinitely mounting odds that were eventually overcome by (spoilers) the power of love managing to break the established laws of the universe.
Hang on, that was the first one…
What I don't get is that Hollywood and especially Disney love money yet they've lost out on so much money you'd think it has to be deliberate
Think about it, you buy Lucasfilm for 4 billion but you run the franchise so badly you only get four profitable films out of it and Solo tanks so badly they won't make any more movies for years
You spend another 4 billion on Marvel studios and proceed to make people bored of superhero movies (yay lets put out The Marvels, thats what everyone wants)
Hollywood needs to stop listening to the people listening to twitter and go back to cocaine and wanton excess and make some good entertaining movies
Well, Disney is in it for the long haul. They buy an IP not for the movies alone, but the streaming of past titles, spinoff series (that can experiment with different ideas while also marketing the rest of the library), and merch licensing.
Solo only tanked on the opportunity cost break-even projections. Ony in the world of those funny finances is a hundred million more income than the 300mil budget "tanking". But the people who predicted that opportunity cost probably predicted it as badly as they predicted how many people would go see Solo, lol.
But hey, maybe you know better.
It tanked so badly it stopped movies being made and there are no plans for any in the near future.
I damn well know that if I had Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher in the same movie I'd have made sure they had a scene together, preferably in the Falcon
I'd also put a kibosh on actors shitting on fans
And no more 'subverting expectations' unless it's making a good movie
If I tanked that badly, I'd have a hundred million dollars more than I started with lol
But the cusp of it seems to be that you don't want surprises and you want lazy callbacks to yesteryear.
I quite like script surprises. Genuine ones, not heavily foreshadowed or part of the well-trodden story arc the movie is plodding along with. Unexpected takes. Asking ethical or moral questions, exploring them, and then not answering them.
And then blowing shit up.
No not true.
One of my favourite movies of all time is Predator.
Starts off as a typical bombastic over the top 80s action movie, changes tack to slasher horror and ends as a lone survivor fight to the death movie.
I do like surprises but I'd rather those surprises came in new franchises or if they must do it with existing properties then do it well, put some thought into it
Todays script writers and directors are simply not as good, or not allowed to be as good, as they were in previous decades
The best picture winner at the Oscars are a bit of a joke but start at the 2020s and work your way back through the decades and then tell me if we're not in one helluva slump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture#2020s
Yeah, I'm not seeing what makes you think "slump".
BTW, predator is just a teen slasher with guns. Arnie is the one who takes a prisoner in the camp, and survives with that virtue intact.
I'll explain it to you then.
Look at all the current movies of today, go back a decade or two and compare the movies nominated
IE compare the 2020, 2019, 2018 offerings to 2005, 2006 and 2007 and see which eras movies were better (or indeed more popular)
No no you're selling Predator short.
Its a bombastic action movie upto the terrorist camp then it morphs into a slasher horror then, after the scene with Billy buying time on the bridge, it turns into a survivalist movie where Arnie turns the tables on the Predator
The Predator had the advantage of superior technology but once that technology was negated Arnie had the advantage with his greater knowledge of low-tech traps and in the end Arnies experience saw him take out the physically superior but inexperienced and prideful Predator (at least thats how I saw it)
The virgin trope character uses her wits and guile to kill jason or whomever, too.
As for the oscar movies, meh. Seem to be more movies in the offing in later years, but other than that I still don't get what you're actually pointing out. I mean, if you're saying it's a woke thing, in the heat of the night and driving miss daisy were pretty woke for their time, too.
There's always a place for woke in movies.
Blockbuster tentpole movies isn't one of them
Well, the Xmen franchise started pretty woke, so I'm not sure how much that holds up.
The Xmen movies would be pretty hard not to make woke considering the subject matter
They did manage to make more than a few of them suck though
Still, pretty good track record for a woke blockbuster movie franchise.
It does all right, its no Bond, Marvel, Star Wars franchise and currently the Xmen movies themselves are in a bit of slump
Xmen apocalypse was a really bad movie and the less said about Dark Phoenix the better
Especially given Hugh Jackmans not playing Wolverine anymore.
Of course now that Disney own the rights to the Xmen we can only imagine the movies will get back on track
New batman might be interesting. Justice League went off the rails with the "find the macguffin and keep it away from the cgi bad guy" trope, amongst other things.
'New batman might be interesting. Justice League went off the rails with the "find the macguffin and keep it away from the cgi bad guy" trope, amongst other things'
I quite liked the Snyder cut, maybe a bit too long but by all accounts much more improved on what Warners put out
I'll reserve judgement on Robert Pattinson but he is a good actor so you never know
Has the blog looked at this? If so could someone tell me where as I should know something about it instead of at present, I've a great big voic.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/458770/can-the-transport-sector-keep-up-with-nz-s-space-race-plans
…with officials warning it will not keep up with ambitious plans to grow the aerospace sector unless it gets extra resourcing.
What? How does ambitious ideas for space work in with our needs to deal with climate change control, and the fact that nearly all our business activity sends profit into the pockets of overseas investors, and what we actually make is commodity stuff that the smartarse laboratory rats are planning to create artificially, so eating into our national income! This place is going quietly mad, except for outbreaks of noisy mad.