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.
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 ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
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 arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
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.