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After 6 weeks of New Lynn and Glen Eden having six deaths and a whole suite of neighbourhoods terrorised, and four Police injured, the PM finally promises to ask for a briefing on a massive crimewave:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday said she had not been briefed on the shooting but planned to speak to Police Minister Poto Williams.
She did not believe police had lost control of law and order in Auckland and said police had been working to get weapons out of the hands of criminals and clamp down on firearms "designed to cause mass devastation".
"We have taken direct action to try and reduce the access and nature of firearms that are being accessed in the wider community," Ardern said.
"You'll see that we've moved on licencing, we've removed those weapons that are military-style.
"The efforts of police have also been very focused on the seizure of both firearms and criminal assets."
Looking forward to other agencies stepping in to assist our outstanding Police men and women in this total societal failure.
So she has not been briefed on the rampage in West Auckland?
Oh well.
but to her credit, she used all her good words.
And i don’t think this is ‘societal’ failure, if anything society is suffering for the absence of political leadership. I mean she is still waxing on lyrically of removing weapons from law abiding citizens as if the gangs that she and her government are treating so kindly, really gave a fuck about legal weapons and her good words.
'According to O'Reilly, Black Power members use guns to hunt for food to feed their families and to defend themselves. He admits many obtain their guns illegally.'
National removed legislation requiring every firearm to be registered making it easier for firearms to be stolen harder for police to trace.
National cut proper investigation into gun owners suitability. Allowing retired police to do background checks that weren't carried out
National cut police numbers by 20% in 9 yrs .with low numbers police stopped checking gun owners safe storage of guns.especially in rural ares where 40% of guns are stolen from a very small percentage of the population who leave firearms lying around instead of in a lock up with firing mechanisms stored separately.
The govt put new legislation in place very similar to Nationals proposed bill.
Plus every gun will have to be registered like in Australia plus background checks more stringent plus shorter licence periods with those background checks revised in case of changes in mental or criminal status.
Not like your 1/2 truths
Police hadn't been running checks on gun club membership for years let alone checking safe keeping .
The Milton gun club had effectively been taken over by far right skin heads.Practicing terror tactics.
'National removed legislation requiring every firearm to be registered making it easier for firearms to be stolen harder for police to trace.'
– I'm not opposed to a registry however given the breaches of police security I would want reassurances that the information isn't leaked
– Someone with access to the registry leaking details of who owns what weapons and where is something we should all be concerned about
'National cut proper investigation into gun owners suitability.'
– Link please
'Allowing retired police to do background checks that weren't carried out'
– Is it the retired police doing the checks thats the problem or that the checks weren't carried out, something I've also talked about
'National cut police numbers by 20% in 9 yrs'
– National hasn't been in power for over 4 years
'With low numbers police stopped checking gun owners safe storage of guns.especially in rural ares where 40% of guns are stolen from a very small percentage of the population who leave firearms lying around instead of in a lock up with firing mechanisms stored separately.'
– Thats up to the police to sort is it not
– Also link please
'The govt put new legislation in place very similar to Nationals proposed bill.'
– Link please
'Plus every gun will have to be registered like in Australia plus background checks more stringent plus shorter licence periods with those background checks revised in case of changes in mental or criminal status.'
– I agree with this (in regards to the registration, see above)
'Not like your 1/2 truths'
– I posted links, don't like what the links say thats your issue
'Police hadn't been running checks on gun club membership for years let alone checking safe keeping.'
– Again, if true, thats an issue with the police not doing their jobs, I see plenty of police sitting on the sides of roads holding speed cameras
'The Milton gun club had effectively taken over by far right skin heads.'
– Link please
'Practicing terror tactics.'
– Hyperbole but, again, the police once again dropped the ball
'As a result, Breidahl says he spoke to another firearms club, who agreed the matter needed to be taken to the police.'
"I went to the arms officer, laid out my concerns and I was told they're a bunch of silly old duffers down those ways, don't worry about them, it's all good."
– Its why I've said in previous posts that firearm licencing needs to be run seperately though in conjunction with the police
The 1983 gun reform under National. Police no longer required to hold every guns serial number
The Bruce gun club herald Police investigating found fascist leaning members and confederate flags etc 2019
The recent legislation on gun ownership hansard.
Looking at NZ stats Police funding and numbers remained the same even though the population increased by 20% and 501's had already been intensifying gang violence.
Not to mention the P epidemic had gotten out of Control.
Remember John Key was going to get rid of the scourge of P it grew exponentially under his watch while he underfunded Police so the well off could get tax cuts just before each election.election bribes
'For most of its history, New Zealand had a gun register. This emerged during the 1860s and the Land Wars when the government was trying to control a free flow of firearms into the country. But some 120 years later, in a very different context, the pre-computer registration system was unfit for purpose. Only about 7% of all registered firearms could be located.'
'The replacement Arms Act of 1983 did away with the general register and put more emphasis upon ensuring all firearms users were “fit and proper”. Only pistols and military style semi-automatics had to be registered.'
It's known as the Milton gun club locally as the District is called Bruce County read the herald and other articles on how this gun club was infiltrated by criminals who openly displayed fascist leanings .
Not to mention how police volunteers did nothing to investigate the background of the ChCh shooter effectively rubber stamping this nut jobs gun licence.
'Looking at NZ stats Police funding and numbers remained the same even though the population increased by 20% and 501's had already been intensifying gang violence.'
– I have no issue with increasing police funding so maybe the current government, the government thats into its second term, could look into it?
'Not to mention the P epidemic had gotten out of Control.'
'Remember John Key was going to get rid of the scourge of P it grew exponentially under his watch while he underfunded Police so the well off could get tax cuts just before each election.election bribes'
– Think you're starting to get a little over excited and off track, you might want to consider pulling it a back a bit
National left the building 1 August 2017 when Labour won their first round. They then won another round – a landslide no less – 17/10/2020.
Labour ran on 'fixing' things, and i am sure that they thought an over abundance of kindness is gonna fix things, but then there is always the one rotten apple that rots all the other apples.
So any day now Labour can start fixing things. They tried kindness and coddling the gangs and as always when dealing with abusers that did not work. So now throw the fucking book of law against them.
As for the MP for New Lynn, Deborah Russel, can someone please call her on her courtesy phone, give her some pain meds for her back aches and ask her to finally actually do something to earn her wage and perks.
Last i "spoke" to her i asked her if she thought that 'fuck off' was a considered and kind Labour speak to say to people whom she did not consider worthy of her attention, and i also asked if her back was better now after having watched the sorry spectacle she made out of herself during the submissions in regards to the "Men are women and women are to shut the fuck up bill", and if her back was better now could she finally do her job as fwiw, she is on full pay and perks, and if not, she should consider leaving hte job to someone in better health and with more stamina.
The dame did not answer.
But then maybe you have good words that you can use? See where i am right now i would simply tell her to fuck off, when there fuck off some more, when there continue to fuck off, until no one has ever got to deal with that useless None Male Member of Parliament, courtesy of the Labour Party ever again..
Vote Labour 2023 = our MPs will vote Aye, never ask never tell, cause its money for nothing and perks for life. Courtesy of the taxpayer, dead or alive.
"men are women and women are to shut the fuck up bill". Lol.
But right now in Cananda gender critical views such as biology matters and its not possible to change your sex and if you are born male, then you are a man are about to be outlawed as hate speech. So although I laugh, it is serious.
Oh. I see. You are probably NOT the right person to call her then.
Mutual exchanges of fuck offs seem most unlikely to achieve anything worthwhile in the area of crime reduction & increased policing & security for local residents.
Do you know anybody who is capable of polite discourse with her who you might perhaps ask to contact her instead?
Who said I had concerns about it? It’s just logical two people telling each other to fuck off aren’t likely going to agree on a course of action as they’re not even attempting to communicate.
You seem a permanently aggrieved & angry individual to me whenever I take the time to read what you write here. Have I got that wrong?
Geeza, I really appreciate your contributions on this site.
But it is not really Sabine's job to talk to Deborah R or get her to do her job.
I am not sure what if anything Deborah has done to date about the ghastly situation in New Lynn. But a I haven't heard her say anything. This doesn't seem good enough to me.
I remember when the Roast Busters came to light and David Cunliffe who was the member for New Lynn, said he had regular meetings with the police and had not been made aware of RB
I understand that it’s no one here’s “job” to talk to Deb Russell about doing her job of raising some kind of public ruckus with the media, within the government, and/or with the police about the dreadful & now deadly crime wave in New Lynn, her electorate, Anker.
But when someone complains on a blog that she should be doing SOMETHING, & she apparently isn’t – and she’s not – as far as we know – reading this blog, then what is the point of just moaning about it on a blog?
It’s easy enuf to find out her parliament contact email address & send an email asking her to do something, or asking what she IS DOING . In fact if you KNOW what you want her to do you can even spell it out as a suggestion.
If we all confine ourselves to whining on TS & no one chases her up she can always say “No one ever contacted me about it!”
She sounds like a big disappointment to her electors. So kick her butt into action, even if it’s just to reply to an email (copied to PM’s office). But choose your language carefully. One catches more bears with honey than with vinegar. I know how to shame a politician into action with a very polite request. It just requires a bit of contemplation before hitting “Send”.
I think Sabine may seem perfectly aggrieved and angry, but I nearly always appreciate the content of what she has to say. Lets face it there is a lot to be angry about. I also very much appreciate your contribution on this blog, especially the wee video clips of birds.
I guess for me the point of The Standard is to share political views and opinions about things we are concerned about and to become better informed about issues. It may or may not lead to political action. I suspect most of us are politically active in someway, but of course its not compulsory.
Some of us got to see Ms Russell in action on recent select committees and to be frank with you her contact was most unprofessional including a FB post where she posted ever wanted to tell people to f..k right off and when asked about this she replied that she had been listening to submissions on BMDRR.
But maybe she is the perfect person to sort out West Aucklands violence problems. She could tell them all to fuck right off.
But maybe she is the perfect person to sort out West Aucklands violence problems. She could tell them all to fuck right off.
Well, Anker, it’s nice to see you can still find some humour in the situation, instead of just always looking at the black side of things. That’s very witty. 🙂
A perusal of the Report of the Royal Commission shows a completely different take on the 'Milton' (Bruce) Rifle Club incident [26] and indeed upon Breidahl [29] and the Conclusion [46] With far more comprehensive information at the Link.
Based on the evidence we have reviewed, we think it more likely than not that the individual did not attend the competition at the Bruce Rifle Club on 19 November 2017. Accordingly, we conclude that he was not there. It follows that we also conclude that any complaint Peter Breidahl may have made to New Zealand Police about the Bruce Rifle Club was not about the individual. This conclusion may be enough to address the requirement in our Terms of Reference but, for the sake of completeness, we think it appropriate also to address whether such a complaint was made.
29
The former Dunedin District Arms Officer had dealt with Peter Breidahl on two earlier occasions. On 27 June 2017, the former District Arms Officer and a sworn police officer met with Peter Breidahl. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss whether Peter Breidahl’s firearms licence should be revoked, after New Zealand Police had received evidence that he had stored a firearm in the boot of his car secured by a cable. In a statement to New Zealand Police and in evidence to us, the former District Arms Officer recalled Peter Breidahl being “agitated” and “swearing repeatedly” to the point where the sworn police officer told him to calm down.
46
We conclude that:
the individual was not present at a competition held by the Bruce Rifle Club on 19 November 2017; and
Peter Breidahl did not complain to New Zealand Police about the culture of the Bruce Rifle Club on 20 or 21 November 2017.
New Zealand cricket team grabbed a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Ravindra in his first test and Patel batting at 11 held a dominant Indian bowling attack at bay to salvage a draw. Second test starts on Friday @ Mumbai.
From Stuff: "The Times of India noted the result was the first time that New Zealand had gone 10 test matches undefeated (eight wins, two draws) with the current streak starting against India at the start of 2020."
The only real issue is the inability of spinners to make meaningful contributions to the wicket taking.
3 wickets combined from 102 overs, just not good enough in these conditions
The NZ cricket board has done fantastically well of late.
Getting rid of the 'biomechanics' fetish down at Lincoln and marshalling the resources they have to produce the best all round team in the game means they should be a shoo in for admin of the year
But
Our dearth of quality spinners is holding us back.
So I would suggest that the NZ cricket specify that each province will always play one specialist spinner per team (not counting all rounders or such like) and that one province (Otago makes sense) prepares spinning friendly tracks
Having said that this Black Caps team is the greatest NZ cricket team ever assembled.
If one of the Big Three had the overall success this team had the media would be all over them, calling them one of the greatest teams ever.
'Molyneux Park is to far away for large numbers of budding young cricketers'
– Is it though, whatever location is chosen players would have to travel there ie Christchurch to Napier, Westport to Wanganui, Wellington to Whangarei etc
– Its only a 2.5 hour drive from Dunedin
– The younger players would just be attending camps so not like its full time and if Otago was to be mandated to "spinners' location I'm sure they wouldn't have any issues attracting top class spinners
– Hell I'd probably mandate Otago (or whatever province was chosen) play two spinners (one can be an all rounder)
Yeah I'd go with Wagner, hind sights 20/20 and all that but Wagner in place of Somerville (heroics with the bat aside) probably would have meant a better chance of victory for NZ
Taylor stays until Taylor decides to retire!
However Daryl Mitchel would be the next cab of the rank
Covid has disrupted sport amazingly the blackcap have handled conditions extremely well.being away from family going through multiple MIQ and performing amazing feats on the wicket.
lol, your link came to mind when I saw a young guy doing it right this evening.
The couple were walking past me and there's a maccas across the road and down the block a bit. She vaguely mentions that she feels like having a burger and fries – more thinking out loud than anything. He goes "anything else?" and then trots over the road while she continues on.
Almost at the level of "your wish is my command". If that's a typical action from him, he's a keeper lol
The other guy from your link needs to lift his game. But some guys are doing it right.
They are the second-largest source of micropollutants in the ocean, by weight, after tyre dust… 230,000 tonnes of nurdles end up in oceans every year.
Nurdles, the colloquial term for “pre-production plastic pellets”, are the little-known building block for all our plastic products. The tiny beads can be made of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and other plastics.
nurdles have been washing up in their billions along hundreds of miles of the country’s coastline, and are expected to make landfall across Indian Ocean coastlines from Indonesia and Malaysia to Somalia. In some places they are up to 2 metres deep. They have been found in the bodies of dead dolphins and the mouths of fish. About 1,680 tonnes of nurdles were released into the ocean. It is the largest plastic spill in history, according to the UN report.
The report describes how this problem was identified 30 years ago but nurdles still are "not deemed hazardous under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) dangerous goods code for safe handling and storage." Another example of the legal establishment's sociopathic nature. No compulsion upon industry and shipping corps to operate safely. Delinquent behaviour institutionalised.
The UK’s minimum gap for Covid booster jabs will be halved from six months to three, after the government accepted advice from its vaccines watchdog to speed up the programme to limit the spread of the Omicron variant.
No it doesn't take months as it is just a tweek to an existing vaccine that's the beauty of mRNA vaccines .It may take a couple of months to ramp up enough doses to treat large populations.
But even that has improved with more manufacturing facilities being developed.
mRNA vaccines have been around for 20 years they are much quicker to develop than older vaccines.
Safety is a concern but in these times to keep ahead of Covid 19 we have to make sacrifices as the other option of leaving the virus go rampant is thousands of times more deadly.
New ways of administering the vaccines are being trialled in Switzerland now and are expected to be widely available by the middle of next year.A high tech patch worn on the arm slowly releases the vaccine which will last 6 times longer.36 months immunity compared to 4 to 6 months now.
Technology around antivirul treatments has also lead to breakthroughs with between 60 to70% efficacy combined with high vaccination rates this could be good for those antivaxxers although they may turn that down as well.Most of the retrovirul medicines need to be administered in the early stages to stop the virus multiplying and doing irreparable damage.
If the vaccines prove to be much less potent against Omicron, they may need to be tweaked to enhance their effectiveness. Preparing for the worst, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Johnson & Johnson are planning to test an artificial version of Omicron against their vaccines.
The mRNA vaccines in particular — Moderna’s and Pfizer-BioNTech’s — were built with technology that should permit rapid modification. Pfizer’s scientists “can adapt the current vaccine within six weeks and ship initial batches within 100 days in the event of an escape variant” that eludes the immune system, said Jerica Pitts, a spokeswoman for Pfizer.
Moderna’s work began on Tuesday, immediately after its scientists learned of Omicron — the fastest the company has ever responded to a variant, said Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president.
Even without data on Omicron’s spread, it was obvious the variant would be a formidable threat to vaccines, he said.
“This thing is a Frankenstein mix of all of the greatest hits,” Dr. Hoge said, referring to the variant’s many concerning mutations. “It just triggered every one of our alarm bells.”
Moderna could update its current vaccine in about two months and have clinical results in about three months if necessary, he said.
Both companies also plan to test whether booster shots will bolster the immune system enough to fend off the new variant. Boosters of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have been shown to raise antibody levels significantly.
But those antibodies may not be broadly effective against every iteration of the virus, and may not be enough to neutralize Omicron entirely, said Michel Nussenzweig, an immunologist at Rockefeller University in New York.
I think they just want to give the under 60's confidence to participate in normal economy/society – it suggests a new effort at herd immunity (quick mass infection with omicron).
As I read that article they aren't calling for "Booster Shots every two months" as you say. They are calling for a single booster shot two months after your second dose.
It is already illegal under MARPOL to dump any plastics at sea. They do not have to be a hazardous substance in the IMDG code.
Note shipping companies have already been prosecuted several times for the release into the oceans, intentional or otherwise of nurdles, and many other cargo's.
Laws against dumping off ships, deliberate or accidental, are much more stringent than dumping from land, which is the source of most ocean pollution.
Laws against dumping off ships, deliberate or accidental, are much more stringent than dumping from land
Unhappily, they are rarely enforced. NZ laws were just as strict before we signed Marpol, but rarely enforced, except against those vessels so incompetent they leaked oil in harbour or the like.
Fishing vessels, like farming, seem to be sacred cows, if you can pardon the expression.
Commercial ships it is a different story.
Though the emphasis is more on avoiding pollution in the first place, rather than "after the fact".
I was rather disgusted about the almost complete lack of concern, when a shore installation had a fairly large spill, compared with the atitude to ships and boats.
Neil didn't have global vaccinations in mind when he wrote this … the title of the song now has relevance in a much wider sense. Less damage to mankind through disease, but a fragmentation on the fringes of social cohesion.
Was probably the U2 album "The Unforgettable Fire" in my case. The title song spoke to some deep longing in my soul. Or maybe it just triggered some hormones in teenage me 😛
Slightly off your main point … but older brother Dennis & my good-self were Biiiiggggg Neil Young fans through the late 70s (me = early-mid teens) … had virtually all his albums … before we both discovered Punk / New Wave / Tom Waits / Blues & Modern Jazz (Davis / Coltrane) in the early 80s … & finally got our hair cut.
Ha – indeed. My tastes are pretty mainstream for the most – Mark Knofler is still my all time hero. And I’ve been listening to a hell of a lot of these guys lately.
And now I'm no longer corporate you might be surprised at how long my hair has become
I certainly hope so. Do people generally know the impact puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and subsequent surgery on young bodies. Impacts fertiliy and sexual pleasure. Gives young women deep voice Adams apple body and facial hair. Not all these changes can be reversed especially the removal of the womb.
I stand with the nurses in their fight against the EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, and Singapore. These governments must be investigated for blocking a faster global vaccine rollout leading to the loss of countless lives.
Spin bowling is the darkest, hardest art. At 17 my youngest took 7 for 27 in a senior 20/20, the victims included two ex-internationals ( NZ and Canada ), 3 Hawke Cup players and some bloke who should have been a Black Cap but went over to the dark side to be an AB fullback and ease into retirement coaching a bunch of Jafas. He was unplayable that night, it was the pitch, the light the humidity the temperature and luck, and I don't think he has taken 7 wickets in a season since, ( thats a bit unfair he has had some success ), as much as he would love too. How do you coach to get that form back.? You can try but it needs everything to aline.
I think if Wagner had been roughing up the Indian tail in their second innings 190 would have easily been enough to win.
Experience is the answer taking young prospective bowlers to the sub continent.Or Australia.paying Shane Warne to tour schools and set up spin coaches to widen the skill set of deliveries.NZ spinners tend to be very one dimensional.
We also need to get them playing on spin-friendly pitches as well. Remember when NZ bowling tracks used to be made for 'Dibbly, Dobbly, Wibbly and Wobbly" medium pacers, just bowl it on a length and let the pitch do the work?
Well they got found out, time and time again, overseas, the tracks then became more conducive to pace and after getting rid of the biomechanics fascination:
'Remember when NZ bowling tracks used to be made for 'Dibbly, Dobbly, Wibbly and Wobbly" medium pacers, just bowl it on a length and let the pitch do the work?' Yep, I so remember Jeremy Coney's 'dark art' of bowling wibbly wobbly balls pretty successfully at times.
The E tū and PSA unions are calling on the Ministry of Health to “stop and listen” to home care support workers who fear they will become vectors for Covid-19 without appropriate PPE.
Union members say the vinyl gloves issued by the Ministry of Health roll up and tear easily, but the ministry says the gloves are appropriate for the work they do and that infection prevention and control information is being sent out to help workers understand the level of PPE they need.
These are the same vinyl gloves that i wear when painting my molds. They are shitty little one use only gloves and i go trhough a box in a week, they rip easily, fit badly – regardless the size, and barely cover the wrists. Seriously what is wrong with the Ministry of Health.
This is the same shit that Rosemary already complained about several times over the last year.
Rosemary read that and wept whilst banging her head repeatedly on the desk.
SSDD literally.
For a while, early last year, all we could source in the way of gloves were said food grade gloves from the supermarket. Oh how I remember the raggedy handy look as they tore and shredded. (We got one box of 100 gloves supplied through the DHB per month. Not enough by a long chalk.)
And when we moved North…the local DHB wold only supply latex gloves…totally unsuitable for our purposes. But good news in that thanks to Te Virus I was now being paid as Peter's carer and could afford to buy our own good quality vinyl gloves through a medical supply house. Yay! (We have also had to purchase pretty much all of his supplies, as the time from request to delivery was increasing considerably…not to mention the quality being poor)
Not so good news is that owing to our reluctance to avail ourselves of the Pfizer Product I am no longer being paid as Himself's carer.
Just deserts for we refusniks y'all cry…and well and good…but some of you might just have an inkling why we are a little less than impressed with the credibility of our Ministry of Health. Still can't decide if its incompetence or malice.
Decisions are made by bureaucrats who have never actually done the job, performed the task, spent time in the trenches…and yet they claim authority.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the workers’ concerns were raised with its Infection Prevention and Control Technical Advisory Group who advised the gloves were safe for personal care use – like showering or bathing.
“As previously discussed and communicated with the sector, such work does not always indicate a need for gloves. Gloves are only required if there is potential for exposure of the hands to blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or broken skin,” the spokesperson said, adding that hand hygiene remains the most important step to prevent infection.
I'm hurled through the timewarp back to last year as we were told that PPE was not required by homecare workers unless they came within a metre of their client. I remember Peter commenting 'Do you think they think we get scrubbed with a yard broom in the shower?'.
Back in the day we truly believed that our pleas for recognition from the Miserly of Health of Peter's high care needs were being rejected due to innocent ignorance.
We naively thought that if we could speak kanohi ki kanohi to The Person Who Can Make Decisions we could explain the whys and the wherefores, give examples of other MOH;DSS clients we knew with very similar care needs who had miraculously got the supports they needed, offer a rational explanation why Peter had been shunted into the margins in comparison and voilla! All would be sorted and equity would reign. (Back then we still had some expectations that they did actually want to do right by disabled people…put that person 'in the center'.)
There was a level of incompetence….but it had morphed into malice long since.
It took years of legal wranglings, the HRC and OHRP, feral attacks by the Misery of Health ably aided and abetted by Crown Law, two changes of government and a slew of media articles before some of us had some financial relief. Enough, I might add, to fund the necessaries that the Miserly refused to fund. Like an accessible bathroom and decent fucking gloves.
Maybe you need to join a gang, or even better create one? That seems to do the trick in getting what you want with no consequences to what ever you may or may not do.
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The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
The Forum has raised concerns regarding the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill, which, if enacted, will radically undermine existing human rights protections, Indigenous rights, and constitutional safeguards ...
The passage of time hasn’t been kind to Ngāi Tahu.When its High Court hearing over wai māori (freshwater) commenced last week, 52 months after the claim was filed, the tribe mourned the loss of two named first plaintiffs – Bishop Richard Wallace, of Makaawhio, and Theo Bunker, of Wairewa – ...
Margie Apa, Nicholas Jones, Diana Sarfati, the board of Health New Zealand … and will Lester Levy be next?The biggest names in our health service are tumbling like dominos.It’s been called a bloodbath and a crisis.What’s going on?Every day there’s a new story about shortages, patients having to wait for ...
Opinion: The coalition Government’s recent revisions to the business investor visa, officially the Active Investor Plus but commonly known as the ‘golden visa’, has put pay-for-residency back in the headlines. While many object to the commodification of citizenship implicit in this policy, questions should be asked about its potential as ...
One Christmas, to thank him for helping me hugely with my writing (on a mentor scheme), I sent Michael King a dark blue cashmere scarf. I chose it with the awful knowledge that he was battling cancer, and I somehow thought it might keep him warm and make him feel ...
Comment: Readers may recall the commentaries from academics that appeared on these pages as well as on many media outlets, alarmed and appalled by the disbanding of the Marsden panels for humanities and the social sciences.The Marsden Fund is a “blue skies” initiative established by Simon Upton in the 1990s. ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard seven hours of submissions. Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.An “insult to every one of our tīpuna” was the first advice the Justice Committee heard on the Treaty principles bill ...
The same councillors who decry excessive spending on pet projects just voted to pump millions of dollars into a greenhouse for flowers. On Thursday last week, Wellington City Council voted to consult on repairing Begonia House, the greenhouse for exotic flowers in Wellington Botanic Garden. The options for repairs range ...
It’s important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly, but how much political deference is due when it isn’t peaceful? Commenting on Destiny Church members storming a children’s event at the Te Atatū library and community centre on Saturday, prime minister Christopher Luxon said it’s important to ...
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Comment: US is capitulating to Moscow’s demands before negotiations over Ukraine even begin The post The day the West died appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Two Palestinian resistance groups have condemned “the brutal assault” on prisoners at Ofer Prison, saying it was “barbaric criminal behaviour that reflects the fascist and terrorist nature of” Israel. In the joint statement, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) called the attack a “miserable attempt” by Israel ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown hopes to have “an opportunity to talk” with the New Zealand government to “heal some of the rift”. Brown returned to Avarua on Sunday afternoon (Cook Islands Time) following his week-long state visit to China, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia R. Grover, Clinical Professor of Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne Polina Zimmerman/Pexels Menstruation, or a period, is the bleeding that occurs about monthly in healthy people born with a uterus, from puberty to menopause. This happens when the endometrium, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”. Based on a ...
An additional $13 million will be invested in tourism infrastructure, including upgrading huts and resolving the backlog in Milford Sound concessions. ...
The reality is that we have no obligation to tolerate the intolerant. They are using violence to shut down and silence others. The result of tolerating intolerant views is the loss of everyone’s freedom of speech except for the one who most effectively ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University Adwo/Shutterstock Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely ...
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[deleted quote without link]
Here's how to link to tweets:
This also embeds the tweet so people can see the whole thing, and it will automatically include a live link so people can see the tweet in context if they want to.
eg this URL https://twitter.com/max_tweedie/status/1465167205641850883
becomes this tweet embed,
https://twitter.com/max_tweedie/status/1465167205641850883
Thanks (for all the fish) 🙂
🐬
After 6 weeks of New Lynn and Glen Eden having six deaths and a whole suite of neighbourhoods terrorised, and four Police injured, the PM finally promises to ask for a briefing on a massive crimewave:
Glen Eden police shooting: Gunman killed, four police officers in hospital after 11 hours of mayhem – NZ Herald
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday said she had not been briefed on the shooting but planned to speak to Police Minister Poto Williams.
She did not believe police had lost control of law and order in Auckland and said police had been working to get weapons out of the hands of criminals and clamp down on firearms "designed to cause mass devastation".
"We have taken direct action to try and reduce the access and nature of firearms that are being accessed in the wider community," Ardern said.
"You'll see that we've moved on licencing, we've removed those weapons that are military-style.
"The efforts of police have also been very focused on the seizure of both firearms and criminal assets."
Looking forward to other agencies stepping in to assist our outstanding Police men and women in this total societal failure.
So she has not been briefed on the rampage in West Auckland?
Oh well.
but to her credit, she used all her good words.
And i don’t think this is ‘societal’ failure, if anything society is suffering for the absence of political leadership. I mean she is still waxing on lyrically of removing weapons from law abiding citizens as if the gangs that she and her government are treating so kindly, really gave a fuck about legal weapons and her good words.
Anyone feel safer?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111594950/gangs-bosses-say-weapons-wont-be-handed-back-after-christchurch-mosque-shooting
'According to O'Reilly, Black Power members use guns to hunt for food to feed their families and to defend themselves. He admits many obtain their guns illegally.'
But don't worry, they got issued a stern warning:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/111712728/police-minister-warns-gangs-hand-over-guns-or-the-police-will-come-after-you
The reality though:
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2007/S00022/minister-wont-take-guns-from-gangs.htm
Why, because the gangs said the word Labour and all those on the left fear the most…they said racism and Labour backed off:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/439150/gang-gun-ownership-ban-bill-racist-politics-mongrel-mob-tells-mps
Talk about Spin PR.
National removed legislation requiring every firearm to be registered making it easier for firearms to be stolen harder for police to trace.
National cut proper investigation into gun owners suitability. Allowing retired police to do background checks that weren't carried out
National cut police numbers by 20% in 9 yrs .with low numbers police stopped checking gun owners safe storage of guns.especially in rural ares where 40% of guns are stolen from a very small percentage of the population who leave firearms lying around instead of in a lock up with firing mechanisms stored separately.
The govt put new legislation in place very similar to Nationals proposed bill.
Plus every gun will have to be registered like in Australia plus background checks more stringent plus shorter licence periods with those background checks revised in case of changes in mental or criminal status.
Not like your 1/2 truths
Police hadn't been running checks on gun club membership for years let alone checking safe keeping .
The Milton gun club had effectively been taken over by far right skin heads.Practicing terror tactics.
Talk about Spin PR.
'National removed legislation requiring every firearm to be registered making it easier for firearms to be stolen harder for police to trace.'
– I'm not opposed to a registry however given the breaches of police security I would want reassurances that the information isn't leaked
– Someone with access to the registry leaking details of who owns what weapons and where is something we should all be concerned about
'National cut proper investigation into gun owners suitability.'
– Link please
'Allowing retired police to do background checks that weren't carried out'
– Is it the retired police doing the checks thats the problem or that the checks weren't carried out, something I've also talked about
'National cut police numbers by 20% in 9 yrs'
– National hasn't been in power for over 4 years
'With low numbers police stopped checking gun owners safe storage of guns.especially in rural ares where 40% of guns are stolen from a very small percentage of the population who leave firearms lying around instead of in a lock up with firing mechanisms stored separately.'
– Thats up to the police to sort is it not
– Also link please
'The govt put new legislation in place very similar to Nationals proposed bill.'
– Link please
'Plus every gun will have to be registered like in Australia plus background checks more stringent plus shorter licence periods with those background checks revised in case of changes in mental or criminal status.'
– I agree with this (in regards to the registration, see above)
'Not like your 1/2 truths'
– I posted links, don't like what the links say thats your issue
'Police hadn't been running checks on gun club membership for years let alone checking safe keeping.'
– Again, if true, thats an issue with the police not doing their jobs, I see plenty of police sitting on the sides of roads holding speed cameras
'The Milton gun club had effectively taken over by far right skin heads.'
– Link please
'Practicing terror tactics.'
– Hyperbole but, again, the police once again dropped the ball
'As a result, Breidahl says he spoke to another firearms club, who agreed the matter needed to be taken to the police.'
"I went to the arms officer, laid out my concerns and I was told they're a bunch of silly old duffers down those ways, don't worry about them, it's all good."
– Its why I've said in previous posts that firearm licencing needs to be run seperately though in conjunction with the police
The 1983 gun reform under National. Police no longer required to hold every guns serial number
The Bruce gun club herald Police investigating found fascist leaning members and confederate flags etc 2019
The recent legislation on gun ownership hansard.
Looking at NZ stats Police funding and numbers remained the same even though the population increased by 20% and 501's had already been intensifying gang violence.
Not to mention the P epidemic had gotten out of Control.
Remember John Key was going to get rid of the scourge of P it grew exponentially under his watch while he underfunded Police so the well off could get tax cuts just before each election.election bribes
'The 1983 gun reform under National. Police no longer required to hold every guns serial number'
– Heres why:
https://theconversation.com/comprehensive-gun-register-part-of-next-stage-of-firearms-law-reform-post-christchurch-shootings-125082
Gun register history
'For most of its history, New Zealand had a gun register. This emerged during the 1860s and the Land Wars when the government was trying to control a free flow of firearms into the country. But some 120 years later, in a very different context, the pre-computer registration system was unfit for purpose. Only about 7% of all registered firearms could be located.'
'The replacement Arms Act of 1983 did away with the general register and put more emphasis upon ensuring all firearms users were “fit and proper”. Only pistols and military style semi-automatics had to be registered.'
Interesting isn't it.
So why have the Police been lobbying the govt for years for a firearms register.
Looking at Australia they have a gun register and much lower gun violence.
Lower maybe but much lower
– Link please
You only highlighted the parts of your link that suits your agenda.
Reading the whole article it says that having a register would help on many fronts.
Finding how the supply of guns go from legal owners into criminal hands.
Read your own link not something about the 1860's but about the Thorpe enquiry and onwards.
John Banks police minister at the time of the Aromoana massacre regretted not reforming gun ownership legislation .
I'm not against a gun register (see my discussion with McFlock yesterday) I do however have concerns
My preference is, as stated previously, is proper funding and run by a new set up, in conjunction with, but not by the police
'The Milton gun club had effectively been taken over by far right skin heads.Practicing terror tactics.'
'The Bruce gun club herald Police investigating found fascist leaning members and confederate flags etc 2019'
– Not quite the same is it
It's known as the Milton gun club locally as the District is called Bruce County read the herald and other articles on how this gun club was infiltrated by criminals who openly displayed fascist leanings .
Not to mention how police volunteers did nothing to investigate the background of the ChCh shooter effectively rubber stamping this nut jobs gun licence.
Police cost cutting by outsourcing.
Which again backs up my point about the police not being in charge of the register
'Looking at NZ stats Police funding and numbers remained the same even though the population increased by 20% and 501's had already been intensifying gang violence.'
– I have no issue with increasing police funding so maybe the current government, the government thats into its second term, could look into it?
'Not to mention the P epidemic had gotten out of Control.'
'Remember John Key was going to get rid of the scourge of P it grew exponentially under his watch while he underfunded Police so the well off could get tax cuts just before each election.election bribes'
– Think you're starting to get a little over excited and off track, you might want to consider pulling it a back a bit
National left the building 1 August 2017 when Labour won their first round. They then won another round – a landslide no less – 17/10/2020.
Labour ran on 'fixing' things, and i am sure that they thought an over abundance of kindness is gonna fix things, but then there is always the one rotten apple that rots all the other apples.
So any day now Labour can start fixing things. They tried kindness and coddling the gangs and as always when dealing with abusers that did not work. So now throw the fucking book of law against them.
As for the MP for New Lynn, Deborah Russel, can someone please call her on her courtesy phone, give her some pain meds for her back aches and ask her to finally actually do something to earn her wage and perks.
Reading what you wrote, looks like you’re the perfecr person to do that job & make the call.
🙄 *perfect
Last i "spoke" to her i asked her if she thought that 'fuck off' was a considered and kind Labour speak to say to people whom she did not consider worthy of her attention, and i also asked if her back was better now after having watched the sorry spectacle she made out of herself during the submissions in regards to the "Men are women and women are to shut the fuck up bill", and if her back was better now could she finally do her job as fwiw, she is on full pay and perks, and if not, she should consider leaving hte job to someone in better health and with more stamina.
The dame did not answer.
But then maybe you have good words that you can use? See where i am right now i would simply tell her to fuck off, when there fuck off some more, when there continue to fuck off, until no one has ever got to deal with that useless None Male Member of Parliament, courtesy of the Labour Party ever again..
Vote Labour 2023 = our MPs will vote Aye, never ask never tell, cause its money for nothing and perks for life. Courtesy of the taxpayer, dead or alive.
"men are women and women are to shut the fuck up bill". Lol.
But right now in Cananda gender critical views such as biology matters and its not possible to change your sex and if you are born male, then you are a man are about to be outlawed as hate speech. So although I laugh, it is serious.
Sabine lol lol.
I thinkwe might find that Deborah is re-reading an article in Scientific America and therefore she is oblivious to everything going on in New Lynn.
Oh. I see. You are probably NOT the right person to call her then.
Mutual exchanges of fuck offs seem most unlikely to achieve anything worthwhile in the area of crime reduction & increased policing & security for local residents.
Do you know anybody who is capable of polite discourse with her who you might perhaps ask to contact her instead?
The above is @ Sabine.
Replied in wrong place. Soz.
She is very good at telling people to fuck off.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/09/david-seymour-decries-labour-mp-deborah-russell-s-disgraceful-tweet-voicing-frustration-after-sex-self-id-submission.html
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/04/22/what-on-earth-was-deborah-russell-thinking/
maybe you need to address your concerns about good language with the MP rather then me.
Who said I had concerns about it? It’s just logical two people telling each other to fuck off aren’t likely going to agree on a course of action as they’re not even attempting to communicate.
You seem a permanently aggrieved & angry individual to me whenever I take the time to read what you write here. Have I got that wrong?
Geeza, I really appreciate your contributions on this site.
But it is not really Sabine's job to talk to Deborah R or get her to do her job.
I am not sure what if anything Deborah has done to date about the ghastly situation in New Lynn. But a I haven't heard her say anything. This doesn't seem good enough to me.
I remember when the Roast Busters came to light and David Cunliffe who was the member for New Lynn, said he had regular meetings with the police and had not been made aware of RB
I understand that it’s no one here’s “job” to talk to Deb Russell about doing her job of raising some kind of public ruckus with the media, within the government, and/or with the police about the dreadful & now deadly crime wave in New Lynn, her electorate, Anker.
But when someone complains on a blog that she should be doing SOMETHING, & she apparently isn’t – and she’s not – as far as we know – reading this blog, then what is the point of just moaning about it on a blog?
It’s easy enuf to find out her parliament contact email address & send an email asking her to do something, or asking what she IS DOING . In fact if you KNOW what you want her to do you can even spell it out as a suggestion.
If we all confine ourselves to whining on TS & no one chases her up she can always say “No one ever contacted me about it!”
She sounds like a big disappointment to her electors. So kick her butt into action, even if it’s just to reply to an email (copied to PM’s office). But choose your language carefully. One catches more bears with honey than with vinegar. I know how to shame a politician into action with a very polite request. It just requires a bit of contemplation before hitting “Send”.
I think Sabine may seem perfectly aggrieved and angry, but I nearly always appreciate the content of what she has to say. Lets face it there is a lot to be angry about. I also very much appreciate your contribution on this blog, especially the wee video clips of birds.
I guess for me the point of The Standard is to share political views and opinions about things we are concerned about and to become better informed about issues. It may or may not lead to political action. I suspect most of us are politically active in someway, but of course its not compulsory.
Some of us got to see Ms Russell in action on recent select committees and to be frank with you her contact was most unprofessional including a FB post where she posted ever wanted to tell people to f..k right off and when asked about this she replied that she had been listening to submissions on BMDRR.
But maybe she is the perfect person to sort out West Aucklands violence problems. She could tell them all to fuck right off.
But maybe she is the perfect person to sort out West Aucklands violence problems. She could tell them all to fuck right off.
Well, Anker, it’s nice to see you can still find some humour in the situation, instead of just always looking at the black side of things. That’s very witty. 🙂
A perusal of the Report of the Royal Commission shows a completely different take on the 'Milton' (Bruce) Rifle Club incident [26] and indeed upon Breidahl [29] and the Conclusion [46] With far more comprehensive information at the Link.
https://christchurchattack.royalcommission.nz/the-report/part-6-what-public-sector-agencies-knew-about-the-terrorist/bruce-rifle-club-allegations/
26
Based on the evidence we have reviewed, we think it more likely than not that the individual did not attend the competition at the Bruce Rifle Club on 19 November 2017. Accordingly, we conclude that he was not there. It follows that we also conclude that any complaint Peter Breidahl may have made to New Zealand Police about the Bruce Rifle Club was not about the individual. This conclusion may be enough to address the requirement in our Terms of Reference but, for the sake of completeness, we think it appropriate also to address whether such a complaint was made.
29
The former Dunedin District Arms Officer had dealt with Peter Breidahl on two earlier occasions. On 27 June 2017, the former District Arms Officer and a sworn police officer met with Peter Breidahl. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss whether Peter Breidahl’s firearms licence should be revoked, after New Zealand Police had received evidence that he had stored a firearm in the boot of his car secured by a cable. In a statement to New Zealand Police and in evidence to us, the former District Arms Officer recalled Peter Breidahl being “agitated” and “swearing repeatedly” to the point where the sworn police officer told him to calm down.
46
We conclude that:
the individual was not present at a competition held by the Bruce Rifle Club on 19 November 2017; and
Peter Breidahl did not complain to New Zealand Police about the culture of the Bruce Rifle Club on 20 or 21 November 2017.
Interesting
Even that is not the full story!
A great result last night.
New Zealand cricket team grabbed a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Ravindra in his first test and Patel batting at 11 held a dominant Indian bowling attack at bay to salvage a draw. Second test starts on Friday @ Mumbai.
From Stuff: "The Times of India noted the result was the first time that New Zealand had gone 10 test matches undefeated (eight wins, two draws) with the current streak starting against India at the start of 2020."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/456840/black-caps-hold-on-for-draw
Yes very well done to the Black Caps.
The only real issue is the inability of spinners to make meaningful contributions to the wicket taking.
3 wickets combined from 102 overs, just not good enough in these conditions
The NZ cricket board has done fantastically well of late.
Getting rid of the 'biomechanics' fetish down at Lincoln and marshalling the resources they have to produce the best all round team in the game means they should be a shoo in for admin of the year
But
Our dearth of quality spinners is holding us back.
So I would suggest that the NZ cricket specify that each province will always play one specialist spinner per team (not counting all rounders or such like) and that one province (Otago makes sense) prepares spinning friendly tracks
Having said that this Black Caps team is the greatest NZ cricket team ever assembled.
If one of the Big Three had the overall success this team had the media would be all over them, calling them one of the greatest teams ever.
Halcyon days indeed
Our wickets aren't generally conducive to spin.
Not dry enough.
Molyneux Park in Alexandra, with the right soil and preparation could be our best bet, maybe McLean in Napier
We need to encourage spin bowling in NZ as its our one glaring weakness, although a proper opening partner for Latham wouldn't go amiss either
Molyneux Park is to far away for large numbers of budding young cricketers.McClean Park slightly better.
'Molyneux Park is to far away for large numbers of budding young cricketers'
– Is it though, whatever location is chosen players would have to travel there ie Christchurch to Napier, Westport to Wanganui, Wellington to Whangarei etc
– Its only a 2.5 hour drive from Dunedin
– The younger players would just be attending camps so not like its full time and if Otago was to be mandated to "spinners' location I'm sure they wouldn't have any issues attracting top class spinners
– Hell I'd probably mandate Otago (or whatever province was chosen) play two spinners (one can be an all rounder)
That's a 5 hrs round trip 15 hrs for 2 practices and a 1 day game 20hrs for a 2 day game.
My son a top cricketer was offered coaching in Alexandra when he was at highshool. But the cost and time was to much a teenager needs a life to.
Dunedin wickets are not usable in some years one year only 2 outdoor games were played.because of wet outfields being to dangerous.
I wasn't suggesting the wickets in Dunedin but the wickets in Alex and as for cost well thats, unfortunately, thats just how it is.
Bottom line is we need to get our spinners to improve.
Spin bowlers are like base players no wants to be them and girls dont want to date them 😉
Shane Warne respectfully disagrees
PR Peter Petherick,he was from there,very good spinner,I would sell pies at the Brook for free admission so I could watch the man.
Its not that we can't produce spinners, we just don't have the grounds to support them
One of the commentary team observed, regardless of conditions, your best bowlers will take the wickets.
On that note, they must play Wagner in Mumbai. Who replaces Taylor is another story.
Yeah I'd go with Wagner, hind sights 20/20 and all that but Wagner in place of Somerville (heroics with the bat aside) probably would have meant a better chance of victory for NZ
Taylor stays until Taylor decides to retire!
However Daryl Mitchel would be the next cab of the rank
I've long been a fan of Taylor, what are the chances he stands aside for the team's benefit? He has looked out of sorts for the last few appearances.
Somerville stays, Wagner in and everyone moves up a position in the batting order.
Halcyon days indeed. To think Conway may struggle to get back in the team if Young keeps showing his worth.
Covid has disrupted sport amazingly the blackcap have handled conditions extremely well.being away from family going through multiple MIQ and performing amazing feats on the wicket.
He doesn't need to step aside for anyone.
The last game he played (before this one) was last June, the Word Test final against India, he scored 47 no in that last innings
The test before that, against England, he scored 80.
The problem with everyone moving up is our batting line up becomes a bit weaker and thats not good against an Indian team at home
Somerville goes , Wagner in, test team unchanged for me
OK, well put, Taylor stays.
I will let the other selectors now what we have decided.
Agree about Taylor PR. And Wagner, yes please, bring him back
3 spinners channeling their MR, ordinary bowling but hard to get rid of.
With the NW sticking around to lunch it is was inevitable the other two would be there at stumps.
Love the Black Caps. The worlds best team at anything. Kane W full of integrity and dignity and a love of the game.
As for the nail bitting finish with Ajaz and Rivandra versus the light! Ripping great stuff.
Can't wait for Mumbai.
Something profound to start Tuesday with-
'Personally, I always welcome this conversation starter as a chance to explain that a swimsuit is an expression of a woman’s sensual soul'
Do not comment on your girlfriend's thong bikini | Stuff.co.nz
lol, your link came to mind when I saw a young guy doing it right this evening.
The couple were walking past me and there's a maccas across the road and down the block a bit. She vaguely mentions that she feels like having a burger and fries – more thinking out loud than anything. He goes "anything else?" and then trots over the road while she continues on.
Almost at the level of "your wish is my command". If that's a typical action from him, he's a keeper lol
The other guy from your link needs to lift his game. But some guys are doing it right.
The report describes how this problem was identified 30 years ago but nurdles still are "not deemed hazardous under the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) dangerous goods code for safe handling and storage." Another example of the legal establishment's sociopathic nature. No compulsion upon industry and shipping corps to operate safely. Delinquent behaviour institutionalised.
a booster every three month? and is it then still a booster or just a regular top up?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/29/covid-booster-jabs-to-be-offered-to-all-uk-adults-after-three-month-gap
oh well….its a brave new world.
That's an early call, if the new variant gets around the vaccine (which fades by 6 months with delta) why would boosters at 3 months achieve anything?
Pfizer have already said they will develop a new vaccine quickly if necessary (the thing is it takes months to trial them).
No it doesn't take months as it is just a tweek to an existing vaccine that's the beauty of mRNA vaccines .It may take a couple of months to ramp up enough doses to treat large populations.
But even that has improved with more manufacturing facilities being developed.
Will regulatory authorities allow them to "tweek" and mass produce without safety data?
mRNA vaccines have been around for 20 years they are much quicker to develop than older vaccines.
Safety is a concern but in these times to keep ahead of Covid 19 we have to make sacrifices as the other option of leaving the virus go rampant is thousands of times more deadly.
New ways of administering the vaccines are being trialled in Switzerland now and are expected to be widely available by the middle of next year.A high tech patch worn on the arm slowly releases the vaccine which will last 6 times longer.36 months immunity compared to 4 to 6 months now.
Technology around antivirul treatments has also lead to breakthroughs with between 60 to70% efficacy combined with high vaccination rates this could be good for those antivaxxers although they may turn that down as well.Most of the retrovirul medicines need to be administered in the early stages to stop the virus multiplying and doing irreparable damage.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/health/covid-omicron-vaccines-immunity.html
Booster Shots every two months according to Australia
they sure do seem to know what they do, right?
I think they just want to give the under 60's confidence to participate in normal economy/society – it suggests a new effort at herd immunity (quick mass infection with omicron).
As I read that article they aren't calling for "Booster Shots every two months" as you say. They are calling for a single booster shot two months after your second dose.
There is a great difference.
Aren't calling for it yet
It is already illegal under MARPOL to dump any plastics at sea. They do not have to be a hazardous substance in the IMDG code.
Note shipping companies have already been prosecuted several times for the release into the oceans, intentional or otherwise of nurdles, and many other cargo's.
Laws against dumping off ships, deliberate or accidental, are much more stringent than dumping from land, which is the source of most ocean pollution.
Laws against dumping off ships, deliberate or accidental, are much more stringent than dumping from land
Unhappily, they are rarely enforced. NZ laws were just as strict before we signed Marpol, but rarely enforced, except against those vessels so incompetent they leaked oil in harbour or the like.
Not true.
Unless you mean laws against farmers polluting rivers?
In the years I was fishing, the only vessels I saw prosecuted spilled oil in port. Out of sight of land there is no enforcement.
Fishing vessels, like farming, seem to be sacred cows, if you can pardon the expression.
Commercial ships it is a different story.
Though the emphasis is more on avoiding pollution in the first place, rather than "after the fact".
I was rather disgusted about the almost complete lack of concern, when a shore installation had a fairly large spill, compared with the atitude to ships and boats.
The NZ law is pretty clear – you can be done for an orange peel.
But a hell of a lot of old net and plastic strapping gets deep sixed.
“At least half of […ocean plastic waste] is not consumer plastics, which are central to much of the current debate, but fishing gear.”
https://twitter.com/PlaguePoems/status/1465351196470820869
How many letters are left? Asking for the strain that will be discovered in NZ say in January?
New Zealand will need to ban any use of Mu.
We've seen off mu and thus sustained the sovereign independence of nu xi land – just have to do the same with omicron.
Plenty more Hebrew and Cyrillic characters if we need to go that far. And then there's like 100,000 Unicode "variants"
Neil didn't have global vaccinations in mind when he wrote this … the title of the song now has relevance in a much wider sense. Less damage to mankind through disease, but a fragmentation on the fringes of social cohesion.
At one point in your adolescence there is a moment when you hear music for the first time. It was this album for me.
And oddly enough the circumstances – which I cannot retell here – had a dire culmination spoken of in this song decades later.
Was probably the U2 album "The Unforgettable Fire" in my case. The title song spoke to some deep longing in my soul. Or maybe it just triggered some hormones in teenage me 😛
I haven't listened to it before – but it sure has an unusual drum groove.
.
Slightly off your main point … but older brother Dennis & my good-self were Biiiiggggg Neil Young fans through the late 70s (me = early-mid teens) … had virtually all his albums … before we both discovered Punk / New Wave / Tom Waits / Blues & Modern Jazz (Davis / Coltrane) in the early 80s … & finally got our hair cut.
Ha – indeed. My tastes are pretty mainstream for the most – Mark Knofler is still my all time hero. And I’ve been listening to a hell of a lot of these guys lately.
And now I'm no longer corporate you might be surprised at how long my hair has become
I got into a twitter argument the other day as to whether Heavy Metal was "good". The guy was saying that he only listens to classical. So I showed him this.. How Classical Music Influenced Modern Metal Music (projectrevolver.org)
https://youtu.be/Q93n3dvaaTI
You remind me of this gem:
Includes that lovely line “a long walk down a windy beach to a cafe that’s closed” .
You like history, you like Swedish Metal heavily influenced by British Heavy Metal?
Well have I got a treat for you…Sabaton.
With Sabaton you get music and history.
https://www.youtube.com/c/Sabaton/featured
https://www.youtube.com/c/SabatonHistory
For example want to know how the Swiss Guards came about?
@Puckish Rogue yeah that's a cool genre.. see also Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills", and Led Zep's "Immigrant Song"
Very good songs indeed
Sweden has reversed course on child medical transitioning.
This hour long Swedish investigation programme explores why.
(Now with English subtitles)
Good news, maybe the tide is starting to turn
I certainly hope so. Do people generally know the impact puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and subsequent surgery on young bodies. Impacts fertiliy and sexual pleasure. Gives young women deep voice Adams apple body and facial hair. Not all these changes can be reversed especially the removal of the womb.
22.000 plus of these destransitioners.
Spin bowling is the darkest, hardest art. At 17 my youngest took 7 for 27 in a senior 20/20, the victims included two ex-internationals ( NZ and Canada ), 3 Hawke Cup players and some bloke who should have been a Black Cap but went over to the dark side to be an AB fullback and ease into retirement coaching a bunch of Jafas. He was unplayable that night, it was the pitch, the light the humidity the temperature and luck, and I don't think he has taken 7 wickets in a season since, ( thats a bit unfair he has had some success ), as much as he would love too. How do you coach to get that form back.? You can try but it needs everything to aline.
I think if Wagner had been roughing up the Indian tail in their second innings 190 would have easily been enough to win.
Experience is the answer taking young prospective bowlers to the sub continent.Or Australia.paying Shane Warne to tour schools and set up spin coaches to widen the skill set of deliveries.NZ spinners tend to be very one dimensional.
We also need to get them playing on spin-friendly pitches as well. Remember when NZ bowling tracks used to be made for 'Dibbly, Dobbly, Wibbly and Wobbly" medium pacers, just bowl it on a length and let the pitch do the work?
Well they got found out, time and time again, overseas, the tracks then became more conducive to pace and after getting rid of the biomechanics fascination:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/blogs/4433845/Eh-What-is-Simon-Doull-on-about
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/149552/Crowe-Blame-biomechanics
Now the cricket board need to do the same with spinners
'Remember when NZ bowling tracks used to be made for 'Dibbly, Dobbly, Wibbly and Wobbly" medium pacers, just bowl it on a length and let the pitch do the work?' Yep, I so remember Jeremy Coney's 'dark art' of bowling wibbly wobbly balls pretty successfully at times.
I think they are just freaks of nature., you’ve just got to wait for the next one to come around like Dan Vettori.
Naah I don't think so, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are producing very good spinners all the time
The difference, to me, is the pitches they play on
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/127131673/convicted-murderer-scott-watson-denied-parole-for-the-fourth-time
Sometimes the justice system works
Interesting PR. Can you say anymore? About Scott Watson that is?
Guys a major a-hole
interesting re Scott Watson. Do you think he is guilty? Don't answer if you feel you can't.
this is like a deja vu of a deja vu that was already deja vu'ed
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127117381/covid19-unions-home-care-providers-and-workers-ask-for-ppe
These are the same vinyl gloves that i wear when painting my molds. They are shitty little one use only gloves and i go trhough a box in a week, they rip easily, fit badly – regardless the size, and barely cover the wrists. Seriously what is wrong with the Ministry of Health.
This is the same shit that Rosemary already complained about several times over the last year.
Rosemary read that and wept whilst banging her head repeatedly on the desk.
SSDD literally.
For a while, early last year, all we could source in the way of gloves were said food grade gloves from the supermarket. Oh how I remember the raggedy handy look as they tore and shredded. (We got one box of 100 gloves supplied through the DHB per month. Not enough by a long chalk.)
And when we moved North…the local DHB wold only supply latex gloves…totally unsuitable for our purposes. But good news in that thanks to Te Virus I was now being paid as Peter's carer and could afford to buy our own good quality vinyl gloves through a medical supply house. Yay! (We have also had to purchase pretty much all of his supplies, as the time from request to delivery was increasing considerably…not to mention the quality being poor)
Not so good news is that owing to our reluctance to avail ourselves of the Pfizer Product I am no longer being paid as Himself's carer.
Just deserts for we refusniks y'all cry…and well and good…but some of you might just have an inkling why we are a little less than impressed with the credibility of our Ministry of Health. Still can't decide if its incompetence or malice.
Malicious incompetence seems true to me.
Decisions are made by bureaucrats who have never actually done the job, performed the task, spent time in the trenches…and yet they claim authority.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the workers’ concerns were raised with its Infection Prevention and Control Technical Advisory Group who advised the gloves were safe for personal care use – like showering or bathing.
“As previously discussed and communicated with the sector, such work does not always indicate a need for gloves. Gloves are only required if there is potential for exposure of the hands to blood and body fluids, mucous membranes, or broken skin,” the spokesperson said, adding that hand hygiene remains the most important step to prevent infection.
I'm hurled through the timewarp back to last year as we were told that PPE was not required by homecare workers unless they came within a metre of their client. I remember Peter commenting 'Do you think they think we get scrubbed with a yard broom in the shower?'.
Malicious incompetence…yes indeedy.
There comes a point were repeated instances of 'incompetence' turn into malice.
Bureaucratic inertia has a leviathon like stubborness.
Back in the day we truly believed that our pleas for recognition from the Miserly of Health of Peter's high care needs were being rejected due to innocent ignorance.
We naively thought that if we could speak kanohi ki kanohi to The Person Who Can Make Decisions we could explain the whys and the wherefores, give examples of other MOH;DSS clients we knew with very similar care needs who had miraculously got the supports they needed, offer a rational explanation why Peter had been shunted into the margins in comparison and voilla! All would be sorted and equity would reign. (Back then we still had some expectations that they did actually want to do right by disabled people…put that person 'in the center'.)
There was a level of incompetence….but it had morphed into malice long since.
It took years of legal wranglings, the HRC and OHRP, feral attacks by the Misery of Health ably aided and abetted by Crown Law, two changes of government and a slew of media articles before some of us had some financial relief. Enough, I might add, to fund the necessaries that the Miserly refused to fund. Like an accessible bathroom and decent fucking gloves.
Maybe you need to join a gang, or even better create one? That seems to do the trick in getting what you want with no consequences to what ever you may or may not do.
Seriously, worth considering in my books.
I'm pushing for industrial action when we have our meetings, bit of an uphill battle though
How's your union for things like that?