March 2021 marked ten years since the start of the popular revolution in Syria that began with the Arab Spring and the longing of the Syrian people for a brighter future denied them under the brutal dictatorship of the Assad regime.
By the end of 2011 the Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad, with the support of his allies Iran and Russia, were engaged in a genocidal counter-revolution against the Syrian people.
As we move into 2022 the genocide conducted by Bashar Assad and his foreign allies against the Syrian people still continuing. I wanted to mark the passing of this milestone by sharing the following video.
I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training.
Nonetheless, I've spent some time looking into a number of experienced, international, frontline doctors using alternatives to treat Covid 19.
Doctors, of which, have been claiming great success.
I've gather together a substantial amount of interesting and helpful info which I intend to share with you all via a series of posts.
To begin with, I would like to share a short (35min) Zoom discussion between an Australian politician and an experienced, frontline American doctor discussing the benefits of early treatment of Covid 19.
In this discussion you will learn about the treatments he has found to be so incredibly successful.
Moreover, how a number of them are easily obtainable (here in NZ) over the counter. Additionally, what to ask your doctor for if you or your loved ones unfortunately become infected and fall ill.
You will learn (just like any illness) how early intervention/treatment is essential to quicker and better outcomes.
You will hear how the results of these better outcomes have saved many lives.
that's nice. But this is a political blog with a robust debate ethic, and if someone wants to claim during a public health crisis that a doctor has case studies on alternative treatments, then they can put up the evidence. If it's true, I'll actually be interested to look at them.
To clarify. I've seen this dynamic in alternative health circles a lot, over many years. People say there is evidence eg case studies, but it turns out they read an article saying there were case studies, they didn't actually read any. But the FB rumour mill quickly becomes about how this doctor is doing all these amazing things. This is a very common dynamic and it's a big part of why alternative health communities have such poor science and medical literacy and why they have such a bad reputation regarding false information.
If Tyson and Fareed have solid case studies they can put some of them online, in an accessible form, for free. I have no problem with people needing to make a living and selling an ebook to do that, but if they've got all the evidence behind a paywall it's a big red flag. The onus is on The Chairman here to put up the actual evidence.
To clarify. I've seen this dynamic in alternative health circles a lot, over many years. People say there is evidence eg case studies, but it turns out they read an article saying there were case studies, they didn't actually read any
Yes, I hear you and totally agree. However I would like to point out that in this instance it comes direct from the horse's mouth, opposed to being totally online hearsay.
I was alluding to the case studies along with the patient testimonies the doctor referred to in the initial link above (at around 28.27 in) which he offered to submit to the Australian MP.
That's correct, I haven't personally seen these studies but I am aware they have been published in a book (as shown above) and also offered to the Australian MP as shown via my initial link. So I don't doubt there existence.
Furthermore, I doubt a doctor would offer and publish case studies that didn't actually back his amazing claim. But I totally understand why people would want to see them.
I can offer another doctors published (in a medical journal) work on the same subject – early treatment. He also claims to have had great success.
Were you aware of the reputation of Bitchute, The Chairman? I am really surprised that anyone, esp here on TS, would quote from such a poor source. Also astounded that you feel that the question of Ivermectin needs further discussion. Perhaps you could also source some material on whether patches worn on the soles of one's feet could be good to treat Covid. /s
Overall, we rate BitChute extreme right and Questionable based on the promotion of conspiracy theories, propaganda, hate speech, poor sourcing, fake news, and a lack of transparency. This source is not credible for accurate information and may be offensive to some (most).
Were you aware of the reputation of Bitchute, The Chairman? I am really surprised that anyone, esp here on TS, would quote from such a poor source
Your logic is fairly wobbly here. There is vile and objectionable material to be found all over the entire internet – does this automatically disqualify everything on it?
Nor is Bitshute a 'publisher' in the conventional sense of the word. It's an open platform that people use when they can't be bothered with the censorship they encounter elsewhere. As a result there will be a wildly mixed mass of material that you get to apply your own critical discrimination to, without some faceless entity having pre-done the job for you.
True…but then although I do read the stuff the people put up here, my experience has been reading through, for most of this year, the anti vaxx stuff put up on another MB. My conclusion was that if the person putting up the views needed to find a home on Bitchute then most likely it was because they had failed to find a home on more reputable sites. Put it this way in all my searching through anti vax or Covid treatment links I have yet to find a link on Bitchute to research that you find published in The Lancet or by the NHI.
I know the stuff about the publisher aspect……Bitchute does have a reputation to get over if it is in the market for rational research.
My view is probably snobbish as well…..I am sure that the readers on TS know how to find the likes of Bitchute and arguments for and against the Ivermectin issue.
The almost breathless ‘Look what I have found’ is a bit of a red flag for me as a skeptic from way back (if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is’).
“In this discussion you will learn about the treatments he has found to be so incredibly successful.
Moreover, how a number of them are easily obtainable (here in NZ) over the counter. Additionally, what to ask your doctor for if you or your loved ones unfortunately become infected and fall ill.
You will learn (just like any illness) how early intervention/treatment is essential to quicker and better outcomes.
You will hear how the results of these better outcomes have saved many lives.”
Note that I carefully confined myself to your original claim that 'if it's on Bitshute then it must be junk'. Whether or not the linked video makes sense or not is a separate discussion that's over to you and anyone else who watches it.
I'll keep an eye on it. It's not really a good idea here to post a video in lieu of an argument. People can get away with it once or twice, but there is a limit.
I agree, which is why I didn’t mod. But he also said he’s going to do more of these and I think there’s a limit in on using TS to drop social media type comments. If he explains what’s in the video people can discuss it.
This should have been a loud wake up call for all of those folk who are idling under the illusion that the Pfizer Product is safe and effective because Pfizer did proper research and stuff…and the all powerful FDA were closely monitoring the quality of that research and stuff…
However, and y'all can check, the MSM uptake of this powerful bit of work was practically zero until…this.…
Open letter from The BMJ to Mark Zuckerberg
Dear Mark Zuckerberg,
We are Fiona Godlee and Kamran Abbasi, editors of The BMJ, one of the world’s oldest and most influential general medical journals. We are writing to raise serious concerns about the “fact checking” being undertaken by third party providers on behalf of Facebook/Meta.
In September, a former employee of Ventavia, a contract research company helping carry out the main Pfizer covid-19 vaccine trial, began providing The BMJ with dozens of internal company documents, photos, audio recordings, and emails. These materials revealed a host of poor clinical trial research practices occurring at Ventavia that could impact data integrity and patient safety. We also discovered that, despite receiving a direct complaint about these problems over a year ago, the FDA did not inspect Ventavia’s trial sites.
The BMJ commissioned an investigative reporter to write up the story for our journal. The article was published on 2 November, following legal review, external peer review and subject to The BMJ’s usual high level editorial oversight and review.[1]
But from November 10, readers began reporting a variety of problems when trying to share our article. Some reported being unable to share it. Many others reported having their posts flagged with a warning about “Missing context … Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.” Those trying to post the article were informed by Facebook that people who repeatedly share “false information” might have their posts moved lower in Facebook’s News Feed. Group administrators where the article was shared received messages from Facebook informing them that such posts were “partly false.”
Readers were directed to a “fact check” performed by a Facebook contractor named Lead Stories.[2]
We find the “fact check” performed by Lead Stories to be inaccurate, incompetent and irresponsible.
Well, blow me down with a feather if that wee missive didn't provoke a response…but not predominantly from MSM…who seem a little wary of facts that don't fully support the "safe and effective" narrative.
And to add to this censorship story there are now a legion of medical researchers who are reporting that 'reputable' journals are openly censoring articles on content grounds alone. In other words if the journal editor doesn't agree with the conclusions they either get told to re-write it to suit or it doesn't get published.
These are researchers with long and successful publishing records, many cites, and strong peer reviews – and now they're silenced.
Think about this for a moment. It essentially means that because we cannot know which papers have been 'doctored' to meet editors requirements – the entire field of published medical literature should now be really thrown in the bin as unverifiable and untrustworthy.
Yet medical journals often contain poor science. Basic scientists who work in biology and chemistry are regularly scornful of the, mostly, applied science that appears in medical journals. The journals have, for example, published many reports of treatments applied to single cases and to series of cases, which rarely allow confident conclusions because of the absence of controls. Journals have also been part of what might be called an `unscientific' method of encouraging treatments that seem to make anatomic, physiological, or biochemical sense, without insisting that they be properly evaluated in practice.
The history of medicine is littered with treatments that seemed to make sense but which ultimately did more harm than good. Sir Arbuthnot Lane, who was mercilessly parodied in George Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma, removed the colons of Londoners who were severely fatigued and rich enough to meet his high fees. The operation was supposedly removing toxins. A tenth of his patients were killed by the operation. I belong to a generation who had their tonsils removed to no benefit. While my wife, when having our first child in 1982, was given an enema and had her pubic hair shaved—procedures which are unpleasant and of no benefit.
Medicine itself probably deserves most criticism for its unscientific behaviour but journals are the major link between science and practice. In recent year, journals have been severely criticized for publishing studies that are scientifically weak (in that their conclusions are not supported by their methods and data) and irrelevant to practitioners (and so patients).
Agreed. Poor quality science has been a recognised problem for a while now – especially in the medical and social science fields. Poorly designed experiments and trials, non-rigorous handling of data, an over-reliance of statistical packages to produce results without the deep understanding necessary to apply them correctly – are at least three big causes of non-useful papers.
In particular it’s very easy to design a trial, inadvertently or otherwise, that fails to pick up a signal and reports ‘no useful effect’. As an analogy, imagine you were building a radio receiver from a handful of electronic components – there will be a myriad ways to get it wrong and only one way to make it work. Yet if the receiver you build does not hear any signals, this does not mean there are no transmitters out there. Similarly a medical trial that reports ‘no result’ demands we scrutinise it very carefully to determine if it was capable of delivering any result.
This doesn’t mean that all research is bunk, but that extracting meaningful information from it is hard. Much harder than most people like to imagine.
But these technical issues aside, my point relates to blatant censorship and content altering on the part of journal editors. If this continues unchecked it renders their journal untrustworthy and everything it ever published worthless.
And also to add to the mix, my experience generally, was we got the results we paid for. And i could also add that quite a few kiwi medical experts that pop up in the MSM, that many would recognise here, conducted trials where we all knew what the results would be . I saw the payments and the international travel etc.
And some of us more moderate vaccine hesitant folk have been warning about this issue. I remember posting here on TS during the 2019 measles epidemic when a local leading light in vaccines stated categorically that measles killed one case in a thousand, when the actual UK pre vaccine rate was 2 in ten thousand. Case in point was the massive pile on I received here with an accusation, that still sticks that I am anti-vax. I aid then that it was just this response that drove folk down holes.
There is a small minority who have responded to this systematic censorship by MSM and social media by diving down some seriously deep and smelly rabbit holes.
Nor is Bitshute a 'publisher' in the conventional sense of the word. It's an open platform that people use when they can't be bothered with the censorship they encounter elsewhere. As a result there will be a wildly mixed mass of material that you get to apply your own critical discrimination to, without some faceless entity having pre-done the job for you.
It seems we now live in a time that when any doctor (regardless of how credible they are) goes against the great narrative they are automatically labelled a quack.
I watched the news with a number of people last night. One story was about the Auckland Airport Bookshop being made aware they were selling Conspiracy magazines with anti vaxx stories. The reporter held one of these magazines up and gave an example of what conspiracy's they contained. The bookstore when confronted by the news team regarding the magazines, said they didn't check the content ( why should they?); apologised profusely, and said the magazines had been removed from the shelves.
Two observations: the import of that news item was lost on the people watching it with me.
And, the reporter forgot to add the magazines mentioned usually provide links to source information for most articles.
I observed a similar trend when I posted a video clip on this blog with contentious content.
We are talking about TV news! They could have also combined it with Maori language week and had reporters dancing around a bonfire crying out '' e hoa, e hoa…ahi, ahi. Kapai.
I can understand the need to suppress certain information in a pandemic, because we need to have people on board with vaccinations. But tv one news out there shaming the poor shop owners who would fear cancelation is apalling journalism. And of course there will likely be the Streisand effect from this story. Plus helping to fuel division with anti vaxers feeling targeted.
I can understand the need to suppress certain information in a pandemic, because we need to have people on board with vaccinations. But tv one news out there shaming the poor shop owners who would fear cancelation is appalling journalism. And of course there will likely be the Streisand effect from this story. Plus helping to fuel division with anti vaxers feeling targeted.
Perhaps the owner of the bookstall should have, instead of apologising, accused the TV crew of indulging regularly in the practice they were complaining about.
Then he should have taken to the TV camera with a sledgehammer. If the TV station weren't cheapskates they might have been able to flatten $20,000+ worth of camera and they wouldn't be bothered again.
I saw that piece and couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like something out of the Cultural Revolution. The righteous thinkers publicly shame a business owner for selling magazines containing views not endorsed by public officials. The owner immediately kowtows to the righteous thinkers, well aware of the risk that public opprobrium exposes them to.
If a magazine arrived with an article outlining how to assassinate politicians would a similar item on TV news be seen to be righteous thinkers publicly shaming a business owner for selling magazines containing views not endorsed by public officials?
But assassinating politicians is a criminal offence and possibly if a how to magazine was being sold in a shop, it would met the threshold of current hate speech laws ie inciting violence.
I am not sure that the argument is false equivalence…..many orgs do not provide alternative anti vaxx views as a public service, a sort of moral gesture. I think there are arguments for and against. If the argument was for an investigative type look at the latest in ant vaxx views eg Some thing like the Loopy article from David Farrier
as against uncritically repeating the 5G, magnets, people 'gonna die' from the vaccine in less than 5 years, then I think there is an argument and I am not so sure.
Yes where do you draw the line? So anti vaxx messages with a potential to kill compared with anti establishment assassination conspiracy messages with a potential to kill……… Though with many anti vaxxers not flying the market would be much smaller.
The idea that most airport bookshops have a wide range of quality books and mags is an interesting one though. Apart from the excellent book shop at Wgtn airport, and admittedly I have not been there for almost a year, many airport bookshops seem to specialise in the lurid covered, shock, horror books & expose type mags. Such a book and mag snob I am I will grant you that.
Incitement to violence is illegal, with good reason. Publishing opinions that many people vehemently disagree with is not illegal, also with good reason.
Yeah I noticed that dimension too. I'm ambivalent though. I met Jonathan Eisen, the publisher of Uncensored, had a conversation with him & our mutual buddy Bill Watson. Both those guys being yank immigrants turned kiwis long ago.
Jon Eisen published an excellent book called Suppressed Inventions back in the '90s. Being an afficionado of alt history alongside being a voracious reader of history since I was a child, I knew that suppression of alternative narratives had always been a fundamental part of mass psychology. The book also covered cancer cures suppressed by the establishment in the early 20th century. The establishment doesn't care how many folk testify to their miracle cures – they're so addicted to their favourite line of bullshit that they'll happily suppress those folk.
Otoh I only ever bought a couple of copies of Uncensored. Jon functioned as editor as well as publisher & he's just too uncritical for me. I don't mind them featuring narratives from the minority of covid deniers at all. However when they promote disinformation that can be proven so via evidence it crosses the moral line. So I have no problem with govt censorship.
Devil's in the detail – he works both sides of the divide. Govt uses bureaucrats who can't tell the difference between right and wrong. Minority is mostly lacking in scientific training, quoting evidence from experts who have strayed beyond their actual field of expertise & are merely showboating.
The truth will out – but it's out there somewhere. Competing claims in the media may or may not point the way to it.
I saw that piece and couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like something out of the Cultural Revolution.
Yup. We're seeing segments of our media completely lose any sense of professionalism here. These are bell-weather moments PM and we have to speak out against them.
(A minor point you may wish to note for future reference.)
"Bellwether
Noun
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends. The term derives from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading a flock of sheep. … Bellwether stocks therefore serve as short-term guides."
I'm not sure what the big deal is, Lauren Southern banned, Don Brash banned, Jordan Petersons book pulled from shelves (Mein Kampf was still available) and plenty, not all of course, on this site were thinking its marvellous
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Sen. Krzysztof Brejza’s mobile phone was hacked with sophisticated spyware nearly three dozen times in 2019 when he was running the opposition’s campaign against the right-wing populist government in parliamentary elections, an internet watchdog found.
Text messages stolen from Brejza’s phone — then doctored in a smear campaign — were aired by state-controlled TV in the heat of that race, which the ruling party narrowly won. With the hacking revelation, Brejza now questions whether the election was fair.
It’s the third finding by the University of Toronto’s nonprofit Citizen Lab that a Polish opposition figure was hacked with Pegasus spyware from the Israeli hacking tools firm NSO Group. Brejza’s phone was digitally broken in to 33 times from April 26, 2019, to Oct. 23, 2019, said Citizen Lab researchers, who have been tracking government abuses of NSO malware for years.
I often watch the Freeview Al Jazeera channel, mainly for their up-to-the-minute hourly & 1/2 hourly global news bulletins, but also for some of their documentaries & regular current affairs items. Some of their Middle East reporters got hacked a year or two ago with Pegasus; the attacks were traced back to the UAE (I think by Citizen Lab).
In a documentary looking at the hacked phones & how they were discovered they also looked into the background of the 3 NSO founders. They were all employed originally by the Israeli Secret Service, IIRC. They were suspected of operating as an unofficial commercial arm of Mossad.
According to several reports, software created by NSO Group was used in targeted attacks against human rights activists and journalists in various countries, was used in state espionage against Pakistan, and played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the Saudi government.
In October 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms (then known as Facebook) sued NSO and Q Cyber Technologies under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). NSO claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime.
The Pegasus spyware is classified as a weapon by Israel and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.
… On 3 November 2021 the United States added the NSO Group to its Entity List, for acting “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US” and it effectively bans the sale of hardware and software to the company. On 23 November 2021, NSO Group were sued by Apple, Inc. for their activities in relation to Apple products.
The Abraham Accords deal, ushered in by billionaire sheikdoms' bestie Jared Kushner, is predicated on unelected regional despots maintaining their power and position. Israel flogs them the spyware they need to counter their opponents and to gather the wood they need on activists, journalists, and lawyers to nip any nascent democratic rumblings in the bud.
It's a tense time, and lots of stuff is flying around. I'm going to ask that if people want to post videos, they make the time to explain what is in the video. If it's on a hot topic, then more detail is required. This is especially important if using the video to make a point. It's not enough to post a video and expect others to spend 30 or 60 mins watching in order to understand what you mean.
Obviously humour, music and pukeko videos are exempt from this.
Looks like Europe is in on the pivot away from Asia, so the USA are no longer alone.
Electric cars have gone mainstream in Europe – they accounted for nearly a fifth of all car purchases in the UK last month. Yet one piece has been missing up to now: European batteries. That is now changing.
On Tuesday night, Northvolt, a startup, produced its first lithium ion battery cell at a plant in northern Sweden. It is the first of a series of new factories that investors hope will allow Europe to carve out a big proportion of the electric vehicle market – and weaken the stranglehold built up by manufacturers in China, Japan and Korea.
The Northvolt Ett site will be the first European-owned plant to produce at so-called gigafactory scale. Gigafactories are generally considered to be those capable of producing enough batteries each year to provide about 15 gigawatt hours (GWh) of cumulative storage.
And "according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI)… there are 25 gigafactories planned for the continent by 2030… as the industry races to keep up with soaring demand for electric cars. Nine of those are owned by Asian manufacturers, which control most of the global supply.
Better amend that to a partial pivot away then! Yank capitalists are funding the Swedes too:
Despite its startup status, Northvolt has gained heavyweight financial backing from Volkswagen, the world’s biggest car producer, and the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Its $2.75bn (£2.1bn) funding round in June valued it at $12bn.
Talk about hands across the water! Who said globalism was dead?
The startup already boasts contracts worth $30bn with big European companies including the carmakers BMW, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar, the truck manufacturer Scania, and the energy storage firm Fluence. Carmakers are belatedly ramping up electric vehicle production to meet tightening emissions targets as well as the challenge from their US rival, Tesla, which has built its own battery and car plant in Berlin.
I would say that nuclear capability already in place for the Dutch, who are trained in deployment as well as Germans, I think, is already enough. There can be no reason to station nuclear capability in Europe except as a threat against Russia. Both Sweden and Finland are now on the invitation list. Ukraine and the crazies that run the place now are a clear red line for Russia. Any NATO base there means missiles flying to Moscow will take a matter of a few minutes. The red line in your map is still far more than provoked the Cuban missile crisis. Russia has plainly stated that Ukraine in NATO is unacceptable. Anyone who cant understand the reasons why has lost the capacity to think critically. Pretending that they should just suck it up wont work and neither will refusing to talk. Theses are not options and never should be when a country expresses concerns about their security
The red line in your map is still far more than provoked the Cuban missile crisis.
Cuba is 145ks from the US border but sure, Russia is surrounded by the US nukes at Büchel, 1300ks from the Russian enclave at Kaliningrad Oblast, and Aviano, 1500ks from Kaliningrad Oblast.
Kaliningrad Oblast is a further 500ks from the Russian border.
How good is he, averages 43 against Australia (against overall average of 45) with the second highest test score against Australia (290) is how good he is but thats not the mark of the man
He can, eventually, put his feet up, enjoy a wine or two (or three) and maybe go out and encourage the next generation of Polynesian players to emulate, or better, his own outstanding record.
Its easy to tell someone from the South Island, they're generally better looking, more intelligent, exceptionally funny than their North Island counterparts and extremely modest as well
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Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
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What if Assad had stepped down in 2011?
March 2021 marked ten years since the start of the popular revolution in Syria that began with the Arab Spring and the longing of the Syrian people for a brighter future denied them under the brutal dictatorship of the Assad regime.
By the end of 2011 the Syrian dictator, Bashar Assad, with the support of his allies Iran and Russia, were engaged in a genocidal counter-revolution against the Syrian people.
As we move into 2022 the genocide conducted by Bashar Assad and his foreign allies against the Syrian people still continuing. I wanted to mark the passing of this milestone by sharing the following video.
Good morning everyone.
I'm not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training.
Nonetheless, I've spent some time looking into a number of experienced, international, frontline doctors using alternatives to treat Covid 19.
Doctors, of which, have been claiming great success.
I've gather together a substantial amount of interesting and helpful info which I intend to share with you all via a series of posts.
To begin with, I would like to share a short (35min) Zoom discussion between an Australian politician and an experienced, frontline American doctor discussing the benefits of early treatment of Covid 19.
In this discussion you will learn about the treatments he has found to be so incredibly successful.
Moreover, how a number of them are easily obtainable (here in NZ) over the counter. Additionally, what to ask your doctor for if you or your loved ones unfortunately become infected and fall ill.
You will learn (just like any illness) how early intervention/treatment is essential to quicker and better outcomes.
You will hear how the results of these better outcomes have saved many lives.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/5RwZOawv6HYe/
Allowing this post of a dodgyDoctor who has been warned for spreading covid misinformation is morally reprehensible.
please fix email address
Alternatively, suggesting suppressing potentially life saving info is not only morally reprehensible, it's outrageously disgusting.
One mans so called dodgy doctor is another mans life saving practitioner.
This doctor has saved lives and has the case studies along with patient testimonies to prove it.
Please link to these (and if they're in other information, a cut and paste too please).
Seems that if you're genuinely interested it'll cost you about 12 bucks to access that.
https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-COVID-19-Darkness-Successfully-Patients-ebook/dp/B09MTRCYVR
that's nice. But this is a political blog with a robust debate ethic, and if someone wants to claim during a public health crisis that a doctor has case studies on alternative treatments, then they can put up the evidence. If it's true, I'll actually be interested to look at them.
To clarify. I've seen this dynamic in alternative health circles a lot, over many years. People say there is evidence eg case studies, but it turns out they read an article saying there were case studies, they didn't actually read any. But the FB rumour mill quickly becomes about how this doctor is doing all these amazing things. This is a very common dynamic and it's a big part of why alternative health communities have such poor science and medical literacy and why they have such a bad reputation regarding false information.
If Tyson and Fareed have solid case studies they can put some of them online, in an accessible form, for free. I have no problem with people needing to make a living and selling an ebook to do that, but if they've got all the evidence behind a paywall it's a big red flag. The onus is on The Chairman here to put up the actual evidence.
(and that ebook hasn't been published yet).
Yes, I hear you and totally agree. However I would like to point out that in this instance it comes direct from the horse's mouth, opposed to being totally online hearsay.
I was alluding to the case studies along with the patient testimonies the doctor referred to in the initial link above (at around 28.27 in) which he offered to submit to the Australian MP.
So the doctor says he has case studies but you haven't actually seen them and they're not in the public domain?
That's correct, I haven't personally seen these studies but I am aware they have been published in a book (as shown above) and also offered to the Australian MP as shown via my initial link. So I don't doubt there existence.
Furthermore, I doubt a doctor would offer and publish case studies that didn't actually back his amazing claim. But I totally understand why people would want to see them.
I can offer another doctors published (in a medical journal) work on the same subject – early treatment. He also claims to have had great success.
I've no idea why people should receive early treatment when we all know people are just bio-hazards – disease vectors.
Far better to isolate the vector and then just see what happens. If they become non-hazardous, then all good.
Were you aware of the reputation of Bitchute, The Chairman? I am really surprised that anyone, esp here on TS, would quote from such a poor source. Also astounded that you feel that the question of Ivermectin needs further discussion. Perhaps you could also source some material on whether patches worn on the soles of one's feet could be good to treat Covid. /s
https://www.adl.org/blog/bitchute-a-hotbed-of-hate
From media bias fact check https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/bitchute/
Were you aware of the reputation of Bitchute, The Chairman? I am really surprised that anyone, esp here on TS, would quote from such a poor source
Your logic is fairly wobbly here. There is vile and objectionable material to be found all over the entire internet – does this automatically disqualify everything on it?
Nor is Bitshute a 'publisher' in the conventional sense of the word. It's an open platform that people use when they can't be bothered with the censorship they encounter elsewhere. As a result there will be a wildly mixed mass of material that you get to apply your own critical discrimination to, without some faceless entity having pre-done the job for you.
True…but then although I do read the stuff the people put up here, my experience has been reading through, for most of this year, the anti vaxx stuff put up on another MB. My conclusion was that if the person putting up the views needed to find a home on Bitchute then most likely it was because they had failed to find a home on more reputable sites. Put it this way in all my searching through anti vax or Covid treatment links I have yet to find a link on Bitchute to research that you find published in The Lancet or by the NHI.
I know the stuff about the publisher aspect……Bitchute does have a reputation to get over if it is in the market for rational research.
My view is probably snobbish as well…..I am sure that the readers on TS know how to find the likes of Bitchute and arguments for and against the Ivermectin issue.
The almost breathless ‘Look what I have found’ is a bit of a red flag for me as a skeptic from way back (if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is’).
“In this discussion you will learn about the treatments he has found to be so incredibly successful.
Moreover, how a number of them are easily obtainable (here in NZ) over the counter. Additionally, what to ask your doctor for if you or your loved ones unfortunately become infected and fall ill.
You will learn (just like any illness) how early intervention/treatment is essential to quicker and better outcomes.
You will hear how the results of these better outcomes have saved many lives.”
Wow!
Note that I carefully confined myself to your original claim that 'if it's on Bitshute then it must be junk'. Whether or not the linked video makes sense or not is a separate discussion that's over to you and anyone else who watches it.
I'll keep an eye on it. It's not really a good idea here to post a video in lieu of an argument. People can get away with it once or twice, but there is a limit.
As far as I can see The Chairman clearly stated his own position over multiple paras and then used the video as a supporting reference.
I agree, which is why I didn’t mod. But he also said he’s going to do more of these and I think there’s a limit in on using TS to drop social media type comments. If he explains what’s in the video people can discuss it.
Nor is Bitshute a 'publisher' in the conventional sense of the word.
No. But the British Medical Journal is.
You might remember back to the 2nd November 2021 when this august publication put up this…Covid-19: Researcher blows the whistle on data integrity issues in Pfizer’s vaccine trial .
This should have been a loud wake up call for all of those folk who are idling under the illusion that the Pfizer Product is safe and effective because Pfizer did proper research and stuff…and the all powerful FDA were closely monitoring the quality of that research and stuff…
However, and y'all can check, the MSM uptake of this powerful bit of work was practically zero until…this.…
Open letter from The BMJ to Mark Zuckerberg
Dear Mark Zuckerberg,
We are Fiona Godlee and Kamran Abbasi, editors of The BMJ, one of the world’s oldest and most influential general medical journals. We are writing to raise serious concerns about the “fact checking” being undertaken by third party providers on behalf of Facebook/Meta.
In September, a former employee of Ventavia, a contract research company helping carry out the main Pfizer covid-19 vaccine trial, began providing The BMJ with dozens of internal company documents, photos, audio recordings, and emails. These materials revealed a host of poor clinical trial research practices occurring at Ventavia that could impact data integrity and patient safety. We also discovered that, despite receiving a direct complaint about these problems over a year ago, the FDA did not inspect Ventavia’s trial sites.
The BMJ commissioned an investigative reporter to write up the story for our journal. The article was published on 2 November, following legal review, external peer review and subject to The BMJ’s usual high level editorial oversight and review.[1]
But from November 10, readers began reporting a variety of problems when trying to share our article. Some reported being unable to share it. Many others reported having their posts flagged with a warning about “Missing context … Independent fact-checkers say this information could mislead people.” Those trying to post the article were informed by Facebook that people who repeatedly share “false information” might have their posts moved lower in Facebook’s News Feed. Group administrators where the article was shared received messages from Facebook informing them that such posts were “partly false.”
Readers were directed to a “fact check” performed by a Facebook contractor named Lead Stories.[2]
We find the “fact check” performed by Lead Stories to be inaccurate, incompetent and irresponsible.
Well, blow me down with a feather if that wee missive didn't provoke a response…but not predominantly from MSM…who seem a little wary of facts that don't fully support the "safe and effective" narrative.
And to add to this censorship story there are now a legion of medical researchers who are reporting that 'reputable' journals are openly censoring articles on content grounds alone. In other words if the journal editor doesn't agree with the conclusions they either get told to re-write it to suit or it doesn't get published.
These are researchers with long and successful publishing records, many cites, and strong peer reviews – and now they're silenced.
Think about this for a moment. It essentially means that because we cannot know which papers have been 'doctored' to meet editors requirements – the entire field of published medical literature should now be really thrown in the bin as unverifiable and untrustworthy.
the entire field of published medical literature should now be really thrown in the bin as unverifiable and untrustworthy.
This has been a problem since…ages…https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1383755/ 2006
The trouble with medical journals
Yet medical journals often contain poor science. Basic scientists who work in biology and chemistry are regularly scornful of the, mostly, applied science that appears in medical journals. The journals have, for example, published many reports of treatments applied to single cases and to series of cases, which rarely allow confident conclusions because of the absence of controls. Journals have also been part of what might be called an `unscientific' method of encouraging treatments that seem to make anatomic, physiological, or biochemical sense, without insisting that they be properly evaluated in practice.
The history of medicine is littered with treatments that seemed to make sense but which ultimately did more harm than good. Sir Arbuthnot Lane, who was mercilessly parodied in George Bernard Shaw's The Doctor's Dilemma, removed the colons of Londoners who were severely fatigued and rich enough to meet his high fees. The operation was supposedly removing toxins. A tenth of his patients were killed by the operation. I belong to a generation who had their tonsils removed to no benefit. While my wife, when having our first child in 1982, was given an enema and had her pubic hair shaved—procedures which are unpleasant and of no benefit.
Medicine itself probably deserves most criticism for its unscientific behaviour but journals are the major link between science and practice. In recent year, journals have been severely criticized for publishing studies that are scientifically weak (in that their conclusions are not supported by their methods and data) and irrelevant to practitioners (and so patients).
Agreed. Poor quality science has been a recognised problem for a while now – especially in the medical and social science fields. Poorly designed experiments and trials, non-rigorous handling of data, an over-reliance of statistical packages to produce results without the deep understanding necessary to apply them correctly – are at least three big causes of non-useful papers.
In particular it’s very easy to design a trial, inadvertently or otherwise, that fails to pick up a signal and reports ‘no useful effect’. As an analogy, imagine you were building a radio receiver from a handful of electronic components – there will be a myriad ways to get it wrong and only one way to make it work. Yet if the receiver you build does not hear any signals, this does not mean there are no transmitters out there. Similarly a medical trial that reports ‘no result’ demands we scrutinise it very carefully to determine if it was capable of delivering any result.
This doesn’t mean that all research is bunk, but that extracting meaningful information from it is hard. Much harder than most people like to imagine.
But these technical issues aside, my point relates to blatant censorship and content altering on the part of journal editors. If this continues unchecked it renders their journal untrustworthy and everything it ever published worthless.
Thats true enough RL.
And also to add to the mix, my experience generally, was we got the results we paid for. And i could also add that quite a few kiwi medical experts that pop up in the MSM, that many would recognise here, conducted trials where we all knew what the results would be . I saw the payments and the international travel etc.
.
Mirrors the increasing rejection of journalistic norms in the mainstream media.
The fact that msm and big Social media platforms actively suppress and ignore these issues actually entrenches people in their positions.
Its foolish, for the better of everybody these things need to be publically acknowledged and debated.
…actually entrenches people in their positions.
And some of us more moderate vaccine hesitant folk have been warning about this issue. I remember posting here on TS during the 2019 measles epidemic when a local leading light in vaccines stated categorically that measles killed one case in a thousand, when the actual UK pre vaccine rate was 2 in ten thousand. Case in point was the massive pile on I received here with an accusation, that still sticks that I am anti-vax. I aid then that it was just this response that drove folk down holes.
There is a small minority who have responded to this systematic censorship by MSM and social media by diving down some seriously deep and smelly rabbit holes.
I stand with RedLogix on this. Thanks Red.
They may be the next YT, minus the censorship.
Craig Kelly and one of the demon sperm quacks?
Bless.
/
Interesting isn't, Joe?
It seems we now live in a time that when any doctor (regardless of how credible they are) goes against the great narrative they are automatically labelled a quack.
I watched the news with a number of people last night. One story was about the Auckland Airport Bookshop being made aware they were selling Conspiracy magazines with anti vaxx stories. The reporter held one of these magazines up and gave an example of what conspiracy's they contained. The bookstore when confronted by the news team regarding the magazines, said they didn't check the content ( why should they?); apologised profusely, and said the magazines had been removed from the shelves.
Two observations: the import of that news item was lost on the people watching it with me.
And, the reporter forgot to add the magazines mentioned usually provide links to source information for most articles.
I observed a similar trend when I posted a video clip on this blog with contentious content.
Did they take them outside and burn them?
I think that will be a New Year special.
If theyd done it in November they could have combined it with Guy Fawkes
We are talking about TV news! They could have also combined it with Maori language week and had reporters dancing around a bonfire crying out '' e hoa, e hoa…ahi, ahi. Kapai.
Perhaps the owner of the bookstall should have, instead of apologising, accused the TV crew of indulging regularly in the practice they were complaining about.
Then he should have taken to the TV camera with a sledgehammer. If the TV station weren't cheapskates they might have been able to flatten $20,000+ worth of camera and they wouldn't be bothered again.
I saw that piece and couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like something out of the Cultural Revolution. The righteous thinkers publicly shame a business owner for selling magazines containing views not endorsed by public officials. The owner immediately kowtows to the righteous thinkers, well aware of the risk that public opprobrium exposes them to.
If a magazine arrived with an article outlining how to assassinate politicians would a similar item on TV news be seen to be righteous thinkers publicly shaming a business owner for selling magazines containing views not endorsed by public officials?
I think your example is false equivalence Pete.
I am not sure that the argument is false equivalence…..many orgs do not provide alternative anti vaxx views as a public service, a sort of moral gesture. I think there are arguments for and against. If the argument was for an investigative type look at the latest in ant vaxx views eg Some thing like the Loopy article from David Farrier
https://www.webworm.co/p/loopy
as against uncritically repeating the 5G, magnets, people 'gonna die' from the vaccine in less than 5 years, then I think there is an argument and I am not so sure.
I appreciate that perspective. Is publishing a "How I would …" or a "How to…" a criminal offence.
Yes where do you draw the line? So anti vaxx messages with a potential to kill compared with anti establishment assassination conspiracy messages with a potential to kill……… Though with many anti vaxxers not flying the market would be much smaller.
The idea that most airport bookshops have a wide range of quality books and mags is an interesting one though. Apart from the excellent book shop at Wgtn airport, and admittedly I have not been there for almost a year, many airport bookshops seem to specialise in the lurid covered, shock, horror books & expose type mags. Such a book and mag snob I am I will grant you that.
Incitement to violence is illegal, with good reason. Publishing opinions that many people vehemently disagree with is not illegal, also with good reason.
Yeah I noticed that dimension too. I'm ambivalent though. I met Jonathan Eisen, the publisher of Uncensored, had a conversation with him & our mutual buddy Bill Watson. Both those guys being yank immigrants turned kiwis long ago.
Jon Eisen published an excellent book called Suppressed Inventions back in the '90s. Being an afficionado of alt history alongside being a voracious reader of history since I was a child, I knew that suppression of alternative narratives had always been a fundamental part of mass psychology. The book also covered cancer cures suppressed by the establishment in the early 20th century. The establishment doesn't care how many folk testify to their miracle cures – they're so addicted to their favourite line of bullshit that they'll happily suppress those folk.
Otoh I only ever bought a couple of copies of Uncensored. Jon functioned as editor as well as publisher & he's just too uncritical for me. I don't mind them featuring narratives from the minority of covid deniers at all. However when they promote disinformation that can be proven so via evidence it crosses the moral line. So I have no problem with govt censorship.
Devil's in the detail – he works both sides of the divide. Govt uses bureaucrats who can't tell the difference between right and wrong. Minority is mostly lacking in scientific training, quoting evidence from experts who have strayed beyond their actual field of expertise & are merely showboating.
The truth will out – but it's out there somewhere. Competing claims in the media may or may not point the way to it.
I saw that piece and couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was like something out of the Cultural Revolution.
Yup. We're seeing segments of our media completely lose any sense of professionalism here. These are bell-weather moments PM and we have to speak out against them.
(A minor point you may wish to note for future reference.)
"Bellwether
Noun
A bellwether is a leader or an indicator of trends. The term derives from the Middle English bellewether and refers to the practice of placing a bell around the neck of a castrated ram (a wether) leading a flock of sheep. … Bellwether stocks therefore serve as short-term guides."
…Wikipedia
Unbelievable… almost as bad as Stuff breathlessly outing that exec working the council… and they wonder why they cop abuse…
I'm not sure what the big deal is, Lauren Southern banned, Don Brash banned, Jordan Petersons book pulled from shelves (Mein Kampf was still available) and plenty, not all of course, on this site were thinking its marvellous
This is just a natural progression
Obey your betters peasants
Pegasus, the best spyware a despot can get.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Sen. Krzysztof Brejza’s mobile phone was hacked with sophisticated spyware nearly three dozen times in 2019 when he was running the opposition’s campaign against the right-wing populist government in parliamentary elections, an internet watchdog found.
Text messages stolen from Brejza’s phone — then doctored in a smear campaign — were aired by state-controlled TV in the heat of that race, which the ruling party narrowly won. With the hacking revelation, Brejza now questions whether the election was fair.
It’s the third finding by the University of Toronto’s nonprofit Citizen Lab that a Polish opposition figure was hacked with Pegasus spyware from the Israeli hacking tools firm NSO Group. Brejza’s phone was digitally broken in to 33 times from April 26, 2019, to Oct. 23, 2019, said Citizen Lab researchers, who have been tracking government abuses of NSO malware for years.
https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-middle-east-elections-europe-c16b2b811e482db8fbc0bbc37c00c5ab
I often watch the Freeview Al Jazeera channel, mainly for their up-to-the-minute hourly & 1/2 hourly global news bulletins, but also for some of their documentaries & regular current affairs items. Some of their Middle East reporters got hacked a year or two ago with Pegasus; the attacks were traced back to the UAE (I think by Citizen Lab).
In a documentary looking at the hacked phones & how they were discovered they also looked into the background of the 3 NSO founders. They were all employed originally by the Israeli Secret Service, IIRC. They were suspected of operating as an unofficial commercial arm of Mossad.
According to several reports, software created by NSO Group was used in targeted attacks against human rights activists and journalists in various countries, was used in state espionage against Pakistan, and played a role in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the Saudi government.
In October 2019, instant messaging company WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms (then known as Facebook) sued NSO and Q Cyber Technologies under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). NSO claims that it provides authorized governments with technology that helps them combat terror and crime.
The Pegasus spyware is classified as a weapon by Israel and any export of the technology must be approved by the government.
…
On 3 November 2021 the United States added the NSO Group to its Entity List, for acting “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US” and it effectively bans the sale of hardware and software to the company. On 23 November 2021, NSO Group were sued by Apple, Inc. for their activities in relation to Apple products.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSO_Group
The Abraham Accords deal, ushered in by billionaire sheikdoms' bestie Jared Kushner, is predicated on unelected regional despots maintaining their power and position. Israel flogs them the spyware they need to counter their opponents and to gather the wood they need on activists, journalists, and lawyers to nip any nascent democratic rumblings in the bud.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/18/revealed-leak-uncovers-global-abuse-of-cyber-surveillance-weapon-nso-group-pegasus
It's a tense time, and lots of stuff is flying around. I'm going to ask that if people want to post videos, they make the time to explain what is in the video. If it's on a hot topic, then more detail is required. This is especially important if using the video to make a point. It's not enough to post a video and expect others to spend 30 or 60 mins watching in order to understand what you mean.
Obviously humour, music and pukeko videos are exempt from this.
Looks like Europe is in on the pivot away from Asia, so the USA are no longer alone.
And "according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (BMI)… there are 25 gigafactories planned for the continent by 2030… as the industry races to keep up with soaring demand for electric cars. Nine of those are owned by Asian manufacturers, which control most of the global supply.
Better amend that to a partial pivot away then! Yank capitalists are funding the Swedes too:
Talk about hands across the water! Who said globalism was dead?
Satire is inevitable.
https://twitter.com/PressRuissa/status/1476134786997624844
I would say that nuclear capability already in place for the Dutch, who are trained in deployment as well as Germans, I think, is already enough. There can be no reason to station nuclear capability in Europe except as a threat against Russia. Both Sweden and Finland are now on the invitation list. Ukraine and the crazies that run the place now are a clear red line for Russia. Any NATO base there means missiles flying to Moscow will take a matter of a few minutes. The red line in your map is still far more than provoked the Cuban missile crisis. Russia has plainly stated that Ukraine in NATO is unacceptable. Anyone who cant understand the reasons why has lost the capacity to think critically. Pretending that they should just suck it up wont work and neither will refusing to talk. Theses are not options and never should be when a country expresses concerns about their security
Cuba is 145ks from the US border but sure, Russia is surrounded by the US nukes at Büchel, 1300ks from the Russian enclave at Kaliningrad Oblast, and Aviano, 1500ks from Kaliningrad Oblast.
Kaliningrad Oblast is a further 500ks from the Russian border.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/new-zealand-news-ross-taylor-announces-international-retirement-1294816
The Boss leaves on his own terms.
How good is he, averages 43 against Australia (against overall average of 45) with the second highest test score against Australia (290) is how good he is but thats not the mark of the man
This is:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/cricket-how-ross-taylor-coped-with-losing-the-captaincy/7XNUETYMG75AHJD3LS26GV33KE/
Scores over 200 runs in the test and wins the test and gets stripped of the captaincy, he could have gone off and made a bundle as a freelance T20 player but instead he regrouped, regained his love of the game and came back and supported his captains.
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/martin-crowe-on-ross-taylor-s-road-to-loving-the-game-again-702923
From a 'dirty slogger' to a NZ great.
He can, eventually, put his feet up, enjoy a wine or two (or three) and maybe go out and encourage the next generation of Polynesian players to emulate, or better, his own outstanding record.
But whatever he does hes earned it.
So, 2021is staggering to a close.
Did it meet your expectations?
What would you like to see in 2022?
What would you not like to see?
What do you expect?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/experiences/cycling-holidays/127410428/why-the-south-islands-bike-trails-have-the-edge
Reason number 2046 why the South Island is, was and always will be superior to the North Island
I'm not saying the South Island should split from the North but I won't disagree with anyone else that thinks it
Reason number 1
population 1,196,000 (June 2021)
Yep even in towns theres room to breathe (apart from Nelson and Queenstown)
Not often I agree with you Puck, but you're on the mark here!
Its easy to tell someone from the South Island, they're generally better looking, more intelligent, exceptionally funny than their North Island counterparts and extremely modest as well
I'd be sorry to see the south island depart from the north. Where are all the knuckle draggers and tourist sharks going to reside
They will just stay in Southland, as before.
yeah but don't tell everyone.