“On NZ becoming a republic”.
It will no doubt happen someday. I can remember Jim Bolger, in an Address in Reply debate when he was Prime Minister, suggesting that it would (or perhaps it was should) happen before 2001. Jim had the characteristics of someone from the Irish Republic of course.
Hardly a question of urgency when she suggests it will happen in her lifetime considering that her life expectancy is probably another 60 years. Still, it’s a squirrel.
The full interview covers more than the Womans Weekly garbage.
Somewhere I read she will meet Corbyn for breakfast? when she’s in the
UK
Hope we won’t be treated to her favourite muesli recipe. No doubt there will be cat talk, and El Gato will be photographed smooching up to Jacinda
*sigh* Accusations of anti-semitism have become the last refuge of the scoundrel.
These charges against Corbyn are nonsense. No one in the UK really believes them, not even his accusers. The charges have made very little impression on British voters, who know a smear campaign when they see one.
The anti-semitism charges against Corbyn are useful to study though, because they show two things.
The first is how successful Israel has been with infiltrating the UK political establishment and bribing neoliberal politicians via the LFI (Labour Friends of Israel) (https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Labour_Friends_of_Israel). Effectively, anyone who questions current Israeli policies of violent repression of the Palestinians in mainstream UK politics can be practically guaranteed they will be smeared by a powerful fifth column of pro-Jewish voices in the UK media and political elites.
Secondly, the anti-semitism accusations how quickly middle class liberals will start slinging around accusations of racism when they lose. It was literally the first thing the Blairiites went for when Corbyn won the UK Labour party leadership.
That there is an intersection between the utterly corrupt and hopelessly entitled Blairite extremists and the cash sloshing around from right wing LFI donors is undeniable – and they have powerful friends in the liberal media. Repeaters and morons like James find it convenient to parrot politically motivated and vile lies and smears for completely dishonest reasons, what a complete dropkick and arsehole you are James.
Can’t wait for reselection of Labour candidates to get underway.
Corbyn’s surge in the last UK elections shut the Guardian up for a bit, but they’re back to their old ways.
Currently anti-semitism is the rack they hope to break him on
CarolynNorth, I have noticed a concerted effort by the right in all areas to undermine Jacinda. The article in Stuff follows several in the same vein giving the impression she has “Lost control”
This is a build up before Winston takes over, trying to destabilize the coalition, and make it look mismanaged by emphasising unrelated issues as symptomatic. IMO
I see three rather right wing commentators arrive to swiftly add fuel to the fire. As if being an echo makes it right.
“Repeaters and morons like James find it convenient to parrot politically motivated and vile lies and smears for completely dishonest reasons, what a complete dropkick and arsehole you are James.”
Harsh.
But true.
I don’t think there will be any political will toward becoming a Republic any time soon. It would, I think introduce a three way brawl between politicians, the senior level of the Judiciary in the Supreme Court and the public.
There will need to be a Head of State, other than the British Monarch.
The current set of politicians around at the time will want it to be an appointment by them. The Public will want to elect him or her. An election will give the person chosen a major claim to power. They will be the only person elected by the whole of the country and will be able to claim moral authority over parliamentarians. No Politician will want to accept that.
There will be a brawl between the senior judges and the politicians. The Judges, led by our current Chief Justice will claim the right to decide all the questions of a Constitutional manner. They will claim the right, in the absence of our traditional system and without a formal Constitution to lay down the rules and to override the Parliament. Again the politicians won’t like it.
Personally I am quite happy with the present situation. They keep out of the way, don’t try and interfere and don’t cost us very much. In fact I think we ought to go back to choosing British Peers as the GG as well. When they were in Office they tended to give us things. Think Ranfurly Shied, Plunket Shield, Bledisloe Cup, Waitangi Grounds, Treaty House etc.
Then when they leave office they bugger off back to Britain. Look at the number we have of the local lot who still demand their perks long after they have become relics from History? Crown Limo to go to the ball, anyone?
Do you realise that we don’t just have the current one to worry about? There are, if my counting is right, no fewer than 5 ex’s swanning around. Plus a bunch or spouses of deceased ones who are also still feeding at the trough.
Away with them.
And a pretty comprehensive interview in Good Weekend magazine that goes out with the Fairfax papers on a Saturday in Australia.
I like the bit where Clarke goes out every Friday evening to get the briefcase of Cabinet Papers and judges by the weight of it whether or not they are going to any fun that weekend.
You have to wonder in the light of the Cambridge Analytics scandal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=KKJMp_O0f7E why the UK is not having a second referendum on BREXIT to see whether it was democratically legitimate to the British people and is what the British people wanted, not what a small corporation funded by a US billionaire, spent a lot of money to influence the result of.
Gareth Morgan on Coleman’s resignation and the need for a by-election.
“while we have high expectations of our politicians, they are in turn very well looked after by the NZ taxpayer, and have an obligation to their constituents. Dr Coleman, being an Electorate rather than a List MP, is the latest to thumb his nose at this social contract he has with his constituents”.
He goes on to say that “Electorate MPs that resign for pecuniary reasons during their term should forfeit all of their taxpayer-funded post political benefits which include inflated Super payments. After all, at the election they undertook to represent the people of their region. To turn around after the event and say ‘too bad, I’m not in government anymore and that’s all it was about for me, it was never about representing you, my electorate’ is the ultimate insult an electorate representative can inflict’.
I’m thinking Gareth has never seen written or signed a social contract. No doubt the courts will enforce what ever provision has been written into Colemans one.
” “Electorate MPs that resign for pecuniary reasons during their term should forfeit all of their taxpayer-funded post political benefits which include inflated Super payments. After all, at the election they undertook to represent the people of their region. To turn around after the event and say ‘too bad, I’m not in government anymore and that’s all it was about for me, it was never about representing you, my electorate’ is the ultimate insult an electorate representative can inflict’.”
Your quote is out of context. That relates to the ‘ultimate insult’ – not pecuniary reason.
The pecuniary reason is:
a. The earlier reference to Coleman deciding to step down to take up a position in the private sector, and maintaining it was a hard decision, “ But when you get offered opportunities like this, you just got to take them”; and
b. The paragraph following your quote that “To add insult to injury, the taxpayer then has to turn around and spend $1 million on a by-election, simply because they took the candidate at their word. Politicians who undertake to represent an electorate should have to pay the costs of a by-election or forgo all their post political perks, if they move on for the money before fulfilling their pledge”.
I doubt it would be hard to prove that Coleman’s move will result in pecuniary gain from the salary etc from his new job compared to his current income as an Opposition MP; especially since he himself has made public statements to that effect.
Remember the screams of protest on this site when some other MPs resigned and forced a By-election?
Don’t you remember the screams of outrage on this site when Winnie Laban quit for another job? And the same when Lianne Dalziel jumped ship to be Christchurch Mayor, or when Phil Goff did the same in Auckland and David Shearer also quit in mid-term?
No, neither do I.
I think that anyone, Electorate or List who runs for Parliament should serve out their full term unless medical problems preclude it or they are kicked out.
The only exception should be PMs whose party ceases to be the Government. Clark and English come into that category. Everyone else should fulfil their contract.
So what if the Skripal’s themselves were the ones with the nerve agent? The daughter had just flown back from Moscow a few days before. The container or whatever bursts as she’s rummaging for the front door keys. (hence shit on the door handle) They then run around all those cordoned places – the kids park, the cemetery etc, in those cordoned vehicles, as they look to get rid of the stuff. They feel fine. They think they might have dodged a bullet. They go for lunch. It hits. And the rest is unfolding history.
Makes for a better film script than anything I’ve heard so far 🙂
Ah! Well, you see, the reason May was so sure of the Russian connection was because the daughter had just been to Moscow. May didn’t specify whether it was the Kremlin or a private source. Which is good for the plot line and allows for the Kremlin to be blamed regardless (loss of control of nerve agents/ not full stock destroyed etc) 😉
Did she know she was carrying nerve agents? Who was she carrying nerve agents for? What was the intended purpose and who was the intended recipient or victim?
Or did May just jump the gun with the Moscow connection?
,,, A good black and white, ..Artistically showing Mays long shadow . ……. cast as shes Stepping up to the podium to speak at some Legatum jig … among friends
Actually Bill, the Novichok series has already been made The british public had just finished watching their first introduction to the notion of Novichoks
“So where is the ‘Novichok’ talk coming from? Well, someone in the British government propaganda staff watched the current seasons of the British-American spy drama Strike Back. Nina Byzantina points to the summaries of recent episodes:
Episode 50 ran in the U.K on November 21 2017 and in the U.S. on February 23 2018:
Meanwhile, General Lázsló shuts down Section 20, forcing Donovan to work in secret. She discovers that Zaryn is in fact Karim Markov, a Russian scientist who allegedly killed his colleagues with Novichok, a nerve agent they invented.
Episodes 51 ran in the U.K on November 28 2017 and in the U.S. on March 2 2018:
Section 20 track Berisovich’s meth lab in Turov where Markov is making more Novichok and destroy it, though Berisovich escapes with Markov.
Episodes 52 ran in the U.K on January 31 2018 and in the U.S. on March 9 2018:
Section 20 track down Maya, a local Muslim woman Lowry radicalised, to a local airport. When she attempts to release the Novichok, Reynolds shoots her. The Novichok is fake however, as Berisovich does not want an attack committed in his country. … By the time Section 20 arrives, Berisovich had already called in the FSB to extract Markov and confiscate the Novichok. Yuri resurfaces to kill McAllister and Wyatt. However they turn the tables and strangle him to death. They then manage to engage the FSB and contain the gas. But in the process Reynolds is exposed. Markov works on an antidote but is killed by the Russians before he can complete. McAllister improvises and saves Reynolds, before Novin blows up the lab. Lowry uses the remainder of the gas to kill Berisovich for trying to betray her.”
Hollywood’s Warner Bros. will be knocking on your front door any day now bill. Play your cards right and you could make a tidy packet out of that script. It’s about on a par for H.w. 😉
Bill, at 5 and 5.1.1. you say
“The daughter had just flown back from Moscow a few days before.” and “because the daughter had just been to Moscow.”
My understanding is that Yulia Skripal lives in Moscow and just visits her father in the UK from time to time. Also I read some time ago that she works in Moscow at either the UK Embassy or the US Embassy. I am not sure which and am not about to search back for the articles.
However, if you want a good film script you could not go past this Daily Mail article that claims that the poison was aimed at Yulia, not her father, because of her impending marriage in Moscow.
The father continues his involvement in the shady underworld of Russian ex-pats and…oh, I know!
Bill Browder has another target in mind! One of the London based oligarchs is getting close to uncovering his scamming, murderous ways. So he instructs the daughter to pick up a wee package from Moscow….
I guess that should all unravel at the end of the final episode though as a passable surprise ending 🙂
Politkovskaya lives. Litvinenko died of natural causes. Nemtsov strolled home intact without begin gunned down by Putin’s thugs. And Daphne Caruana Galizia is still alive. It’s all just nasty western propaganda.
Happy day – lectured by a dupe so backward he swallows the RT line whole.
I have a fair idea what’s involved. It’s well beyond the average petty criminal.
“Thinking like a spy or a hitman” – is neither here nor there.
Nerve agents are principally made by state actors, who can recruit people capable of deploying them. Russia has made a habit of using them, and has a large pool of people available to use them.
The thousand lies of whataboutery have yet to fly a plausible kite.
That you’ve taken my obvious statement as a lecture and come back with such a bizarre comment is of no surprise..
Resplendent with the RT mention thrown in…I’ve not mentioned RT , Stuart…that makes you a projection dupe…
You see , Stuart. It’s a good thing to understand ones own boundaries… You appear not to….that’s all too common an affliction…
No-one on this site has anything other than speculation based on what might be 1% of information provided by other entities…
It’s a fundamental failing to take a postion and believe it in the espionage arena….you are not part of that world…
Take a position, sure but appreciate you have NFI about the levels and angles that are in play, because it’s espionage Stu…….just acknowledge that to yourself if you can….
It is a world that your imagination wouldn’t get close to…
[Cut out the pointless chest puffery personal stuff, aye? Both of you. Cheers.] – Bill
So as usual – the propaganda troll claims intellectual superiority for entertaining unsupported (and unsupportable) bilge.
You are not a spy.
You are not a hitman.
You know little or nothing about Russian intelligence.
Your imagination is neither here nor there.
You’re not even properly informed.
Not bad Bill, I like it and why not? The UK pension doesn’t amount to much these days
but wouldn’t she just wipe the mess up with baby wipes?
Nope apparently not, and the mess is still there on the doorknob, actually its a handle in the photos but I like the word knob, after 4 weeks of rain and snow
As part of his consultancy work in cybersecurity, Skripal travelled all over the place ,Dubai for one
False flag in the ME?
Skripal was still meeting with Pablo Miller, his original recruiter, every week .
And Miller was working for Christopher Steele at Orbis
Like a lot of ex M16 agents, they go on to do private consultancy work
Maybe Skripal contributed to the Steele dossier, knowing it was a load of bullshit but the money was ok
Maybe his monthly visits(according to an expat Russian friend)roused the suspicion that he’d flipped once again , and knew too much ….
Or maybe he’s just been using out of date organophosphate pesticides he found in the garden shed
Personally, I’m going with the theory that Putin at heart just wanted to be caught, he wanted to out the whole secretive Novichok program he’d been beavering away at for the last 10 years
And he wanted to send a message, to the US/EU that their beleaguered ally the UK needed to be rallied around and propped up
Firstly, that requires Julia to have access to the poison, and be sure thet she (as daughter of a traitor toi russia) will be able to get it through customs. Big hole needs filler.
Secondly, the exposure needs to be unknown to them, because otherwise they would have presented immediately to hospital with some convoluted story. Time is survival.
Thirdly, she smuggled a substance internationally and they didn’t immediately check it when she arrived, they went to lunch? Doesn’t match with the second.
Fourthly, why the front door? They would have gone inside and looked at the package, so that’s where the main contamination would be, surely?
It’s possible, maybe, but really doesn’t scan so simply as “assasination attempt”.
She doesn’t know what she’s picking up for Browder. It’s in some make-up thang – a compact case! (All spy movies should be 60s 🙂 ) Maybe the compact case comes as a “side package” to the main package which isn’t nerve agent. No suspicion at customs for innocuous object.
There’s a meeting. The compact case is in her bag. Meeting gets rescheduled. They go home. Compact opens by accident. Door handle.
They quickly contact Browder. He says they’ll be okay, wash hands and dump the shit somewhere.
They go where they went. They dump it somewhere along the way…or pass it off. And lunch. And think they’re okay, but…
Don’t know whether you should be a script editor or never allowed to go to the pictures with anyone McFlock. Maybe both 🙂
Ok, assuming she decidied to take something through customs for Browder, you’re on the one hand saying she doesn’t know what it is, but on the other hand “calls him quickly” when it breaks. And why would he use as a mule someone who’ll raise flags on both Russian and British immigration/customs computers?
And there’s still the source in Russia to cover, and whomever Browder wants to give it to.
I mean, you’ve got a possible explanation of events there, but not really plausible, let alone likely.
Whereas on the flipside we have Russia being the source, transporter, and deliverer of a lethal weapon in order to get revenge for treason and intimidate other prospective assets.
Do you think we should have a scene where daughter and father discuss what to do before deciding that maybe it would be best to make a call? I think you might be right on that. Good idea.
I’m actually not altogether happy with the burst package in bag getting contents on hands and that then coating the door handle. As with the case of the door handle being the source of contamination by some other route, it would generally only be touched by one of two people entering a place.
Anyway. Do you think we can let that one slide? Or should we concoct some little scene to explain two people using the one door handle?
I don’t think we need to bother ourselves with “flags” at Russian/UK customs etc seeing as how the daughter was a fairly frequent flyer. Maybe we could also shoot a scene where the faux package is subjected to some scrutiny? What should that be? Some papers? Computer related drives? Hmm – thinking 🙂
The full identity of the source doesn’t really matter for our purposes. Establishing a private entity as the source is all that’s required which, given that Skripal senior was a double agent and so unlikely to be used by the Russian state, isn’t a problem.
Bill O have been away for a couple of weeks.
In that time, my research on this topic has taken me to Craig Murray as a very interesting source of information
Have you heard of him?
Do you have a view on his viewpoint?
Thing is, that’s the closest anyone’s come to coming up with some other even vaguely reasonable explanation as to how two people were poisoned by nerve agents in the middle of an English town. As as you point out it still has big holes that would make William of Occam suspicious. Whereas having one or both of them as targets of the Russian state fills up most of those holes.
BTW, you’re looking for cross-contamination to explain the doorhandle thing. Person A touches door, then touches person B with the same hand. But you’d expect the person with the initial exposure to have a greater dose and therefore greater symptoms.
It has been quite cold in the UK so weren’t they wearing gloves?
How come so many people ended up in hospital with symptoms of alleged poisoning? Simple precaution or were they truly ill? Did they all touch that door handle or did they all shake hands with the couple when they were found slumped on a park bench?
The basic questions are often overlooked. Cops entering the house would have worn gloves and not touched things with their bare skin unless they are clueless & incompetent …
I kinda liked these pertinent questions. (I’ve reproduced a few) But then, I know I’m apparently bias, besides knowing for certain that I’m in a growing minority of people who view “the west” as being the belligerents on the global stage these days.
2) What specific antidotes were administered to Mr and Ms Skripal, and in which form? How were those antidotes available for the medical staff on the site of the incident?
3) On what grounds has France been involved in technical cooperation with regard to the investigation of an incident in which Russian nationals had suffered?
12) On the basis of which characteristics (“markers”) has it been ascertained that the substance used in Salisbury “originated from Russia”?
13) Does the UK possess reference samples of the military-grade poisonous substance that British representatives identify as “Novichok”?
14) Has the substance identified by British representatives as “Novichok” or analogous substances been researched, developed or produced in the UK?
Not all that interesting, really. What purpose do they serve? How would any answers to any of those questions change the debate? Seems to me that it still comes down to “Putin is killing traitors” vs “Putin’s enemies are killing his other enemies in order to make him look bad, but they keep killing his most powerful enemies so that’s a bit of a weird strategy”.
As to people who view the West as belligerants, that’s actually a pretty big group of people. The people who automatically think the the West must bethe only group of belligerents, that’s a very small group of people.
The usual antidotes for poisoning with nerve agents apparently don’t work with Novichok, if that’s what they were poisoned with. In any case, they have to be given within minutes of exposure to be effective; any later and they’re largely ineffective and require different antidotes/treatment. The inhibition of one of the biological targets, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), leads to severe acute symptoms and potentially followed by rapid death. The longer-lasting effects of nerve agents are nerve damage particularly of but not limited to the function of the legs.
Jesus christ now the russians want the doctors done for malpractise.
25 is wrong, btw. Nerve agents don’t act “immediately”. But then someone might accuse the Russians of trying to muddy the waters with bullshit questions, as if they have something to hide.
Look through all the CCTV on March the 4th for the guy decked out in the hazmat suit to protect himself from contamination
He’ll be the one
Or maybe he’ll be the one in the army fatigues because they seem to give immunity too
Onset
Novichok is reported to be 5–8 times more lethal than VX nerve agent and effects are rapid, usually within 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Major symptoms
Symptoms are the same as those of other nerve agents as shown in Table 5.11 (p. 257). Local effects are thought to be immediate, while systemic effects may be delayed up to 18 hours.
For inhalation, it would be immediate/seconds.
Yeah fair call, they don’t necessarily act immediately. Which is the point – lack of immediate onset doesn’t rule out any nerve agent.
The chapter has significant differences in time between skin exposure and symptoms vs inhalation. Because it says inhalation of the powder was thought to be the main route of exposure, they theorised onset in seconds. If the Skripals had a skin exposure, the delay is anyone’s guess.
As a side note, reading the chapter basically puts paid to the “where did they get the antidotes from” question – literally every nerve agent has the same treatment as organophosphate exposure:
So any rural area fit to treat farmworkers soaked in pesticide would be able to treat a nerve gas attack.
Not to mention other uses of those medications.
Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is.
The agenda is to paint Labour an accidental government, unready and accident prone and the onslaught is relentless – and it isn’t helped by the pile on of immature and hysterical left wing snowflakes who toss their toys because Jacinda hasn’t waved a magic wand and fixed everything in three months.
“Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is”
You then go onto a puff piece in the Guardian ?
The main difference is in NZ the media is discussing her actions (or lack there of) of her government.
It dosnt make them partisan or right wing.
The government or labour should be held up for what they are doing.
There have been some commentators on here who voted for labour who have said they wont again – does that make them right wing? No – its that some people just are not happy how this government is working out and media may be a reflection of this view for many.
Example you have stated as fact that labour did nothing wrong about the sexual assaults at the labour camp (despite concessions from labour for not providing a safe space).
So for you it’s a non-event.
Others disagree and believe it’s a item that is newsworthy.
There is a lot of personal bias that comes into ones perception of the media.
Example you have stated as fact that labour did nothing wrong about the sexual assaults at the labour camp (despite concessions from labour for not providing a safe space).
They didn’t. Shit happens no matter how many protections you put in place and expecting everything to be perfect is delusional at best.
And what they did after shit did as a matter of fact happen, was spot on according to those who know a bit about these things which counts a great deal.
Considering National’s systemic victim blaming if this had happened at a National Party function the victims would either have thrown under the bus or paid off if the parents were rich.
There is a lot of personal bias that comes into ones perception of the media.
That’s not perception – that’s bias and people looking for reports that confirm their bias.
Exactly…+1, the editors of The Guardian have made it plainly obvious that they would rather eat their own arms off than have a real Left Wing Progressive alternative in the UK.
“and it isn’t helped by the pile on of immature and hysterical left wing snowflakes who toss their toys because Jacinda hasn’t waved a magic wand and fixed everything in three months.”
I so agree with you there – they remind me of the worst of ‘terrible two’ behaviour. It beggars belief that they have no understanding of the amount of effort that’s going to have to be put into turning around the horrors that have developed, especially in welfare, health and education. We haven’t had 6 months yet, and a goodly portion of that was taken up with settling into government and then the long holiday. Adding to the feeding frenzy of the trolls and twits is not helpful or sensible.
Perhaps some of us have long memories and recall how enthusiastically Labour embraced neo liberal free market ideologies, and we accept that they literally smoothed the path so the real right wing could consolidate.
Perhaps we terrible twos need some sort of a sign from this so-called progressive government this could be that the very first task should be a systematic rout of the bureaucrats who have held power at certain ministries for way too long.
Because when this snowflake heard that the new Minister of Health was going to take advice from staff at the Ministry about disability issues and family carers I actually wept with despair.
Rosemary your position and perspective is entirely appropriate (not that you need endorsement) but I’ve followed your posts, and have nothing but support for all who have been maligned and abused by successive governments and their departments…
The current government could have unequivocally cleared house by now in a number of key areas, but have not even made the ‘right noises’..instead they are playing along with the dominant ideology of which they represent and are gatekeepers of..
Those who ask for more time or make excuses for inaction, are establishment apologists who sound as though they have memory failure…
Waiting and wishing that the Westminster System will change its spots is head in the sand denial…
The system is rotten…and requires complete rebuild…
My heartfelt sympathies for all who are being abused by state and private establishments…
Far from being a ‘Labour fundy’ I more often vote Green than Labour. Labour this time though, because I was desperate to get National out and, living in the Far North, voted tactically.
However, feeding a National opposition, who will stop at nothing to undermine Labour, on an open forum will, in practical terms, help to bring down this government within one term. Then you will have a National government back – yippee!
There may be an awful lot to do, and it might not be enough for many, but coming from an education background, I am thrilled to bits that they have got rid of National Standards already. That’s huge, for those that understand it.
If there are specific things that some think are not going well, spell it out – do a post so we can all understand so maybe the rest of us can support and help you. There seem to be major issues about the treatment of people with permanent disabilities that are not going according to plan and I know myself how appalling WINZ can be. However, it would be helpful to know, in more detail, what people who are dissatisfied now think that Labour should do that they have turned their backs on.
Thanks Jan, that’s very helpful. I agree with that, that we need solid posts* on what the actual problems are, and we need posts on what Labour (and the GP/NZF) are getting right. I’d also like to see some discussion about what to do in the areas where Labour are failing from a LW perspective, and that leads into a bigger conversation about how to criticise the centre left when the risk is supporting a RW narrative.
btw I wasn’t calling you a Labour fundy 🙂 I was making an exaggerated comment to mimic the generalisations that are being thrown around at the moment that are loaded with implications but not specific enough to easily address. I’d like to see that conversation get more nuanced.
*anyone who wants to have a go at writing a Guest Post, please let me know.
Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is.
Yep. And happy to wittingly formulate lies and half truths in the process. Like TV3 who
continued to claim the young Labour victims of sexual abuse were only 15 years of age. This, despite the fact they were 16 years years old. What’s the difference of one year? Well at 15 they’re still under-age but at 16 they are considered old enough to make their own decisions. Important distinction in the scheme of things, but hey… why let the truth get in the way of a good Labour bashing.
Duncan Garner for starters. I also read it online in more than one of their news items. Contemplated emailing them and hauling them over the coals for their ‘subterfuge’ but decided I had far better uses for my time.
And btw, I’m taking about the victims of the sexual assaults. From memory there were 4 of them.
Also the bracketed comments apply to you as well as they are in relation to hip ops. Sorry, to hear you may have to wait. I had heard that waiting times for hips were shorter now but probably dependent upon DHB etc. But do give thought to the spinal if available. The same day as me, there were three other hip ops and one other had spinal like me and the other two general anesthesia The other spinal and I were up and walking in the corridor five or so hours after our ops, dressed in casuals and walking up and down stairs the next morning, cleared by the physio the following day and wanting to go home, but had to wait til the next morning for the surgeon and his clearance. The ‘general anesthesia’ two were bedridden for two days, only just walking by day three, and still in bedclothes when I went home, and expected to be in hospital for a further two days at least.
Thanks Veutoviper. I will discuss that with the surgeon when I get an appointment…. when being the operative word!!
There sadly may be other issues for me, being a “post Poliomyelitis” patient, as some sedatives and muscle relaxants are not suitable. Further I have a double scoliosis of the spine… always did do things the hard way!!
I have heard what you say from others regarding op times. Quite a difference.
Understand the limitations on some sedatives etc as I was/am in the same situation (heart murmur and ultra sensitivity to many drugs) – hence the anesthetist wanting to go with spinal at the time. And so glad he did from the experience, plus I have since been diagnosed with one autoimmune disease and being tested for more, and this further limits things.
Well said, Sanctuary. And I am pleased you started a new thread on the Guardian article, because I was trying to avoid the covert cattiness under 1 above and getting my own claws out.
As a softish article, I did not consider the Guardian article too bad. And I totally agree with your snowflakes comments which match my own of yesterday on OM which sparked some reaction. LOL.
As a result of the discussion on Pablo’s comments here under OM 29 March @ 3.1.1.2 two days ago, I caught up on his last six months of posts on his blog yesterday and assume you are the same Sanctuary as the one there. His 19 Jan 2018 post and the ‘discussion’ in the comments under it were of particular interest to me. Your comment of 20 Jan at 09.27 pretty much mirrors my own views on the situation both then and still currently. But pleased you two were able to resolve your ‘differences’. LOL. Re the discussion here the other day re his latest blog post, I also decided that this had to be read in conjunction with his “Plus ca change..” post of 5 Jan to understand what he was actually saying about Labour’s foreign policy and reaction to the UK led coalition action.
[If you are speaking to him, please pass on my best wishes for his operation. Can confirm from my own experience, the relief from pain is almost immediate although regaining mobility takes some time. I also recommend spinal with sedation vs general anesthesia as no after effects. I was home and fully over it less than three days after the op.]
Signed the TPPA, soft on immigration, no water tax, no capital gains tax.
Let’s see what gets delivered by the election.
As well as not yet delivering for those that voted for them, yes labour faces relentless negative media. We have yet to see any media savvy or strategy to balance the news media. Without strong change, this government will be gone.
FYI if not being a rusted on labour or national voter makes someone a snowflake, we need more of them.
We need real change.
The rouge state of Israel massacre 15 Palestinian protesters and wound over a thousand more, with IDF troops, snipers and tanks (for fucks sake!) executing Palestinian protesters armed with rocks.
Victoria also said “The British say the Russians.The Russians say the British but maybe it is a third party that wants to make mischief between the two”
I’d be picking Ukraine as a candidate in that scenario
One, they stand to lose a lot of money if and when Nordstream goes through, bypassing them and depriving them of lucrative transit fees, plus the opportunity to tap into the pipeline for free gas
They would love to scupper Nordstream.And there was pressure on the Germans to abandon it.The US wants to sell its more expensive fracked gas to Europe
They would also like to muster up a bit more support from the EU (monetary) which has been tiring of their failure to adopt EU “values”
And the black market in Ukraine for ex soviet military weapons is alive and well
Plus you have the organised Crime/oligarch network already in place
All in all, Bill’s series, with all these threads and potential cliffhangers and red herrings has huge potential
The family element you bring in is an absolute beaut,highly necessary for a popular mini series
I know, that dog is so telegenic!
And I want to know what happened to the expensive cat and guinea pigs removed from Skripal’s house while we’re on the animal theme
Could bring in the recent animal rights protests outside Porton Down too
Hmmm the guinea pigs, were they on loan or liberated from Porton Down?
These are questions we demand be answered
Israel makes great play of its credentials as a democratic state, even allowing Palestinians with Israeli citizenship the right to vote to elect their representatives to the Knesset*
But democracy is more than having the right to vote.
A true and inclusive democracy does not send sharp shooters to shoot down unarmed protesters. Nor does a democracy fire tank shells into farmland, killing a farmer, to intimidate people from protesting.
After a successful strike in Kentucky, the state government rushes through legislation to destroy the union, one cut at a time. Response – Wildcat Strike!! How scummy can the right get, well it’s early days yet, and if anything like the lying and spinning Tories here, it going to get worse.
(With Bill et al in mind)
From The Dark Mountain Project
“So thank you for inviting me to talk about this, because it made me reflect in the last few days, and I realise that maybe it’s useful to share this. Because this cathartic process that I went through, some of it conscious and some of it actually only making sense to me looking back, is perhaps something that other people will go through and need to go through. And maybe it’s something we can go through together and help each other.
I guess I’ve gone through a grieving process and now I realise that it was pretty damn obvious that I will die, everyone I know will die, any community or culture I could ever contribute to will die out, this human species will die out, and the Earth and everything on it will die – well, that’s just obvious, we all knew that, anyway.
DH: Yes, all of those things were true before the great hydrocarbon episode in humanity’s history. Arriving at that is an important part of the journey of making sense of what it means to be alive right now.
JB: I feel free of some forms of delusion, some forms of social pressure, and I am approaching things with fascination and playfulness. And what I didn’t have over the past few years were fellow travellers and community, and now I’m realising that I do need a community around this very realisation that we’ve been talking about. And what will emerge from that, I don’t know, but there will be love within it, there will be creativity within it, there will be a sense of wonder at being alive at this incredibly strange moment in human history.”
Hello Robert. Yes, like the serenity prayer.
My version for the secular world.
May I have the serenity to accept what I cannot change
The courage to change what I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
We all need the company of those who know how to make others happy, who have enough grace to share that, and do it in such a way that it feels natural and right.
Here we go a negative branding campaign against Maori. There are no story’s about the Maori King gifting land to the Government to build housing for the people who end up in the tentacles of the Justice system. This is a good thing because society changes so fast. It takes a while for people to catch up with the changes like every thing done by computer ECT society labels people as unemployable and if your brown well it is even harder to get a decent job .So having housing to give these people time to readjust to society changes is essential in keeping our people out of the tentacles of the justice system. I don’t see this story the positive story on OUR Maori King all I see is these story’s here is the link to the medias negative branding against Maori.
Marae TV 1 Hutau Petera College kai pai to the the whano fighting to keep it open we need more Maori schools not less to keep OUR Maori culture thriving surely someone can help keep this Catholic Maori school running the main reason that students have dropped at this school is money Maori don’t have enough money to send there mokopunas to this great school. There are many reason that Maori have slid down the income bracket I could name a few . But we need to stick together and look after our own as no one else will do this for us. We have to have OUR mokopunas best future first and foremost in our minds and actions and this means looking after Maori mana the way we behave the way we treat others the way we present our selves in public .We should always know if we do these things respectfully we will be giving our mokopunas mana if we do the opposite we are eroding our mokopunas mana. Its as simple as that please don’t give the negative branders of Maori any amo to use against our mokopunas future . Be proud of our maori culture and your self but don’t act arrogantly as this will damage our mokopunas mana to enough said Kia Kaha Ka kite ano
Good fight Josephs you are very worthy of a rematch against Joshua I’m sure they will go for it the punters are calling for a rematch and now they know you are know push over. If you do things right you and your whano will be set for live. Kia Kaha
Ka kite ano
Newshub there you go another fossil that needs to retire his ancient views he dress as if he is a common man for the cameras and on his website he is all flashed up he is just a person who plays with the public’s emotions .
If we let his type win century’s ago we would not even have a telephone now .His type tried to suppress science as science endangered the control of some religions.
Garth Mc idiot whats wrong with that new tec a taser enough said.
Mike thats a beautiful sight of Te Moanga Taranaki There was more crowd support for the Warriors than the Roosters Kia kaha ka kite ano P.S still some flys hanging around I will Ignore them
Newshub Mike the more I examine my whakapapa and the unique places I have been and the experiences I’v had well this is my fate and te kumara never tell how sweet it is ka kite ano. P.S that lawyer I went to see in Hamilton was a employment lawyer I worked for another company that discriminated against me being brown and they under estimated ECO MAORI Ana to kai
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
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Flicking around the news this morning: Stuff headline asks if Jacindamania is over?
Meanwhile Ardern is on the front page of the UK Guardian, with link to an article, which links to an interview.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/30/new-zealand-likely-to-become-a-republic-in-my-lifetime-says-jacinda-ardern
On NZ becoming a republic?
And what Obama said to her, and being a celebrity PM, and more…
“On NZ becoming a republic”.
It will no doubt happen someday. I can remember Jim Bolger, in an Address in Reply debate when he was Prime Minister, suggesting that it would (or perhaps it was should) happen before 2001. Jim had the characteristics of someone from the Irish Republic of course.
Hardly a question of urgency when she suggests it will happen in her lifetime considering that her life expectancy is probably another 60 years. Still, it’s a squirrel.
Check out the comments below the full interview.
The full interview covers more than the Womans Weekly garbage.
Somewhere I read she will meet Corbyn for breakfast? when she’s in the
UK
Hope we won’t be treated to her favourite muesli recipe. No doubt there will be cat talk, and El Gato will be photographed smooching up to Jacinda
https://inews.co.uk/news/general-election-corbyn-cat-number-10-socialist/
“Somewhere I read she will meet Corbyn for breakfast? when she’s in the
UK”
I dont know if that would be wise given the issues around him at the moment:
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/28/europe/jeremy-corbyn-labour-anti-semitism-intl/index.html
https://www.vox.com/world/2018/3/29/17168320/labour-corbyn-anti-semitism-mural
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/antisemitism-open-your-eyes-jeremy-corbyn-labour
*sigh* Accusations of anti-semitism have become the last refuge of the scoundrel.
These charges against Corbyn are nonsense. No one in the UK really believes them, not even his accusers. The charges have made very little impression on British voters, who know a smear campaign when they see one.
The anti-semitism charges against Corbyn are useful to study though, because they show two things.
The first is how successful Israel has been with infiltrating the UK political establishment and bribing neoliberal politicians via the LFI (Labour Friends of Israel) (https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Labour_Friends_of_Israel). Effectively, anyone who questions current Israeli policies of violent repression of the Palestinians in mainstream UK politics can be practically guaranteed they will be smeared by a powerful fifth column of pro-Jewish voices in the UK media and political elites.
Secondly, the anti-semitism accusations how quickly middle class liberals will start slinging around accusations of racism when they lose. It was literally the first thing the Blairiites went for when Corbyn won the UK Labour party leadership.
That there is an intersection between the utterly corrupt and hopelessly entitled Blairite extremists and the cash sloshing around from right wing LFI donors is undeniable – and they have powerful friends in the liberal media. Repeaters and morons like James find it convenient to parrot politically motivated and vile lies and smears for completely dishonest reasons, what a complete dropkick and arsehole you are James.
Can’t wait for reselection of Labour candidates to get underway.
Corbyn’s surge in the last UK elections shut the Guardian up for a bit, but they’re back to their old ways.
Currently anti-semitism is the rack they hope to break him on
CarolynNorth, I have noticed a concerted effort by the right in all areas to undermine Jacinda. The article in Stuff follows several in the same vein giving the impression she has “Lost control”
This is a build up before Winston takes over, trying to destabilize the coalition, and make it look mismanaged by emphasising unrelated issues as symptomatic. IMO
I see three rather right wing commentators arrive to swiftly add fuel to the fire. As if being an echo makes it right.
That’s not very polite language there.
Are the 15 UK labour MPs who protested dropkick assholes as well?
“Repeaters and morons like James find it convenient to parrot politically motivated and vile lies and smears for completely dishonest reasons, what a complete dropkick and arsehole you are James.”
Harsh.
But true.
Corbyn is probably being quite reasonable about Zionist …. and Zionists like to smear people with “antisemitism” … James
No, no there’s no agitation to become a republic…
http://www.republic.org.nz/
Just an entire organisation deducted to making it so…
And there’s a reason why the question keeps coming up – there generally support for the change.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/83864989/nearly-60-per-cent-of-kiwis-want-the-british-monarchy-out–poll
It seems that it is the politicians that are holding things up.
I don’t think there will be any political will toward becoming a Republic any time soon. It would, I think introduce a three way brawl between politicians, the senior level of the Judiciary in the Supreme Court and the public.
There will need to be a Head of State, other than the British Monarch.
The current set of politicians around at the time will want it to be an appointment by them. The Public will want to elect him or her. An election will give the person chosen a major claim to power. They will be the only person elected by the whole of the country and will be able to claim moral authority over parliamentarians. No Politician will want to accept that.
There will be a brawl between the senior judges and the politicians. The Judges, led by our current Chief Justice will claim the right to decide all the questions of a Constitutional manner. They will claim the right, in the absence of our traditional system and without a formal Constitution to lay down the rules and to override the Parliament. Again the politicians won’t like it.
Personally I am quite happy with the present situation. They keep out of the way, don’t try and interfere and don’t cost us very much. In fact I think we ought to go back to choosing British Peers as the GG as well. When they were in Office they tended to give us things. Think Ranfurly Shied, Plunket Shield, Bledisloe Cup, Waitangi Grounds, Treaty House etc.
Then when they leave office they bugger off back to Britain. Look at the number we have of the local lot who still demand their perks long after they have become relics from History? Crown Limo to go to the ball, anyone?
Do you realise that we don’t just have the current one to worry about? There are, if my counting is right, no fewer than 5 ex’s swanning around. Plus a bunch or spouses of deceased ones who are also still feeding at the trough.
Away with them.
And a pretty comprehensive interview in Good Weekend magazine that goes out with the Fairfax papers on a Saturday in Australia.
I like the bit where Clarke goes out every Friday evening to get the briefcase of Cabinet Papers and judges by the weight of it whether or not they are going to any fun that weekend.
Yes his humour is “robust” to quote Jacinda.
If that is the same one that was in the DomPost I can only say that you have a very strong stomach sir. Did you really read it all?
A grand piss take of the gun debate, RW commentators and “conservative values” from the Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2018/03/29/i-am-sick-of-these-kids-demanding-safe-spaces/?utm_term=.74762ef3257a
You have to wonder in the light of the Cambridge Analytics scandal, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=KKJMp_O0f7E why the UK is not having a second referendum on BREXIT to see whether it was democratically legitimate to the British people and is what the British people wanted, not what a small corporation funded by a US billionaire, spent a lot of money to influence the result of.
Gareth Morgan on Coleman’s resignation and the need for a by-election.
“while we have high expectations of our politicians, they are in turn very well looked after by the NZ taxpayer, and have an obligation to their constituents. Dr Coleman, being an Electorate rather than a List MP, is the latest to thumb his nose at this social contract he has with his constituents”.
He goes on to say that “Electorate MPs that resign for pecuniary reasons during their term should forfeit all of their taxpayer-funded post political benefits which include inflated Super payments. After all, at the election they undertook to represent the people of their region. To turn around after the event and say ‘too bad, I’m not in government anymore and that’s all it was about for me, it was never about representing you, my electorate’ is the ultimate insult an electorate representative can inflict’.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1803/S00408/gareth-morgan-jonathan-colman-resignation-an-insult.htm
Interesting discussion to be had about fulfilling social contracts and penalties for contractual default……
I’m thinking Gareth has never seen written or signed a social contract. No doubt the courts will enforce what ever provision has been written into Colemans one.
“I’m thinking Gareth has never seen written or signed a social contract.”
Lol
” “Electorate MPs that resign for pecuniary reasons during their term should forfeit all of their taxpayer-funded post political benefits which include inflated Super payments. After all, at the election they undertook to represent the people of their region. To turn around after the event and say ‘too bad, I’m not in government anymore and that’s all it was about for me, it was never about representing you, my electorate’ is the ultimate insult an electorate representative can inflict’.”
How is that a pecuniary reason?
Good luck with proving why an MP resigns.
Your quote is out of context. That relates to the ‘ultimate insult’ – not pecuniary reason.
The pecuniary reason is:
a. The earlier reference to Coleman deciding to step down to take up a position in the private sector, and maintaining it was a hard decision, “ But when you get offered opportunities like this, you just got to take them”; and
b. The paragraph following your quote that “To add insult to injury, the taxpayer then has to turn around and spend $1 million on a by-election, simply because they took the candidate at their word. Politicians who undertake to represent an electorate should have to pay the costs of a by-election or forgo all their post political perks, if they move on for the money before fulfilling their pledge”.
I doubt it would be hard to prove that Coleman’s move will result in pecuniary gain from the salary etc from his new job compared to his current income as an Opposition MP; especially since he himself has made public statements to that effect.
Maybe, but if there were rules around that then they’d just say family reasons or whatever.
Lol GM though, the man that tried to buy his way into parliament with his personal fortune.
Imagine Mike Hosking’s if Coleman had been a Labour MP. For the left, hysterical condemnation from the MSM. For National, utter silence.
Remember the screams of protest on this site when some other MPs resigned and forced a By-election?
Don’t you remember the screams of outrage on this site when Winnie Laban quit for another job? And the same when Lianne Dalziel jumped ship to be Christchurch Mayor, or when Phil Goff did the same in Auckland and David Shearer also quit in mid-term?
No, neither do I.
I think that anyone, Electorate or List who runs for Parliament should serve out their full term unless medical problems preclude it or they are kicked out.
The only exception should be PMs whose party ceases to be the Government. Clark and English come into that category. Everyone else should fulfil their contract.
Sanctuary, Just as telling is the “Deafening Silence” from Hoskings about Health.
So what if the Skripal’s themselves were the ones with the nerve agent? The daughter had just flown back from Moscow a few days before. The container or whatever bursts as she’s rummaging for the front door keys. (hence shit on the door handle) They then run around all those cordoned places – the kids park, the cemetery etc, in those cordoned vehicles, as they look to get rid of the stuff. They feel fine. They think they might have dodged a bullet. They go for lunch. It hits. And the rest is unfolding history.
Makes for a better film script than anything I’ve heard so far 🙂
In this new story, why did the Kremlin give Yulia Skripal some military grade nerve agents?
Ah! Well, you see, the reason May was so sure of the Russian connection was because the daughter had just been to Moscow. May didn’t specify whether it was the Kremlin or a private source. Which is good for the plot line and allows for the Kremlin to be blamed regardless (loss of control of nerve agents/ not full stock destroyed etc) 😉
Did she know she was carrying nerve agents? Who was she carrying nerve agents for? What was the intended purpose and who was the intended recipient or victim?
Or did May just jump the gun with the Moscow connection?
Could make a nice wee mini series.
Who plays May? maybe Meryl Streep, she seems at ease with rehabilitating despicable woman’s reputations.
Who plays Corbyn ?
A walk on part as himself.
I was thinking of this chap
I’d go for this guy. for May.
Yes I see there is a strange familiarity between the two, even their dress sense is not all that dissimilar.
I think I would go for the chap who plays Mrs Brown.
,,, A good black and white, ..Artistically showing Mays long shadow . ……. cast as shes Stepping up to the podium to speak at some Legatum jig … among friends
Worse plot than the new Star Wars movie.
I liked it – good mid-trilogy movie to transition to a new generation.
Actually Bill, the Novichok series has already been made The british public had just finished watching their first introduction to the notion of Novichoks
“So where is the ‘Novichok’ talk coming from? Well, someone in the British government propaganda staff watched the current seasons of the British-American spy drama Strike Back. Nina Byzantina points to the summaries of recent episodes:
Episode 50 ran in the U.K on November 21 2017 and in the U.S. on February 23 2018:
Meanwhile, General Lázsló shuts down Section 20, forcing Donovan to work in secret. She discovers that Zaryn is in fact Karim Markov, a Russian scientist who allegedly killed his colleagues with Novichok, a nerve agent they invented.
Episodes 51 ran in the U.K on November 28 2017 and in the U.S. on March 2 2018:
Section 20 track Berisovich’s meth lab in Turov where Markov is making more Novichok and destroy it, though Berisovich escapes with Markov.
Episodes 52 ran in the U.K on January 31 2018 and in the U.S. on March 9 2018:
Section 20 track down Maya, a local Muslim woman Lowry radicalised, to a local airport. When she attempts to release the Novichok, Reynolds shoots her. The Novichok is fake however, as Berisovich does not want an attack committed in his country. … By the time Section 20 arrives, Berisovich had already called in the FSB to extract Markov and confiscate the Novichok. Yuri resurfaces to kill McAllister and Wyatt. However they turn the tables and strangle him to death. They then manage to engage the FSB and contain the gas. But in the process Reynolds is exposed. Markov works on an antidote but is killed by the Russians before he can complete. McAllister improvises and saves Reynolds, before Novin blows up the lab. Lowry uses the remainder of the gas to kill Berisovich for trying to betray her.”
I like your screenplay better
No doubt Perry Mason ferreted out the truth when the whole matter got court.
There is form for this kind of thing you know, apparently it had something to do with Iraq…
Hollywood’s Warner Bros. will be knocking on your front door any day now bill. Play your cards right and you could make a tidy packet out of that script. It’s about on a par for H.w. 😉
Might even get Peter Jackson to direct the film.
Bill, at 5 and 5.1.1. you say
“The daughter had just flown back from Moscow a few days before.” and “because the daughter had just been to Moscow.”
My understanding is that Yulia Skripal lives in Moscow and just visits her father in the UK from time to time. Also I read some time ago that she works in Moscow at either the UK Embassy or the US Embassy. I am not sure which and am not about to search back for the articles.
However, if you want a good film script you could not go past this Daily Mail article that claims that the poison was aimed at Yulia, not her father, because of her impending marriage in Moscow.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5557625/Russia-protecting-identity-Yulia-Skripals-mystery-boyfriend.html
This article implies she lived in the UK for at least some time
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5744564/yulia-skripal-daughter-russian-double-agent-sergei-skripal-latest/
But this one then suggests that she did live in the UK for some years but then moved back to Moscow
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5744564/yulia-skripal-daughter-russian-double-agent-sergei-skripal-latest/
And no, I don’t usually read or believe rags like the Sun or the Daily Mail. But there are other variants of the Daily Mail story.
For this to be plausible there needs to be a good reason for the daughter of a known MI6 spy and defector getting hold of the nerve agent though.
Hmm.
The father continues his involvement in the shady underworld of Russian ex-pats and…oh, I know!
Bill Browder has another target in mind! One of the London based oligarchs is getting close to uncovering his scamming, murderous ways. So he instructs the daughter to pick up a wee package from Moscow….
I guess that should all unravel at the end of the final episode though as a passable surprise ending 🙂
I think you could bring in side issues like this:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-42852666
Salisbury hospital trust “12.5 million pounds in debt”
as opposed to this:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-russia-williamson/uk-to-invest-48-million-pounds-in-new-chemical-weapons-defense-center-idUSKCN1GR1IR
and angry Salisbury shopkeepers going under
how the community is impacted etc
‘Plausible’ doesn’t exist when using a subset of breadcrumbs and speculation to understand the ‘WHO’ of an espionage hit…
Could have been anyone…
But RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA
And of course Russia never kills anyone.
Politkovskaya lives. Litvinenko died of natural causes. Nemtsov strolled home intact without begin gunned down by Putin’s thugs. And Daphne Caruana Galizia is still alive. It’s all just nasty western propaganda.
Piffle.
“anyone” doesn’t have nerve agents at their fingertips.
That’s ok Stuart you can ‘think’ whatever you like…
But you’ve no actual idea who has which nerve agents, resources to manufacture them or who actually ‘did it’…
You’re not a spy or hitman I’m guessing, and espionage won’t be in your skillset…
Thinking like a spy or hitman…not for you…
Happy day – lectured by a dupe so backward he swallows the RT line whole.
I have a fair idea what’s involved. It’s well beyond the average petty criminal.
“Thinking like a spy or a hitman” – is neither here nor there.
Nerve agents are principally made by state actors, who can recruit people capable of deploying them. Russia has made a habit of using them, and has a large pool of people available to use them.
The thousand lies of whataboutery have yet to fly a plausible kite.
That you’ve taken my obvious statement as a lecture and come back with such a bizarre comment is of no surprise..
Resplendent with the RT mention thrown in…I’ve not mentioned RT , Stuart…that makes you a projection dupe…
You see , Stuart. It’s a good thing to understand ones own boundaries… You appear not to….that’s all too common an affliction…
No-one on this site has anything other than speculation based on what might be 1% of information provided by other entities…
It’s a fundamental failing to take a postion and believe it in the espionage arena….you are not part of that world…
Take a position, sure but appreciate you have NFI about the levels and angles that are in play, because it’s espionage Stu…….just acknowledge that to yourself if you can….
It is a world that your imagination wouldn’t get close to…
[Cut out the pointless chest puffery personal stuff, aye? Both of you. Cheers.] – Bill
So as usual – the propaganda troll claims intellectual superiority for entertaining unsupported (and unsupportable) bilge.
You are not a spy.
You are not a hitman.
You know little or nothing about Russian intelligence.
Your imagination is neither here nor there.
You’re not even properly informed.
Propaganda tr*ll…again with the projection, Stu…
it could have been anyone……
I do not know, nor do I have an interest in ‘who did it’…no propaganda in my position…
You appear to have chosen a side…Each to their own…
Have a good day…
Not bad Bill, I like it and why not? The UK pension doesn’t amount to much these days
but wouldn’t she just wipe the mess up with baby wipes?
Nope apparently not, and the mess is still there on the doorknob, actually its a handle in the photos but I like the word knob, after 4 weeks of rain and snow
As part of his consultancy work in cybersecurity, Skripal travelled all over the place ,Dubai for one
False flag in the ME?
Skripal was still meeting with Pablo Miller, his original recruiter, every week .
And Miller was working for Christopher Steele at Orbis
Like a lot of ex M16 agents, they go on to do private consultancy work
Maybe Skripal contributed to the Steele dossier, knowing it was a load of bullshit but the money was ok
Maybe his monthly visits(according to an expat Russian friend)roused the suspicion that he’d flipped once again , and knew too much ….
Or maybe he’s just been using out of date organophosphate pesticides he found in the garden shed
Personally, I’m going with the theory that Putin at heart just wanted to be caught, he wanted to out the whole secretive Novichok program he’d been beavering away at for the last 10 years
And he wanted to send a message, to the US/EU that their beleaguered ally the UK needed to be rallied around and propped up
missed out bit about Skripal
monthly visits to the Russian Embassy in London
Ok, let’s go with that.
Firstly, that requires Julia to have access to the poison, and be sure thet she (as daughter of a traitor toi russia) will be able to get it through customs. Big hole needs filler.
Secondly, the exposure needs to be unknown to them, because otherwise they would have presented immediately to hospital with some convoluted story. Time is survival.
Thirdly, she smuggled a substance internationally and they didn’t immediately check it when she arrived, they went to lunch? Doesn’t match with the second.
Fourthly, why the front door? They would have gone inside and looked at the package, so that’s where the main contamination would be, surely?
It’s possible, maybe, but really doesn’t scan so simply as “assasination attempt”.
She doesn’t know what she’s picking up for Browder. It’s in some make-up thang – a compact case! (All spy movies should be 60s 🙂 ) Maybe the compact case comes as a “side package” to the main package which isn’t nerve agent. No suspicion at customs for innocuous object.
There’s a meeting. The compact case is in her bag. Meeting gets rescheduled. They go home. Compact opens by accident. Door handle.
They quickly contact Browder. He says they’ll be okay, wash hands and dump the shit somewhere.
They go where they went. They dump it somewhere along the way…or pass it off. And lunch. And think they’re okay, but…
Don’t know whether you should be a script editor or never allowed to go to the pictures with anyone McFlock. Maybe both 🙂
Ok, assuming she decidied to take something through customs for Browder, you’re on the one hand saying she doesn’t know what it is, but on the other hand “calls him quickly” when it breaks. And why would he use as a mule someone who’ll raise flags on both Russian and British immigration/customs computers?
And there’s still the source in Russia to cover, and whomever Browder wants to give it to.
I mean, you’ve got a possible explanation of events there, but not really plausible, let alone likely.
Whereas on the flipside we have Russia being the source, transporter, and deliverer of a lethal weapon in order to get revenge for treason and intimidate other prospective assets.
Do you think we should have a scene where daughter and father discuss what to do before deciding that maybe it would be best to make a call? I think you might be right on that. Good idea.
I’m actually not altogether happy with the burst package in bag getting contents on hands and that then coating the door handle. As with the case of the door handle being the source of contamination by some other route, it would generally only be touched by one of two people entering a place.
Anyway. Do you think we can let that one slide? Or should we concoct some little scene to explain two people using the one door handle?
I don’t think we need to bother ourselves with “flags” at Russian/UK customs etc seeing as how the daughter was a fairly frequent flyer. Maybe we could also shoot a scene where the faux package is subjected to some scrutiny? What should that be? Some papers? Computer related drives? Hmm – thinking 🙂
The full identity of the source doesn’t really matter for our purposes. Establishing a private entity as the source is all that’s required which, given that Skripal senior was a double agent and so unlikely to be used by the Russian state, isn’t a problem.
Bill O have been away for a couple of weeks.
In that time, my research on this topic has taken me to Craig Murray as a very interesting source of information
Have you heard of him?
Do you have a view on his viewpoint?
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/on-not-being-refuted/
I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Thing is, that’s the closest anyone’s come to coming up with some other even vaguely reasonable explanation as to how two people were poisoned by nerve agents in the middle of an English town. As as you point out it still has big holes that would make William of Occam suspicious. Whereas having one or both of them as targets of the Russian state fills up most of those holes.
BTW, you’re looking for cross-contamination to explain the doorhandle thing. Person A touches door, then touches person B with the same hand. But you’d expect the person with the initial exposure to have a greater dose and therefore greater symptoms.
It has been quite cold in the UK so weren’t they wearing gloves?
How come so many people ended up in hospital with symptoms of alleged poisoning? Simple precaution or were they truly ill? Did they all touch that door handle or did they all shake hands with the couple when they were found slumped on a park bench?
Lots of people were tested. Three others were injured to the point of being given a hospital bed. ISTR all three were cops and had been in the house.
Interesting point about the gloves. But then I’m not sure what the latest theories of exposure are.
The basic questions are often overlooked. Cops entering the house would have worn gloves and not touched things with their bare skin unless they are clueless & incompetent …
I kinda liked these pertinent questions. (I’ve reproduced a few) But then, I know I’m apparently bias, besides knowing for certain that I’m in a growing minority of people who view “the west” as being the belligerents on the global stage these days.
From this link.
https://www.rusemb.org.uk/fnapr/6447
2) What specific antidotes were administered to Mr and Ms Skripal, and in which form? How were those antidotes available for the medical staff on the site of the incident?
3) On what grounds has France been involved in technical cooperation with regard to the investigation of an incident in which Russian nationals had suffered?
12) On the basis of which characteristics (“markers”) has it been ascertained that the substance used in Salisbury “originated from Russia”?
13) Does the UK possess reference samples of the military-grade poisonous substance that British representatives identify as “Novichok”?
14) Has the substance identified by British representatives as “Novichok” or analogous substances been researched, developed or produced in the UK?
Not all that interesting, really. What purpose do they serve? How would any answers to any of those questions change the debate? Seems to me that it still comes down to “Putin is killing traitors” vs “Putin’s enemies are killing his other enemies in order to make him look bad, but they keep killing his most powerful enemies so that’s a bit of a weird strategy”.
As to people who view the West as belligerants, that’s actually a pretty big group of people. The people who automatically think the the West must bethe only group of belligerents, that’s a very small group of people.
The usual antidotes for poisoning with nerve agents apparently don’t work with Novichok, if that’s what they were poisoned with. In any case, they have to be given within minutes of exposure to be effective; any later and they’re largely ineffective and require different antidotes/treatment. The inhibition of one of the biological targets, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), leads to severe acute symptoms and potentially followed by rapid death. The longer-lasting effects of nerve agents are nerve damage particularly of but not limited to the function of the legs.
Or there are these ones (a few reproduced) from this link.
https://www.rusemb.org.uk/fnapr/6443
1) What is Mr and Ms Skripal’s exact diagnosis and condition?
2) What treatment are they receiving?
3) Is that treatment the same as that provided to Sgt Nick Bailey?
6) Did Mr Bailey, Mr Skripal and Ms Skripal receive antidotes?
7) Which antidotes?
8) How were the right antidotes identified?
9) Did they actually help or harm?
25) Nerve agents act immediately. Why was it not the case with the Skripals?
26) Leaks suggest the Skripals were poisoned at a pub, at a restaurant, in their car, at the airport, at home… Which version is the official one?
27) How to reconcile quick political moves with Scotland Yard’s statement that the investigation will take “months”?
Jesus christ now the russians want the doctors done for malpractise.
25 is wrong, btw. Nerve agents don’t act “immediately”. But then someone might accuse the Russians of trying to muddy the waters with bullshit questions, as if they have something to hide.
Look through all the CCTV on March the 4th for the guy decked out in the hazmat suit to protect himself from contamination
He’ll be the one
Or maybe he’ll be the one in the army fatigues because they seem to give immunity too
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/929436/russian-spy-poisoning-sergei-skripal-yulia-skripal-military-personnel-salisbury-wiltshire
Check out the photos ..Hazmat guys side by side with army…pure theatre!
I had read that such nerve agents, when administered to the skin, take a while to have an effect.
I also read that an ante-dote was administered pretty quickly.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/01/world/europe/russia-sergei-skripal-uk-spy-poisoning.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes
Where did that information come from?
@ McFlock 1 April 2018 at 9:47 pm:
Point 25 is correct.
From that same link in this comment https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29-03-2018/#comment-1467564 (for your convenience: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/novichok-agent).
For inhalation, it would be immediate/seconds.
Yeah fair call, they don’t necessarily act immediately. Which is the point – lack of immediate onset doesn’t rule out any nerve agent.
The chapter has significant differences in time between skin exposure and symptoms vs inhalation. Because it says inhalation of the powder was thought to be the main route of exposure, they theorised onset in seconds. If the Skripals had a skin exposure, the delay is anyone’s guess.
As a side note, reading the chapter basically puts paid to the “where did they get the antidotes from” question – literally every nerve agent has the same treatment as organophosphate exposure:
So any rural area fit to treat farmworkers soaked in pesticide would be able to treat a nerve gas attack.
Not to mention other uses of those medications.
As an antidote to a fortnight of hostile MSM attacks, a nice interview in the Guardian with Jacinda Ardern –
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/30/jacinda-ardern-on-life-as-a-leader-trump-and-selfies-in-the-lingerie-department
Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is.
The agenda is to paint Labour an accidental government, unready and accident prone and the onslaught is relentless – and it isn’t helped by the pile on of immature and hysterical left wing snowflakes who toss their toys because Jacinda hasn’t waved a magic wand and fixed everything in three months.
“Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is”
You then go onto a puff piece in the Guardian ?
The main difference is in NZ the media is discussing her actions (or lack there of) of her government.
It dosnt make them partisan or right wing.
The government or labour should be held up for what they are doing.
There have been some commentators on here who voted for labour who have said they wont again – does that make them right wing? No – its that some people just are not happy how this government is working out and media may be a reflection of this view for many.
True but the MSM never seems to do that when National is power and they get excessive when Labour is.
And then there’s the fact that they’ll stop reporting what National did in power to report a non-event that happens in the present Labour government.
It depends on ones perception of a non- event.
Example you have stated as fact that labour did nothing wrong about the sexual assaults at the labour camp (despite concessions from labour for not providing a safe space).
So for you it’s a non-event.
Others disagree and believe it’s a item that is newsworthy.
There is a lot of personal bias that comes into ones perception of the media.
They didn’t. Shit happens no matter how many protections you put in place and expecting everything to be perfect is delusional at best.
And what they did after shit did as a matter of fact happen, was spot on according to those who know a bit about these things which counts a great deal.
Considering National’s systemic victim blaming if this had happened at a National Party function the victims would either have thrown under the bus or paid off if the parents were rich.
That’s not perception – that’s bias and people looking for reports that confirm their bias.
“….and people looking for reports that confirm their bias.”
‘Cough’… political compass…’cough’
😉
Dude, I’m autistic with genius level IQ.
I’m quite aware of my own biases and account for them.
Any party that supports capitalism is, by default, right-wing. Labour has always been a capitalist party.
Capitalism is the problem – not the solution.
For someone with a genius level IQ you sure make a load of mistakes 😉
But we’re all human at the end of the day. Even Stephen Hawking fucked up on occasion
Making mistakes is fine – learn from them.
But you missed the point about autism didn’t you?
Compare that paper’s coverage of Ardern to its coverage of Corbyn. Then dig out some of its coverage of Smith who ran against Corbyn.
And tell me Ardern should be considered a good thing.
Exactly…+1, the editors of The Guardian have made it plainly obvious that they would rather eat their own arms off than have a real Left Wing Progressive alternative in the UK.
“and it isn’t helped by the pile on of immature and hysterical left wing snowflakes who toss their toys because Jacinda hasn’t waved a magic wand and fixed everything in three months.”
I so agree with you there – they remind me of the worst of ‘terrible two’ behaviour. It beggars belief that they have no understanding of the amount of effort that’s going to have to be put into turning around the horrors that have developed, especially in welfare, health and education. We haven’t had 6 months yet, and a goodly portion of that was taken up with settling into government and then the long holiday. Adding to the feeding frenzy of the trolls and twits is not helpful or sensible.
1000%
They could at least answer letters.
“Terrible twos” indeed!
Perhaps some of us have long memories and recall how enthusiastically Labour embraced neo liberal free market ideologies, and we accept that they literally smoothed the path so the real right wing could consolidate.
Perhaps we terrible twos need some sort of a sign from this so-called progressive government this could be that the very first task should be a systematic rout of the bureaucrats who have held power at certain ministries for way too long.
Because when this snowflake heard that the new Minister of Health was going to take advice from staff at the Ministry about disability issues and family carers I actually wept with despair.
I guess I’ll just have to harden the f up.
Rosemary your position and perspective is entirely appropriate (not that you need endorsement) but I’ve followed your posts, and have nothing but support for all who have been maligned and abused by successive governments and their departments…
The current government could have unequivocally cleared house by now in a number of key areas, but have not even made the ‘right noises’..instead they are playing along with the dominant ideology of which they represent and are gatekeepers of..
Those who ask for more time or make excuses for inaction, are establishment apologists who sound as though they have memory failure…
Waiting and wishing that the Westminster System will change its spots is head in the sand denial…
The system is rotten…and requires complete rebuild…
My heartfelt sympathies for all who are being abused by state and private establishments…
not quite as bad as the Labour fundies though who can’t tolerate any critique of the beloved party.
See how the framing in this thread is going?
Far from being a ‘Labour fundy’ I more often vote Green than Labour. Labour this time though, because I was desperate to get National out and, living in the Far North, voted tactically.
However, feeding a National opposition, who will stop at nothing to undermine Labour, on an open forum will, in practical terms, help to bring down this government within one term. Then you will have a National government back – yippee!
There may be an awful lot to do, and it might not be enough for many, but coming from an education background, I am thrilled to bits that they have got rid of National Standards already. That’s huge, for those that understand it.
If there are specific things that some think are not going well, spell it out – do a post so we can all understand so maybe the rest of us can support and help you. There seem to be major issues about the treatment of people with permanent disabilities that are not going according to plan and I know myself how appalling WINZ can be. However, it would be helpful to know, in more detail, what people who are dissatisfied now think that Labour should do that they have turned their backs on.
Thanks Jan, that’s very helpful. I agree with that, that we need solid posts* on what the actual problems are, and we need posts on what Labour (and the GP/NZF) are getting right. I’d also like to see some discussion about what to do in the areas where Labour are failing from a LW perspective, and that leads into a bigger conversation about how to criticise the centre left when the risk is supporting a RW narrative.
btw I wasn’t calling you a Labour fundy 🙂 I was making an exaggerated comment to mimic the generalisations that are being thrown around at the moment that are loaded with implications but not specific enough to easily address. I’d like to see that conversation get more nuanced.
*anyone who wants to have a go at writing a Guest Post, please let me know.
Cool 🙂
Hi Weka, I sent you one those messages again 😉
Cheers. I’ll be back at my email in the next few days. Let me know here if it’s more urgent than that 🙂
Nah, not urgent but fits in well (I hope) with Micky’s post The manufacturing of a narrative and other quite recent threads.
I wish you a good Easter; the weather is beautiful, which means lots of working in the garden 😉
thanks Incog. Have fun out there!
Reading the interview made me realise how partisan and right wing our media is.
Yep. And happy to wittingly formulate lies and half truths in the process. Like TV3 who
continued to claim the young Labour victims of sexual abuse were only 15 years of age. This, despite the fact they were 16 years years old. What’s the difference of one year? Well at 15 they’re still under-age but at 16 they are considered old enough to make their own decisions. Important distinction in the scheme of things, but hey… why let the truth get in the way of a good Labour bashing.
I believe that there was a 15 yo there and drinking – although I understand that the sexual assault victims were all 16.
Where has tv3 categorically stated the victim was 15 – do you have a link?
Of course it is possible that they are right – unless you have inside knowledge??
Duncan Garner for starters. I also read it online in more than one of their news items. Contemplated emailing them and hauling them over the coals for their ‘subterfuge’ but decided I had far better uses for my time.
And btw, I’m taking about the victims of the sexual assaults. From memory there were 4 of them.
James believes whatever it is that disadvantages the Left and suits the Right.
That’s all.
Robert you have no idea what I believe.
To pretend to is simply a sad attempt at trolling.
But you keep telling us what you believe. And it’s always the worst possible interpretation for the left.
That is a piece of sanity Santuary. Hand wringing isn’t needed, early days yet.
+1, patricia. See my 6.6 below.
Also the bracketed comments apply to you as well as they are in relation to hip ops. Sorry, to hear you may have to wait. I had heard that waiting times for hips were shorter now but probably dependent upon DHB etc. But do give thought to the spinal if available. The same day as me, there were three other hip ops and one other had spinal like me and the other two general anesthesia The other spinal and I were up and walking in the corridor five or so hours after our ops, dressed in casuals and walking up and down stairs the next morning, cleared by the physio the following day and wanting to go home, but had to wait til the next morning for the surgeon and his clearance. The ‘general anesthesia’ two were bedridden for two days, only just walking by day three, and still in bedclothes when I went home, and expected to be in hospital for a further two days at least.
Thanks Veutoviper. I will discuss that with the surgeon when I get an appointment…. when being the operative word!!
There sadly may be other issues for me, being a “post Poliomyelitis” patient, as some sedatives and muscle relaxants are not suitable. Further I have a double scoliosis of the spine… always did do things the hard way!!
I have heard what you say from others regarding op times. Quite a difference.
Understand the limitations on some sedatives etc as I was/am in the same situation (heart murmur and ultra sensitivity to many drugs) – hence the anesthetist wanting to go with spinal at the time. And so glad he did from the experience, plus I have since been diagnosed with one autoimmune disease and being tested for more, and this further limits things.
Well said, Sanctuary. And I am pleased you started a new thread on the Guardian article, because I was trying to avoid the covert cattiness under 1 above and getting my own claws out.
As a softish article, I did not consider the Guardian article too bad. And I totally agree with your snowflakes comments which match my own of yesterday on OM which sparked some reaction. LOL.
As a result of the discussion on Pablo’s comments here under OM 29 March @ 3.1.1.2 two days ago, I caught up on his last six months of posts on his blog yesterday and assume you are the same Sanctuary as the one there. His 19 Jan 2018 post and the ‘discussion’ in the comments under it were of particular interest to me. Your comment of 20 Jan at 09.27 pretty much mirrors my own views on the situation both then and still currently. But pleased you two were able to resolve your ‘differences’. LOL. Re the discussion here the other day re his latest blog post, I also decided that this had to be read in conjunction with his “Plus ca change..” post of 5 Jan to understand what he was actually saying about Labour’s foreign policy and reaction to the UK led coalition action.
[If you are speaking to him, please pass on my best wishes for his operation. Can confirm from my own experience, the relief from pain is almost immediate although regaining mobility takes some time. I also recommend spinal with sedation vs general anesthesia as no after effects. I was home and fully over it less than three days after the op.]
Signed the TPPA, soft on immigration, no water tax, no capital gains tax.
Let’s see what gets delivered by the election.
As well as not yet delivering for those that voted for them, yes labour faces relentless negative media. We have yet to see any media savvy or strategy to balance the news media. Without strong change, this government will be gone.
FYI if not being a rusted on labour or national voter makes someone a snowflake, we need more of them.
We need real change.
The rouge state of Israel massacre 15 Palestinian protesters and wound over a thousand more, with IDF troops, snipers and tanks (for fucks sake!) executing Palestinian protesters armed with rocks.
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/gaza-refugees-call-return-mass-protests-180330154419077.html
While back at The Guardian they continue their anti sematic witch hunt of Corbyn and creating a new cold war…from their headlines today…
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/30/corbyn-antisemitism-and-a-week-that-tugged-at-labours-frayed-fabric
Veutoviper, re Bills TV series:
Victoria also said “The British say the Russians.The Russians say the British but maybe it is a third party that wants to make mischief between the two”
I’d be picking Ukraine as a candidate in that scenario
One, they stand to lose a lot of money if and when Nordstream goes through, bypassing them and depriving them of lucrative transit fees, plus the opportunity to tap into the pipeline for free gas
They would love to scupper Nordstream.And there was pressure on the Germans to abandon it.The US wants to sell its more expensive fracked gas to Europe
They would also like to muster up a bit more support from the EU (monetary) which has been tiring of their failure to adopt EU “values”
And the black market in Ukraine for ex soviet military weapons is alive and well
Plus you have the organised Crime/oligarch network already in place
All in all, Bill’s series, with all these threads and potential cliffhangers and red herrings has huge potential
The family element you bring in is an absolute beaut,highly necessary for a popular mini series
And don’t forget the missing dog! It has all the elements necessary.
I know, that dog is so telegenic!
And I want to know what happened to the expensive cat and guinea pigs removed from Skripal’s house while we’re on the animal theme
Could bring in the recent animal rights protests outside Porton Down too
Hmmm the guinea pigs, were they on loan or liberated from Porton Down?
These are questions we demand be answered
Israel the only democracy in the Middle East?
Israel makes great play of its credentials as a democratic state, even allowing Palestinians with Israeli citizenship the right to vote to elect their representatives to the Knesset*
But democracy is more than having the right to vote.
A true and inclusive democracy does not send sharp shooters to shoot down unarmed protesters. Nor does a democracy fire tank shells into farmland, killing a farmer, to intimidate people from protesting.
* (albeit with lesser rights than Israeli legislators).
The last election held in Palestine was 2006.
And the government elected then declared null and void by Israel and the US.
So, would that be that Israel and the US then decided that the Palestinians shouldn’t have elections at all?
Oh they can have elections. As long as the right person wins
After a successful strike in Kentucky, the state government rushes through legislation to destroy the union, one cut at a time. Response – Wildcat Strike!! How scummy can the right get, well it’s early days yet, and if anything like the lying and spinning Tories here, it going to get worse.
https://libcom.org/news/mass-wildcat-strike-kentucky-teachers-30032018
(With Bill et al in mind)
From The Dark Mountain Project
“So thank you for inviting me to talk about this, because it made me reflect in the last few days, and I realise that maybe it’s useful to share this. Because this cathartic process that I went through, some of it conscious and some of it actually only making sense to me looking back, is perhaps something that other people will go through and need to go through. And maybe it’s something we can go through together and help each other.
I guess I’ve gone through a grieving process and now I realise that it was pretty damn obvious that I will die, everyone I know will die, any community or culture I could ever contribute to will die out, this human species will die out, and the Earth and everything on it will die – well, that’s just obvious, we all knew that, anyway.
DH: Yes, all of those things were true before the great hydrocarbon episode in humanity’s history. Arriving at that is an important part of the journey of making sense of what it means to be alive right now.
JB: I feel free of some forms of delusion, some forms of social pressure, and I am approaching things with fascination and playfulness. And what I didn’t have over the past few years were fellow travellers and community, and now I’m realising that I do need a community around this very realisation that we’ve been talking about. And what will emerge from that, I don’t know, but there will be love within it, there will be creativity within it, there will be a sense of wonder at being alive at this incredibly strange moment in human history.”
So we’re all going to die along with the rest of nature but we can be ok because aren’t humans great when we hold hands??
Sorry, just really sick of the anthropocentric hubris and hugely ironic positioning of #itstoolate.
Hello Robert. Yes, like the serenity prayer.
My version for the secular world.
May I have the serenity to accept what I cannot change
The courage to change what I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
We all need the company of those who know how to make others happy, who have enough grace to share that, and do it in such a way that it feels natural and right.
Here we go a negative branding campaign against Maori. There are no story’s about the Maori King gifting land to the Government to build housing for the people who end up in the tentacles of the Justice system. This is a good thing because society changes so fast. It takes a while for people to catch up with the changes like every thing done by computer ECT society labels people as unemployable and if your brown well it is even harder to get a decent job .So having housing to give these people time to readjust to society changes is essential in keeping our people out of the tentacles of the justice system. I don’t see this story the positive story on OUR Maori King all I see is these story’s here is the link to the medias negative branding against Maori.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12022490
Kia kaha to OUR Maori King Ka kite ano P.S I hope theres a caveats on that land that if the use changes the land is returned back to Maori
Marae TV 1 Hutau Petera College kai pai to the the whano fighting to keep it open we need more Maori schools not less to keep OUR Maori culture thriving surely someone can help keep this Catholic Maori school running the main reason that students have dropped at this school is money Maori don’t have enough money to send there mokopunas to this great school. There are many reason that Maori have slid down the income bracket I could name a few . But we need to stick together and look after our own as no one else will do this for us. We have to have OUR mokopunas best future first and foremost in our minds and actions and this means looking after Maori mana the way we behave the way we treat others the way we present our selves in public .We should always know if we do these things respectfully we will be giving our mokopunas mana if we do the opposite we are eroding our mokopunas mana. Its as simple as that please don’t give the negative branders of Maori any amo to use against our mokopunas future . Be proud of our maori culture and your self but don’t act arrogantly as this will damage our mokopunas mana to enough said Kia Kaha Ka kite ano
Hato Petera has been very poorly run for many years, Local Maori youth will get a far better education in either Rosmini or Westlake.
Good fight Josephs you are very worthy of a rematch against Joshua I’m sure they will go for it the punters are calling for a rematch and now they know you are know push over. If you do things right you and your whano will be set for live. Kia Kaha
Ka kite ano
Newshub there you go another fossil that needs to retire his ancient views he dress as if he is a common man for the cameras and on his website he is all flashed up he is just a person who plays with the public’s emotions .
If we let his type win century’s ago we would not even have a telephone now .His type tried to suppress science as science endangered the control of some religions.
Garth Mc idiot whats wrong with that new tec a taser enough said.
Mike thats a beautiful sight of Te Moanga Taranaki There was more crowd support for the Warriors than the Roosters Kia kaha ka kite ano P.S still some flys hanging around I will Ignore them
Newshub Mike the more I examine my whakapapa and the unique places I have been and the experiences I’v had well this is my fate and te kumara never tell how sweet it is ka kite ano. P.S that lawyer I went to see in Hamilton was a employment lawyer I worked for another company that discriminated against me being brown and they under estimated ECO MAORI Ana to kai
would somebody please explain why the police are able to shoot tom kill when they have Tasers ,that were issued to stop the police shooting to kill?
Depends on the distance away I’d imagine? Are all police kitted out with Tasers?
I don’t really know