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Revolution and hunger

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, August 28th, 2011 - 44 comments
Categories: climate change, disaster, food, International - Tags: ,

What provokes a populace to take to the streets in violent uprising? Is it the inexorable power of a demand for justice and democracy? Or is it something much simpler than that…

Take the case of the recent “Arab uprising”, often claimed (here in the West) to be a popular democratic movement.  That’s a “feel good” kind of message, but it probably isn’t true.  A recent analysis (not yet peer reviewed) by the New England Complex Systems Institute suggests a much simpler explanation.  The Guardian reports:

Are food prices approaching a violent tipping point?

A provocative new study suggests the timing of the Arab uprisings is linked to global food price spikes, and that prices will soon permanently be above the level which sparks conflicts

Seeking simple explanations for the Arab spring uprisings that have swept through Tunisia, Egypt and now Libya, is clearly foolish amidst entangled issues of social injustice, poverty, unemployment and water stress. But asking “why precisely now?” is less daft, and a provocative new study proposes an answer: soaring food prices. …

The first part of the research is straightforward enough: plotting riots identified as over food against the food price index. The correlation is striking, but is it evidence of causation?

The UN FAO food price index correlates with “food riots” around 2008 and the “Arab spring” conflicts. Death tolls are reported in parentheses. Graph: New England Complex Systems Institute

Bar-Yam says this conundrum can be tackled by asking the question in clear ways. Could the riots be causing high food prices, rather than the reverse? No, the former is local, the latter global. Could the correlation simply be a coincidence? Yes, there’s only a tiny chance of that, Bar-Yam’s team argues in the paper. … The next part of the study identifies that the serious unrest in North Africa and the Middle East also correlates very closely with a food price spike. …

This particular example fits with the trend observed over a longer time period:

Climate cycles linked to civil war, analysis shows

Changes in the global climate that cut food production triggered one-fifth of civil conflicts between 1950 and 2004

Cyclical climatic changes double the risk of civil wars, with analysis showing that 50 of 250 conflicts between 1950 and 2004 were triggered by the El Niño cycle, according to scientists.

Researchers connected the climate phenomenon known as El Niño, which brings hot and dry conditions to tropical nations and cuts food production, to outbreaks of violence in countries from southern Sudan to Indonesia and Peru. …

Read on in that piece for many more examples. And see here for the World Bank warning on soaring food prices world wide.  As long term climate change begins to seriously disrupt food production in many parts of the world, we are in for a very bumpy ride.

44 comments on “Revolution and hunger ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    Good post. We are in for a rough time. There is almost no way around it now, but NZ still has time to position itself for this global instability if it works hard.

    Here Dmitry Orlov speaks of collapse and the relationship to peak oil (and the relationship to industrial farming).

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      There is almost no way around it now, but NZ still has time to position itself for this global instability if it works hard.

      And set ourselves up so that we can’t be invaded.

    • CV,

      How did you embed the video?

      [lprent: Accidently by a bug in the updated wordpress. I will be closing off the method later today. ]

  2. alex 2

    I have never seen a more clear reason to vote Green. They are the only party talking about this sort of thing, and lets face it, its fairly bloody serious stuff. Labour if elected won’t bother doing anything, they will tinker with GST on food, which in a perfect world would be a perfect policy. The thing is though, we need a parliament willing to tackle climate issues, water quality and food prices head on.

    • Colonial Viper 2.1

      Greens are still a mainstream party who believes in mainstream economic growth (albeit a slightly greener/green collar version) and the power of the markets, albeit more regulated balanced ones.

      More directly, re: food prices, what would the Greens do to make sure that New Zealanders have access to the cheapest milk prices in the OECD?

      A solid example like this serves to show how similar all the parties are to each other, any differences can be measured in centimetres.

      • Shane Gallagher 2.1.1

        Hi CV – the Greens don’t believe in “growth” like the other parties do – we all know we need to transition to a steady state economy, or a “weightless growth” economy – and what that would look like is a huge conversation to be had. But to try to talk about that in an election cycle is not something we think is useful. We need to move to economy to a point where it is able to transition – and we are nowhere near that at the moment.

        With regard to milk prices – well we don’t have a position on what to do there because we don’t know where the prices are being inflated – is it at the farm or the supermarket, or is it both? You cannot make sensible policy statements until you have a good idea about what is happening, which is why we have been calling for an investigation.

        We want to change the culture here believes to mark human well-being. Away from things like flash cars and flat screen tvs to community, health, equality – that kind of thing. These things we cannot run out of – they are qualitative and not quantitive. It is what really makes our lives better and more fulfilling.

    • Dr Terry Creagh 2.2

      Well said Alex, you have my agreement and, I am sure, that of many others.

  3. Afewknowthetruth 3

    alex.

    As CV notes, the Greens are not the answer because they are a mainstream party that superficially makes all the right noises but when it comes to the crunch their policies have little substance, and deep down the Greens want to preserve most of the present dysfunctional system (or are scared to tell the truth)..

    I have put it this way several times:

    Off the cliff with National at 100 kph

    Off the cliff with Labour at 90 kph

    Off the cliff with the Greens at 80 kph….

    … and I have seen NOTHING to make me change my mind. Every day that passes the energetic and environmental predicaments get worse.

    Right now around 40% of the land area of the US is in drought which will impact severely on food production.

    http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

    Meanwhile an unprecedented hurricane is in the process of devastating much of the northeast coast.

    The fall in oil prices that is accompanying worldwide economic collapse will provide some respite to rising food prices but longer term the industrial agricultural system has no future. Mass starvation is inevitable.

    Most people will continue to refuse to accept reality and will learn the hard way.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      Right now around 40% of the land area of the US is in drought which will impact severely on food production.

      IIRC, Climate Change turns the entire centre of the US, from Texas through to Canada, into desert.

    • alex 3.2

      “I have put it this way several times:

      Off the cliff with National at 100 kph

      Off the cliff with Labour at 90 kph

      Off the cliff with the Greens at 80 kph….”

      Sorry, but this is stupidly simplistic, the interlinked nature of food prices and climate means it isn’t just a matter of a ‘car going over a cliff.’ We need real progress on this now, and no amount of defeatist twaddle is going to help. Food prices and climate instability are linked, as well as the global nature of food price speculation. Green politics always advocate that we buy as locally as possible, drastically reducing the incentive to speculate on global food price. Furthermore, better resource management, more sustainable agriculture and a climate which is less affected by our actions will help prevent a global food crisis.

      To go back to your pointless analogy, maybe we don’t need to drive off the cliff at all.

    • prism 3.3

      @AFKTT – Would you say you have an anarchist view? Or a deeply cynical one that concentrates on pointing out how bad things will be with no reference to defensive positions.

      The fall in oil prices that is accompanying worldwide economic collapse will provide some respite to rising food prices but longer term the industrial agricultural system has no future. Mass starvation is inevitable.

      Most people will continue to refuse to accept reality and will learn the hard way.

  4. Tiger Mountain 4

    These events need to be related to concrete circumstances, why mid East popular militation now rather than five or ten years ago? The same anti democratic conditions largely prevailed then. Yes rising food prices push people to the limit in the most primal way, but communications and the internet are a factor too, allowing a massive information flow. It is way harder for torturers and the corrupt to hide in these days of Wiki and Youtube.

    Wide political participation has arrived in the countries mentioned above, the outcome to be determined. Unfortunately in New Zealand political freedoms are frittered away by “don’t know, don’t care, not about to find out” kiwis. NZ like the UK and US is becoming a surveillance state. CCT on every street corner.

    In a small way though food prices via the NZ milk price enquiry may come to bite the Nats and expose elements of industrial agriculture, commodified food and the ticket clipping retail supply chain.

    • neoleftie 4.1

      as long as our society i.e nation put food on the table and creates this situation where most peoples ‘boats are floating’ then the apathy of the masses is prevelant…doesnt matter if most people ‘boat’ is not quite the same size as some i.e elites cause they are still getting the base materialism needs satisfied, just wait until most people start to miss out directly then the condition are ripe for the transtion revolution from neo lib chaos to an orderly society.

      • prism 4.1.1

        @neoleftie –

        just wait until most people start to miss out directly then the condition are ripe for the transtion revolution from neo lib chaos to an orderly society.

        An orderly society. You must be kidding. An authoritarian society keeping ‘law and order’ with overt violence.

  5. Campbell Larsen 5

    As other countries work to ensure that have access to food supplies by buying up farmland in places like NZ what steps is our government taking to ensure that we will continue to have access to the raw materials and manufactured goods that our domestic economy cannot produce?

    Is our plan simply to trade our food for those goods? That relies on globel trade still being viable and equitable to some degree and there are no guarantees of that.
    Why are we doing nothing to stockpile materials and retain domestic manufacturing capability?
    Global super powers certainly seem to think that it is necessary, and yet the NZ government does not – why?

    Because NZ is not working at all towards independence. Our governments plan for weathering any crisis is to rely on the kindness and goodwill of our trading partners and we have no plan at all to ensure that at some point we won’t be held to ransom. Of course NZ does not have a military that could defend our shores so from this perspective treaties and alliances certainly have their place. However ensuring access to energy/ raw materials and a plan to build/retain domestic manufacturing capability is the best way to ensure that we can negotiate from a position of strength with our trading partners.

    If we do not take steps to retain/ work towards some measure of independence from global trade then inevitably we will be subsumed within a larger emerging power block and lose what remains of our sovereignty as a Nation.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1

      Why are we doing nothing to stockpile materials and retain domestic manufacturing capability?

      Because the magical market will provide. It’s why selling all of our resources, as the government and Labour want, is such a good idea.

      /sarcasm

  6. Most nights like many people I watch the news onTV.Every night we see poverty , hunger , refugee camps.Every night we see civil wars , revolutions and government brutality. We see that the people involved have the latest weapons of destruction , cluster bombs . rockets ,tanks , and the most modern of diabolic weapons. Millions of people are starving ,children just dying of starvation yet there are millions spent on these weapons .Where the hell does the money to pay for these weapons come from.? What perhaps is more important is who supplies the weapons. Is there no way to stop the production and sale of these killer toys?

    • Afewknowthetruth 6.1

      tpp

      ‘Where the hell does the money to pay for these weapons come from.?’

      Governments create the money out of thin air by issuing bonds on the international bond market and promsing to pay the bond purchaser interest (also created out of thin air).

      When international buyers fail to turn up at bond auctions governments buy their own bonds to make it look as though the system is still functioning.

      Everyone pays for it all long term via ‘inflation’ which is really just continuous devaluation of money aready in the system.

    • locus 6.2

      The big six nations manufacturing and exporting arms are USA, Russia, Germany, UK, France and China. The manufacturers provide weapons for ‘defence’ forces of their own countries. National governments commit hundreds of millions a year to these companies and enable their ‘defence industry’ to export arms to ‘friendly’ nations as this helps recoup their investment and gives them political influence. This alliance between governments and arms manufacturers is in Eisenhower’s words, a “military-industrial-congressional complex.”

      Rich nations get their money to buy arms from their taxpayers. Poor nations get their money to buy arms from rich nations or extremely rich individuals who want to have political influence. Rebels and terrorists likewise.

      As long as there are wars, revolutions, dictators and aggressor states there’s no way to stop this business. Currently the best way to limit it, is to support international arms limitation agreements – at least these try to prevent insanities like nuclear, biological, chemical and cluster munitions.

  7. Afewknowthetruth 7

    Back to the original question: ‘What provokes a populace to take to the streets in violent uprising?’

    Answer: Having little or nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

    • locus 7.1

      it takes a lot to risk your life, but hunger, combined with no hope of jobs, no freedom of speech and massive wealth in hands of the few will probably do it for most people. A sense of outrage helps … the constant drip drip drip of societal prejudice and unfairness

  8. Bored 8

    Just come to this post after a week end off blogging…spent it gardening. We here in NZ have had a strange winter, long warm dry periods interspersed with extreme cold weather, gale winds, snow. It indicates to me some basic weather change which I have to adapt to in the garden.

    On the above posts there seems to me that we stand on the edge of a precipice, economic dire times, uncertain and diminishing energy for agricultural use, global warming and therefore famine. Yet we the people refuse to see it en masse. Our “leadership” is a vacuum that invites extreme response, the collective political space is ripe for invasion by extremes as legitimacy dissappears. Its a bit scary. Our only realistic answer is to participate, lead ourselves, get rid of the old.

    • Bill 8.1

      “Our only realistic answer is to participate, lead ourselves, get rid of the old.”

      Count me in! 🙂

    • AAMC 8.2

      Or collectively buy a big chunk of land and start a country/community within the country which is founded on permaculture and true participatory democracy. Like the Zapotista in Mexico.

      • Bill 8.2.1

        You might be interested to know that such a proposal is in the pipeline AAMC.

        • AAMC 8.2.1.1

          I am increasingly interested in an option like this. A lot of us seem to agree that even if we get a marginally more favourable government into power, no real issues will be resolved. Perhaps best then to do the best we can to prepare for the future and move forward in spite of ineffectual governance

          • AAMC 8.2.1.1.1

            So where do get information about this proposal in the pipeline Bill?

            • Bill 8.2.1.1.1.1

              I’m not being evasive, but as ‘a proposal in the pipeline’ indicates, the proposal is being developed. Which makes it kind of hard to say anything.

              What I can say at the moment is that the fundamentals of the constitution are drawn up and that it ties in with existing legislation (Industrial and Provident Societies Act). It’s expansive rather than restrictive. Central themes are that it seeks to enhance the agency of the collective and those who comprise it and locks out market dynamics.

              It achieves the latter objective (locking out the market) by positing the collective entity, rather than individuals who comprise it, as the economic agent engaged with the market. Land and structures on the land are wholly owned by the collective. Income is generated by the collective and individuals access that income they have collectively generated through income sharing arrangements.

              Membership does not require a financial outlay beyond the purchase of a nominal share (say $1) that can not be traded or accrue in value; the ownership of which reverts back to the collective if a person leaves the collective.

              There was such a collective in the north of England that was established around 1974. (It continues to this day, but under different auspices) Some of the central features it developed was a strong focus on participatory democracy with the concomitant levelling of hierarchies. ‘Spin offs’ included a strong commitment to skill sharing (whether work (income) based skills or other wise) and developing internal structures across a whole range of fronts to meet any undesirable eventuality that might be developing head on (various social conflict mechanisms etc).

              There are two ex-members of that community wanting to form a community (or communities) here. There is also a fairly substantial pool of ex-members, whose collective experience spans decades who, it is hoped, will lend their built up institutional knowledge/memory to any developments that get under way here.

              A proposal should be ready this year or very early in the new year and will definately be the subject of a post here at ‘the standard’.

              • AAMC

                Very interesting, I totally understand your inability to elaborate and will look forward to hearing more.

                Have you watched Adam Curtis’s recent documentary where he looks at the Communes of the 60’s and 70’s, very interesting, and suggests there are lessons to be learned from those previous experiments.

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha8ocu1UaWI

                • Bill

                  heh

                  Don’t know who I detest more. Hippies or authoritarian leftists. Both go nowhere beyond up their own arse imo.

                  Sub cultures (such as the hippy one) come and go. And when they try to develop some alternative based on their ideas or beliefs, then the alternative will fade along with their sub culture.

                  Or they will persist as disconnected, irrelevant cults.

                  See how in that link, it was claimed that politics was a ‘no no’ and that things would be just fine if things were left to their own devices? Well, that meant (just to pick one example) that attitudes of patriarchy weren’t explored or challenged. So sexism flowered under the auspices of ‘free love’… a pathetic, selfish bastardisation of the original meaning of the term that signalled the right of people to enter relationships without requiring the sanction of the church or the state; not ‘free to fuck anything that moves’

                  Today, communities that form (or formed) on the back of some ‘nice idea’ and a ‘promise’ to be nice towards one another and ‘get along’ invariably re-create a parody of the very thing they seek or sought to be an alternative to. I’ve seen it time and again. Strip it all down and what they have done is merely recreated the dominant market culture (or capitalist culture) and dressed it up with various rags of self obsessed hedonistic clap trap.

                  edit it’s one thing to have a person or a few people who want to dance and chant before the sun or whatever (Who cares? Each to their own.) and having an entire community predicated on acceptance of dancing and chanting as some religious rite or whatever

                  • AAMC

                    Yes, in an interview with Adam Curtis, he joked that a strong factor in/ component of the Feminist movement in the 70’s was a result of or was populated with, the byproduct of these communes.

                    • prism

                      @AAMC That’s not surprising. Communes were a response to the wish for a new way of living, sometimes more idealistic than practical but some found a workable system. Feminists also wanted to find a new way of being and how they were being regarded by a male-dominated society. They were idealistic too, but considered practical improvements as well resulting in different ways of living that allowed more opportunities. The sixties were a time of new ideas and social change and hope for a good future. Now we are hoping for a future.

              • just saying

                Keep us posted Bill.

                I’ve been looking into something similar, but on a smaller scale, with a few friends in my community. I’m only too aware of how difficult it is to organise, and then maintain something truly democaratic in the day-to-day running, having been involved in a ‘planned community’ in the past.
                It’s good to hear of a few people around here coming to similar conclusions about the future and I would be only to glad to share ideas and other resources.

  9. Bill 9

    Yes, local weather conditions can affect crop yields. And yes, global climate changes increase the incidence of adverse local weather patterns or events.

    But when the price of wheat spiked and the failed Russian harvest was pointed to as being the cause, the total global wheat harvest was the highest ever recorded.

    What study after study seems determined to ignore ( and Bar-Yam is no different) is the effect of Wallstreet and the impact speculative trading on commodities has.

    The speculators on Wall Street are having a far bigger impact on food prices than any of the climate induced crop failures. (The prices of staples that are not traded on Wall Street didn’t spike, yet they are subject to the same growing environment and the same crop failures.)

    That fact appears to be too political for most to tackle. So we get the ineffective hand wringing over the conveniently ‘too big to tackle’ problem of global climate instead.

    As for the question of the study, why didn’t he simply ask the people on the street in Egypt why they were on the street? They’d have told him straight that the unaffordability of bread, cooking oil etc was their principle motivation.

    • JonL 9.1

      “As for the question of the study, why didn’t he simply ask the people on the street in Egypt why they were on the street? They’d have told him straight that the unaffordability of bread, cooking oil etc was their principle motivation.”

      I thought everybody knew this…….it was often mentioned at the beginning of the uprising in Egypt – on ABC TV, anyway……

  10. aerobubble 10

    We knew peak food, energy prices were on the way, Key government failure
    to even understand the problem has left many behind.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5521345/Children-silent-victims-of-the-recession

    Its not good enough. We know wht happens when the politicians work for
    themselves not for the people. Police start criminalizing the disabled.
    Human rights commentators start stress how its okay to discriminate
    if its not protected by the law. Youth get angry when one of their own
    has their phoned tapped and police misdirected when searching for their
    raped murdered corpse, and then in their anger they target the goods that
    society now revives, and also emulates the community destructive
    policies of Austerity.

    So should we just all hanker down for peak oil to pass over us, or
    can we start acting like intelligent apes and have a discussion in parliament
    about peak oil. Or is Key, Goff, etc all too scared, yellow I believe it was
    referred too in times past. When will politicians grow a backbone and
    crawl out of the saline seas.

    • Afewknowthetruth 10.1

      Don’t forget that around 5 years ago, when the Maori Party still had a spine and hadn’t become putty in the hands of National, they requested an inter-party commission to discuss peak oil.

      It all died a quick death, of course, because the Labour government of the time wasn’t the least bit interested in discussing reality. And when National took over, neither were they.

      • neoleftie 10.1.1

        To my knowledge Labour is aware of this major issue but social cohesion is paramount – cant have our great leaders wetting themselves in public and upsetting the dull masses…give the headcount bread and cross our fingers is their mantra.
        oh maybe thats why JK has taken to the drink – pressure of knowing the real global situation.

      • aerobubble 10.1.2

        Two points. Under Maori party more Maori have left for OZ, would like to know how many
        but sure its up.
        Labour are a right of centre party, Labour politicians needed to get elected in a Murdoch
        driven media market, money was being bet on all sorts of cheap oil crap outcomes.
        Labour cannot be blamed solely for the Zombie madness, National were doing absolutely
        nothing in opposition, the far right reigned the airwaves, and stupid rule the US.
        Peak Oil has yet to hurt us, this morning, as is my habit i count the number of
        people in cars. Still one per car medium.
        Humans won’t change until its very late in the day.

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    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    3 days ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    3 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    4 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposés ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    4 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
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    4 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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 ...
    4 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    5 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    5 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    6 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    6 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    7 days ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    1 week ago
  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    1 week ago
  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    1 week ago

  • Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua
    Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Andrew Little has delivered the Crown apology to Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua for its historic breaches of Te Tiriti of Waitangi today. The ceremony was held at Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton, hosted by Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, with several hundred ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Minister of Foreign Affairs meets with Chinese counterpart
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has concluded her visit to China, the first by a New Zealand Foreign Minister since 2018. The Minister met her counterpart, newly appointed State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, who also hosted a working dinner. This was the first engagement between the two ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • Government delivering world-class satellite positioning services
    World-class satellite positioning services that will support much safer search and rescue, boost precision farming, and help safety on construction sites through greater accuracy are a significant step closer today, says Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor. Damien O’Connor marked the start of construction on New Zealand’s first uplink centre for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
    $2.9 million convertible loan for Scapegrace Distillery to meet growing national and international demand $4.5m underwrite to support Silverlight Studios’ project to establish a film studio in Wanaka Gore’s James Cumming Community Centre and Library to be official opened tomorrow with support of $3m from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government future-proofs EV charging
    Transport Minister Michael Wood has today launched the first national EV (electric vehicle) charging strategy, Charging Our Future, which includes plans to provide EV charging stations in almost every town in New Zealand. “Our vision is for Aotearoa New Zealand to have world-class EV charging infrastructure that is accessible, affordable, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • World-leading family harm prevention campaign supports young NZers
    Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment Priyanca Radhakrishnan has today launched the Love Better campaign in a world-leading approach to family harm prevention. Love Better will initially support young people through their experience of break-ups, developing positive and life-long attitudes to dealing with hurt. “Over 1,200 young kiwis told ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • First Chief Clinical Advisor welcomed into Coroners Court
    Hon Rino Tirikatene, Minister for Courts, welcomes the Ministry of Justice’s appointment of Dr Garry Clearwater as New Zealand’s first Chief Clinical Advisor working with the Coroners Court. “This appointment is significant for the Coroners Court and New Zealand’s wider coronial system.” Minister Tirikatene said. Through Budget 2022, the Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Next steps for affected properties post Cyclone and floods
    The Government via the Cyclone Taskforce is working with local government and insurance companies to build a picture of high-risk areas following Cyclone Gabrielle and January floods. “The Taskforce, led by Sir Brian Roche, has been working with insurance companies to undertake an assessment of high-risk areas so we can ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New appointment to Māori Land Court bench
    E te huia kaimanawa, ko Ngāpuhi e whakahari ana i tau aupikinga ki te tihi o te maunga. Ko te Ao Māori hoki e whakanui ana i a koe te whakaihu waka o te reo Māori i roto i te Ao Ture. (To the prized treasure, it is Ngāpuhi who ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Government focus on jobs sees record number of New Zealanders move from Benefits into work
    113,400 exits into work in the year to June 2022 Young people are moving off Benefit faster than after the Global Financial Crisis Two reports released today by the Ministry of Social Development show the Government’s investment in the COVID-19 response helped drive record numbers of people off Benefits and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Vertical farming partnership has upward momentum
    The Government’s priority to keep New Zealand at the cutting edge of food production and lift our sustainability credentials continues by backing the next steps of a hi-tech vertical farming venture that uses up to 95 per cent less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Conference of Pacific Education Ministers – Keynote Address
    E nga mana, e nga iwi, e nga reo, e nga hau e wha, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou kātoa. Warm Pacific greetings to all. It is an honour to host the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Aotearoa is delighted to be hosting you ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New $13m renal unit supports Taranaki patients
    The new renal unit at Taranaki Base Hospital has been officially opened by the Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall this afternoon. Te Huhi Raupō received around $13 million in government funding as part of Project Maunga Stage 2, the redevelopment of the Taranaki Base Hospital campus. “It’s an honour ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Second Poseidon aircraft on home soil
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has marked the arrival of the country’s second P-8A Poseidon aircraft alongside personnel at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base at Ohakea today. “With two of the four P-8A Poseidons now on home soil this marks another significant milestone in the Government’s historic investment in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Further humanitarian aid for Türkiye and Syria
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide further humanitarian support to those seriously affected by last month’s deadly earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, says Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta. “The 6 February earthquakes have had devastating consequences, with almost 18 million people affected. More than 53,000 people have died and tens of thousands more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Community voice to help shape immigration policy
    Migrant communities across New Zealand are represented in the new Migrant Community Reference Group that will help shape immigration policy going forward, Immigration Minister Michael Wood announced today.  “Since becoming Minister, a reoccurring message I have heard from migrants is the feeling their voice has often been missing around policy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • State Highway 3 project to deliver safer journeys, better travel connections for Taranaki
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