Search Results
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Comment:Open mike 15/01/2022
Date published: 12:14 pm, January 15th, 2022Weird analogy. Not even in the same ball park, but thank you for the laugh.
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Comment:Open mike 15/01/2022
Date published: 10:52 am, January 15th, 2022Again wow. Where are you getting this from. Worldwide children are not dieing of covid. The Danish, German and UK data tells us this. Why would we put children at a known risk of heart etc. issues when only those with comorbidities are in any way at risk ...
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Comment:Open mike 15/01/2022
Date published: 10:38 am, January 15th, 2022Again wow. You are aware of the heart issues surely. The MOH has put out an advisary letter about them. These people are turning up in our hospitals. In this case correlation does equal causation. Do we want this for our children?
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Comment:Open mike 15/01/2022
Date published: 10:09 am, January 15th, 2022Wow. Just wow, only a few adverse reactions? Look at the medsafe data, which they themselves say is only about 5% of what actually happens. I too would love to see the data that medsafe used as the trial for the children's version was small and only for a ...
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Comment:New Year. Good News.
Date published: 9:19 pm, January 2nd, 2022Thanks for this post Bill, finally some real sanity in this mess. I have been really disappointed at the shutting down of discussion about covid and the govt. response on this site. As a left wing site the acceptance of and often the cheerleading for the ...
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Comment:Open mike 09/11/2021
Date published: 5:07 pm, November 9th, 2021What rubbish. Peaceful protest about govt mandates and control. Nothing like Jan 6. It is scary that there is a need to demonise or minimise people who disagree with the populist thinking. If your vaccine works then there is nothing to be afraid of. What ...
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Comment:Open mike 09/11/2021
Date published: 4:11 pm, November 9th, 2021So about 15000 people in NZ protested today about mandates and govt over reach. Nothing like Jan 6 in America. Politians over reacted and Whipped up fear about over running parliament. Who is crazy, the peaceful protesters or the fear mongers? Get a grip, ...
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Comment:Open mike 12/10/2021
Date published: 9:35 am, October 12th, 2021Isn't anyone here worried about the human rights implications of these mandates? Whatever you believe about the vaccines the walking over of the bill of rights is terrifying. What comes next? I think the focus is in the wrong place here. When this pandemic...
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Comment:Open mike 12/09/2021
Date published: 5:01 pm, September 12th, 2021It is interesting that you dismiss concerns about the risks of the vaccine for children. In order to protect the children you immediately render some expendable for the greater good. Until we know why, and how many children will react then we should ...
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Comment:Daily review 26/08/2021
Date published: 11:25 pm, August 27th, 2021So you are incapable of looking up CARM or listening to the briefing or reading the stuff article which outlines all this. Again talk to the subject which you introduced. VEARS reporting is, according to the article you posted, unreliable. This is why it ...
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Comment:Daily review 26/08/2021
Date published: 10:52 pm, August 27th, 2021You are very rude and are not actually addressing the subject. Your replies smack of MaCarthyism, anyone questioning the line must be derided and obliterated. I assume this is a fear reaction which has suspended critical thought. You say play the ball not ...
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Comment:Daily review 26/08/2021
Date published: 7:32 am, August 27th, 2021Your reply highlights one of the major issues with this. We don't have good data yet. Most countries, ours included, have voluntary reporting systems for drug reactions which are badly under utilised. A comprehensive look at Vaers about 15 years ago by ...
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Comment:Daily review 26/08/2021
Date published: 10:14 pm, August 26th, 2021Well I guess this is why it was announced today that 10 percent of those vaccinated will be contacted with a survey about their reactions. Medsafe, CDC, and the EU are issuing warnings about heart issues and the EU are investigating endocrine issues ...
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Comment:Open mike 24/08/2021
Date published: 2:12 pm, August 24th, 2021I like the vision here.ay it come to fruition.
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Comment:Open mike 14/08/2021
Date published: 6:57 pm, August 14th, 2021Many thanks Francesca. I have been reading and hearing about this for a while now. This is a well presented look at what we know and what we don't. Again, thank you.
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Comment:Open mike 07/08/2021
Date published: 5:02 pm, August 8th, 2021That is some extremely emotive language there. The only people passing on the virus are those who have it, vaccinated or unvaccinated. Discrimination on the basis of a medical treatment is scary. I understand that fear is driving this but why the need to ...
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Comment:Open mike 07/08/2021
Date published: 8:12 pm, August 7th, 2021Haven't you guys heard of our Bill of Rights? Your draconian, discriminatory ideas are horrifying. I get you believe with your whole being that vaccination is the answer to the pandemic but discriminating against people on the basis of a medical treatment ...
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Comment:Women's Day
Date published: 2:54 pm, July 19th, 2021You are so right. I don't hear many women denying trans people their identity but I am hearing women being shut down and us being denied ours, that billboard again. Keep up the good work.
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Comment:Women's Day
Date published: 7:47 am, July 19th, 2021I have become increasingly concerned by the shutting down of debate by women. The removal of the billboard in Wellington makes me shudder. I am an older woman, a mother and grandmother of girls and I worry that the gains made by my generation for women ...
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Comment:Daily review 13/07/2021
Date published: 2:35 pm, July 14th, 2021I am not sure how this billboard is provocative. I am also not sure why trans people need my gender label. Perhaps they could simply be proud of their own e.g. trans gender female, and the rest of us could just accept that and let people lead their lives. ...
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Comment:The Māori Party and the National Party
Date published: 3:14 pm, May 14th, 2021Awesome. Very clear and bang on. FW experienced a little prejudice, not good for sure, but Maori experience systemic racism every day. Judith Collins assertions and questions are racist as they continue the power narrative. Well done Rawiri for calling ...
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Comment:Open mike 08/05/2021
Date published: 8:46 pm, May 8th, 2021The fact that you have to ask why we women are so obsessed about menstruation actually says it all. Biological women menstruate, whether they want to or not. Actually most of us would be really happy to live without that particular part of womanhood but ...
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Comment:Pandemic to endemic covid-19
Date published: 10:17 am, February 14th, 2021There are some people who are contraindicated to the vaccines. For Pfizer one it includes people who are allergic to PEG. Are we going to test for this before administering the vaccine? I only ask as who knows if they are allergic to this or not.
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Comment:Open mike 05/02/2021
Date published: 12:03 pm, February 5th, 2021Lord I am tired of the propaganda from the "all vaccines good" brigade. This article is full of misinformation. Vaccines can and do cause autism. This is recognised by the CDC and the Vaccine Injury Compensation Table in the USA and by the manufacturers ...
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Comment:Open mike 12/01/2021
Date published: 10:51 am, January 12th, 2021I am really happy about our government's response to the potential vaccine rollout. The safety trials are not yet complete and we can afford to wait as our border security systems are holding for now. There are some pretty disturbing stories coming out of ...
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Comment:What could possibly go right?
Date published: 4:47 pm, December 6th, 2020Read this after repotting trees grown from seed on my city deck, trimming tendrils from tomatoes and generally tending my urban food forest. I love that someone is looking at what's right because we can make a difference to our environment by being in it. ...
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Comment:What happens when the Covid vaccine becomes available?
Date published: 11:48 pm, December 4th, 2020Oh, Bill of rights stuff here. Where do we draw the line in demanding medical procedures for entry into the country? Must have this vaccine, you have three children so you must be sterilised? Mandating medical procedures, no matter how important we think ...
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Comment:Should Parents and Teachers Defy the Government?
Date published: 9:12 pm, May 16th, 2020Worse than that the letter came during the budget. Very poor timing. There are two teacher reps on the council now thanks to this govt. Unfortunately the rest, including the ceo are not.
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Comment:Should Parents and Teachers Defy the Government?
Date published: 9:02 pm, May 16th, 2020Thanks LPrent. It is worse than just fees. The teachers council in its current form is the brain child of Hekua Parata. She didn't listen to teachers when she pushed the legislation to disestablish our council and replace it with govt. Appointed ...
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Comment:Budget 2020
Date published: 5:01 pm, May 14th, 2020This budget is big, not just with money but mindset. People are at the center not just the economy.
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Comment:Open mike 06/04/2020
Date published: 7:13 pm, April 6th, 2020Are you for real. What if the answer kills more or creates more disease? Some world experts on vaccines are talking about this. Not anti vax or pro vax as is implied in your posts but about making sure we are doing the right thing. This is not simple and ...
- Unbiased Reporting?
I wonder how many Herald readers realise how all-embracing, unremitting and determined is the Herald’s pushing of the National party barrow? Perhaps it is so much par for the course that it goes unremarked by many readers. Today’s issue provides an interesting case study, especially for those (of whatever political ...6 hours ago - The phenomenon of ‘Don’t Look Up’ (Part 2)
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Michael Svoboda By the end of the Sunday, January 9, Don’t Look Up, writer-director Adam McKay’s dark satire about the impending impact of an Earth-killing comet, intended as an analogy for inaction on climate change, had been streamed on Netflix for a total of 322 ...9 hours ago - Why Are We Happy?
The World Happiness Project has some answers.For nine years an international consortium of economists and statisticians have gathered together data from many countries on how individuals rate their life satisfaction, reporting their findings in a World Happiness Report. Each year they focus on a particular issue; the 2021 report is ...11 hours ago - And its done
Last week, Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister said he intended to abolish the death penalty. And yesterday, he did it, with all existing death sentences commuted to life imprisonment. This leaves Tonga as the last death-penalty state in the South Pacific. They last murdered someone in 1982, and have been ...1 day ago - Too Much Intellectual Curiosity – Not Enough Fox News.
Bogeyman On Manoeuvres: Not only would a Russian invasion of Ukraine allow the Ardern Government to join “a largely Western chorus of condemnation” and announce (probably reluctantly) New Zealand’s own autonomous sanctions against the Russian Federation, but it would also vindicate the dominant “Bogeyman School” of New Zealand strategic studies.WHAT ...1 day ago - NZ Politics Daily: 21 January 2022
Covid Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): ‘Too little, too late’: Allegations Covid-19 testing regime unprepared for Omicron, still weak on much-needed saliva tests Hanna McCallum (Stuff): ‘Tens of millions’ of rapid antigen tests on order, PM says 1 News: Rapid Covid tests will be widely available in NZ – Ardern Claire Trevett (Herald): After a summer, ...1 day ago - The Political Logic Of Martyrdom.Consequences: The reason the world remembers the martyrdom of the third century Christian, Perpetua, and the abolitionist, John Brown, is, of course, the stakes. Both martyrs understood that the consequence of their actions, would be death. What greater stake can there be than one’s own life? The political logic of ...1 day ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #3 2022Cloud tops fade from sight at a critical juncture Employing the Earth orbiting instrument MISR, Travis Aerenson et al. appear to confirm subtle hints by prior observations tracking what climate models broadly predict: a gradual increase in the topping altitude of high clouds. Their paper When Will MISR Detect Rising High ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on responding to the need in Tonga
The power of the Tonga eruption (and the size of the aid response being mounted) have been sobering indications of the scale of this disaster. The financial impact is certain to exceed the damage done by Cyclone Harold two years ago, which was estimated at the time to cost $US111 ...2 days ago - ‘Don’t Look Up’ – See the movie. Ignore the comet. (Part 1)This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Michael Svoboda 2022 is already feeling as stressful as the worst stretches of 2021 – and without the prospect of a fresh start with a new administration. Newscasters report that COVID-19 cases are arising at three times the rate posted during the ...2 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 20 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Will Trafford (Māori TV): Secret state report reveals swamped ICUs; Omicron will evade face masks Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Callous MIQ Tweet sets Government back after victorious summer(paywalled) Ben Thomas (Stuff): Whodunit? Mystery border call a clue to new normal Luke Malpass (Stuff): The only certainty is uncertainty: Labour enters year three of ...2 days ago
- The Totalitarian Impulses Driving “Consequences Culture”.2 days ago
- Here We Go, Here We Go, Here We Go: The Rings of Power
About an hour ago, we got an interesting tweet. Not a leak, for once, but for the first time since last year’s incident with the Two Trees, an Honest to Eru update, straight from the horse’s mouth. We now have: (1) A name for the series (‘The Lord of ...3 days ago - Philosophical trends in feminism
Philosophical trends in feminism is a collection of essays by Indian revolutionary Anuradha Roy. I met Anuradha in India in 2004 on a fact finding tour with lawyers investigating human rights abuses in Andhra Pradesh. We spent several hours together discussing the state of the womens movement in India and ...3 days ago - A democratic peace or a feminist peace?
Many years ago when I was in mid academic career, two theoretical strands emerged in the field of international relations and comparative foreign policy. One was the basis for a school of thought that came to be known as feminist international relations theory, which to crudely oversimplify one sub-strand, posited ...3 days ago - Hiding their dirty laundryThe government is trying to "reform" Oranga Tamariki, and has a bill before the House to do so: the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill. Submissions on the Bill close next Wednesday, and children's rights campaigners are horrified by it - and in particular ...3 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 19 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border RNZ: Government postpones next MIQ lottery due to spike of Omicron cases at border Herald: Upcoming MIQ room release postponed due to Omicron cases at border Kate Green (Stuff): Next MIQ lobby postponed as Omicron arrivals surge David Farrar (Kiwiblog): A cowardly way to close the border Jamie Morton (Herald): Has NZ dodged ...3 days ago
- Defending Death of the Author: A Reply to Tolkien LoreIt is one of the oddities of the internet that many commentators will take the side of Authorial Intentionalism over Death of the Author. Part of this, I think, is down to J.K. Rowling – and now also the response to J.K. Rowling. When one has creators delivering New ...4 days ago
- United with Manchester: What happens when we all choose poorlyThe city government of Manchester, England is coming under some fire for choosing to lease space on pavements (also known as sidewalks) for electronic display advertisements, or "digital out of home advertising." Criticism is twofold in nature. Some point out that crowding of pavements with bulky fixed installations is an ...4 days ago
- The Great Awokening
Bad News: How Woke Media Is Undermining Democracy by Batya Ungar-Sargon is a superb book that examines the transformation of journalism in the US during the twentieth century. She shows how the media has become a key player in the woke movement. The book charts the trajectory of journalism as it ...4 days ago - The Choice.Revolution From Below Averted: The critical political choice made by leading Pakeha politicians, jurists and bureaucrats in the 1980s and 90s was to halt the momentum of left-wing Māori nationalism from below, by inserting a layer of elite Māori business-people between the Crown and the economically and culturally impoverished Māori ...4 days ago
- Cancelling The Cancellers.Defender Of The Faiths: Pope Francis sees cancel culture as a threat to the open, compassionate and forgiving human society he has always championed.WHAT SHOULD WE MAKE of Pope Francis’ condemnation of “cancel culture”? There will be some who argue that the opinions of an ageing male celibate who somehow ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on sending an Orion P-3 to TongaBecause the undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga cut communications with the more remote parts of the country, it wasn’t at all surprising that as a good Pacific neighbour, New Zealand sent a reconnaissance aircraft up there to gather information about the extent and location of the damage. The more interesting ...4 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 18 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Michael Baker, Jennifer Summers, Amanda Kvalsvig, Matire Harwood, Nick Wilson (Public Health Expert):Preparing for Omicron: A proactive Government response is urgently needed to minimise harms RNZ: Experts list steps New Zealand government needs to take to fight Omicron RNZ: Traffic light system may need strengthening or adjusting in face of ...4 days ago
- FSU defend Public Service Advisor censored for using term ‘male-bodied’The Free Speech Union newsletter reports on a case where it defended a worker who was called to a meeting after using accurate language. In something you would almost think is out of George Orwell’s 1984, a member of the Free Speech Union received a scathing and bullying letter from a very senior ...4 days ago
- The top 10 global weather and climate change events of 2021This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters The year 2021 made an indelible mark in the annals of weather history. Not only did it feature the most extreme heat wave in history – the late June heat wave over western North America that smashed all-time records by ...4 days ago
- Heather Brunskell-Evans Transgender Body Politics :”a multibillion dollar industry disguised as ...Book review by Don Franks “Emily adopted many roles in my home – he came to parties presenting as a tall glamorous woman, but when brawn was needed, he jumped the ‘gender ship’ as it were…at a house move, he whipped off his long blonde wig, revealing male pattern baldness, put ...5 days ago
- Climate Change: Still making the same mistakeLast year it became clear that the government's ETS price control policy was a mistake, resulting in huge public costs for tiny, tiny benefits. The problem was clear well in advance, and while it couldn't be avoided in 2021 without urgent legislation, James Shaw could have used the opportunity of ...5 days ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 17 January 2022Parliament, MPs, Parties Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Which MPs could lose their jobs in 2022? (paywalled) Pattrick Smellie (BusinessDesk): Neck, meet block. Predictions for 2022 (paywalled) David Fisher (Herald): Profile: Harete Hipango and how she upset National colleagues (paywalled) Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Greens satisfied after first year of pact with Labour Ian Powell (Daily Blog): What do you know about ...5 days ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, January 9, 2022 through Sat, January 15, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: Climate Scientists on “Don’t Look Up:” It’s Infuriating, Soul-Sucking and On-the-Nose, New NASA chief scientist to ...6 days ago
- Why I spoke out against lockdownProfessor Carl James Heneghan is a British general practitioner physician, a clinical epidemiologist and a Fellow of Kellogg College. He is the director of the University of Oxford’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and former Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. In this interview with Brendon O’Neill he discusses the impact of ...1 week ago
- Big numbers – dollars and institutions – behind divestments from fossil fuelsThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Kristen Pope About $39 trillion – that’s trillion, with a T – is the total some 1,500 institutions are planning to divest from funds in fossil fuels. And those numbers are growing. The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database, maintained by two nonprofit ...1 week ago
- Beware of Bearing Gifts for Greece: The National Library of New Zealand and the Fate of 1% of the Ov...
So things are supposedly on hold, so far as the National Library of New Zealand’s idiotic plans to purge its Overseas Published Collection. Supposedly. There is currently a lot of uncertainty floating around right now, and there is absolutely no reason to trust the National Library of New ...1 week ago - When Will Evergrande Collapse?
If China’s second largest property developer implodes, the Chinese financial system may be compromised, while the booming property market is so central to the Chinese economy, its staggering would impact internationally, including on New Zealand.For some time I have had on my 2-write list the giant Chinese property company, Evergrande. ...1 week ago - What does ‘academic freedom’ mean in practice? Why the Siouxsie Wiles and Shaun Hendy employment...
Jack Heinemann, University of Canterbury Two high-profile University of Auckland academics raised important questions about academic freedom with their complaint to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) that their employer had failed its duty of care to them. Associate Professor Siouxsie Wiles and Professor Shaun Hendy have become well known ...1 week ago - NZ Politics Daily: 14 January 2022Covid, MIQ, border Matthew Hooton (Herald): Govt’s sanguine stance on Omicron should have NZ worried (paywalled) Adam Pearse (Herald): Officials predict when Auckland Omicron outbreak will happen Herald: Omicron likely to enter Auckland community in weeks, warns top doctor ODT Editorial: Be as prepared as possible for Covid’s return John Braddock (World Socialists): New Zealand scientists express alarm over ...1 week ago
- The Ships From The North: Why Autarky cannot be New Zealand’s answer to Climate Change.Lifelines: New Zealand, as we know it, would be impossible without the existence of a global transportation and trading system. Should Climate Change fundamentally weaken the industrial societies of the Northern Hemisphere, the supply-chains upon which New Zealanders depend would become increasingly disrupted. How long could our society endure if ...1 week ago
- What’s Sauce For Monroe’s Goose, Is Sauce For Putin’s Gander.Not In My Back Yard! If the American President, Joe Biden, has forgotten the lessons of 60 years ago, then the Russian Federation President, Vladimir Putin, has not. Unacceptable in 1962, the stationing of military resources (including tactical nuclear weapons) along Russia’s borders remains unacceptable in 2022.IT WAS BURIED DEEP ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #2 2022150 articles in 55 journals by 808 contributing authors Observations of climate change, effects Another Record: Ocean Warming Continues through 2021 despite La Niña Conditions Cheng et al. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1007/s00376-022-1461-3 Sea-ice retreat suggests re-organization of water mass transformation in the Nordic and Barents Seas ...1 week ago
- Amateur hour with Christopher Luxon
You’ve got to wonder why the National Party, in the face of a worldwide pandemic that has killed approximately 6 million people, is continuing to be so terribly dysfunctional? Perhaps it’s a symptom of their upper management, who despite numerous party leaders coming and going, never actually changed.Unfortunately for the ...1 week ago - Climate Change: Here we go againLast year the government turned the ETS into a farce, flooding the market with 7 million tons of extra pollution in a failed and counterproductive effort to keep carbon prices low. Using the government's internal carbon price of $150/ton, the social cost of this was just over a billion dollars ...1 week ago
- One country at a timePapua New Guinea's Prime Minister has announced that he intends to abolish the death penalty: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says his government is doing away with the death penalty and those now on death row will instead serve life sentences without parole. Marape told members of ...1 week ago
- The consequences of Covid & why anti-vaxxers aren't free to cross a one-lane bridge wheneve...
New Year’s day, 2022. I’m sitting at a one-lane bridge on the east coast of the Coromandel, watching and waiting as a stream of cars drive over the bridge towards me, reminded once again of the big lessons of 2021 – consequences and the limits of freedom.While so much of ...1 week ago - What Omicron will be like …
I might not be very good at maths but I never bought into the developing "Omicron is the Covid we can live with" narrative. I remember reading that Omicron was about half as likely to end you in hospital as delta was ... but, I thought, given it is several ...1 week ago - NZ Politics Daily: 13 January 2022Clarke Gayford testing controversy Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Clarke Gayford needs to clean up bad look (paywalled) Thomas Coughlan (Herald): ‘Deeply inappropriate’: Clarke Gayford sorry for ‘confusion’ after claim he tried to get mate rapid Covid test Rachel Sadler (Newshub): Chris Bishop hits out at Clarke Gayford’s ‘deeply inappropriate’ alleged bid to get rapid antigen tests for ...1 week ago
- Disenchanted.Another World: Oamaru’s whitestone Victorian Precinct is an enclave for aging alternative life-stylers. The air is filled with the scent of patchouli and hand-crafted leather. There are troll figurines and fairies for sale, alongside crystals and dream-catchers.OAMARU likes to think of itself as the “steam-punk” capital of the world. It ...1 week ago
- Cranky Uncle – Resources for EducatorsThis is an adapted repost of the educators' resource page on CrankyUncle.com. Cranky Uncle uses cartoons, humor, and logic-based inoculation to build resilience against misinformation – an ideal tool for teaching critical thinking to students. This page features resources for educators interested in using Cranky Uncle (the game or the book) ...1 week ago
- New Zealand summers are getting hotter – and humans aren’t the only ones feeling the effectsCate Macinnis-Ng, University of Auckland It’s not a mirage, our summers are getting hotter on average and we are experiencing more extremely hot days. News from NIWA that 2021 was New Zealand’s hottest year on record fits with the long term trend. Analysis of 70 years of data has ...1 week ago
- Guantanamo: Twenty years of shameToday (US time) is the 20th anniversary of the opening of America's gulag at Guantanamo Bay. The US has kept people imprisoned without trial - sometimes without even charges - for twenty years now. Most of those kidnapped by the US have since died or been released, but 39 remain ...1 week ago
- Undermining the offshore exploration banBack in 2018, in what they trumpeted as a victory for the environment, the government banned new offshore oil exploration permits. But the victory was short-lived: two-faced Labour immediately started to undermine it, extending permits and changing conditions to try and keep the industry they had "banned" alive. And there's ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on the global war against plasticsCompared to Covid and climate change, the threat from plastics seems like a low rent version of planetary disaster. Can that plastic bottle, this fast food plastic knife and fork, and the plastic packaging wrapped around everything from supermarket fruit to toys to consumer durables really be omens of the ...1 week ago
- The 1.5 degrees goal: Beware of unintended consequencesThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by , , and “Keep 1.5 alive” emerged as the haunting refrain of the recent United Nations climate conference in Glasgow. Although a well-intentioned rallying cry, it raises important questions about how the chant is to be interpreted. Unfortunately, 1.5° centigrade is often ...1 week ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 12 January 2022Covid Marc Daalder (Newsroom): The key Covid-19 questions for 2022 Peter Davis (Stuff): There’s no time to waste if we’re to keep Omicron out of NZ Keith Lynch (Stuff): Could New Zealand actually eliminate Delta? Jane Nixon (RNZ): Mixed views over school start date amid Omicron fears Anneke Smith (RNZ): Epidemiologist suggests delay to school ...1 week ago
- News From Nowhere: If the Greens are to have a future, then they must listen to their past.2 weeks ago
- Paradise Postponed.The Future That Got Away: Rob Sitch's ineffectual idealist, Tony Woodfood (played by himself) attempts to convince a fellow "nation-builder" that Australia's utopian future will be somewhere around here, and about this big, if the planning application is successful, and Canberra doesn't change its mind. As his eponymous TV series ...2 weeks ago
- Climate Change: Famers finally paying the priceIt's official: 2021 was Aotearoa's hottest year on record. And the climate chaos is now affecting milk production: Challenging pasture growing conditions have prompted Fonterra to revise its forecast milk collections to 1.5 billion kilograms of milk solids for the year to May 31, a reduction of 25 million ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 11 January 2022Omicron, border Pete McKenzie (Guardian): New Zealand not prepared for Omicron outbreak expected in ‘matter of weeks’, experts warn Jean Bell (RNZ): Covid-19 experts fear Omicron could soon be in community as border cases increase Hamish MacLean (ODT): Fears school year start could bring surge Ellen O’Dwyer (Stuff): Epidemiologist calls for delay in school ...2 weeks ago
- Reviewing The Nature of Middle-earth, with ReadingTolkienPod
Just before Christmas, I had an interview with ReadingTolkienPod (https://readingtolkienpod.libsyn.com/) about our joint impressions of The Nature of Middle-earth (2021). As of today that interview has now been released: https://readingtolkienpod.libsyn.com/the-nature-of-middle-earth-with-daniel-stride?tdest_id=2456000 As noted previously, this basically functions as my review of the volume. A bit belated perhaps, but ...2 weeks ago - Climate Change: A decision with no integrityBack in November, the government introduced a new, "more ambitious" 2030 climate change target, which turned out to not be very ambitious at all. Quite apart from the funny accounting, the target will be met primarily through "international mitigation" (rather than, say, cuts to agricultural emissions). back in November, the ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 10 January 2022Parliament, government, 2021, 2022 Michael Hall (RNZ): Green Party discontent: Members walk, ex-MPs criticise leadership Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Green Party implosion in 5…4…3…2… Morgan Godfery (Guardian): New Zealand’s successful Covid policies hid inequality – the government can’t ignore it this year Spinoff: NZ politics in 2022: The big issues on which the year ...2 weeks ago
- MIQ and the New Zealand ConstitutionOverseas readers might be curious to learn that Omicron has still not arrived in the New Zealand community, so our supermarket shelves are still functioning. And indeed that the August Delta outbreak is well on its way to dying out within the next month or so. The reasons for ...2 weeks ago
- 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #1Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, January 2, 2022 through Sat, January 8, 2022. The following articles sparked above average interest during the week: ‘Don’t Look Up’: Hollywood’s primer on climate denial illustrates 5 myths that fuel rejection of science, ...2 weeks ago
- Put Another Record OnHelp! Mercy! I had thought (or hoped) that, as we turned into the New Year, the Herald would give us a break or put another record on. But, presumably because they have nothing new to say, the Herald has begun 2022 by re-publishing the columns written last year by their ...2 weeks ago
- Legal Beagle: A submission on the repeal of the three strikes sentencing law
Just sent the following submission in on the law repealing the three strikes sentencing regime.You have until midnight tonight if you want your say.==The Justice CommitteeThree Strikes Legislation Repeal BillSubmission of Graeme EdgelerIntroductionThis submission is made by Graeme Edgeler. I am a barrister with an interest in criminal law issues.I ...2 weeks ago - How the US Failed the Covid Challenge
Michael Lewis The Premonition: A Pandemic Story is another cracker to add to his other books such as ‘Liar's Poker’, ‘The Big Short’ and ‘The Undoing Project’.In October 2019 a report which cost millions of dollars ranked the US first (and Britain second) on the Global Health Security Index. Months ...2 weeks ago - Indigenous socialism with a Chilean face.Happy New Year everyone. I am, by personal and professional inclination, loathe to speculate on uncertain future events. On the other hand, I have an abiding interest in distant political processes even though I cannot claim particular analytic expertise when considering them. Thus, when watching the recent Chilean presidential election ...2 weeks ago
- Gordon Campbell on Australia’s failed model of Covid best practiceIn decades gone by, New Zealanders tended to diss this country by comparing it to how much better things were in the States, or in Australia, or almost anywhere else except the godforsaken town in which we’d had the misfortune to be born and raised. Of late, ACT and National ...2 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #1 2022Incidental rainmaking with utility-scale PV? Ths week's geoengineering section includes an article that focuses not on planetary cooling but instead a surprising possible feature of decarbonization, for certain circumstances. The analysis treats a particular geographic context and so it's not possible to say how widely it could be replicated. Even ...2 weeks ago
- Majority Overruled.The All-Too-Visible Hand: Most people are surprised to learn how recently this idea: that the greatest say rightly belongs to the greatest number; took root in human societies. While it is most unlikely that nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers would’ve followed a course of action to which most of its members ...2 weeks ago
- Sinda’s Advocate: Defending Eöl
Today, as an interesting exercise, I’m taking the Tolkien Elf I personally consider the most morally reprehensible, and giving him his day in court, so to speak. That Elf is Eöl of Nan Elmoth – Sinda, smith, friend of Dwarves, and hater of all things Noldorin. Others might ...2 weeks ago - NZ Politics Daily: 6 January 2022Parliament, government, 2021 Graham Adams (Democracy Project): 2022: Ardern’s plans for co-governance with iwi face rough seas Peter Wilson (RNZ): Politics and the pandemic – another year of Covid-19 Russell Palmer (RNZ): NZ politics in 2021: Rabbles, restrictions and recriminations Martin Bradbury (Daily Blog): TDB 2021 predictions vs 2021 reality RNZ: David Shearer: from South ...2 weeks ago
- Bring back traffic copsStuff has a story about the holiday road toll, and police saying they are "disappointed" and "frustrated" that it is so high. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Herald pointed out why it is so high: because police haven't been doing their job: [F]or a couple of years now, police enforcement ...2 weeks ago
- Graham Adams: 2022: Ardern’s plans for co-governance with iwi face rough seasAs voters become more aware of the stealthy implementation of a Māori separatist agenda, the political risks for the government will rise sharply. Graham Adams reports. When the Prime Minister claimed in her first term that her government was going to be “transformational” many voters took her seriously — ...2 weeks ago
- How to make climate action your New Year’s resolutionThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Lots of people embrace New Year’s as a time to commit to exercising, getting organized, or saving money. “It’s a very strong symbolic moment where people resolve to make changes in their lives,” says Daniela Tejada of the “Count Us In” ...2 weeks ago
- NZ Politics Daily: 5 January 20222022 political forecasts Stuff: The year that might be: Stuff’s political predictions for 2022 Spinoff: Thirteen wild predictions for the political year 2022 AD David Farrar: Kiwiblog’s 2022 Predictions Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): TDB Domestic Political Predictions 2022 Steve Braunias (Herald): Five things to look forward to in 2022 (paywalled) Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Diary of New Year’s resolutions (paywalled) Greg Presland (The ...2 weeks ago
- How we’re preparing for Omicron
As countries around the world experience Omicron outbreaks, we’re taking steps now to ensure we’re as prepared as possible and our communities are protected. ...2 days ago - What’s Labour achieved so far?Quite a bit! This Government was elected to take on the toughest issues facing Aotearoa – and that’s what we’re doing. Since the start of the pandemic, protecting lives and livelihoods has been a priority, but we’ve also made progress on long-term challenges, to deliver a future the next generation ...1 week ago
- Tackling the big issues in 2022This year, keeping Kiwis safe from COVID will remain a key priority of the Government – but we’re also pushing ahead on some of New Zealand’s biggest long-term challenges. In 2022, we’re working to get more Kiwis into homes, reduce emissions, lift children out of poverty, and ensure people get ...1 week ago
- New Zealand to provide further help for Tonga
Aotearoa New Zealand is giving an additional $2 million in humanitarian funding for Tonga as the country recovers from a volcanic eruption and tsunami last weekend, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. This brings Aotearoa New Zealand’s contribution to $3 million. “This support will ...1 day ago - Quarterly benefit numbers show highest number of exits into workThe Government’s strong focus on supporting more people into work is reflected in benefit figures released today which show a year-on-year fall of around 21,300 people receiving a main benefit in the December 2021 quarter, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said. “Our response to COVID has helped ...2 days ago
- Northland to move to Orange, NZ prepared for Omicron Northland to move to Orange Rest of New Zealand stays at Orange in preparedness for Omicron All of New Zealand to move into Red in the event of Omicron community outbreak – no use of lockdowns Govt planning well advanced – new case management, close contact definition and testing rules ...2 days ago
- RNZAF C-130 Hercules flight departs for Tonga as Navy vessels draw nearer to TongatapuA Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules has departed Base Auckland Whenuapai for Tonga carrying aid supplies, as the New Zealand aid effort ramps up, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “The aircraft is carrying humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies, including water ...2 days ago
- New Zealand prepared to send support to TongaNew Zealand is ready to assist Tonga in its recovery from Saturday night’s undersea eruption and tsunami, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Defence Minister Peeni Henare said today. “Following the successful surveillance and reconnaissance flight of a New Zealand P-3K2 Orion on Monday, imagery and details have been sent ...4 days ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand stands ready to assist people of TongaThe thoughts of New Zealanders are with the people of Tonga following yesterday’s undersea volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami waves, Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta says. “Damage assessments are under way and New Zealand has formally offered to provide assistance to Tonga,” said Nanaia Mahuta. New Zealand has made an ...6 days ago
- Record high of new homes consented continuesIn the year ended November 2021, 48,522 new homes were consented, up 26 per cent from the November 2020 year. In November 2021, 4,688 new dwellings were consented. Auckland’s new homes consented numbers rose 25 per cent in the last year. Annual figures for the last nine months show more ...1 week ago
- Report trumpets scope for ice cream exportsLatest research into our premium ice cream industry suggests exporters could find new buyers in valuable overseas markets as consumers increasingly look for tip top quality in food. Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash has released a new report for the Food and Beverage Information Project. The project is run by ...1 week ago
- Honouring the legacy of legendary kaumātua Muriwai IhakaraAssociate Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage Kiri Allan expressed her great sadness and deepest condolences at the passing of esteemed kaumātua, Muriwai Ihakara. “Muriwai’s passing is not only a loss for the wider creative sector but for all of Aotearoa New Zealand. The country has lost a much beloved ...2 weeks ago
- Have your say on proposed changes to make drinking water saferAssociate Minister for the Environment Kiri Allan is urging all New Zealanders to give feedback on proposed changes aimed at making drinking water safer. “The current regulations are not fit for purpose and don’t offer enough protection, particularly for those whose water comes from smaller supplies,” Kiri Allan said. “This ...2 weeks ago
- Planting the seeds for rewarding careersA boost in funding for a number of Jobs for Nature initiatives across Canterbury will provide sustainable employment opportunities for more than 70 people, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The six projects are diverse, ranging from establishing coastline trapping in Kaikōura, to setting up a native plant nursery, restoration planting ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand congratulates Tonga's new Prime Minister on appointmentMinister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta today congratulated Hon Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni on being appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga. “Aotearoa New Zealand and Tonga have an enduring bond and the Kingdom is one of our closest neighbours in the Pacific. We look forward to working with Prime ...2 weeks ago
- High-tech investment extends drought forecasting for farmers and growersThe Government is investing in the development of a new forecasting tool that makes full use of innovative climate modelling to help farmers and growers prepare for dry conditions, Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor said. The new approach, which will cost $200,000 and is being jointly funded through the Ministry for ...2 weeks ago
- Support for fire-hit Waiharara communityThe government will contribute $20,000 towards a Mayoral Relief Fund to support those most affected by the fires in Waiharara in the Far North, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “I have spoken to Far North Mayor John Carter about the effect the fires continue to have, on residents ...3 weeks ago
- Manawatū’s ‘oases of nature’ receive conservation boostThe Government is throwing its support behind projects aimed at restoring a cluster of eco-islands and habitats in the Manawatū which were once home to kiwi and whio. “The projects, which stretch from the Ruahine Ranges to the Horowhenua coastline, will build on conservation efforts already underway and contribute ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand to continue Solomon Islands supportA New Zealand Defence Force and Police deployment to help restore peace and stability to Solomon Islands is being scaled down and extended. The initial deployment followed a request for support from Solomon Islands Government after riots and looting in capital Honiara late last month. They joined personnel from Australia, ...3 weeks ago
- Rangitīkei Māori leader urges rural NZ people to prepare now for omicron
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporting journalist A New Zealand iwi development and social services leader in Taihape is urging rural people to prepare urgently for self-isolation or infection as the threat of omicron looms. Mōkai Pātea Services general manager Tracey Hiroa, who is also a Rangitīkei District councillor, says ...6 hours ago - Follow the money: matauranga Maori and the millions at stake
A lot of funding and influence is riding on the successful casting of indigenous knowledge as equal to science. GRAHAM ADAMS says the debate over the NCEA science syllabus is only the tip of an iceberg. Anyone trying to get a grip on the mātauranga Māori debate over the ...6 hours ago - MIQ's purpose would change with Omicron spread – Baker
Border restrictions are still needed, and MIQ will remain valuable even if Omicron is spreading widely in the community, the epidemiologist says. ...13 hours ago - PM’s communication degree needed now more than ever
A communications degree has been one of the Prime Minister’s greatest strengths during the global pandemic. As the country heads into the unknown with Omicron, Jacinda Ardern needs to draw on that skillset more than ever before, writes political editor Jo Moir. Analysis: Many anti-Labour and anti-Ardern types use the ...14 hours ago - Short story: The world of children's books, by Damien Wilkins
“Gavin was out beyond the breakers. You think he’s all right? said Kate”: a story set in the surf by Damien Wilkins This all happened on a writers’ tour of the Far North. It was our day off and we drove to the top of the Island. And do you ...14 hours ago - Long read: How to prepare for Omicron
Writing from the United States, where Omicron has pushed Covid-19 hospitalisations to record levels, Marc Daalder reports on the what New Zealand needs to do to prepare for the variant Analysis: The terrifyingly rapid spread of the Omicron variant has upended much of the common wisdom overseas about how to respond ...14 hours ago - Tonga’s King Tupou VI offers hope to families who lost relatives in deadly tsunamiKaniva News King Tupou VI has offered sympathy and prayers to all those who lost relatives in last weekend’s Tongan volcano eruption and tsunami disaster or are still waiting for news about their families. He said the whole of Tonga was devastated by the tsunami and it wiped out some ...19 hours ago
- Safety at Tonga port being checked for arrival of more humanitarian suppliesRNZ News Specialist New Zealand Defence Force staff will be checking Tonga’s shipping lanes are passable and the wharf is safe so desperately needed humanitarian supplies can get through. Three deaths have been confirmed after Saturday’s massive volcanic eruption. There are reports of significant injuries, but no details yet. UN ...19 hours ago
- Australia approves two new medicines in the fight against COVID. How can you get them and are they e...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Schubert, Pharmacist and PhD Candidate, University of Sydney On Thursday, health minister Greg Hunt announced Australia’s drug regulator had provisionally approved two new medicines for the treatment of COVID. These are Lagevrio, made by American pharmaceutical company Merck Sharpe & Dohme, ...24 hours ago
- When humans compete with television, Yung Lung proves the liveness of bodies wins outSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Maguire-Rosier, Honorary Associate, Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, School of Literature, Art, and Media, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney Yaya Stempler Review: Yung Lung, choreographed by Antony Hamilton, Chunky Move The word “yung”, according ...1 day ago
- Government Spending Priorities
...1 day ago - Tonga eruption: NZ government brings aid funding up to $3mThe government has announced a further $2 million in aid to help Tonga recover after the huge eruption nearly a week ago. ...1 day ago
- Rising Food Demands Rising Incomes For Food EquityThe highest grocery price rises in a decade reinforces a new report’s call for increased household revenue through government intervention to allow all families fair access to healthy food. The How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments ...1 day ago
- Kids whose grandparents are overweight are almost twice as likely to struggle with obesitySource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edmund Wedam Kanmiki, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Shutterstock School holidays can be a special time for extended families to gather. Children may see their grandparents at seasonal gatherings or as part of childcare arrangements to help working parents. ...1 day ago
- Australian art has lost two of its greats. Vale Ann Newmarch and Hossein ValamaneshSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Speck, Professorial Fellow (Honorary), The University of Melbourne Ann Newmarch, born Adelaide 1945, died Adelaide 2022, Self-portrait. 1/60th of a second, 1981, Adelaide, photo-etching on paper, 26.4 x 34.7 cm (plate), Public Donations Fund 2015, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, ...1 day ago
- The PM is promising “progress” and Sepuloni is reporting it on the welfare front – but doubts ...The PM’s first speech of the year, delivered to Labour MPs in New Plymouth at their annual caucus retreat, largely focused on Covid-19 and the Omicron variant, according to RNZ. Jacinda Ardern insisted the government has and is continuing to prepare for an Omicron outbreak in the community. “But it ...1 day ago
- Call For Government To Abandon Covid Measures While SummerThe NZ Outdoors and Freedom party is calling on the government to abandon the traffic light system and its threat of more extreme covid measures and let us all bask in enjoying a long hot summer. Co Leader Alan Simmons said "Nothing beats natural ...1 day ago
- The Government Must Make Use Of Its Human Rights Toolkit To Tackle Food InsecurityChief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt has joined the call from community group Sunday Blessings for the government to tackle food insecurity by making better use of the tools available to it through international human rights law. On Thursday, ...1 day ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 21 2022Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content Covid Dileepa Fonseka (Stuff): ‘Too little, too late’: ...1 day ago
- Laws governing undersea cables have hardly changed since 1884 – Tonga is a reminder they need mode...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Scott, Professor in Law, University of Canterbury An aerial view of heavy ash fall on the Tongan island of Nomuka. GettyImages Since the catastrophic volcanic eruption on January 16, Tonga has been largely cut off from the world due to a ...1 day ago
- Why do we find making new friends so hard as adults?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney GettyImages If you’ve ever tried to make new friends as an adult, you’ll probably see why loneliness is at an all-time high. Making new friends feels just plain hard. In school, making ...1 day ago
- Record payout for dairy farmers is in the offing – but climate change policy pressure sours the ou...Behind all the Covid headlines lurked a positive story this week. Prices at the Fonterra Global Dairy Auction leapt 4.6% to hit an eight-year-high, as tight milk supply stokes demand for NZ’s biggest export commodity. Almost certainly Fonterra’s farmer-shareholders will receive a record payout this season, and, with a bit ...1 day ago
- Watercare Water Take Application Granted With ConditionsA Board of Inquiry has granted an application from Watercare Services Ltd, an Auckland Council organisation, to draw an additional 150 million litres of water a day from the Waikato River for Auckland City’s water supply network. The application was ...1 day ago
- Pedants at PoO say “cobblers” to reports about world’s oldest manThe pedants among the scribes at Point of Order (who shall go unnamed) swooped on a headline in the Dominion-Post this week. In its print edition, the newspaper had published a brief report under the heading “World’s oldest man dies”. Newshub was a bit more expansive, reporting the news under ...1 day ago
- UN General Assembly Votes On Holocaust DenialA historic vote in the United Nations General Assembly urges the 193 member states “to reject without any reservation any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event, in either full or in part, or any activities to this end.” The General Assembly ...1 day ago
- International Migration: November 2021 – Infoshare TablesInternational migration statistics give the latest outcomes-based measure of migration, which includes estimates of migrants entering or leaving New Zealand. Key facts The comparisons between the November 2021 and 2020 months and years use the latest provisional ...1 day ago
- Departures Lift Border Crossing NumbersThe number of people crossing New Zealand’s border went up in November 2021, mostly due to an increase in departures, Stats NZ said today. There were 28,700 border crossings in November 2021, made up of 12,300 arrivals and 16,400 departures. Arrivals and ...1 day ago
- Omicron will be a ‘different foe’, PM Jacinda Ardern warns NZBy Katie Scotcher, RNZ News political reporter Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning New Zealand’s covid-19 case numbers in 2022 will be unlike anything seen here before. Jacinda Ardern today delivered her first speech of the year — to Labour MPs gathered in New Plymouth for their annual caucus retreat. ...1 day ago
- Commerce Commission ready to rein in record pump prices
MBIE reports increased fuel company profit margins contributing to rising petrol and diesel prices this summer ...1 day ago - Punishment Of Licensed Firearms Owners Will Not Help Lower Crime Rates, Says COLFOThe Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says that punitive action from Police against legal firearms owners will not help reduce firearm thefts. Recently, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster indicated in the annual select committee review that licensed ...1 day ago
- Ukraine might be far away, but a security crisis in Europe can still threaten Aotearoa New ZealandSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sascha-Dominik (Dov) Bachmann, Professor in Law and Co-Convener National Security Hub (University of Canberra), University of Canberra GettyImages A geopolitical earthquake could begin within weeks. As a string of bilateral crisis talks predictably falter, further military aggression by Russia against ...1 day ago
- Dinosaur food and Hiroshima bomb survivors: maidenhair trees are ‘living fossils’ and your new f...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Doctor of Botany, The University of Melbourne Zhang Kaiyv/Unsplash, CC BY Most of us are captivated by the thought of a “living fossil”, which is any organism that appeared millions of years ago in the fossil record and ...1 day ago
- Vital Signs: disclosure please, we shouldn’t be playing bingo with COVID statisticsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Shutterstock Given how much COVID-19 is dominating Australians’ lives, our governments should be telling us everything they know about infections, hospitalisations and deaths. So why aren’t they? Full disclosure is important for public health, ...1 day ago
- NZers urged to prepare for potentially thousands of daily Omicron infectionsNew Zealanders are being urged to prepare for potentially thousands of daily Covid-19 infections once the Omicron variant starts spreading in the community. ...1 day ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 21 January
...2 days ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 21 January2 days ago
- Wise business leaders invest in society, not short-term financial returns
Corporates are potent players in democratic society, but their response so far is rhetoric not reform ...2 days ago - The best-selling books of summer
The biggest-selling New Zealand books since Xmas, as recorded by the Nielsen BookScan New Zealand bestseller list and described by Steve Braunias FICTION 1 To Italy, With Love by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $34.99) Of course the biggest-selling novel of 2021 was the biggest-selling novel of summer; the holidays are an ...2 days ago - The Tonga volcano’s complex and violent history
Tonga’s eruption and tsunami highlights the significant threat from offshore volcanoes, Dr Simon Barker writes. On the evening of Saturday, January 15, Tongan volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai erupted so powerfully it generated a shockwave that knocked people off their feet in Tonga and was detected around the world. And yet there have ...2 days ago - New Kiwi sprint star leaves hurdles far behind
Questioning her future on the track after a string of injuries, Anna Percy swapped hurdling for sprinting – with instant success. Now she’s ready for a showdown with New Zealand’s fastest woman, Zoe Hobbs. It’s not often a track athlete switches events – dropping down the distance they run and doing it successfully. In the case of rising Kiwi sprint star Anna Percy, the change ...2 days ago - Tova O’Brien: A reluctant public face to restraint-of-trade debate
What the Tova O’Brien employment dispute tells us about the controversial nature of non-compete clauses. Nikki Mandow reports The woman in the lift sighs wearily. It’s been a big day for staff at the Employment Relations Authority, she says as she heads home. Such a high profile case... She’s talking ...2 days ago - Grattan on Friday: Scott Morrison’s ministerial team looks far from match-fitSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra It sounded a touch desperate – Prime Minister Scott Morrison imploring backpackers to “come on down” to Australia, as the Omicron crisis escalated. “Enjoy a holiday here”, said the one-time managing director of Tourism ...2 days ago
- Queensland’s ‘Path to Treaty’ has some lessons for the rest of AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Morgan Brigg, Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, The University of Queensland After decades of calls, a patchwork of treaty processes are being developed across Australia. However, without a history of treaty-making or treaty law in Australia, serious questions arise about the ...2 days ago
- Yes, Ngai Tahu could campaign for votes to win council seats – but why bother, if privilege is gra...Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey, the highest-ranked South Island and Canterbury MP in National’s recently reorganised caucus, went out to open the batting for democracy in the debate triggered by the introduction of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill. He expressed the Nats’ opposition to the legislative entrenchment of ...2 days ago
- Boris Johnson and ‘Partygate’: he who lives by the Brexit sword, dies by the Brexit swordSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Wellings, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Monash University Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Boris Johnson’s time as the United Kingdom’s prime minister is under immediate threat. Johnson, who likes a classical analogy, will know that civil servant Sue Grey’s imminent ...2 days ago
- Schools can expect a year of disruption. Here are 7 ways they can help support the well-being of stu...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth J Edwards, Senior Lecturer in Education, The University of Queensland Shutterstock There’s just over a week to go before term one starts across the country – except in Queensland which has pushed back the start of the school year. ...2 days ago
- Omicron Outbreak Would Move The Country To Red – Expert ReactionThe Prime Minister has announced if Omicron cases spread into the community, the country will move to the traffic light system's Red setting within 48 hours. Jacinda Ardern also mentioned there will be changes to the country's testing regime, ...2 days ago
- Omicron is overwhelming Australia’s hospital system. 3 emergency measures aim to ease the burdenSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Leeder, Emeritus Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney Public hospitals – never with much spare capacity – have been severely stressed by the latest COVID wave. The current Omicron outbreak has loaded even heavier demands on hospital beds, ...2 days ago
- Government 'scrambling' over Omicron – National Party leader Christopher LuxonNational's leader Chris Luxon says the government has no plan for tackling Omicron, and decisions today show Labour "took a month off". ...2 days ago
- Revealed: Government's Media Pay-off For APEC Puff PiecesThe New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is condemning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's decision to pay media outlets $93,578 for 'sponsored content' about APEC 2021. The spending information was made available in a response provided under the ...2 days ago
- Response To David SeymourDavid Seymour MP wrote to us asking us to inquire into the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s decision to spend money on analysis of the Prime Minister’s Facebook Live sessions. We have decided that the matter raised by Mr Seymour does ...2 days ago
- PM Jacinda Ardern announces changes to traffic light system, provides Omicron updateJacinda Ardern has announced Northland will join the rest of the country in the orange setting from 11.59pm tonight, and signalled plans for Omicron. ...2 days ago
- More Job Opportunities, But Growth In Workers’ Earnings Remains SubduedWestpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence, December quarter 2021 The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose 1.2 points in the December quarter, to a level of 106.9. This was the sixth straight rise in the index since the Covid-19 ...2 days ago
- Voice to Parliament design report still doesn’t meet international human rights standardsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic O’Sullivan, Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology and Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University Last month, the Australian government published the Indigenous Voice co-design final report. It’s the latest step in the debate about ...2 days ago
- Covid-19: PM lays out Omicron plan
*This story was first published on RNZ and is republished with permission* Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced Northland will join the rest of the country in the orange setting from 11.59pm tonight, and signalled plans for Omicron. Watch the PM speaking here: Cabinet ministers met yesterday to assess ...2 days ago - 2021 was one of the hottest years on record – and it could also be the coldest we’ll ever see a...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne Well, it’s official: 2021 was one of the planet’s seven hottest years since records began, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared this week. The year was about 1.11℃ above pre-industrial levels ...2 days ago
- Watch live: PM Jacinda Ardern announces changes to traffic light system, provides Omicron updateNorthland will learn whether it is moving out of the red setting of the traffic light system, while the rest of the country awaits news of when a shift to green would be possible. ...2 days ago
- Indonesia will take a big step on the global stage this year – are Australians paying enough atten...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Former Ambassador and Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland Tracey Nearmy/AP Many Australians are probably unaware that neighbouring Indonesia has assumed the G20 presidency and will host the crucial meeting of the ...2 days ago
- André Leon Talley dreamed of a life ‘in the pages of Vogue, where bad things never happened’Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McNeil, Distinguished Professor of Design History, UTS, University of Technology Sydney Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images Every time we see a “fashion moment”, we use the words of André Leon Talley, from his description of Galliano’s 1994 Japonisme show. ...2 days ago
- Tonga update: Hercules takes off with aid suppliesNo announcements had been posted on The Beehive website, when Point of Order checked just before noon on what our ministers have been doing (a) in response to Tonga’s need for humanitarian relief and (b) in response to anything else. But a fresh announcement has been posted since then in ...2 days ago
- Omicron will be a 'different' foe, PM Jacinda Ardern warnsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning New Zealand's Covid-19 case numbers in 2022 will be unlike anything seen here before. ...2 days ago
- Tonga eruption: Airport runway cleared of ash, says WHO officialRNZ Pacific A World Health Organisation representative in Tonga says the international airport has been cleared of volcanic ash which will allow humanitarian aid flights to arrive. Hundreds of volunteers, workers and Tongan Defence Force personnel have been clearing the debris from the runway by hand. WHO liaison officer in ...2 days ago
- Solomon Islands imposes 60 hour Honiara lockdown over covid outbreakBy Robert Iroga in Honiara The Solomon islands government endorsed a 60 hour lockdown in the capital Honiara last night after an urgent special national address by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare confirming covid-19 community transmission. Honiara Emergency Zone will be in lockdown from 6pm last evening to 6am, Saturday, 22 ...2 days ago
- National calls for better mental health services for AsiansThe government is being urged to make the mental health of Asian New Zealanders more of a priority, with suspected suicides among Asians more than doubling. ...2 days ago
- Why Is New Zealand, A Rich Country, Facing A “food Crisis”?...2 days ago
- Annual food price increase the highest in a decadeAnnual food prices were 4.5 percent higher in December 2021 than they were in December 2020, Stats NZ said today. This is the biggest annual increase since September 2011, when annual food prices increased 4.7 percent. The main contributor to this increase ...2 days ago
- Annual Food Price Increase The Highest In A DecadeAnnual food prices were 4.5 percent higher in December 2021 than they were in December 2020, Stats NZ said today. This is the biggest annual increase since September 2011, when annual food prices increased 4.7 percent. The main contributor to this increase ...2 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 20 2022Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. You can sign up to NZ Politics Daily as well as New Zealand Political Roundup columns for free here. Today’s content Covid, MIQ, border Will Trafford (Māori TV): Secret state ...2 days ago
- Employment Indicators: Weekly As At 17 January 2022The experimental weekly series provides an early indicator of employment and labour market changes in a more timely manner than the monthly employment indicators series. Key facts The 6-day series includes jobs with a pay period equal to or less than ...2 days ago
- First impressions count, and have an impact on the decisions we make later onSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Turner, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Picture yourself standing at the edge of a road, trying to decide if it’s safe to cross. It’s night time and rain is falling, making it difficult to see what’s ...2 days ago
- ‘Welcome to our world’: families of children with cancer say the pandemic has helped them feel s...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Davies, PhD researcher, Curtin University Shutterstock For billions of people across the world, life as we knew it stopped in 2020. Families and friends were separated. Masks mandated. Hand washing essential. Every trip outside became risky. As news ...2 days ago
- How long to midnight? The Doomsday Clock measures more than nuclear risk – and it’s about to be ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Heinemann, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Canterbury In less than 24 hours the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will update the Doomsday Clock. It’s currently at 100 seconds from midnight – the metaphorical time when the human race ...2 days ago
- Confusion, financial pressure, discomfort: older people can struggle with sustainable living, despit...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xin Hu, Lecturer, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University Shutterstock Improving the sustainability of Australia’s housing stock is crucial to meeting national emissions reduction goals. But for older adults, such changes can bring both benefits and challenges. My ...2 days ago
- Border opening spurs rebound in demand from international studentsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Anderson. Palawa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Student and University Experience, Australian National University Australia’s position in the international higher education market weakened significantly while our border was closed over the past two years. But recent demand and application data suggest our position may ...2 days ago
- What a disaster: federal government slashes COVID payment when people need it mostSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassandra Goldie, Adjunct Professor and UNSW Law Advisory Council Member, UNSW With Australia’s official COVID-19 infection numbers topping 100,000 a day, the federal government has slashed its last remaining pandemic support payment. The decision is ill-timed, irresponsible and heartless. It is ...2 days ago
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