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- Imbalanced Trade
From my office window I can see the single lane at the end of a motorway, usually filled with a queue of slowly moving cars. The conventional wisdom is that it should be two-laned to remove the blockage, but that ...11 hours ago - Co-opting and corrupting movements: business as usual then…?
Is this about the most depressing display of “wokeness” that you could imagine? 4 quotes come to mind… Quote 1: James Baldwin, American author “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do…” Quote 2: George ...12 hours ago - Brash: I want to be able to listen to my racist friends!
As a former leader of two major Wellington organisations and the ACT Party, I have, for years, been championing free speech. Consider, if you will, a younger old white man, standing up in front of other old white man in ...15 hours ago - The UK uses child spies
British police and intelligence agencies are using children as spies:British police and intelligence agencies are using children as spies in covert operations against terrorists, gangs and drug dealers. A committee of the House of Lords revealed the practice while raising ...16 hours ago - Fuck AustraliaThe Australians are pissed off at Andrew Little for calling them out on their deportation policy and treatment of kiwis. And Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton thinks Little should "reflect" on the NZ-Australia relationship before criticising our neighbours. I think ...16 hours ago
- Helsinki Debacle Claims Its Victims
Writing a commentary on current affairs is always a fraught business; however considered one’s views, they are bound to be challenged by someone – even many, – and they can, by the time they are published, be totally discredited by ...17 hours ago - Zionist-Inspired Definition Of Antisemitism Deployed Against Jeremy Corbyn.
19 hours ago - Labour lied on refugeesWhen they were in opposition, Labour advocated for an increased refugee quota. When they were running for election, they explicitly promised to raise it to 1,500 a year. But now they're in government, they're saying that we're full:The Government has ...19 hours ago
- A victory for European justiceA week ago, a German court rejected the extradition of exiled Catalan President Carles Puigdemont on "rebellion" charges. He could be extradited for "misuse of public funds", but not for "rebellion" as there was no equivalent offence in German law ...20 hours ago
- How much faster will train timetables be?
For drivers, school holidays must seem almost magical with traffic seemingly vanishing for a few weeks. Commutes that might normally take an hour in mind-numbing congestion can, for a few weeks, be achieved in less than half that time. On ...1 day ago - Are you a Nazi?
You've probably been called a Nazi recently by someone who disagreed with you online. But how can you tell if you really are a piece of fetid fascist garbage? Take the test. ...1 day ago - Ocean Temperature – Part 2
Ocean Temperature – Part 2 We are coming back to the topic of sea-surface temperature measurements, which we have taken on in the article “Ocean Temperature – Part 1”. This time, we will discuss issues concerning satellite measurements. Pictet Mirrors ...2 days ago - Have your say: Country of Origin Food Labelling
People want and deserve to know where their food comes from. That is the intention behind my member’s bill (originally Steffan Browning’s) the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill which has re-opened for submissions. There is ...2 days ago - Doomed?Good news from Nelson: the Waimea dam project - the one National wants to pass a Muldoonist Enabling Act to rip land out of a forest park for - has escalated in price and looks doomed:Updated costs for the proposed ...2 days ago
- A curious absenceThe Free Speech Coalition has filed its suit against Phil Goff and the Auckland Council over their cancellation of a Nazi event, seeking to have the decision overturned. But reading the statement of claim, there's an odd omission: while they ...2 days ago
- Mainstream media “mob violence” over Helsinki summit
Professor Cohen is always good value and we should take these comments of his seriously. After all, there is nothing more serious today than the threat of war between the US and the Russian Federation. Yet we have politicians and ...2 days ago - Hop out of the way of that falling truck, honey
This is a guest post by reader Heidi O’Callahan On Thursday 8th March this year, a truck heading east up Great North Rd from Waterview failed to negotiate the right-turn corner into Carrington Rd, at the heart of the Pt Chevalier ...2 days ago - Hard News: Miles on the Clock
It took no great insight to suppose that the main casualties of the report by the Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor debunking the "meth contamination" hysteria would be the companies who for years made a profitable business ...3 days ago - Another transparency failureLast month, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones claimed he had received 365 text messages supporting his criticism of Fonterra. But surprisingly, he's refusing to release them under the OIA:Self-styled "provincial champion" Jones launched a blistering attack on the long-serving dairy ...3 days ago
- Trump, tariffs, tantrums and trade – grandstanding or real trade war?
by The Spark Since the spring (NZ autumn – Redline), the Trump administration has imposed a wave of tariffs on 1,102 imported goods, from aluminum and steel, that is, the building blocks of basic industry, to consumer items like washing ...3 days ago - When police investigate policeAnother IPCA report is out today, this time into an officer's use of pepper spray in a police cell. The inquiry found that the officer's actions were unjustified, in breach of police policy, and unlawful. So there's the obvious question ...3 days ago
- UK drone pilots are criminalsThat's the conclusion of a UK Parliamentary inquiry into drone strikes:British military personnel could be prosecuted for killing civilians in drone strikes and risk becoming complicit in alleged war crimes committed by the US, an inquiry has found. A two-year ...3 days ago
- Wireless Docs: The Forest of Tiriwa
Maunga Waitakere supplies drinking water to the wider region, and drives significant tourism value through its iconic scenery. With some Pākehā showing confusion over the recently established rāhui, now is the time to discuss the wider cultural life of the region. In ...3 days ago - Quay St works to be unveiled soon
In just three years Auckland’s waterfront is going to look dramatically different. The completion of a $268 million suite of projects on and around Quay St will transform the area, creating a people friendly space from Silo Park through to Britomart and ...3 days ago - Who do we think we are? The free speech debateI argued in my previous post that a free speech debate played into the hands of the numpties - Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux - who wanted to come to New Zealand to make their case for racial superiority and prejudice. ...4 days ago
- New Zealand should ratify the Kampala AmendmentIn 2010, the parties to the International Criminal Court agreed the Kampala Amendment, which finally gave a formal, legal definition to the crime of aggression (you know, the one they convicted the Nazis of), allowing the court to prosecute it. ...4 days ago
- AT’s (lack of) Achievement of Carbon Emission and Fuel Usage Targets
This is a guest post from reader Takaite Background As 40% of Auckland’s carbon emissions are due to transport, if Auckland is to contribute its share to NZ’s carbon reduction targets this is an area where reductions have to be ...4 days ago - An Inconvenient Truth About Free Speech Denialism.
4 days ago - Elon Musk didn’t go AWOL with his idiotic tweet, he did what these “gurus” often do: throw an ...
When Elon Musk struck out on Twitter with his unsubstantiated (and now deleted) “pedo” comment over the refusal to use his latest gadget to help rescue the Thai boys and their coach the other week, he didn’t really sink to ...4 days ago - Fixing housing crises – lessons for San Francisco and Auckland
A great recent article takes a “deep dive” look at the steps San Francisco’s new mayor could take to fix their housing crisis. The new mayor – London Breed – is a breath of fresh air in a city with ...4 days ago - Comprehensive study: carbon taxes won’t hamper the economy
Eleven teams participated in a recent Stanford Energy Modeling Forum (EMF) project, examining the economic and environmental impacts of a carbon tax. The studies included “revenue recycling,” in which the funds generated from a carbon tax are returned to taxpayers either ...5 days ago - Hard News: Music: What the Flying Nun donation means, and why everyone should be looking at itFlying Nun Records' donation of hundreds of original master tapes to the Alexander Turnbull Library, announced on Friday, is significant in any number of ways. Firstly, it's a big step in addressing the problem of deteriorating masters, which has been ...5 days ago
- Israel’s new apartheid lawIsrael is an apartheid state. But the pretence in Israel has always been that this is about the occupation and "security" against their victims, and that Arab citizens are equal in law. Now, a new law aims to allow formal, ...5 days ago
- Wireless Docs Season 4: Call for proposals
Here’s your chance to make a documentary. We’re excited to announce that The Wireless is now accepting proposals for a fourth season of Wireless Docs. We’ll be commissioning six new made-for-web documentary films to be released in ...5 days ago - Auckland Land Values
One of the neat features of the Council’s GIS viewer is the ability to put on an overlay showing the land values per m² for the Auckland Region. Council valuations are conducted every three years and the 2017 data is ...5 days ago - Will Talleys get what they paid for?Talleys is one of the country's largest political donors. Last year it dished out $49,000 to election candidates, including $10,000 to NZ First's Shane Jones. Talleys also hates the idea of the government properly regulating the criminal fishing industry, and ...5 days ago
- Crime and Punishment: Will freeing more prisoners work?
Grisly attacks and brutal murders convinced New Zealand that criminals should be locked up for longer. Now, with jails bursting at the seams, the government wants to slash prisoner numbers. Will Kiwis panic, or get behind the changes? Susan Strongman reports. ...5 days ago - The Costa Rican Solution.
5 days ago - Riding the Central New Network
5 days ago - What this Economist Has Learnt From BrexitI have found Brexit rivetting. As a piece of Econ 101, it is straight forward. (OK, I simplify; it is rare for first year students to study in any depth the implications of intra-industry trade, supply chains, the economies of ...6 days ago
- Free Speech Denialism Is Fascism In Action.
6 days ago - The Free-market, Hyper-individualism… and a Culture of Cruelty?
. . Up till recently, I had believed that there were two facets comprising to create a neo-liberal economy (not “society” – neo-liberalism does not recognise community or society where individuals organise for a greater collective good). The first was ...6 days ago - 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #28
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week. Editor's Pick Heat Records Falling Around the World in 2018 Above: A sampling of all-time high temperatures reported around the world in 2018 ...6 days ago - Flashback Saturday: Population-weighted densities in New Zealand and Australia
Every weekend we dig into the archives. This post by Peter was originally published in September 2014. Urban population density is a hot topic – some people complain that it’s getting too high in Auckland, while others worry that it’s ...7 days ago - The Minister for Open Government, yet againClare Curran attended a secret meeting with Google and refused to take notes about it:At least two Cabinet ministers attended a dinner at an exclusive club hosted by Google's top lawyer under secretive "Chatham House" rules, but made no notes ...1 week ago
- Better news than it soundsLast night, a German court ruled that exiled Catalan President Carles Puigdemont could be extradited to Spain - but only on charges of "misuse of public funds". The charge Spain really wants to stick him with - "rebellion" - was ...1 week ago
- Climate change: Getting rid of petrol carsWhat does the government's target of zero net emissions by 2050 mean in practice? James Shaw states the obvious: no more petrol cars:If New Zealand is to meet its zero carbon pledge, nearly all the country's cars will have to ...1 week ago
- Noise PollutesYesterday was wonderfully warm and sunny at Ohiwa Beach where we live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Our enjoyment of the winter sunshine, as we sat on our deck overlooking the beach, was however ruined by the noise made ...1 week ago
- Testing The Boundaries Of Political Discourse.
1 week ago - Northwest Light Rail in the news
The Herald have been running a number of articles on Light Rail this week Light Rail to Kumeu On Tuesday, it was presented with some surprise that light rail will eventually reach Kumeu Major changes are on the way for ...1 week ago - Auckland Herald covers for drug dealers
by Don Franks “Auckland’s phoney homeless make $100 a day on the streets” is a Herald piece by Amanda Saxton, about a few skid row alcoholics who assemble early each morning to sit together and drink. A group of apparently ...1 week ago - Māui dolphins deserve better
Like many of us, I feel a deep connection to our oceans. The rich marine life that surrounds our shores is what makes our place in the world so special and why we’re so passionate about protecting it. There are ...1 week ago - Rising ocean waters from global warming could cost trillions of dollarsOcean waters are rising because of global warming. They are rising for two reasons. First, and perhaps most obvious, ice is melting. There is a tremendous amount of ice locked away in Greenland, Antarctica, and in glaciers. As the world warms, ...1 week ago
- Make your voice heard on the Zero Carbon Bill
We’ve put together a quick guide so you can make a submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Making a full submission is a much better contribution than simply signing a form on a website (although if you don’t have time, ...1 week ago - Report exposes the reality of tertiary students’ mental health
Adjusting to tertiary study, feelings of loneliness and academic anxiety have been identified as major triggering factors of depression, stress and anxiety amongst students, in a new study released by the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA). The Kei Te Pai? report ...1 week ago - Campaign to eliminate family and sexual violence in Pasifika communitiesA new government-backed campaign has been launched to help eliminate family and sexual violence, and suicidal behaviour among Pasifika young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. The Atu-Mai violence prevention programme has been developed to equip Pasifika young people and their families with the ...1 week ago
- Working with government and community to keep tertiary education localSandra Grey, national president of the Tertiary Education Union, reflects on what the future holds for the provision of tertiary education in Northland. It’s been a rocky road in recent years for staff, students, and communities reliant on tertiary education provided ...1 week ago
- Brexit as a natural disasterSomething bad is about to happen. The government has plans to stockpile food and medicine to ensure continued supplies, and to float thousands of generators on barges in the irish Sea to provide electricity to Northern Ireland. A hurricane, earthquake, ...1 week ago
- Street Talks: Transforming Public Transport with Auckland’s New Network
An event readers may be interested in: Street Talks: Transforming Public Transport with Auckland’s New Network – with Anthony Cross 5:30pm – 7:00pm Wednesday 18th July, Whare Wānanga, Papa Tuarua/ Second Floor, Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero/ Central Library, Lorne Street Auckland has made ...1 week ago - Time to fix rentingRenters United this morning launched The Plan to Fix Renting, a set of policy proposals building on last year's People's Review of Renting. Things like giving renters security of tenure by banning no-cause evictions and requiring landleeches to give reasons ...1 week ago
- GA’s Low Emissions Economy Submission
Patrick wrote last month about Greater Auckland’s submission on a draft report by the Productivity Commission: “Low-Emissions Economy”. Our full submission is available here. We looked at three chapters of the report – Land Use, Transport, and The Built Environment. ...1 week ago - We need to protect dolphins from miningConservation Minister Eugenie Sage appears to have granted a permit to explore for ironsands in a Marine Mammal Sanctuary:A mining exploration permit has been quietly granted inside a marine sanctuary set up to protect the endangered Māui dolphins. The decision ...1 week ago
- We need to talk about Stuart McCutcheonSilencing staff, cutting the Faculty of Education and Social Work in the midst of a nationwide teacher shortage, and refusing to listen to serious concerns about the direction he is taking the University of Auckland. It is time we talked about Vice-Chancellor ...1 week ago
- Freedom of speech means what we want it to mean(With Colin Gavaghan)read more ...1 week ago
- Driverless Cars Progressing Slower Than Expected?The hype of driverless cars has been strong in recent years. However, a recent article by transport expert Christian Wolmar suggests that things might not be progressing as well as the earlier hype suggested. Wolmar visited an autonomous vehicle exhibition ...1 week ago
- The unnecessary martyrdom of Southern & Molyneux and the need to win the argumentNow I'm up for a free speech stoush as much as the next person, however I can't help but see the debate that has arisen in the past week about the now-abandoned show in New Zealand by a pair of ...1 week ago
- Interview with Danish anti-imperialistThe following interview was published on leftwingbooks.net This is the English version of an interview with Torkil Lauesen that Gabriel Kuhn conducted for the German daily junge Welt. Torkil Lauesen ...1 week ago
- Taking on dirty dairyingTaranaki is one of the country's biggest dairying districts. And somewhat surprisingly, the Taranaki Regional Council appears to be taking on dirty dairying, with prosecutions and fines:A dairy farmer collapsed in the dock and cried into her husband's arms after ...1 week ago
- No incentiveThe UK Information Commissioner looks likely to fine Facebook £500,000 over its enabling of Cambridge Analytica:Facebook is set to be fined £500,000 by the UK’s privacy watchdog after it concluded the social media giant broke data laws. The California-headquartered company ...1 week ago
- In defence of trolls
They're thought of as the scourge of the internet, but Aimie Cronin finds trolls aren't always dangerous and, in fact, can sometimes be helpful. The Wireless/Luke McPake In June 2015, David Farrier wrote an opinion piece called ‘It’s ...1 week ago - Guest Post: Co-Housing Part Three
This is a guest post by Biddy Livesey who is a housing policy analyst, researcher, and future resident of Cohaus. Post Three – Planning for collective housing development: Consenting Cohaus In this third post on cohousing, we consider how cohousing is ...1 week ago - Make our Parliament accessible to parentsIn addition to the Prime Minister, several other MPs have already become parents this term. And one of them is highlighting that Parliament's new travel rules pose a big barrier for new parents:One of Parliament's new parents, Kiri Allen, has ...1 week ago
- PrioritiesNurses are going on strike tomorrow for higher pay, after years of being underfunded. The government has condemned that underfunding, and says it wants to help, but also says that they have no more money to give. And meanwhile, their ...1 week ago
- What Brexit Is Really AboutThe current turmoil in British politics, with leading Cabinet members resigning over the progress, or lack of it, in the talks over Brexit, will have left many readers in this part of the world confused as to what it ...1 week ago
- Guide to making a submission on the Election Access Fund BillOur democracy should be accessible for everyone. One of the fundamental things about civil society is that it’s supposed to be by the people, for the people. Currently, it’s harder than it should be for some people to take part. ...1 week ago
Guide to making a submission on the Election Access Fund Bill
Our democracy should be accessible for everyone. One of the fundamental things about civil society is that it’s supposed to be by the people, for the people. Currently, it’s harder than it should be for some people to take part. ...
1 week ago
Guide to making a submission on the Election Access Fund Bill
Our democracy should be accessible for everyone. One of the fundamental things about civil society is that it’s supposed to be by the people, for the people. Currently, it’s harder than it should be for some people to take part. ...
1 week ago
Guide to making a submission on the Election Access Fund Bill
Our democracy should be accessible for everyone. One of the fundamental things about civil society is that it’s supposed to be by the people, for the people. Currently, it’s harder than it should be for some people to take part. ...
1 week ago
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