Search Results
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Comment:Open mike 17/01/2022
Date published: 12:15 pm, January 17th, 2022The words in the link made me start. "Land bought for 1 billion". Then I read the whole story and found that that was the cost of the whole project. From the numbers quoted in the story it might have been about $2 million. It sounds like a great idea. I ...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 11:00 pm, January 16th, 2022"Pat says it and therefore it must be true ". You and Blazer certainly live in a little dream world don't you?
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 8:46 pm, January 16th, 2022Prove your claim. As I remember it there are are around 1.1 million residential mortgages in New Zealand and I think there are less that 1,000 foreclosures. That is way less than 0.1%. If you are making claims that there are lots of them you prove it. I ...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 7:06 pm, January 16th, 2022I know all about that stuff Pat. You should remember one thing about the US system that doesn't apply here. If, in the US, you decide that your property is worth less than you owe on it you can just surrender ownership and that is that. Here you still have...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 6:58 pm, January 16th, 2022I can assure you he has never had this problem before. And the bank blamed it on the new act. The problem is that if they don't follow all the trivial little steps in the CCFA Act they can find they have no recourse if a person simply says they won't pay ...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 6:32 pm, January 16th, 2022Go and try what I suggested. My brother is in his 70's. He is retired but owns his house, worth a couple of million, mortgage free, and has about five million in liquid investments, ie shares and bank deposits. He doesn't owe anything He tried exactly this...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 10:46 am, January 16th, 2022That is being rather tough on smokers actually. When you look at all the numbers the smokers are a group that the state makes a healthy profit from. The do incur more health costs for things like cancer to be sure but in return they pay vastly more taxes ...
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Comment:Open mike 16/01/2022
Date published: 10:40 am, January 16th, 2022They aren't in fact absurdities. Getting almost any sort of loan at the moment is well nigh impossible. If you don't believe it I suggest that you approach a bank and ask for a relatively low limit Credit Card. Ask for a $5,000 credit limit say. Then have ...
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Comment:Open mike 14/01/2022
Date published: 8:59 pm, January 15th, 2022I know. I did look at what it said. I still think it a rather antiquated law. However I very clearly pointing out that I was, from that point on, quoting and commenting on, what the New Zealand law had been.
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 8:54 pm, January 15th, 2022Yes, for a genuine CGT that was only charged when it was realised it probably would be a bit overstated. It would only bite very deep if you needed the money from selling you home to put into a retirement Unit. Then it would be very painful. On the other ...
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Comment:Open mike 14/01/2022
Date published: 2:46 pm, January 15th, 2022So the US still brings charges for that hoary old offence of sedition. I would have thought it would have been scrapped donkey's years ago. I believe the last time anyone was charged with it in New Zealand was in 2006. I wonder what happened to that person...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 2:16 pm, January 15th, 2022There is rather a nice place in Wellington you could start with. It is at 260 Tinakori Road in Thorndon. There might be a bit of garden to look after though. It is on about 1.5 hectares and it has a ratable value of $37,000,0000. It is occasionally ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 11:13 am, January 15th, 2022OK. I took the topic a little too literally I see, How could we distinguish between the options for putting off having children, or getting married perhaps, to separate the effects of, say, "I need to work fulltime to keep up my progress in my wonderful ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 10:32 am, January 15th, 2022I'm not sure that this survey done in the United States would be terribly relevant to New Zealand conditions. It also seems to be mainly about their reaction to the Covid 19 pandemic, which has only been here for about 2 years whereas our statistics show ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 10:10 am, January 15th, 2022You may be right. I only noticed this after I had posted my comment at 10.06 am where I alluded to the option you mention. How would one decide on the direction of the causality? Do you have any way you can think of that will differentiate between the two ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 10:06 am, January 15th, 2022I assume that you were looking at this material. https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/homeownership-rate-lowest-in-almost-70-years I agree that the peak was 73.8% in 1991 but I think that there is no difference from the 73.7% of 1986.. The numbers do lend a bit ...
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Comment:Daily review 14/01/2022
Date published: 9:32 am, January 15th, 2022They aren't depriving them of testing. The full, rather invasive test is available and they certainly see the results of those. It would be tests that people could do in private and self performed that may never get reported although the people would know ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 11:09 pm, January 14th, 2022You never do have anything sensible to say do you? Just abuse someone rather than contribute anything to the discussion is your only activity. Why do you bother? Just give up and let the adults talk.
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 9:31 pm, January 14th, 2022I think that a major reason for the decline in house ownership is the change in marriage and family creation patterns. In the last 50 years the change in first marriage has been. "In 2020, the median age at first marriage or civil union was 29.5 years for ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 9:11 pm, January 14th, 2022It is a great deal easier to shift to another rental property that it is to pick up your whole house and shift it to another piece of land. Even Clarke Gayford found that that was not easy. Renegotiating the lease is, or so I have been told, extremely ...
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Comment:Daily review 14/01/2022
Date published: 9:00 pm, January 14th, 2022I have a rather different view. I think that the Government is preventing people buying, or using, the tests because they won't necessarily find out what the results were and won't have a detailed oversight of everyone's health. That makes very good sense ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 8:50 pm, January 14th, 2022Ah. The New Zealand Liberal Party. Those were the days. In addition to creating a large class of small land-owning farmers they provided old age pensions, created the industrial relations system for settling disputes which was accepted by both employers ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 8:34 pm, January 14th, 2022You appear to be saying that you have never owned a house. Why not?
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 8:30 pm, January 14th, 2022Then you are buying a leasehold property and you have no idea or control over what the rental payment may go up to when it comes up for renewal. Plus the Banks are loathe to lend on these properties. I, personally, wouldn't ever consider such an option. ...
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Comment:Daily review 14/01/2022
Date published: 8:18 pm, January 14th, 2022No. We have to import people to do important jobs. We need more DJs. We don't need people to do trivial things like providing the Public Transport.
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Comment:Daily review 14/01/2022
Date published: 8:14 pm, January 14th, 2022One of the comments in the Twitter stream certainly shows the difference between the Labour Party in Australia and our lot. Anthony Albanese "Rapid tests should be free and available to everyone. Why does our Government prevent us even paying for them if ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 2:49 pm, January 14th, 2022I'm not sure what you mean by the first sentence. People don't stay in their first house forever. If they need to move, for a new job say, they have to be allowed to sell a nd buy an alternative place. For most people house owning is not a financial ...
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Comment:What about those neat capital gains on housing, eh?
Date published: 2:12 pm, January 14th, 2022I would be possible for the Government to reduce the rate of growth of house prices by doing one simple thing. Make more land available. It won't solve everything but if there was no increase in the land prices there would be little increase in the value, ...
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Comment:Open mike 14/01/2022
Date published: 12:38 pm, January 14th, 2022"it's against the law". Really? No I certainly did not. My children, and grandchildren for that matter, are all criminals then. When very young they all seemed to have a fascination with the idea, if they were held close enough to reach. On the other hand ...
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Comment:Open mike 14/01/2022
Date published: 12:14 pm, January 14th, 2022People used to be free to drive. Then in 1925 the Government of the day ruined everything by bringing in drivers licenses and we have gone downhill ever since. Actually I don't think my father ever had to have a driving test. He started driving in about ...
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Comment:Daily review 13/01/2022
Date published: 9:47 pm, January 13th, 2022"embellished upon by a Nat voting chemist". And your evidence for this is what precisely? Oh, that's right. Nothing.
- 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 ...2 hours ago - Climate Change: Still making the same mistake
Last 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 ...9 hours ago - NZ Politics Daily: 17 January 2022
Parliament, 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 ...14 hours ago - 2022 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #2
Listing 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 ...1 day 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 ...2 days 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 ...3 days 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 ...3 days 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. ...3 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...4 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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) ...5 days 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 ...5 days 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 ...5 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the global war against plastics
Compared 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 ...5 days 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 ...6 days 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 ...6 days ago
- News From Nowhere: If the Greens are to have a future, then they must listen to their past.6 days 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 ...6 days 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 ...6 days 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 ...7 days 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week ago
- MIQ and the New Zealand Constitution
Overseas 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 ...1 week 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, ...1 week ago
- Put Another Record On
Help! 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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
- NZ protesters slam arrest of Lumad cultural speaker and other Filipino political prisoners
An Asia Pacific Newsdesk report on the detention of Philippines indigenous educator Lorena Sigua who toured NZ in 2018 Justice and peace advocates in New Zealand have strongly criticised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “horrific crackdown” on community leaders, activists, and educators. They have condemned in a statement published in Manila ...2 weeks ago - A Two Towers Jigsaw Diversion
It may interest you to know that the only piece of Peter Jackson movie-related paraphernalia I actually own is a jigsaw puzzle. Specifically, a thousand-piece Two Towers-themed one. I received it as a Birthday/Christmas present around 2003 or so, and for old time’s sake I decided to dust it ...2 weeks ago - How weather forecasts can spark a new kind of extreme-event attributionThis is a re-post from Carbon Brief Extreme weather events across the world this year have been hitting the headlines at an alarming rate. To name a few, 2021 has seen flooding in central Europe, China and New York, a record temperature of 49.6C in Canada and wildfires in Siberia, North America and the Mediterranean. With each tragic event comes the question of whether human-caused ...2 weeks ago
- Picking It Wrong: Isildur’s Social Circle and Another Amazon LeakWell, well. Looks like I owe a nameless someone an apology. Back in November, I speculated that a leaked Numenorean character list ‘felt wrong’, and that it was probably a fake: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2021/11/26/rumour-has-it-a-numenorean-character-list/ Today, we have a fresh leak out of Amazon (courtesy of Fellowship of Fans), and it essentially ...2 weeks ago
- 2021 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #53Listing of articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, December 26, 2021 through Sat, January 1, 2021. This being the final installment for 2021, I'd be interested to know how helpful this summary blog post is, so please leave a comment if you check ...2 weeks ago
- In Defence of the New York Times: The Origins of Science-FictionI’m rather late to the party here, but I thought I would offer my proverbial twenty cents worth anyway. Back in November 2021, the New York Times got a fair bit of blow-back, after putting out a tweet about H.G. Wells inventing the genre of science-fiction: With Jules Verne ...2 weeks ago
- A real focus on “the Public Good” is what 2022 must bring if Covid is to “teach us” anything
Well done and goodbye to the back of 2021. 2022 seemed to start predictably stupid enough in some ways. A certain “Reformed Blogger” of Aotearoa’s “Dirty Politics era” responded to a whine from the Opposition former-Iraq-mercenary-for-hire and current Spokesperson for Police, Mark “Rambo” Mitchell, who had seeded a predictable ...2 weeks ago - 2021 Reading Log: The List
Completed reads for 2021: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe City of God (2 vols), by Saint Augustine of HippoOn the Nature of Things, by LucretiusOn the Cave of the Nymphs, by PorphyryKim, by Rudyard ...2 weeks ago - 2021 – Blog views by countryAs per my blog tradition, here is where my blog viewers came from in 2021: United StatesUnited KingdomCanadaNew ZealandAustraliaGermanySwedenBrazilIndiaThe Netherlands The top three remains the same as 2020. New Zealand and Australia have swapped places from 2020, Germany has gained a place, Sweden has gained two places, India has ...2 weeks ago
- 2021 Reading Log: December (+ Writing Update)Completed reads for December: Three Act Tragedy, by Agatha ChristieThe Murder on the Links, by Agatha ChristieOn Abstinence from Animal Food, by PorphyryLetter to Marcella, by PorphyrySaturnalia, by Lucian of SamosataThe Life of Plotinus, by PorphyryThe Wednesday Wizard, by Sherryl JordanDenzil’s Dilemma, by Sherryl JordanDenzil’s Great Bear Burglary, ...2 weeks ago
- Hard News: Medicinal cannabis: 2022 will be a better yearThe year we are about to depart has been a frustrating one for the New Zealand medicinal cannabis community.A cluster of companies established to produce and distrubute legal cannabis products ran up against a regulatory scheme that sometimes seemed unworkable and informal growers and green fairies struggled to see a ...2 weeks ago
- Riding 2022's Revolutionary Tiger.Get Ready For A Wild Ride: 2022 will be dominated by two “C” words: “Covid” and “Co-Governance”. Both are certain to spawn variants of unpredictable virulence from the original strain. But, as happened with the Pandemic, the unfolding of the Co-Governance Debate is proceeding in ways determined by the decisions ...3 weeks ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #52, 20212021 New Research Statistics This past year in New Research we've listed 5,495 articles dealing with essentially all aspects of our accidental unleashing of harmfully rapid climate change. Due to data source limitations we do not have an exact count but at least 30,793 researchers contributed to findings covered in ...3 weeks ago
- Turning to Jane Austen to Understand Social Development
It is the time of the year for reflection so let me share with you a problem which is puzzling me. It arises from the book, In Open Seas, I am writing about our future prospects. The problem may be summarised that while I can write easily about the evolution ...3 weeks ago - Omicron Roulette: Self-Isolation Must GoThings were definitely looking up on the New Zealand Coronavirus front. The Auckland Delta Outbreak was dwindling down to levels last seen in September, and it remains entirely possible (barring accidents) that the thing finally dies out at some point in late January or early February. At which point ...3 weeks ago
- Sorry, reality just doesn’t care about contrarian or political, ideological and religious absoluti...
Perhaps it’s time the gloves came right off on some of the stupidest, most confounding takes we’ve seen over the last year particularly? Should there be any apologies when disinformation and deliberate misinformation are actually causing widespread situations that heighten actual public disasters? The line is thinning day by ...3 weeks ago - Redline’s top 10 articles for 2021Here are the top ten most read articles this year on Redline. They reflect the culture war battles of 2021 and some classical Marxist topics that are popular every year. 1.Gender ideology – a summing up part 1 by Jordan Levi (Contributed) I don’t remember when I first came across the ...3 weeks 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 ...4 days 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 ...5 days ago
- Happy new year, Aotearoa!Welcome to 2022! As we look ahead to another year of progress on the big issues facing our country, we’re taking a look back at the year that’s been and everything the team of five million achieved together in 2021. ...2 weeks ago
- Aotearoa New Zealand stands ready to assist people of Tonga
The 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 ...1 day 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 ...4 days 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 ...6 days 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 ...6 days 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...1 week 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 ...2 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 ...2 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, ...2 weeks ago
- Our Pacific community shares in New Year’s HonoursProminent Pacific health champion Faumuina Professor Fa’afetai Sopoaga has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year’s Honours list. Professor Sopoaga has been a champion for Pacific Health at Otago University, said Minister of Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “She’s overseen changes in ...3 weeks ago
- Congratulations to Māori New Year’s Honours stars of 2022Kei aku rangatira kua whakawhiwhia koutou ki ngā tohu ā tō tātou kuīni hei whakanui nui i ā koutou mahi rangatira i hāpai i te manotini puta noa i a Aotearoa. Ko koutou ngā tino tauira. I whanake i ngā hapori, iwi, hapū, whānau me te motu anō hoki. Mauri ...3 weeks ago
- Top honours for women in sportMinister of Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson has congratulated Olympian Lisa Carrington and Paralympian Sophie Pascoe on being made Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM) in the 2022 New Year Honours. Lisa Carrington is New Zealand’s most successful Olympian, having won five gold and one bronze ...3 weeks ago
- PM congratulates 2022 New Year Honours recipientsThe New Zealanders recognised in the New Year 2022 Honours List represent the determination and service exemplified by so many New Zealanders during what has been another tough year due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “I never fail to be amazed by the outstanding things ...3 weeks ago
- Waves from the Tonga tsunami are still being felt in Australia – and even a 50cm surge could knock...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hannah Power, Associate Professor in Coastal and Marine Science, University of Newcastle Bianca De Marchi The eruption of the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai created a tsunami felt across the Pacific Ocean. This includes Australia, where small but measurable tsunami ...3 hours ago - The Tonga volcanic eruption has revealed the vulnerabilities in our global telecommunication systemSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Dominey-Howes, Professor of Hazards and Disaster Risk Sciences, University of Sydney In the wake of a violent volcanic eruption in Tonga, much of the communication with residents on the islands remains at a standstill. In our modern, highly-connected world, more than ...4 hours ago
- 3 local solutions to replace coal jobs and ensure a just transition for mining communitiesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Phelan, Senior Lecturer, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle As the world shifts to renewable energy, helping the communities that have depended on fossil fuels for jobs is becoming ever more pressing. The 2015 Paris Agreement notes ...4 hours ago
- Ex Russell McVeagh partner suspended for two years over summer clerk groping
The man whose offending became the focal point of the New Zealand legal profession's MeToo scandal has been suspended from practice for two years The former Russell McVeagh partner found guilty of misconduct after groping summer clerks has avoided being struck off as a lawyer, instead receiving a two-year suspension from ...5 hours ago - Cannibalism, mutilation and murder: the Australian calamities that rival Yellowjackets for survival ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Hobbins, Head of Knowledge, Australian National Maritime Museum and Honorary Affiliate, University of Sydney IMDB It’s a familiar tale with a morbidly fascinating ending: humans go feral. Emerging from the wreckage of a crashed aircraft or sunken ship, they ...5 hours ago
- When is the right time for children to learn to swim?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Peden, Lecturer – Injury Prevention, UNSW Shutterstock Each year in Australia, an average of 23 children under five die from unintentional drowning, usually due to factors such as a lack of adult supervision, unrestricted access to water and not ...6 hours ago
- Tamaki is a tad late with his “political prisoner” claim – but it isn’t too late for him to ...
Brian Tamaki’s grasp of New Zealand history does not match the magnitude of his chutzpah. News media are reporting the Destiny Church leader has been taken into police custody and his group, the Freedom and Rights Coalition, has broadcast this on social media. This puts a name to the Police ...7 hours ago - Maternal metamorphosis: how mothering has changed in Australia since the second world warSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carla Pascoe Leahy, Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock When I first became a mother in 2013, I realised my experiences of motherhood did not match the kinds of messages circulating around me. As a ...8 hours ago
- Tonga eruption: Power restored in Nuku'alofa as New Zealand sends air support
Power has been restored in large parts of Nuku'alofa following Saturday's eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano, Defence Minister Peeni Henare says. ...9 hours ago - Covid-19: Omicron outbreak would push New Zealand back to red traffic light setting, says Jacinda Ar...The government would look to move into a red traffic light setting if Omicron was spreading in the community, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. ...9 hours ago
- Who are the ‘Original Sovereigns’ who were camped out at Old Parliament House and what are their...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Toni Hassan, Adjunct research fellow, Charles Sturt University The politics swirling around Canberra’s Aboriginal Tent Embassy – set up on the lawns opposite Old Parliament House 50 years ago – have always been complex. These politics got more layered this summer when ...9 hours ago
- Votes and boats – while Mahuta and Luxon focused on relief for Tonga, ACT was vexed by mayhem in a...The buzz from The Beehive has been barely audible since Christmas, reflecting the time out taken by ministers of the Crown to recharge their batteries, or whatever it is that politicians do to re-energise themselves for this year’s challenges. But the disaster in Tonga – triggered by an undersea volcanic ...10 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 17 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 Parliament, MPs, Parties Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Which MPs ...11 hours ago
- Taumata Arowai Seeks Feedback On New Drinking Water Guidance
The new water services regulator for Aotearoa New Zealand, Taumata Arowai, is consulting on proposed new Drinking Water Standards, Quality Assurance Rules, Aesthetic Values, Acceptable Solutions for Roof Water Supplies, Spring and Bore Water Supplies and ...12 hours ago - What makes a vegan-friendly wine vegan? And how’s it different to conventional wine?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Scollary, Adjunct Professor, Charles Sturt University Shutterstock Consumer interest in vegan wines is growing, with vegan-friendly wines showing up in many supermarkets and Google searches for “vegan wine” soaring in recent years. But what makes a vegan-friendly wine vegan? And ...15 hours ago
- Russia and the West are at a stalemate over Ukraine. Is Putin’s endgame now war?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Sussex, Associate Professor, National Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AP The flurry of diplomatic activity last week over Russia’s latest military buildup near Ukraine ended, as expected, with no breakthrough agreement. Russian President Vladimir Putin ...15 hours ago
- Green hydrogen is coming – and these Australian regions are well placed to build our new export in...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Percy, Senior Research Fellow, Victorian Hydrogen Hub, Swinburne University of Technology Shutterstock You might remember hearing a lot about green hydrogen last year, as global pressure mounted on Australia to take stronger action on climate change ahead of the COP26 ...15 hours ago
- The Singapore-inspired idea for using super for housing that could cut costs 50%Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cameron Murray, Research Fellow – Henry Halloran Trust, University of Sydney shutterstock During the past four decades in which home ownership among Australians aged 25-34 has sunk from around 60% to 45%, home ownership among the same age group in Singapore ...15 hours ago
- ‘Our community is small, but our spirit is strong’: how art forms the heart of Cobargo’s Black...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Webb, Dean, Graduate Research, University of Canberra On December 31 2019, the catastrophic fires burning across southeastern Australia reached the small South Coast NSW town of Cobargo in the form of the Badja Forest Road Fire. Within just a few ...15 hours ago
- Emissions from farm fertilisers are flying
Greenpeace calls for more substance and less stardust from the Government over climate change. David Williams reports New Zealand farming’s addiction to synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is now causing more than double the greenhouse gas emissions of domestic flights. It’s another twist in the country’s arm-wrestle between the economy and environment, ...17 hours ago - Alcoholic, not anonymous: NZ books, 2022
ReadingRoom returns to action in 2022 as literary editor Steve Braunias previews the year in New Zealand writing A new Eleanor Catton, maybe; a new Becky Manawatu, maybe; a new Lloyd Jones, definitely. Excitement levels in New Zealand literature in 2022 will go through the roof if either our two ...17 hours ago - Daily crossword, Monday 17 January
...17 hours ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 17 January17 hours ago
- Inflation's challenge for central banks
There is still considerable uncertainty about the trajectory of the Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the global economy. Inflation has risen worldwide recently and many central banks around the world will raise their policy rates to stabilise inflation in 2022, argues Dr Murat Ungor. GDP fluctuations to date during ...18 hours ago - Hone takes on lofty challenge for lost loved ones
After losing her daughter and two friends in a car crash, Dr Lucy Hone has a new outlook on life - doing one thing each year that challenges her. This year she's taking on the Coast to Coast race, calling on her expertise in resilience to help her. As ...18 hours ago - Why Novak Djokovic lost his fight to stay in Australia – and why it sets a concerning precedentSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria O’Sullivan, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, and Deputy Director, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University Many sports stars are, rightly or wrongly, held up as role models. In the case of Novak Djokovic, we have a set of powerful ...23 hours ago
- Former Fiji journalist in Tonga tells of family’s flight from crashing wavesWaves associated with the continuous volcanic eruption at Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai in Tonga crashed into Tonga’s largest island Tongatapu and forced residents to evacuate their homes. A former Fijian journalist, Iliesa Tora, said in his Facebook live video that explosions were heard and black clouds of smoke seen in the sky followed ...1 day ago
- No reports of deaths in Tongan volcano tsunami, says NZ prime ministerRNZ News New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says there are no official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga in the wake of the undersea volcano eruption and tsunami, but communication with the kingdom is very limited. Communication with the island nation has been cut off since yesterday evening ...1 day ago
- 'On the ground as soon as possible'
*This story was first published on RNZ and is republished with permission* The NZ Defence Force is poised to deploy to Tonga in the wake of a violent eruption at an underwater volcano, and subsequent tsunami There are no official reports of injuries or deaths in Tonga, but communication with the island ...1 day ago - Tonga volcano eruption and tsunami – 120 evacuated in NZ’s Far NorthAn Al Jazeera report on the undersea volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption and tsunami yesterday afternoon. Video: Al Jazeera English RNZ News Large waves in the Far North have forced 120 people to be evacuated as big swells from Cyclone Cody and the surge from yesterday’s volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga ...1 day ago
- Tsunami warning: Strong surges sink boats, prompt evacuations in Far North
*This story was first published on RNZ and is republished with permission* Strong surges in the Far North that accumulated from remnants of a tropical cyclone in the Pacific and Tonga's volcanic eruption prompted evacuations and caused boats to sink overnight. Yesterday, a tsunami warning for the north and east coasts of ...1 day ago - Why the volcanic eruption in Tonga was so violent, and what to expect nextSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Cronin, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Auckland The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world.2 days ago
- Why the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption was so violent, and what to expect next
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shane Cronin, Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Auckland The Kingdom of Tonga doesn’t often attract global attention, but a violent eruption of an underwater volcano on January 15 has spread shock waves, quite literally, around half the world.2 days ago- A case for open prisons
The benefits of open prisons have been recognised for decades. So why doesn't New Zealand, where the majority of prisons are low-risk, follow international example? Open prisons have gained the backing of leading academic and legal experts. But New Zealand has been slow to adopt the idea, despite more than ...2 days ago- The social factors behind overprescription in India
An overprescription of medication in India, where there has been a surge of clinical depression, can not be put down solely to big pharma. There are complex societal factors at play, write Paromita Goswami, Shiv Nadar University and Anindita Chaudhuri. Increasing use of antidepressants in India stems not only from ...2 days ago- Daily sudoku, Sunday 16 January
...2 days ago- Newsroom daily quiz, Sunday 16 January
2 days ago- Daily cryptic crossword, Sunday 16 January
...2 days ago- Daily crossword, Sunday 16 January
...2 days ago- New tsunami warning in NZ, Samoa as volcano waves reach Tonga’s capital
Kaniva Tonga News A new tsunami warning is now in force for all of Tonga following this evening’s violent eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai undersea volcano with tidal waves flooding the shoreline of the capital Nuku’alofa. Parts of New Zealand and Samoa are also under tsunami warning, reports RNZ News. The ...2 days ago- Tonga tsunami warning lifted but volcano still monitored
RNZ Pacific The tsunami marine warning issued for all of Tonga waters following the violent eruptions of underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai has been lifted. Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai erupted on Friday sending ash, steam and gas 20 kilometres into the air. The volcano had been active from 20 December 2021 but was declared dormant ...2 days ago- Tsunami warning issued for all of Tonga
A tsunami warning is now in force for all of Tonga following a violent eruption at the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai underwater volcano on Friday. The Tongan Meterological Service issued the warning Saturday evening. There are reports of sirens ringing across Nukualofa and police are asking people to move to higher ground. Waves are reportedly already ...2 days ago- Daily cryptic crossword, Saturday 15 January
...3 days ago- Daily crossword, Saturday 15 January
...3 days ago- Daily sudoku, Saturday 15 January
...3 days ago- Newsroom daily quiz, Saturday 15 January
3 days ago- Why food is nothing without texture
The texture of our summer ice cream is as important as how it tastes. We know a lot about how our brain responds to taste but need to know much more about how and why we favour certain textures. Consider the classic summer treat, an ice cream cone: what ...3 days ago- Novak Djokovic has long divided opinion. Now, his legacy will be complicated even further
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Darko Vojinovic/AP After a convoluted and shambolic visa approval process, followed by questions about his movements over the past month and the information provided to Australian border officials, Immigration ...3 days ago- Novak Djokovic’s visa cancelled ‘in the public interest’, with possible 3-year ban from Austra...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Mark Baker/AP Immigration Minister Alex Hawke announced late Friday he had cancelled tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa “on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest ...3 days ago- Latest isolation rules for critical workers gets the balance right. But that’s not the end of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology, Deakin University Thousands more essential workers will be allowed back to work rather than having to self-isolate for seven days, under new rules agreed by national cabinet. High-risk close contacts – those living with someone who has ...3 days ago- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 14 2022
Editor’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 Matthew Hooton (Herald): Govt’s sanguine stance on ...3 days ago- The PM is coy about her fiance’s dalliance with RATs but not about the Duke of York’s defrocking...
Our leaders have enough to deal with without the indiscretions of family members raising their stress levels. In this part of the world, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is refusing to comment on claims her fiance tried to do his friends a favour by getting rapid antigen tests (RATs) for them ...3 days ago- This WA town just topped 50℃ – a dangerous temperature many Australians will have to get used to
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew King, Senior Lecturer in Climate Science, The University of Melbourne shutterstock Shutterstock While Australians are used to summer heat, most of us only have to endure the occasional day over 40℃. Yesterday though, the temperature peaked at 50.7℃ in Onslow, ...3 days ago- Vital Signs. The 3 problems with fines for not reporting positive COVID tests
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Shutterstock/The Conversation The NSW government this week decreed that anyone returning a positive COVID-19 reading using a rapid antigen test must report their result (through the Service NSW app or website). Failing to do ...3 days ago- Still no justice for PNG sorcery burning victim Kepari Leniata after nine years
By Rebecca Kuku in Port Moresby Nine years ago widespread publicity given to the public execution of Kepari Leniata, who was falsely accused of sorcery and burnt by a mob in broad daylight in Papua New Guinea’s third-largest city Mt Hagen, shocked people around the world. The tragic death also ...3 days ago- Boosting Pacific digital media skills amid a cyclone – all part of the job
A report on the Next Generation Radio project … covering climate change in Fiji in real time. Video: Next Gen SPECIAL REPORT: By Michelle Betz in Ninole, Hawai’i As Cyclone Cody got set to pummel Fiji in early January, students at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji ...3 days ago- Cook Islands reopens border with vaccinated New Zealanders
By Craig McCulloch, RNZ News deputy political editor The Cook Islands has reopened its borders to fully vaccinated New Zealanders, but with less fanfare and more trepidation than last year’s kick-off. The two-way quarantine-free travel bubble lasted just three months in 2021 before authorities pulled the pin due to Auckland’s ...3 days ago- Tahiti’s Flosse banned from public office after latest court defeat
RNZ Pacific France’s highest court has upheld a corruption conviction of French Polynesia’s former president Gaston Flosse, effectively ending his political career. It confirmed a 2020 appeal court ruling in Tahiti, which had deprived Flosse of his eligibility to hold public office for five years after finding him and the ...3 days ago- Omicron part of everyday life, say New Zealanders living overseas
By Ella Stewart, RNZ News reporter New Zealanders living overseas say covid-19 is now part of everyday life as cases of the highly-infectious omicron variant steadily grow around the globe. More than 307 million covid-19 cases have been confirmed since the pandemic began, with countries now breaking records for daily ...3 days ago- Protecting our precious democracy: professors tutor PM on governance (and how “Treaty partnership...
Dame Anne Salmond, a Distinguished Professor in anthropology at the University of Auckland and 2013 New Zealander of the Year, had good advice for the Ardern government in an article ... 3 days ago- 5000 Hectare Huiarua Station Sale Invites Patagonia Fires To East Coast
...3 days ago- Singh And Smith Top Family Names For Babies In 2021
Following on the trend from 2020, Singh has again topped the list of most common family names for babies born in Aotearoa in 2021. Smith takes second place on the list of top surnames countrywide. Historically the feminine counterpart to Singh ...3 days ago- Law Changes Locking Out Home Seekers, Urgent Meeting Sought With Government
Recent changes in consumer finance law on top of Government policy changes are locking many home seekers out of finance options they would have qualified for just six weeks ago, says Financial Advice New Zealand. Chief Executive Katrina Shanks says financial ...4 days ago- Not all health providers ready for paediatric Covid-19 vaccine rollout from 17 January
The government set the rollout date at 17 January before Christmas yet some parents may find they are turned away from health providers that are not ready to vaccinate children. ...4 days ago- Crime won’t stop because of COVID. So how should we protect crime scene investigators?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paola Magni, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science, Murdoch University COVID may have curtailed travel, hospitality, education and entertainment, but crime scene investigation never stops. As a forensic scientist, researcher and lecturer, I know first-hand the risks and challenges crime scene investigation (CSI) ...4 days ago- When will this COVID wave be over? 4 numbers to keep an eye on and why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Esterman, Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia Shutterstock Before Australia’s recent changes to COVID testing, working out when we reached the peak of cases was, in principal, straightforward. We looked at the numbers of new ...4 days ago- Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads and ‘business as usual’ won’t cut it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachael Helene Nolan, Senior research fellow, Western Sydney University Darren England/AAP The current wet conditions delivered by La Niña may have caused widespread flooding, but they’ve also provided a reprieve from the threat of bushfires in southeastern Australia. This is ...4 days ago- What does ‘academic freedom’ mean in practice? Why the Siouxsie Wiles and Shaun Hendy employment...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Heinemann, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Canterbury shutterstock 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 ...4 days ago- The 3 problems with fines for not reporting positive COVID tests
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW Shutterstock/The Conversation The NSW government this week decreed that anyone returning a positive COVID-19 reading using a rapid antigen test must report their result (through the Service NSW app or website). Failing to do ...4 days ago- As far from the NZ housing market you can get
Young Europeans enjoy the security of affordable city dwelling, while in New Zealand, housing is prohibitively expensive for many. Mark Southcombe argues that the cooperative housing model should urgently be introduced here. Comment: Stephanie stayed with us on her international study exchange year from Austria in 2005. When we ...4 days ago- NZ schools need more than number eight wire
The New Zealand schooling system and its reluctance to adapt is putting unimaginable pressure on our teachers. Alliv Samson looks at what we can do. When Covid hit, we were one of the lucky ones. Immediate and strict lockdowns were put in place to snub out rising case numbers. Although this was ...4 days ago- The media industry – what to look for in 2022
Change is constant for the news industry and 2022 will be no different. Stephen Parker looks at the questions facing our media players and how they might respond. Will RNZ/TVNZ merge? The idea of merging RNZ and TVNZ into a single public media entity has been on and off ...4 days ago- Harnessing kelp to save Hauraki Gulf
How recruiting kelp forests as an ally against ocean acidification could help save Hauraki Gulf A healthy kelp forest is essential in the fight against global warming’s ‘evil twin’ ocean acidification. In good times, the Hauraki Gulf was home to swaying underwater kelp forests of the golden-brown Ecklonia radiate, a ...4 days ago- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 14 January
4 days ago- Daily sudoku, Friday 14 January
...4 days ago - Why the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption was so violent, and what to expect next
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