Syrian flash point just got flash pointier

Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, August 20th, 2016 - 102 comments
Categories: China, colonialism, defence, International, Syria, us politics, war - Tags:

The Syrian War has dragged on for years and may have now caused approximately 400,000 deaths according to a visiting UN official. Although accurate figures are impossible to come by, 50,000 to 100,000 of these deaths are from casualties suffered by Assad’s decimated military forces.

Long time US allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been providing significant support to Islamic fundamentalist groups like ISIS and Al-Nusra that are intent on taking down the Assad regime, an outcome that the Americans have been interested in for a long time (as this 2006 State Department cable reveals).

Western powers including Europe even turned a blind eye to Turkey (a NATO member) dealing in ISIS oil, providing hundreds of millions in hard currency funds to a major terrorist organisation. (How NATO/US satellite surveillance could have missed up to 12,000 oil trucks sitting at the Turkey/Iraq border is mystifying at first glance.)

And now the geopolitical stakes are now being raised further.

  1. Russia has come to an agreement with the Syrian Government to make expand and make permanent its Khmeimim airbase in Latakia province, just 50km from the Turkish border. Russia has said that it will not station strategic bombers or nuclear weapons at the base on a permanent basis, although that is a comment which raises more question marks than it answers.
  2. The Iranian Government has granted Russia permission to use Hamedan Airbase in its western provinces; Russia has started to launch air strikes from that base against Islamist fighters in Syria.
  3. China is now proactively enhancing its military and economic relations in support of the Assad regime, therefore becoming involved in a “larger role” in the Middle East.
  4. [Update 1] Russia has launched actual air strikes against the secret bases in Syria that US and UK special forces boots on the ground are illegally operating out of.

Of course, no one is claiming that Assad is a nice guy. However compared to having the black ISIS flag run up over Damascus – a situation which would be immediately terrifying for ethnic minority groups, Christians, Alawites, Shiites and women in Syria fearing Islamist slavery, decapitation or imolation – Assad is a relative angel.

Perhaps what is needed now, is a far sighted US President who is willing to work directly with President Putin, to get rid of the scourge that ISIS represents to both the civilised Western and Islamic worlds.

 

 

 

102 comments on “Syrian flash point just got flash pointier ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. TheExtremist 1
    20 August 2016 at 2:31 pm

    God your pimping of Trump is two parts pathetic and one part delusion.

    Trump far-sighted? He can’t keep on message for longer than 2 minutes.

    • Colonial Viper 1.1
      20 August 2016 at 2:39 pm

      I’d be interested in your view of US/Russian cooperation to defeat ISIS, if you have one.

      • McFlock 1.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 2:57 pm

        Pretty simple – bomb isis, let Assad’s regime wither and die without support, and put trillions into infrastructure reconstruction and government checks and balances.

        Of course, after five years or so of a little bit of closet ethnic cleansing under the dust clouds of all those bombs, it might be reasonable to go for a federal structure.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 3:17 pm

          Can you comment on who is going to provide these “trillions” to Syria McFlock, and what they will want from Syria in exchange?

          • McFlock 1.1.1.1.1
            20 August 2016 at 3:43 pm

            USA/Europe/Russia/China via the UN.

            That’s how to defeat ISIS. Not what anyone thought was actually going to happen (my bet: another twenty years of war, the current leaders of most of the factions and all the leaders of the involved regional and global powers dying peacefully in their beds as if there was no blood on their hands, ISIS pretends to moderate and becomes a resource-poor fiefdom after the kurds take the oilfields).

            • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.1.1
              20 August 2016 at 4:04 pm

              USA has been tacitly/actively supporting the overthrow of Assad. Both directly and via regional allies/proxies. They won’t provide Syria a thing until the Islamists take over.

              Europe and NATO has been turning a blind eye to Turkey supporting the Jihadists wanting to overthrow Assad. Further, Europe has no money or resources left after dealing with their own dire internal security problems.

              Russia and China have now both come down firmly on the side of Assad. They will provide military and economic aid directly to Assad’s regime.

              • McFlock …
                20 August 2016 at 4:16 pm

                They’ll keep the regime existing, yes. And thereby keep the war going.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  20 August 2016 at 6:48 pm

                  Yep. And that’s the way Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the US want it because their goal from the start has been regime change in Damascus.

      • D'Esterre' 1.1.2
        21 August 2016 at 9:49 pm

        CV: I found this in a comment thread today:

        pic.twitter.com/vYo4RPuAJT

        All is not what it seems!

  2. McFlock 2
    20 August 2016 at 2:53 pm

    lol – so the russians might store strategic bombers and nukes there from time to time.

    Apparently the Iranian base is also contrary to the Iranian constitution. Gotta love that little detail.

    The thing about Syrian and Russian objectives is that they aren’t focused on defeating ISIS, as you tried to frame it. They’re about eliminating all opposition to Assad, including people who legitiamtely only wanted to tell a murdering regime to fuck off.

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      20 August 2016 at 3:12 pm

      Theres no “moderate opposition” in Syria McFlock. It’s 101 flavours of Jihadists now. Which one would you like to run Damascus?

      • McFlock 2.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 3:47 pm

        The Kurds and Yazidis will be interested to hear that.

        But of course, you have to pretend that everyone Assad wants shot is a “jihadist”. Otherwise that might make him and putin look like real shit-heels, eh.

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 4:00 pm

          The Kurds and the Yazidis have co-existed with the Damascus regime for decades, McFlock. So I ask you again, which of the Jihadist groups do you want running Damascus now?

          Or are you seriously wanting to put the Kurds or the Yazidis in charge in Damascus?

          • McFlock 2.1.1.1.1
            20 August 2016 at 4:12 pm

            Well, by coexisted you mean “just as likely to be shot or tortured as anyone else”, but whatever.

            As to your framing of the question, it’s bullshit. Not all opposition groups are jihadi, and not all members of jihadi groups are as jihadi as the rest. That was the major mistake the US had in Afghanistan, deciding that the “Taliban” was a single homogeneous mass that hated America.

            So the first thing you do is talk to everyone. Not every major group, everyone. Local leaders, faction leaders, religious leaders. The ones who won’t talk, you wait until they will. The ones who kill your envoys, you bomb. the ones who talk, you look for common ground. You reward the reasonable, exclude the intransigent, and bomb the nutbars. And you build infrastructure – good roads, good water, good railways, good communications.

            Actually, that approach is why the yanks are shit at empire and why the british were damned good at it until the world wars bankrupted them.

            Edit: btw, your “they’re all jihadis” argument might be more reasonable if Assad hadn’t had the support of thousands of hezbollah fighters – they’re not exactly secular /sarc

            • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1.1.1
              20 August 2016 at 5:44 pm

              Yes, Assad has the support of thousands of fighters from both Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

              However while they like Assad are Muslims, none of these soldiers are Islamic radicals/Wahhabi extremists like those supported by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and by extension the USA.

              You are aware that both Lebanon and Iran are highly liberal and democratic societies, from a Middle Eastern standpoint? And especially when compared to the likes of: Saudi Arabia and Qatar

              • McFlock …
                20 August 2016 at 6:25 pm

                lol

                “from a Middle Eastern standpoint”. 🙂 More weasel words.

                Glad to hear that Hezbollah and Iranian fighters aren’t “Islamic radicals”. I mean, that’ll be news to many folks in the region, but whatevs.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  20 August 2016 at 6:44 pm

                  If you don’t culturally understand the difference between Takfiri extremists and Shia regulars from Iran and Lebanon you should bother to learn.

                  • McFlock …
                    20 August 2016 at 6:52 pm

                    One commonality is that you labelled them by their religious beliefs and willingness to travel to another country and kill other people because of such.

                    ie not “Lebanese” regulars. Not even “Levantine” militia. And of course “extremist” and “regular” are irregular nouns.

                    It is fun watching you play with language in these discussions. Orwell would have called you double-plus good at it.

                    • Bill …
                      20 August 2016 at 7:34 pm

                      Christ McFlock. I know you ‘like’ to joust with CV, but trashing what could be quite informative threads with daft wee jabby ‘needle points’ is fucking abysmal bullshit.

                      Tell me what the fucking difference is between armed peeps traveling from Iran to kill other peeps and armed peeps from the US flying overhead to drop bombs that are killing other peeps?

                      And the difference between them and Jihadis? ‘Cause I’m thinking that the Jihadis and the US admin have more in common than most people would like to think.

                      And the bad bastards are the Jihadis, the US admin, the Assad government, the Russian government, the Turkish government, the Iranian government, the Saudi Arabian regime, the Qatari regime…

                      Some are doubtless more justified in acting the way they’re acting – but they’re all bastards. Meanwhile, women, children and men in Syria who want fuck all to do with any of it are getting completely fucked up an fucked over.

                      But fuck all that – let’s just go all ‘black hat/white hat’ and do the old school playground nya nya nya thing on people who aren’t precisely ideologically aligned, eh? I mean, what better way could there be to test views/perspectives or get a handle on things?

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 7:52 pm

                      Hey, I’m not the one blaming the US for everything. Nor am I the one claiming that every Syrian fighting Assad is a dangerous “jihadist”.

                      Comparing Tunisia or Egypt with Syria, I get the distinct impression that five years of war could have been avoided or minimised if Assad had known when to bail rather than calling in favours for support and doubling down on the totalitarianism. But really, that’s as “black hat/white hat” as I get. Except ISIS need straitjackets, they don’t get hats.

                    • Bill …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:10 pm

                      If Assad had bailed? What about if all those foreign fucks (governmental and non-governmental) hadn’t jumped in like vultures? I seem to recall there was something about an election and promised reforms. Have I got that wrong? Or am I right in thinking that was things really got ramped up by non-Syrian actors?

                      Take a Jihadi – and yes, the so-called FSA was/is basically a rag tag of jihadi elements – and throw logistical and financial support their way while telling your own population at home, that no, it’s the good guys you’re helping out…..

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:49 pm

                      Assad’s response was the key intervention point.

                      His opponents might or might not have gained weapons from Syrian forces anyway, and of course a major problem was giving weapons to the Iraqi army who then promptly surrendered to ISIS, who then took the tanks back to Syria. Unless you’re arguing that Assad should receive russian and Hezbollah assistance and all the opposition forces should have received none, in which case I’d be curious as to the rationale.

                      But Assad could have genuinely liberalised the government and done some social reforms (especially food and jobs) while holding onto power, or he could have taken the money and run like the Tunisian guy did. As it was he chose to remain and double-down.

                      And here we still are.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      20 August 2016 at 10:57 pm

                      Again, McFlock supports the foreign supplied Islamist regime changers. If Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey had their way, the black ISIS flag would be run up in Damascus now.

                      Apparent colonial minded westerners think they still have the moral standing to tell other countries what to do after their own democratic successes in Iraq Afghanistan Libya

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      21 August 2016 at 12:18 am

                      Tell me what the fucking difference is between armed peeps traveling from Iran to kill other peeps and armed peeps from the US flying overhead to drop bombs that are killing other peeps?

                      Well, since you asked: one involves Shi’ite Islamist fundamentalists trying to advance religious extremism in the region as well as backing its governments’ interests in the region, and one only involves backing its government’s interests in the region. If you think real hard you can probably figure out which is which.

                    • McFlock …
                      21 August 2016 at 12:21 am

                      If my point was too complex for you to understand, try to avoid reducing it to an ‘if you’re not with Assad you’re with Isis’ allegation, there’s a love.

            • D'Esterre 2.1.1.1.1.2
              20 August 2016 at 11:01 pm

              McFlock: “Not all opposition groups are jihadi, and not all members of jihadi groups are as jihadi as the rest.”

              What? You’re quite wrong about this, you know.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Conquest

              “That was the major mistake the US had in Afghanistan, deciding that the “Taliban” was a single homogeneous mass that hated America.”

              Good grief…. You’re quite wrong about this as well. I’m not sure where you’re getting your information from, but really, you need better sources.

              The Assad regime survives because it still enjoys enough popular support to do so. Note that it is secular: women can drive, go about with their hair uncovered and take an active part in public life. Clearly, this state of affairs is still one favoured by the population.

              • Psycho Milt …
                21 August 2016 at 12:14 am

                women can drive, go about with their hair uncovered and take an active part in public life..

                So can everyone else outside Saudi Arabia (and Iran if we restrict ourselves to head-coverings). Your ignorance of the Middle East isn’t McFlock’s fault. And SA is backing the Syrian regime’s opponents (because the regime is effectively Shi’ite) while Iran is backing the regime – is their a particular flavour of Islamist fundamentalism you find acceptable?

                • Colonial Viper …
                  21 August 2016 at 12:19 am

                  ” So can everyone else outside Saudi Arabia”

                  Not if you are in ISIS controlled areas of Iraq or Syria.

                  while Iran is backing the regime – is their a particular flavour of Islamist fundamentalism you find acceptable?

                  ” while Iran is backing the regime – is their a particular flavour of Islamist fundamentalism you find acceptable?”

                  Of course. Its not Takfiri Wahabbism. Iranian society allows females to drive, be university professors, join the armed forces and govern as Cabinet Ministers.

                  • Psycho Milt …
                    21 August 2016 at 12:31 am

                    As expected, it’s merely the flavour of totalitarian repression you care about. The totalitarian repression part isn’t a problem.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      21 August 2016 at 12:34 am

                      i responded to your point. 3000 year old woman promoting Persian culture ahead of Saudi Turkish Qatari backed Takfiri fundamentalism plz

                • D'Esterre' …
                  21 August 2016 at 11:13 pm

                  Psycho Milt: “And SA is backing the Syrian regime’s opponents (because the regime is effectively Shi’ite) while Iran is backing the regime – is their a particular flavour of Islamist fundamentalism you find acceptable?”

                  You miss the point: if Syrians favour the retention of the Assad regime, and countries such as Iran and Russia are willing to help them fend off the Islamist crazies, that’s their decision, not ours. What we think about it is irrelevant.

                  A comment from a member of this household: “there’s nothing to talk about with people who look at the jihadis with their pube-beards and don’t instinctively sympathise with whoever’s killing them.”

                  I can’t find anything to disagree with in that statement.

    • Garibaldi 2.2
      20 August 2016 at 4:42 pm

      McFlock the Russians have done sterling work against ISIS – far more effectively than the Americans. You want democracy in Syria -right? Well guess who the people of Syria want? Here’s a clue – it certainly doesn’t involve America.

      • McFlock 2.2.1
        20 August 2016 at 4:57 pm

        Yeah, it’s amazing how effective you can be if you’re not worried about bombing apartment blocks or hospitals, repeatedly.

        And for a lot of Syrians, they don’t want Assad, the russians, or the Iranians either.

        • Colonial Viper 2.2.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 5:48 pm

          Dozens killed in US airstrikes in Syria” July 20

          http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/led-air-strikes-kill-21-civilians-syria-160719045329897.html

          And for a lot of Syrians, they don’t want Assad, the russians, or the Iranians either.

          However, they’ll choose Assad any day ahead of the head chopping burn alive sex slaving Islamic extremists supported by NATO member Turkey, and long time US allies Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

          • McFlock 2.2.1.1.1
            20 August 2016 at 6:03 pm

            Got comparable stats for Russian airstrikes?

            As for what Syrians would prefer, Assad and the Russians also bomb the Syrians who tick “neither”.

            • RedLogix 2.2.1.1.1.1
              20 August 2016 at 6:42 pm

              I’m with CV on this; it’s a bit like the US Presidential election, Assad is an absolute arse, but still better than the other guys.

              This is the thing about war .. there will be no angels and the winners will usually be the most ruthless bastards of the lot. Think of Churchill; the Poms while grudgingly grateful for his wartime leadership, voted him out the first chance they got.

              Those of us sitting safely on the other side of the world with no skin in the game have little moral authority to make much in the way of judgement.

              • McFlock …
                20 August 2016 at 7:00 pm

                In 2011/2012 I’d probably have agreed (especially if Assad had thrown the folks a bone or some food), but I suspect that Syria is going the way of Yugoslavia.

                For example I read somewhere that (much as I tend to sympathise with them) the Kurds have been a bit dodgy when liberating towns and villages from ISIS – predominantly Kurdish villages are captured intact, whereas predominantly Arab villages are bulldozed “because of IEDs”.

                This sort of sectarianism will probably result in some quasi-autonomous regions or full independence for some areas within Syria when peace finally comes.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  20 August 2016 at 7:07 pm

                  In 2011/2012 I’d probably have agreed (especially if Assad had thrown the folks a bone or some food), but I suspect that Syria is going the way of Yugoslavia.

                  That was part of the grand plan, that with a mix of failed warlord state like Libya. Which would result in a weak territory breeding more terrorist training grounds, destabilising Iran, Lebanon and Russia.

                  That is, until Russia intervened.

                  • McFlock …
                    20 August 2016 at 7:37 pm

                    Sorry, I didn’t know you had a copy of the “grand plan” 🙄

                    Unstable Syria does nobody any good. It fucks with every single one of its neighbours, and then the next neighbours over.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      20 August 2016 at 10:54 pm

                      Don’t act so nieve McFlock.

                      A failed state Syria is of huge help to the regional goals of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, particularly in damaging Iran with a hot bed of Sunni Takfiri extremism. It also ends Assad’s resistance to Qatari pipelines crossing the country.

              • Colonial Viper …
                20 August 2016 at 7:03 pm

                McFlock consistently avoids mentioning the fact that Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar have, with both tacit and active US approval, flooded Syria with foreign fighters and arms in an effort to regime change Damascus. And that if Assad had fallen at any time in the last 3 years, the black ISIS flag would have been run up over the city and Sharia law enforced throughout the land.

                • McFlock …
                  20 August 2016 at 7:08 pm

                  And if Assad had helicoptered to Switzerland four or five years ago, there’d probably be some measure of stability and a moderate or even secular government in control.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    20 August 2016 at 7:14 pm

                    Not surprised that you would support foreign powers instituting undemocratic, unconstitutional regime change by any means necessary.

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 7:27 pm

                      Yeah, because there were absolutely no internal stresses inside Syria that would have caused rebellion in 2010/2011. It must have been all the US and the Saudi’s fault. Everywhere else in the Middle East was perfectly fine /sarc 🙄

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      20 August 2016 at 7:31 pm

                      In 2010/2011 the US and NATO were busy turning the richest secular country in Africa, Libya, into a failed state.

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 7:42 pm

                      Indeed.
                      Open your blinkers a little wider. Go on, you can do it. What was going on in the middle east in 2010/2011? Any other issues at all? Dig deep, you can figure it out…

                    • Bill …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:01 pm

                      A huge internal fucking crisis caused by severe drought that had forced people off the land and into urban centers.

                      Dislocation, food price spikes…and then some opportunistic foreign backed wankers taking advantage of that, spring-boarding off events elsewhere and causing mayhem in border towns.

                      That was then picked up by “our media” and sold to us as bona fide resistance to the Assad regime…cue the further meddling after that line had been safely sold to us and then, as always, the snowballing.

                      I know you don’t want any of that being referred to. Black hat/white hat and no-one in the West is gullible or culpable. It’s a nice story.

                      What do you reckon would have been happening across the region is, instead of speculators shoving the price of staples beyond reach, futures trading on those things had been unlawful and the plentiful global supply of wheat etc had been distributed to people who were in need?

                      Yeah, yeah, I know. I get it. Black hat/white hat and no-one in the West…

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:07 pm

                      Actually, Bill, I agree with pretty much your entire comment.

                    • Bill …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:17 pm

                      So McFlock, if you broadly agree with that, then what’s with all the other comments you’ve made that are essentially just point scoring clap trap?

                      You took sides in what is essentially a false dichotomy, when it seems you know it’s false. What’s that about?

                    • McFlock …
                      20 August 2016 at 8:39 pm

                      You might read it as point scoring.

                      I tried to express it as pointing out that the situation is much more complex than ‘the US and Saudis are solely responsible for the situation, and everyone who opposes Assad is a flag-carrying ISIS fanatic’, which is how CV frames the discussion.

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      21 August 2016 at 12:25 am

                      That was then picked up by “our media” and sold to us as bona fide resistance to the Assad regime…

                      Oh, right. Read some of Fisk’s stuff on Assad’s regime, and then see if you still think the people who started this uprising were lacking “bona fides.” This shit is contemptible.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      21 August 2016 at 12:36 am

                      Thousands of foreign Islamist fighters from France, Qatar to Germany were facilitated into Syria.

                      Their bona fides are of head chopping Takfiri foreigners.

                  • D'Esterre' …
                    21 August 2016 at 12:09 am

                    McFlock: “And if Assad had helicoptered to Switzerland four or five years ago, there’d probably be some measure of stability and a moderate or even secular government in control.

                  • D'Esterre' …
                    21 August 2016 at 12:13 am

                    McFlock: “And if Assad had helicoptered to Switzerland four or five years ago, there’d probably be some measure of stability and a moderate or even secular government in control.”

                    Nope. The Assad regime is secular. If he’d bailed out then, the black flag would now be flying over Damascus. Bet your bottom dollar on it.

                    • McFlock …
                      21 August 2016 at 3:35 pm

                      the black flag would now be flying over Damascus.

                      It’s a nice line, I can see why you guys like it. It’s almost as pithy as “we don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud”, and about as accurate.

                      Five years ago, ISIL barely existed as an AQ affiliate in Iraq, and had zero to fuckall presence in Syria.

                      Five years ago, the Syrian national, regional and local power structures were largely intact. Now they’re fractured and duplicated amongst the various factions, meaning restabilising requires multilevel power transitions. Hence my suspicion that “Syria” as a national entity is going the way of Yugoslavia.

            • dave brown 2.2.1.1.1.2
              21 August 2016 at 11:42 pm

              The Syrian revolution is not about how palatable this or that militia is to Western liberals who conveniently overlook the role of the West in destroying countries that do not submit to its interests, but what it means to the Syrian people.

              The popular revolution is not in the pay of the US or its proxies (including the jihadist gangs funded by the West) but reflects the will of the people for democracy. It has rejected all offers of a negotiated settlement that does not include the end of Assad.

              The US and Russia are now in agreement that Assad can stay for now, so there is no possibility of a permanent ceasefire.

              Both have their own interests beyond suppressing the popular revolution which are in Russia’s case creating a bloc of client states from Syria to Iran, which may shortly include Turkey, and in the US case, the creation of a Kurdish client state that spans parts of Syria and Iraq (if not parts of Turkey and Iran) to join its bloc of states from Israel to Bahrain.

              The war in Syria is just the most vicious aspect of a re-partition of the Middle East that reflects the decline of the US imperialist bloc and the rise of the Russia/China imperialist bloc.

              Meanwhile the genocidal war continues with the systematic bombing and gassing of hundreds of civilians every day. The LCCs (see below) document the killings all over Syria each day. Despite this, as the breaking of the siege of Aleppo shows, the popular revolution against the Assad regime continues.

              Local Coordination Committees in Syria

              By the end of Saturday 20 August 2016, LCC has documented the fall of 90 martyrs in Syria including 12 children and 8 women.
              53 martyrs were reported in Aleppo , most of them were killed due to airstrikes on Qabtan Jabal, Kafrjoum and Orm Kubra or by explosions of land mines set by ISIS in Manbej city, 9 in Daraa , mostly killed due to Assad’s forces shelling on the liberated neighborhoods in the city with surface-to-surface missiles, 8 in Homs , 8 in Damascus and its Suburbs, 5 in Idlib , 5 in Hama and 2 in Deir_Ezzor

              https://www.facebook.com/LCCSy/posts/1470211323005999
              لجان التنسيق المحلية في سوريا
              13 hrs · · World News · Politics

              Local Coordination Committees in Syria
              By the end of Saturday 20 August 2016, LCC has documented the fall of 90 martyrs in Syria including 12 children and 8 women.
              53 martyrs were reported in ‪#‎Aleppo‬, most of them were killed due to airstrikes on ‪#‎Qabtan_Jabal‬ ‪#‎Kafrjoum‬ and ‪#‎Orm_Kubra‬ or by explosions of land mines set by ISIS in ‪#‎Manbej‬ city, 9 in ‪#‎Daraa‬, mostly killed due to Assad’s forces shelling on the liberated neighborhoods in the city with surface-to-surface missiles, 8 in ‪#‎Homs‬, 8 in ‪#‎Damascus‬-and-its-Suburbs, 5 in ‪#‎Idlib‬, 5 in ‪#‎Hama‬ and 2 in ‪#‎Deir_Ezzor‬

      • Psycho Milt 2.2.2
        21 August 2016 at 12:22 am

        McFlock the Russians have done sterling work against ISIS…

        …if you listen to Russian propaganda. If you extend your news info beyond Russian propaganda, it turns out the Russians have done sterling work against opponents of the Assad regime regardless of whether Da’esh is involved or not, including the ones running hospitals.

        • Colonial Viper 2.2.2.1
          21 August 2016 at 12:39 am

          Gullible you still believes that there are “moderate terrorists” fighting against Assad???

    • D'Esterre 2.3
      20 August 2016 at 11:59 pm

      McFlock: “so the russians might store strategic bombers and nukes there from time to time.”

      Just as the US has done at Incirlik air base in Turkey. In fact, last I heard, said nukes are still there. Which will no doubt make for interesting times when, under the conditions of the new detente with Turkey, Russia asks for permission to use Incirlik. As I’m sure it will.

      “The thing about Syrian and Russian objectives is that they aren’t focused on defeating ISIS, as you tried to frame it. They’re about eliminating all opposition to Assad, including people who legitiamtely only wanted to tell a murdering regime to fuck off.”

      It seems that you’re wilfully ignoring – or do not wish to believe – the indisputable fact that the opposition to the Assad regime is entirely jihadist, of which ISIS is a large part.

      Here’s a thumbnail sketch – shorn of all the nuance and detail – of the genesis of the war in Syria: it began with a popular uprising, in part brought about by the effects on the populace of economic reforms and prolonged drought in the area, though the proximate trigger was a quite different event (as is so often the way in such events). The regime initially reacted with violent repression, though it did later offer some democratic reforms.

      However, armed opposition got a head of steam, and almost immediately morphed into a jihad. Here’s a little list:
      Jaish el Fateh
      Ahrar al Sham
      Jaish el Sham (formerly al-qaeda)
      These are all big and vicious jihadi gangs, all allied with the putative ‘Free Syria Army’.

      If I were to take a guess at the reason for the continuing support of Assad, I’d say that the populace has decided that, while Assad isn’t too lovely, they’ve now seen what’s worse: ISIS and its jihadi hangers-on. At least the Assad regime is secular.

      • Colonial Viper 2.3.1
        21 August 2016 at 9:08 am

        Members of these same Islamist groups become “moderate” for the purposes of receiving help from Western allies. The day after receiving their supplies they are back doing their Takfiri head chopping and sex slaving.

        “The thing about Syrian and Russian objectives is that they aren’t focused on defeating ISIS, as you tried to frame it. They’re about eliminating all opposition to Assad, including people who legitiamtely only wanted to tell a murdering regime to fuck off.”

        Russia has repeatedly asked the US to identify and define the opposition fighting groups in Syria that it defines as moderate, non-terrorist organisations.

        The US has always refused.

        So now Russia attacks any and all of them who continue to take up arms against the Damascus government.

        Russia has now also directly attacked the secret bases in Syria that US and UK special forces soldiers illegally operate out of.

        This is part of what makes Syria a very dangerous flash point for the world.

        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3704173/Russia-DELIBERATELY-bombs-secret-military-base-Syria-used-elite-American-British-forces.html

        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3704173/Russia-DELIBERATELY-bombs-secret-military-base-Syria-used-elite-American-British-forces.html

      • McFlock 2.3.2
        21 August 2016 at 11:06 pm

        What you say about the American forces in turkey is completely correct. And if the yanks had used Russian weasel words he would have ripped shit out of them. Because it was Russia he took it at face value.

        And your “fact” is only indisputable if you need to justify bombing kurds and yazidis and anyone else who opposes assad. As soon as you recognise that the opposition is more diverse than just being isis the Russian bombing looks a bit fucked.

        • Bill 2.3.2.1
          21 August 2016 at 11:35 pm

          Depending on which Kurds you’re referring to, they are bombed by Turkey and attacked by the Daesh. The Yazidis were fucked over by Daesh when the Kurdish forces from Iraq left them to fend for themselves. Kurds from the Rojava region then saved them with the aid of US air cover. The US then stood back while Turkey bombed them (the Kurds in Rojava).

          And then there is all that shit around the Kurds in Rojava being seen as belonging to a designated terrorist organisation (the PKK).

          And just as an aside, I’m pretty sure that the Rojavans are not fighting against Assad’s military. They have said they want autonomy (not a state) and will abide by Syrian law (with caveats).

          But sure, Russia bad. Assad bad. Or is it US bad. Daesh bad? Whatever, picking sides as though there are two sides to choose from is a really good way to make sure that nothing is understood .and that the confusion is used by bad bastards bent on mayhem and murder.

  3. Ad 3
    20 August 2016 at 2:54 pm

    I don’t see either US Presidential candidate with a helpful plan for Syria. I do think NATO’s Turkish membership needs a kick up the ass if it’s going to play both sides.

    The Turkish shifts with Russia were more unexpected to me than the Iran-Russian ones. It’s just survived being fully ruled by the military, but still seems to accept its massive military needs to be fully flexing its muscle now.

    Syria is another place I think Obama’s far more cautious view of broad military intervention is spot on. The US will always be hampered in this conflict because the global media hold the US to a far higher moral standard than any other major actor. Kerry is so spent for overplaying his position too early. A great time for the US to shut up, show humility, and accept a diminished role that supports a broader UN-based mandate.

    We are slightly closer to seeing the end of this war – but still far too early to see an outcome resembling stability.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1
      20 August 2016 at 3:09 pm

      Obama’s cautious approach to Syria and not wanting to repeat an Iraq has been a credit to him.

    • Garibaldi 3.2
      20 August 2016 at 5:04 pm

      I think Turkey is at a crossroads. After years of falling all over themselves to get into the EU I think they now realize that that horse has bolted and Russia has the potential to be a better ” friend ” than Europe – the old wiifm. Hopefully they will have to leave NATO.
      The basic big problem of the area is still the Sunni bloc vs the Shiites. It is certainly not going to be solved by the bungling Americans and, in all honesty, the Americans should stop supporting the bloody awful Saudi Arabians ( ISIS funders and Yemen slaughterers).
      The odds are stacked heavily against the Shiites. Make no mistake , the only reason the Americans want Assad out is to have a go at Iran. In that light I think Russia has a better chance in the area than “pax Americana”.

      • Colonial Viper 3.2.1
        20 August 2016 at 5:51 pm

        Erdogan is convinced that the US supported the coup attempt against him. That’s going to put a permanent damper on how his government relates to the west.

        Also, western European politicians will never ever accept the increasingly Islamic and undemocratic state of Turkey to enter the EU.

        Erdogan also knows this.

  4. Sanctuary 4
    20 August 2016 at 6:55 pm

    Russia is a busted flush. It’s incredibly corrupt economy is smaller than Australia. It is a pygmy power with tons of left over nukes. It simply lacks the power to do be a major player in the Middle East.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      20 August 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Hi Sanctuary, how does it compare with the corruption of the Clinton Foundation, and the ‘pay for play’ US State Department under Sec Clinton’s leadership?

      • Wayne 4.1.1
        20 August 2016 at 8:38 pm

        Where exactly does the UN fit into this discussion on Syria?

        Reading from what I can of the views of the some of the commentators is that the desired outcome is that Turkey leaves NATO and Russia gets to fully support Assad backed by Turkey.

        Presumably the US gets to permanently deal to ISIS, as a crumb from the table.

        So the outcome for Syria is Assad governing his country, the Kurdish part excepted, who then of course get bombed by Turkey.

        No doubt if you prefer Putin to Obama/Clinton, this is seen as a good outcome.

        I guess some of commentators also hoped that the USSR won the Cold War, on the basis that USSR was much better for the world than the USA.

        So on that basis Assad is also good for Syria and thus should be supported at every opportunity, barrel bombs and all. Apparently not view shared by several million Syrian refugees.

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1
          20 August 2016 at 10:47 pm

          They mostly fled the famine, and the Takfiri Saudi Wahabi derived head choppers sponsored by US Nato allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

          • Psycho Milt 4.1.1.1.1
            21 August 2016 at 12:28 am

            Of course – after all, why would we take their word for it when you have such a better understanding of their motivation?

            • marty mars 4.1.1.1.1.1
              21 August 2016 at 8:21 am

              bit rough there psycho, cv is well up to speed on what he thinks – the refugees would be too traumatised to even know what they want – better to take the high view, the big picture, rather than the word of someones who could just say anything really /sarc

              • Colonial Viper …
                21 August 2016 at 8:43 am

                Happy for you to point me to any survey of the 4 million plus Syrian refugees now in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey on what they want in terms of government at home.

                Or maybe you and Psycho Milt are both making big as assumptions.

                These Syrian refugees know better than anyone that Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been pumping in foreign fighters, arms and money into their provinces, while the US and Europe have been watching it all happen under their noses.

                There’s a reason that the US will not allow a political process involving democratic elections in Syria – Assad would win hands down vs the 101 flavours of Jihadists that the US allies support.

                • marty mars …
                  21 August 2016 at 8:53 am

                  You are a zealot — I voluntarily chose to leave you to it as I self ban from this post ☺

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    21 August 2016 at 8:58 am

                    Sorry to see you go Marty Mars; also feel that you should not think of non-westernised non-corporate driven MSM perspectives as zealotry.

                    • marty mars …
                      21 August 2016 at 9:16 am

                      I just don’t know enough and I know it and I realize no one knows and so it becomes a very westernized debate of a number of I don’t knows speaking as if they do know. Good luck.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      21 August 2016 at 9:35 am

                      Thank you Marty Mars.

                      Personally I feel that Syria should be declared a military demobilised zone, all foreign jihadists ejected, Assad transitioned out of his Executive role within 12 months of the ceasation of hostilities, and democratic elections run.

                      It is crucial that Syria retains a sovereign secular government, and that ISIS doesn’t get to run its black flag up over Damascus.

        • D'Esterre' 4.1.1.2
          22 August 2016 at 12:27 am

          Wayne: “desired outcome is that Turkey leaves NATO and Russia gets to fully support Assad backed by Turkey. ”

          I think that Turkey’s situation vis a vis NATO is more complex than just a straight out exit, at this stage anyway. It seems likely, however, that entry to the EU just got a bit more problematic.

          With regard to Russia’s support of Assad, this shouldn’t surprise anyone; Russia has long had interests in that part of the world. And it was invited in by the Assad regime – which remains legitimate. It is no more exceptionable that it would come to the defence of an ally than it is for the US to unconditionally support Israel as it does.

          “I guess some of commentators also hoped that the USSR won the Cold War, on the basis that USSR was much better for the world than the USA. ”

          Really, talk of who “won” the cold war sounds suspiciously like propaganda. Nobody won or lost: it just fizzled out. Though of course the fall of communism took the CIA completely by surprise; I recall a joke circulating some years back, that the CIA was still waiting for confirmation of it. Which does explain so much…

          “No doubt if you prefer Putin to Obama/Clinton, this is seen as a good outcome.”

          What’s your issue with Putin? Have you fallen victim to the anti-Russian propaganda of which the US and the UK are unable to let go?

          “So on that basis Assad is also good for Syria and thus should be supported at every opportunity, barrel bombs and all. Apparently not view shared by several million Syrian refugees.”

          I’ve seen no evidence that anyone knows what the refugees think about the governance of their country. I guess that we – or some of us, anyway, on the basis of our own circumstances – could put ourselves in their shoes and conclude that they’d like to go back home, all other things being equal. They fled war, remember? And, more recently, the egregious crimes of ISIS crazies and their jihadist buddies. Some may wish to see Assad stay, others to see him go. He still enjoys considerable support among the remaining population: were that not the case, he’d have been gone before now. But it’s their decision to make, not that of Western nations, who’ve made such a pig’s ear of intervention in that part of the world.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2.1
            22 August 2016 at 8:04 am

            The US has steadfastly refused to endorse a political process which includes internationally supervised elections held in Damascus. They have a precondition that Assad must first go, and cannot stand in an election i.e. the Syrian people can select between the choices that the US approves of.

    • Stuart Munro 4.2
      21 August 2016 at 1:54 am

      Russia still has a relatively large and well-trained military that it seems to like to use. Syria is a curious choice of ally, having comparatively little oil wealth – but bases there give Russia a Mediterranean port and a land entry point into the middle east. Killing ‘chorniy jopa’ will not trouble ‘The Liberators’ at all.

      • Garibaldi 4.2.1
        21 August 2016 at 6:37 am

        All you suckers for the lovely peaceful world that American Foreign Policy has delivered ( in the name of democracy for all and sundry to live in perfect bliss) should take your blinkers off and see the USA for what it really has become. It is not what your obviously strongly held dogmas hold it to be. I suppose you still think they did the right thing in Vietnam.

        • Colonial Viper 4.2.1.1
          21 August 2016 at 8:52 am

          Yes Russia will now launch military ops up to 100 to 1,000 km from its own borders in order to tamp down the brushfires of chaos, Islamism and instability that the West keeps trying to light everywhere around it.

    • D'Esterre 4.3
      22 August 2016 at 2:25 pm

      Sanctuary: ” Russia is a busted flush. It’s incredibly corrupt economy is smaller than Australia. It is a pygmy power with tons of left over nukes. It simply lacks the power to do be a major player in the Middle East.”

      Ha! How is it, then, that the US and the UK in particular persist with their shrill anti-Russian, cold war invective, and sabre-rattling in Russia’s near abroad – Ukraine being a salient example?

      If Russia were no longer perceived as an existential threat to US interests in particular, the US could abandon the pretence that the cold war is extant, swallow its pride and collaborate on a diplomatic solution to the problems of the middle east.

      I doubt that’ll happen though. US foreign policy seems to be based on a sort of Disneyland worldview. I’d characterise it as Hollywood (black hat, white hat, happy endings through adversity, pursue the American dream), except that even Hollywood has moments of insight and self-parody.

  5. DoublePlusGood 5
    21 August 2016 at 10:41 am

    Hmm. Very complex geopolitical situation.
    The US can help sort it out though, by:
    – Leaving the whole region
    – Reducing their military spending
    – Stopping funding their terrorist allies in the region, including those that are countries

  6. Xanthe 6
    21 August 2016 at 10:44 am

    sorry for being a pedant but I cant help thinking it should be the flash point just got flash pointier

  7. swordfish 7
    21 August 2016 at 12:27 pm

    “Perhaps what is needed now, is a far sighted US President who is willing to work directly with President Putin, to get rid of the scourge that ISIS represents to both the civilised Western and Islamic worlds.”

    Hillary, of course, – vastly more at ease than Obama with the idea of perpetual war, closely aligned with key neo-conservatives and State Dept “dissidents” and having learned absolutely bloody zilch from the chaos and violence she unleashed in Libya as Sec of State – will be heading off in the opposite direction.

    The heart of her Middle East policy shift starts (ironically enough) from a critique that Obama placed too much emphasis on countering ISIL. Backed by the Kill Assad Now Coalition – Neo-conservatives, the Israeli Govt, the Hillary wing of the State Department and brutal Absolute Monarchs of the Gulf- she’ll be prioritising Regime Change.

    No wonder the Paul Wolfowitzes, Robert Kagans and John D. Negropontes are delighted to join the Hillary camp. As are the Jihadist “moderate” opposition, no doubt hoping to be rescued and revitalised by a Clinton Presidency.

  8. Gerald 8
    22 August 2016 at 7:19 am

    Whats the future for the little boy? I believe that his older brother as now died, the boy and many like him will grow up with little choice other than to be a fighter having been conditioned to violence from such a young age. So look at the face of a future killer and reflect on who created him.

  9. joe90 9
    22 August 2016 at 8:51 am

    In this wide ranging Asharq Al-Awsat* interview (google translation) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu states Turkey has it’s own way of doing things, regards herself as part of Europe and Assad must go.

    Compare and contrast with the once over lightly English version-

    http://english.aawsat.com/2016/08/article55356705/turkish-fm-relations-russia-wont-change-stance-assad

    [Asharq Al-Awsat is Arabic language London based Saudi owned]*

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asharq_Al-Awsat

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    17 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    22 hours ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    23 hours ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-26T23:41:39+00:00