That 1914 Feeling

Written By: - Date published: 10:28 pm, January 3rd, 2020 - 104 comments
Categories: afghanistan, helen clark, Iran, iraq, jacinda ardern, military, Syria, us politics, war, winston peters - Tags:

President Trump personally ordered the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite military Quds force. He was killed by rockets fired from US drones over Baghdad Airport.  This is unlawful by any standards, as well as an act of war. Iran has promised retaliation.The doomsday clock just moved closer to midnight.

 

 

 

 

 

Aussie blogger Caitlin Johnstone provides a summary here. It is to be hoped our media do not just rely on CNN and the BBC for their commentary. I like the Saker and moonofalabama for facts and analysis – others may have other suggestions.

I look forward to condemnation of this unlawful act by the US President from our political leadership. Helen Clark kept us out of the “coalition of the willing” and it is high time our military were out of Iraq and Afghanistan for that matter.

This situation is very worrying. It is long past time that we spoke up for peace.

 

104 comments on “That 1914 Feeling ”

  1. Peter 1

    When you have a megalomaniac in charge of a country anything can happen. When a country has a megalomaniac in charge who finds out that things don't always go as he wants, the toys being thrown out of his cot could be quite dramatic.

  2. Bill 2

    Maybe…just maybe, the US foreign policy establishment and Executive has overplayed its hand (their joint hands) with regards the US population. It'll be interesting to see if the MSNBCs and FOX, NYT and Washington Posts can successfully herd the domestic population behind some notion that this was a strike against terrorism. That's not a little thing, because they need to do that if the intention is to use any retaliation as an excuse for full scale war. But it's also interesting (depressing) that they (the US) have claimed the right to launch pre-emptive strikes from now on in as a means of defence…(escalating to full scale war?)

    We'll see.

  3. Drowsy M. Kram 3

    "It’s déjà vu all over again." – Clifford Terry

    "The very bad news is that Trump is truly one of the most simple-minded and easiest manipulated figures in Western political history, and he’s gotten a perfectly Pavlovian lesson this week that if he wants to be treated as a serious president worthy of respect, all he has to do is take dramatic military action."
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-is-beating-the-drum-of-war_b_58ed3b1ae4b0df7e20464088 [04/11/2017]

    C'mon
    Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers
    Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
    Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes
    And bye bye, bye byes

    All we are saying is give peace a chance [Plastic Ono Band] – oh NO!
    We should be saying let's give peace a chance – NZ!

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/01/03/breaking-nz-must-be-clear-we-will-not-go-to-war-with-trump-against-iran/

  4. James 4

    Citation for you claims that the action ordered by trump was illegal?

    Since you state it as fact and all

    • weka 4.1

      that's a pretty easy google James.

      • James 4.1.1

        I did google it weka. sure a couple of people asking if it was (lefties of course) – but there is no major site stating that it was in fact illegal.

        since the post mentions is clearly as fact – I thought there would be something to back it up

        so I can only believe that they have better info than the poster and that it was indeed perfectly legal

    • KJT 4.2

      Is there any piece of right wing nutjobbery, you don't support, James?

      • James 4.2.1

        killing of assholes like this guy I have no issue with.

        • Psycho Milt 4.2.1.1

          The principle that it's OK to assassinate foreign officials as long as James thinks the official is an asshole isn't really a workable approach to issues like this.

          • Peter 4.2.1.1.1

            And if the principle of assassinating officials who you think are assholes is OK why should foreign officials have preference?

            If supporters of the principle think it's okay for it to be a US principle would logic have it that it could be used against their own leaders?

        • LILMAN 4.2.1.2

          Glad he was taken out.

    • Well, assassinating foreign countries' officials is certainly illegal under international law, so I presume you're asking for evidence it's illegal under US law. A more relevant question would be "If it turns out it's actually not illegal under US law for the PotUS to assassinate foreign countries' officials, hadn't they better change that ASAP?"

      • James 4.3.1

        No – I’m asking for evidence that it’s illegal at all.

        none is provided.

        • Wayne 4.3.1.1

          James,

          France, Senator Schumer, Fred Kaplan, just about ever international lawyer on the planet. OK I don’t do links, but you could read this just about anywhere on the web.

          Part of the justification is that he was involved in the Iraqi insurgency of a decade and a half ago. It makes no sense. Military leaders on both sides were responsible for attacking the other side. Once the war is over they are no longer lawful targets.

          Unless someone is imminently and directly planning and undertaking a deadly terrorist attack there is no legal justification for attacking them. The US has bought no evidence that Soleimani was doing that. Being head of Quds is not enough.

          The US and Iran are not (yet) in a state of war. Yes, they take action against each other’s interests. A bit like the Cold War between the US and the USSR. In that case neither side attacked the central leadership of the other side. That would be an act of war in a way that the Cold War intelligence operations were not.

          • James 4.3.1.1.1

            https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2020/01/03/us/politics/ap-us-united-states-iran-legal-questions.html

            peob the best I have read in this subject.

            Didn’t backup the statement that this was “unlawful by any standards” as this post stated.

            • Psycho Milt 4.3.1.1.1.1

              It's unlawful by international standards. Any government can pass laws allowing it to assassinate foreign countries' officials, so the question of whether this was legal under US law or not is irrelevant. For example, all the people the Nazis executed were killed legally under German law because the Nazi government had passed laws making that legal. Countries with rule of law considered that fact irrelevant, just as they should in this case.

              • Robert Guyton

                " all the people the Nazis executed were killed legally under German law because the Nazi government had passed laws making that legal."

                Is James arguing that this is okay?

                • James

                  No – PM is.

                  keep up Robert.

                • To be fair, he isn't arguing that. His quibbling about the legality of assassinating foreign countries' officials is a sideshow, his actual argument being presented in comment 4.2.1, with its implied argument that killing people is OK if James thinks they're an "asshole." There's no reason (thus far) to assume James considers the victims of the Nazis to be "assholes," but if he did think they were "assholes" then yes he would be arguing it was OK for the Nazis to execute them.

                  • James

                    No – what I’m arguing is that the comment was made this was illegal. I’m saying that is not proven – and there is nothing to back up the posters claim.

                    the second point was personal view. Which is I have no issue with evil people like this being killed. The equivalent argument would be that I would not be sad is someone killed hitler before he could do more harm.

                    • Incognito

                      Skipping the legality issue for a moment, will this pre-emptive strike to remove ‘a risk’ lower the risk/threat level? Will more or fewer innocent lives be lost, for example, as a direct result of this thuggish action on foreign soil? Where does the US draw the line in protecting their ‘interests’?

                    • McFlock

                      I'm sure Iraq has a law against murder.

                    • McFlock

                      It also seems to be contrary to Article2, principle 4 of the UN charter (of which the US is a member):

                      All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

              • James

                “It's unlawful by international standards”

                You state something as fact with nothing to back it up.

                there are positions where that is legal – it has not been proven that this was not.

            • Andre 4.3.1.1.1.2

              I suspect if you dug into the backgrounds of those opinion piece writers (and I can't be arsed doing that), you'd probably find they're enthusiasts for expansive executive powers (but only for Repug presidents). Hence their exclusive focus on Article 2 of the Constitution.

              But if it ever came to having to fight against serious domestic blowback for assassinating a senior member of a legitimate foreign government that the US was not in a formal war with, then I suspect the stronger defence would be that it was authorised under the Authorisation for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists passed in 2001 after 9/11.

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

        • Macro 4.3.1.2

          Can I refer you to this article which looks at the legality of whether or not Trump had the authority to order the killing. The author notes that the matter can be looked at from an International context – but also notes that the Trump administration is noted for not seeing itself constrained by International Law.

          In the past, the United States has relied on one of two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs) to authorize military operations in Iraq. Both remain on the books and provide the most plausible possible statutory legal basis for the strike that killed Soleimani.

          The more famous of the two is the 2001 AUMF, which currently provides the legal authority for U.S. military operations against al-Qaeda and related groups around the world, including those against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The language of this AUMF authorizes “all necessary and appropriate force” against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks and anyone whom “[the president] determines” has harbored and assisted them—not a category that most see as including the Iranian regime, whose religious views are anathema to those of al-Qaeda. That said, the Trump administration has reportedly suggested in briefings to Congress that the 2001 AUMF could be used to target Iran. The exact reasoning behind this assertion is unclear, but Trump administration officials have reportedly pointed to certain transactional interactions between al-Qaeda and Iran both before and after the Sept. 11 attacks. Such ties are far weaker than what has been used to authorize the use of military force against other groups in the past. But the broad and expressly deferential language of the 2001 AUMF makes its application on the basis of these ties difficult to rule out entirely.

          https://www.lawfareblog.com/did-president-have-domestic-legal-authority-kill-qassem-soleimani

    • Obtrectator 4.4

      It mightn't have been "illegal", but it sure was a bad precedent.

      • Peter 4.4.1

        It would be a dramatically bad precedent if some overseas power took out the US President. It would be seen as a declaration of war.

        When the US does it, it's 'sorting out a situation which needs to be sorted out.'

    • Bill 4.5

      A US President requires Congressional approval to take the US into war. Now sure, the Constitution has been ignored by Presidents going back to (I think) WW2 – but that doesn't make it legal, and it has only become "a habit" due to the prevalence of bi-partisan support for military adventurism.

      The fact this act of war was an assassination goes back to G Bush who began the whole drone strike nonsense that Obama continued with, including (I don't know if this was an escalation on his part or if Bush had done likewise) extrajudicial killing of US citizens abroad.

      The Democrats are currently looking at adding further articles of impeachment to their current piss weak case against Trump. If they were serious about protecting the integrity of their institutions, this act by Trump would be in there quicker than milk.

      I'm not holding my breath.

      The Washington Post is headlining that Trump meant this as an act to preserve peace, while the Guardian is couching it in terms of being "a gamble". No condemnation from pop media then – as expected.

  5. It depends on the lawyer of the day, who gives you what/ any/ if any legal advice on the Laws of Armed Conflict or the Rules of War James. Yes folks there are certain rules and Laws for the conduct of War/ Arm Conflict in which just about every tom, dick and Harry thumbs it nose at them when suits them.

    • James 5.1

      Thanks

      i understand there are rules for this kind of thing – and I’m sure they are complicated.
      im also sure the US checked them out well before killing the guy.

      • Drowsy M. Kram 5.1.1

        "…before killing assassinating the guys." – fixed.

        Overall, the statement [by the Pentagon about the airstrike] places far greater emphasis on past activities and violations allegedly commuted by Suleimani. As such the killing appears far more retaliatory for past acts than anticipatory for imminent self defense,” Callamard continued.

        “The statement fails to mention the other individuals killed alongside Suleimani. Collateral? Probably. Unlawful. Absolutely,” she added.

        https://nypost.com/2020/01/03/us-airstrike-that-killed-qassim-soleimani-of-iran-violates-human-rights-law-un-official-says/

        Of course, that's just the opinion of a so-called ‘expert’ (UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killing), and what do they know! In 2003, similar ‘experts’ were saying that Iraq had no WMD capability, but we know that can't be right, because it was a principal justification that the Bush administration gave for invading Iraq (Shock and Awesome), resulting in the deaths of >100,000 Iraqi civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War#Casualty_estimates

        Probably no one in the US administration intended for the ‘body count’ to get that high, but you never know.

  6. Exkiwiforces 6

    Yes Mike, it does have that 1914 feel about it and I must start to sound like a broken gramophone here at The Standard by now that our elected leaders are slowly sleep walking to war atm without realising it.

    It’s high time both NZ and Oz get out of the Sandpit and leave it to the Yanks and their Allies along with the Mad Mulah’s to slug it out for once and all.

    Heck even with a few cans of instant sunshine thrown around by the muppets in the sandpit might even slow down CC for once or the price POL products go through the roof might in courage high demand renewable energy sources/ products.

  7. WeTheBleeple 7

    Told y'all he would start a war just to stay in office. Now the office is threatened, hey presto. America's credibility is in tatters, watch the final threads break loose as this unfolds. Meanwhile, the actual people who want none of this, those 180 million odd Americans with half a clue, dragged along for the ride by this adult child's tantrums. The whole world must suffer because Trump got caught cheating. This is exactly what a rich prick looks like, I've met a few.

  8. Puckish Rogue 8

    Sorry but its one less dead terrorist and Iran can say what it likes in public but in private they'll know what can happen if they step out of line too much

    You attack a countries embassy you attack the country, Trumps response was proportionate and sent a clear message about consequences of actions

    • Robert Guyton 8.1

      "Out of line"

      Whose "line"?

    • Sorry but its one less dead terrorist…

      To the extent that senior leadership of the Iranian military can be labelled "terrorists," so can the leadership of the US military. Is it good if people start assassinating them too?

      You attack a countries embassy you attack the country…

      More accurately, if some dudes stage a protest at a country's embassy, some dude in a third country has attacked that country? Calling that a non sequitur feels over-generous.

      • Puckish Rogue 8.2.1

        They killed an American, it wasnt a peaceful protest

        • adam 8.2.1.1

          Totally agree Puckish Rouge when an American dies, and we should kill the person who perpetrated the heinous act.

          To that end I think we need to send a drone towards Jeff Bezos at once! And wipe the vile killer of Americans off the face of the planet.

          https://nypost.com/2019/10/19/amazon-workers-forced-to-go-back-to-work-after-fellow-employee-dies-on-shift/

          [Please tell us that that was sarcasm and not an incitement to violence. Jeff Bezos hasn’t ordered any killings, has he? Please watch your language – Incognito]

          • Puckish Rogue 8.2.1.1.1

            No arguments here

          • Incognito 8.2.1.1.2

            See my Moderation 4:42 PM.

            • adam 8.2.1.1.2.1

              If you did not read that as the bitterly stupid logical conclusion of Puckish Rouges vacuous argument, then I do truly have to worry Incognito.

              • Incognito

                With some comments, it is hard to tell, sometimes.

                With some commenters, it is hard to tell, sometimes.

                Ambiguity has its place, sometimes.

        • Andre 8.2.1.2

          In all the reports I've seen about the Baghdad embassy protest, there were no deaths or even injuries reported. On the scale of shit going down in the Middle East, that counts as remarkably low-violence.

          The protests were claimed to be a response to airstrikes on Iran-aligned militias in Iraq that killed 25 …

          which were in turn claimed to be in response to a rocket attack on a US base in Iraq which killed 1 US civilian contractor and injured several other Americans …

          which was in turn claimed to be a response to … well, the chain goes all the way back to Donny Dotard trashing the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018.

          https://time.com/5757228/us-iran-events-timeline/

    • Macro 8.3

      And now we await the response from Iran.

    • LILMAN 8.4

      Yes I agree, the POTUS has done a good thing,Obama was a coward,remember his red line in Syria?

      Children and civilians died because he was gutless,at least Trump made Iran pay a price and just maybe force Iranian Leaders to think again.

  9. Sabine 9

    so Iraq – thanks to false information and outright lying to the public, the UN, the allies and all that shit – invaded and fucked up beyond believe

    Afghanistan – thanks to the same – invaded – again i might add – and fucked for the third generation.

    Syria – see above – also fucked beyond believe

    Lebanon – see above

    Yemen – well the Saudis got to loose that war, but see above and fucked and starved for shits n giggles

    and yet, our resident 101 Key board warriors scream their tiny little heads of in delight that the US – occupying the country the illegally invaded and destroyed – targets an invited foreign national akin to a Vice Premier Minister such as Winston – cause the fat fuck in the oval office once more can't shit, or can't flush his shit down the toilet, or can't get his daughter or his wife to fuck him, or because Pelosi lives rent free in the empty cavity beneath the birdsnest he calls hair.

    And our 101 Key board brigade is creaming themselves cause 'killing Iranians is good'.

    Anyone please care to point out which country Iran has invaded? Invaded under false premises? Destroyed beyond believe? Anyone please? Fucking please?

    Good grief. Good fucking grief, are people so bored with their little lives that they clamor for a war?

    WE are so fucked.

    • Bazza64 9.1

      Comparing Soleimani to Winston Peters is a bit of a stretch. One sleeps while overseas, the other is the head of armed forces of a religious theocracy hell bent on spreading their brand of religion & terrorism across the middle east.

      Trump had previously shown restraint, but now the US have acted (who knows it could escalate terribly) as they warned Iran they would.

      Iran probably want a war too – will take the focus off their domestic problems & medieval regime (medieval except for their weapons)

      • francesca 9.1.1

        He (Suleimani )was also the head and strategist of armed forces hugely instrumental in defeating IS in Iraq

      • So maybe swap Winstons name for any Chief of Staff of the United States Army or United States Secretary of Defense..all people.. hell bent on spreading their brand of Corporate Democracy & terror across the middle east…

    • james 9.2

      "cause the fat fuck in the oval office once more can't shit, or can't flush his shit down the toilet, or can't get his daughter or his wife to fuck him, or because Pelosi lives rent free in the empty cavity beneath the birdsnest he calls hair."

      I think we have hit peak hysteria.

      Chill – its the weekend.

  10. Sacha 10

    Legality is not a useful way to approach this when you are dealing with an aggressor that has long explicitly rejected the jurisdiction of world courts.

    Argue it is wrong on other grounds (not that what we say here will make the slightest difference to what unfolds next).

  11. Andre 11

    There were some in Congress that saw something like this coming, and made a feeble attempt to put a leash on the terracotta turdface. But they got voted down anyway.

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/3/21048098/iran-qassem-soleimani-ndaa-2019-vote-ro-khanna-aumf

  12. I can't believe that anyone in their right minds(uh oh) can want a war in this region If insurers will no longer insure for the Hormuz strait what happens to the world economy?

    This kind of drama should be propelling govts much faster towards a non fossil fuel economy

    • Andre 12.1

      Your mistake is thinking there's some kind of big picture or strategic thinking behind it. There isn't. There is only what makes the tangerine toddler feel good in the moment. Even if it's just a spreading feeling of warmth in his nappy.

      https://www.salon.com/2020/01/03/heres-the-big-question-how-does-trump-personally-benefit-from-war-with-iran/

    • francesca 12.2

      Gawd! Like a sitcom

      Four Years Ago, Trump Had No Clue Who Iran’s Suleimani Was. Now He May Have Kicked Off WWIII.

      Mehdi Hasan

      January 4 2020, 2:56 a.m.

      US President Donald Trump makes a video call to the troops stationed worldwide at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Florida, on December 24, 2019. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)

      President Donald Trump makes a video call to the troops stationed worldwide at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 24, 2019.

      Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

      IN SEPTEMBER 2015, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump appeared on the syndicated radio show of conservative media star, Hugh Hewitt, to talk foreign policy.

      “Are you familiar with General Suleimani?” Hewitt asked the real estate mogul from Queens.

      “Yes,” said Trump, before hesitating. “Go ahead, give me a little … tell me.”

      When Hewitt told Trump that Suleimani “runs the Quds Forces,” Trump responded: “I think the Kurds, by the way, have been horribly mistreated by us.”

      “No, not the Kurds, the Quds Forces,” Hewitt interjected. “The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Quds Forces. The bad guys.”

      “I thought you said Kurds,” a sheepish Trump replied.

      • Sacha 12.2.1

        Further protestations of the cheeto-in-chief's innocence:

        https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1213104654172794880

      • Bill 12.2.2

        You'd have thought (putting myself in the Oval Office) that if I sat there and said I had this great idea about drone striking Soleimani, that there would be at least one adviser telling me I was being a dick and laying out why.

        But if I'm in the Oval Office and don't really have a handle on the details, then I can see how I might be gamed by various advisers to drone strike the guy.

        It wouldn't surprise me if the second scenario is fairly close to what happened. It doesn't make me innocent, and illustrates why Congressional oversight needs to be exercised by the clowns people elected to office.

        If they refuse to do that, aren't they all as culpable as Trump?

    • Stuart Munro 12.3

      One would expect they'd've been pursuing such a policy well before a compelling political emergency arose – but of course they'll have been doing nothing as usual.

      Peter Bethune was chasing it up back in 2004 and concluded that hydrogen as a fuel was a dead-end, but that biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol could become mainstream in use. (wikipedia)

      Whatever coherence may have existed in US middle eastern policy prior to Trump is long gone, which will move things toward physical rather than rational resolutions.

  13. Fireblade 13

    New U.S. air raid close to Camp Taji in Iraq.

    "Iraqi official says air raid hit cars carrying Iran-backed militia north of Baghdad"

    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/air-raid-targets-hashd-commander-iraq-state-tv-200103233605393.html

  14. infused 14

    It's about time the US grew some balls.

    Iran ain't going to do a thing.

    • joe90 14.1

      Yeah, and these blokes are going for the sun, surf and sand.

      /

      https://twitter.com/ginaaharkins/status/1213186133720481792

    • Barfly 14.2

      and if they do….u looking fwd 2 $300 per barrel oil?

      • adam 14.2.1

        Look forward to no oil, the US military has low reserves – and can not do any more than a few days of combat.

        If this blows up, forget going to the pump.

        • joe90 14.2.1.1

          The US military uses around 100 million barrels annually. The US has around 650 million barrels of oil in reserve.

          They ain't running out anytime soon.

          • John Clover 14.2.1.1.1

            Thank you for those figures Joe90.

            I get rather tired of all these silly comments about Trump… grow up folk, it doesn't help with the discussion and is foolish and un productive name calling. What children do before they grow up, if they do.

            • Incognito 14.2.1.1.1.1

              Lowering the level of discourse is a deliberate strategy AKA as dumbing down. At the same time we are distracted, numbed down, fooled, and turned off. If we all think and act as little children, it is lot easier for the elites to continue their nefarious business.

  15. Its going to take the mother of all conspiracy theories to somehow find Putin behind all this There'll be some contortionist out there to do it

    After all,Trump does nothing without Putin's say so, and if Putin says go and attack my crucial ally in the Caucasus and Syria, Trumpy will do it

    Do I need a sarc tag?

  16. joe90 19

    Used him him when they needed him and then assassinated him as a distraction.

    His enormous influence has even led to limited cooperation with the Americans. In spite of his involvement in attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and his unconcealed loathing for the U.S., Soleimani cooperated with the Americans to elect Iraq’s interim prime minister in 2010. At the U.S.'s request, Soleimani also ordered the Mahdi Army, led by the separatist Iraqi Shi’ite Muqtada al-Sadr, to stop attacking American targets in Baghdad. And when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Iranian officials – on Soleimani’s orders – gave American representatives a map of Taliban bases to target in Afghanistan.

    On at least two occasions, American forces could have killed Soleimani but refrained, due mainly to considerations of local politics and Washington’s desire to preserve the undercover cooperation with Tehran in the war against ISIS in Iraq.

    https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/qassem-soleimani-iran-quds-force-that-attacked-israel-trump-killed-in-iraq-1.6075565

  17. joe90 20

    But..but…he’ll never go for that, it’s way too out there.

    https://twitter.com/EvanMcMullin/status/1213645534063419393

    • Andre 20.1

      There's been a steady escalation of what the tinyfingers twittertwat needs to do to provoke sufficient outrage to distract from his other current problems. I'm seriously worried we're now only a few steps away from him indulging his nukes curiosity to distract and look tough.

      • pat 20.1.1

        are nukes used exclusively at the whim of the President?….or is there some form of cross confirmation from another party?

      • McFlock 20.1.2

        And I'm worried that by now everyone who would have had the gumption to stop him has been replaced by toadies.

  18. Rosie Bradbury 21

    RIP the Grandduke Ferdinand, RIP the Western World.

  19. John Clover 22

    Iran has been thumping its whats-it at America with the US playing it cool so it is about time they showed Iran what to expect it they continue. The problem will come from all the small groups looking to have the 'west' on.

  20. Muttonbird 23

    I read a headline the other day which claimed the only person who could bring down Trump is Bolton.

    Now Trump is executing Bolton's innermost desires.

    Coincidence?

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    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    9 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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