The International Legion of Territorial Defence

Written By: advantage - Date published: 7:30 am, March 7th, 2022 - 107 comments
Categories: International, Russia, United Nations - Tags:

An organisation has been set up with the blessing of the Ukraine government to bring in volunteer fighters from across the world to fight in Ukraine against Russia.

Apparently it has 16,000 volunteers from across the globe.

About 90 years ago, large contingents of international leftists and anarchists fought alongside republicans against Fascists in the Spanish Civil War from 1936 to 1939. The fascist side of the Spanish government got a lot of help from the German NAZI military, and the left and the Republicans lost.

Of the 20 or so New Zealanders who went to Spain to fight, four died. There were also 66 Australian men and women who joined the fight there. The strength of the left in New Zealand was strong and communist activity within parts of the left was then at its strongest. Sympathy for those fighting in Spain had fair cause here.

There will be a similar temptation, as in days of old, to join with the volunteers and fight to defend Ukraine. It ought to be as simple, surely?

It pays to check what you are fighting for.

President Zelinsky clearly didn’t want to implement the Minsk II Accord. In Paris at the end of January, seven years after the Minsk II agreement, Ukraine and Russia held marathon eight-hour talks mediated by Germany and France. The Minsk II agreement simply reflected the situation on the ground. Nothing doing.

Zelinsky is a leader who rose to power as a confection of the controversial media billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky. Kolomoisky was the owner of the country’s largest bank until he was accused of siphoning off US$5.5 billion out of it. He has been banned from entering the United States.

Zelinsky certainly campaigned against corruption, but the Pandora Papers showed that he was neck deep in a network of companies co-owned with friends and TV business partners. The include Serhiy Shefir who produced this shows that got him to stardom, and his brother Borys who wrote the scripts. Then there were the owners of Zelinskyy’s production studio Kvartal 95.

However much infighting there was on the Spanish Republican side between leftists, Communists, anarchists and others, you could be confident that the Nazis were on the other side. President Zelinsky’s call-out to foreigners is clearly attractive to many, but according to a 2019 report from the intelligence and security consultancy the Soufan Group, you can start in the fight with level-headed certainty and soon be vulnerable to right wing radicalisation while there.

The perpetrator of the Christchurch Massacre claimed in his manifesto to have visited Ukraine and done exactly that (not linking to the manifesto sorry).

In early March 2014 Neo-NAZIs were actively assisted by the CIA to roll the elected Ukraine government, and they were then assisted into the highest levels of government in Ukraine.

Overseen by CIA director John Brennan in Kyiv, “special security units” coordinated savage attacks on the people of Donbas, who opposed the coup. Video and eyewitness reports show fascist thugs burning the trade union headquarters in the city of Odessa, killing 41 people trapped inside. Obama congratulated this “duly elected” coup regime for its ‘remarkable restraint’.

On the political level the neo-nazi Ukraine Social National Party quickly evolved into Svoboda. For several elections they did well in the east of the country.

Upon reflection, the former Director of the CIA thought it was not a good idea to pump weapons into Ukraine.

In March 2018 Ukrainian neo-NAZIs were recruiting actual nazi sympathisers in Britain to join in the eastern Ukraine battles.

In January 2019 there were major demonstrations by neo-nazis in multiple cities in the Ukraine.

And it continued to build.

In May 2019 President Zelinsky dissolved Parliament. From the fresh election his own Servant of the People Party has 61% of members who have never before held office. But Zelinsky’s parliamentary results have set Svoboda back strongly, even in the east where they were strong.

Still, in Kyiv in April 2021 there were large marches celebrating the Galicia Division who supported the German Nazi Party in World War 2.

Just a few days ago the Russian and Ukraine governments were having to trade charges about who was more Nazi.

It may well be that President Zelinsky is indeed as noble as he states. It is simply true that the Ukraine is the victim of a hostile and unprovoked attack from Russia. Zelinsky is a motivational and convincing speaker to even the most politically hardened of audiences.

But this isn’t the simple divide of left and right that the left fought for in Spain 1936, so don’t run off and join the International League of Territorial Defence as if it were a morally simple cause.

107 comments on “The International Legion of Territorial Defence ”

Comments are now closed

Ad 1

7 March 2022 at 8:04 am

Correcting my own sentence: "Upon reflection, the former Director of the CIA thought it was not a good idea …"

With thanks to MS for the formatting.

[Updated now – MS]
- Adrian Thornton 1.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 1:51 pm
  
  That was actually a pretty good piece Ad, thanks…one or two things I could easily pick out to critique, but I won't…as you have rightly pointed out, this is a very complicated conflict and one with many layers of nuances that you or I won't be aware of, and one with many other global players gleefully stocking the fires in the background, fires that have eventually and some say predictably ignited this terrible war.
Jenny how to get there 2

7 March 2022 at 8:56 am

There are neo-nazis fighting on both sides.

It should be no surprise Fascism and Nazism are death cults that make a fetish of war and nationalism.

….The ideologues, as well as some prominent members of the neo-Nazi Russian National Unity party [headed by Alexander Barkashov, believed to be in Donetsk at the moment], Alexander Dugin’s ultra-nationalist Eurasia Party; Edward Limonov’s Other Russia party and Black Hundred are either actively involved in the fighting in eastern Ukraine or effectively encouraging others to take part.

Pavel Gubarev, one of the leaders of the Donetsk militants from the outset is known for his roots in the Russian National Unity party. His aide, Alexander Proselkov, shot and killed on July 31 by the militants’ own security guards, was a Russian national and member of the neo-fascist International Eurasia Movement and Eurasian Youth Union, both closely linked to Dugin. He was one of many Dugin followers now in eastern Ukraine.

Neo-fascist Dugin’ has friends and / or followers in high places in Moscow. His anti-Western and anti-democratic rhetoric was disturbingly echoed in Glazyev and Shevchenko’s addresses in Yalta.

Dugin, Barkashov and Limonov and their supporters have provided active support and training to militants in eastern Ukraine.

Nor is any of this new. Anton Shekhovtsov, a researcher on far-right movements, reports clear evidence of Russian security service support for pro-Russian ‘separatists’ since 2005….

Russian fascist ideologue Dugin: Why stop with Donetsk and Luhansk?

01.09.2014

Halya Coynash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV4v31azgQM
- Ad 2.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 9:05 am
  
  Probably worth updating from an 8 year old citation.
  
  I cover the "both sides" point anyway.
  - Jenny How to get there 2.1.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 11:06 pm
    
    About that 8 year old citation
    
    .The International Legion of Territorial Defence « The Standard
    
    "I cover the both sides point." Ad.
    
    About that. Just one sentence? That one sentence directs to a link, in that link, neo-nazis in Russia and indeed neo-nazis fighting on the Russian side in the Donbas are not mentioned.
    
    In the linked article there is one single sentence, that does admit that "nationalism" is flourishing in Putin's Russia, but in the same sentence qualifies this by saying, "extreme nationalism" is on the rise in the Ukraine.
    
    Hardly covering both sides.
    
    I stand by what I wrote.
    
    It had to be said.
Gosman 3

7 March 2022 at 9:45 am

What actual policies of the Ukrainian government would qualify as "neo-Nazi"?

I think that as you have made a claim that elements of the Ukrainian government have effectively been infiltrated by neo-Nazis it is beholden on you to show how they are influencing that country at a practical level.

Are they making life more difficult for minorities like Jews and Russians? If so, how come the President is Jewish and the Russian army is not exactly being welcomed as a liberator in the Russian speaking areas in East of the country like in Kharkiv?
- Ad 3.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 10:29 am
  
  I cited evidence for that claim for the 2014 elections.
  
  I then noted that Zelinsky had won the subsequent election and pushed back gains from the neo-NAZI power.
  
  It would be churlish to decide which side has greater neo-NAZI influence on the Russian or Ukrainian sides. That's the point of the post.
  
  Allan Ripp: Ukraine has a Nazi problem, but Vladimir Putin's 'denazification' claim for war is a lie. (nbcnews.com)
  - Gosman 3.1.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 10:53 am
    
    Even bringing up "neo-Nazis" (whether in Ukraine or Russia) is pointless. You may as well be looking for the bogeyman under the bed. Instead of focusing on irrelevant factors (unless you can point to a reason WHY there is an immediate concern about them) perhaps the focus should be on whether the invasion of Ukraine by Putin's army can be stopped. Do you have any ideas on that front?
    - Ad 3.1.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 11:09 am
      
      Western analysts, the CIA, and Putin himself view neo-NAZIs as highly relevant to the invasion. So the reason WHY analysing them is relevant can be read on multiple fronts as I've described above.
      
      Whether Putin's armed forces can be stopped: that's a different post.
      - Gosman 3.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 11:18 am
        
        Putin, the CIA, and Western analysts (whoever "they" are) think a lot of dodgy stuff that has no relevance to reality. The trouble with you focusing on it gives credence to one of the made up excuses Putin used for the invasion. You might not be a supporter of Putin but articles like this come across as providing cover for his actions.
        
        Ad 3.1.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 11:30 am
        
        I've just cited over a dozen reports to start to describe 'they'. Propaganda isn't going to go away because you want it to.
        
        Be skeptical. Read widely. Cite from reputable sources. Mock the rest.
      - Stuart Munro 3.1.1.1.2
        
        7 March 2022 at 2:03 pm
        
        Putin will say anything.
        
        So it's Nato, and Nazis he's fighting against. And democracy – dangerous stuff that.
        
        The importance of the Nazis seems to be in the role of pretext, as is the case with Nato creep. Putin has invaded other states without such pretexts.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 3.1.1.1.2.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 5:16 pm
        
        It seems that you love 'whataboutisme' and be the learned theologian of the subject when it suits regarding Putins actions, but ignore the US 'adventures' in other nations
        
        But lets just be historical about the 'Putin invasion of Georgia' which occured when Georgia began shelling the South Ossetian villages and Russian peacekeepers. Did the Georgians really think it was a great idea ( probably sillier than Putin invading Ukraine.)
        
        As for why Ossetia has Russian peacekeepers maybe the same question should be asked of US mainly Nato forces in Kosovo – still a part of Serbia
        
        hmm.. civil war , ethnic violence . Who knew?
        
        https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2021-08-19/Kosovo-Bondsteel-National-Guard-Vermont-2580248.html
        
        Stuart Munro …
        
        8 March 2022 at 11:57 am
        
        You've got to keep them separated Ghost, the actions of the US and the Putin administrations can be right or wrong in different places and for different reasons.
        
        Consider Yemen – a thorn in the side of US ally Saudi, and the recurrent site of war crimes involving bombing civilians. A black mark against the US for tolerating it, but they are probably not the instigators (their war on terror stuff may have played a part however). Someone has been supplying the Houthis with drones. It could be Russia, Turkey, or Iran, if it's someone nearby. Iran is the prime suspect. Is Iran's intervention benign then, supporting an oppressed population against a criminal adversary? It rather depends on the use the Houthis make of the aid, and Iran's object in supplying it.
        
        As for the Putin branch of Kremlinology, I'm afraid I have family who've been in the room when he was ranting, and a brave one that was on the ground reporting from the Chechen ~~war~~ genocide. We have few illusions about him, and are inclined to debunk his more egregious fictions.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz …
        
        8 March 2022 at 3:23 pm
        
        Saudi deliberately attacked the country first
        
        “'The civil war began in September 2014 when Houthi forces took over the capital city Sanaa, which was followed by a rapid Houthi takeover of the government. ….”
        
        “Hadi [Saudi supported President] fled the country the same day. -25th March [163][164] Concurrently, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia launched military operations by using air strikes to restore the former Yemeni government”
        
        Certainly Yemen has the ability then to strike back at Saudi but at the time didnt have military support from Iran ( they had Ukrainian ballistic missiles)
        
        Surely the Yemenis are allowed to defend themselves – and if that means hits on Saudi and Emerati cities then self defence allows that.
        
        Its nearly a decade back now but the Saudis certainly intervened in a Civil war in their neighbour and were only later subject to self defence attacks by Yemen.
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%93present)
        
        Stuart Munro …
        
        8 March 2022 at 3:51 pm
        
        I don't think many folk are under the illusion that Saudi is an exemplary state. And its oil reserves are no trivial consideration. But I think the US hands-off policy in respect of Saudi is primarily driven by its status as the custodian of the two holy mosques. Any western intervention runs the risk of uniting a pretty substantial religious community against it.
        
        Saudi's issue with the Houthis is harder to read – complicated history there Who are the Houthis, and why are we at war with them? (brookings.edu)
mikesh 4

7 March 2022 at 9:50 am

The appearance of the AFD party in Germany, coupled with the fact that remilitarization of Germany seems to be on the cards, must also be worrying Putin. It would therefore seem worthwhile for Russia to denazify Ukraine if they can, since another babarossa would be greatly assisted if there were neo nazis in Ukraine.
- Gosman 4.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 10:56 am
  
  This again presupposes that there are neo-Nazis in any significant levels of power within the Ukrainian government. That has not been established. Instead of worrying about phantom potential threats maybe you should look at the actual oppressive government trying to impose it's will on others.
  - Ad 4.1.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 11:27 am
    
    All the neo-NAZI threats within government that were there prior to Zelinsky's 2019 election are still there.
    
    They have been growing for a while.
    
    In 2009-10 local elections Svoboda made a breakthrough by winning in three Galician regions and the mayor's office in Ternopil.
    
    In 2012 Svoboda came into Parliament with 10.4%.
    
    In 2013-14 Ukrainian radical nationalists played a crucial and indispensable role in the Maidan uprising, though they were a minority.
    
    The first step, simply, is to recognise that the neo-NAZI problem is neither a fiction of Russian propaganda, nor can it be reduced to the inevitable but temporary effects of the war.
    
    A second step is to see Ukrainian radical nationalists’ unique extra-parliamentary power, aggravated by their interpenetration with the law-enforcement and weak liberal civil society, presents a real danger to human rights and political liberties in Ukraine.
    
    At the moment they have been kept at bay by Zelinsky's win and charisma. But the chances of Zelinsky surviving more than one more month in power are less than 50%. So the problem already there is going to come back in force and this time with a lot more guns. money, and volunteers.
    - lprent 4.1.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 12:14 pm
      
      Ad: I note that you stopped quoting numbers after 2014.
      Let me link the 2019 election.
      
      Since the 2019 election, what has been the numbers of ‘neo-nazi’ vote in parliament? Something like 4% in total and dropping?
      
      There is a useful set of charts about party regionalism in wikipedia.
      
      The opinion polls leading up to the 2019 election are also instructive.
      
      Basically I can’t see anything that actually supports either you argument or that the Russia
      
      As for the coup – that seems like simple speculation to me. It assumes that no-one does anything about it. Which does seem quite unlikely, and something that neither you nor Mike haven’t provided any basis for. Apart from a vote in the UN about two weirdo countries in the world who have militias in their constitution.
      - Ad 4.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 2:04 pm
        
        Agree that the threat has decreased in state elections and as I noted since the 2019 election.
        
        It grew elsewhere.
        
        Right now in the middle of an all-out war all those distinctions are temporarily dissolved into a binary.
        
        As soon as a settlement comes it all splinters again.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 4.1.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 5:30 pm
        
        From 2014 they changed its election system, from a NZ style constituencies and party lists To a single nationwide list and no constituencies
        
        For obvious reasons various 'fatherland partys' arent going openly campaign on ultra nationalist themes as the EU is watching and the switch to nationwide party lists means their strength in the polish border region ( 2012 30% plus) and was diminished.
        
        No surprise their lowest vote in 2012 was the Russian speaking heartland including the Black Sea Coast ( known since Catherine II time as New Russia)
  - mikesh 4.1.2
    
    7 March 2022 at 4:02 pm
    
    This again presupposes that there are neo-Nazis in any significant levels of power within the Ukrainian government.
    
    They don't have to be in government to be a threat. They just have to exist. In the event of a Nazi led movement against Russia they would not be asking the Ukranian government for permission before they participate.
- Psycho Milt 4.2
  
  7 March 2022 at 12:26 pm
  
  It isn't fascism that worries Putin. If it were, he'd be doing something about Russian far-right extremist groups rather than invading Ukraine. What genuinely seems to worry him is having a Slav democracy right next door setting an example for his own people of what they could have instead of dictatorship.
  
  As for German re-armament, full credit for achieving this previously-unthinkable change goes to V. V. Putin himself. Invading other countries is a rich source of unforeseen consequences.
  - mikesh 4.2.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 4:05 pm
    
    It isn't fascism that worries Putin. If it were, he'd be doing something about Russian far-right extremist groups rather than invading Ukraine.
    
    Why do you think that?
    - Psycho Milt 4.2.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 4:27 pm
      
      Because that would be the priority of a sane person who genuinely believed the existence of far-right groups was a threat to his country. He seems sane, so the only conclusion is that his claim about the threat of fascism is not genuine.
  - ghostwhowalksnz 4.2.2
    
    7 March 2022 at 5:40 pm
    
    German re-armament happened in 1956 onwards when the Bundesrepublik joined Nato and in the 70s reached half a million strong in the Army alone with huge forces in the German speciality – Panzers
    
    https://www.bundeswehr.de/en/about-bundeswehr/history/cold-war
    
    Quite a distortion to consider the current situation as the norm .
    - Gosman 4.2.2.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 8:35 am
      
      It was purely a defensive force designed to counter the massive Soviet offensive force based in East Germany and Czechoslovakia.
      - ghostwhowalksnz 4.2.2.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 9:37 am
        
        Im sure the Soviet Group of Forces in east germany would say the same.
        
        That 'defensive Nato' claim was broken in its offensive operation against Serbia, Libya and even patrolling the mountain valleys of Afghanistan
        
        However its a myth that Germany never re-armed after WW2
Dennis Frank 5

7 March 2022 at 10:51 am

Since truth is the first casualty of war, we get to comment on truth-claims instead. Framing then becomes the key to interpretation. For instance, Zelinsky's rhetoric when he addressed the EU by videolink got a prolonged standing ovation. Freedom-fighter framing got that – not his endless stream of platitudes.

I have no problem with idealists from foreign countries heading there to fight for freedom but they really ought to think about it deeply first. Zelinsky unilaterally requested entry into the EU for Ukraine. If he got a mandate from his govt for that, I didn't see the fact reported. Skating on thin ice, considering his electorate was split down the middle in the referendum on the question of joining NATO.

According to polls conducted between 2005 and 2013, Ukrainian public support of NATO membership remained low. However, since the Russo-Ukrainian War and Annexation of Crimea, public support for Ukrainian membership in NATO has risen greatly. Since June 2014, polls showed that about 50% of those asked supported Ukrainian NATO membership.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93NATO_relations

However there's this significant parliamentary mandate:

On 7 February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament voted with a majority of 334 out of 385 to change the Ukrainian constitution in order to help Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union.

Therefore there is indeed a reasonable basis for international solidarity in support of Zelinsky's initiative. If I were the UN sec gen I'd itemize a confirming referendum as part of any peace settlement…
- Gosman 5.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 10:58 am
  
  I am pretty sure there would be a substantial majority support in Ukraine for Ukraine becoming a member of both the EU and NATO now. You can thank Putin for bringing about that.
  - Blazer 5.1.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 11:33 am
    
    Always has been.
    - Dennis Frank 5.1.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 11:51 am
      
      Not according to my citation from the Wikipedia page!
      - Blazer 5.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 12:12 pm
        
        Is that post 2014?
  - mikesh 5.1.2
    
    7 March 2022 at 4:33 pm
    
    What Zelinskyy should been at pains to promote was Euro-Russo-Sino unity. Think of the economic power such a block have, particularly if it took in other countries which belong to that vast Northern continent as well. It can't be in Ukraine's best interests to be the meat in the East-West power game sandwich. But I guess Washington's pawn was never going to think those sorts of thoughts.
- mikesh 5.2
  
  7 March 2022 at 4:10 pm
  
  Therefore there is indeed a reasonable basis for international solidarity in support of Zelinsky's initiative.
  
  And a basis also for 'Russia's invasion.
  - Dennis Frank 5.2.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 5:00 pm
    
    Dunno if I can agree that Putin's paranoia re NATO is reasonable. Understandable, if it emanates from his perception that NATO is ruled by the USA. It isn't.
    
    NATO is only a real threat to Putin if he attacks a member country. Is it reasonable to attack a country requesting membership? Not when your country is on the Security Council of the UN. It's irrational on that basis.
    - mikesh 5.2.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 5:16 pm
      
      The ostensible purposes of NATO and the actual purposes may well be two different things.
      - McFlock 5.2.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 5:29 pm
        
        Except that Nato expansion requires Nato's "purposes" and the prospective member's "purposes" coinciding.
        
        Whereas invasion, as we see, can be a unilateral act.
        
        Thing is, the invasion of Ukraine simply demonstrates that all the Eastern European nations who embraced Nato in the last 30 years had a plausible need for defense against Russian invasion. Whatever NATO's "purposes", there is a clear "purpose" for the nations who requested membership or partnership "action plans": deter invasion.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 5.2.1.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 6:22 pm
        
        https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/04/ex-nato-head-says-putin-wanted-to-join-alliance-early-on-in-his-rule
        
        Certainly Nato 'light' or the Partnership for Peace military alliance was offered to Russia along with the other European non nato countries.
        
        McFlock …
        
        7 March 2022 at 8:03 pm
        
        dang, that article's a doozy:
        
        Vladimir Putin wanted Russia to join Nato but did not want his country to have to go through the usual application process and stand in line “with a lot of countries that don’t matter”, according to a former secretary general of the transatlantic alliance.
        
        already snubbed by not being begged to join, the prospect of democracy was not to his liking:
        
        After the Orange Revolution street protests in Ukraine in 2004, Putin became increasingly suspicious of the west, which he blamed for funding pro-democracy NGOs
        
        lols
        
        mikesh 5.2.1.1.1.2
        
        7 March 2022 at 11:58 pm
        
        Thing is, the invasion of Ukraine simply demonstrates that all the Eastern European nations who embraced Nato in the last 30 years had a plausible need for defense against Russian invasion.
        
        It doesn't demonstrate anything of the sort. There were reasons for the invasion of Ukraine – the bombing of the Dombass area, the threat implied by their desire to join NATO, and the threat of Nazis in the Ukraine. You may not think that these are sufficient reasons, but that's just a judgment on your part. I doubt whether Putin would agree with you, and I suspect he's a bit smarter than you, and better informed re Ukraine.
        
        McFlock …
        
        8 March 2022 at 12:06 am
        
        Nations wouldn't be so eager to join Nato if Russia didn't do shit like send troops into the Donbass area of the Ukraine.
        
        As for ridding Europe of Nazis, a laudable goal if he'd started doing it in Russia first.
        
        Putin is probably smarter than me, but it sure looks like he's outsmarted you, too.
        
        mikesh …
        
        8 March 2022 at 10:24 am
        
        Nations wouldn't be so eager to join Nato if Russia didn't do shit like send troops into the Donbass area of the Ukraine.
        
        Which was for the purpose of defending the region from attacks by the fascist dominated Ukraine government.
        
        As for ridding Europe of Nazis, a laudable goal if he'd started doing it in Russia first.
        
        A "night of the long knives" would not be as simple to carry out as it was in Germany in the thirties, but fascism in another country on one's borders would almost certainly a matter of concern, particularly if that other country was already pretty hostile toward one.
        
        Nations wouldn't be so eager to join Nato if Russia didn't do shit like send troops into the Donbass area of the Ukraine.
        
        So what. NATO has been around for decades. The current invasion has no bearing on its formation; or on Ukraine’s desire to join.
        
        McFlock …
        
        8 March 2022 at 3:54 pm
        
        Which was for the purpose of defending the region from attacks by the fascist dominated Ukraine government.
        
        Oh, okay, so it's fine for nations to annex part of other nations if the other nation's government isn't nice?
        
        Or is it just fine when Russia does it, but not when the US does it?
        
        Nations wouldn't be so eager to join Nato if Russia didn't do shit like send troops into the Donbass area of the Ukraine.
        
        So what. NATO has been around for decades. The current invasion has no bearing on its formation; or on Ukraine’s desire to join.
        
        lols, so the actual invasion has made no change in the invaded nation's desire to join a mutual defence pact. Coolcool.
    - Subliminal 5.2.1.2
      
      7 March 2022 at 8:19 pm
      
      You seem to have forgotten Libya and Afghanistan. But I would say that it was the Nato bombing of Belgrade that was the real head turner for non western countries view of Nato. Fisk at the independent is now behind a paywall hence the archived page.
      - Dennis Frank 5.2.1.2.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 8:58 pm
        
        Seems totally irrelevant. If you feel there's a signal to some kind of principle therein, it wasn't evident to me on a quick scan. Just seemed like an historical war report…
    - mikesh 5.2.1.3
      
      8 March 2022 at 12:10 am
      
      Putin is probably no more paranoid than Churchill was when the latter talked about an "iron curtain descending over Europe". What we have is two sides trying to prevent an invasion by their opposite, when neither side has any desire to invade the other. And we have the US doing its damnedest to provoke an atmosphere of "paranoia" in order to keep them apart. Russia has nothing to gain from an invasion of Europe; and the Europeans have nothing to gain from an invasion of Russia. The only power with anything to gain from hostilities between the two is the USA.
      - McFlock 5.2.1.3.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 12:14 am
        
        What we have is two sides trying to prevent an invasion by their opposite, when neither side has any desire to invade the other.
        
        Russia is afraid the Ukraine will invade it?
        
        lol
        
        mikesh 5.2.1.3.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 10:26 am
        
        No. But there are probably other reasons for her invasion.
        
        McFlock …
        
        8 March 2022 at 3:55 pm
        
        So we don't have "two sides trying to prevent an invasion by their opposite", then. We have one side that invaded it's opposite for "other reasons".
        
        thanks for clearing that up – Russia has not invaded Ukraine as an act of self defence.
aj 6

7 March 2022 at 11:06 am

Literally admitting propaganda is part of the plan. Not that that should surprise anybody. Russia will be doing the same. In a world full of justified lies the biggest casualty is truth.

What difference is there between publishing propaganda and publishing a piece that essentially outright excuses the publishing of propaganda? New York Times also emphasized Saddam had weapons of mass destruction just to keep the morale high.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/technology/ukraine-war-misinfo.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

I wonder what influence the propaganda war will have on the decision of some to join the cause.
- Ad 6.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 11:10 am
  
  Propaganda matters and is particularly intense in this war.
  - aj 6.1.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 11:23 am
    
    I agree. Propaganda has been a big part of every war since I've been alive, but in the digital / social media world it is magnified many times.
    It becomes virtually impossible to believe anything/everything you read or see. But propaganda is not designed to impart the truth to anyone.
  - Hongi Ika 6.1.2
    
    8 March 2022 at 10:50 am
    
    War Pornography is the correct terminology.
McFlock 7

7 March 2022 at 11:47 am

It's a fair call – anyone going over there could end up alongside all sorts of dickheads.

I wonder how much the apparent lurch to the right was a reaction to being invaded, though. Nationalism tends to get extreme when your government rolls over for an historic occupiers, who then takes some border regions when a revolution topples their man.

But lots of Ukrainians, basic civilians and not just the leadership or military, seem pretty hardcore opposed to being occupied by Russia. And Russia has it's own nationalist-extremist problem, as others have pointed out.
- Hongi Ika 7.1
  
  8 March 2022 at 10:49 am
  
  The Ukraine his a hot pot of different militia groups, along with the regular Ukranian Army.
  - McFlock 7.1.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 3:56 pm
    
    So is Russia.
lprent 8

7 March 2022 at 1:15 pm

In early March 2014 Neo-NAZIs were actively assisted by the CIA to roll the elected Ukraine government, and they were then assisted into the highest levels of government in Ukraine.

That was an article from 2014. What is interesting to see was where the people mentioned in the article wound up. I just did a quick random jump through the people mentioned in that article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andriy_Parubiy – MP, no obvious current position otherwise

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksandr_Sych – disappeared from political life as far as I can see.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ihor_Shvaika – no longer an MP

+ about 5 others that also seem to have disappeared from Ukrainian public life.

Perhaps you might like to update your post with some actual current information about these 'neo-nazi's in public life in positions of influence in the government – since 2019.

Basically that whole article appears to be based on a group that kind of vaporised after 2014. Frankly it reads like hysterical bullshit after the the 2014 political chaos that has virtually no relevance to now – 8 years later.
- Ad 8.1
  
  7 March 2022 at 2:00 pm
  
  The citations already provided show that neo-NAZI state-level influence peaked from the 2014 term and moved into civil society.
  
  For the period 2014-19, the best summary of their influence within civil society is the Feb 2019 article in The Nation by Lev Golinkin.
  
  Neo-Nazis and the Far Right Are On the March in Ukraine | The Nation
  
  The 2019 Presidential elections are of course key. But Zelinsky, even if we take all his rhetoric as truth, has a very small chance of staying in office.
  
  Should current government fall, all the neo-NAZI problems come back into a massively damaged society in a hurry, this time with more people and arms, and even less restraint.
  - Dennis Frank 8.1.1
    
    7 March 2022 at 2:10 pm
    
    You do seem to be onto something. From that essay in the Nation:
    
    Speaker of Parliament Andriy Parubiy cofounded and led two neo-Nazi organizations: the Social-National Party of Ukraine (later renamed Svoboda), and Patriot of Ukraine, whose members would eventually form the core of Azov.
    
    Although Parubiy left the far right in the early 2000’s, he hasn’t rejected his past. When asked about it in a 2016 interview, Parubiy replied that his “values” haven’t changed. Parubiy, whose autobiography shows him marching with the neo-Nazi wolfsangel symbol used by Aryan Nations, regularly meets with Washington think tanks and politicians; his neo-Nazi background is ignored or outright denied.
    
    The Speaker of Parliament is a structural component of governance. A neo-Nazi in that position, doing active liaison with elements of the deep state in the US capital, can't be discounted as insignificant on any basis.
    - ghostwhowalksnz 8.1.1.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 5:45 pm
      
      Yes as a satellite of the EU economic system openly using ultra nationalist themes and policies were kept quiet ( many factories moved there for sub assemblys to take advanatge of low wages once the eastern europe labour force could migrate to higher paid jobs in western EU nations)
      https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/porsche-suspends-macan-panamera-output-due-ukraine-conflict
      
      ACT in NZ does similar with its extreme neo liberal policies, they are kept quiet and only talked about amoungst party activists
      - Gosman 8.1.1.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 8:08 am
        
        You have no evidence to support that claim about ACT.
    - CrimzonGhost 8.1.1.2
      
      8 March 2022 at 7:09 pm
      
      Svoboda is far right, ultranationalist but it purged it's Neo-Nazis, it might be near Fascist but Fascism and Neo-Nazism are not the exact same thing. They have 15000 members and only one seat in the Assembly. At height of pop. hey got 10% of vote just after Maidan in the new elections but shrunk and shrunk since then. Putin's quest to de-Nazify via an invasion LOL only succeeds in resharpening their teeth as they do have experience in Maidan uprising and in organizing to fight the Russian "Little Green Men" in Luhansk/Donetsk so now patriotic Ukrainians are turning to them for training. If Ukraine survives in some form I'm sure they'll once more get some more support in an election.
  - SPC 8.1.2
    
    7 March 2022 at 8:24 pm
    
    Are you really arguing that Putin's removal of Zelinsky from office is likely to result in a move to the right in both Ukrainian government and wider society (with more people and arms than before)?
    
    Have you informed the Ural mountain bunker man, that his plan to remove the regime and excise the nationalist extremist right will achieve the exact opposite?
    
    He needs to know.
    - Ad 8.1.2.1
      
      7 March 2022 at 10:02 pm
      
      The only prediction I'd make for Ukrain'e future is years of anomie and extremism like any trashed state.
      - SPC 8.1.2.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 10:22 pm
        
        Two scenarios.
        
        Russia annexes the south and east and installs a puppet regime (with Russian security) that recognises loss of this territory and Crimea.
        
        As above, but the regime comes to an end – this rump state joins the EU, but is otherwise nuetral.
        
        SPC 8.1.2.1.1.1
        
        7 March 2022 at 11:07 pm
        
        The above is based on realism – however if Putin is a Dugin Russian idealist it will be full annexation.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz …
        
        8 March 2022 at 11:19 am
        
        The parallel is Mexican Tejas
        
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War
        
        The Mexican government refused to be pressured into signing a peace treaty at this point, making the U.S. invasion of the Mexican heartland under Major General Winfield Scott and its capture of the capital Mexico City a strategy to force peace negotiations. Although Mexico was defeated on the battlefield, politically its government's negotiating a treaty remained a fraught issue, with some factions refusing to consider any recognition of its loss of territory. Although Polk formally relieved his peace envoy, Nicholas Trist, of his post as negotiator, Trist ignored the order and successfully concluded the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. It ended the war, and Mexico recognized the Mexican Cession, areas not part of disputed Texas but conquered by the U.S. Army.
  - mikesh 8.1.3
    
    8 March 2022 at 11:33 am
    
    The dumping of Yanukovic was hardly democratic. The usual procedure would have been to wait for the next presidential election and vote him out. That's how things are usually done in a democracy. A president would have to be impeached. Yanukovic apparently agreed to an early election, possibly coerced, but the fascists started impeachment proceedings anyway. What were they afraid of? That an election might see him re-elected?
    
    Apparently he was dumped because he entered into an economic assistance agreement with Russia when a small vociferous group of citizens wished to favour the EU. I doubt if that could be considered a reason for not wanting to wait for an election in order to get rid of him, whatever the merits or otherwise of that decision of his.
    - Psycho Milt 8.1.3.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 12:44 pm
      
      "The usual procedure would have been to wait for the next presidential election and vote him out."
      
      For an example of how that plays out in practice, see Belarussians trying to vote out Lukashenko in 2020. Guys like that don't admit or allow electoral defeat – the options are they die of old age still in office, they're killed or they leave the way Yanukovic did, ie fleeing before the citizenry can get their hands on them. There is no "vote them out."
    - CrimzonGhost 8.1.3.2
      
      8 March 2022 at 7:20 pm
      
      Yanukovyich was a Fascist type. Imprisoned his major opponent on trumped up charges, tried to centralise power to himself and turned his back on his election pledges for EU but not NATO and neutrality to make a deal with Putin …popular protests ensued, he tried to use Police, Militia, Army but many elements refused and his own party turned it's back on him and the Assembly voted no confidence and then he fled to Russia before he couldd be impeached or tried for treason, fraud etc. Now he's sitting waiting to be installed as puppet probably.
- weston 8.2
  
  7 March 2022 at 2:57 pm
  
  On the contrary lynn the political chaos in 2014 has every relevance to now eight years later because its perfectly obvious to some of us at least the yanks are the maggots in the cheese so to speak and having fermented the unrest in the first place as per their classic playbook we have the situation today .Currently their media is in overdrive pumping out war stories something you yourself called war porn very recently all in lockstep of course and recklessly imo choreographed to wring every vestige of sympathy for the poor citizens of ukraine resulting in an outpouring of support from arround the world and a frenzy of extra lethal weapons being provided such as javelin missiles which as others have pointed out here will result in ever more civilian deaths as now any suspicious structure capable of concealing a fighter armed with a javelin will have to be destroyed before the opposing group can advance .No building will be safe in other words .
  
  Seems like the whole world has gone nuts in just a few weeks and the level of hypocrisy from american and ue interests is astounding the war in yemen perpetrated by the us uk and their arab allies goes on unabated israel bombs its neighbors with impunity and occupies palestine with no un mandate unless im mistaken .This list could go on and on .As if in a competition of insanities now germany has announced apparently that they intend to remilitarize wtf !? are we gonna see the iron cross once more emblazoned on the wings of bombers heading for russia ?
  
  Perhaps those fullas you mentioned earlier as having vaporised saw the error of their ways and went off an started up a nice little cafe somewhere but i doubt it .
  - Gosman 8.2.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 8:30 am
    
    It is astounding that you blame civilian damage and casualties on the Ukrainians DEFENDING their country (which they have EVERY right to do).
    
    Is that what you do for all Wars or just ones that the "bad guy" is the USA?
    - ghostwhowalksnz 8.2.1.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 11:30 am
      
      Mostly the most destructive ones in recent decades have involved the US.
      
      Fallujah , Raqqa were flattened cities you may have heard of . I dont think the inhabitants had anything like the heavy firepower that Ukraine has but those cities were flattened anyway because that was 'the mission'
      
      Add to that the US allies like Saudi Arabia and Israel who have used their US planes on major attacks on Sanaa Yemen and Beruit.
      
      And if we want to talk about redrawing borders to make new realities , how come only one district of Palestine had a Jewish majority in the UN 1947 partition plan , that was Tel Aviv, which excluded the contiguous old city ( but Arab) of Jaffo.
      
      What Europe and US wanted they got out of that situation.
      - Psycho Milt 8.2.1.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 12:56 pm
        
        So, your point is that the Russians are acting as badly as the US did with the Iraq war. It's a start, at least. It's a pity Bush will never pay for his crimes, but that's no reason Putin shouldn't pay for his. Also, Russians are in fact acting worse than the US, in that Iraq genuinely was a fascist dictatorship and a proven threat to its neighbours, but Ukraine is a functioning democracy and no threat.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 8.2.1.1.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:09 pm
        
        Of course it doesnt mean that Putin has done a stupid thing. or the continued war in Iraq and Syria led to massive civilian loss of life or even blatant disregard of US military own protocols , many civilian targets too. Of course some would say the split of approvals was deliberate to allow these things and the Hospital attack in Kunduz to happen
        
        https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/us/airstrike-us-isis-dam.html
        
        But you know who was an combat ally with US, UK, Australia in the attack on Iraq – POLAND ( who also were part of the dismemberment of Czechoslavakia in 1938-39 and before that the Invasion and territory grab of Ukraine in 1919-21)
    - weston 8.2.1.2
      
      8 March 2022 at 11:51 am
      
      This war is not black and white gosman for starters there are three sides or four if you count the US .The russians dont wanna see missile silos over the back fence and the ukrainians are fighting a civil war with their countrymen then you have uncle sam once again behind the scenes stirring the pot .Whats their end game gosman ?Are they using ukraine as their proxies to fight Russia ? Zelinsky seems to be doing a pretty good job of presenting himself as a hero but how wise is it to be handing out rifles to civilians and encouraging grandmas to make molatov cocktails ? Have the russians been using flamethrowers ?The "fight to the last man " senario comes accross to me like a bad movie script when you could seek peace with a few compromises but each to his own .
      - Psycho Milt 8.2.1.2.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 12:58 pm
        
        "If you count the US."
        
        Ukraine's problem is that the US isn't a participant in this war. Do try and pay attention.
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 8.2.1.2.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:13 pm
        
        Its is a participant in that it directly aids Ukraine and has been doing so for some time Famously Trump was impeached for trying to barter the military aid appropriated by Congress to use to get the Ukraine government in a smear against Biden
      - Gosman 8.2.1.2.2
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:00 pm
        
        The US is unlikely to station Nuclear missiles in Ukraine even if the country was to join NATO. They certainly haven't done so in countries much closer to the Russian heartland such as the Baltic nations. The eastern border of Estonia is only 152 km from the center of St Petersburg.
      - Gosman 8.2.1.2.3
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:02 pm
        
        What sort of peace should the Ukrainians accept – to be demilitarised and for the government of the country to be imposed on them by the Kremlin (both of which are stated aims of the Russian invasion)?
        
        ghostwhowalksnz 8.2.1.2.3.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:16 pm
        
        Theres a name for it and applied for 70 years Finlandisation.
        
        Imposed on the Finns too, seemed to have worked out for them fine
        
        Being nuetral has its benefits , ask the Irish, Swedes, Swiss.
      - CrimzonGhost 8.2.1.2.4
        
        8 March 2022 at 7:39 pm
        
        No, they're weren't just fighting a civil war with their "fellow countrymen". They wer fighting a war against colonist Russians and the Russian State. In both Crimea and the two partial breakaway provinces many Russians and Russian speakers wanted autonomy/federalism within Ukraine …not "independence"/subsumation into Russia.
- Hongi Ika 8.3
  
  8 March 2022 at 10:33 am
  
  Don't think the CIA have helped matters in the Ukraine.
  - Gosman 8.3.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 2:03 pm
    
    In what regard has the CIA made things worse? The Ukraine is a functioning democracy. Do you have problems with that?
    - Incognito 8.3.1.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 2:08 pm
      
      Please attend to your moderation here (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-03-2022/#comment-1872492) before you comment here any further. If not, I will put you in Pre-Mod until you respond or until you’ll be moved along to you-know-where.
- CrimzonGhost 8.4
  
  8 March 2022 at 6:39 pm
  
  Svoboda is far right, ultranationalist but it purged it's Neo-Nazis, it might be near Fascist but Fascism and Neo-Nazism are not the exact same thing. They have 15000 members and only one seat in the Assembly. At height of pop. hey got 10% of vote just after Maidan in the new elections but shrunk and shrunk since then. Putin's quest to de-Nazify via an invasion LOL only succeeds in resharpening their teeth as they do have experience in Maidan uprising and in organizing to fight the Russian "Little Green Men" in Luhansk/Donetsk so now patriotic Ukrainians are turning to them for training. If Ukraine survives in some form I'm sure they'll once more get some more support in an election.
aj 9

7 March 2022 at 11:04 pm

I’m no fan of this man, but he he understands the realism principle of geopolitics.

Henry Kissinger 2014: To settle the Ukraine crisis, start at the end.

Putin should come to realize that, whatever his grievances, a policy of military impositions would produce another Cold War. For its part, the United States needs to avoid treating Russia as an aberrant to be patiently taught rules of conduct established by Washington. Putin is a serious strategist — on the premises of Russian history. Understanding U.S. values and psychology are not his strong suits. Nor has understanding Russian history and psychology been a strong point of U.S. policymakers.
- Stuart Munro 9.1
  
  8 March 2022 at 2:46 pm
  
  Kissinger is a lost soul, as is to be expected of admirers of Metternich. With the demise of its ideological heft, Russia has no claim whereby it ought to lead other nations, so understanding its kleptocracy isn't especially important.
  
  Were we simply to recognize any warlord of a certain size, there would have been no issue with Hitler. Our current world order expects governments to demonstrate a popular mandate, one which would, in the absence of murder, media suppression and blanket propaganda, have made the invasion of Ukraine an electorally risky step. It is not to be expected that anything desirable would come out of an essentially debased and criminal state, nor has it. The country most in need of denazification is Russia.
roblogic 10

8 March 2022 at 5:26 am

While I believe that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a despicable act, and the ongoing war crimes against civilians belie Putin's claims to be on some kind of peacekeeping mission, NATO & the USA displayed a stunning amount of arrogance by inviting Ukraine to join, breaking a long term understanding with Russia.

Thread

https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1498491107902062592?s=20&t=jqpoWIzV8IA_V42UEWMoSw
- Hongi Ika 10.1
  
  8 March 2022 at 6:10 am
  
  So the USA & NATO poked the Russian Bear too hard and he has bitten back ?
  - Gosman 10.1.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 8:32 am
    
    How did the US and NATO poke Russia prior to this War? NATO expansion has been entirely voluntary. Nations have asked to join. They were not compelled to do so like most nations in the Warsaw pact.
    - ghostwhowalksnz 10.1.1.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 9:57 am
      
      Ask Cuba and Venezuela about their freedom to join military pacts
      - Hongi Ika 10.1.1.1.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 10:44 am
        
        Having spent some time in Cuba about 15-20 years ago, the US were not particularly nice to the Cuban people from 1901-1959 after they annexed Cuba after the Spanish – American War in 1901, then they got really pissed off with Castro & Guevera when the Cuban Revolution occurred in 1959 and they chucked the Americans out.
        
        However this New President is not super good and many of the Cuban People are not particularly happy with his performance to date.
    - mikesh 10.1.1.2
      
      8 March 2022 at 11:51 am
      
      The Warsaw pact countries were already under Russia's control, when the pact was put in place, as a result of WWII. Russia's purpose in keeping them under her thumb was not a sign of aggression on her part, but rather a means of establishing a defensive buffer between herself and the rest of Europe. Understandable, perhaps, given the losses she had suffered as a result of the war.
      - Stuart Munro 10.1.1.2.1
        
        8 March 2022 at 2:48 pm
        
        But not understandable for the peoples of those countries – consigned to the rule of corrupt despots for great power convenience.
  - roblogic 10.1.2
    
    8 March 2022 at 5:12 pm
    
    Essentially, yes. Bears are aggressively territorial beasts. It doesn't justify Putin's invasion but it's not like it came out of nowhere.
- Ad 10.2
  
  8 March 2022 at 9:39 am
  
  That is a really good string thanks Rob.
  
  Certainly makes me wonder what Brennan and Obama thought they were doing there.
Sanctuary 11

8 March 2022 at 1:26 pm

I think it is also worth commenting on the Galizien Waffen SS division. Not all SS formations were made up of hardened, indoctrinated blond haired, blue eyed wannabe Nazi supermen. The SS – as a political rather than military organisation – often raised units that the army didn't really care for. The Galizien division was a good example of this. It has to be remembered that the Ukraine had been subjected to a brutal artificial famine (the Homodor) and Ukrainian nationalism and intelligensia had been savagely repressed by Stalin. Much like the Balts, The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, created in October 1942, fought with the Germans against the Poles and Communism and against the Germans and Fascism if they thought that helped further their aim of an independent Ukraine. Ukrainian partisans were for example, responsible for the ambush death of the prominent Marshal of the Soviet Union Nikolai Vatutin. Like all other militias of nationalities of the time they engaged in all the usual murderous ethnic cleansing of Poles and other minorities.

The Soviet Union was the only country in Eastern Europe that outlawed anti-semitic activity, and as a result Jews in the USSR and Eastern Europe were enthusiastic supporters of Soviet communism – hence Hitler's "Jewish-Bolshevik" conspiracies. Given the general atmosphere of anti-Jewish sentiment since the pogroms of the Tsars Ukrainians had all the depressingly usual anti-semitic attitudes typical of the era.

Throw in hunger and it is pretty clear formations like the Galizian SS division had few, if any, actual Nazis in it and it's troops were largely motivated by a savage anti-communism, a far dollop of typical anti-semitism and a vague hope that helping the Germans win would further the establishment of an independent Ukraine.

None of this of course is meant to make excuses for any war crimes against Poles and Jews and other ethnic groups they managed to get their hands on, it's just to point out that for all the nomenclature of being an "SS" formation the motivation of this division was far more mixed than it's title might suggest.
- Ad 11.1
  
  8 March 2022 at 2:10 pm
  
  It starts to remind one of why the EU was set up and continually strengthened in the first place: to find a way to do business other than to roll tanks in when you disagree. The hard right will finally have a hard time in EU area elections like France.
  
  It was certainly rich to hear Kenya's UN Ambassador Kimani speak recently of "complet[ing] our recovery from the embers of dead empires in a way that does not plunge us back into new forms of domination and oppression", when his government had just set troops into Somalia on some bogus pretext.
  
  Kimani, Zelinsky and Putin would do well to read Wole Soyinka's "A Season of Anomie", which is the slide of a postcolonial country into ungovernable mess, chaos, extremism, and uncontrolled brutality.
  
  Ukraine is a hair trigger away from another Rwanda.
  - Sanctuary 11.1.1
    
    8 March 2022 at 2:37 pm
    
    Europe has a dirty little secret – it's post war stability has been built on lethal ethnic cleansing during and post WW2, with mass expulsions of ethnic groups to create ethnically homogenised populations finally settling the pre-war tensions and adding to the untold misery of the immediate post-WW2 world in Europe, and where that didn't occur due to communism it simply erupted decades later, as in the Balkans and parts of the ex-USSR.
    - Ad 11.1.1.1
      
      8 March 2022 at 3:29 pm
      
      Is that really true since decolonisation?
      
      France is in the 2000s much more mixed, as is the UK, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Spain, BENELUX, Sweden, Greece, and more.
      
      Granted that hasn't been the case as much in Hungary or Austria.
      
      But in most of the EU the open internal borders and five decades of absorbing postcolonial and refugee migration waves has made most of the EU much more cosmopolitan.
    - ghostwhowalksnz 11.1.1.2
      
      8 March 2022 at 3:37 pm
      
      Every 'End of Empires' period has let to civil and against neighbours wars.
      
      Ottoman Empire end in Europe led to a long period of wars between neighbours, and effectively only ended when the last Balkan War – that between Serbia and Austria precipitated WW1.
      
      Same with the former Ottoman Empire in Arabian peninsula
      
      WW1 and the end of German Russian and Austrian empires saw many little wars breakout but Versailles treaty was both a dampner on that and the seeding of new conflicts
      
      Even the end of being part of the UK immediately led to an internal civil war in Ireland – where the new government was even more brutal than the British ( executed over 70 prisoners , many without trial including some politicians who didnt participate in military action )
- PsyclingLeft.Always 11.2
  
  11 March 2022 at 4:38 pm
  
  “the Germans gave assurances that the division would fight only against the Red Army, allowed Ukrainian chaplains to serve with the division, undertook to train Ukrainian officer cadres, and released a number of Ukrainian political prisoners”
  
  http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CD%5CI%5CDivisionGalizien.htm
  
  “In a speech to the soldiers of the 1st Galician division, Heinrich Himmler stated:
```
Your homeland has become so much more beautiful since you have lost &ndash; on our initiative, I must say &ndash; those residents who were so often a dirty blemish on Galicia's good name, namely the Jews ... I know that if I ordered you to liquidate the Poles ... I would be giving you permission to do what you are eager to do anyway.[41]  "
```
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Waffen_Grenadier_Division_of_the_SS_(1st_Galician)#Atrocities
  
  “The SS used some of its most seasoned killers to oversee the development of its new division. SS Gen. Jurgen Stroop, who would later be executed as a war criminal for his brutal destruction of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, was brought on as an advisor.”
  
  https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-government-comes-to-the-defence-of-nazi-ss-and-nazi-collaborators-but-why
  
  I note the sanitised Ukraine version. I…sadly… probably know too much of this history. They certainly were evil POS
Jenny how to get there 12

11 March 2022 at 4:18 pm

Propaganda is much a part of war as bombs and shells.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-03/inside-the-separatist-republic-that-triggered-the-war-in-ukraine/100871262

The first victim of war is truth. The second is civilians.
Jono 13

12 March 2022 at 6:51 pm

The United States of Amnesia launched a totally illegal war in Iraq in 2003. The Reasons were false and erroneous. The majority of nations denounced the invasion….as they had prior to its launch. Where was the global outrage then? There were worldwide protests by people in the street but companies and swift and IOC did NOTHING. Stones and glass houses. It's beyond rich that 24-7 propaganda demonized russia and putting while Bush sips whisky in Texas. See nick Bryant's latest for bbc as an example. Bush and Blair should be in jail…the West needs a good look in the mirror.. russia went in "soft" compared to us in Iraq. If China forged defense alliances with Honduras and Cuba…then an anti-us Mexican elected and wants to join…how WOULD US react?

Comments are now closed

Articles RSS

Comments
Opinions

A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
59 mins ago

On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
2 hours ago

New Zealand has never been closed for business
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
3 hours ago

Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
5 hours ago

Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
7 hours ago

The Hoon around the week to April 19
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
7 hours ago

The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
8 hours ago

Nicola's Salad Days.
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
8 hours ago

Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
9 hours ago

Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
10 hours ago

Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
11 hours ago

Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
13 hours ago

How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
14 hours ago

How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
21 hours ago

How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
22 hours ago

Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
Skeptical Science
22 hours ago

Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
22 hours ago

How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
22 hours ago

How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
22 hours ago

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
23 hours ago

How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
23 hours ago

Climate Change: Turning the tide
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
24 hours ago

How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
1 day ago

Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
1 day ago

Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
1 day ago

Despair – construction consenting edition
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

What happens after the war – Mariupol
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Open ParachuteBy Ken
1 day ago

Babies and benefits – no good news
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
1 day ago

Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
1 day ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
1 day ago

Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
1 day ago

Meeting the Master Baiters
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
1 day ago

How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
Skeptical Science
2 days ago

Backbone, revisited
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
2 days ago

Ministers are not above the law
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
2 days ago

What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
2 days ago

Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

A TikTok Prime Minister.
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
2 days ago

Texas Lessons
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
2 days ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
3 days ago

Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

At a glance – Is the science settled?
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Skeptical Science
3 days ago

Apposite Quotations.
How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
Bowalley Road
3 days ago

What’s a life worth now?
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
3 days ago

Howling at the Moon
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Newshub is Dead.
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
3 days ago

Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
3 days ago

Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
3 days ago

Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
3 days ago

Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
3 days ago

Long Tunnel or Long Con?
Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
3 days ago

Smoke And Mirrors.
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
3 days ago

What is Mexico doing about climate change?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
Skeptical Science
4 days ago

State of humanity, 2024
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
4 days ago

Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
4 days ago

The case for cultural connectedness
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Useful context on public sector job cuts
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
4 days ago

Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
4 days ago

Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
4 days ago

True Blue.
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
4 days ago

Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
5 days ago

2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
Skeptical Science
5 days ago

Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts
Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
5 days ago

Or is that just they want us to think?
Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
5 days ago

Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
Skeptical Science
6 days ago

Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
Greens
1 hour ago

Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Labour Blog
1 hour ago

Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect them
News that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunches
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals bill
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Government throws coal on the climate crisis fire
The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...
Greens
3 days ago

Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project instead
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priority
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful law
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homes
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on media
The action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters
The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Opportunity to build a more sustainable economy
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust past
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environment
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to Government
Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention Office
Labour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

CCC issues warning over further climate delay
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets are lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt priorities
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Methane target review is dangerous duplication
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled students
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: National must take mental health seriously
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwards
The Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cuts
New Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing plan
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do list
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this April
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

$41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 hour ago

Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 hours ago

Judicial appointments announced
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 hours ago

Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 hours ago

Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 hours ago

Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 hours ago

Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
8 hours ago

Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
19 hours ago

Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Taupō takes pole position
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Government backing mussel spat project
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Government focused on getting people into work
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 day ago

Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Inflation coming down, but more work to do
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
2 days ago

Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
3 days ago

McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
4 days ago

New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
5 days ago

Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Roads of National Significance planning underway
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Navigating an unstable global environment
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

Joint US and NZ declaration
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
1 week ago

‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 mins ago

Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development Bank
The government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...
Radio NZ – political
31 mins ago

Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
3 hours ago

Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'
Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...
Radio NZ – political
3 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding Squeeze
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Scoop politics
3 hours ago

I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
3 hours ago

How the coolest little capital is shrinking
It's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Ministers accused of Cabinet Manual breach with threats to Waitangi Tribunal
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
4 hours ago

Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
4 hours ago

Good news: midlife health is about more than a waist measurement. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
4 hours ago

The Friday Poem: ‘Mitochondrial Problem’ by Evangeline Riddiford Graham
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The SpinoffBy Evangeline Riddiford Graham
4 hours ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) Hot off the press, this debut ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
4 hours ago

Department of Conservation closing Dunedin centre, but no jobs lost
Visitor habits are changing and DOC needs to adapt in a financially sustainable way, its operations director says. ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Unions Collaborate With Thousands Of Job Cuts
With New Zealand officially in recession, a swathe of mass sackings is currently sending shockwaves through the entire working class. ...
Scoop politics
4 hours ago

Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters in Manila after pledging greater defence cooperation with the Philippines. Watch live. ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Government sent please explain letter to Wellington City Council over transport disagreement
The contents were revealed in correspondence from Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop to Wellington's Mayor. ...
Radio NZ – political
4 hours ago

Some families push back against journalists who mine social media for photos – they have every rig...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
5 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation staff cuts loom, with funding falling behind rising costs
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
Radio NZ – political
5 hours ago

The ‘devil comet’ 12P/Pons-Brooks has finally become visible from Australia. What can we expect?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024. James Peirce/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND If you’re a fan of all things space, you’ve doubtless heard about the “devil comet”, which has been captivating keen-eyed observers in the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
5 hours ago

Rugby stadiums are sold as an economic asset – but NZ needs to ask if they’re really worth it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hamlin, Senior Lecturer in Marketing , University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
5 hours ago

Auckland dog attacks: Callouts for attacks on other animals going up
Roaming dogs are responsible for more than a thousand attacks on animals each year, and the number is growing. ...
Radio NZ – political
6 hours ago

What access to puberty blockers means for trans young people and their whānau
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
The SpinoffBy Julia de Bres
6 hours ago

NZ and Philippines pledge defence cooperation amid rising tensions
The commitment came after a sit-down meeting between Christopher Luxon and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr overnight. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

How superblocks can help reimagine city life
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
The SpinoffBy Ellen Rykers
7 hours ago

Fire engineering expertise may take a big hit with job cuts at MBIE
The public sector cuts are poised to take out a big chunk of expertise at the country's building regulator. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

“Fast-track Law To Kill Kiwi”: Students Say Fight Against Anti-democracy Legislation Is Only Jus...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Scoop politics
8 hours ago

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period products
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
The SpinoffBy Kristin Kelly
9 hours ago

Rip It Up And Start Over – Fast-Track Approvals Bill Needs To Be Scrapped
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

Maori Authority Warns Government On Fast Track Legislation
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

Why the government’s haste in changing the health system could come back to haunt it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

Things that go buzz in the night – our global study found there really are more insects out after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
9 hours ago

‘Character’ And Its Impact On Immigration Status
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
Scoop politics
9 hours ago

20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last year
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
10 hours ago

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
The SpinoffBy Zoë Mills
13 hours ago

Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation fees
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously. The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The SpinoffBy Stewart Sowman-Lund
13 hours ago

Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved
Shane Jones says people voted for change, but opponents say small cuts such as ending a special oceans secretariat are starting to add up The post Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin
13 hours ago

Defence deal to counter Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
NewsroomBy Laura Walters
13 hours ago

Wellington’s ebb and flow of public servants
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
NewsroomBy Tom Kitchin
13 hours ago

New Zealand transport planning has gone off the rails
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
NewsroomBy Dr Timothy F Welch
13 hours ago

Daily crossword, Friday 19 April
The post Daily crossword, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
13 hours ago

Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows
The transport sector is currently in the slow lane The post Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Emma Hatton
13 hours ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
13 hours ago

Financial literacy should be on all of us
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Bryce Marsden
13 hours ago

Missy rustles to stardom in Canada
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
NewsroomBy Aiden McLaughlin
13 hours ago

Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace
Official figures confirm New Zealand produced less climate pollution in 2022 than in any other year in the 21st century The post Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
13 hours ago

Grattan on Friday: Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
18 hours ago

Group plans work to improve safety of female MPs
New research shows harassment of elected officials - especially women - is on the rise. ...
Radio NZ – political
20 hours ago

Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's Prime Minister says his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance. ...
Radio NZ – political
21 hours ago

PSA astonished Education Minister expects hiring of contractors to review curriculum
Hiring contractors is an appalling solution when people who could do the work are losing their jobs, the PSA says. ...
Radio NZ – political
22 hours ago

Crown lawyers attempt to block Waitangi Tribunal summons to Minister for Children
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Radio NZ – political
23 hours ago

Luxon refuses to guarantee public consultation on AUKUS Pillar 2
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it's "far too premature" to be confirming whether the public would be consulted on joining AUKUS Pillar 2. ...
Radio NZ – political
24 hours ago

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs fo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Choice and control: will NDIS reforms mean people with disability don’t get to decide who they liv...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground Picture Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Asbestos in playground mulch: how to avoid a repeat of this circular economy scandal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Could Albanese’s bet on homegrown green industries be the boost our regions deserve?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Cloudy Designs/Shutterstock Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up. In 2022, America launched its mammoth Inflation Reduction Act and the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Watch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon won't say if government will consult public on joining ...
Asked multiple times if the public will be consulted on joining the defence pact, Luxon repeatedly said that was yet to be worked through. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Watch live: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks in Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters on the third leg of his Southeast Asia trip, from Manila in the Philippines. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Māori lawyers call Shane Jones' Waitangi Tribunal comments 'inappropriate'
The Māori Law Society says his comments breach the principle of the separation of powers and the Cabinet Manual. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Abortions Increase 25% Since Law Change
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Over Half Of New Zealanders Feel That The Country Is In Decline And That Our Society Is Broken
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Australia’s new defence strategy is big on ideas, but lacks one key ingredient: well-trained soldi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University There have been a lot of defence announcements recently about buying new equipment, building up Australia’s manufacturing capabilities, creating local jobs, new legislation to support AUKUS and even a new defence chief. In ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

What does Steve Smith’s Stateside signing mean for cricket in the US – and Australia?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Harcourt, Industry Professor and Chief Economist, University of Technology Sydney Steve Smith, one of this generation’s finest batters, has conquered much of the cricketing world during his career, and he now has set his sights on a new frontier: the United ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

A love letter to Wellington: when i open the shop by romesh dissanayake, reviewed
Madeleine Ballard reviews the debut novel from romesh dissanayake. when I open the shop, the debut novel by Naarm-based Aotearoa writer romesh dissanayake (Sri Lankan, Koryo Saram), is a narrative of grief. Devendra loses his mother, opens a noodle shop on The Terrace, grieves, and emerges changed. But just as ...
The SpinoffBy Madeleine Ballard
1 day ago

Minister Concedes Contractors Will Be Hired To Do Work Of Axed Ministry Of Education Staff
The PSA can’t believe that the Minister of Education is happy for her ministry to hire contractors at the same time it is dismissing 565 workers. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Attempt to bar diplomat from Myanmar military junta fails
Myanmar community members applied to the courts to bar the diplomat from attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

LGNZ Welcomes Govt Earthquake-prone Buildings Decision
LGNZ has advocated for this decision as part of a remit led by Manawatū District Council. ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

AUKUS Pillar 2 a 'fragrant, methane-wrapped bull***' – Bob Carr
The former Australian Foreign Minister has continued to warn New Zealand against joining the defence pact. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Enforceable undertaking issued to abc accounting services limited after continued non-compliance.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has accepted an enforceable undertaking agreement from ABC Accounting Services Limited (ABC) under section 81 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act). ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

REVEALED: RNZ’s Hypocrisy Over Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill
The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Radio New Zealand (RNZ) spent $71,842.53 on Facebook advertising over the past 12 months, despite earlier this year coming out in support of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill , which would force the likes ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Police rejected 'very good offer' – Mark Mitchell
Police Minister Mark Mitchell says the pay offer rejected by police was the best the government could put forward under difficult financial circumstances. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

The International Legion of Territorial Defence

Related Posts

107 comments on “The International Legion of Territorial Defence ”

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

The International Legion of Territorial Defence

Share this:

Related Posts

107 comments on “The International Legion of Territorial Defence ”

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts