Uyghur allegation escalation?

Written By: - Date published: 6:25 pm, February 6th, 2021 - 67 comments
Categories: China, making shit up, Propaganda, radio, uk politics, us politics - Tags:

Radio New Zealand carried a long story this week from the BBC of rape allegations in Xinjiang based on accounts from two Uyghur women Tursunay Ziawudun and Gulzira Auelkhan. Independent analyst Bernhard at Moonofalabama asks the question “Why do these Uyghur witnesses stories constantly change?

Bernhard goes into some detail about the changing stories form Tursunay Ziawudun and another woman Sayragul Sautbay. Ziawudun is now living in the United States and her story has been handled by the US-based Uyghur Human Rights project.

The accounts of both women, Sayragul Sautbay and Tursunay Ziawudun, have ‘evolved’ after they have been handled through a chain of organizations set up to propagandize against China’s anti-terror and development program in Xinjiang.

Like the Swedish organization which handled Sautbay, the U.S. based Uyghur Human Rights Project which handles Ziawudun is part of the infamous World Uyghur Congress, which is is not a grassroots movement, but a US government-backed umbrella for several Washington-based outfits that also rely heavily on US funding and direction. Today, it is the main face and voice of a separatist operation dedicated to destabilizing the Xinjiang region of China and ultimately toppling the Chinese government.

Gulzira Auelkhan has also spoken previously to media. Her complaints in March 2019 were that she was forced to work for less than the minimum wage, with nothing of the lurid detail in this latest report that as Bernhard says has the appearance of a bad porn script.

Bernhard cites the example of the testimony of Nyirah al-Sabah before the first Iraqi war. He says the claims by the women of rape in the re-education camps in Xinjiang are as believable as the ones Nyirah al-Sabah made about babies allegedly thrown out of Kuwaiti incubators:

Her story was initially corroborated by Amnesty International, a British NGO, which published several independent reports about the killings and testimony from evacuees. Following the liberation of Kuwait, reporters were given access to the country. An ABC report found that “patients, including premature babies, did die, when many of Kuwait’s nurses and doctors … fled” but Iraqi troops “almost certainly had not stolen hospital incubators and left hundreds of Kuwaiti babies to die.” Amnesty International reacted by issuing a correction, with executive director John Healey subsequently accusing the Bush administration of “opportunistic manipulation of the international human rights movement”.

Nyirah al-Sabah was later shown to the the 15-year old daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador. It is now cited as a classic example of atrocity propaganda.

The BBC says in its story that the accounts of the women could not be verified. This did not stop them or Radio New Zealand from spreading the filth. There is a propaganda war against China driven out of the US and the UK.

We can expect more of this from the BBC but we should expect better from Radio New Zealand. They should not be republishing unverified sources.

67 comments on “Uyghur allegation escalation? ”

  1. barry 1

    I am not going to say I don't believe the women, but there is always a problem with refugee testimony, in that they have every motivation to exaggerate. This was certainly true in the run up to the Iraq war, as the allegations against Saddam became more and more divorced from reality.

    As you say, they have likely been coached by the organisations that are looking after them. It is possible that their initial statements were not the complete story, as they may have had reasons for holding back. But (as with child abuse testimony) it is important to know how they have been interviewed and debriefed to stop contamination of the evidence.

    What is happening in Xinjiang is certainly of concern, and it does seem that there is an attempt to eradicate parts of the local culture. I have no doubt that people who resist brainwashing will be harshly treated.

    The evidence for this harsh treatment applying to everyone is very thin. The majority of people who have been in the camps have been released back into society and the sort of abuses described would be counterproductive.

  2. Incognito 2

    This raises the question whether the NZ Government is a victim or a perpetrator of this propaganda war against China.

    The truth is usually somewhere in the middle and probably changes its position depending on the circumstances, i.e. a moveable and fuzzy/nebulous target, and depending on whom you’re talking to …

  3. RedLogix 3

    There is only one way to resolve this – independent scrutiny on the ground that's trusted and authoritative. That the CCP have resolutely refused such access means they get no benefit of the doubt here.

    • Incognito 3.1

      Well, maybe they’re hiding WMDs or killer bats that unleash global pandemics and therefore don’t deserve our natural justice.

      • RedLogix 3.1.1

        The allegation is a serious one and deserves a serious independent investigation. Otherwise all we have to go on is uncorroborated claims and speculation – useless and harmful.

        Now if you were a detective dealing with such a case, and the accused totally refused to cooperate and even exercised their ability to prevent access to the crime scene – what conclusion would you draw?

        We have a name for it – obstruction of justice.

        • Incognito 3.1.1.1

          Sure, when did stop beating your wife or when did you last fuck your pig are also serious allegations. Many a witch-hunt has started with serious allegations. My point is, if is not clear to other readers, that these sorts of allegations can be used to create a no-win situation for the ‘accused’ and no matter what they do or say or don’t do or not say will get them off the hook by the ‘accuser’, which is precisely the intention. Simultaneously, we’re being forced to take ‘a position’ and ‘a stand’ under the motto ‘if you’re not with us, you’re against us’. Regardless of what has happened or is happening with the Uyghurs, there are signs of populist propaganda and wedge politics going on and it is not the first time. So, who benefits and thus has a motive?

          • RedLogix 3.1.1.1.1

            I cannot but help note that if it was the USA (or any other western nation) being accused of these or similar crimes – there would rightly be a loud mob of people demanding we get to the truth of the matter.

            Yet somehow the CCP is getting the benefit of the doubt here I really cannot see it deserves.

            • Incognito 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Hypothetical they-do-it-too or what-if is not helping us move forward. Before you move in the ‘independent’ inspectors/investigators to ‘gather evidence’ and before you charge somebody of a crime, you’d need to first examine the facts. Besides apparently ever-changing victim/witness accounts of how many people, what do we have that we can look at? Please note that by “we”, I mean the NZ Government; there’s another “we”, which is people in the street, like you and me, who wouldn’t be able to recognise or identify an Uyghur if we bumped into one in Queen Street.

          • The Al1en 3.1.1.1.2

            Regardless of what has happened or is happening with the Uyghurs, there are signs of populist propaganda and wedge politics going on

            Yeah, that's terrible, won't someone think of the ruling elite's children.

            • Incognito 3.1.1.1.2.1

              Sorry, our borders are closed to international students.

              • The Al1en

                I know a place if they're in need of some ‘reeducation', regardless of what has happened or is happening with the Uyghurs

                • Incognito

                  I’m sure they love to hear from you so why don’t provide them with your full name and contact details here so that they can contact you? Lprent doesn’t like e-mail addresses in comments because it attracts bots but I’m sure we can make an exception in this case.

                  • The Al1en

                    Not me or my details, though I’m sure they already have them – I'm boycotting Chinese goods and services

                    • Incognito

                      I see, you’re a minimalist.

                      Do you want to enlighten us about what’s really happening with the Uyghurs or just spread innuendo?

                    • The Al1en

                      If you're posting stuff like

                      Regardless of what has happened or is happening with the Uyghurs

                      I doubt I'd really be able to enlighten you on anything.

                      Tell you the truth, I'm a little surprised you'd take such a position on such grievous matters such as mass incarceration, reeducation, abuse, forced sterilisation, stripping of religious freedom etc.

                      You may call it propaganda, as is your wont, but if even only half of the recent and historic claims are true it's a crime against humanity blunt appeasement won't provide cover for.

                    • Incognito []

                      You can interpret that in whatever way you like and as with pig fucker arguments, you have assumed that I have taken “such a position”. However, the intended meaning was to separate it, whatever it is, from any propaganda and dirty politics that might be taking place at the same time. In other words, just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that they’re not after you, if you (still) follow me. Propaganda is propaganda, facts are facts, and these are not mutually exclusive contrary to popular opinion and ‘common sense’. Do you have any facts to share? If not to enlighten me, which you’ve already decided is an exercise in futility, but to fill in other readers.

                    • The Al1en

                      I think I'll just leave it with a much lower opinion of you than I had before.

                      Sorry to bother you with my populist propaganda and wedge politic humanity.

                      [RL: I’m going to step in here and politely point out that you were doing OK until the personal denigration. Chill.]

                    • Incognito []

                      It was never about your humanity or me. Another thread that didn’t go anywhere.

                      Our Government has already made up its mind, after seeing the same BBC report, or has it? Good on them, I say, our collective humanity is at stake here.

                      https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/02/jacinda-ardern-s-grave-concern-after-reports-of-systemic-rape-in-china-s-uighur-camps.html

                      Edit: I posted the comment before I saw RL’s moderation note.

        • francesca 3.1.1.2

          Which neutral organisation would you trust ?

          • RedLogix 3.1.1.2.1

            I'm not sufficiently familiar with the possible candidates to make a list, but ideally it would be UN based. Perhaps headed up by a tribunal including already respected individuals like Nils Melzer.

            And much would depend on the degree of independent access giving them, not just for a stage managed visit, but over time and without constraint. Full transparency is essential.

            In the modern world it's impossible to make everyone happy, but it must be possible to establish an entity with acceptable credentials and credibility.

    • Brigid 3.2

      "the CCP have resolutely refused such access"

      Who has been refused access, on what grounds, by whose account?

      • Adrian Thornton 3.2.1

        Good questions, it will be interesting to see those answered in full by our resident red scare proponents.

    • Mike Smith 3.3

      RedLogix is right about one thing – the best way to resolve this issue is for a respected and independent authority to visit Xinjiang and see for themselves. He is not right to say that the Chinese government has resolutely refused access. The Chinese government has invited the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to visit and as of last September her office is reported to be in discussions with them. The Chinese will have concerns over presumptions of guilt, similar to those they faced regarding the origins of the Covid virus in Wuhan. No doubt the issues will be resolved, but it may take time.

      • RedLogix 3.3.1

        The CCP is the accused party here – they should not get to vet or 'negotiate' with the investigation. Otherwise it's credibility is crippled from the outset.

        Pragmatically the least we can demand is complete transparency in any such discussions.

  4. Sanctuary 4

    It seems that the standard is well poised to provide the CCP with any number of stooges willing to engage in obfuscatory whataboutism. Presumably they'll be well rewarded with whatever constitutes dig biscuits for fools these days.

    • Incognito 4.1

      You’ve been on this site since its inception, as far as I can tell, and you know how it works and who owns the TS Trust. You also know that there are no “rewards” whatsoever for writing posts or comments here. Ask your TS mates – you know whom I mean. I find your comment mischievous and slanderous and I sincerely hope you won’t spread this kind of disinformation again about the site and/or its Authors.

  5. df 5

    Wow. This post seems to be very close to attempting to broadly discredit news of oppression of Uyghur by CCP. What's the motivation here? Holding media to account on their accuracy?

    • Incognito 5.1

      It seems you have a problem with reading comprehension. This is the first sentence of the OP, with my emphasis to make it clearer for you to understand what the OP is about:

      Radio New Zealand carried a long story this week from the BBC of rape allegations in Xinjiang based on accounts from two Uyghur women Tursunay Ziawudun and Gulzira Auelkhan.

      Capisce?

      • df 5.1.1

        That doesn't answer my question at all. But I wasn't asking you, was I? Step back buddy.

        • Incognito 5.1.1.1

          laugh

          Firstly, I’m not (your) “buddy” and maybe you want to try keeping your pretentious masculinity under control when you comment here, as it comes with a whiff of bad BO.

          Secondly, of course it didn’t answer your question at all. Your question was a loaded one based on a false premise. If I were to posit that you have almost stopped beating your wife and then asked the question as to what the motivation for that is, I would do what you did here.

          Thirdly, Mike might want to comment, but here on TS anybody can chime in at any time, as long as they don’t derail the thread. If you want a one-on-one conversation, you’re in the wrong place here; maybe start your own blog, yes?

          Capisce?

          • df 5.1.1.1.1

            Nope, not at all. Would be good to hear Mike's view but thanks for setting me straight on the rules around here. And to you…be careful on gender assumptions, it makes one look a little…unprogressive maybe. No doubt moderators will be watching you if you carry that sort of thing on.

            • Incognito 5.1.1.1.1.1

              The last thing I want is to be perceived here as “unprogressive” and I apologise for my characterisation of your comment. I look forward to more constructive contributions from you here in future.

              Ciao.

              • df

                Here is a constructive contribution which will be right up your alley, and Mike Smith's, too. Good 'ol CCP…such a great bunch to hitch your wagon to. Not doubt you will be commenting on the glorious work CCP is doing to keep their people safe BBC News – Cheng Lei: Australian journalist faces China spying charges
                https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-55975542

                • Incognito

                  I’m sorry to have to tell you that that is not a constructive contribution to the OP or to this thread. It is just an irrelevant link and a bunch of snide remarks with incorrect assumptions. You should have taken it to OM, IMO, because it comes across as flamebait.

                  If you cannot or don’t want to do better, maybe you should not comment under this Post, yes? It is more than a suggestion but I doubt you can or will read between the lines. However, I have a solution for that, which may cause serious and long-term adverse advents with you …

  6. Adrian Thornton 6

    " We can expect more of this from the BBC but we should expect better from Radio New Zealand. They should not be republishing unverified sources."…sorry pal but that horse as bolted long ago, RNZ has been spewing out pretty much verbatim US and UK propaganda for a long long time…just look at the latest Red scare propaganda involving the Liberal anti Putin pin up boy Navanly…turns out that Navalny is an extremist racist nationalist…last week’s interview with Kim Hill ‘Alexei Navalny vs Vladimir Putin’ with Anton Troianovski brushes over this in but a flash, now I ask you if Navalny had been ousted with these most outrageous racist attacks against Jews for instance or African Americans do you think Kim Hill would still just brush over that racism? I think not..Corbyn proved that…but as they were just some Eastern Europeans, they let it slide past so as to not get in the way of their anti-Putin agenda…not to mention they never covered Assange’s outrageous court case once, until it was over, however when the allegations of rape were swirling around they couldn’t get enough of that… the days of getting any balance or context from RNZ like this, are past…. RNZ National is now a radio station for older teenagers (afternoon shows) and lazy adults who can’t be bothered thinking for themselves (excepting the evening shows, which can be worthwhile for sure)….luckily Concert programme is still around.

    • francesca 6.1

      And Navalny is still ending out messages to his followers from his cell!!

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300222590/navalny-urges-russians-to-overcome-their-fear-in-a-note-he-sent-from-jail

      We hear nothing from Assange

      • Adrian Thornton 6.1.1

        Yes, so I see, it seems that the media has a large part of the population believing up is down and left is right on certain issues….even by people who you would assume could/would see through such obvious propaganda and/or fake news…but no, for reasons unknown they appear to gobble up the bullshit just as readily as the casual observer of current affairs…very sad and quite disturbing.

        • francesca 6.1.1.1

          Jim Mora once interviewed Dr Tim Anderson from Sydney University on Syria ..by mistake I can't help feeling

          Tim wrote "The Dirty War on Syria"having visited several times on his own fact finding missions

          Jim was flabbergasted , being such a creature of orthodox beliefs, he was quite unprepared ,as his only exposure to Syria was through approved media

          • Adrian Thornton 6.1.1.1.1

            Damn, missed that one…good 'ol Mora, he really is the quintessential middle NZ broadcaster of our time, no bucking the system from that guy…no siree.

              • Adrian Thornton

                Thanks, that right there is something quite rare and unusual, an actual counter narrative… I cannot remember the last time I heard one on RNZ, I frequently emailed RNZ asking for such a thing over the years, but have pretty much given up bothering now.

                • Incognito

                  Maybe it is the exception that proves the rule wink

                  I don’t like to write off people or institutions too soon as I’ve been shown to be wrong many times when I did that. I find it better to reserve judgment, which is easier said than done.

                  • Adrian Thornton

                    That sounds good in theory, but I am just too impulsive by nature I’m afraid. Though that being said I have been listening to RNZ for 40+ years, and used to really love it, so it has actually been a very painful process for me personally, watching it’s slow but always discernible decent into mediocrity (and worse) and especially listening to Kim Hill who was one of my media hero’s, slowly become a one dimensional talking head (on foreign politics) and who will never have on a serious counter narrative to the party line on her show these days 9for a long time)…I guess John Pilger saw through her back then…but I hung on for many more years trying to give them and her the benefit of the doubt..but that time of indecision has now well and truly now passed, well for me anyway.…sadly (and I really mean that)

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rYQ2o4V3BM

                    • Incognito

                      I cannot comment on RNZ or Kim Hill. However, as a general observation, we change, people change. Long-term friendships dissipate, long-term marriages dissolve. Professionally too, it is easier to get on top of your game than to stay there, year in, year out. It can be painful to see/experience some changes but it is even more painful to refuse to accept and let go. Sometimes, I feel nostalgic and long for things in the past and if I give in, I can become melancholic. Much better to treasure the good memories of (the) good times and enjoy the good things in the present, I reckon. All good things come to an end, they say, but similarly, all good things have a beginning too. Think about it.

        • df 6.1.1.2

          You'll be pleased with Navalny's sentence though. See, the great Russian judiciary has set things straight. How conniving the powers in the west are, how gullible are their people. Fools!

          • Adrian Thornton 6.1.1.2.1

            I personally have no real deep interest in Russian politics, and less so about the fate of the racist hate monger Navalny; however I do have an interest in the way Russia and specifically Putin has been relentlessly demonized by western MSM over the past three years, as usual there are more parts to the puzzle than first meets the eye..maybe watch this to get a little more context on the subject, I know I learnt a thing or two.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnmcdqF1BxI&t=559s

            • Stuart Munro 6.1.1.2.1.1

              Putin was always a monster, and the media fell down on the job of reporting his adventurism in Chechnya and Ingushetia. The "demonization" you claim falls well short of the man.

              • Adrian Thornton

                As I have said to you on more than one occasion, I have no love of Putin, or anything he represents, especially his actions in Chechnya, however as I have also tried explaining to you on a few other occasions as well, that is not what I am talking about. If you are fine with your legitimate problems with Putin being co-opted for the political and corporate foreign policy agendas of the USA and her allies then fine, personally I choose my friends more carefully, preferably ones with a similar moral and ethical world out look that I have.

                • Stuart Munro

                  It takes more than a simple assertion to establish that Putin is indeed being coopted for such purposes, or the Uighur women for that matter.

                  People coerced into abusive situations like those the women describe are likely to suffer mental health problems on a par with PTSD, so that some variation in their stories or inconsistencies are not as damning as they would be from a reporter that merely observed such activity.

  7. Mike Smith 7

    Wang Wemin, China's foreign ministry spokesman, dealt with the BBC story in his regular interview on February 3rd and 4th. In the latter he provides some more information on the people whose names come up frequently in the anti-China stories.

    On a related issue in the state-led information wars, the UK media regulator OFCOM has now banned CGTN. the Chinese national overseas news agency. The Independent reports OFCOM saying:

    “We are unable to approve the application to transfer the licence to China Global Television Network Corporation because it is ultimately controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, which is not permitted under UK broadcasting law.”

    “We’ve provided CGTN with numerous opportunities to come into compliance, but it has not done so. We now consider it appropriate to withdraw the licence for CGTN to broadcast in the UK.”

    Ofcom revoked the licence of Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet, in 2012, for breaches of the Communications Act.

    In 2019, Ofcom fined the Russian broadcaster RT £200,000 over “serious and repeated failures” to report with due impartiality on issues including the Novichok poisonings and the Syrian conflict.

    Seems to ba a pattern. As for Novichok, the deadliest poison ever that only Putin can authorise but never kills anyone to whom it has supposedly been applied, the one thing you can say about it with absolute truth is that it is proving indestructible in the western media.

    • francesca 7.1

      Well you have to admit, novichok is hugely effective as a propaganda device

      Like the hateful Chinese guards who bite as well as rape, poison sets the perpetrator beyond the human pale, worthy of horrified disgust .Why the wretches are evil I tell you and should properly be killed

      Both world wars had similar grotesque propaganda , to keep the populace in a state of hatred and fearfulness of the enemy.

    • Tiger Mountain 7.2

      There appears to be a flaw in the Navalny and other stories–this incredibly dangerous “deadly nerve agent” does not seem to bump anyone off, quickly at least–perhaps non fatal doses are administered to ensure maximum suffering for the recipient? or these outlaw compounds are unreliable to handle? or…we could be being had.

      Why should certain international media companies and services, unreliable and biased as hell on “Western” and local NZ matters, necessarily be believed on Russia and China? it smells of some sort of offical line/pundit confirmation bias.

      Mr Navalny is a Yale educated Finance capitalist, make no mistake. Maybe not an authoritarian, but no friend of the working class in reality. The positive thing in this is Russian people in action trying to enforce the democratic rights of speech and assembly.

    • Adrian Thornton 7.3

      "the one thing you can say about it with absolute truth is that it is proving indestructible in the western media." …that is a fact alright.

  8. Andrew Miller 8

    I’m assuming that the grotesque moral relativism underpinned the nauseating CCP apologia that The Standard trots out with monotonous regularity is driven by an anti imperialism of fools, but it’s stuff like this that makes so many people who’s politics lean left want nothing to do with ‘the left’.
    I’m also assuming this post won’t stay up, but at least who moderates these post will at least what utter contempt you deserve to be held in.

    • RedLogix 8.1

      Andrew. The Standard is a collective of authors – it's a mistake to think we all agree on all issues. Quite the contrary.

    • Adrian Thornton 8.2

      Andrew, I think many people whose ‘politics lean left’ in the past are now firmly planted in the centre…and I am not sure if you are aware of this but the Left and the Centre are two completely different political ideologies.

    • Incognito 8.3

      You are the second third one under this Post making an ignorant comment about this site and how it operates. Only a month ago, another ignorant fool made a similar comment and received an educational Moderation note from the SYSOP, Author, Commenter, and Moderator as well as Trustee of The Standard Trust. I highly recommend it to you:

      https://thestandard.org.nz/colin-james-looking-forward/#comment-1772974

      I noticed that you were already whinging & whining about this blog in 2012 in a highly similar way.

  9. observer 9

    This post is why I no longer comment on the Standard. No loss, perhaps, but I know I'm not the only one.

    My politics are certainly on the Left, and I'm happy to see debate here between positions within the broad NZ left (Greens and Labour on tax and housing and inequality, for example). I don't expect to agree all the time, and a very wide range of opinion is natural, and healthy.

    But deflecting for a dictatorship is not "left" or "socialist" or "progressive" or anything, except shameful. When people are oppressed – and brutally – it's morally bankrupt to shill for the oppressors.

    It's not good enough to say "authors have different opinions". Fascists have opinions. Racists have opinions. Trump fans have opinions. They don't get to publish on the Standard. And nor should apologists for torture. Ever.

    I can only hope that none of you or your loved ones ever suffer the atrocities that Mike Smith gladly defends. Nobody deserves that. Over and out.

    • Incognito 9.1

      FWIW, I always appreciated your comments and I do miss them and regard it as a loss.

      I can only hope that none of you or your loved ones ever suffer the atrocities that Mike Smith gladly defends.

      I’m surprised that you have misconstrued Mike’s Post. Frankly, I find it absurd to think that the OP was defending or being an apologist for the atrocities mentioned in the OP. This wasn’t a philosophical treatise how incest between two consenting adults is ok.

    • In Vino 9.2

      Well, we are lied to so often, aren't we? Proven lies that the British fed to their public about the Germans' behaviour in WW1 resulted in the British public being wary of the truth that was later being told to them about the Nazis.

      Same thing here. I have heard so many proven lies about, say, Vietnam delivered to us as truth, only to find out later it was bullshit. Are you sure you know whom to believe, Observer?

  10. Stuart Munro 10

    One might well humour the possibility that the victims the BBC reported were self-serving persons exploiting US funding, much as Chalabi is alleged to have been in relation to Iraq, were it not for an extended body of reports suggesting that China was essentially deculturizing Uighurs.

    This site seems to have plenty to report, though their perspective seems primarily religious.

    And this BBC report is from mid 2019.

    These kinds of reports did not characterize Hu's premiership – they seem to correlate with Xi. Taken together with the womens' stories it suggests that the Uighur program is no garden of sweets, and not something any progessive could support – only lickspittle lackeys of oppressive regimes.

  11. Subliminal 11

    At its heart, the western monetary system has become one of monopoly rent extraction. Debts from private banks are always against some already existing asset or infrastructure. This is the case both for the private sector and for governments. When a debtor defaults, the asset is taken over. In the case of governments, infrastructure and services are sold. The whole system is based on neoliberal austerity. Once the commons has been sold, it is rented back at ever increasing cost as a monopoly. The brutality of this system, which is glossed over by economic language, is extreme. It involves endless wars against any independence. It involves starvation sieges against the most vulnerable. It means a zero sum game whereby "winning" means someone else must "lose".

    China offers another possibility. Of course it is flawed and still open to corruption. But its an alternative and strong enough and definitely successful enough to be a "threat" to the US model. In a zero sum game there is only one winner. Everybody else are losers. Trunp embodies the zero sum mentality perfectly. The Chinese system involves public banking. Credit is used to build infrastructure and have the state run it. This eliminates monopoly rentiers and makes the cost of doing business much less. It frees money to raise the standard of living and education and health. It is inclusive and involves a win-win mentality. Internationally China can use its surpluses to help create infrastructure and other services for other countries. It does not pauper a country when they default on debt. How could they? The US and West wouldn't allow it. China, Russia and Iran are attempting to initiate a system of international payments that would not create one country dominant above another. This is at the heart of win-win.

    There are huge vested interests in the West with billions of money and some serious military hardware that do not want this to happen and have no qualms about the means that they use to prevent it. So its important to make sure that we arent just rushing headlong into another manufactured war against another manufactured enemy.

    Michael Hudson

  12. Obtrectator 12

    "As for Novichok, the deadliest poison ever that only Putin can authorise but never kills anyone to whom it has supposedly been applied … "

    Tell that to the family and friends of the late Dawn Sturgess of Salisbury, UK.

  13. ngatimozart 13

    The allegations against the CCP / PRC regarding the Uighur people in Xianjang are fairly correct and have been substantiated by CCP documentation that has been leaked. The CCP has a policy of forced assimilation of minorities into Han Chinese society with the objective of creating a homogeneous society subservient to the Party. In Xianjang it's doing this by imprisoning the Uighur population in concentration camps and stripping them of their cultural and religious identity. The intention is to erase the Uighur society, culture, ethnicity, and Islam from the PRC.

    Whilst this may not agree with your political world view, it is part of a process that has been ongoing since the PRC invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. There they have slowly but surely suppressed the Tibetan culture and identity. Now they are starting in Inner Mongolia, with all lessons in school now to be taught in Mandarin only. Until late last year most lessons were taught in Mongolian.

    This is not the actions of a democratic benevolent government, but the actions of an authoritarian, totalitarian state. To be true mainland China has never experienced democracy in its history, but they deserve far better than this latest incarnation of an imperial dynasty.

    Finally here in in Aotearoa NZ we all have the right and freedom to disagree with the government and what it says or does. We can say so publicly as often and as loudly as we like. We can question our leaders parentage, species, intellectual capability etc., without fear. However if we do that in the PRC, we would find ourselves arrested and off to a re-education camp for a long period of time. So think about that too.

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  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    7 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
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