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Weekend social

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, April 1st, 2011 - 115 comments
Categories: weekend social - Tags:

Christmas truce 1914

Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever.

No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?

115 comments on “Weekend social ”

  1. Kevin Welsh 1

    Off to vist friends in Palmerston North this weekend and give the bike a rest for a change!

    • Colonial Viper 1.1

      Palmerston North? Commiserations mate! 🙂

      • Deadly_NZ 1.1.1

        Well I’m in levin whats wrong with the horowhenua?? me I think I will restart watching Babylon 5 or maybe Dr Who, from the beginning hmm decisions decisions.

        • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1

          B5 nice one. Dr Who as well. Good taste buddy. Me, I prefer toasters getting frakked on BSG 🙂

          Yes, but Palmerston North ain’t in the Horowhenua 😀

          • Deadly_NZ 1.1.1.1.1

            Well it’s as close as spitting distance lol And I settled on B5 as i have just finished converting it all to Xvid for my laptop

    • Jim Nald 1.2

      Push bike? As in you cycle?

      • Kevin Welsh 1.2.1

        Yep. Fresh air, fantastic Hawke’s Bay scenery and a competitive streak. Great fun.

  2. big bruv 2

    I know you said “no aggro” but can I use this thread to say that as a dedicated Hurricanes fan I hope that Mark Hammett gets on the first plane back to Canterbury as soon as possible, the man is useless.

    Secondly…all real sports fans will be cheering for India in the cricket world cup final, I doubt I could handle seeing that cheat Murali hold up the world cup.

    • toad 2.1

      I’m backing Sri Lanka bruv – just to piss you off.

      No, actually because I think they have the superior bowling lineup with the 3 M’s (Murali – assuming he is fit enough to play, Malinga, and Mendis), and because India have designed the tournament schedule to favour themselves and deserve to get their comeuppance.

      And whatever you think of Murali’s bowling action when he delivers the doosra, under the current Laws of Cricket it is legal.

    • T 2.2

      If you’re going to accuse a sports-person of cheating you’d better have some evidence. Do you?

      • big bruv 2.2.1

        Yes I do..

        How about the fact that the rules of the game were changed to allow this cheat to continue playing, how about the fact that numerous umpires are on record as saying that the ICC just do not want to hear any accusations about the mans bowling action.

        Even allowing for the 15 degree Murali rule he is still a chucker, still a cheat and still a blight on the game.

        • RobC 2.2.1.1

          Yes, they lost. But the really good news is Murali might be coming to Wellington to play for them in the next two seasons! You’ll be able to tell him what you think to his face!!!

        • The Voice of Reason 2.2.1.2

          Have to agree with you entirely, Bruv. Murali should have been banned before he even got to play international cricket and his ‘record’ counts for nothing as far as I’m concerned. He can’t be the best bowler in the world if he doesn’t bowl the ball. Simple, really.

          Mind you, it’s obviously a bit rich for you to be bleating about cheating, when you’re so complicit in match fixing yourself.

    • BLiP 2.3

      Why don’t you put you money where you mouth is . . . oh, right. As you were.

  3. Daveo 3

    Tried Renaissance brewery’s double India pale ale today. O is for owsum.

    • Mac1 3.1

      Ah, Renaissance ales- make life worth that bit more living. Tried their new twopenny ale tonight, and then a half of Sorenson’s 8-wired. My beer of choice is Renaissance Scotch Ale, but, sob, tonight the tap had run dry. A real Slim Dusty moment. “But there’s nothing so lonesome , or make a man pale, when the barman says sadly, “The pub’s got no Ale.”

      • Pascal's bookie 3.1.1

        songs about drinkin and dyin,
        fast women and cheatin an lyin
        banjo pluckin and fuckin and fightin
        songs about drinkin and dyin..

        (JFTR the vid was made just before Team America came out )

        • Mac1 3.1.1.1

          I played with a country fiddle player once who ate all his food like that man in black in the video- everything deep fried in two inches of fat. He could play though.

          Did a version of “Orange Blossom Special,” humunguously fast at the end, where he played with the bow between his teeth moving the fiddle instead on the bow, with the fiddle behind his back, behind his head, under his knee, with socks on and finally with a metal coat hanger. Impeccably. He played so fast that I had to halve the tempo on the upright bass just to keep up.

          Sometimes we just don’t know how good people are until they’ve gone. Had good taste in whisky too. Think I’ll have one now to remember Leo. Slainte to you too Rosy!

          Capcha ‘compositions” Dang, there it goes again.

          • rosy 3.1.1.1.1

            And on all things Scottish and the gone good – the best Scottish band that never made it big (IMO)…damn that Scottish melancholy/nostalgia combination – there must be a word for it???

            • Carol 3.1.1.1.1.1

              Working this weekend as usual, but I get an extra hour before work this morning 🙂
              Thanks for the Big Country link. i had a vinyl LP of there’s back then. As I recall it was about the same time as U2 started to make it big, and it sometimes got referred to as Celtic Rock.

              Big Country got a lot of mentions for making their guitars sound like traditional fiddles & bagpipes. I guess it’s the melancholy of oppressed hard working people, and nostalgia for better times, all held together by a sense of community & soldiarity.

      • rosy 3.1.2

        I’ll cheers you with a Scottish scotch ale in Scotland this weekend Slainte 😀

        • chris73 3.1.2.1

          Blah! Have a decent beer.

          • Descendant Of Smith 3.1.2.1.1

            I preferred the earlier Skids. Still my favorite punk band.

            Days In Europa, Scared To Dance and The Absolute Game sit still in my record collection replete with “you shall not pay more than” stickers.

            Working For The Yankee Dollar

            • sukie damson 3.1.2.1.1.1

              Albert Tatlock!

              • Descendant Of Smith

                Stuck way over here in NZ didn’t ever get the chance to see em – but since you asked:
                Wish I was there
                 
                 
                 
                 

                • rosy

                  Understand completely DoS. Sad that I am, I once timed a trip to the UK to see BC the day I arrived… Being stuck in NZ I knew it would be the only chance I’d get. I appreciate The Skids but prefer folk-infused rock myself. Sacrilege to some but I also appreciated the U2/Green Day version of The Skids ‘the saints are coming’. I saw it as a tribute to The Skids as well as a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seGhTWE98DU&feature=related

                  • Descendant Of Smith

                    I thought the mistake Green Day made was that it sounded too like the original. The chance to make it their own version was not taken. It became more of a homage really..
                    My daughter had great fun at school though saying pffft the original was better and her fellow classmates going what do you mean?

  4. felix 4

    This party blows. I’m off to the pub.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      Yes that’s how I feel about [no politics please! – r0b] as well.

    • r0b 4.2

      Right – now felix is gone we can bring out the good stuff!

      • Mac1 4.2.1

        On the subject of other good stuff. Saw a good concert on Wednesday night at which the story got told about a Scottish friend who got the nickname “The Exorcist.” And why was he called the Exorcist? Because when he’d left after a good night’s visiting, there were no spirits left in the house.

      • felix 4.2.2

        Hey!! I always sensed that was going on r0b!

  5. vto 5

    No weekend social out here. Just weekend chores fixing up our now crooked little house (and sitting in the garden). Big houses around us have suffered or come down or been demolished while our timber number proved itself as one tough dancer at quake time.

    Go the little old wooden cottage!

    • Snap! (‘as it were’). Our 70m2 cottage did the same – shook itself like a dog and then just looked like nothing had happened (except for a few things on the floor). Not bad for living about 800m from the four avenues.

      This has probably been mentioned before, but if you want something to do over the weekend you could do worse than check out Gap Filler.

      • Deadly_NZ 5.1.1

        Arnt Timber cottages great? nice little flexible buildings, but I wonder if you will get a lot of squeaky floors from sprung nails?

  6. fabregas4 6

    Well the mighty Gunners are at home to Ryan Nelsen and Blackburn Rovers and I hope that I’m watching this match Sunday morning after Man Utd have been beaten by Winston Reids West Ham (I know Winnie probably won’t do much more than warm the bench).

    • George.com 6.1

      For sale, one red carpet and trophy cabinet. Good condition, not used in recent years. Enquiries to A Wenger, Emirates Stadium, London.

      Early one morning Arsene Wenger was roused from sleep by a telephone call. “Wenger”, Arsene sleepily muttered into the receiver as he answered it. “This is the London Fire Chief”, came the reply from the telephone, “I am calling you, Mr Wenger, to report that the Emirates Stadium is on fire”. Instantly awake, “The cups man, save the cups” bellowed Wenger. In a soothing tone the Fire Chief replied “Calm down Mr Wenger, the fire hasn’t reached the kitchen yet”.

  7. Armchair Critic 8

    Gardening. Gotta get the last of the winter veggies in before it gets too cold.

    • big bruv 8.1

      What are you planting Critic?

      I had my first crack at a garden this summer, I found it a hell of a lot of fun but have no idea what I should be planting for winter crops.

      Does it harm the soil if you just leave it empty for the winter or is it better to plant some type of crop?

      • Puddleglum 8.1.1

        Hi BB, it depends a bit on where you are. I’m in Christchurch and most things grow a bit slowly over winter and they need shelter from the frosts. You could try this website for a few tips, but it comes down to trial and error usually.

        The best advice anyone ever gave “Tend your garden” (Voltaire, I think).

      • r0b 8.1.2

        Good heavens, something I have in common with bruv, first year gardening.

        We first planted late autumn last year. Leeks and spinach did well over winter. Some folks say mustard greens to fix nitrogen.

        Interested in advice from real gardeners!

        • Michael 8.1.2.1

          I’m also going to tend my garden this weekend.
          Ehhh, first comment after a few years of lurking.
          This type of thread seems a lot safer than all of the other ones.
          I have in the garden: leeks, spring onions, lentils, beetroot, celery, and the usual herbs and lettuce and spinach etc.

          WHAT AM I DOING?
          MUST SLEEP I HAVE TO GO TO WORK IN AN HOUR
          OH NO.
          Watch out for over-cooked poached eggs tomorrow, Wellington.

          • r0b 8.1.2.1.1

            Welcome! Glad we’ve made a space where you can be happy commenting. Hope your eggs didn’t get too munted…

        • travellerev 8.1.2.2

          Lucerne or Black eyed peas also known as cow peas are good for nitrogen fixing. Come to think of it any edible beans will do the same with the added advantage of ending up with food. Just chuck a couple of hands over the bit you want to leave empty and the next year dig the lot in and you will have a bumper crop of whatever you plant next. Mustard greens are good to and are great in stir fries. For land not used for a long time you can grow wattle (Great nitrogen fixer) and if you coppice them you will have firewood on a regular base for many years.

      • Armchair Critic 8.1.3

        Depends on where you are big bruv. I’m in Thames Valley and get a few frosts, but nothing serious. If you are in Auckland, or near the coast, then maybe frosts won’t be too much of a problem.
        I’ve planted leeks, carrots, beetroot, celery, broccoli, onions, cabbages and cauliflower. I was meant to get brussel sprouts too, but accidentally bought extra broccoli. Today I’m planting red onions, radishes, cucumbers, mizuna (which is a type of lettuce, I hope) and butter beans.
        My guess is the main virtue of planting a garden for winter is that it keeps your attention on the garden, so it’s not so much effort to get it going again for summer. You could plant a crop that fixes nitrogen, over winter, and mulch it back into the garden in August, that way you don’t need to worry about harvesting it, and meanwhile it will improve your soil.
        The Warehouse had/has frost cloth for about 50c per metre. I need to build something so I can roll it out in the evening and wind it back onto its reel in the morning. Maybe an old electric fence tape reel can be modified – on Sunday.
        Best of luck with your garden, BB.

        • r0b 8.1.3.1

          Interesting. Hope you can comment here some time when you know how well that worked…

        • big bruv 8.1.3.2

          Critic, thanks for the advice and the kind words.

          It is a magnificent day here today so there is no excuse for not being in the garden.

          I am not a huge fan of winter veggies (apart from Brussel Sprouts which I love) so I might just plant some of them, some onions, radishes and do the rest in mustard.

          • Armchair Critic 8.1.3.2.1

            yeah brussel sprouts are great, I must get some in the ground.
            I’ve had very poor feedback about the radishes, the rest of the household is not impressed.

          • Mac1 8.1.3.2.2

            A  friend and I co-operate in a community garden plot of about 120 square metres. We with spouses sat down tonight and ate chicken with own grown potatoes, kumera, tomatoes, corn, rocket (with roasted seeds), garlic, pumpkin, cherry tomatoes with basil- a feast, and so much better to have grown it ourselves. Had to get in the parsnips and carrots, but next year that’s what we’ll grow and less beans and garlic and spuds ‘cos of that damn psyllid.

            And home brew, made with own grown hops.  

            Planted today lettuce, curly kale and mizuna and harvested as well. Down at the plot a Fijian Indian woman told me of  delicious curry made with curly kale. Islanders grow taro there, Maori grow kumera, Muslims grow hot peppers and green tomatoes, ex-South Canterbury farmers grow pumpkins bigger than wheel barrows, Greenies grow in companion planting fashion and ex-acoholics stay dry by growing beans and yams and corn. We swap food and ideas, yarns and help each other. Some neighbour dug half my plot by hand because I am recovering from cancer operations. It is a functioning and vibrant community, full of heart and love. Life can be like that, as can at least one thread on the Standard!

            • travellerev 8.1.3.2.2.1

              Mac 1,
              Sorry to hear about your cancer operations and hope you are recovering al right.
              I have a question. You talk about the psyllid. I had not heard about it before and did a quick google. I live near Raglan (Hamilton) and just had a disappointing potato harvest. Any chance of this horrid little bug having spread to the West coast of the North Island?

              • Mac1

                Travellerev, healing very well, thanks. That’s why my remark to big bruv about gardening being good therapy. And also enforced inaction gives time to blog, read and contemplate. Gotta be some positives 🙂

                The psyllid I understand came in at Auckland and has travelled (sorry) south. We are in the top of the South Island and this is our second season.

                The damage to potatoes shows as a yellow, very stunted, deformed growth and the potatoes themselves can show an uneven black circle inside when you slice through, called zebra markings, caused by a bacterium introduced by the psyllid when it feeds. The spud itself develops an off taste. At an early stage you can detect the psyllid on the underleaves, either its eggs or the critter itself. Google has all this info. The psyllid also preys on tomatoes, eggplant and tree tomatoes. 

                I would expect it to be in your district. Saying that, though, the community garden plot has it but 500 metres away my home garden is so far free. I intend to monitor heavily, use preparations like neem oil and try and encourage predators like lacewings. I found the early planting of spuds also helped as it takes time for psyllid populations to build up. Destroy all matter where the psyllid might over-winter.

        • travellerev 8.1.3.3

          Mizuna is a Japanese plant used for the young leaves in the salad mixtures you buy in the Supermarket. It is a member of the mustard family and also great for stir fries. It has a bit of a bite to it so eat them young for the best taste

      • Mac1 8.1.4

        Some good advice around here, big bruv. I would also look at lupins with the mustard for nitrogen fixing to be dug in with Spring. I find broad beans work well over winter and plant garlic at mid-winter. Otherwise winter greens, curly kale is good and I buy mixed asian greens for salad/stir fry use. Brussel sprouts, radishes, carrots also.

        It all depends on where you are, of course. Good advice also about using cloches, cloth, glass and plastic coverings. I use favoured sites around the property for growing things outside the normal growing season, especially expensive veg like eggplants, peppers (but not winter). You can even buy mushrooms to plant. More exotic plants like rocket, mizuma, daikon can be grown, too.

        And plants your spuds very early in Spring if there is danger of that bloody awful potato/tomato psyllid about your area. Best of luck. Gardening is good therapy, too.

    • NickS 8.2

      Yeah, I should probably get around to hoeing over all the weeds and planting carrots, and getting some cauliflower and broccoli sorted. Might see if Bunnings has any broad bean’s for sale too. But otherwise, I’ve got harvest the patty-pans and figure out how best to preserve the seeds for spring and find out how many damn pumpkins we have, and bring one of the chilli plant’s inside.

      And coriander does surprisingly well in the winter down in Christchurch, I’ve got a small forest of it a present that’ll be harvested for seed come next summer, but I need to find a slow bolt variety for harvesting leaves and sort out how I’m going to do basil.

      Also used some quake freed fencing cinder blocks to build a dry-wall constructed planter box that just needs to be filled with soil and come the end of the frosts will be filled with capsicums

  8. RedLogix 9

    As a friend once said to me about something else.. “It would be perfect, but there are humans involved.”

  9. M 10

    Plan to blast my QOTSA collection – No One Knows being my favourite as it rocks out hard and has the delightful turn the tables video:

    …plus the lead singer is 6’5″ and does wonders for my will to stay alive.

    • Armchair Critic 10.1

      How about The Fall and William S Burroughs. I can’t get this song out of my head.

  10. Samuel Hill 11

    Dude the first three albums of theres are wicked. MEXICOLA

  11. Samuel Hill 12

    Any decent gigs in Wellington tonight?

  12. ianmac 13

    Talking of watching stuff. I have been watching my electric jug for some time. You see when I switch it on it mumbles for a few seconds. Then it sulks in silence for maybe 15 seconds more. Then it stirs into life and rumbles away till it has boiled.
    Why does it sulk?

    • r0b 13.1

      Ok, dammit you know, that’s always puzzled me too.

      Anyone?

      • Mac1 13.1.1

        Jugs are shy. Would you want someone watching while you do your business, getting all hot and bothered, making noises, letting off a little steam?

        • r0b 13.1.1.1

          I’ll never look at a cup of tea the same way again…

        • ianmac 13.1.1.2

          Yes Mac1. I must admit that I felt a little voyerish especially when, I’m ashamed to admit it, but ummm I took ahh the lid off and looked deep inside. Don’t tell my wife though. 🙂

      • NickS 13.1.2

        Induction coils take forever to heat up 😛

    • RedLogix 13.2

      The boiling sound is made by gaseous bubbles collapsing in the water, changing instaneously from a low density gas to a high density liquid. The rate at which this happens depends on several factors.

      One is how much air is dissolved in the water. Fresh unboiled water will have a fair amount of air dissolved in it.. so when it is first heated a lot of this will come out fairly quickly.

      The second main factor is the temperature of the water. Cold water will recondense the gas bubbles very quickly, more or less as soon as they rise away from the heating element. But as the water heats the bubbles will last longer and longer, until when it’s close to boiling point the bubbles make it all the way to the surface and make relatively little noise.

      Then there is likely the impact of convection currents as well.

      Combine these various factors together and it largely explains what’s going on here.

      • vto 13.2.1

        ah yes.. and don’t forget the lunar effect too. Bubbles don’t just magically form by themselves you know.

  13. Jum 14

    captcha: collections

    Obviously, this thread was needed. But I am very worried about all of you – even you big bruv.

    There is another world out there – it’s got sun, and trees and deckchairs…or if you’re in Rotorua, apparently, just the trees and deckchairs.

    • NickS 14.1

      Meh, I slept in till 12, after knocking off before 9pm. And providing my motivation levels are high enough I’ll thrash my legs on the Port Hills tomorrow as to prepare for either Mt Richardson or Mt Brown next weekend! Finally I’ll be able to escape Christchurch!

      Couldn’t make it to freshers, since thanks to depression symptoms even a minor cold knocks my stamina levels down to craptastic, can’t bike/walk for crap, levels :/

  14. chris73 15

    One dowel rod (cut to length)
    Length of non-slip grip material
    One length of good-quality cord
    Small length of chain
    One carabina
    10 kg plate
    One power drill

    One wife willing to construct a wrist roller for me: Priceless 🙂

  15. BLiP 16

    Supporting the Hurricanes is like supporting the Labour Party. (Sorry r0b, is that too political?)

    Any how’s – finally back from my softball club prize giving – won “Most Improved” – as the coach said, I couldn’t have got any worse – now – do I stay up and get on with Sunday as hampered as I am, or do I head off for a snooze and wait til MsBLiP starts vacuuming determinedly and accusingly around the bedroom . . . oh, decisions decisions.

    • r0b 16.1

      Nah that’ll do. It’s a fine line, but I think it is fun to have this politics free zone on the blog. I’ve been amazed at the response. Quite uplifting, in an odd kind of way.

  16. seeker 17

    rOb

    It’s a wonderful idea – a breath of fresh air and a real piece of azure blue sky in what can become a rather frustrating, grey, politically bloggy landscape. I think I have been most affected by the gardening comments. Great friendly supportive atmosphere -loved them.Thanks,

  17. felix 18

    Here’s some porno for bookworms.

    It’s a 40 Gigapixel photo of an 868 year old monastery library in Prague, the largest indoor photo ever (actually 2947 photos stitched together into a panorama.)

    http://www.360cities.net/gigapixel/strahov-library.html

  18. big bruv 19

    Anybody know the best way of getting rid of Oxalis from a garden?
    I have tried a couple of sprays but the stuff just keeps coming back.

    • Bored 19.1

      Pure and total warfare only on oxalis. Spraying may kill it locally but only to the extent that the roots die….those bits that survive will just keep invading. If you can dig out the bulk of the roots (you will never get all of them) then spray / weed what comes back through that may work but its an ongoing battle. I have a better cure, I get my chickens to clear the area, mulch like crazy and allow the chickens in on weeding expeditions.

      • big bruv 19.1.1

        Right….so without chickens I am stuffed? 🙂
        The stuff is a nightmare, I spent last Sunday digging the garden and thought I had got rid of all the Oxalis, last night I checked on the garden and the freaking stuff was starting to peak through the soil again in some areas.
        I guess I will just have to spray and dig it again this weekend.

        • Pascal's bookie 19.1.1.1

          You poor bastard. Bored is right. It’s land war in asia territory.

          If you’ve got any of the right aged kids about the place, draft them into it. That’s how my parents killed it back in the day.

          • Mac1 19.1.1.1.1

            Big bruv, total war on oxalis. I conned my kids as littlies into digging for ‘treasure’- oxalis bulbs. Wife and I were digging spuds last week-end- her on the spade, me on my knees, as ever- when she reminded me of “digging for treasure.”

            I tried pigs to do the job on oxalis, with follow-up from the chooks in the 80’s. Didn’t work- planted an orchard instead, which outgrew the oxalis! The pigs ate the oxalis greens and the big corms, but left the little hard corms alone and just spread them around to regrow.

            Big bruv, try the chooks, or even better, bantams since they don’t seem to dig up plants when they scratch like chooks do. Confine them in a small cage-run over a section of garden and let them go for it, since it sounds like you have spread it by digging. The chook droppings go pink from the oxalis.

            Armchair Critic is right about leaf chopping but you have keep doing it.I did the same with california thistle when working as a gardener.

            • vto 19.1.1.1.1.1

              I often just leave it. Nice little purplypink flowers. A mini-jungle of them makes for a discussion point for visitors too.

            • Armchair Critic 19.1.1.1.1.2

              After years chopping california thistle out by hand, and setting goats on to it, to no avail, I resorted to Tordon.  They hated it, but I’ve heard they will come back next year anyway.  True?

              • Mac1

                AC, never used Tordon. These thistles were in the rose bed and were obvious and free of other growth, so easier to deal to with a weekly sub-surface hoeing.

                Did use boiling water on various weeds, like oxalis, but my wife reminds me that we stopped because it just seemed like we were watering them. Perhaps the detergent helped. It seemed to knock the aphids which didn’t like getting soapy. Did the dishes by hand in a basin and then gave the roses a good soaking with the soapy residue.

                I am really concerned though about tomato/potato psyllids because they knocked my main crop spuds and my son-in-law’s tomatoes to hell.

        • Armchair Critic 19.1.1.2

          AFAIK its a battle of attrition.  You need to make it as difficult for the bulbs to do their thing as you can.
          Spray them with roundup (or whatever) as soon as they appear, and again when they reappear.  If you don’t like sprays, chop the leaves off.  No leaves means no way for energy to be stored in the bulb.
          Once they take a bit of a holiday, or appear to be discouraged, put a layer of mulch or topsoil or whatever.  This means the bulb needs to use more energy to get leaves at the surface and thereby replenish itself.
          Whatever you do, don’t disturb the soil where the bulbs are – this just encourages them to grow again.
          It should be gone in about two years.  Option b is to remove the contaminated topsoil and replace with new stuff.
          If you want a serious spray, try TAG2.  It kills everything and stops it regrowing for six months to a year.  I only use it on my metal driveway, it’s very effective.

          • big bruv 19.1.1.2.1

            If I used TAG2 then I would have to forget about next summers garden?
            I like the idea about chopping the leaves off, thanks for that Critic.

            • Armchair Critic 19.1.1.2.1.1

              Yeah, nothing grows for months after TAG2 – no summer garden if you use it.
              If you want to treat the oxalis as a long term project (and, as a disclaimer, I’ve not tried this on oxalis) you could try pouring boiling water on the leaves.  After my three or four cups of perc coffee in the morning I run a full load of water through the percolator to clean the machine, add dish washing liquid and pour the hot water on to weeds in the lawn or garden.  The hot water/detergent combination seems to strip the protective layer off the foliage and kill the plant, without damaging the soil.
              The cold coffee and grounds go on the garden, or lawn.

      • Jum 19.1.2

        Bored,

        Wow, only on Weekend Social can we discuss warfare and killing…

  19. big bruv 20

    A serious question…
    Is dog pee any good for killing it off?
    At the moment we have seven dogs (the number always varies) if their pee kills the stuff off I might open the gate to the garden and let them do their business on there for a few days.

  20. r0b 21

    Last week’s weekend social is active again!

    This week’s is due to be posted at 4pm.  Should it be earlier?  When is the right time to  schedule weekend social?

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    1. We see here new police minister Ginny Andersen. Which larger than life NZ political figure was her great-uncle?a. Rob Muldoonb. Bill Andersenc. Richard John Seddond. Norman Kirk2. We see here archival footage of Ginny Andersen coming out of her electorate office to ask ex-tobacco lobbyist Chris Bishop if he ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 hours ago
  • Nash splashes out with a $900,000 investment in the blue economy (or is it more corporate welfare?)
    Buzz from the Beehive Stuart Nash, speaking as Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, one of his remaining portfolios after he was dropped down the Hipkins Government batting order, has drawn attention to the blue economy and its potential. Nash says the government is investing in the blue economy, or – ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 hours ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 24
    Photo by Josh Mills on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:The runs on Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank on the west coast of the United States that forced the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Weekly Roundup 24-March-2023
    Roundup is back! We skipped last week’s Friday post due to a shortage of person-power – did you notice? Lots going on out there… Our header image this week shows a green street that just happens to be Queen St, by @chamfy from Twitter. This week (and last) in ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    8 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Keen-Minshull visit
    After threatening Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of consequences if he dared to bar her entry, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull has been given her visa, regardless. This will enable her to hold rallies in Auckland and Wellington this weekend, and spread her messages of hostility against an already marginalised trans community. Neo-Nazis may, ...
    8 hours ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nucl...
    * Bryce Edwards writes – The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Wayne Brown's #Auxit moment
    Boomers voted him in, but Brown’s Trumpish moments might spook Aucklanders worried about what a change to National nationally might mean. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has become our version of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, except without any of the insatiable appetite for media appearances. He ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: NZ needs to distance itself from Australia’s anti-China nuclear submarines
    The New Zealand Government has been silent about Australia’s decision to commit up to $400bn acquiring nuclear submarines, even though this is a significant threat to peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. The deal was struck by the Albanese Labor Government as part of its Aukus pact with the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Posie Parker vs Transgender Rights.
    Recently you might have heard of a person called Posie Parker and her visit to Aotearoa. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what it’s all about. So let’s start with who this person is, why their visit is controversial, and what on earth a TERF is.Posie Parker is the super villain ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    11 hours ago
  • Select Committee told slow down; you’re moving too fast
    The chair of Parliament’s Select Committee looking at the Government’s resource management legislation wants the bills sent back for more public consultation. The proposal would effectively kill any chance of the bills making it into law before the election. Green MP, Eugenie Sage, stressing that she was speaking as ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    14 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #12 2023
    Open access notables  The United States experienced some historical low temperature records during the just-concluded winter. It's a reminder that climate and weather are quite noisy; with regard to our warming climate,, as with a road ascending a mountain range we may steadily change our conditions but with lots of ...
    22 hours ago
  • What becomes of the broken hearted? Nanny State will step in to comfort them
    Buzz from the Beehive The Nanny State has scored some wins (or claimed them) in the past day or two but it faltered when it came to protecting Kiwi citizens from being savaged by one woman armed with a sharp tongue. The wins are recorded by triumphant ministers on the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Acceptance, decency, road food.
    Sometimes you see your friends making the case so well on social media you think: just copy and share.On acceptance and decency, from Michèle A’CourtA notable thing about anti-trans people is they way they talk about transgender women and men as though they are strangers “over there” when in fact ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour sabotage
    Not that long ago, things were looking pretty good for climate change policy in Aotearoa. We finally had an ETS, and while it was full of pork and subsidies, it was delivering high and ever-rising carbon prices, sending a clear message to polluters to clean up or shut down. And ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Is bundling restricting electricity competition?
    Comparing (and switching) electricity providers has become easier, but bundling power up with broadband and/or gas makes it more challenging. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā TL;DR: The new Consumer Advocacy Council set up as a result of the Labour Government’s Electricity Price Review in 2019 has called on either ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Westland Milk puts heat on competitors as global dairy demand  remains softer for longer
    Hokitika-based Westland Milk Products  has  put the heat on dairy giant Fonterra with  a $120m profit turnaround in 2022, driven by record sales. Westland paid its suppliers a 10c premium above the forecast Fonterra price per kilo, contributing $535m to the West Coast and Canterbury economies. The dairy ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    1 day ago
  • BRYCE EDWARDS’ Political Roundup:  The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    * Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Beehive’s revolving door and corporate mateship
    New Zealanders are uncomfortable with the high level of influence corporate lobbyists have in New Zealand politics, and demands are growing for greater regulation. A recent poll shows 62 per cent of the public support having a two-year cooling off period between ministers leaving public office and becoming lobbyists and ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    1 day ago
  • A miracle pill for our transport ills
    This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen It originally appeared here.   A friend calls you and asks for your help. They tell you that while out and about nearby, they slipped over and landed arms-first. Now their wrist is swollen, hurting like ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 day ago
  • The Surprising Power of Floating Wind Turbines
    Floating offshore wind turbines offer incredible opportunities to capture powerful winds far out at sea. By unlocking this wind energy potential, they could be a key weapon in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But how developed are these climate fighting clean energy giants? And why do I ...
    1 day ago
  • The next Maori challenge
    Over the past two or three weeks, a procession of Maori iwi and hapu in a series of little-noticed appearances before two Select Committees have been asking for more say for Maori over resource management decisions along the co-governance lines of Three Waters. Their submissions and appearances run counter ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Secret “war-crime” warrants by International Criminal Court is mischief-making
    The decision of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue war crimes arrest warrants for the Russian President and the Russia Children Ombudsman may have been welcomed by the ideologically committed but otherwise seems to have been greeted with widespread cynicism (see Situation in Ukraine: ICC judges issue arrest warrants ...
    2 days ago
  • How to answer Drunk Uncle Kevin's Climate Crisis reckons
    Let’s say you’re clasping your drink at a wedding, or a 40th, or a King’s Birthday Weekend family reunion and Drunk Uncle Kevin has just got going.He’s in an expansive frame of mind because we’re finally rid of that silly girl. But he wants to ask an honest question about ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • National’s Luxon may be glum about his poll ratings but has he found a winner in promising to rai...
    National Party leader Christopher Luxon may  be feeling glum about his poll ratings, but  he could be tapping  into  a rich political vein in  describing the current state of education as “alarming”. Luxon said educational achievement has been declining,  with a recent NCEA pilot exposing just how far it has ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change: More Labour foot-dragging
    Yesterday the IPCC released the final part of its Sixth Assessment Report, warning us that we have very little time left in which to act to prevent catastrophic climate change, but pointing out that it is a problem that we can solve, with existing technology, and that anything we do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Te Pāti Māori Are Revolutionaries – Not Reformists.
    Way Beyond Reform: Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have no more interest in remaining permanent members of “New Zealand’s” House of Representatives than did Lenin and Trotsky in remaining permanent members of Tsar Nicolas II’s “democratically-elected” Duma. Like the Bolsheviks, Te Pāti Māori is a party of revolutionaries – not reformists.THE CROWN ...
    2 days ago
  • When does history become “ancient”, on Tinetti’s watch as Minister of Education – and what o...
    Buzz from the Beehive Auckland was wiped off the map, when Education Minister Jan Tinetti delivered her speech of welcome as host of the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers “here in Tāmaki Makaurau”. But – fair to say – a reference was made later in the speech to a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Climate Catastrophe, but first rugby.
    Morning mate, how you going?Well, I was watching the news last night and they announced this scientific report on Climate Change. But before they got to it they had a story about the new All Blacks coach.Sounds like important news. It’s a bit of a worry really.Yeah, they were talking ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • What the US and European bank rescues mean for us
    Always a bailout: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Government would fully guarantee all savers in all smaller US banks if needed. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: No wonder an entire generation of investors are used to ‘buying the dip’ and ‘holding on for dear life’. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Who will drain Wellington’s lobbying swamp?
    Wealthy vested interests have an oversized influence on political decisions in New Zealand. Partly that’s due to their use of corporate lobbyists. Fortunately, the influence lobbyists can have on decisions made by politicians is currently under scrutiny in Guyon Espiner’s in-depth series published by RNZ. Two of Espiner’s research exposĂ©s ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago
  • It’s Raining Congestion
    Yesterday afternoon it rained and traffic around the region ground to a halt, once again highlighting why it is so important that our city gets on with improving the alternatives to driving. For additional irony, this happened on the same day the IPCC synthesis report landed, putting the focus on ...
    2 days ago
  • Checking The Left: The Dreadful Logic Of Fascism.
    The Beginning: Anti-Co-Governance agitator, Julian Batchelor, addresses the Dargaville stop of his travelling roadshow across New Zealand . Fascism almost always starts small. Sadly, it doesn’t always stay that way. Especially when the Left helps it to grow.THERE IS A DREADFUL LOGIC to the growth of fascism. To begin with, it ...
    2 days ago
  • Good Friends and Terrible Food
    Hi,From an incredibly rainy day in Los Angeles, I just wanted to check in. I guess this is the day Trump may or may not end up in cuffs? I’m attempting a somewhat slower, less frenzied week. I’ve had Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s new record on non-stop, and it’s been a ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – What evidence is there for the hockey stick?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • Carry right on up there, Corporal Espiner
    RNZ has been shining their torch into corners where lobbyists lurk and asking such questions as: Do we like the look of this?and Is this as democratic as it could be?These are most certainly questions worth asking, and every bit as valid as, say:Are we shortchanged democratically by the way ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • This smells
    RNZ has continued its look at the role of lobbyists by taking a closer look at the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Andrew Kirton. He used to work for liquor companies, opposing (among other things) a container refund scheme which would have required them to take responsibility for their own ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Major issues on the table in Mahuta’s  talks in Beijing with China’s new Foreign Minister
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has left for Beijing for the first ministerial visit to China since 2019. Mahuta is  to  meet China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang  where she  might have to call on all the  diplomatic skills  at  her  command. Almost certainly she  will  face  questions  on what  role ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Inside TOP's Teal Card and political strategy
    TL;DR: The Opportunities Party’s Leader Raf Manji is hopeful the party’s new Teal Card, a type of Gold card for under 30s, will be popular with students, and not just in his Ilam electorate where students make up more than a quarter of the voters and where Manji is confident ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Make Your Empties Go Another Round.
    When I was a kid New Zealand was actually pretty green. We didn’t really have plastic. The fruit and veges came in a cardboard box, the meat was wrapped in paper, milk came in a glass bottle, and even rubbish sacks were made of paper. Today if you sit down ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how similar Vladimir Putin is to George W. Bush
    Looking back through the names of our Police Ministers down the years, the job has either been done by once or future party Bigfoots – Syd Holland, Richard Prebble, Juduth Collins, Chris Hipkins – or by far lesser lights like Keith Allen, Frank Gill, Ben Couch, Allen McCready, Clem Simich, ...
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER:  Te Pāti Māori’s uncompromising threat to the status quo
    Chris Trotter writes – The Crown is a fickle friend. Any political movement deemed to be colourful but inconsequential is generally permitted to go about its business unmolested. The Crown’s media, RNZ and TVNZ, may even “celebrate” its existence (presumably as proof of Democracy’s broad-minded acceptance of diversity). ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Shining a bright light on lobbyists in politics
    Four out of the five people who have held the top role of Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff since 2017 have been lobbyists. That’s a fact that should worry anyone who believes vested interests shouldn’t have a place at the centre of decision making. Chris Hipkins’ newly appointed Chief of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Auckland Council Draft Budget – an unnecessary backwards step
    Feedback on Auckland Council’s draft 2023/24 budget closes on March 28th. You can read the consultation document here, and provide feedback here. Auckland Council is currently consulting on what is one of its most important ever Annual Plans – the ‘budget’ of what it will spend money on between July ...
    3 days ago
  • Talking’ Posey Parker Blues
    by Molten Moira from Motueka If you want to be a woman let me tell you what to do Get a piece of paper and a biro tooWrite down your new identification And boom! You’re now a woman of this nationSpelled W O M A Na real trans woman that isAs opposed ...
    RedlineBy Admin
    4 days ago
  • More Māori words make it into the OED, and polytech boss (with rules on words like “students”) ...
    Buzz from the Beehive   New Zealand Education Minister Jan Tinetti is hosting the inaugural Conference of Pacific Education Ministers for three days from today, welcoming Education Ministers and senior officials from 18 Pacific Island countries and territories, and from Australia. Here’s hoping they have brought translators with them – or ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Social intercourse with haters and Nazis: an etiquette guide
    Let’s say you’ve come all the way from His Majesty’s United Kingdom to share with the folk of Australia and New Zealand your antipathy towards certain other human beings. And let’s say you call yourself a women’s rights activist.And let’s say 99 out of 100 people who listen to you ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • The Greens, Labour, and coalition enforcement
    James Shaw gave the Green party's annual "state of the planet" address over the weekend, in which he expressed frustration with Labour for not doing enough on climate change. His solution is to elect more Green MPs, so they have more power within any government arrangement, and can hold Labour ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • This sounds familiar…
    RNZ this morning has the first story another investigative series by Guyon Espiner, this time into political lobbying. The first story focuses on lobbying by government agencies, specifically transpower, Pharmac, and assorted universities, and how they use lobbyists to manipulate public opinion and gather intelligence on the Ministers who oversee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Letter to the NZ Herald: NCEA pseudoscience – “Mauri is present in all matter”
    Nick Matzke writes –   Dear NZ Herald, I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland. I teach evolutionary biology, but I also have long experience in science education and (especially) political attempts to insert pseudoscience into science curricula in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • So what would be the point of a Green vote again?
    James Shaw has again said the Greens would be better ‘in the tent’ with Labour than out, despite Labour’s policy bonfire last week torching much of what the Government was doing to reduce emissions. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Green Party has never been more popular than in some ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Gas stoves pose health risks. Are gas furnaces and other appliances safe to use?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler Poor air quality is a long-standing problem in Los Angeles, where the first major outbreak of smog during World War II was so intense that some residents thought the city had been attacked by chemical weapons. Cars were eventually discovered ...
    4 days ago
  • Genetic Heritage and Co Governance
    Yesterday I was reading an excellent newsletter from David Slack, and I started writing a comment “Sounds like some excellent genetic heritage…” and then I stopped.There was something about the phrase genetic heritage that stopped me in tracks. Is that a phrase I want to be saying? It’s kind of ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Radical Uncertainty
    Brian Easton writes – Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s Middle East strategy, 20 years after the Iraq War
    This week marks the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. While it strongly opposed the US-led invasion, New Zealand’s then Labour-led government led by Prime Minister Helen Clark did deploy military engineers to try to help rebuild Iraq in mid-2003. With violence soaring, their 12-month deployment ended without being renewed ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    4 days ago
  • The motorways are finished
    After seventy years, Auckland’s motorway network is finally finished. In July 1953 the first section of motorway in Auckland was opened between Ellerslie-Panmure Highway and Mt Wellington Highway. The final stage opens to traffic this week with the completion of the motorway part of the Northern Corridor Improvements project. Aucklanders ...
    4 days ago
  • Kicking National’s tyres
    National’s appointment of Todd McClay as Agriculture spokesperson clearly signals that the party is in trouble with the farming vote. McClay was not an obvious choice, but he does have a record as a political scrapper. The party needs that because sources say it has been shedding farming votes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • As long as there is cricket, the world is somehow okay.
    Rays of white light come flooding into my lounge, into my face from over the top of my neighbour’s hedge. I have to look away as the window of the conservatory is awash in light, as if you were driving towards the sun after a rain shower and suddenly blinded. ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • So much of what was there remains
    The columnists in Private Eye take pen names, so I have not the least idea who any of them are. But I greatly appreciate their expert insight, especially MD, who writes the medical column, offering informed and often damning critique of the UK health system and the politicians who keep ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Mar 12, 2023 thru Sat, Mar 18, 2023. Story of the Week Guest post: What 13,500 citations reveal about the IPCC’s climate science report   IPCC WG1 AR6 SPM Report Cover - Changing ...
    6 days ago
  • Financial capability services are being bucked up, but Stuart Nash shouldn’t have to see if they c...
    Buzz from the Beehive  The building of financial capability was brought into our considerations when Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced she had dipped into the government’s coffers for $3 million for “providers” to help people and families access community-based Building Financial Capability services. That wording suggests some ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Things that make you go Hmmmm.
    Do you ever come across something that makes you go Hmmmm?You mean like the song?No, I wasn’t thinking of the song, but I am now - thanks for that. I was thinking of things you read or hear that make you stop and go Hmmmm.Yeah, I know what you mean, ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • The hoon for the week that was to March 19
    By the end of the week, the dramas over Stuart Nash overshadowed Hipkins’ policy bonfire. File photo: Lynn GrieveasonTLDR: This week’s news in geopolitics and the political economy covered on The Kākā included:PM Chris Hipkins’ announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but ...
    The KakaBy Peter Bale
    6 days ago
  • Saving Stuart Nash: Explaining Chris Hipkins' unexpected political calculation
    When word went out that Prime Minister Chris Hipkins would be making an announcement about Stuart Nash on the tiles at parliament at 2:45pm yesterday, the assumption was that it was over. That we had reached tipping point for Nash’s time as minister. But by 3pm - when, coincidentally, the ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago
  • Radical Uncertainty
    Two senior economists challenge some of the foundations of current economics. It is easy to criticise economic science by misrepresenting it, by selective quotations, and by ignoring that it progresses, like all sciences, by improving and abandoning old theories. The critics may go on to attack physics by citing Newton.So ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • Jump onto the weekly hoon on Riverside at 5pm
    Photo by Walker Fenton on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on Riverside (we’ve moved from Zoom) for our chat about the week’s news with ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Dream of Florian Neame: Accepted
    In a nice bit of news, my 2550-word deindustrial science-fiction piece, The Dream of Florian Neame, has been accepted for publication at New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). I have published there before, of course, with Of Tin and Tintagel coming out last year. While I still await the ...
    1 week ago
  • Snakes and leaders
    And so this is Friday, and what have we learned?It was a week with all the usual luggage: minister brags and then he quits, Hollywood red carpet is full of twits. And all the while, hanging over the trivial stuff: existential dread, and portents of doom.Depending on who you read ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • This station is Karanga-a-Hape, Chur!
    When I changed the name of this newsletter from The Daily Read to Nick’s Kōrero I was a bit worried whether people would know what Kōrero meant or not. I added a definition when I announced the change and kind of assumed people who weren’t familiar with it would get ...
    Nick’s KƍreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Greens don’t shy from promoting a candidate’s queerness but are quiet about govt announcement on...
    There was a time when a political party’s publicity people would counsel against promoting a candidate as queer. No matter which of two dictionary meanings the voting public might choose to apply – the old meaning of odd, strange, weird, or aberrant, or the more recent meaning of gay, homosexual ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Ask Me Anything about the week to March 17
    Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for the next hour, including:PM Chris Hipkins announcement of the rest of a policy bonfire to save a combined $1.7 billion, but which blew up ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Slow consenting could create $16b climate liability by 2050
    Even though concern over the climate change threat is becoming more mainstream, our governments continue to opt out of the difficult decisions at the expense of time, and cost for future generations. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: Now we have a climate liability number to measure the potential failure of the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • THOMAS CRANMER: Challenging progressivism in New Zealand’s culture wars
    Thomas Cranmer writes  Like it or not, the culture wars have entered New Zealand politics and look set to broaden and intensify. The culture wars are often viewed as an exclusively American phenomenon, but the reality is that they are becoming increasingly prominent in countries around the world, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • Gordon Campbell on firing Stuart Nash, plus a music playlist
    Here’s an analogy for the Stuart Nash saga. If people are to be forgiven for their sins, Catholic dogma requires two factors to be present. There has to be a sincere act of confession about what has been done, but also a sincere act of contrition, which signals a painful ...
    1 week ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General David Parker has announced the appointment of Christopher John Dellabarca of Wellington, Dr Katie Jane Elkin of Wellington, Caroline Mary Hickman of Napier, Ngaroma Tahana of Rotorua, Tania Rose Williams Blyth of Hamilton and Nicola Jan Wills of Wellington as District Court Judges.  Chris Dellabarca Mr Dellabarca commenced his ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • New project set to supercharge ocean economy in Nelson Tasman
    A new Government-backed project will help ocean-related businesses in the Nelson Tasman region to accelerate their growth and boost jobs. “The Nelson Tasman region is home to more than 400 blue economy businesses, accounting for more than 30 percent of New Zealand’s economic activity in fishing, aquaculture, and seafood processing,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • National’s education policy: where’s the funding?
    After three years of COVID-19 disruptions schools are finally settling down and National want to throw that all in the air with major disruption to learning and underinvestment.  “National’s education policy lacks the very thing teachers, parents and students need after a tough couple of years, certainty and stability,” Education ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Free programme to help older entrepreneurs and inventors
    People aged over 50 with innovative business ideas will now be able to receive support to advance their ideas to the next stage of development, Minister for Seniors Ginny Andersen said today. “Seniors have some great entrepreneurial ideas, and this programme will give them the support to take that next ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government target increased to keep powering up the Māori economy
    A cross government target for relevant government procurement contracts for goods and services to be awarded to Māori businesses annually will increase to 8%, after the initial 5% target was exceeded. The progressive procurement policy was introduced in 2020 to increase supplier diversity, starting with Māori businesses, for the estimated ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Continued progress on reducing poverty in challenging times
    77,000 fewer children living in low income households on the after-housing-costs primary measure since Labour took office Eight of the nine child poverty measures have seen a statistically significant reduction since 2018. All nine have reduced 28,700 fewer children experiencing material hardship since 2018 Measures taken by the Government during ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech at Fiji Investment and Trade Business Forum
    Deputy Prime Minister Kamikamica; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Tēnā koutou katoa, ni sa bula vinaka saka, namaste. Deputy Prime Minister, a very warm welcome to Aotearoa. I trust you have been enjoying your time here and thank you for joining us here today. To all delegates who have travelled to be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government investments boost and diversify local economies in lower South Island
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