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News Bargaining Incentive: The Latest Move In The Government’s ‘Four-dimensional Chess’ Battle With Meta
Friday, 13 December 2024, 1:46 pm | The Conversation
The government has been playing ‘four-dimensional chess’ to work out how to drag big tech back to the bargaining table with news publishers. So, will this new scheme work? More >>
Gordon Campbell On The Latest Round Of Ferry Follies
Friday, 13 December 2024, 1:02 pm | Gordon Campbell
Winston Peters as Minister of Rail has exposed the deep rifts around the coalition Cabinet table. All year, Peters’ preference has been for ferries with a “roll on, roll off” capability instead of the government's preferred option without this ... More >>
Chinese Upgrading A Hammerhead-Shaped Port With A Pakistan-China Joint Exercise
Thursday, 12 December 2024, 2:45 pm | Richard S. Ehrlich
"The exercise will focus on joint counter-terrorism clean-up and strike operations," Chinese-government controlled Xinhua News Agency reported. More >>
Exploring Our Place In The Universe
Thursday, 12 December 2024, 9:25 am | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Meditation is the spontaneous stillness of thought in all-inclusive, choiceless and undirected attention. Only when the brain is completely quiet can it contact the infinite silence and creative emptiness of Mind. More >>
Dunne's Weekly: Some Observations On A Turbulent Political Year
Thursday, 12 December 2024, 8:48 am | Peter Dunne
Parliament's best performer – as opposed to politician of the year – has been Speaker Gerry Brownlee who has performed his role with the patience, wisdom and dignity that critics might not previously expected of him. More >>
David Farrar’s Incomplete Health Workforce Analysis
Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 6:34 pm | Ian Powell
Ian Powell discusses why increasing numbers of resident (junior) doctors in New Zealand are leaving the country, primarily to Australia, in response to an incomplete simplistic claim by rightwing political commentator David Farrar. More >>
Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Ongoing Ferries Disaster
Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 3:45 pm | Gordon Campbell
We learned today that Nicola Willis and Winston Peters, the newly-anointed Minister of Rail have a plan to replace the iRex ferries that were otherwise due to arrive in 2026. The replacement ships (a) will now arrive at an unknown time but not before ... More >>
Ding Dong, Australia’s Misinformation-Disinformation Bill Is Dead
Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 3:06 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Facing certain defeat, the Albanese government revealed its position a few days later. “Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the Senate,” conceded Communications ... More >>
Chilling Warnings For Syria: When Foreign Interventions Go Bad
Tuesday, 10 December 2024, 1:28 pm | Binoy Kampmark
When foreign powers meddle, particularly in the Middle East, the result is very often a cure worse than the disease. More >>
Al Aqsa Provocation And The Media Game 'Israel Says'
Monday, 9 December 2024, 8:19 pm | Keith Rankin
When Benjamin Netanyahu said 'jump', the media moguls effectively said 'how high?' Since then, like Groundhog Day, media copywriters have been playing the game 'Israel says'. When institutions succumb to narratives of the 'Israel says' variety, they ... More >>
On The Fall Of Assad, And The New Dylan Movie
Monday, 9 December 2024, 11:30 am | Gordon Campbell
Hold the champagne. Ugly and brutal as it was, the Assad regime may have been the lesser evil for Syria, the Middle East region and the rest of the world. And, just after Christmas, the Bob Dylan dramatized film biography A Complete Unknown will ... More >>
The Sectarian Risk: Turkey’s Syrian Mission
Sunday, 8 December 2024, 7:39 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Turkey's intervention in Syria’s conflict was motivated by 2 main goals: the containment, if not elimination, of Kurdish militants in northern Syria, & creating conditions of stability or “safe zones” that would enable a return of Syrian refugees when ... More >>
Changing Face Of Capitalism: Private Equity Threat To New Zealand Economy
Sunday, 8 December 2024, 7:01 pm | Ian Powell
Ian Powell discusses the potential threat of private equity companies to the New Zealand economy in light of the SolarZero liquidation and the US experience. More >>
FIFA’s Cooked Findings: Saudi Arabia’s World Cup Bid
Saturday, 7 December 2024, 2:49 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Not all has been smooth on the matter of endorsing FIFA’s decision, at least at the level of various football organisations whose approval is also sought. But even there, Saudi sporting strategy has been in evidence to ensure a lack of dissent. More >>
The Demon In The Mirror. Trump Exposes Who We Are.
Friday, 6 December 2024, 2:34 pm | Eugene Doyle
When governments fail to clear the lowest bars of moral conduct, history demands that populations take action – that citizens don’t look away but step up and do everything it takes to force fundamental change, respect for human rights and ... More >>
Waking From The Nightmare
Friday, 6 December 2024, 12:55 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Awakening is difficult, requiring diligent awareness and questioning, which is why the vast majority of people still adapt to their culture, however sick it is. More >>
The Tectonic Shift: The Gaza Genocide And The Limits Of Israeli Hasbara
Thursday, 5 December 2024, 7:27 pm | Ramzy Baroud
Today, ordinary people have been made aware of the conversation on Palestine, No amount of Israeli propaganda, unjust laws, unfair categorizations of Palestinians or the hardly-clad models of the IDF, will ever succeed in reversing these realities. More >>
Public Hospital Specialists Increase: Delusional Spit In The Ocean With Sinister Undertone
Thursday, 5 December 2024, 6:13 pm | Ian Powell
Ian Powell discusses the recent announcement of an increase of 50 senior hospital doctor position in New Zealand’s pubic health system; both the strong scepticism and a sinister undertone. More >>
On How Slavishly This Government Is Serving Its Corporate Donors
Thursday, 5 December 2024, 12:04 pm | Gordon Campbell
The government has been tilting the balance of power in the workplace even further in favour of employers. This week saw the Workplace Relations Minister reduce the ability of workers to bring personal grievance proceedings against bad employers ... More >>
Luxon's Political Communication Challenge
Wednesday, 4 December 2024, 9:09 am | Peter Dunne
DUNNE’S WEEKLY As the government begins its second year in office there has been much comment about the leadership style and tone of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. By his own admission he is not a career politician. There have been occasions when ... More >>
The Syrian Civil War: New Phases, Old Lies
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 4:08 pm | Binoy Kampmark
For one, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has a series of goals. It purports to be an indigenous movement keen on eliminating the Assad regime, establishing Islamic rule and expelling all Iranian militias from Syrian soil. More >>
On Why An AUKUS Led By Trump Is A Scary Prospect
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 12:02 pm | Gordon Campbell
On the weeknd, Labour figured out that it doesn’t want New Zealand to join Pillar 2 of an AUKUS pact after all. Hmm. This is despite the fact that its then-Defence Minister Andrew Little seemed dead keen on AUKUS when Labour was last in a position ... More >>
Bidenomics And Luxonomics
Tuesday, 3 December 2024, 10:37 am | Keith Rankin
Bidenomics was functionally the same as 'hitlernomics'. In the meantime, Luxonomics is paralysing Aotearoa New Zealand. More >>
Israel And The West’s War On Itself: The True Meaning Of ICC Arrest Warrants
Sunday, 1 December 2024, 3:21 pm | Ramzy Baroud
It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the ICC’s indictment of Netanyahu, as a representative of the political establishment in Israel, and Gallant, as the leader of the military class, is also an indictment of the United States. More >>
Gallic Stubbornness: France, Netanyahu And The ICC Arrest Warrants
Saturday, 30 November 2024, 6:09 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The French approach waters down the effect of the warrants by effectively rejecting ICC jurisdiction over Israel’s officials & commanders, despite the court’s own finding that it had jurisdiction by virtue of Israel’s operations on Palestinian ... More >>
‘Genocide’ vs ‘Bigger Genocide’ in Gaza: Time to Decolonize Our Minds
Saturday, 30 November 2024, 2:11 pm | Ramzy Baroud
The world is vastly changing, and it is time for us to change as well. Frantz Fanon had already discovered the cure: We must clinically detect and remove the rot, not only from our land but from our minds as well. More >>
A Meditation On Noise And Silence
Friday, 29 November 2024, 1:11 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
Being at one with cosmic silence is the highest capacity of the human being. To the extent that we only hear the noise of man however, outwardly and inwardly, we are incapable of silent being. More >>
On The Royal Commission’s Fine-tuning Of Vaccine Mandates And Lockdowns
Friday, 29 November 2024, 9:17 am | Gordon Campbell
Let's hope politicians of all stripes can agree to limit their urge to politicise the Inquiry findings about the Covid response. Since ensuring we get properly equipped next time around –will involve political decisions, some degree of political point ... More >>
The ABC’s Colonel Blimp: Why Kim Williams Misunderstands Joe Rogan
Friday, 29 November 2024, 8:33 am | Binoy Kampmark
It did not take long for the Williams show of snark to make its way to Rogan Land and his defenders, notably Elon Musk, who spent time with Rogan in the lead-up to November’s US presidential election spruiking the credentials of Trump. More >>
No More 'Deals’ - What Palestinians Want And Will Fight To Achieve
Thursday, 28 November 2024, 4:23 pm | Ramzy Baroud
Earlier plans, or deals, rested on the premise of total marginalization of the Palestinian people and their cause. They included the Roger Plan of 1969 and Roger Plan II in the early 70s, which culminated in the Camp David Accords later that same decade. More >>
Dunne's Weekly: Mayor Whanau's Rare Win - To Her City's Detriment
Thursday, 28 November 2024, 9:51 am | Peter Dunne
For a Mayor for whom nearly everything has gone wrong in the last two years, this week’s Council decisions are a rare and welcome win, even if they are perpetuating the wrong direction the city has been heading in. More >>
Ironic Dependency: Russian Uranium And The US Energy Market
Wednesday, 27 November 2024, 2:23 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Russia provides some 27% of enrichment service purchases for US utilities. The Russian state-owned company Rosatom is alone responsible for arranging imports of low-enriched uranium into the US market at some 3 million SWU (Separative Work Units) annually. More >>
General Practice Visits, Emergency Department Presentations, And Social Determinants Of Health
Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 2:38 pm | Ian Powell
In this article, Ian Powell examines the relationship between declining general practice visits, emergency department presentations, and social determinants of health, as highlighted by the latest New Zealand health survey. More >>
Arrest Warrants From The Hague: The ICC, Netanyahu And Gallant
Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 2:15 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The arrest warrants, issued in accordance with the law of international armed conflict, remain the most telling aspect of the determinations. Despite being classified as “secret”, the Chamber deemed it important to release some degree of detail on ... More >>
On What’s Wrong With The Treaty Principles Bill
Tuesday, 26 November 2024, 11:45 am | Gordon Campbell
Seymour’s Bill is a concerted attempt to deny that the Crown has responsibilities and obligations. It does so by invoking a bogus equality before the law, and ignoring the causes of the blatant and enduring inequality of access to opportunity - issues ... More >>
Has WWIII Started?
Sunday, 24 November 2024, 7:13 pm | Eugene Doyle
We all need to evolve our psychology and think more like statesmen and stateswomen – and less like nutters. More >>
Fencing The Ocean: Australia’s Social Media Safety Bill
Saturday, 23 November 2024, 7:36 pm | Binoy Kampmark
These laws constitute yet another effort to concentrate power and responsibilities best held by the citizenry in the hands of a bureaucratic-political class governed by paranoia and procedure. More >>
Trump, AUKUS And Australia’s Dim Servitors
Friday, 22 November 2024, 6:51 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Australia’s government has abandoned all pretence of resistance, measure or judgment, outrageously willing to underwrite the US imperium in any of its needs in countering China, raiding the treasury of taxpayer funds to the tune of a figure that will, ... More >>
On The Publication Of The First NCQG Text "New Collective Quantified Goal On Climate Finance"
Friday, 22 November 2024, 1:15 pm | Alastair Thompson
COP29 is officially due to end on November 22nd but almost certainly will not do so, as there is not yet even a total number for climate finance on the table - which is one of the the things that Developing Nations are pushing for. More >>
Perception, Conception And Beauty
Friday, 22 November 2024, 12:24 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
As we get older the perception of beauty becomes more difficult because memories & experiences fill the mind, leaving less & less space for seeing with innocence, as a child sees. It requires diligence to retain a purity of perception, though the ... More >>
The Wrong Answer To A Question That Does Not Exist
Friday, 22 November 2024, 10:45 am | Peter Dunne
The Treaty is therefore our modus operandi for common nationhood. It is not about the dominance of one signatory over the other, but as Norman Kirk said, about how we all live together in these islands. In that regard, the TPB is simply the wrong ... More >>
A Nation In Denial: Why Israel’s Defeat Is Imminent
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 3:41 pm | Ramzy Baroud
They continue to reference and recycle old religious dogmas, while fervently praying for miracles. In doing so, they insist on reconstructing a new 'Fantasy Israel', which, of course, is set to collapse, as fantasies often do. More >>
New Zealand’s Shameful Modern Slavery Shutdown
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 6:26 pm | Ian Powell
Ian Powell discusses the government’s shameful response to modern slavery in New Zealand. More >>
Trump's Victory, Authoritarians & Trade Warriors
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 1:55 pm | Richard S. Ehrlich
Trump's victory may bring some relief for the leaders of three authoritarian, pro-China, Southeast Asian nations -- Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia. His tough threats are expected to intimidate Asians hoping to move to the U.S. or profit from Chinese-U.S. trade. More >>
On The Hikoi Aftermath
Wednesday, 20 November 2024, 10:37 am | Gordon Campbell
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. And, in business speak, the hikoi ... More >>
COP29 Erasure Story Update – All's Well That Ends Well
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 7:27 pm | Alastair Thompson
The justification for the changes was the same: There is no current UNFCCC “mandate” for the filming & publication of press conferences other than those of the Presidency, nor of other events held by civil society actors within the complex – even though ... More >>
Thank You For Emitting: The Hypocrisies Of COP29
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 1:40 pm | Binoy Kampmark
COP29 was always going to be memorable, for no other reason than the hosting country, Azerbaijan, is a petrostate indifferent to the issue of emissions and scornful of ecological preachers. It has seen its natural gas supply grow by 128% between 2000 ... More >>
On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 11:15 am | Gordon Campbell
National's actions in regard to the Treaty Principles Bill debate indicates their actions they’re more keen on stoking rather than healing society’s racial/economic divisions. What could possibly go wrong? More >>
COP29 Erasure – COP29 Media Center Crippled
Tuesday, 19 November 2024, 1:32 am | Alastair Thompson
The official video record of COP29 is being erased every 12 hours & nobody here knows. More >>
End Of Empathy: Did The Gaza Genocide Render The UN Irrelevant?
Monday, 18 November 2024, 11:55 am | Ramzy Baroud
UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese is not the first person to express deep frustration with the institutional, let alone the moral collapse of the UN, or the inability of the institution to affect any kind of tangible change, especially during ... More >>
Physician Associates: A ‘Solution’ Desperately Searching For A Problem
Sunday, 17 November 2024, 10:17 pm | Ian Powell
Ian Powell discusses the controversy over the attempt by US physician associates in New Zealand to be registered under the Health Competence Assurance Act. More >>
Natural Resources And Palestinian Sovereignty: Israel’s Further Isolation
Sunday, 17 November 2024, 9:40 pm | Binoy Kampmark
While disease, hunger and death continue to stalk the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank remains under the thick thumb of occupation, deliberations in foreign fora continue to take place about how to address this hideous state of affairs. More >>
Look Out Rocks … Oops Too Late
Friday, 15 November 2024, 1:50 pm | Jim Mikoz
We live in a country surrounded by reefs & rocks. In recent years 3 large ships have hit rocks in our territorial waters: the MS Mikhail Lermontov, MV Rena, & now the NZ Navy warship the HMNZS Manawanui. The common denominator to all three of these More >>
Blinken Atrocious In A Dangerous World
Friday, 15 November 2024, 1:34 pm | Binoy Kampmark
The Biden administration, through the good offices of Blinken, continues to insist on the vitality of the US imperium. But US hegemony long left unchallenged is, most certainly, at an end. More >>
What Being “Inward Looking” Really Means
Friday, 15 November 2024, 1:32 pm | Martin LeFevre - Meditations
As the saying goes, “We have met the enemy, and they are us.” Evil forces exist within, not without, so they must first be faced and met inwardly before the rotten structures of society can be remedied outwardly. More >>
On The Folly Of Making Apologies In A Social Vacuum.
Friday, 15 November 2024, 11:46 am | Gordon Campbell
We’re faced with six more months of “debate” about our founding document. as the the Treaty Principles Bill hits the house. Maybe I blinked, but there didn’t seem to be any public debate about why the circa 200,000 victims of state “care” More >>
National And Labour Combine To Shut Out Greens
Friday, 15 November 2024, 9:42 am | Peter Dunne
It is probably just a coincidence that National’s and Labour’s broad agreement was announced just a week after the Wellington tunnels decision and the Green Party’s response, but it does change the political component quite considerably. More >>
Voting Against Genocide - How Gaza Defeated The Democratic Establishment
Thursday, 14 November 2024, 3:10 pm | Ramzy Baroud
It is time to build on the existing solidarity among all American groups that voted against genocide in the latest elections. More >>
BBC Goes Full Goebbels In Support Of Israeli Soccer Hooligans
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 3:47 pm | Eugene Doyle
The BBC has proven itself to be an outrageously false & misleading outlet, peddling anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian propaganda dressed up as concern over anti-semitism. It has desecrated the memory of real victims – and most importantly it has shredded ... More >>
They Were There First: Election Denialism, The Democratic Way
Wednesday, 13 November 2024, 1:07 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Instead of vanishing as aberrant over the Biden years, Trumpism has come home to roost in winning, not only the Electoral College but the majority vote by convincing margins. More >>
