Latest Top Scoops Headlines
On Political Twins, And On Labour Extending Its Wage Subsidy Scheme
Friday, 7 August 2020, 11:45 am | Gordon Campbell
A quick quiz for the weekend. Which political party currently represented in Parliament issued a press release yesterday that contained these stirring passages: “[We have] long supported a free trade and free movement area between Canada, Australia, New ... More >>
Pursuit abandoned after shots fired at police in South Auckland
Friday, 7 August 2020, 11:35 am | RNZ
The hunt is on for two people who shot at police out of a car window in South Auckland last night. More >>
O’Neill Shines
Friday, 7 August 2020, 10:11 am | Max Rashbrooke
It’s an ill wind that blows no good, as they say, and it’s presumably the coronavirus pandemic that we have to thank for tenor Simon O’Neill still being on our shores. On his previous schedule, he would currently have been in the US singing Tristan ... More >>
1.8 Million Reasons You Should Give Up Dairy
Friday, 7 August 2020, 8:54 am | Lynley Tulloch
Bobby calves are one of the more unpalatable truths of the dairy industry. Autumn / Winter calving is the busiest time of the year for ‘bobby calf disposal’ as it is called in the industry. A bobby calf is a 4-10 day old newborn calf who is ... More >>
Alleged Cover-Up Of Civilians Murdered By UK Special Forces In Iraq And Afghanistan
Friday, 7 August 2020, 7:38 am | MediaLens
On August 1, a rare in-depth investigative piece appeared on the BBC News website based on credible and serious allegations that UK Special Forces had executed unarmed civilians in Afghanistan. The BBC article was produced in tandem with a report , ... More >>
Hamilton mall cordoned off as police deal with possible explosive devices
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 5:00 pm | RNZ
Two homemade explosive devices were detonated outside a Hamilton shopping centre this morning - in an apparent effort to crack open an ATM. More >>
Ngāpuhi hapū to get funding for Treaty of Waitangi claims settlement
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 4:49 pm | RNZ
Hapū of Ngāpuhi preparing their claims for Treaty of Waitangi settlements will soon be able to access upfront funding from the government, the minister for treaty negotiations has said. More >>
End of Life Choice Act: Who is eligible, who makes the decisions?
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 4:46 pm | RNZ
At this year's general election, the public will also be asked to cast a referendum vote on the End of Life Choice Act 2019. Here is an explainer on the Act, who is eligible and how we got here. More >>
Counting The Cost Of Government Action And Inaction
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 4:13 pm | Keith Rankin
Money as an Unfortunate Metaphor for Cost Especially but not only in election years, when any new policy is proposed by a major party, a ubiquitous refrain follows: "what will it cost?"; "where will the money come from?". The context is ... More >>
‘An Endless Game Of COVID-19 Whack-a-mole’: A NZ Expert On Melbourne’s Stage 4 Lockdown
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 4:02 pm | The Conversation
'An endless game of COVID-19 whack-a-mole': a New Zealand expert on why Melbourne's stage 4 lockdown should cover all of Victoria More >>
Big Tech Antics: The Data Robber Barons Appear Before Congress
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 3:17 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Silicon Valley continues to sprawl in influence, and its modern robber barons bestride the globe with a confidence verging on contempt. The technology giants that mark that region of California are praised as “virtuosos of ingenuity,” to use Steve ... More >>
Biodiversity Loss Could Be Making Us Sick – Here's Why
Thursday, 6 August 2020, 9:40 am | The Conversation
By 2050, 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in towns and cities. Urban living brings many benefits, but city dwellers worldwide are seeing a rapid increase in noncommunicable health problems, such as asthma and inflammatory bowel ... More >>
Covid-19 community transmission is inevitable, Ashley Bloomfield says
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 4:20 pm | RNZ
The Director-General of Health says community transmission of Covid-19 in the country is inevitable and people should not be complacent about downloading and using the app from now, adding that making it compulsory was still an option. More >>
Beirut explosion: What do we know about ammonium nitrate?
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 4:16 pm | RNZ
An estimated 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored at the Beirut warehouse where a massive explosion has occurred. It's an ingredient in fertiliser - and some bombs. More >>
Claims That Behrouz Boochani Jumped The Queue Are A Reminder Of The Dangers Of Anti-Refugee Politics
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 4:13 pm | The Conversation
Claims that Behrouz Boochani jumped the queue are a reminder of the dangers of anti-refugee politics More >>
Climate Explained: Could Electric Car Batteries Feed Power Back Into The Grid?
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 4:07 pm | The Conversation
Climate explained: could electric car batteries feed power back into the grid? petrmalinak/shutterstock Alan Brent , Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington More >>
These Dogs Are Trained To Sniff Out The Coronavirus. Most Have A 100% Success Rate
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 4:04 pm | The Conversation
These dogs are trained to sniff out the coronavirus. Most have a 100% success rate More >>
Trump Can’t Delay The Election, But He Can Try To Delegitimise It
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 3:59 pm | The Conversation
Americans were alarmed last week when their president suggested on Twitter that the November 3 presidential election should be delayed because mail-in ballots would be fraudulent. More >>
Mealy-Mouthed Universities: Academic Freedom And The Pavlou Problem Down Under
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 2:48 pm | Binoy Kampmark
A sorry state of affairs has descended upon Australian academic institutions like a suffocating cloak. Vice-Chancellors and their overly remunerated toadies are getting human relations departments to scribble their apologias for sins against thought. ... More >>
Apartheid Or One State: Has Jordan Broken A Political Taboo?
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 1:45 pm | Ramzy Baroud
What will it take for the idea of a two-state solution, which was hardly practical to begin with, to be completely abandoned? Every realistic assessment of the situation on the ground indicates, with palpable clarity, that there can never be a viable ... More >>
Missing The Point: RNZ Concert Petition Rejected By MPs
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 11:00 am | Tom Frewen
A call for RNZ’s board and management to be sacked for their botched attempt to use Concert FM’s funding and broadcast frequency for a youth music station has been rejected by Parliament’s Economic Development, Science and Innovation Select ... More >>
On The Problems The Pandemic Is Causing For Big Oil
Wednesday, 5 August 2020, 9:44 am | Gordon Campbell
Chances are, climate change won’t kill you overnight, and that’s got to be significant. Yet while we were all in lockdown listening to the birdsong, it was hard to avoid the conclusion that if governments can up-end the economy for an unexpected reason ... More >>
US Cold War China Policy Will Isolate The US, Not China
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 4:35 pm | Common Dreams
The U.S. must stop pursuing its counterproductive effort to undermine China, and instead work with all our neighbors on this small planet. by Medea Benjamin , Nicolas J.S. Davies "The sad truth is that 30 years after the supposed end of the Cold ... More >>
Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup – The Burnham Report Shows Why We Can’t Trust NZ’s Military
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 4:22 pm | The Democracy Project
Can we trust New Zealand’s military? There must now be serious doubt, given the landmark report released on Friday concluding the investigation into allegations made in the book Hit and Run by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson about a 2010 SAS killing ... More >>
How Climate Change Made The Melting Of New Zealand’s Glaciers 10 Times More Likely
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 4:07 pm | The Conversation
How climate change made the melting of New Zealand's glaciers 10 times more likely More >>
Operation Burnham: The New Zealand Military’s Self-Inflicted Wounds Will Not Heal By Themselves
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 4:03 pm | The Conversation
Operation Burnham: the New Zealand military's self-inflicted wounds will not heal by themselves More >>
State Of Pandemic Disaster: Melbourne Moves To Stage Four
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 3:51 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Being in control of a sinking ship is not enviable. Regulations previously passed have a museum feel to them, distinctly obsolete. Directions, once dictated with confidence, lack timbre. Coronavirus is serving as that most wily and cheeky of agents, with ... More >>
90 Days To Elections: Trends Show Biden Win And Turbulent Transition
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 3:41 pm | Mark Rais
Biden is projected to win the presidential election in the United States, by both the popular vote and the Electoral College, based on trend analysis 90 days out. Moreover, the cultural trends indicate a particularly turbulent and drawn out transition ... More >>
Pasifika on Census 2023: 'Should we even bother?'
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 3:01 pm | RNZ
Pasifika researchers are dismayed at the government's choice of a relatively cheap way of running the next census in 2023. More >>
Northlanders’ Future Access To Safe Drinking Water Under Threat Without Major Industry Shakeup
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 2:59 pm | Susan Botting - Local Democracy Reporter
Northlanders’ future access to safe drinking water is under threat without major spending on water infrastructure that only bigger management organisations can afford. That’s the warning from Brian Hanna, three waters steering committee independent ... More >>
SNA Mapping To Go Ahead Across West Coast
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 2:57 pm | Lois Williams - Local Democracy Reporter
Councils working on one district plan for the whole West Coast have grasped the nettle and given the go-ahead for the mapping of significant natural areas (SNAs) on private land. But they've agreed to exempt certain Maori land from the process. ... More >>
Million-dollar Skate Park “great For Community”
Tuesday, 4 August 2020, 2:56 pm | Marcus Anselm - Local Democracy Reporter
The $1million-plus budget for Masterton’s skate park is not unusual, and the upgrade will be “great for the community” says the designer behind the plans. Richard Smith, who owns the RICH Landscapes architectural design company, says the “shovel ... More >>
How The Billionaires Control American Elections
Monday, 3 August 2020, 4:32 pm | Eric Zuesse
Eric Zuesse, originally posted at Strategic Culture The great investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald gave an hour-long lecture on how America’s billionaires control the U.S. Government, and here is an edited summary of its opening twenty minutes ... More >>
Name suppression extended for officers accused of manslaughter
Monday, 3 August 2020, 4:16 pm | RNZ
Their interim name suppression was due to lapse at 4pm today but it will continue after they appealled. More >>
Live: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives post-Cabinet media briefing
Monday, 3 August 2020, 4:15 pm | RNZ
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is briefing media following her Cabinet meeting. Watch live here. More >>
Pacific Islands Must Stop Relying On Foreign Aid To Adapt To Climate Change
Monday, 3 August 2020, 4:04 pm | The Conversation
Pacific Islands must stop relying on foreign aid to adapt to climate change, because the money won’t last More >>
Crossing The Creepy Line: Google, Deception And The ACCC
Monday, 3 August 2020, 3:41 pm | Binoy Kampmark
Belief in Google’s promises is much like believing in virgin births. For a company so proud of its pursuit of a transparent information environment, it has remained committedly opaque about informing customers on the way it gathers user data. Statements ... More >>
On The Virtues (and Fluffed Opportunities) Of The Operation Burnham Report
Monday, 3 August 2020, 1:27 pm | Gordon Campbell
One unspoken rule of thumb in any official public inquiry is : whatever you do, don’t conclude you were made to listen to “a litany of lies” even if the evidence of a deliberate cover-up is right there under your nose. In that respect, the report ... More >>
Staying On Message: Australia, The US And The AUSMIN Talks
Monday, 3 August 2020, 3:57 am | Binoy Kampmark
The Satrap Chronicles of the US imperium will have, near the top of their various ingratiating themes, such Australian politicians as Senators Linda Reynolds and Marise Payne. They resemble Siamese consuls, hard to tell apart (robust build, similar of ... More >>
French Nuclear Tests: ‘I Bury People Nearly Every Day, What Was Our Sin?’
Monday, 3 August 2020, 3:39 am | Pacific Media Centre
Faa’a mayor and nuclear-free campaigner Oscar Temaru ... “The two issues are tied - nuclear testing and our freedom.” Image: PMC screenshot By Matthew Scott , reporting for the Pacific Media Centre Tourism throughout the Pacific has been ... More >>
Meditations On Yemen
Sunday, 2 August 2020, 6:49 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
We don't like to talk about Yemen. We don't like to think about Yemen. Yemen is the elephant in the room. Yemen is the black eye on a child that everyone at church pretends to believe is from falling down the stairs again to avoid an uncomfortable ... More >>
India And Brazil Are Now The Global Worst Coronavirus Nations
Sunday, 2 August 2020, 2:25 pm | Eric Zuesse
India and Brazil have now overtaken the United States as the world’s worst performers at controlling the cononavirus-19 plague. The chart of the numbers of daily new cases in India shows the daily count soaring more than in any other country except Brazil ... More >>
It’s official: Fibre overtakes copper
Sunday, 2 August 2020, 2:21 pm | Digitl
At the end of September, fibre companies had 880,000 premises connected to their networks. There were 581,000 copper connections. Fibre connections were up 31 percent on the year earlier. Copper connections were down 23 percent. More >>
The Real Deep State Power Grab: Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
Sunday, 2 August 2020, 7:08 am | Caitlin Johnstone
The real deep state power grab underway isn’t about Covid, it’s about the new cold war agendas against China and Russia. All analysts who’ve been staring transfixed by Covid anxiety waiting for Bill Gates to usher in the New World Order have completely ... More >>
What Do Papuans Really Want
Saturday, 1 August 2020, 3:50 pm | Yamin Kogoya
West Papua Rejects “Special Autonomy” and Calls for Independence while Jakarta Government Prioritises Welfare Approach for West Papua Banner reads “Special Autonomy failed” Papuan people’s rights to life threatened… Image: Indoleft Papuans ... More >>
Op-Ed: The Exit Of 12,000 US Troops Is The Single Worst Event In German History
Saturday, 1 August 2020, 3:41 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
Today's Caitlin Johnstone essay has been replaced with a National News Conglomerate op-ed by General Hank Hammerfist. NNC: Obey. The Trump administration has begun slashing the US military presence in Germany from an almost satisfactory 36,000 troops to ... More >>
Pulling Out Of Germany: Trump Adjusts The Military Furniture
Saturday, 1 August 2020, 3:38 pm | Binoy Kampmark
One noisy theme in the Donald Trump Disruption Show in an otherwise chaotic assemblage of messages has remained fairly constant: winding back US troop commitments. The US has fought its complement of wars, bloodied and bloodying. Time to up stakes and ... More >>
When Corporate Power Is Your Real Government, Corporate Media Is State Media
Saturday, 1 August 2020, 3:34 pm | Caitlin Johnstone
The New York Times published an astonishingly horrible article the other day titled "Latin America Is Facing a ‘Decline of Democracy’ Under the Pandemic" accusing governments like Venezuela and Nicaragua of exploiting Covid-19 to quash ... More >>
Palestinian Eyewitness Testimony Of The Execution Of Abdul F Al-Sharif By Israeli Soldier, E Azaria
Saturday, 1 August 2020, 3:21 pm | Ramzy Baroud
Human Rights Defenders: Palestinian Eyewitness Testimony of the Execution of Abdul Fattah al-Sharif by Israeli Soldier, Elor Azaria As illegal Jewish settlers increase their attacks on Palestinian civilians in the occupied city of Al Khalil (Hebron), ... More >>
723 New COVID-19 Cases In Victoria – Behaviour Probably Has Something To Do With It
Friday, 31 July 2020, 4:37 pm | The Conversation
Philip Russo and Brett Mitchell Victoria has today achieved another grim record, with 723 new cases of COVID-19 and 13 deaths. This is more than double the 295 cases recorded yesterday, and flies in the face of suggestions earlier this week that Victoria ... More >>
Sharks Are Thriving At The Kermadec Islands, But Not The Rest Of New Zealand, Amid Global Decline
Friday, 31 July 2020, 4:31 pm | The Conversation
Adam Smith A recent global assessment of shark populations at 371 coral reefs in 58 countries found no sharks at almost 20% of reefs and alarmingly low numbers at many others. The study, which involved over 100 scientists under the Global FinPrint ... More >>
NZ Wants A 100% Renewable Electricity Grid, But Massive Infrastructure Is Not The Best Option
Friday, 31 July 2020, 4:28 pm | The Conversation
Janet Stephenson A proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity ... More >>
Forget A Capital Gains Tax – What New Zealand Needs Is A Tax On Inherited Wealth
Friday, 31 July 2020, 4:23 pm | The Conversation
Jonathan Barrett The world’s wealthiest people will transfer US$15.4 trillion in assets to their heirs in the next decade, according to a recent report . Published by specialist data analysts Wealth-X, the report focused on the richest 0.1% (those ... More >>
Racism, Sexism, Classism – The Necessary Incoherence Of 'Mainstream' Ethical Debate
Friday, 31 July 2020, 4:17 pm | Media Lens
What does it mean when journalists who spent the last two decades promoting wars of aggression on brown- and black-skinned people in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen take a knee? The Observer commented : ‘There is a dreadful familiarity ... More >>
Above Avalon on Apple pulling away from competitors
Friday, 31 July 2020, 2:28 pm | Digitl
For the second year in a row, Apple held a developers conference that should frighten its competitors. Relying on a nearly maniacal obsession with the user experience, Apple is removing oxygen from every market that it plays in. More >>
The PC: Reports of its death an exaggeration
Friday, 31 July 2020, 2:25 pm | Digitl
It is more than a decade since people started telling us we are in the post-PC era. I’m guilty 1 . From memory the idea took off soon after crowds first queued to buy the original Apple iPhone. More >>
When telcos don’t like regulated industry structure
Friday, 31 July 2020, 2:08 pm | Digitl
Telcos are waging a public relations war on Ultrafast Broadband. Reading between the lines of their public statements, they don’t like the regulated market model. More >>
How to choose hardware that can last for years
Friday, 31 July 2020, 2:05 pm | Digitl
It raised smiles 14 years ago when I carried a 1996 Apple Newton MessagePad 130 into the IDG Auckland office. More >>
The last days of urban copper
Friday, 31 July 2020, 2:01 pm | Digitl
Copper phone networks have served New Zealand for over 100 years. They won’t be around much longer, at least in cities and towns. More >>
Quantum 800 wireless headset: JBL targets gamers
Friday, 31 July 2020, 1:59 pm | Digitl
It is a fun product. You could, at a pinch, use it for work, but it doesn’t look businesslike and it hasn’t been optimised for serious tasks. In other words, don’t buy it for work thinking you might use it for gaming. More >>
