Stephen Hill

Memo from NZ to Mark Carney, governor of Canada, northern USA An unhinged rebuke on a matter of historical fact....

Memo from NZ to Mark Carney, governor of Canada, northern USA

A sign at the supermarket advertising “Whole Raw Australian Banana” - as a “Meat and Seafood Deal” - and you have to read the fine print to discover these are, in fact, prawns. Banana prawns I guess…is that a thing??

Bananas defying categorisation, becoming ungovernable…

Banana's Loose

Dire warning at the supermarket

Novels were compared to narcotics, and people pushing the moral panic wanted restrictions placed on who could purchase them. Reading was compared to gluttony and it was believed those who read novels were brain rotted, low IQ.

I hope he managed to mention flat whites, pavlova, Russell Crowe, Crowded House, and Phar Lap too.

'A bit embarrassing': Canada's PM praises Australia for first allowing women to vote Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour cheekily clapped back, saying Canada's "founder George Washington would be really embarrassed".

'A bit embarrassing': Canada's PM praises Australia for first allowing women to vote

And, to their credit, ACT says something similar ... although there's a strong libertarian, 'free speech' vibe to their bit, and they can't resist comparing the proposal to North Korean etc approaches to regulating the internet.

The report's differing views section has this from the Greens:

Every university in the country is one of them!

The main recommendations Introduce under-16 age restriction for social media. Establish a national regulator for online safety. Ban “nudify” apps and non-consensual deepfake sexual imagery. Explore regulating online platforms’ algorithms and ways to evade restrictions, such as VPNs. Increase platforms’ liability for the content they host, and their platform design. Restrict online advertising of alcohol, tobacco, and gambling — to over-18s. Review laws, consider new offences and penalties associated with online harm. Invest in public campaigns or resources about online safety.

Banning VPNs is a joke policy that could not be taken seriously by anyone who has ever worked remotely for a medium or large organisation or one with a significant international presence

These are not serious people

www.thepost.co.nz/business/360...

New Zealand economic policy since 2023 in 10 charts Steven Hail argues New Zealand is enduring a period of economic self-harm and offers a way to end this and create a future based on hope

I couldn't possibly comment ...

www.interest.co.nz/economy/1374...

We're filling the gap that was once a pillar of the previous science reform. What happened to it?

Need for Workforce Strategy as Job Losses Escalate

scientists.org.nz/news/13605014

NZ politicians from *all* parties should recognise that science is not something to 'conveniently' repackage to suit your government’s short-term goals, but a long-term driver of good for the country.

When you cut at it, you cut at *everyone’s* longer-term future.

1/n

"symbiotic of a sense"??? 🧐

Well of course they were going to go after VPNs too: the whole point is to end your privacy online, not to take action that would actually protect people and democracy.

Banning VPNs is bizarre - I can't access my work admin systems from home without one (that is provided by my employer!). Makes me wonder where they are getting their advice from.

Good news: Scientists were wrong about how bad sea level rise is.

Bad news: It’s even worse than we thought.

Well! I thought South Africa looked on to win the whole T20 World Cup, not just the semi. Never did I expect NZ to knock them out, let alone so clinically. Finn Allen, 100 off 33, fastest T20I century between two full member nations if you don't mind! Those were exhilarating highlights to wake up to

A new Love Island? Berry bloom leads to baby boom for New Zealand’s goofiest parrot A massive bloom of rimu berries fueled a mating surge among the world’s heaviest (and strangest) parrots

Trust me, you don't want to miss the incredible photos of these goobers: 🧪 🪶 www.scientificamerican.com/article/kaka...

Obviously they're avoiding saying "I lied" or "I didn't know what I was talking about" but they inadvertently seem to be implying they are cognitively challenged in some way. They're 'blaming their brains' ... which seems like a bit of a self own.

2/2

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford apologises after inflating overstayer figures The government has been accused of scaremongering after Erica Stanford said there were "tens of thousands more" overstayer.

I'm fascinated what politicians think they're implying about their cognitive processes when they say "the misspoke".

1/2

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.

China's Fossil Fuel Emissions Dropped Last Year as Solar Boomed

If you want good news: China is seeing its emissions drop because of its rapid build out of renewables.

e360.yale.edu/digest/china...

Government ‘kicked the tyres’ on solar subsidies but went with ‘minor’ tweaks instead It is one of the cheapest ways to cut power bills - yet documents reveal the government shelved a subsidy.

New Zealand has more sunshine than Germany.
But only 1 in 35 homes here has rooftop solar.
Australia? 1 in 3.

Why? I tried to find out - despite some strange secrecy

www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Resist ‘dangerous and socially unacceptable’ age checks for social media, scientists warn Computer scientists are campaigning against the global march toward age checks online.

"There is no scientific evidence to support the assumption that banning minors from accessing services would have a positive effect on their mental health and development." www.politico.eu/article/age-...

Climate change: Doom versus gloom Should we hope for the best and prepare for the worst when tackling climate change?

"Thinking through the implications of 4C warming shows that the impacts are so significant that the only real adaptation strategy is to avoid that at all cost because of the pain & suffering that is going to cost. There is no science on how we are going to adapt to 4C warming" @neiladger.bsky.social

Can New Zealand's economy recover if house prices don't? New Zealand's economy is expected to continue to slowly recover this year.

As a) an economist and b) someone who did a whole ass PhD on this very topic, the macro evidence is that house prices are at best concurrent with economic growth and at worst lag it. House prices don't drive the economy.

Can NZ's economy recover if house prices don't? www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...

A grey hoodie with text which reads: “Buy a man eat fish, He day, teach fish man To a lifetime.”

Wise words

Government’s new science institute to lose 6% of staff less than a year after forming The Bioeconomy Science Institute is shedding 6% of its staff.

And people wonder why NZ’s R&D spend is way lower than the rest of the OECD & our productivity is in the toilet. www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...