Magpie Said

The only thing Bill English & I agreed upon is his assessment of prison as a fiscal & moral failure. It's heartbreaking when you consider what a different society we cld create if the money spent on locking ppl up was used instead to provide warm homes, good food & opportunities.

Sev years ago, the gvt announced breathlessly that Amazon was building a data centre in Auckland, AoNZ, with lots of jobs. Land was purchased, birds were evicted. The same annmt was made agn 2025. Then Amazon admitted it wasn't dev the site. Instead, it bght space in another centre. 0 credibility!

And Trump says nothing. 🤬

I live on Scenic Drive, which suffered major slips in 2023. It took 21 mths to restore access to Titirangi Village & 30 mths to access Piha. Near my house, 2 red stickered houses were finally removed this year. The sections were resculpted, drainage & a new road surface put in. It's cost millions!

Robert Reich is 10 days younger than Trump & says he feels his own brain is declining. He quotes examples from his 90yo father that show his inhibitors weakened by cognitive decline, so he said outrageous things. Imo Peters also shows cognitive decline in his increasingly grumpy invective.

Atlas Network: Disinformation as a Weapon of Neoliberalism The organization, founded in 1981, has 589 think tanks in 103 countries that finance the hatred and hoaxes of the extreme right. The objective: to protect the privileges of capital owners.

The Atlas Network, founded in 1981, has 589 think tanks in 103 countries that finance the hatred and hoaxes of the extreme right. The objective: to protect the privileges of capital owners. Available in EN, ES, PT-BR, DE, FR, IT, TU and AR.

Willis said "we're not prepared to spend billions of dollars sending money offshore." If the world doesn't get serious about climate chg acc to the WEF, we risk 14.5m dead & $12.5tr in losses by 2050.
The Auck flood & Gabrielle cost 11 lives & $9-14.5b. How will farmers cope w more droughts/floods?

Cartoon of Hipkins stuck behind a truck labelled economic orthodoxy & a dign saying no overtaking on the left

Will Lab find its mojo and copy Mamdani? Latest Roy Morgan poll shows the CoC still ruling so Lab needs to become more Lab.

Frida Kahlo is alive and well and lives in AotearoaNZ...😍

Historians, military personnel and Department of Internal Affairs officials gathered at a conference in July 1946 to plan the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force (2NZEF) official histories. Photograph John Dobrée Pascoe. 1/4-1995-F, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

My understanding is 80% of the Historians at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage depart this month with their cartons of books. Does that just leave a Chief Historian? With it ends an unbroken record of state-produced history going back to the War History Branch seen here in 1946. #HistoryEnzHere

Trump Envoy Has Financial Ties With Former Adviser to Putin’s ‘Money Man’ Now Leading Kremlin Peace Talks Steve Witkoff’s real-estate empire is bankrolled by a former adviser to Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and a key architect of Moscow’s Ukraine negotiations

Witkoff, Kushner, and the Trump crime family – 𝘢𝘭𝘭 in bed with the Kremlin while our friends in #Ukraine fight for their lives.

We’re living in a madhouse.

bylinetimes.com/2025/12/01/t...

Europe Might Leave America Hanging By Dumping $2.34 Trillion In U.S. Debt If Trump Sells Out Ukraine This doesn’t sound good... Daily Express European nations are reportedly weighing the "nuclear option" of destabilizing the American economy should Donald Trump abandon Ukraine and compromise continen...

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

As I watch the nightly reports of flooding in Asia & see the smashed houses, weeping relatives, I feel depressed by this gvt's lack of climate urgency. This year ACC finally removed 2 houses down the road & spent thsds sculpting the land, new drains & replacing the road from 23 Auck floods/Gabrielle

I hope someone draws this wonderful story about Tom Stoppard's Arcadia and the power of the arts to help us see things differently, to the attention of our Education Secretary. Do read it, it will lift your spirits.

When inflation runs at 3%, how will councils afford to do any major infra projects if they can only raise rates by 4%?

The supercilious smile Willis gave as she accused Deborah Russell of conspiracy was pure rage bait.

A graph showing death rates during covid. NZ has the lowest.

A reminder to cookers & BVV why JA's leadership was crucial during the pandemic. The lowest death rate.....Thanks, JA.

Thou Shalt Not Murder Fishermen While Pardoning Drug Lords This is evil.

share.google/hDpfEO0L2PH4...

Gold clam invasion in NZ threatens drinking water for millions of people Nothing prepared me for the rapid transformation unfolding in the Waikato River since the invasion of the Asian clam, Adam Hartland writes.

Yellow-legged hornets and golden clams pose a catastrophe for our environment.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

The Minister for Plenty (1984) 🙈🙉

Quote from Micharl Joseph Savage that people should have decent wages and pensions.

Oxford's word of the year is "rage bait." An apt description of Seymour & his actions.

They should've said no like the Maori queen when Willis asked to be invited to their economic hui. Allowing him to exploit them makes me angry!

Trump and KGB (Cont’d): Trump's Oligarch Back Channel Team Tries to End the Ukraine War on Russia's Terms How a rogue “peace plan,” a sanctioned Russian financier, and Jared Kushner’s quiet reemergence exposed the most brazen foreign-policy corruption in modern American history.

open.substack.com/pub/michaeld...

There was one episode with hillbillies that is still one of the scariest programmes ever. Rates alongside the Dr Who stone angels episode.

Climate action delivers all sorts of co-benefits. Yet while cities worldwide often trumpet the economic rewards of climate action, they regularly fail to report the many health benefits. A new study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

My son was unemployed for 3 yrs after leaving uni bc he didn't have 3 yrs experience. He applied for 100s of jobs & finally got a job during the pandemic. No job means u can't plan. I was unemployed when I returned from o/seas bc there 2 many primary tchrs. WINZ gave me sev bitty jobs. Good luck all

Historian Greg Grandin's 'Empire's Workshp' and 'America America' were very detailed and damning on how the USA has for 200 years bullied, undermined gvts, killed leaders and exploited the resources of Latin America.

First wireless charging road in U.S. unveiled in Detroit The quarter-stretch of roadway will be open near Michigan Central Station, where Detroit's mobility district is gathering steam.

First wireless charging road in U. S. Unveiled in Detroit
www.fox2detroit.com/news/first-w...

Looks like it has been there in Detroit since 2023.

#energy
#electricvehicle
#battery
#batterylife
#environment
#Technology
#ActOnEnvironment
#EnergyIndependence
#GreenPlanet
#SaveEarth
#GasIndependence

Tend Health currently operates 25 medical centers across New Zealand. This network includes fully owned clinics operating under the Tend brand and others under the Better Health group brand, which Tend fully acquired in early 2024.
Lab is trying to undermine the corportization of medical practice.