Looks to me like Chippy has more answers than anyone else in the House today. Brownlee and Luxon being schooled.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1752542602329739737

An interesting documentary series; I remember the Iraena Asher incident & how it seemed that police just tried to brush her off.


https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/28-...se-to-home


ÔÇ£I think this is a very sinister story,ÔÇØ former Waitakere City mayor Sir Bob Harvey declares. ItÔÇÖs one heck of a spooky opening to Black Coast Vanishings, ThreeÔÇÖs new true crime docuseries that investigates the mysterious disappearances of six people at Piha since 1992.

ItÔÇÖs the perfect recipe for compelling television: tragic true life stories, a ruggedly remote setting, and a series of quirky characters from a small town on AucklandÔÇÖs West Coast. Each of these disappearances occurred in different circumstances, but Black Coast Vanishings pulls them together by one common thread: Piha. Episode one revisits the disappearances of teacher trainee Iraena Asher and French exchange student ├ëloi Rolland, who visited Piha decades apart but both vanished without a trace.

Hearing the recordings of AsherÔÇÖs phone calls to police is both chilling and heartbreaking, but Black Coast Vanishings isnÔÇÖt just the story of those who disappeared. We also meet RollandÔÇÖs heartbroken parents, who asked their son to bring them some black sand from Piha as a souvenir, and AsherÔÇÖs former boyfriend, who didnÔÇÖt answer her phone call the night she disappeared. The pain and anguish of these family and friends is quiet and constant, anchoring the series in the grief of those who remain behind.

And then thereÔÇÖs the Piha locals, who have seen it all, heard it all, and have their own┬á theories about what really went on in their backyard. We hear from the Piha camp ground kaitiaki and a couple of local surfers, as well as residents Julia and Bobbie, who recount how they brought Asher into their home on the night she disappeared. These different perspectives bring an energy to the series and helps to create a rich portrait of small town New Zealand, a place where everyone notices everything and the length of the fire siren signals the seriousness of a situation."

Interesting times...


https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/30/james...co-leader/

"Former Climate Change Minister James Shaw will step down as the Greens' co-leader in March, but will stay in Parliament for the time being to support a member's bill drawn from the ballot last year.

The new co-leader is expected to be announced on March 10.
Shaw, who the Green Party called the "architect" of the Zero Carbon Act, said it had been a privilege to serve as the Climate Change Minister for six years and the Greens' co-leader for nine.

He also acknowledged current co-leader Marama Davidson, and Metiria Turei who preceded her.
Shaw's members' bill, drawn from the ballot in the last draw of the year last year, would change the Bill of Rights to include the "right to a sustainable environment". The Bill of Rights (Right to a Sustainable Environment) Amendment Bill was introduced to the House on December 19 and will face its first reading. As an opposition member's bill, it is not guaranteed to pass into law.

If the bill progresses past its first reading to select committee and beyond it's possible Shaw will remain in Parliament for some months yet.
ÔÇ£IÔÇÖm very proud of what the Green Party has achieved over the last eight years. I would like to thank Green Party members and supporters for their incredible hard work and support over that time."



https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/507...-co-leader

I have an EVGA GTX 960 graphics card that is problem! I have run it successfully with an H270m M/B and i5 6500 CPU with my Samsung monitor. However, when I attach the rig to my Sony 55" TV, I get no signal. If I remove the GPU and run the rig using the CPU HDMI connector, I have no problems at all.

I have now used a Gigabyte GTX 950 with no problems on either the monitor or the TV. Any thoughts as to why the EVGA is not performing?

This isn't a bad move but it would be a slow process; I think they'll eventually have to change the day.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68014555


"On 26 January every year - which marks the 1788 landing of Britain's First Fleet in Sydney Cove - two competing stories about Australia are told.
One is of nation-building and achievement; the other is of the displacement and dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
While many Indigenous Australians protest or sit the day out, this year Dennis Kickett is co-hosting a celebration like few others.

"I imagine I'll cop some flak," says the Noongar elder. "But I don't see the date as a barrier."
For the first time, his community of York near Perth will combine three days of Indigenous storytelling with the annual Australia Day festivities. It will include a BBQ with traditional bush tucker and the raising of Australian and Aboriginal flags to welcome new citizens.
Mr Kickett's aim is to use the gathering to explain what happened on 26 January.

"For us to move forward we all have to acknowledge the past. We live in the same community, and we're all striving for the same things," says the 70-year-old, who made the decision with fellow Ballardong traditional owners.
"There's no point segregating ourselves. On that date we will have an audience, so why not educate them?"


The Ballardong First Festival is one of hundreds of gatherings this weekend funded by the National Australia Day Council (NADC) - the body tasked with organising celebrations.

But as more people and businesses quietly opt out, and annual "Invasion Day" protests gather steam, some experts say it's unclear if revamping Australia Day will help future-proof it.

"A quiet rebranding is probably a useful way to think about it," explains Rachel Busbridge, a sociology lecturer at the Australian Catholic University.
"They're trying to create a day that is of resonance and relevance to people. That's the aim, and it says a lot about the shift in Australian society."
Dr Busbridge - who has long studied the public discourse around 26 January - says it will "always be a significant day in the national psyche".

But she's not convinced that the current efforts to preserve it will stand the test of time.
"'Invasion Day' marches are only growing with each year. We're talking up to 50,000 people at some events. And there's more and more popping up, as well as a steady growth in 'Survival Day' festivals."
"Another clear trend is that young Australians increasingly see this as a problematic day, so that might mean it's necessary to find a different date."

I'm not a  fan of their music but this seems excessive


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-67364463


"We're not a gang. We're a music group," J Emz says, unflinchingly.
"We're a business."
The question I've asked J Emz - does OneFour have gang links? - has long stalked the group.
To fans, the rappers are pioneers: five S─ümoan-Australians from one of Sydney's poorest postcodes who have used their explosive sound to give voice to millions of marginalised young people.


But to police, OneFour is a threat to community safety, to be managed and contained.

For years, they have blocked the group from performing at home by arguing their music incites violence - triggering a complex debate about art and censorship.

OneFour is made up of J Emz (Jerome Misa), 25; his brother Pio "YP" Misa, 22; Spencer "Spenny" Magalogo, 25; Salec "Lekks" Su'a, 27; and Dahcell "Celly" Ramos, 28.
They are the undisputed faces of Australian drill music - a subversive style of hip-hop that tells unfiltered stories of crime, poverty and social dislocation by people who have lived it.
Their songs have accrued more than 150 million streams and focus on their experiences growing up in Mount Druitt, a Sydney suburb which has long been the subject of stories about struggle and unemployment, not art.
But it's a melting pot of diverse communities, littered with family-run businesses, busy churches and mosques.
In the track's video, dozens of young Pasifika men rally around OneFour at Mount Druitt's courthouse. Smoke billows as lyrics like "retaliation is a must, ain't no maybes, ifs or buts" slap in time to the beat.
But one now-infamous line also caught the attention of police: "21 what, but one got knocked, ha! I guess that makes them 20."
Police said it referenced the recent murder of a 21 District member and argued that OneFour's lyrics were inciting violence.

The group was soon being monitored by two elite police units - Strike Force Raptor, created to hunt underground criminal networks, and Strike Force Imbara, which investigates gang feuds.
"I'm going to use everything in my power to make your life miserable, until you stop doing what you're doing," Sergeant Nathan Trueman from Raptor told the ABC in 2019, in a recorded voice memo addressed to the rappers.
A years-long campaign to block OneFour from performing has followed, leading to the cancellation of a national tour, repeated raids on the artists' homes, and pressure on streaming services to shun their tracks."

Which imo doesn't go far enough. They should have ordered an immediate ceasefire & charged both Netanyahu & his govt & Hamas leaders with war crimes & allowed peace groups  to work on finding a peaceful solution.

These are fine words, but nowhere near enough.


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/j...ed-in-gaza

"The UNÔÇÖs international court of justice has ordered Israel to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a historic decision.

In an interim judgment delivered on Friday, the president of the court, Joan Donoghue, said Israel must ÔÇ£take all measures within its powerÔÇØ to prevent acts that fall within the scope of the genocide convention and must ensure ÔÇ£with immediate effectÔÇØ that its forces do not commit any of the acts covered by the convention.

The court stopped short of granting South AfricaÔÇÖs request to order an immediate ceasefire to the war, which has destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.


The ruling is not the final word from the court on whether IsraelÔÇÖs actions amount to genocide, but it provides a strong indication that the judges believe there is a credible risk to Palestinians under the genocide convention. Granting South AfricaÔÇÖs application for special measures, the court did not have to find whether Israel had committed genocide, which will be determined at a later date, but only that its acts were capable of falling within the genocide convention and that urgent preventive action was necessary."

Open source and individually replaceable 18650 cells!

It might be an interesting ploy - giving Seymour what's likely to be problematic, leaves the Nats one step back from whatever he does. In theory...


https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/3501598...les%20Bill.


"Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has handed ACT Party leader and incoming deputy prime minister, David Seymour, an extra portfolio, making him the associate justice minister so he can manage the Treaty Principles Bill.
National agreed to support the proposed legislation to define the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi to its first reading. Luxon has said the Bill would be divisive and unhelpful but hasnÔÇÖt ruled out supporting it at its second and third readings.
A leaked Ministry of Justice document raised fundamental problems with the bill - an ACT Party policy in its coalition agreement with National - which is said was not supported by the spirit of the Treaty - or its text."







https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/26/pm-gi...ples-bill/


"Luxon said the changes "clarify" ministerial responsibility "in a small number of areas".
"Ministers have hit the ground running since they were sworn in nearly two months ago with strong progress made on the coalition Government's 100-day plan.
"Today's update further clarifies ministers' responsibilities in a small number of areas, supporting them in continuing to deliver on this Government's ambitious work programme," the PM said in a media release.
Luxon has said National has "no intention" to support the bill beyond the first reading and select committee, but has refused to fully commit to voting it down at later stages."

Perhaps not the best idea, with thrir budgets already set.

https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/01/24/nicola...5-million/



"Dean Knight, a professor of public law at Victoria University of Wellington, told Newsroom this was just as constitutionally concerning as the cuts for the Office of the Clerk.

ÔÇ£Again, the service has a key role supporting our parliamentarians with their democratic duties. Significant cuts to its funding will inevitably make it harder for MPs to do their jobs effectively, including their important work holding [executive government] to account and acting as electoral agents for the communities they represent,ÔÇØ he said.

ÔÇ£These parliamentary agencies have already been under fiscal pressure, especially as the fixed nature of the services they must provide leaves very little wriggle room ÔÇô in contrast to government departments and flexible policy programmes. These slated cuts significantly exacerbate the problem.ÔÇØ
Otago University public law professor Andrew Geddis was similarly troubled. The funding for MPsÔÇÖ offices and political partiesÔÇÖ staff is ring-fenced within the Parliamentary ServiceÔÇÖs budget and already set for this term, he said.

ÔÇ£Allocations to MPs and parliamentary parties are already set (and ratchet up every year for the full term), meaning that they apparently will be insulated from the need to tighten their belts. Any savings will instead need to come from the actual running of Parliament as an institution, which raises the same concerns as relate to the Office of the Clerk.ÔÇØ
Willis said both agencies would have the opportunity to make their case to ministers about the impact of the budget cuts.

ÔÇ£Departments have been set targets and requested to report back with proposals to make savings. All departments, including the Office of the Clerk, will have the ability to set out their rationale for their proposals, as well as any risks and trade-offs including impacts on their role,ÔÇØ she told Newsroom.
ÔÇ£Ministers and Cabinet will make final decisions on whether to accept those proposals as part of Budget 2024. The Coalition Government is committed to getting Government expenditure under control.ÔÇØ