The fact this completely aligns with the US far-right government and its demands that US client (vassal) states remove any "woke" considerations from public procurement is, I'm sure, entirely coincidental. Ahem. edition.cnn.com/2025/04/01/b...

US embassies to contractors worldwide: Cancel any diversity programs or risk going unpaid | CNN Business

US embassies have sent letters to contractors in their host countries demanding they certify that they do not run any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs that violate President Donald Trump...

edition.cnn.com

Lucy Fisher@lucyfisher.ft.com · 21h ago

EXC: UK govt is “stripping back” onerous public procurement rules in pro-growth shake up of system, Louise Haigh tells FT Overhaul will make job creation/skills development the only ‘social value’ requirement for biz competing for Whitehall contracts worth £90bn annually www.ft.com/content/9878...

Hmm, I wonder if there's any correlation between the government deeming schoolkids to be unworthy of proper food/care/resources and kids acting up in class (who Paul Henry pretends to be so concerned about)? #nzpol

BusinessDesk@businessdesknz.bsky.social · 22h ago

As schools reported throwing out nearly one in three Compass lunches late last year, the Ministry of Education looked into adding sauce to make the meals more appealing but shelved the idea over cost.

Ōtepoti: solidarity with local trans folk Sarah is studying at Otago Uni, seeking asylum here in Aotearoa Te Waipounamu. She needs our support with living, fees & gender affirming care costs givealittle.co.nz/cause/suppor...

Support Sarah After Escaping Prosecution as a Trans Refugee Advocate.

Sarah is a trans advocate that lost her scholarship because she's trans. She has limited support due to her asylum seeker status.

givealittle.co.nz

Please share!

Long Covid Support Aotearoa@lcsupportaotearoa.bsky.social · last wk.

Join us! Political panel with all your chronic illness questions put to politicians 💪💪 #longcovid #chronicillness www.facebook.com/share/19Bb1F...

This fucked up #ApartheidStatelsrael

Lucy Hamilton@lucyham.bsky.social · 2d ago

Hey #NZPol and #Auspol Israeli military industrial sector wants “opportunities” near us. #genocide #Gaza

Sharing another Palestinian family group - Mohammed's family needs food, medical help & other basic necessities of life in Gaza, especially for the children. chuffed.org/project/1315...

Help Mohammed Al-Sbakhi save his large family from Gaza

✅Vetted by @gazavetters, verified on the list ( #544 ) Molly Shah✅

chuffed.org

Insatiable Antifa Slut@insatiableone.bsky.social · 2d ago

Myfamily contain15 person lives every moment amidst genocide,murder, destruction💔 Iimplore those with mercy hearts dont ignore our suffering look uponus with mercy Mybaby suffers pneumonia,anemia,my family suffering hunger,illness Please send your mercy urgent Molly shah✅ chuffed.org/project/1315...

When disabled people/many people who work on disability/health pointed to the dangers of this kind of framing since COVID, they were usually mocked ("oh you think everything is eugenics") or ignored. But normalising the idea that the deaths of disabled people are desirable/reassuring is dangerous.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2d ago

Breaking News: Two deaths in Michigan have been linked to cyclospora. Both people who had the parasite also had underlying health issues.

#nzpol Labour, meanwhile, has previously said it was against the law but had voted in its favour in order to move on from a “needless culture war”. Labour decided that bowing to the RW is the best way to avoid pointless culture wars. Labour, not to be trusted. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

New Zealand legislation making English an official language ridiculed as ‘pathetic’

Passing of bill gives English same status as Māori and sign language but, with it already spoken by 95% of country, critics call it ‘a pointless exercise’

theguardian.com

It is hard to believe that NBC News isn't even the media outlet that has acquiesced most totally to Trump's diktats. There is no outlet of national significance in the US that has enough moral fiber or backbone to honestly describe what the US is doing to Cuba, much less condemn it!

NBC News@nbcnews.com · 2d ago

Cuba’s electricity grid collapses, the state-owned grid operator says, plunging the island of about 10 million people into darkness as blackouts become more frequent.

Counterpoint: I think we’re obligated to loudly condemn racist, bigoted, hateful men that beat women and speak about their desire to molest children, especially when they became wealthy sharing these hateful views so widely, and are praised by the British press and political elites. Your response?

Ben Goldacre@bengoldacre.bsky.social · 2d ago

Sad to see people posting on social media negatively about Rod Liddle, who died yesterday. If I have disagreed with you very strongly in life - and you die - I hope I'll be either silent, or kind.

As horrific as it is to see neonazis welcome within NZ 1st & openly racist comments from its leaders (as well as all the other bigotry they promote), it’s worth acknowledging that the extreme views they espouse & actions they laud are embedded in aspects of NZ governance & authorities. 🧵 #nzpol

Jfc this is grim. Mind you, the previous history curriculum was only brought in in 2023. This is all entirely unnecessary and driven by people who are butthurt about the idea of NZ kids learning NZ history 😒

Emily@emilywrites.co.nz · 3d ago

A big old scoop: an Ombudsman investigation into a refused OIA request has helped shed light on just how much AI the Ministry of Education is using to create the new school curriculum www.emilywrites.co.nz/the-ministry...

Interesting when the Party knew the Post article was inbound…

Kieran@nugmonster.cryptoanarchy.network · 3d ago

At 3:20 in this interview, Ron Mark (Who is not a political newcomer, so his comments can hardly be brushed aside) says "Young New Zealand First are essentially running the party"

probably still have a 2 day window on this given it can be bundled with ACT’s “physically abuse school children” policy genuinely cant understand why @greens.org.nz or @chrishipkins.bsky.social havent leapt at this with full press PR

kyle@kyledchurch.bsky.social · 4d ago

would be a good time to launch a child welfare policy and hard push the PR to media on the back of this Labour could either invoke Ardern, or Greens could seek to take that mantel - either would be pretty welcome across MOST of the political spectrum at this point

with hipkins taking a long nap, the job of leader of the opposition has been passed to the private sector

And oblivious racism leads to poor decision making that gets people killed. Under Trump, Fauci approved "travel bans🤡" from China, but did not approve "travel bans" from Italy.🤦🏿‍♂️ The result? People brought the most dangerous strain directly from Italy to NYC, and tens of thousands of people died.

People have such a hard time accepting that more people died of Covid under Biden because of specific policy decisions that he made. It wasn't just spill over from Trump. The Omicron surge killed more people than the initial surge. Spending Covid money on more cops and jails, was a bad call.

Mekka Okereke@mekka.mekka-tech.com · 3d ago

Again, Biden was president when Omicron hit NYC. Lagos and NYC got their first cases of Omicron from Italy within 24hrs. Nigeria caught theirs due to this screening. But you could land at LaGuardia, take the subway to Times Square, without ever being screened.🤦🏿‍♂️ Biden never added this screening.🤷🏿‍♂️

Look. Fauci is not above criticism. As I and many Black health professionals have said many times before, Fauci's decisions lead to hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. At first, most of these deaths were Black people. Later, most were white people. As we said would happen.

AMAZING MOMENT A woman came back still wearing a custody tshirt having been released for a terrorism arrest. While being arrested for declaring support for Palestine Action a second time, another woman came back to do the same. The opposition to this ban cannot be contained.

never thought short form video would be able to capture a type of humor i can only describe as “the far side-esque” but this comes close.

"A society that treats naming racism as the greater offence has confused the mirror with the wound." e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-...

We must name racism when it happens | E-Tangata

"It is not impolite to name racism, to document it, or to organise against it. What is impolite is telling a New Zealander of 30 years to go home. What is indecent is a cabinet that shelters him." — M...

e-tangata.co.nz

this is really quite evil by ACT and im again begging media not to let the far right provide the framing for this stuff youd have thought creating a framework for assaulting children with “back up from the law” & calling them “little shits” might’ve been a step too far for msm, but apparently not!!

RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · 4d ago

ACT candidate Paul Henry unveils plan to let teachers use 'reasonable force' on 'little shits'

This policy would directly lead to physical abuse of disabled and neurodivergent children. Tell your friends. I'm absolutely serious.

RNZ News Feeds@rnzrss.bsky.social · 4d ago

ACT candidate Paul Henry unveils plan to let teachers use 'reasonable force' on 'little shits'

This is the biggest layup from a National leader since Simon Bridges said grannies should die of Covid. He is attacking his base! Why is nobody taking advantage of this?!

kyle@kyledchurch.bsky.social · 4d ago

imagine if Labour and Hipkins had a small and medium business policy they could've pushed hard this weekend 🤷‍♀️

“Watching Winston Peters shout at Lawrence, his face seemed like the face of every person who has yelled the same words at migrants of colour, repeating the same racist imperative. It is the face of a society that has enabled and normalised racism. It is old skin that refuses to shed.” #nzpol

Why we call Winston Peters ‘Lao Pi’ | E-Tangata

“Mandarin-speaking communities are so familiar with Winston, we have nicknamed him 'Lao Pi'. Lao Pi is like that grumpy neighbour everyone knows is a problem. Except he’s not a random neighbour. He is...

e-tangata.co.nz

And here are four classic UK hardcore punk releases from 40 years ago that were 1st reviewed in the August '86 issue of MRR ● A.O.A/Oi Polloi – “Unlimited Genocide” split LP ● Anti-System – “A Look at Life” 12″ ● Chaos UK – “Just Mere Slaves” 12” ● Extreme Noise Terror – cassette [🎵 in replies]

Funksta Uzz@funksta-uzz.bsky.social · 5d ago

Being August 1st, here’s a few anniversaries of fave music releases with no exact release date that were reviewed in August of past decades. First up, 30 years ago today, Muzik magazine reviewed Nu Colours’ bangin’ “Special Kind of Lover” [C&J R&B Mix] single in their Aug ’86 issue (music in reply)

Being August 1st, here’s a few anniversaries of fave music releases with no exact release date that were reviewed in August of past decades. First up, 30 years ago today, Muzik magazine reviewed Nu Colours’ bangin’ “Special Kind of Lover” [C&J R&B Mix] single in their Aug ’86 issue (music in reply)

Funksta Uzz@funksta-uzz.bsky.social · 5d ago

And 30 years ago today, the almighty Damnation A.D. released their 10”/CD EP ‘Misericordia’ on Jade Tree. I love everything they ever released, front to back. Ken Olden was a riff magician, IMO 🪄🎸 [1/2] #hardcore damnationad.bandcamp.com/track/rain-i...

And 30 years ago today, the almighty Damnation A.D. released their 10”/CD EP ‘Misericordia’ on Jade Tree. I love everything they ever released, front to back. Ken Olden was a riff magician, IMO 🪄🎸 [1/2] #hardcore damnationad.bandcamp.com/track/rain-i...

Rain Is My Veil, by Damnation AD

from the album Misericordia

damnationad.bandcamp.com

Funksta Uzz@funksta-uzz.bsky.social · 5d ago

Today marks 40 years since Hirax released their 2nd album ‘Hate, Fear, and Power’ on Metal Blade. With a Mad Marc Rude-designed cover, Tom G. Warrior-designed logo, & Eric Brecht of D.R.I. on the drum stool, Katon W. De Pena & co. were onto something special & are still going strong today 🧵 #thrash

Today marks 40 years since Hirax released their 2nd album ‘Hate, Fear, and Power’ on Metal Blade. With a Mad Marc Rude-designed cover, Tom G. Warrior-designed logo, & Eric Brecht of D.R.I. on the drum stool, Katon W. De Pena & co. were onto something special & are still going strong today 🧵 #thrash

Lightning Thunder, by Hirax

from the album Hate, Fear And Power

armageddonlabel.bandcamp.com