Yeah. A good illustration of why the ambulatory approach is important. Another eg from an actual case in the 1970s in the uk: 19th C statute regulated hansom cabs. Motor cabs did not exist when statute was passed. Court had no issue saying the law applied to cars. ACT would make that impossible.

Graeme Edgeler@graemeedgeler.bsky.social · yesterday

What do you mean the ban on death threats passed in the Crimes Act 1961 includes death threats sent by email? Don't be ridiculous. If you Parliament wants to ban emailed death threats, it will amend the law. Until then, not covered.

Labour trying to attack National on one of its few remaining strong points is good actually And leaves more space for the Greens to build support on the left flank Complementarity innit www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Labour releases fiscal strategy, promises to slash debt

Labour has released their fiscal strategy for the election, promising to get back to surplus by 2029/30, slash debt and set up an independent Parliamentary Budget Office, if elected.

rnz.co.nz

Lew@lewsos.bsky.social · 2mo ago

WGAF that Labour can't or won't do sane maths? Voters. Voters GAF that Labour can't or won't do sane maths. It is the only area where they underperform National, and they seem not to think shaking the narrative that they are economically incompetent is a priority www.ipsos.com/sites/defaul...

75 years ago today, The first Peanuts comic strip was published. Peppermint Patty was such a brilliant character, and this is my favourite strip featuring her, from 28th December 1984.

If Te Pāti Māori want to change to supplementary member, which is what their voting strategy is (if applied nationwide), they can join with ACT, Luxon and Jordan Williams in pushing for it.

They printed my piece in Newsroom! On being a Hongkonger-Kiwi in this era of revolution. newsroom.co.nz/2026/08/19/t...

The children of middle-class migrants

A superb essay on bringing the fight for an independent Hong Kong back to NZ, another 'settler colonial state' that has restored the mana of its first people

newsroom.co.nz

In case you are an academic who is currently being gaslit into believing that you're a caveman who wants their students to be jobless if you resist allowing AI in your classrooms... I present to you Berkeley Law's response, which can be summarized as "Fuck off directly into the sun."

Artificial Intelligence Policy

Effective Summer 2026 Purpose Future lawyers may need to use artificial intelligence (“AI”) fluently. But the current state of the technology requires that AI use be coupled with the cognitive […]

law.berkeley.edu

Commission a report on what the *taxable NZ income* of the data centres will be, you cowards

Keith Ng@keithng.bsky.social · 4d ago

I'm just not sure what the data centre cheerleaders thinks we're going to get out of the deal. Taxes? Hell no, tech companies don't pay *taxes* (the profit will get shifted out of NZ like any other tech business). Even if it is tremendously profitable, WE DON'T GET ANY OF IT.

The fact that a couple just out of university, one of them a teacher, could just straight up buy a house in Ngaio might explain why Wellington seemed better

And so because there’s no discernible politics behind the party, of course they can’t see the longer term danger to their invitation for Māori voters to hack or gamify the electoral system. There is no substance beyond a play for short term advantage

And there are good reasons for Labour to not consider sweetheart deals such as the Epsom case with minor parties on their left. Most obvious is how the Epsom deal has allowed ACT to grow beyond National's control, to the point where they have spent this term dragging the govt down to its level.

My Navy career included years of sea duty. Take it from me: Serving in these conditions SUCKS. wapo.st/4zsq8sr

Opinion | Sleep deprivation, moldy showers and the cost of endless war

Extended deployment tests the limits of the USS Abraham Lincoln crew.

wapo.st

If you wanted to undermine public confidence in MMP and give life to Luxo's wacky referendum notion, probably the easiest way would be to do what Te Pati Māori is proposing here and exploit the overhang to try to game MMP for cynical partisan advantage thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin...

TPM’s implicit strategy to engineer an overhang is, of course, genius - and I think it’ll be enough to return the Māori electorates (except IR and TTT) to TPM. But I worry the democratic cynicism within it will, in time, sink the strategy and maybe the electorates too. So classically JT

It is moments before the heat death of the universe. Another feasibility study has been commissioned to look at replacing the Auckland Harbour Bridge with a new crossing

Deliberately causing an overhang runs the risk of undermining support for the continuation of the Māori seats. This can be done to similar effect without creating an overhang. If they're serious they shouldn't submit a list. Similar effect, but no overhang risk. thespinoff.co.nz/the-bulletin...

Te Pāti Māori’s election pitch: candidate vote only

At its campaign launch, the party said it was the only way to both grow Māori representation in parliament and help defeat the government.

thespinoff.co.nz

It's kinda crazy that with all they found, it took such overwhelming coverage to even get university management to address the issues raised. Why did the universities insist upon waiting for overwhelming evidence?

Ketan Joshi@ketanjoshi.co · last wk.

This is the coverage of Arday **just in the Telegraph** in the UK. This is only the first four pages of results, just in one outlet.

It’s a shame Congress isn’t alive to see this

Kyle Griffin@kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 2w ago

WaPo Exclusive: The Trump admin is now set to spend at least $900 million for construction projects on the White House grounds. 
The price tag is much larger than previously reported, according to a Post review of confidential contracts. Taxpayers would cover most of it.

Happy birthday, you beast of a shot. At a time when cameras were literally bolted down THIS would have blown the audience's minds.

Michael Warburton@michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 2w ago

The first movie to win the Academy Award for Best Picture was released 99yrs ago today WINGS (1927)

ive literally never met anyone who uses threads but also like 80% of the people i know are on instagram, 2% are on twitter and like 1% are on bluesky

Rodger Sherman@rodger.bsky.social · 2w ago

Two possibilities: —Threads is becoming the dominant text-based social media app even though nobody you’ve ever met has ever used Threads —Meta is doing some funky math and just counting people who use their Instagram accounts as active Threads users

The international section of DSA has been 100% tankie since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Truly despicable authoritarian assholes. They live straight up Putin & Xi’s ass. That’s the main reason I don’t identify as DSA even though I support many of their domestic policies.

Cooper Lund@cooperlund.online · 2w ago

Ah, I see that people are discovering the DSA paradox: Local chapters can be very competent challengers to the Democratic Party but the national org has been largely captured by kooks, encouraging the independence of local chapters.

Have they looked in the boarded up buildings?

Mhgreen3000@mhgreen3000.bsky.social · 2w ago

Baltimore cut homicides 68% with 400 fewer cops, which is a deeply inconvenient plot twist for the “more police is the only way to safety” narrative.

Maybe this biography will solve the “mystery” of the identity of Berger’s New Zealand-born mentor, Ken, who is mentioned in the essay “Krakow” but only by his first name.

Hello friends! Do I have any followers with access to the PACER court filing system in the US? I tried to sign up ages ago but have never managed to get my search privileges activated - keen to get some info on a case if possible

If you're sitting at a cabinet table and you can't name the numpty, it's you. You're the numpty

Newsroom NZ@newsroom.co.nz · 3w ago

"The question I keep saying is, I don't need some yahoo or numpty from some other party around that (Cabinet) table."

This is a lie. The truth is that it was almost a decade between the report of the Royal Commission into the Electoral System in December 1986 and the first MMP election. That decade included two referenda, three general elections, and Parliament fully debating enabling legislation. FACT. #nzpol

Craig M. Ranapia@craigmranapia.bsky.social · 3w ago

Many have pointed the stench of flop sweat coming off Luxon here, but what really pisses me off is the historical revisionism of MMP truthers acting like the biggest electoral reform since women's suffrage was foisted off on an unaware citizenry. #nzpol 1/2 www.thepost.co.nz/politics/361...

A sensible alternative referendum if someone was serious about looking at alternatives to our current electoral system would be to accept that the public have made their views clear on proportional representation and run MMP vs STV.

Wrote two weeks ago, sharing belatedly: Six years ago, I said vote for people, not policies. Here's an update with what I've learnt — treating politicians like job candidates, some green and red flags, and which MPs make my current list. open.substack.com/pub/czlee/p/...

An update on "Vote for people, not policies"

Years ago, I stopped voting based on policy. Here's what I've learnt about how to judge politicians instead — and which MPs currently pass.

open.substack.com

@haydendonnell.bsky.social Paul Henry did not repeatedly mispronounce the name of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. He repeatedly made fun of it while pronouncing it using the accepted pronunciation (and one Ms Dikshit herself used).

Good basic reporting on "did they do the thing they agreed to?" turns up a story of govt incompetence as well www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-adv...

Bittern protection fund stalled while wind farm powers ahead

Post-consent discussions have shifted Mercury's obligations to bittern protection.

nzherald.co.nz

When the Electoral Commission talks about countering election misinformation, they're talking about stuff like this, which discourages Māori voter enrolment, by falsely suggesting you will not be able to enrol on the Māori roll or update your details if on the Māori roll after this week.

Aotearoa's Electoral Orange Guy@poti-aotearoa.bsky.social · 3w ago

To vote in this years general election you need to be enrolled by midnight, 13 days before Election Day. Days left to enrol or update your details. Maori Roll: 3 days General Roll: 83 days Remind your Friends & Whanau #nzpol