Skip this if you don’t care about science education in New Zealand, but plenty of scientists there are worried about it. And it’s a harbinger of what may happen to science education in the U.S. as science courses add requirements to teach indigenous “ways of knowing” and the curriculum itself pushes out traditional material to make […]
Bob Edlin writes – Historian and former Labour Government cabinet minister Michael Bassett, in an article posted here earlier today, said those who spend time on the web examining the Treaty of Waitangi will find claims there are four or even five articles when officially there have never been more than three. Bassett went on […]
This is the speech by Oliver Jull that won him a spot in the speech competition finals, but then his school canceled as it was worried it may offend some people. You don’t have to agree with it, to think he should be allowed to express his beliefs.
In the year to June, 80,200 New Zealand citizens moved abroad, almost double the numbers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, just 24,900 returned, according to Stats NZ — the country’s official data agency. The net loss of 55,300 citizens (which follows a net loss of 56,500 in the year to April) smashed the previous record […]
Professor John Raine notes: As regards STEM subjects, when European colonists arrived in the late 18th and into the 19th century, Māori scientific/technical knowledge was approximately at the stage of other developing societies at or pre-3,000 BC, acknowledging that the spiritual/vitalist/animist parts of matauranga Māori would have been differentiated form those of other societies by the…
Seymour’s courageous but who will support him? That the Waitangi Tribunal was highly critical of the Act party’s proposed, although currently undrafted, Treaty Principles Bill was as predictable as the sun rising in the east. The timing is not surprising either. The Tribunal has become an extraordinarily political body, one that in this instance has…
The extent to which the government should be involved in the provision of goods and services generates a lot of debate. Most of that debate is unhelpful, since it involves small-government, market-fundamentalist types arguing against anti-market socialist types. It’s all ideological, and there’s a pretty good chance that neither of the sides in that argument…
A letter signed by more than 170 legal “experts” has been circulated around the media in the last few days and quoted extensively. Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate the letter in its entirety but have gathered some quotes. The letter claims to fact check Hobson’s Pledge’s ad which was published on…
An excellent article in the NZ Herald on the review of the End of Life Choice Act: She met most of the criteria, Johns said. The requirements include having a terminal illness, being in an advanced state of irreversible decline, experiencing unbearable suffering that cannot be relieved to a tolerable level, and being competent enough […]
Stuff reports: A speech which ordinarily would have failed to raise attention outside the walls of New Plymouth Boys’ High School has grabbed national attention after a student was banned from delivering it. Oliver Jull’s speech – The Decline of Western Civilization – was scratched from the school’s speech finals last week out of concerns […]
Judith Collins announced: The Government is ending New Zealand’s nearly 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab in a move which will bring health, productivity and climate gains for New Zealanders. Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced legislation ending the ban and implementing a dedicated regulator to oversee applications to use […]
Stuff reports: The number of people claiming refugee status in New Zealand has exploded in the past two years, statistics released by Immigration New Zealandshow. In the 11 months to 31 May 2024, a total of 2220 people claimed refugee status in New Zealand. Half of these asylum seekers – 1108 people – were from a […]
I (and Curia) have just resigned as members of the Research Association of New Zealand. It is something I never thought I would do, and do with great sadness. I have been an enthusiastic member of the industry body. I joined in 2004 when I formed Curia Market Research. It was an honour to be […]
Garry Moller writes: If I had it my way, I would scrap many of Wellington’s cycleways, and do it better. Allow me to elaborate. … For Wellington to thrive, ample on-street parking is essential. Despite the influx of more public service employees and contractors in recent years, central Wellington is struggling. Many long-term Wellington residents, […]
Roger Pielke Jr. explains at his blog Why Climate Misinformation Persists. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. H/T John Ray Noble Lies, Conventional Wisdom, and Luxury Beliefs In 2001, I participated in a roundtable discussion hosted at the headquarters of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) with a group of U.S. Senators, […]
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
In Hume’s spirit, I will attempt to serve as an ambassador from my world of economics, and help in “finding topics of conversation fit for the entertainment of rational creatures.”
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
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