& here's kārearea getting some afternoon delight in the Hooker Valley Aoraki Mt Cook

Aotearoa, meet your 2025 Bird of the Year 👑🦅 The kārearea or New Zealand falcon is our only species of falcon, and has reclaimed the top spot once again after its last victory in 2012 🏆 Learn more about this endemic bird of prey ⬇️ w.wiki/FUGN 📷: Tony Wills, CC BY-SA 3.0 #BirdOfTheYear

“The support that has been so visible for women’s sport in this country, is honestly world leading in my opinion.” Black Ferns co-Captain, Ruahei Demant, on the unstoppable energy at Rugby World Cup 2025.

'NZ on wrong side of history on Palestine' - Helen Clark “As more and more countries move to see that the recognition Palestine is part of a process of moving towards a solution, New Zealand is lagging behind for reasons which make very little sense at all." #nzpol

from the latest print edition of ‘The Onion’

"If a minister [Seymour] from a minor coalition partner wants the law, and the obligation of public authorities, to change, then they must get Parliament to amend the law. If they cannot do this, then that is on them and not on the public authority in question.” Great 🔥🔥🔥 by @acgeddis.bsky.social

I hand over an invisible ‘Tree Of The Day’ award to the most charismatic tree I see on each of my walks. Here are just a few past winners of this esteemed but still largely unknown prize.

Postcards written to go to Parliament today

A pleasant reminder that NZ is considered the 2nd riskiest country by the global insurance industry. "Annual expected loss of 0.66 per cent of GDP". Bangladesh, we're coming for your crown www.nzherald.co.nz/business/per...

Looks like a good time in the news cycle to tackle three big myths 🧵 ❌ NZ pension costs are an unsustainable burden ❌ Seriously, no, for lots of reasons. 1. Our current Govt spending on pensions is low compared to most other advanced economies. And... [1/n]

Another thing I’ve been flagging for years: NZ has as many or more far-right posters than the USA and UK (same demographics of risk here too) 👇 (read + link in next post; extremists here post twice as much as in the other countries). Yet govt ignoring this too...

The government’s stance on Palestine echoes Arendt’s “banality of evil”: officials turning genocide into paperwork and an administrative task; treating a moral abyss as mere policy risk.

Every cis man should have to wear a period simulator at least once for so many reasons, but definitely because it’s so fucking hilarious how low their pain tolerance is

Mondayize daylight savings!!

Japanese macaques in Nagano's Jigokudani Monkey Park use natural hot springs to survive winter temperatures that drop below -10°C. This behavior, first observed in the 1960s, is now passed down through generations. The park's geothermal springs provide crucial warmth for these primates.

Early this morning, daylight saving began in New Zealand for another year. This is, I think, a good opportunity to highlight two Kiwi innovations: it was the first country in the world to establish a national mean time and a New Zealander invented DST. How did that happen? Well, read on... 1/20

Shhhhh, be vewwy vewwy quiet

Winston Peters was a member of the Muldoon Government that supported apartheid in South Africa and enabled the 1981 Springbok rugby tour.💩💩💩 Bringing shame on our nation is his thing. Winston Peters has NEVER been on the right side of history EVER. #WarCriminalWinston #OneTermGovernment #nzpol

The first indigenous woman to study at Oxford has officially received her degree nearly 100 years after she started studying.

This bit in the story gets at the crux of why businesses adopt not just AI, but new software tools of dubious value in general. techcrunch.com/2025/09/26/f...

In Auckland the most high profile ticket that has clear anti-science anti-mandate links is WestWards - their leader Ken Turner is a climate change sceptic, and they have at last one anti-vax candidate (in this article). They are running Craig Lord in for councillor in Whau.

I am in fact not sure I have ever seen a dude who is literally rocking go harder than this this is the platonic ideal of dudes rock

Discworld QOTD, from Witches Abroad “‘You’d have to go a long day’s journey to find someone basically nastier than Esme,’ said Nanny Ogg, ‘and this is me sayin’ it. She knows exactly what she is. She was born to be good and she don’t like it.’”

This dog was spotted bopping to a beat so sick, even her vibes are contagious. 13/10 #SeniorPupSaturday (TT: ws.take)

Some good news! These plug-in systems are all over Europe, whereas rooftop solar in the US is stupidly tied up in red tape, making it costly. All states should adopt this, like Utah did. And entirely nonpartisan—which is a weird thing to have to say about clean energy.

Right now we are being hustled by a postcard seller.

“We want them to be champions, but more importantly, we want them to be good human beings.” — “Champion maker” Lolo Heimuli, who coached 10 world champions and more than 100 national champions in combat sports.

“New Zealand would do well to pay close attention to understand just how far it has moved towards the fringe of international political thought.” — Professor Dominic O’Sullivan.

“Tākuta Ferris was off course in so many ways. ‘Asians’ have their own history of subjugation to white supremacy and British colonial rule.’ — Kim Webby.

“The sands here are not just matter, materials, or commodities. They are alive with the energy of our mountain and moana. They carry whakapapa. They are not for sale.” — Kate Paris in Pātea.

“Even the most skilled school leader is constrained by the ongoing failure of the state to address the deep inequity in our education system. New Zealand ranks 33rd out of 38 developed countries for its overall equality in education.” — Rebecca Macfie, author of ‘Hope and Hardship’.

This captures much of the frustration of today.

Hi. I'm saying this for my.benefit more than yours. But just so it's crystal: My name is Linda. I am some bitch from no place you ever heard of, you wouldn't know my family name, and I never went to college. I am not nice, I am not polite, and I am not compliant. I am fucking effective.

This is what rural contractors do here in NZ. Well mine anyway. Collected a prescription when I had covid last year, supplies newspapers for my pets, brings parcels to the back door when it's raining, she even offered to help with the alpacas when they were having their prewinter check.

“There is a 0% chance that Peters’ admonishment of the vast majority of UN member states, and continued delay in NZ’s own action, will have any impact on how they take their own stands. There is a 100% chance that it will be remembered as the time New Zealand punched above its weight in cowardice.”😔

You may not find it on the front pages - or even sports pages - of the four big local media companies, but Niamh Fisher-Black won the silver medal in last night’s women’s road race at the world champs in Rwanda. And yes, that’s a big deal.

Ok, I know this sounds great but I'd like to know the qualifying criteria for this and how it's going to be communicated down to local CDEM.

I was gonna go but I remembered I was a comedian with a human soul. #RiyadhComedyFestival

In today’s HeraldOnSunday

Yehuda Cohen’s son Nimrod has been held by Hamas since 10/7. I’m in awe of his courage. He attended the event this wk where France recognized Palestine. And walked out in protest when Netanyahu spoke at the UN. He knows only a deal, a ceasefire, an end to this horrific war will bring Nimrod home.

Local Bird Elections are on. Do your avian duty and vote for the Kākā. Just joking. Vote for whoever you like. But the Kākā really is best. Voting closes today. My Stuff #cartoon today #BirdOfTheYear

Things are not always what they appear

Excellent message from Chlöe Swarbrick and the #nzpol Greens. www.instagram.com/share/reel/B...

When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland. My column today. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

#TurnYourBacks 👏👏👏

The word of the day is: 💔 māteatea 💔 māteatea: (verb) to be ignominious, humiliating, shameful, inglorious, abject and: māteatea: (modifier) ignominious, humiliating, shameful, inglorious, abject, dishonourable and: māteatea: (noun) shame, distress, disgrace, scandal, embarrassment Auē rā!