Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

15 January 1970 · United States Vice-President Spiro Agnew’s three-day visit to New Zealand sparked some of the most violent anti-Vietnam War demonstrations seen in this country. Many protesters and some members of the media accused the police of excessive force against demonstrators. · New Zealand was Agnew’s last stop on a 25-day, 60,000-km, 11-nation goodwill tour of Pacific and Asian countries. His wife, Judy, Apollo 10 astronaut Eugene…

In 2012, Deborah Cory-Slechta at the University of Rochester, New York, received a “bucket of brains”. A colleague had been studying how air pollution around the university harms the hearts and lungs of mice, and had asked Cory-Slechta to check the animals’ brains for damage. As a specialist in the neurotoxicity of lead, Cory-Slechta remembers thinking: ‘Air pollution? How bad could this be?’ But what she saw in those brains was so…

Thanks to the work of an intrepid photographer in Southern Europe, we learned last week that Royal Enfield is well into development on a bike that fans of the brand have been demanding for years: a 650cc version of its wildly popular Himalayan. · A series of good, clear spy photos were published at outlets like MCNews and 1000ps, showing exactly how Enfield's popular 650cc engine platform will fit into an adventure tourer: · What it looks like…

New Zealand is in ongoing discussions with Five Eyes allies Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, about sharing details of citizens’ criminal records. · The Migration 5 group already exchanges information on migrants’ travel and visa histories. But the move to include citizens’ criminal data raises privacy and sovereignty concerns. · Currently chaired by New Zealand, Migration 5 has held regular meetings, including eight…

Jimmy Carter was a nice, good man who epitomized American Christianity’s reduction to Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism. As such, the singing of John Lennon’s atheistic “Imagine”—Carter’s favorite song—at the former president’s funeral was entirely appropriate. · Last week at former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral, country singers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood sang ex-Beatle John Lennon’s song Imagine, and Christian social media erupted in…

To some, the LA wildfires that devoured thousands of homes were down to a perfect storm of hurricane winds, drought and over-development. · To others, it was the fault of gay firefighters. · “All of them are lesbians named Kristin,” one conservative provocateur close to Donald Trump said, reeling off a string of officials including Kristina Crowley, the fire chief who has spent decades fighting fires across the region. · Furious residents are…

Bike thieves can't steal it if they don't know it's there ... This remarkable motorcycle looks for all the world like a telecom signal box covered in graffiti – but at the touch of a button it rises up on wheels and rides away. · It's called the Nomoto – as in, "No moto here, buddy, just this piece of public infrastructure." And when it's parked up, there's little to suggest it's anything else, although the eagle-eyed might look at the graffiti…

On Jamuary 14th, 1948, a 14-year-old Nelson schoolboy discovered the oldest fossils ever found in New Zealand. Malcolm Simpson was a member of the party that accompanied University of Otago geologist Noel Benson on an expedition to the Cobb Valley, near Motueka. · During the trip, Simpson hammered off some fresh limestone containing indistinct fossils and passed it to Professor Benson, who initially thought the fossils were indistinguishable…

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has spent years manipulating algorithms to suppress dissent and inconvenient truths. Now, Zuckerberg wants us to believe he’s turned over a new leaf. “Community notes” is his supposed act of contrition—replacing Meta’s infamous “fact-checkers” with what he’s touting as a democratic approach to truth. · The changes will affect Facebook, Instagram and Threads - social media platforms with more than 3 billion users globally.…

Daesh’s influence and capabilities have been severely degraded in the past few years. In the Iraqi and Syrian contexts, the group is a shadow of its former self, particularly when compared with its apex between 2014 and 2017. · Yet, despite the coordinated efforts of the Global Coalition against Daesh and the sacrifices endured by the Iraqi and Syrian peoples, the organisation known as Islamic State (IS) continues to pose a significant…