All articles

Treaty Principles Bill · It seems to be a dream of many of the so-called IWI elite to have it recognised that the Treaty of Waitangi created a partnership between the Crown and Maori. · But unfortunately for them it is nothing more than a bad dream or to put it another way a nightmare! · The Treaty itself has only three articles and nowhere in any of them does it mention a partnership. It is simply a contract signed by many that ceded…

Einstein locked horns with Niels Bohr and younger physicists over their controversial ideas, as a superb new book, Quantum Drama, explains · Viewers of Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-hoovering biopic about the physicist J Robert Oppenheimer will have learned a lot about the race to build nuclear weapons, but not much about the hero’s involvement in arguably a much more important debate: what science ought to be able to tell us about reality.…

His speech spoke of the need to unite the country. Whether he fulfils this promise or not, the fact of his election must be respected · At least it was all “thank yous” and no threats. Plenty of gratitude to his friends and family – and Elon Musk – and no mention of his enemies. At least not yet. At the very end, when Trump was clearly returning to the script, he said that it was “time to unite”: to “put the divisions of the past behind us”.…

New Zealanders spent over 27.6million on gambling products such as Pokies, sports betting, racing, lotteries, casinos in the year ending 2023 and while not as bad as Australia who lead the world as the leading country for per capita gambling losses; it is a growing problem.  · Increasingly, we’re aware of effects of these losses: Family breakdown and separation, domestic violence, loss of assets, neglect of children, crime and imprisonment,…

On November 7, 1990, long-haired Christchurch mountaineers John Glasgow and Peter Gough became the first people known to have scaled the 2000-m Caroline Face of Aoraki/Mt Cook. They declared it a ‘triumph for the hippies’. · The Caroline Face of Aoraki/Mt Cook was the last unclimbed face of the mountain. Four climbers lost their lives in the 1960s while trying to scale it. Two of those who died, John Cousins and Michael Goldsmith, may have…

Despite stories of "wasps getting drunk" and "beetles consuming beer," it has been thought that alcohol consumption in the non-human animal world has not been particularly widespread, deliberate or sought out for a physiological benefit. Now, ecologists challenge this theory, saying it's far more commonplace and strategic than scientists believed. · A team of international ecologists has made the case based on the fact that ethanol is a…

Who doesn't love the wonderful flavour combination of succulent chicken, bacon and creamy avocado. This simple yet super tasty recipe is quick to prepare and makes a great BBQ option when you want to mix it up a little.  · Ingredients · - For the Hasselback Chicken - 4 large chicken breasts - 24 slices mozzarella cheese 6 strips bacon - 1 tablespoon chilli powder - 1 tablespoon oregano · For the Grilled Avocados · - 4 ripe avocados - 2…

A recent study has shown that nanoplastics – plastic particles smaller than 0.001 millimeters – affect the body's ability to absorb antibiotics, and may even lead to the growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. · Using complex models of the molecular structures of common, everyday plastics polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) as well as nylon 6,6 (N66), researchers from the University of Vienna, University of Bonn, and…

Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward ceremonially opened the North Island main trunk railway line by driving home a final polished silver spike at Manganuioteao, between National Park and Ohākune on November 6 1908.  · According to a reporter who accompanied Ward from Wellington, the ceremony was ‘as impressive as scowling weather, muddy embankments and interfering photographers would permit’. · Construction of the central section of the line…

Over the course of 91 years, Quincy Jones did pretty much everything you could do in the entertainment industry. He was a musician, arranger, composer, solo artist, record company executive, mogul, entrepreneur and a producer not just of music but of films and TV – and, as was noted in Chris Heath’s extraordinary, headline-grabbing 2018 profile piece Quincy Jones Has a Story About That, he had known everyone. “The ghetto Gump”, as he called…