INDEPENDENT NEWS
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn. Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik... More

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New Zealand Politics

Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track
The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:
Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:
Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More

Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More
Business, Science & Tech
GenPro: General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices

GenPro has been copied into a rising number of Clause 14 notices issued since the NZNO lodged its Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim against General Practice employers in December 2023.MoreSPADA: Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation & Intellectual Property Protections

In an unprecedented international collaboration, representatives of screen producing organisations from around the world have released a joint statement.More
Comment




Ian Powell: US Lessons For New Zealand’s Health System: Profiteering, Hospital Adverse Events And Patient Outcomes

Although not guaranteed it is likely that the ugly head of ‘Public Private Partnerships’ (PPPs) will be raised again in Aotearoa New Zealand’s public hospitals following last year’s election of a new National-led coalition government.



Binoy Kampmark: Israel’s Argument At The Hague: We Are Incapable Of Genocide

Israel’s relationship with the United Nations, international institutions and international law has at times bristled with suspicion and blatant hostility. In a famous cabinet meeting in 1955, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion famously knocked back the suggestion that the United Nations 1947 plan for partitioning Palestine had been instrumental in creating the State of Israel.
World




UN News: Cholera Cases Soar Globally

The world enters 2024 with 667,000 cases of cholera and over 4,000 deaths last year. Eastern and Southern African nations are among the worst affected, accounting for about 75% of the fatalities and a third of the cases, according to UNICEF.



UN News: US Urged To Halt First Execution By Nitrogen Asphyxiation

The execution of an American prisoner by a new and untested method (suffocation by nitrogen gas) could amount to torture, the OHCHR has warned. Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted of murder in 1988 and was executed on 25 January in the southern state of Alabama.
Lifestyle




Howard Davis: Malicious Melodrama - Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’

Loosely based on a tabloid headline, Todd Haynes has directed another intriguing and mysterious portrayal of an enigmatic and contradictory female who was jailed as a sex offender for her affair with a naive high school student ove two decades her junior. Julianne Moore, who seems constitutionally incapable of providing an unintelligent performance, is more than ably supported by Natalie Portman as an exploitative Hollywood star tasked with portraying her character in a TV movie.



Howard Davis: The Austerity Of Quiet Despair - Wim Wenders’ ‘Perfect Days’

Given his obvious admiration for the films of Yasujirō Ozu, it’s hardly surprising that Wim Wenders should have chosen Tokyo as the location for his latest film. A stripped-back, pared-down homage to the great Japanese director’s laconic and laid-back style, Wenders relentlessly pursues the daily life of his protagonist, a public toilet cleaner in the wealthy enclave of Shibuya.
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