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National’s Upper North Island Infrastructure Package

National’s Upper North Island Infrastructure Package

National’s transport infrastructure package is just the first part of the Delivering Infrastructure theme of its Plan to Get New Zealand Working. Today initial announcements focus on the Upper North Island with announcements planned for across the rest of the country. What projects are part of National’s Upper

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… disabuse (verb) – To free from a falsehood or misconception. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : We know the verb abuse as a word meaning “to misuse,” “to mistreat,” or “to revile.” But when disabuse first appeared in the early 17th century, there was a sense of

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… devise (verb) – 1. To form, plan, or arrange in the mind; design or contrive. 2. (Law) To transmit or give (real property) by will. 3. (Archaic) To suppose; imagine. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : There’s something inventive about devise, a word that stems from

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two men sitting beside window having conversation

“On Justice and Open Debate”

Danielle van Dalen maxim.org.nz I don’t particularly love confronting people. But I know that when it’s done well, disagreement can be incredibly powerful. An open letter On Justice and Open Debate published last week, suggests the 150 signatories think similarly. The letter claims that an increasingly

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… gest (noun) – 1. A notable adventure or exploit. 2. (a) A verse romance or tale. (b) A prose romance. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Let the Queen know of our gests,” Antony instructs his men after a hard-won victory on the battlefield in William Shakespeare’

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The BFD Word of the day

The word for today is… lissome (adj) – 1. Moving or able to move with grace and ease; lithe and graceful. 2. Easily bent; supple. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Lissome (sometimes spelled lissom) is a gently altered form of its synonym, lithesome. While lissome tends to be the more popular

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… troubadour (noun) – 1. One of a class of 12th-century and 13th-century lyric poets in southern France, northern Italy, and northern Spain, who composed songs in langue d’oc often about courtly love. 2. A strolling minstrel. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In the Middle Ages,

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doctor holding red stethoscope

Autistic Doctors – We’re Not Exactly as Portrayed on TV

Nina Louise Purvis King’s College London When I open up about my referral for an autism spectrum disorder assessment, I draw on examples from the only popular reference I have for an autistic doctor – what’s portrayed on TV. You have probably seen these medical dramas – The Good Doctor,

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… vilipend (verb) – 1. To view or treat with contempt; despise. 2. To speak ill of; disparage. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Vilipend first appeared in English in the 15th century and had its heyday during the 19th century—being found in the works of such

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The BFD Word of the day

The BFD Word of the day

The word for today is… fictitious (adj) – Spurious, fake; fictional; created or assumed with the intention to conceal. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Fictitious is related to the Medieval Latin word fict?cius, meaning “artificial,” “imaginary,” “feigned,” or “fraudulent.” It was first used in English as an antonym for natural.

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On the Metaphysics of the Destruction of Statues

On the Metaphysics of the Destruction of Statues

LB I have seen a lot of talk on this subject by people of the Right recently and while I do agree with the overall consensus that the act of removing and tearing down monuments dedicated to Confederate generals and other great men of America is a disgrace and tantamount

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… whodunit (noun) – A story dealing with a crime and its solution; a detective story. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : In 1930, Donald Gordon, a book reviewer for News of Books, needed to come up with something to say about a rather unremarkable mystery novel called

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Racist Mermaids and Burning Elks: The Logic of Terror

Racist Mermaids and Burning Elks: The Logic of Terror

The political use of terror is intended to win, as its name suggests, by terrorising its target. Fundamentally, terrorism aims to create disorder and demoralise a society, weakening its resistance. When inflicted by powerful groups, the purpose of terrorism is to enforce obedience and frighten populations into submission. It’s

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The BFD Word of the Day

The BFD Word of the Day

The word for today is… divagate (verb) – 1. To wander or drift about. 2. To ramble; digress. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Divagate hasn’t wandered far in meaning from its Latin ancestors. It descends from the verb divagari, which comes from dis-, meaning “apart,” and vagari, meaning “to wander.

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The BFD Word of the day

The BFD Word of the day

The word for today is… compunction (noun) – 1. A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt. 2. A sting of conscience or a pang of doubt aroused by wrongdoing or the prospect of wrongdoing. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : An old proverb says “a guilty conscience needs no accuser,

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