The word for today is… vexillology (noun) – The study of flags. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.” Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in an address in June of 1915, but those
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Mining on Conservation Land “There will be no new mines on conservation land.” Speech from the Throne Promise still under negotiation with the coalition. Promise: Waste Minimisation “Other environment initiatives include a commitment to minimising waste to landfill and a fund to take action on
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Housing “Housing is a top priority for this government. Action will be taken to address homelessness. State house sell offs will stop. And the State will take the lead in building affordable houses. Through its Kiwibuild programme, this government pledges to build 100,000 high
The word for today is… retinue (noun) – The retainers or attendants accompanying a high-ranking person. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Retinue derives via Middle English from the Anglo-French verb retenir, meaning “to retain.” Another word deriving from retenir is retainer, which means, among other things, “one who serves a person
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Gender Pay Gap “It will eliminate the gender pay gap within the core public sector and encourage the private sector to do the same.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: Pay equity legislation has stalled. The Government blocked the National Party bills twice, and have
The word for today is… sempiternal (adj) – Enduring forever; eternal. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Despite their similarities, sempiternal and eternal come from different roots. Sempiternal is derived from the Late Latin sempiternalis and ultimately from semper, Latin for “always.” (You may recognize semper as a key element in the
Gideon Lasco sapiens.org “It’s our vitamin,” 20-year-old Jarod (a pseudonym) told me, as he and his friends took out a tiny sachet of shabu (methamphetamine). It was late afternoon, and they were about to begin their work as food and beverage vendors at a port in the Philippines.
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Driver Training “This government will offer all high school students free driver training and financial literacy, as part of a toolkit giving all school leavers valuable practical skills.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: The Prime Minister has announced a scheme to help 2500 young
The word for today is… recondite (adj) – 1. Not easily understood; abstruse or obscure. 2. Concealed; hidden. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : While the adjective recondite may be used to describe something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word’s history. It dates to the early 1600s,
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Free Doctors Visits “Free doctor visits will be extended to everyone under 14, with teen health checks for all Year 9 students.” Speech from the Throne Broken promise: A lovely sentiment that has not been delivered. The promise was made by Labour to NZ First.
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Youth Suicide “New Zealand’s high suicide rate, especially for adolescents, is shameful. This government will increase resources for frontline health workers and will put more nurses in schools to make it easier for young people and others with mental health problems to get the
We are seeing a great deal of debate at the moment over teaching brain-washing of students with a climate alarmism curriculum. Chief among the proposals is to have students adopt a vegan diet, all to save the planet. Meat-eating is said to contribute a horrendous negative amount to the perils
The word for today is… tarradiddle (noun) – 1. A petty falsehood; a fib. 2. Silly pretentious speech or writing; twaddle. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : Late 18th century: perhaps related to diddle.
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: Police “As part of keeping our society safe, this government intends to add another 1800 new police officers over the next years and will investigate a volunteer rural constabulary programme. Community law centre funding will increase and a Criminal Cases Review Commission will be established.
Source: brokenpromises.co.nz Promise: State Services State Services Minister Chris Hipkins promised in mid-2018 that his government would “reduce the reliance on expensive consultants and contractors, saving taxpayers many millions of dollars a year”. Chris Hipkins, 2018. The total spend across all 30-plus public sectors at that time was
The word for today is… refectory (noun) – A room where meals are served, especially in a college or other institution. Source : The Free Dictionary Etymology : “Dining hall,” especially one in a monastery, early 15th century, from Medieval Latin refectorium, from past participle stem of reficere “to remake, restore,” from re-
