Paul Thistoll
@pault.bsky.social
2.4K followers 4.3K following 610 posts
Human Rights Defender / Founder of Rights Aotearoa @rightsaotearoa.bsky.social || he/him || Proud alumnus of London Business School || ❤️Food & Wine || Trans rights are human rights
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pault.bsky.social
Oh sorry! I normally put alt text but I was on my phone
pault.bsky.social
Completely agree with you, Catherine. Let's show a united front.
Reposted by Paul Thistoll
catherinejmckenzie.bsky.social
Can not stress enough how important it is for all supporters of the three opposition parties to work together in a unified way to push the C.o.C. out in 2026. Less fighting, more kotahitanga.
mountaintui.bsky.social
#nzpol Video from 3 month ago: "Labour will repeal Regulatory Standards Bill within 100 days" @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social confirms again today
pault.bsky.social
Reading Rawls' "A Theory of Justice" was a seminal moment for me.

I feel like Luxon would use it to put under a wonky table.
Reposted by Paul Thistoll
duncanwebbmp.bsky.social
The select committee report on the Regulatory Standards Bill is in.
📝166,000 submissions.
❌98.7% opposed.
Yet National are going to continue supporting it.
🗣New Zealand could not have been louder, but Luxon still isn’t listening.
Regulatory Standards Bill:
Select Committee Report:
166,000 submission total
0.7% supported
0.6% unclear
98.7% opposed

AUTHORISED BY DUNCAN WEBB MP, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS WELLINGTON
pault.bsky.social
The next time someone says the Atlas Network is just a figment of our left wing paranoid imagination show them this X post:
pault.bsky.social
Excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
duncanwebbmp.bsky.social
We will repeal it in the first 100 days.
pault.bsky.social
lol. Love your sense of humour
pault.bsky.social
I feel like the Spinoff needs to do something on this mythical Rolex - find out which one it was, and how bejewelled it was.
pault.bsky.social
Can someone pop into Patridges and see what Rolex models around 90k they suddenly have back in stock? I want to see what kind of taste Ray Chung has!

😅😜😆😜
pault.bsky.social
A SEGM conference is not a scientific conference unless you think science should completely disregard human rights.

And Psychology is one area of science that is essentially intermingled with human rights.
The president of the German Medical Association, Klaus Reinhardt, has condemned the “public defamation of participants in a scientific conference”. 

He was referring to online “Know your enemy posters” showing photos of presenters at the recent meeting of the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine held in a secret, secure location in Berlin as trans activists sought to locate and disrupt the event. 

“Such methods cross every line of objective debate and promote intimidation and, in some cases, even actual real threats,” Dr Reinhardt told the newspaper Die Welt. “We must be seriously concerned about scientific freedom in our country as well.”

More at the link below.
Reposted by Paul Thistoll
pault.bsky.social
98.7% of approximately 166,300 public submissions opposed the RSB

But the majority of the committee has recommended it go forward with only really cosmetic changes.
Committee process
The Regulatory Standards Bill was referred to this committee on 22 May 2025. We
called for submissions on the bill with a closing date of 23 June 2025. About 166,300
submissions were lodged through the website and by email.1
A minority of us would like to report that the Ministry for Regulation contracted
Allen + Clarke to assist with analysing submissions. Of the submissions analysed,
98.7 percent opposed the bill, 0.7 percent were in support, and 0.6 percent were either
unclear or did not take a position on the bill.
A majority would like to report that from additional analysis, 1,317 submissions were
identified as containing detail or unique arguments, and were considered to be 'substantive' on this basis.
pault.bsky.social
That's a very good idea about Emergency! :-)
pault.bsky.social
Very good point BikerChiwi.
pault.bsky.social
Yes, some of them are very gaudy.

Just for disclosure too - if I could afford a watch like that, then I would get a Cartier Ballon Blue, which is quite tasteful.

www.jomashop.com/cartier-ball...
Cartier Ballon Bleu Automatic Blue Dial Men's Watch wsbb0027
Shop for Ballon Bleu Automatic Blue Dial Men's Watch wsbb0027 by Cartier at JOMASHOP.
www.jomashop.com
pault.bsky.social
Lola is a watch person - she reads watch blogs and we discuss the finer points of Tourbillon mechanisms - so I understand why people are into them.
Funnily enough, I have been to the Swiss town of Biel, which is where Rolex make all its mechanical movements are produced and assembled.
pault.bsky.social
If you want to lead—whether its being PM, delivering a $10B dollar transformation project, conducting the local choir, or leading a non-profit—there is one overarching skill you need: you must bring the people you are leading along the journey with you.
Luxon just doesn't have the skills to do this.
pault.bsky.social
Can someone pop into Patridges and see what Rolex models around 90k they suddenly have back in stock? I want to see what kind of taste Ray Chung has!

😅😜😆😜
pault.bsky.social
Oh the complaint in screenshot is my complaint to Stuff - the one I have lined up for the media council is different, more detailed, and tailored to the Media Council principles.
pault.bsky.social
Team, I want to make a bit of a hullabaloo about Damien Grant's opinion column yesterday. I think we have a defensible line-of-complaint to the media council.

I have a complaint ready to go - if you would like to see it email me at [email protected] and I will send it to you for inspiration.
pault.bsky.social
Here is my complaint.
complaint complaint
pault.bsky.social
Here are two suggestions for a more vibrant democracy:

- no urgency unless famine, war, pandemic, etc.
- no press releases or document dumps fri-sun.

Mon - Thursday releases only.

Inspired by the select committee dropping the RSB report late on Friday and yesterday's climate change announcement.
Reposted by Paul Thistoll
aoifenolan.bsky.social
Conor Gearty died a month ago yesterday. He was deeply committed to human rights law without idealising it. He recognised its power & value while acknowledging its limitations (& those of the people engaging with it). He was also an exceptional lawyer. This is a fitting final piece in the @lrb.co.uk
pault.bsky.social
I am going to bang on about the RSB because it is the most anti-democratic piece of legislation ever proposed in Aotearoa.

As I said in my oral submission, it's a constitutional coup d'état by other means.
pault.bsky.social
98.7% of approximately 166,300 public submissions opposed the RSB

But the majority of the committee has recommended it go forward with only really cosmetic changes.
Committee process
The Regulatory Standards Bill was referred to this committee on 22 May 2025. We
called for submissions on the bill with a closing date of 23 June 2025. About 166,300
submissions were lodged through the website and by email.1
A minority of us would like to report that the Ministry for Regulation contracted
Allen + Clarke to assist with analysing submissions. Of the submissions analysed,
98.7 percent opposed the bill, 0.7 percent were in support, and 0.6 percent were either
unclear or did not take a position on the bill.
A majority would like to report that from additional analysis, 1,317 submissions were
identified as containing detail or unique arguments, and were considered to be 'substantive' on this basis.
pault.bsky.social
Very good point from Rory.
roryreckons.bsky.social
Can not stop thinking about the philosophical/existential implications of this.

When you are constantly being offered suggestions for your thoughts, when do you stop being you, and just become an interface for the AI.
This patient’s Neuralink brain implant gets a boost from generative AI
A patient who types with his brain thanks to a Neuralink implant is using AI chatbots to speed things up.
www.technologyreview.com