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Douglas Horrell

@cleftcraft.bsky.social
426 followers 557 following 704 posts

Gardener on the edge. Lover of natural complexity. Bike life. Making and teaching craft with rekindle.org.nz in Ōtautahi/Christchurch, NZ. instagram.com/cleftcraft/

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Douglas Horrell
Rachael King @rachaelking70.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
So a really important New Zealand book is published today. No, not that one. This one! The fourth and final Violet and the Velvets!
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
A rant: This topic fascinates me. I trap pest species on our acre of hillside and I'm actively working with neighbours to create an effective local predator control network. But there's more to this than the cute mammals/invasive predator binary that dominates discussion. 🧵1/8
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Yesterday unexpectedly broke my heart. Luna our magnificent greyhound died unexpectedly at 12. Our family and those who knew her are bereft. Such a charming, lovely dog who touched many. If you've ever thought about welcoming a greyhound into your life please do it. Now is the time. A🧵 1/5
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Absolutely. I give the benefit of the doubt when reading anything but that's gone as soon as I see a trace of AI. Don't give up on authenticity! It's okay to not write perfectly so long as it's actually your voice.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
I for one would like to see more Francis Bacon portraits of pets.
Portrait of two greyhounds. One rendered as if flayed in the style of Francis Bacon.
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Reposted by Douglas Horrell
Jennifer @jennifilm.nz · 13/06/2026
How much money do I have to donate to which political party for my own bill, because I know you can just buy them these days, nē? I'm going to introduce the Harmful Digital Communications (Winston Peters is No Longer Allowed Internet Access for the Good of the Nation) Amendment Bill
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
A friend made a series of homebrew beers themed on crime and punishment, my favourite of which was "Languishing Behind Bars".
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Dr. Aaron Thierry @thierryaaron.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
11/ The moment needs a different analysis. Fossil capital's worked out its interests are better defended by authoritarianism than centrism. The policies protecting fossil rents (suppressing protest, gutting agencies, attacking universities, scapegoating minorities) is what the far-right wants anyway
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Excellent🧵 on why developing mass-movements matters right now as our existing climate protecttions are being actively dismantled.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Cargo bikes don't just replace car trips. You use them differently. Say you need 10 bags of compost, you might daisy chain 2-3 visits to the hardware store onto your work commute, or nearby errands rather than make a special trip. Unlike a car, there's no problems with rush hour traffic or parking.
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Reposted by Douglas Horrell
Sassy Little Hobbit @sassypolitico.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Imagine saying this in this country where 51 Muslims died in a terrorist attack by a white person. We have never even had Islamic terrorism in this country like every day I’m exhausted by pākehā and their lack of humanity.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I wonder if we're emotionally mature enough yet to start calling kiwifruit 猕猴桃/míhóutáo? Such a successful brand, but it's like breeding an apple cultivar and saying: "this is a new fruit I invented called a golden delicious" 🤔
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Reposted by Douglas Horrell
Sharon Murdoch @domesticanimal.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
What a shit show. My Stuff #cartoon today #Iran #USA #Trump #Israel
Cartoon. Title “The Art of the Deal” Two people looking at a huge baby Trump, who has covered himself and the walls in faeces. His head is back and he’s screaming, “WAAAAH!” And there’s a deflating ball of the world, also daubed with faeces. The woman is saying, “What’s he doing?” The man says, “SHHHH! He’s doing a deal with Iran”
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
We all sit on chairs but how many of us would be able to procure materials locally and make one? This is how fragile our society is currently. predirections.substack.com/p/we-built-a-fragile-society
predirections.substack.com
We built a fragile society
Modern society has optimised for efficiency at the expense of resilience
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Mowing a luxurious, weed-free lawn.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Clearly this government isn't thinking about the irony of adopting a "traffic light" type system during a fuel crisis.
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Reposted by Douglas Horrell
Byron C Clark @byroncclark.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
If you joined InternetNZ last year to stop the hostile takeover by the FSU, here's a reminder to renew your membership before the end of the month. Rumour has it the FSU may be attempting another takeover attempt Internetnz.nz
internetnz.nz
Home » InternetNZ
InternetNZ is the home of .nz. We ensure all .nz domain names are available for people and businesses in Aotearoa so they can function and thrive online. We also work for an Internet that benefits all of Aotearoa.
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kyle @kyledchurch.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
but yet to condemn the illegal US/Israel war, the many war crimes the US/Israel have committed, or the murder of civilians including 150 school girls in the first attacks
NZ Herald article thumbnail:

"NZ joins condemnation of Iran's attacks on fuel tankers, energy infrastructure"
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Sage Anastasi @sageanastasi.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Whānau, remember how the far-right tried to take over Internet NZ last year and we kicked their butts? They haven't learned, and they're trying to do it again this year. Register by March 31st ($21 for a year) so you can vote in the AGM and send them packing again. members.internetnz.nz
members.internetnz.nz
Join InternetNZ | internetnz
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Teanau Tuiono @teanau.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
The Government is currently negotiating an Enhanced Border Security Partnership with the US Department of Homeland Security that would grant US agencies, including ICE, automated, direct access to New Zealanders' biometric data and identity records.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
So much this. Video (especially modern social media video) prevents reflection in any meaningful way with its constant firehose of content and jump cuts. It obligates its maker to be chained to hours of editing for mere seconds of content, and demands so very much attention for often slim rewards.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
A reminder that hell always has deeper circles:
Corkscrew shaped stainless steel bikestand with no place to lean a bike against that will not lead to the bike (and perhaps the user) falling over.
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Reposted by Douglas Horrell
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 18/01/2026
AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
theguardian.com
AI companies will fail. We can salvage something from the wreckage | Cory Doctorow
AI is asbestos in the walls of our tech society, stuffed there by monopolists run amok. A serious fight against it must strike at its roots
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Jason Hickel @jasonhickel.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
We need a better, more ambitious message when it comes to taxation. The rich *do not* fund our public services. We do. My latest for New Internationalist. newint.org/equality/202...
newint.org
Who should pay for public services?
The left needs a better, more ambitious message when it comes to taxation, argues Jason Hickel.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Luna says thanks to everyone who submitted on the Greyhound Racing Closure Bill.
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kyle @kyledchurch.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
RNZ choosing to syndicate CNN here, and specifically an article that platforms, and even promotes, Vance and other fascists' views that the shooting was justified, while introducing doubt as to the actual reality we've all seen, is an absolute failure of RNZ staff. Wtaf are you all doing over there
rnz.co.nz
ICE agent's cellphone captures fatal confrontation in Minneapolis
Video captured by Jonathan Ross gives up-close perspective surrounding his fatal shooting of Renee Good.
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Shansen - famously the founder of antifas wife @srhansen.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
I know I bang on about this, but we need SERIOUS media reform, starting next year (hell, ideally starting now, but that ain't gonna happen). The whole world is being constantly gaslit now. We need media and journalism that actually holds power to account and tells the truth. #nzpol
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Greyhound racing's whole business model relies on privatising profits and socialising the costs onto the public. Their social licence has expired.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
A reminder that the bill on closing the NZ Greyhound Racing Industry closes today. Our industry takes an unacceptable toll on the welfare of the dogs and exploits volunteer labour to do most of the rehabilitation and rehoming. It needs to end. Please submit: www3.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/mak...
www3.parliament.nz
Radware Page
Loader page.
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D Jukic She/her @dejanajuk.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
#nzpol
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Craig is an excellent and very capable candidate who's deeply rooted in Banks Peninsula and has worked hard at ECan. All around NZ there are very solid Green candidates like Craig whose electorates will probably go to National because Labour insists on standing someone against them. Why is this? 🧵
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kyle @kyledchurch.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
i think the main thing needed is not a specific person, it's the machine greens under Shaw pulled centrally, & deprioritised networking & on the ground capabilities. Mamdani has an enormous, consolidated network of staffers, volunteers & funders - I don't think we have anything like that here yet
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Mark Darbyshire🌱🏳️‍🌈 @markd.nz · 23/12/2025
Feeling flush with cash this Christmas? Little Andromeda would love some help to bridge a $50k gap and reopen next year. It's the coolest little fringe theatre in Aotearoa. Folk are already chipping in. With a bit of work, I know we can get this over the line! #Ōtautahi #Christchurch #theatre #NZ
littleandromeda.co.nz
Help Us | Little Andromeda Christchurch Fringe Theatre
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
A heads up for lovers of handcrafts - this beautiful pile of willow baskets and more is for sale this Saturday, 10-3 at the Steiner School Fair. Made here un Ōtautahi by my talented fellow Rekindle teachers Diana Duncan (aka Swamp City Basketry) and Gemma Stratton. #🇳🇿🧶
A big pile of beautiful willow baskets made by Diana Duncan and Gemma Stratton sitting in Diana's workshop. (📷 Diana Duncan)
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Ōtautahi has elected the last mayor of the 20th century, rather than the first mayor of the 21st.
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dingsbums @binkle.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Ōtautahi / Chch procrastinators, join me in voting in the local body elections before midday tomorrow - drop off locations listed in the link www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/t... #kikorangi
newsline.ccc.govt.nz
Time running out to vote in local elections
Time is running out for the 69 per cent of eligible voters in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula who have yet to complete and return their voting papers for the local elections.
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Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Vote! Vote in your local election! Post your vote by 5pm today! It matters. Hayden explains this more hilariously than I can: thespinoff.co.nz/politics/06-...
One hundred and eighty five billion dollars.
That's the estimated bill to repair our terrible water infrastructure and experts think that estimate is too low. Why is it going to cost so much? Mainly because angry people who didn't want to pay rates were the only ones who voted in local elections. They elected other angry people who didn't want to raise rates and those people kept costs down via the foolproof method of "letting the pipes rot in the ground". Just a few years ago, 8,000 people in and around Havelock North got poisoned when sheep poo seeped into some poorly maintained water infrastructure. Four people died! Wellington's streets are now equal parts sewage and concrete. For a while there people in Otago were drinking lead.
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Kārikiōrangi @sharonm.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Fine analysis of the very tight battle for Christchurch Mayor by David Williams. Read it before you vote - because the next mayor will set the city direction in important ways. Mauger’s disdain for any method of transport other than cars will screw the city. newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/12/f...
newsroom.co.nz
‘Flip and flop’ mayor gives latest take on asset sales
Council-owned companies remain a contentious issue in the race for Christchurch’s mayoralty between Phil Mauger and Sara Templeton
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GreenEggs| Toitū Te Tiriti @hekikakariki.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
#nzpol For those who have joined Internet NZ, please register to vote at the AGM tomorrow. There are a few motions that have been put by David Farrar in particular that seek to erase Te Tirīti, tikanga and everything Māori from this organisation. Please register to vote against this takeover
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Thinking about this a lot as I haul gear all over Ōtautahi this week in our cargo bike. E-bikes and particularly cargo e-bikes could really transform those areas in Aotearoa where sprawl or geography makes cars the current choice. But which interventions would enable the shift? A 🧵...
Orange cargo bike stacked with two crates of cargo.
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Jennifer @jennifilm.nz · 16/06/2025
My current bugbear is that pretty much every issue we face is caused or worsened by disinformation and a growing absolute disregard for truth, evidence, or any notion of a shared reality - and that no one in power will do anything about it because it's too useful for them.
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
After years of trying out plastic bags, shoe covers, etc. to keep my feet dry on the bike I've settled on ankle gumboots for rainy days. Should have got them years ago: store.pggwrightson.co.nz/grubs-shorel...
store.pggwrightson.co.nz
Grubs Shoreline Gumboots
4 mm Insufoam-Ultra™ for comfort and insulation5 mm POLYOU™ footbed provides soft cushioning and insulates the wearer from cold surfacesSUPERLITE® technology - this boot is 30% lighter than convention...
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Sharon Murdoch @domesticanimal.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
A cartoon about our government’s unconcern for our land and water. “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of a cancer cell”, so said Edward Abbey. My Stuff #cartoon today #NZpol #Climate #Water #Environment #RMA #FastTrack
Cartoon. Title: Reflections on Water. The picture shows MP Chris Bishop, like Narcissus, gazing adoringly into a pond, with cows in the background. He’s saying, “The RMA changes will better reflect the interests of all users. Although they’d reflect a lot better if this water wasn’t so murky.”
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Dr Sarah Hendrica Bickerton 🏳️‍🌈 @sarahhbickerton.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
One of the things about generative AI, if they are indeed using an LLM to summarise submissions, is that you cannot guarantee accuracy with LLM summarisation. This has been well documented. My concern is thus what steps are being taken to ensure accuracy, as otherwise you risk political anomie.
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Space Academy (Ōtautahi/Christchurch, Aotearoa/NZ) @spaceacademy.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
We have a date e te whānau! REGULATORY STANDARDS BILL SUBMISSION PĀTI / PARTY June 12th (Thurs next week) 6.30 - 9PM Some folks from the greens will be here to tautoko/support & some other lovely folk too BYO laptop if you have one (no stress if you don't) This is a supportive & FREE event!!!
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Coley @coleytangerina.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
The NZ govt is refusing to allow updated clinical guidelines for trans healthcare to be released. Their reasoning is clearly bad-faith and ideologically in line with the ‘culture war’ restrictions of people’s rights in the US. Medical bodies are speaking out. Where is the media coverage of this?
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Douglas Horrell @cleftcraft.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Apocalypse Nowt
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Melanie Nelson @weavingourworlds.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
The Regulatory Standards Bill had its first reading yesterday. National and NZ First barely spoke — but voted it through to select committee. This isn’t just about the Treaty. It’s a sweeping attempt to rewrite how law works in NZ. The quiet tells a story — and it’s worth paying attention to.
open.substack.com
Reading Between the Lines: RSB First Reading
The Regulatory Standards Bill has passed its first reading — but support from National and NZ First was minimal and cautious. This isn’t just a Treaty issue. It’s a bill that could reshape how all law...
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