Is the BandStand Gathering (/Many Voices/ No Megaphones) on for today at 1pm?
I’ve speculatively lined up a guest speaker from Oil Free Otago. They are scheduled to talk at 2pm though I don’t know who yet (will have more info later in morn). It would be good if someone (CV?) had an alternative guest speaker, or even prepared a speech themself – to provide a range of viewpoints even if not on the same topic.
“It would be good if someone (CV?) had an alternative guest speaker, or even prepared a speech themself – to provide a range of viewpoints even if not on the same topic.”
I personally like the idea of a promenade where different speakers give their talks at the same time on the large grass area in front of the BandStand; so that an audience can walk between them and choose that which most interests them. Not sure if we’ll have the logistics of that sorted out for this time though – even if anyone else does think it’s a good idea.
There were less than the; “Fewer than several dozen”, that CV reported for last week, but it was a bit of a grey day verging on drizzle. My speculative speaker was a no-show too this week, but we did hash out a provisional tikanga for such guest speakers in the future. I’d meant to convince someone to come along when I went along to welcome the SV Tiama into harbour, but misread 7:30am for 7:30pm (doh!). Trying to arrange someone to come talk with a group where I couldn’t give numbers or (then) even location with any certainty via email at a day’s notice wasn’t the most effective.
Anyway, the week after next (I’ll be out of town on Waitangi weekend) at 2pm on the lawn in front of the bandstand (or the duckpond pagoda if raining), there will be someone from OFO giving a brief talk about our activities; followed by a probably much longer q&a/ discussion. This will not be part of the; “Many Voices”, group proper, but as we will be meeting from 1pm onwards at the bandstand I imagine that many of us will head over to check that out.
Though with the Many Voices theme, I still like the idea of different speakers on the lawn at the same time. But that’s for others to arrange, I’m going to have full enough hands this next fortnight as it is.
I personally like the idea of a promenade where different speakers give their talks at the same time on the large grass area in front of the BandStand; so that audience can walk between them and choose that which most interests them. Not sure if we’ll have the logistics of that sorted out for this time though – even if anyone else does think it’s a good idea.
And; No Megaphones, goes for microphones too.
[Post moderator: I’m getting glitches trying to submit this comment – please delete any repetitions]
With the gazzillion bandwidths that the Government has been auctioning off in recent years, and the ample availabilty of transmission towers across the land, why does Radio New Zealand still have one of the smallest most pathetic broadcast strengths on the spectrum?
Run through the stations and you are carpet-bombed with strong clear commercial product and then, if you are very careful and able to fine tune with the delicate touch of a blind safecracker, you catch a murmur of our public broadcaster.
note: The fact it is available on-line is irrelevant to the question. If the web is broken, or you can no longer afford it, the radio is still required.
I agree I have terrible reception in the East Coast Bays for National Programme.
It used to be that the National Radio transmissions could be heard throughout New Zealand but now both AM & FM are hard to receive.
I have a memory that we had to reduce power of transmissions because it interfered with Australian stations but have no way of confirming if that is correct. Should we all be complaining to RNZ?
freedom
I have wondered this about RadioNZ bandwidth. It can be so hard to get full strength, a fraction of a millimetre, and the voice of a pop star or brain-dead announcer or advert floods your ears.
Also I feel that their equipment and budget is possibly a little low. Lately they get very poor connections with phone interviews, they can’t get the audio clips lined up in the right place, and the announcer is embarrassed by a hole where the announced audio doesn’t come, and there are breaks in transmission for some reason which they apologise for. I don’t mind fire drill where some wit has prerecorded items, like the song, Baby come back or some other appropriate waiting song.
Radionz and all that sail in it are precious, and I don’t want any harm to come to it, the buildings, or the people. So I am content for them to have fire drill.
I’ll not forgive the NACTs for denying them their purpose-built building so they could make some grossly inferior use of the space. Why I can’t remember. I think it was at the time that the NACTS had found the dosh to put the Olde Legislative building on rails and shift it sideways, so they could knock down the Beehive, or add to it so that they would have an edifice suitable for the glory of their golden eminences. I don’t know if they were thinking of something like the Guggenheimer gallery in Bilbao in Spain but I wouldn’t be surprised. http://www.panoramio.com/photo/81822284
I think it was a part of Nationals long term plans to remove public broadcasting. In Auckland they forced RNZ to sell the Durham Street Broadcasting House and RNZ was then dumped into rented premises in Cook Street. Incidentally the money from the sales did not go to RNZ but back to government.
Same thing happened in Wellington as mentioned above when it was decided to demolish Broadcasting House and RNZ was forced into rented premises. From memory Richard Prebble was involved in that fiasco. Of course once they got RNZ out of their own building and the building demolished it was decided the space was not needed. OF course the object was to harass RNZ and put them at the mercy of private landlords. Anything to weaken public broadcasting and remove an independent news media voice.
Labour needs to address this problem by strengthening public radio and giving it sufficient funding to carry out its functions. I would love to see it gain some form of charter to make it hard if not impossible for future governments to wreck public broadcasting without the people having a say.
RNZ should be directed to implement digital broadcasting and if it would help funding give them licences for a commercial network. After all they had one until National sold it off to its mates.
With the current mess that television is in I would not care if TVNZ was abolished and its licences transfered to a public body. I do not think it is possible for TVNZ ever to regain the ability to produce public service television.
Ron
I echo that bit about strengthening RadioNZ. make it hard if not impossible for future governments to wreck public broadcasting without the people having a say.
RNZ should be directed to implement digital broadcasting and if it would help funding give them licences for a commercial network.
Don’t know about commercial radio adjunct with public. There is such a gulf between the ‘thinking’ that goes on the commercial and public, I wouldn’t want to taint public radio.
I didn’t realise that about RNZ in Auckland. My family once had a house in Cook Street and I went hunting it a while back and saw the Radionz site at the top but unfortunately my family’s house had gone. There were soviet-style apartments in its place. So Richard Prebble was in the deal. The radio, the rail, the rahrah of rolling government and the unions. What a heady mix of maliciousness.
(Incidentally is Dr Mark Prebble his relative? I was looking at a 2005 nz Listener and it noted he was State Services Commissioner and had announced average 14% pay rises for state CEOs, with his own salary rising to nearly $400,000.)
And I agree that TVNZ is far away from having anything but the quick quid in its sights. Government of course, demanding its quid has ensured that. Timorous Labour last time could not bring itself to have a quality public service, and drove Ian Fraser mad with the charter constraints plus having their hand out.
I don’t know that we couldn’t have a channel for public and get someone in from even perhaps the USA where they might have quite a good service, behind the florid bushes of commercial and political patronage. You never know, USA is surprising sometimes. Australia is a bit close, I would like something fresh and untainted by our politicians on either side of the ditch.
And one more thing that I forgot. Radio NZ should be required to bring back a weekly intelligent journal. Now that The Listener has been sold off to German interests we need a good weekly that can investigate radio programmes, provide a platform for good literature and the arts as well as other articles of interest to the public. The Listener has long ceased to be anything more than a soap digest competing in the women’s magazine market.
Incidentally if my memory serves me correct when I used to work for Broadcasting when the Listener magazine was sold the Corporation retained the rights to The Listener masthead. It used to show in the balance sheet.
Don’t know if it still is owned by the people or was eventually sold off. Would be interesting if it was still publicly owned, maybe we could take it back. If not then we could call new magazine Radio Times maybe
Im guessing those in charge of cost cutting told them that voice uses less bandwidth and management adjusted appropriately.
It doesnt help that the quality of radio recivers that are sold has dropped, and that the deregulated environment has overcrowded the spectrum — I am no expert but I belive there are issues there.
Agree that demolishing Broadcasting House was a mistake. When built, was well ahead of its time (rather like a lot of things in this country — we seemed to lead the world in everything, right up until the 80’s), I belive even Richard Prebble (who imposed the current broadcasting model on us) opposed this.
What pray tell makes ACT’s Jamie Whyte a “philosopher” ?
“The 48-year-old philosopher, author and columnist returned from Britain last year to settle in Auckland with his wife and two daughters, aged 10 and 6.”
As distinct say from an electoral fraudster (alleged), a botoxer, a love perker, a perkbuster, a hollow man, a grave robber, an ex-Labour scab.
He’s still more of a Sophist than a Philosopher though, whatever his job description. Using the platonic distinction between; those who take money to disperse the conventional wisdom, versus; those who seek wisdom for its own sake.
Surely you wouldn’t claim that every PhD is a philosopher?
he reef is being threatened from all sides. Dredging for coal and gas ports. Increased shipping frequency. Run off from agricultural developments. Increased ocean acidity and rises in sea temperatures from fossil fuel burning. The threats have got the reef surrounded.
Now the government’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has decided to allow up to three million cubic metres of ocean bottom to be dredged and then dumped within the borders of the marine park and also the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.
The decision is another necessary block removed in order to liberate millions of tonnes of coal from Queensland’s Galilee Basin, where miners hope to then rail it to shore and load it onto containers at an expanded coal terminal at Abbot Point. The dredging is to make way for the ships as they weave their way through the Great Barrier Reef – a wondrous icon of the blue planet that doubles as the world’s most iconic coal shipping lane.
Most of the coal is destined for Asia and India, where it will be burned, releasing more greenhouse gases to warm the oceans and the atmosphere.
Lots of news outlets reporting this, including Aussie’s ABC: Queensland Resources Council spokesperson talks of “increasingly hysterical environmental activists”.
Xox
And then there is the tag team, Collins and Tolley, abetted by Key, in attacking Metiria, over her clothing. A cat fight . And the next distraction?
Au contraire, Collins and Tolley have been quite clear.
According to them, people who care for the poor should only be allowed to dress in opshop rags. It is hypocrisy to dress according to the code of your colleagues or workplace.
Of course none of these considerations apply to Collins or Tolley. They can wear what they like, as they have never given a rats about anyone but the rich.
Metiria is a Maori woman, who had a child young, so she “fitted” the stereotypical Maori profile.
“Problem” is Metiria has since gained an education – shock, horror – and become an M.P. – too much.
Metiria should have stayed at home, wearing a “grass skirt”, an ill-fitting bra, if one at all, had one child on the hip, and another one suckling, then she would have fitted the National stereotypical profile of how they like to see “poor people”. No, National will howl and protest, and malign anyone who tries to rise above their perceived glass ceiling.
As for being “race haters” – nailed it in one – some things never change – we learnt that in ’81. Tolley, Collins, Findlayson, and even Key are all hangovers from that generation who stood and chanted pro-tour.
Were I Metiria I would wear a tee – shirt with a print of Teina Pora on the front with the following wording, “Justice system is excruciating” and on the back, “Madness at its finest.”
I would also hold up a sign saying “Legal aid required for Privy Council.”
So, based on past years I guess we can all look forward to increasing dairy prices at the supermarket.
Although butter is about the only dairy I consume, I still say $6.50 (+- a bit) is ridiculous for 500g.
Funny thing is I thought the great rule of the market economy was meant to work in the opposite direction. When supply is increasing and production is made more efficient, costs are meant to decrease and customers are supposedly the recipients of the savings through reduced prices so as to have more disposable income to raise their own level of well-being.
That is the entire basis for trickle down right, or am I wrong?
Funny thing is I thought the great rule of the market economy was meant to work in the opposite direction.
I suppose that would apply if demand was static or decreasing but the reason for exports is to increase demand which inevitably results in higher inflation in the local market. No local market can support a growing economy when that growing economy is just doing more of the same thing. We really should have stopped the increase in farming once we were growing enough to feed all the population here and then we’d see the improvements that increased productivity promises.
Then there’s the fact that the supply and demand curve is total bollocks anyway as shown by Steve Keen.
“We really should have stopped the increase in farming once we were growing enough to feed all the population here and then we’d see the improvements that increased productivity promises.”
This must be the most stupid thing said in New Zealand today.
(said earnestly..hand-on-heart..fixed eye-contact with the (incredulous) journos he was trying to push this pile of stinking bullshit to..it was quite the moment..)
..and those journalists..long-trained to swallow/repeat whatever key thrusts at them..were clearly having problems swallowing this whopper..there was all-round journo-gagging..
..questioning..even..(whoar..!..how dare they..!..eh..?..their editors will be pulling them aside for a quick word:..’you know we always swallow..around here’..)
..and having done commentaries on questiontime for some time now..
..i can report that while all these mongrels are flinging crap at each other..the greens sit primly..(prissily even?)..on the sidelines..the most emotion displayed being pursed-lips..
..some would say they are just practising/honing their passive-aggression..and that may be so..
..but as for slinging-muck/personal-attacks on mp’s from other parties..?
..it just doesn’t happen..
..and this fact is why those journos were gagging at the latest thrusts from this member..
..eh..?
(but then again..key could be talking about being subsumed by the death-stare so perfected/mastered by green mp kennedy graham..
..if you were looking to cast a hang-’em-high judge..you couldn’t go past graham..
..(i keep watching..half-pie expected his eyes to start glowing red..eh..?
..it wouldn’t really surprise me if they did…
..but kennedys’ death-stare is the nearest the greens get to ‘fighting dirty’..
..and what this exercise in/attempt at smearing the greens..
..proves to all..
..is that there is nothing key will not lie about..
Hi Lprent. It seems that January was an extremely chatty month on The Standard with some articles running into the hundreds of comments, and it all started from Day One!
Is this standard for The Standard at this time of year?
Is there a sense of collective anticipation fuelling such chat?
Chris Trotter is on to some scarey stuff about the running of Auckland City by an ‘invisible’ group of corporate non Auckalnders….BIG International Business ….a corporate take over of Auckland….the Council and Mayor rendered insignificant ….Trotter acknowledges our very own anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright for alerting him to this shadow organisation
Perhaps It’s time the IRD made subscruptions to these sorts of entities non deductible for tax purposes and shareholders passed resolutions to forbid companies paying for these organisations that reflect the views of the few.
Ironically, the current Mayor of Auckland is giving the Right pretty much everything they want:
Support for the Skycity deal, “development”, the Glen Innes evictions, “keeping rates increases at inflation” (but not protecting/enhancing services), PPP’s ( I dont know how they will work for footpaths), and he is talking about tolling roads, even existing roads, which will hit the army of cleaners in his “home state” that travel into the city to clean up after the office workers each night. He also sat on the fence in the PoA dispute (leaning slightly to the employers), and has threatened to closed down libaries (before making an embarrasing u-turn after the media got hold of the story).
The guy has tacked to the right throughout his Mayoralty, im not too sure what his positions were during his tenure as Manukau Mayor/City Councillor though (anyone care to shed light).
Probably why the right didn’t put up a decent candidate against him last year, supporting some guy from Brooklyn who owned a couple of diners — Brown implemented 90% of their agenda. — probably why the government decided to back the rail loop.
So much for the Democracy of Auckland. No wonder the Right was pissed off that Brown was elected Mayor. Watch the next election for Mayor. Scary stuff.
I am wondering how the market’s ‘invisible hand’ can be said to be functioning as it is believed it does – supply is not ‘magically’ meeting demand at all; empty houses, lack of housing, lots of money for some, not enough for others.
Yet we keep following the misguided belief that our problems will all sort themselves out – simply by people following self interest – without any intervention….
It may be true that our system has been corrupted by a very wealthy and powerful section of people, yet I think that what you say re the ‘market working’ isn’t correct CV the theory was that the markets will sort out supply and demand without any need for rules and regulations (such as tax on imports etc). I have a nasty feeling this is still the accepted view despite it being clearly proven false.
This is an important point because our politicians are still speaking of approaches based on market theory when it is clearly being proven defunct before our very eyes…yet they still keep pursuing it.
…then again- perhaps you were simply being smart.
I agree re our culture & language changing more than we realise.
This is an important point because our politicians are still speaking of approaches based on market theory when it is clearly being proven defunct before our very eyes…yet they still keep pursuing it.
Well, apparently (I think Russell Brown covered it?) one of them is Cam Slater with a duck-caller, but another is Penny Bright with her usual poorly-photoshopped face/rat banners.
And also President Obama is going to pardon low level dope users who have been incarcerated for no good reason. That wouldn’t go down well here because the firm who gets the incarceration contracts would lose business and that is the most important thing for National to pay off its supporters.
Military commanders pledge support to Yanukovych, condemn protesters
Jan. 31, 8:40 p.m. — After two months of unrest, Ukraine’s army got involved in the ongoing political crisis, when the Ministry of Defense unexpectedly issued a Jan. 31 statement, asking President Viktor Yanukovych to “apply measures for stabilizing of situation in the country.”
The commanders called protesters’ occupation of government buildings “inadmissible” and said that “further escalation of confrontation threatens to integrity of the country.”
The decision to send Yanukovych a special letter was made at a general meeting of the ministry’s office the day before and, according to Anatoliy Hrytsenko, an opposition lawmaker and former defense minister, the officers had been pressured to support Yanukovych.
“I know for sure that officers, who were not agreeing to the ‘common approval’ are now being pressured by their commanders and chiefs,” Hrytsenko said on his Facebook page. In its separate statement, the Defense Ministry also denied the reports that army was allegedly involved in assisting the police during the ongoing political crisis. — Oksana Grytsenko
The main reason people gave for not voting in the 2011 General Election was they ‘didn’t get round to it, forgot or were not interested’ to vote. This accounted for 21 percent of the non-voters (and is included in the ‘disengaged’ category). Another 7.1 percent of the non-voters said they did not think their vote would have made a difference. This is a big increase from 3.9 percent in the 2008 election.
Ten percent of non-voters were ‘overseas or away on the election day’. This was the most frequently selected reason in the ‘perceived barriers’ category.
Over 12 percent of non-voters said they did not register for the 2011 election, which equates to just over 2 percent of the total population aged 18 years and over. About 15 percent of non-voters cited ‘other’ reasons for not voting in the 2011 election, including not being eligible because of their visa status, or for religious reasons.
There was a shocking item from joe 90 on OM yesterday (Jokeyhen OM31/1 24 1 1) about some Utah school children seeing their lunch time food thrown out because their parents hadn’t paid their school charges.
I looked up Utah on google to get an idea of what goes on. I wondered if we and Utah had anything in common. Had we been doing our usual trawling of the international policy waters for Ideas to a desert idea island, and met with Utah? For those interested in educational moves, I’ve picked out some links and some interesting quotes
It appears that we may be getting this new Key Education Leadership Policy from Utah.
It seems that education is a Big Business in Utah. The terminology is of big business and a drive for efficiency and successful test passing. It has a feeling of education, as part of the service economy forecast to be the only one we have, being a big player. And children being pawns in this mind-stuffing program that is part of a vicious circle where it will be a relatively meaningless ritual from the past – educating children for whom there are no jobs and limited life opportunities.
Information about the Utah Education Policy Center at the University of Utah. … for the Evaluation of Leadership Preparation and Practice · http://uepc.utah.edu/
Links . Utah Education Network http://www.uen.org/k12educator/uels/
It appears that Utah is raising its interest in digital education: –
A heading stated -Utah surpasses all others in digital education, new study finds | (There was a link but it is not available now say the Salt Lake Tribune with salty tears.)
and
Apr 1, 2013 – Utah ranks No. 1 when it comes to state policies dealing with online education, according to a new national study. (The link for this shows 404 Not Found. How very not transparent, open and available this ‘information’ is!))
Then other interesting policy surrounds ‘Common Core’ – which sounds better than the National Standards we seem to follow. This is from Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/common-core_n_4367550.html
I like the promising sound of the headline.- Common Core State Standards Focus On Critical Thinking Amid Political Debate
AP | By By PHILIP ELLIOTT Posted: 12/01/2013 8:05 am EST | Updated: 01/23/2014 6:58 pm EST Welcome to a classroom using the Common Core State Standards, one of the most politicized and misunderstood changes in education for students and their teachers in kindergarten through high school.
In 45 states and the District of Columbia, Lawson and other teachers are starting to use the standards to guide what skills students learn and when…
At the core of the standards is a reduced emphasis on memorization. Students now have to connect the dots and apply critical thinking. It’s what experts call higher-order thinking. Teachers say it’s preparing students for life after high school.
That has made classrooms much more of a hands-on proposition….
[Children are being pushed ahead faster.] For instance, subtraction is now introduced in kindergarten instead of first grade….
Coinciding with the new standards are new tests for students and evaluations for teachers. The tests, mandated under the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law, help states identify schools that are struggling and provide them extra help.
The teacher evaluations were not originally part of the Common Core. But in exchange for millions of federal dollars to help them avoid layoffs during the worst of the recession, states agreed to greater accountability for students and teachers. Many opted to go with the Common Core and linked students’ progress with teacher performance…..
To hear the standards’ critics — mainly tea party-aligned conservatives, but also some parents and teachers — tell it, there are few things more dangerous happening in the country.
Some interesting stats from Utah’s budget about education. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865591793/Gov-Gary-Herbert-unveils-133-billion-budget.html?pg=1 The governor released the budget at Utah Valley University, highlighting the focus on public and higher education spending, which adds up to more than $3.6 billion.
His budget would provide $64 million to pay for the 10,300 new students expected in the state’s public schools and increase the funding mechanism for schools — the weighted pupil unit — by $61.6 million, or 2.5 percent.
Herbert is also recommending $2 million to improve counseling aimed at lowering the state’s 22 percent high school dropout rate and $7.5 million for early intervention programs, including all-day kindergarten.
The $157 million in new spending going to public education is fair, said Martell Menlove, state superintendent of public instruction.
https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-s-school-turnaround-program-helps-salt-lake-city-schools-make-grade
Since its inception in 2003, the Darden-Curry Partnership has helped to turn around failing schools across 16 states, including Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Its goal is to work as a partner in helping school systems optimize classroom performance.
Positive Turnaround Through Collaboration “In the state of Utah, a number of districts had persistently low-achieving schools,” said Karl Wilson, state director of Title 1 and federal programs at the Utah State Office of Education. “We have seen these schools implement the principles that were developed through PLE, and they have achieved 20, 30 and 40 percent gains in areas such as reading, language arts and mathematics.”
(Explanation about the system) –
“They need to be willing to commit to dramatic growth, to make difficult changes to establish conditions for growth, and be able to demonstrate publicly to their stakeholders that dramatic success and growth are possible,” he said.
The Salt Lake City school system experienced growth in all four initial partnership schools during its first year with the program. Going forward, it must sustain its positive improvements so that all involved – especially students – continue to get high marks.
An ambitious retired education superintendent is among leaders pushing this. “We needed to intervene quickly and do things differently,” she said. “We sought quick wins by becoming data-driven, suspending beliefs and assumptions about children’s learning abilities (what does this mean – will it be positive for the children’s good education?) and regularly assessing the children’s mastery of what was taught.”…
“Now, the group will go after the harder goals,” she said. “They will further establish the ‘Salt Lake Way’ and take changes in the curriculum and the way success is measured into all of the district’s schools.”
(Note expertise, thrusting, demanding, efficiency business approach to education. Teachers will have leaders helping them to get constantly better results. Sounds like an awful, stressful sweat-shop situation to me.)
Ogden School District Puts UVA Training to Work
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Standard Examiner
The sweeping administrative changes Ogden School District made recently were aimed at getting strong leadership into struggling schools, Superintendent Brad Smith says. And the definition of strong leaders? That came largely from the training district officials have received from the University of Virginia School Turnaround program.
(Not teachers, not educational practitioners, but officials who will be virtual enforcers of the policy. This is actually a War for Education type of approach, like the War Against Drugs, and other communist style driven ‘five year’ plans that have been disdained by vocal capitalists. Odd.)
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Speaks to Educators in U.Va. School Turnaround Specialist Program
Darden School of Business
Monday, August 1, 2011
“You are doing some of the toughest, most controversial work in education in this country today, and I thank you for your courage” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the group of principals, state and school district leaders who were gathered for a weeklong event at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/darden-curry-ple/news/home/
(This means that the federal government is glad that it can turn people’s attention to education and improvements of outcomes therein, and therefore people may fail to notice that little positive is happening in the country and that it is actually failing as an entity. It is a patchwork of some successful and civilised states and many others falling into disorder and decadence.)
What a waste of food.
I don’t know whether they had paid their fees but in New Zealand of course we have had cases where the childrens’ lunchs were stolen by the teacher who then ate them herself. At least the food wasn’t discarded. The teacher is still in the profession, apparently.
Thank you.
I was sitting there looking at it and couldn’t see anything that was different.
As the Toyota ad’s went “Bugger”.
Not of course that it is terribly much importance in the scheme of things. It was just one of those weird stories that caught my attention.
The “first” of the principals jockeying for a position in John Key’s/Hekia Parata’s new principal leaders group has emerged. Up at Whangarei Boys High, 30 boys were taken out of class, and made to sit in the assembly hall while staff chased up “outstanding” monies owed.
These monies were for related costs, not course fees, the “education” there is free. So we now see education take a backward step, relegated to that of being subservient to “related fees”. This on the same day “our” first Charter School opened.
Hekia Parata denies any money demanded is part of her responsibility. “My hands are clean.”
It’s a poor area and a nasty thing to do. Of course this head teacher wants to challenge the way boy’s education is provided. looks like humiliating them is on the agenda
This has been going on under the radar for a while now.
Some years ago, a high school principal in Feilding did the same. The schools think that parents can some how shit out money, we are seeing that with the BYOD trend.
Nothing like reading yet another ‘Advertorial’ in the Herald online in the ongoing series giving blind,unbalanced support to the National Party to start the day the right way, hoicking a big one in the direction of Granny Herald and the Jonolist who wrote the rubbish,(Armstrong, who else),
Unbalanced seems to be the province of both the Herald and it’s tired old hack Armstrong as they try and talk up Slippery the Prime Minister and His flag waving as some form of vision for New Zealand,
”The trouble is the rhetoric simply does not wash”, unquote Armstrong, your absolutely right John, the rhetoric does not wash, neither your bullshit unbalanced Jonolism or Slippery the Prime Minister’s stupid empty heads ‘idea’ of changing the flag in the face of Labour’s first big policy announcement of the year,(perhaps in the face of the next major announcement from Labour we can expect from National a promise of a free flag in the letter box if only we vote for them),
”The trouble is YOUR rhetoric simply does not wash” Mr Armstrong when your writing shows more than just unbalanced jonolism, some might add that such is ‘simply’ the product of an unbalanced mind…
The media have been given their marching orders by the corporates.
“Deliver NZ to us.”
Gower, Garner, Armstrong, Hosking, Smith, Williams, Roughan, Murphy and all the others are paid 30 pieces of silver to betray their own country.
Shame.
Yes those evil “corporates”. Or maybe they are simply trying to save a failed business model in a tiny market. The average journalist in NZ is paid a pittance and over worked. So they right crap. That is more likely the explanation for poor journalism than your “corporate” conspiracy.
I don’t think you’re being quite fair to John Armstrong, Bad 12 – his column in today’s Herald (which I’ve only just picked up on) gives Cunliffe quite a few good points for the Best Start policy but does state that the media releases and fact sheets have to include all the facts, not just some of them, and he also is quite clear about Key’s behaviour on this matter :
“As it was, coverage of the baby bonus shifted markedly as Key – like a pig in muck – ruthlessly and sarcastically picked up on and picked over Labour’s …………. ”
I read that as both a warning to Labour to get a bit smarter, and its a very telling comment on how Key behaves.
Can’t agree with you there JK, ‘wing-nuts’ love such language, ruthless and sarcastic are the currency of those who think they are ‘real or hard men’
What i see Armstrong’s latest effort as is the ‘damning of David Cunliffe with faint praise’ approach where the hero in the form of Slippery the Prime Minister uses His sarcasm to ruthlessly expose Cunliffe’s weakness,
Unfortunately the mistake of not having David Parker,(who i assume knew the nuts and bolts of the policy inside out), on hand to give a follow up explanation of those details to the waiting media pack managed to give Slippery an opening which took a little of the gloss off of the initial announcement,
Incidently, i fully agree with the ‘explained’ policy it gives the most to those most in need not necessarily in terms of actual dollars, the increased parental leave component is of a far greater dollar value than the $60 ‘Best Start’, it is the fact that this policy doesn’t differentiate between those who have work and those who havn’t that pleases me…
okay Bad 12 – I’m seeing aspects a bit differently to you, but the essence of Best Start being for all pleases me too. Its a start (albeit smallish) against inequality ….
JK, oh i think that while we have capitalism we will always have inequality, once implemented tho $60 will be a huge boost to those who have kids while on a benefit or who find themselves on a benefit while they have babies, hopefully as finances improve ‘Best Start’ will be offered for these kids as they get older…
I was pondering the news about the Reserve Bank and the interest rate raising etc. What about, while we have our present system, we raise inflation levels to between 2 and 6 per cent. At present a cautious prudent RB aims at 2 per cent as a mid-level between 0 and 5 I think.
But below 2% it means that hardly anything is happening. And this inflation screwdown makes holding the value of savings more important than actual business activity and wage growth, (to keep up with the uncounted part of our economy where inflation is rampant – housing).
The system only partly works as it is, it actually detracts from having a strong thriving economy, and it worries about savings, which are modest and which if there were more would slow the economy down to a crawl or even leave it lying on the floor crying like a baby.)
So 2-6% with midpoint 3-4 say and allowing to 6% for some upsetting, spiking jolts. And include actions that tend to make the exchange rate, trend downwards. The Reserve Bank should have a few methods to do that.
We could stage a few strikes so that everything doesn’t seem so hunky-dory in this country of milk and honey, and hokey pokey ice cream, and gradually the exchange rate would go down. Exports and the economy would move upwards, interest rates could go a little upwards, thus cutting down the swingeing profit on playing with our dollar by those wankers who do that.
Imported goods would become a little dearer, but wage rises on a reasonable but still cautious scale would help that.
And a biggie, our government will encourage enterprise within the Nation. NATIONAL will proudly present itself as having National Interests at heart (as opposed to more money for themselves and some neat perks), and the two parties will fight for the hearts and minds and jobs of NZ.
We will then have energy left to face fully all the other challenges that can’t be properly attended to now because of the foul entropy of our major political parties, from which I hope that Labour is emerging, and we will all sing Jerusalem and then God Defend New Zealand with our hands on our hearts. (Which my grandchild’s child care centre is teaching the 3 year olds. How very yank-like!)
End of diatribe and too bad for any other dia effect you have experienced.
Everyone refuses to pay the extra rises, when the Reserve bank act deals it’s usual destruction.
A comment I made elsewhere.
“Time we stopped the sheer lunacy and destructiveness of gifting banks higher profits, and killing New Zealand’s export industries, small business and householders, with mortgages, in pursuit of the stupid idea that higher interest rates will drop Auckland house prices.
Haven’t you all figured it out yet, higher interest rates attracts even more hot lending money into the NZ housing market”.
kjt
True higher interest rates just increase the difference between the still very low US federal rates whereby someone can probably make a tidy sum just borrowing from them, and lending it out to us at a 5% differential or more just at the touch of a button.
And yet people who need some interest to provide a living capital formed from their savings, can’t survive on the US rates – their savings get eaten up by inflation and bank charges if interest is too low. So they have to raise their rates and we might get an even playing field. Have we actually ever had one since the neo libs glibly went on about it decades ago?
‘Interest rates’ are another Banksters con, consider for a moment where the current 2+% of ‘growth’ is calculated to be coming from within the economy,
(1), Christchurch and it’s rebuild, growth??? only in the system devised by a race of primitive ape like creatures or the world Banking Cartels,(very hard to tell the difference), without having accounted for the actual losses incurred from the series of earthquakes,(multiple billions),it is then stupid to simply add the spending on ‘replacements’ into the growth figures,
(2), House price inflation, the main center of this inflation occurring in Auckland with a lesser amount again the result of the Christchurch rebuild, who actually is suffering this inflation that the reserve Bank is hell bent upon controlling,
i do not live in either Auckland or Christchurch along with some 2.7 million other people so the over-inflation of the Auckland and Christchurch property markets affects me and 2 million seven hundred thousand other people HOW???,
The fact is that it doesn’t, house price over-inflation has pretty much no effect what-so-ever on the rest of the economy, the price of milk doesn’t rise because of house price over-inflation in Auckland and wages for the majority of New Zealand workers will not rise because of it either so including house price inflation, which in all reality financially effects only the buyer of a house, in the way we measure inflation is plainly stupid…
F off Noddy, only you seem to think i am talking in terms of new build housing when it is obvious that i am talking about the over-inflation in the price of existing houses,
Jesus, the economic un-genius speaks, such inflation in materials and services for house building is simply down to you ‘wing-nuts’, if you all were not intent on building monolithic structures instead of normal size housing as compensation for the lack of size in a certain of your appendages their would be no problem either in supply of labour or materials,
Please please economic un-genius give us all the proof of such an assertion…
Higher interest rates have the excellent effect, from Key’s sponsors point of view, of transferring wealth from ordinary working people, most of whom have net debt, to the already rich, and to the financial institutions, whose share of GDP has risen just as workers, and small and medium business owners/contractors, share, has dropped.
The reserve bank act, more than anything else, blatantly highlights the Neo-liberal indifference to the future of New Zealand.
Even a capitalist Government, one with principles, would be concerned that New Zealand businesses are dying, and thousands of jobs going, from the double whammy of higher interest rates than offshore competition, and the exchange rate pushed up by those same interest rates.
I can tell you from first hand experience, what happens when your US competition can get finance at 3%, while it costs you 12% or more. And, that’s if you can get any business finance, at all, beyound your mortgage.
“If you want more people on welfare, vote National”.
There is an interesting commentary over on the Pundit, Ganesh Nana, about why raising interest rates really isn’t necessary.
Imagine it’s being promoted so that all those RWNJ’s can get their money out of the country while the exchange rate is way up – no finer way to indicate that you know Nact will lose the election
Is the Independent really that? When there is a corporate with the equivalent wealth of a nation in its coffers, it can jiggle media to run a piece that attacks a worthwhile non-profit for the first two-thirds of its article, and for balance, an answer on the end of quite a thorough pasting. Greenpeace, however, said that vitamin supplements and the addition of green, leafy vegetables to the diet of vitamin-A deprived children has already shown to work in places such as the Philippines, where vitamin-A deficiency has fallen from 47 per cent to 15 per cent.
“Vitamin-A deficiency is already dropping so rapidly in the Philippines that it may have ceased to be a significant problem before golden rice comes onto the market,” said Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s chief scientist.
This Canadian ecologist just looks like any well-fed fat-necked executive. He was in Greenpeace for a while in 1971. What has he been doing for it since then? Why did he not stay doing good things with it? Has he been following up more interesting and lucrative projects?
Decades ago there was a huge advance in rice growing Yields called the Green Revolution 1968+. The call was that hugely increased rice production could eliminate malnutrition and starvation. What actually happened was the landlords gathered the rice off the rice farmers and made pots of money with sales in foreign countries. Malnutrition and starvation was worse for S E Asian people.
(Funny how in NZ the better we are at producing meat/milk, the more we pay for it.)
When famine is talked about it often is not mentioned that there was a governing power that made it a disaster instead of a cyclical shortage. The Bengali one came to mind.I looked up google.
The first when the British East India Company was powerful. – out of the ordinary, occurred in 1768 and was followed in late 1769 by more severe conditions. By September 1769 there was a severe drought, and alarming reports were coming in of rural distress. These were, however, ignored by company officers.
By early 1770 there was starvation, and by mid-1770 deaths from starvation were occurring on a large scale. Later in 1770 good rainfall resulted in a good harvest and the famine abated. However, other shortfalls occurred in the following years, raising the total death toll.
About ten million people,[6][7] approximately one-third of the population of the affected area, are estimated to have died in the famine.
The second in 1943 – The Bengalis were denied help from their own countrymen, because of competition. The free market prevailed, everybody charged to the max, and there was also protectionism, to look after their own area and prevent civil unrest. There was refusal to act in an honest fashion from neighbouring provinces, with dark words of deliberate hoarding by Bengalis and disbelief in their statements. Transport carrying grain was refused egress, and numbers of barriers put up. Disgraceful stuff.
About 1.5 million people died.
The Government of India Act 1935 had removed most of the Government of India’s authority over the Provinces, so they had to rely on negotiation.
Thus, even when the Government of India decreed that there should be free trade in grain, politicians, civil servants, local government officers and police obstructed the movement of grain to famine areas.[38] In some cases Provinces seized grain in transit from other Provinces to Bengal.[39] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943#Government_inaction
So any statements accusing of bad behaviour or finding reason to throw dirt when there is food production discussions, should be questioned. In this gold rice case, it probably means more of the big companies taking over and forcing the old varieties out so that their grain must be used and paid for instead of seed stocks being kept freely by prudent food producers.
They would be self sufficient and what the companies want is people who turn to them for their essential supplies and they hold their lives and money in the palm of the company’s owners and executives. There is of course that Monsanto scam whereby pollen carries their patented genes to mingle with the old varieties and then by growing their own grain, which has been tainted with Monsanto types, the farmers are breaking intellectual protection laws and illegally using Monsanto patented seed.
Great famine of Ireland. Another genocide perpetrated by the power elite. On white people, no less. If you were a coloured population, what chance would you have.
Red herring. Let’s fix the inequal situation we have where 10% of people have 40% of the wealth, and 50% of the people only have 1% of the wealth, then see if we need shiny science projects to make sure everyone eats.
If everyone isn’t voting for their favourite tv star and voting for Philomena Clunk on Charlie Booker Show then they should be. She is priceless. But then I think a proper value should be set on her in case the tv bosses try to use that line when naming her salary.
Charlie B says that some pub in Brit is offering drinks that will cause drink and drive problems. Charlie says it is the only pub in the land that comes with a police-car chaser.
could the herald be more craven-servants of the govt..?
..here is their online coverage of a damning united nations report on our human rights..
headline:..’NZ has ‘excellent’ human rights record’
(teaser/promo-paragraph..)
“..Justice Minister Judith Collins has welcomed the recommendations in a largely-positive United Nations report on New Zealand’s human rights records..”
just bold/bare-faced fucken lies..every word of it..
It turns out I derived something that is already known as a measure of inequality call the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve. My results were based on individual incomes rather than households but essentially they give the same result.
Have to say successive governments in the last 35 years have not done much to shift it since rogernomics and the 1987 crash which raised it dramatically. The lower this number the greater the equality. Why is OK to have a coefficient of around 33? Surely we’d want to reduce this?
I’d suggest that governments performance in addressing inequality can be measured thus. I’d expect the next government to make a significant shift in this before I believe they are interested in address inequality.
. . . here begineth the inaugural gathering of The Standard’s Chapel of the Printed Poster. It has been proposed that the Big List Of John Key’s Lies make the transition from cyber space into meat world by becoming a printed poster which shall be plastered up across the length and breadth of New Zealand.
At this inaugural meeting I would be grateful for any comments regarding whether or not
– this a good idea
– is it even legal
– who is interested in handling the operations side of this project (NOTE: lprent has agreed to act as Treasurer and, if this gets off the ground, donations can be made into a bank account he will manage, being made direct into said bank. This seems the easiest solution in terms of having someone we can trust run the books, and maintain anonymity in that donations can be made in person at any branch of the bank concerned) At this stage we first need to establish costs including cost of production and distribution. Also, are there any artistic types out there prepared to have a crack at submitting a design for consideration.
– how can we go about “spreading the word” and gathering the funds needed to make it happen.
Brilliant idea.
Perfectly legal – truth is a complete defence against libel.
However Key could bring a bogus suit and use every dirty trick to bankrupt you before it even got to court. However, I’m sure you’d find a lawyer willing to represent you for free. You couldn’t buy that sort of publicity for a legal practice.
Money from me yes. Practical suggestion – if trying to fit something onto a noticeboard, anything bigger than A4 is a nuisance.
It might be treated as a serial – make a joke, a trilogy in four parts – collect all the parts and your prize might be a change of government! lt might be divided into chapters for clarity running numerically and advise that the next chapter will be available next week. It would state on the first – this is the first of three/? chapters. It might make a funny (not suitable for bedtime stories for the young or sensitive.) Has it got a title – Remember the Wit and Widom of Muldoon or Richard Prebble’s I’ve Been Thinking.
It should be printed clearly. Certain colours don’t show up ie yellow. Royal blue is good, colour draws the eye blue/red? Black fine but would need something so the eye didn’t skip over it.
If meant to be on a large board then font would be bigger for that. But popping a number up and having them available at political stalls would surely be all right. It’s information and there would be no logo on it, and anybody could give it out surely. Though many wouldn’t.
Lolz, un-budgeted for political activism is always a hard one, count me in for an initial $100 Blip, if this looks like going ahead and then stumbles for any reason can i suggest that any collected donations go toward the future cost of running the Standard…
Certainly we are discussing this idea openly and that is a good thing, but we must acknowledge certain professional details will have to be kept from the public until any authorisation is given for release of any business or personal identities. I actually see no reason for the general public to know any of the details of those who are being paid for a service and this information is touched on later.
I believe we should have a target of May at the latest, for the beginning of distribution.
If it’s an early election, paste ups can be bigger, if later in the year a more measured approach would be best with funding being the obvious decider.
I believe there will be strong need for a certain amount of cross communication on topics where the public forum is ill suited and some suggestions for how best to mange this would be appreciated.
Perhaps Lprent would allow a specific group of permissions for a locked off ‘Poster Project Page’ (PPP) 😉 where those who eventually deal with the details can do so productively. This is not exclusion it is after the brainstorming, when stuff actually has to happen.
A place where the project can be discussed as per the normal public forum but you know-without the public. I do not even know if this is possible but I envisage a normal chat thread with a ‘PPP’ log-in required which can be distributed via our emails. Obviously this may involve a certain amount of moderation (by request) but let’s be honest here, if we cannot ignore tr–ls who decide it is funny to pop in and stir then why are we even bothering to put any effort in. We are grown ups and if we just work on the project and ignore their gibbering they will get bored and go away.
I also ask that if this idea has the support of The Standard’s operators, then a public post is opened once a week, a post is opened where those involved and those interested can go to to discuss, catch up and generally keep this rolling along for awhile.
At this point I make the following statement.
To my knowledge I am not involved with or associated with anyone in the paste up business in New Zealand. My reference to a certain company in the original proposal, (linked to above) was merely that, a reference to an existing paste up operation and I had no intention of implying any knowledge of this idea by the company referenced. Nor do i have, or am aware of, any association with or knowledge of the company, its staff, and or its interests that has not come from general observation of the businesses during its day to day public activities. (if that need further clarification from a legal point of view please let me know)
A Back to The List.
The legal issues are critical obviously, but as all information is sourced from publicly available resources I would guess we are clear. MMM… guessing, and the law , always a good combo.. So if one of the many lawyers out there could clarify the project’s legal position sooner rather than later, the better chance we have of making it all happen. This is what your contribution to actual activism can be about if you choose it.
B The next hurdle is the paste up.
I propose a letter/email is drafted inviting those in ownership of paste up services to view the list on The Standard, and view the proposal on the table. Then they are able to independanty decide if it is a project they are interested in. As a commercial gig they might not give a damn, but there is the serious issue of its content and its potential affects on their business. A theatre poster that pushes the boundaries of public decency is one thing, a list publicly critical of the PM is quite another.
If we get a green light at that point , it is a negotiation on cost and we will know our primary goal for fundraising.
C Service required.
I propose that the action is a once a fortnight paste up, incorporated into their existing rounds, and possibly with as few as a half dozen posters per round put up at locations of their discretion. These guys know their job and know which locations would suit for impact and duration ( public’s light fingers aside) Obviously there will be some care needed so as not to waste posters on environs not needing that much persuasion in questioning the PM’s integrity.
This does not have to be a blitz campaign. Simplicity is our friend here. As yet we don’t even have an Election date but If done in ten locations* nationwide with ten posters being distributed once a fortnight we could sustain a campaign up into November with a print run of under 2000 posters.
*ten locations is envisaged as being four to five centers with a couple of runs per location.
D Printing
Once progress with a paste up company is determined we can look at confirming printing prices and the associted freight requirements etc.
Whilst thinking about the initial idea of printing at different locations to avoid freight, I realised this is potentially problematic to the printer for obvious commercial reasons. So a more user-friendly printer might be required and we find funds for freighting the posters to the paste up operations. It seems the common sense solution and the original idea was an off the cuff effort. (So is this but at least it has more detail 🙂 )
Is there a willing printer out there?
I will be making some enquiries with various people re printing and advise others to do the same.
Please though, be a bit discreet about it. If they are not someone you trust and know well, I would maybe wait a bit before making enquiries.
What are we looking at for the quotes are a variety of prices and we may as well cover the range so we know our options.
Quote per 1000 in A0, A1, A2 posters in three colours minimum.
That will give us options.
The posters must not be super flashy full colour look I have thirty thousand fonts type deals.
Two maybe three colours, clear text and practical fonts. i repeat : Simplicity is our friend on this.
As far as layout I beleive all submissions should be welcome and I do believe it should be an open discussion re the final design. If someone can pitch some ideas for that process please?
otherwise a simple webpage with designs and vote buttons?
Once we have relevant data of funding targets we will know if we have a practical chance of going forward and the design side can kick in.
but let’s take this one step at a time
To be clear
Simplicity is our friend on this endeavour.
People want this information, they are looking for it everywhere
they just don’t know it yet.
Quote per 1000 in A0, A1, A2 posters in three colours minimum.
Two maybe three colours, clear text and practical fonts.
All submissions welcome but let’s take this one step at a time
That’s it from me, thank you for your time and I hope we can make this happen.
-If I missed anything just say so, please forgive me if I have doubled up a bit on some topics, the brain is a bit frazzled. It has been a couple of months of very long hours in the studio, I have just hung a new show, I am knackered. I go sleep now.
I wish you all well and will catch this page for updates on Monday at the earliest.
I love the idea – a Poster Project Page – and labeling it PPP – shoving it right up John Key & co. With the exception of the few malingers from the right, most here will only be too happy to dig in and reach out to help. It is brilliant. BLiP has done a tremendous job, even the GCSB must be astounded at his knowledge, it probably trumps their capacity !!
Okay!!! I’m getting the vibe this could be a real goer. Please keep the comments rolling in. At this stage I feel suitably enthusiastic to get some data from some bill stickers re costs. Will get started on this first thing Monday – anyone got any contacts or recommendations? I’ll start with this group and see where I get to: http://www.0800phantom.co.nz/
I love the idea of making poster available for sale. Perhaps we could sweeten the deal by including a disc with the art work and page captures of all the links?? Then again, if the idea takes off and we get, say, a few thousand orders, that could prove to be a bit of a pain. Just brainstorming, I know about the KISS Principle.
In order to get the message across, should we stick to just the Top 100 Lies – the poster should, IMHO, have a link and one of those bar-code thingywotsits which send people to a internet site with details of all the lies anyway. Again, lprent has agreed to host that somewhere here.
Blip
You are firing. I was wondering about Facebook, if some could be released there. From time to time to keep up the profile and interest. I’m not a great facebook user, but others can handle it no trouble. And of course we need to be prepared for some nasty comments, on Facebook. It could give handy publicity.
I think a top fifty lies would be a practical and effective visual. perhaps there is a way to group it as a top ten over five categories. That would be a strong ‘on the street’ image of five paragraph blocks. Catches the eye of a passer by and immediately says ‘there is more to read here than the headline’ without being a tsunami of words. I am sure others will have ideas on what the categories should be, but ‘Lies in the House’ surely has to be one of them.
The full list will still be available on-line of course, and depending on final funding we may be able to swing different versions as the year progresses.
I will contact a few printers this week for some quotes, ( without sharing any real details about the content) just letting them know it is a text based three colour run. I will include A3 but for street pasting we should be in the A2 and above scale as outlined above.
There is obvious support for smaller posters for people to distribute amongst their own networks and again a top fifty list would fit most A3 and even A4 ‘office runs’
Please, can someone clarify our legal position on this project really soon?
If people are thinking of printing and distributing materials at or from their places of employment make sure you have checked any contractual obligations you may have signed. JK might not care about you keeping your job, but I and many others do.
NOTE: It would be good if people read both chains of comments that have been posted before adding new ideas. A PPP can work if we keep it simple and define its objectives as soon as we can. The last thing we want to see is two months of ‘what about ….???’ and no action. Those who have been involved in actual organization of activism before know that the one item no-one here needs to see is the ego. This project is about Blip’s List.
note: this last link was included for easy reference to the proposal, not because it is my idea. Ideas need discussion. It is merely a proposal containing practical workable ideas and relevant crucial questions.
Take a look at Karol’s post yesterday about the “How are you doing?” poster in South Korea. The poster maker make the point that posting online doesn’t have the same impact, it just disappears in 24 hours unless it happen to go viral, even then the impact is limited. But physical posters out there on the street cut through.
My thoughts:
– choose the ‘lies’ carefully, pick ones that have clear evidence to back up his bull. I.e. not ones where him stretching the truth could be a matter of opinion.
– talk to someone who knows what they are talking about re any possible legal issues. You might have to be careful about your ‘liar’ wording, I don’t know.
– talk to someone who knows design and/or marketing to make sure you maximize impact and message.
– there are plenty of knowledgable people here on this sight who would be very happy to steer you in the right direction on these points I’m sure.
This is such a brilliant idea. A few thoughts (haven’t read all the comments above yet, so sorry if am repeating something).
Get legal advice on content. Pretty sure you will be able to get this for free.
Make the posters available online for people to print out and put up where the live/work. A3, A4 and A5 minis. Not sure what format/size you are going for, so perhaps this could be an edited version?
I still reckon give the list its own wordpress site and get it linked to from all over the blogosphere/twitter/FB etc. That is alot more work of course, and I like the hardcopy poster as a priority.
Maybe some crowdsourced funding to make a paid position? There is real potential to use the left-wing social media network here.
What will the content of the poster be like eg how to transition from a list full of internet links to something that isn’t clickable?
You have done such a fantastic job BLiP that this poster idea should go ahead. It would be such an awful waste of your many hours of work if it isn’t advertised as widely as possible. I will certainly do my bit to spread the posters around my tiny corner of society.
If this project is handled well I am sure it will receive media attention although I suggest a certain political reporter from TV3 is left out of the loop for the time being.
My suggestion: there be bill boards erected in every town and city in the country by July of this year.
The SCotPP is NOT a registered political party so therefore does NOT come under the Electoral Finance Act. It is NOT an attempt to gather votes for a particular political party but rather an attempt to provide information to the public at large.
I’m willing to do my bit towards bringing this plan to fruition. 🙂
Great Radio doco celebrating Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday on RNZ (broadcast last night). Would have preferred a 2-hour tribute though. 1 hour a little too short.
Can whoever is moderating every day do us a favour and carry any comment about posters over to a thread that starts with the word Poster. I thought that Open Mike doesn’t get archived for long and anyway it is so diverse. We need to have permanent places for ideas so they don’t fall like autumn leaves and get covered with others and then trodden on. Reading others ideas can be a starter for more to pop up, or amendments to improve one, or allow for unforeseen problems.
So how about it? Yu fullas know how to do it. Good on you. I hope you see the advantage of what I am suggesting.
Apart from that, I don’t know what lprent thinks but Trademe on their community board have a sticky thread that never goes away and ideas just build up ion it and for useful information it is valuable to have one that appears every day. So that’s another idea. But still it would be useful to have ideas relating to one project on one thread rather than just jammed into a sticky thread in a mixed pile.
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Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
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Is the BandStand Gathering (/Many Voices/ No Megaphones) on for today at 1pm?
I’ve speculatively lined up a guest speaker from Oil Free Otago. They are scheduled to talk at 2pm though I don’t know who yet (will have more info later in morn). It would be good if someone (CV?) had an alternative guest speaker, or even prepared a speech themself – to provide a range of viewpoints even if not on the same topic.
Of course.
“It would be good if someone (CV?) had an alternative guest speaker, or even prepared a speech themself – to provide a range of viewpoints even if not on the same topic.”
How about an Open Mike?
Weka
More of an Open Floor than an Open Mike.
I personally like the idea of a promenade where different speakers give their talks at the same time on the large grass area in front of the BandStand; so that an audience can walk between them and choose that which most interests them. Not sure if we’ll have the logistics of that sorted out for this time though – even if anyone else does think it’s a good idea.
And; No Megaphones, goes for microphones too.
Crikey, are there that many people going?
Open Bandstand?
Weka
There were less than the; “Fewer than several dozen”, that CV reported for last week, but it was a bit of a grey day verging on drizzle. My speculative speaker was a no-show too this week, but we did hash out a provisional tikanga for such guest speakers in the future. I’d meant to convince someone to come along when I went along to welcome the SV Tiama into harbour, but misread 7:30am for 7:30pm (doh!). Trying to arrange someone to come talk with a group where I couldn’t give numbers or (then) even location with any certainty via email at a day’s notice wasn’t the most effective.
Anyway, the week after next (I’ll be out of town on Waitangi weekend) at 2pm on the lawn in front of the bandstand (or the duckpond pagoda if raining), there will be someone from OFO giving a brief talk about our activities; followed by a probably much longer q&a/ discussion. This will not be part of the; “Many Voices”, group proper, but as we will be meeting from 1pm onwards at the bandstand I imagine that many of us will head over to check that out.
Though with the Many Voices theme, I still like the idea of different speakers on the lawn at the same time. But that’s for others to arrange, I’m going to have full enough hands this next fortnight as it is.
Cool, thanks for the update 🙂
Weka
More of an Open Floor than an Open Mike.
I personally like the idea of a promenade where different speakers give their talks at the same time on the large grass area in front of the BandStand; so that audience can walk between them and choose that which most interests them. Not sure if we’ll have the logistics of that sorted out for this time though – even if anyone else does think it’s a good idea.
And; No Megaphones, goes for microphones too.
[Post moderator: I’m getting glitches trying to submit this comment – please delete any repetitions]
get a taste of just how good little richard was…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxNSvFMkag
(the clip is from an early rock-flick called ‘don’t knock the rock’..you will also see bill haley..
..in the audience..watching richard..)
phillip ure..
Here’s a question:
With the gazzillion bandwidths that the Government has been auctioning off in recent years, and the ample availabilty of transmission towers across the land, why does Radio New Zealand still have one of the smallest most pathetic broadcast strengths on the spectrum?
Run through the stations and you are carpet-bombed with strong clear commercial product and then, if you are very careful and able to fine tune with the delicate touch of a blind safecracker, you catch a murmur of our public broadcaster.
note: The fact it is available on-line is irrelevant to the question. If the web is broken, or you can no longer afford it, the radio is still required.
I agree I have terrible reception in the East Coast Bays for National Programme.
It used to be that the National Radio transmissions could be heard throughout New Zealand but now both AM & FM are hard to receive.
I have a memory that we had to reduce power of transmissions because it interfered with Australian stations but have no way of confirming if that is correct. Should we all be complaining to RNZ?
My answer is because National have frozen RNZ’s budget for several years now. They have to do “more with less”.
freedom
I have wondered this about RadioNZ bandwidth. It can be so hard to get full strength, a fraction of a millimetre, and the voice of a pop star or brain-dead announcer or advert floods your ears.
Also I feel that their equipment and budget is possibly a little low. Lately they get very poor connections with phone interviews, they can’t get the audio clips lined up in the right place, and the announcer is embarrassed by a hole where the announced audio doesn’t come, and there are breaks in transmission for some reason which they apologise for. I don’t mind fire drill where some wit has prerecorded items, like the song, Baby come back or some other appropriate waiting song.
Radionz and all that sail in it are precious, and I don’t want any harm to come to it, the buildings, or the people. So I am content for them to have fire drill.
I’ll not forgive the NACTs for denying them their purpose-built building so they could make some grossly inferior use of the space. Why I can’t remember. I think it was at the time that the NACTS had found the dosh to put the Olde Legislative building on rails and shift it sideways, so they could knock down the Beehive, or add to it so that they would have an edifice suitable for the glory of their golden eminences. I don’t know if they were thinking of something like the Guggenheimer gallery in Bilbao in Spain but I wouldn’t be surprised.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/81822284
I think it was a part of Nationals long term plans to remove public broadcasting. In Auckland they forced RNZ to sell the Durham Street Broadcasting House and RNZ was then dumped into rented premises in Cook Street. Incidentally the money from the sales did not go to RNZ but back to government.
Same thing happened in Wellington as mentioned above when it was decided to demolish Broadcasting House and RNZ was forced into rented premises. From memory Richard Prebble was involved in that fiasco. Of course once they got RNZ out of their own building and the building demolished it was decided the space was not needed. OF course the object was to harass RNZ and put them at the mercy of private landlords. Anything to weaken public broadcasting and remove an independent news media voice.
Labour needs to address this problem by strengthening public radio and giving it sufficient funding to carry out its functions. I would love to see it gain some form of charter to make it hard if not impossible for future governments to wreck public broadcasting without the people having a say.
RNZ should be directed to implement digital broadcasting and if it would help funding give them licences for a commercial network. After all they had one until National sold it off to its mates.
With the current mess that television is in I would not care if TVNZ was abolished and its licences transfered to a public body. I do not think it is possible for TVNZ ever to regain the ability to produce public service television.
Ron
I echo that bit about strengthening RadioNZ. make it hard if not impossible for future governments to wreck public broadcasting without the people having a say.
RNZ should be directed to implement digital broadcasting and if it would help funding give them licences for a commercial network.
Don’t know about commercial radio adjunct with public. There is such a gulf between the ‘thinking’ that goes on the commercial and public, I wouldn’t want to taint public radio.
I didn’t realise that about RNZ in Auckland. My family once had a house in Cook Street and I went hunting it a while back and saw the Radionz site at the top but unfortunately my family’s house had gone. There were soviet-style apartments in its place. So Richard Prebble was in the deal. The radio, the rail, the rahrah of rolling government and the unions. What a heady mix of maliciousness.
(Incidentally is Dr Mark Prebble his relative? I was looking at a 2005 nz Listener and it noted he was State Services Commissioner and had announced average 14% pay rises for state CEOs, with his own salary rising to nearly $400,000.)
And I agree that TVNZ is far away from having anything but the quick quid in its sights. Government of course, demanding its quid has ensured that. Timorous Labour last time could not bring itself to have a quality public service, and drove Ian Fraser mad with the charter constraints plus having their hand out.
I don’t know that we couldn’t have a channel for public and get someone in from even perhaps the USA where they might have quite a good service, behind the florid bushes of commercial and political patronage. You never know, USA is surprising sometimes. Australia is a bit close, I would like something fresh and untainted by our politicians on either side of the ditch.
And one more thing that I forgot. Radio NZ should be required to bring back a weekly intelligent journal. Now that The Listener has been sold off to German interests we need a good weekly that can investigate radio programmes, provide a platform for good literature and the arts as well as other articles of interest to the public. The Listener has long ceased to be anything more than a soap digest competing in the women’s magazine market.
Incidentally if my memory serves me correct when I used to work for Broadcasting when the Listener magazine was sold the Corporation retained the rights to The Listener masthead. It used to show in the balance sheet.
Don’t know if it still is owned by the people or was eventually sold off. Would be interesting if it was still publicly owned, maybe we could take it back. If not then we could call new magazine Radio Times maybe
Im guessing those in charge of cost cutting told them that voice uses less bandwidth and management adjusted appropriately.
It doesnt help that the quality of radio recivers that are sold has dropped, and that the deregulated environment has overcrowded the spectrum — I am no expert but I belive there are issues there.
Agree that demolishing Broadcasting House was a mistake. When built, was well ahead of its time (rather like a lot of things in this country — we seemed to lead the world in everything, right up until the 80’s), I belive even Richard Prebble (who imposed the current broadcasting model on us) opposed this.
What pray tell makes ACT’s Jamie Whyte a “philosopher” ?
“The 48-year-old philosopher, author and columnist returned from Britain last year to settle in Auckland with his wife and two daughters, aged 10 and 6.”
As distinct say from an electoral fraudster (alleged), a botoxer, a love perker, a perkbuster, a hollow man, a grave robber, an ex-Labour scab.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11195091
Ummm…. Jamie Whyte was a lecturer in philosophy.
K
He’s still more of a Sophist than a Philosopher though, whatever his job description. Using the platonic distinction between; those who take money to disperse the conventional wisdom, versus; those who seek wisdom for its own sake.
Surely you wouldn’t claim that every PhD is a philosopher?
Whyte? a JAPE–Just Another Privileged Egotist.
Surely you wouldn’t claim that every PhD is a philosopher?
Of course not. But someone who has been employed as a “philosopher” can be called one.
However, beyond academia, there are many other ways to earn the label ‘philosopher”.
But does he have an “s” in his name?
An affectation no less blindly conceited than that of David Round one time perhaps still of Canterbury University.
Er, waiter? This conversation’s not very good.
King Coal – all for profit and energy and trashing the environment. The Guardian:‘Death by sludge, coal and climate change for Great Barrier Reef?’
Lots of news outlets reporting this, including Aussie’s ABC: Queensland Resources Council spokesperson talks of “increasingly hysterical environmental activists”.
It boggles the mind how low some of these people are – they just don’t care, they will sacrifice the reef for coal, for money, for nothing.
I fully feel grief for the reef.
Remember – corporate systems are systems of life destruction. Such systems have only one philosophy: MORE.
+1
Xox
And then there is the tag team, Collins and Tolley, abetted by Key, in attacking Metiria, over her clothing. A cat fight . And the next distraction?
Au contraire, Collins and Tolley have been quite clear.
According to them, people who care for the poor should only be allowed to dress in opshop rags. It is hypocrisy to dress according to the code of your colleagues or workplace.
Of course none of these considerations apply to Collins or Tolley. They can wear what they like, as they have never given a rats about anyone but the rich.
Metiria is a Maori woman, who had a child young, so she “fitted” the stereotypical Maori profile.
“Problem” is Metiria has since gained an education – shock, horror – and become an M.P. – too much.
Metiria should have stayed at home, wearing a “grass skirt”, an ill-fitting bra, if one at all, had one child on the hip, and another one suckling, then she would have fitted the National stereotypical profile of how they like to see “poor people”. No, National will howl and protest, and malign anyone who tries to rise above their perceived glass ceiling.
As for being “race haters” – nailed it in one – some things never change – we learnt that in ’81. Tolley, Collins, Findlayson, and even Key are all hangovers from that generation who stood and chanted pro-tour.
The new right wing rule.
“Speaking up for the disadvantaged, if you are not one of them, is hypocritical”.
Convenient.
Ha! But is it a new rule?
Were I Metiria I would wear a tee – shirt with a print of Teina Pora on the front with the following wording, “Justice system is excruciating” and on the back, “Madness at its finest.”
I would also hold up a sign saying “Legal aid required for Privy Council.”
+10000 collins and tolley just ugly envious bullies
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11195104
So, based on past years I guess we can all look forward to increasing dairy prices at the supermarket.
Although butter is about the only dairy I consume, I still say $6.50 (+- a bit) is ridiculous for 500g.
Funny thing is I thought the great rule of the market economy was meant to work in the opposite direction. When supply is increasing and production is made more efficient, costs are meant to decrease and customers are supposedly the recipients of the savings through reduced prices so as to have more disposable income to raise their own level of well-being.
That is the entire basis for trickle down right, or am I wrong?
I suppose that would apply if demand was static or decreasing but the reason for exports is to increase demand which inevitably results in higher inflation in the local market. No local market can support a growing economy when that growing economy is just doing more of the same thing. We really should have stopped the increase in farming once we were growing enough to feed all the population here and then we’d see the improvements that increased productivity promises.
Then there’s the fact that the supply and demand curve is total bollocks anyway as shown by Steve Keen.
“We really should have stopped the increase in farming once we were growing enough to feed all the population here and then we’d see the improvements that increased productivity promises.”
This must be the most stupid thing said in New Zealand today.
It’s actually an extremely wise comment.
Anyways, what the fuck do you give a damn about NZ, you overseas foreigner?
awww, but sspylands wrote much of the policy that got us where we are today – broke, fucked infrastructure and the turds have risen to the top.
Like kids laughing while they smash shop windows
Like most people who think they understand economics you have NFI WTF higher productivity is for.
Higher productivity is so that a society can do other things, not more of the same. This then allows them to seek knowledge and innovation.
Today’s economics narrows the focus down solely to profit making society and the individuals that live within it less than what they could be.
my laugh-out-loud political-moment of the weak..
..was keys’ claims the greens ‘fight dirty’…
(said earnestly..hand-on-heart..fixed eye-contact with the (incredulous) journos he was trying to push this pile of stinking bullshit to..it was quite the moment..)
..and those journalists..long-trained to swallow/repeat whatever key thrusts at them..were clearly having problems swallowing this whopper..there was all-round journo-gagging..
..questioning..even..(whoar..!..how dare they..!..eh..?..their editors will be pulling them aside for a quick word:..’you know we always swallow..around here’..)
..and having done commentaries on questiontime for some time now..
..i can report that while all these mongrels are flinging crap at each other..the greens sit primly..(prissily even?)..on the sidelines..the most emotion displayed being pursed-lips..
..some would say they are just practising/honing their passive-aggression..and that may be so..
..but as for slinging-muck/personal-attacks on mp’s from other parties..?
..it just doesn’t happen..
..and this fact is why those journos were gagging at the latest thrusts from this member..
..eh..?
(but then again..key could be talking about being subsumed by the death-stare so perfected/mastered by green mp kennedy graham..
..if you were looking to cast a hang-’em-high judge..you couldn’t go past graham..
..(i keep watching..half-pie expected his eyes to start glowing red..eh..?
..it wouldn’t really surprise me if they did…
..but kennedys’ death-stare is the nearest the greens get to ‘fighting dirty’..
..and what this exercise in/attempt at smearing the greens..
..proves to all..
..is that there is nothing key will not lie about..
..q.e.d..)
..phillip ure
NOTHING !! ………..never has been …………never will be………….the consummate liar…….
stephen colbert..on pot..
v. funny..
http://www.alternet.org/puff-puff-pass-touchdown
phillip ure..
Hi Lprent. It seems that January was an extremely chatty month on The Standard with some articles running into the hundreds of comments, and it all started from Day One!
Is this standard for The Standard at this time of year?
Is there a sense of collective anticipation fuelling such chat?
I will have a look at the stats. It was pretty chatty last year as well. But I think the comments were well up.
Hmmm……….
Chris Trotter is on to some scarey stuff about the running of Auckland City by an ‘invisible’ group of corporate non Auckalnders….BIG International Business ….a corporate take over of Auckland….the Council and Mayor rendered insignificant ….Trotter acknowledges our very own anti-corruption campaigner Penny Bright for alerting him to this shadow organisation
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/01/31/falls-the-shadow-everything-you-didnt-know-about-the-committee-for-auckland/
where is Auckland for New Zealanders?
Chris Trotters article on the Daily blog deserves to be a guest post here
….and it deserves to be made a big election issue by the Labour Party and other Left politicians….Take BACK AUCKLAND FOR AUCKLAND and NEW ZEALANDERS
Perhaps It’s time the IRD made subscruptions to these sorts of entities non deductible for tax purposes and shareholders passed resolutions to forbid companies paying for these organisations that reflect the views of the few.
Ironically, the current Mayor of Auckland is giving the Right pretty much everything they want:
Support for the Skycity deal, “development”, the Glen Innes evictions, “keeping rates increases at inflation” (but not protecting/enhancing services), PPP’s ( I dont know how they will work for footpaths), and he is talking about tolling roads, even existing roads, which will hit the army of cleaners in his “home state” that travel into the city to clean up after the office workers each night. He also sat on the fence in the PoA dispute (leaning slightly to the employers), and has threatened to closed down libaries (before making an embarrasing u-turn after the media got hold of the story).
The guy has tacked to the right throughout his Mayoralty, im not too sure what his positions were during his tenure as Manukau Mayor/City Councillor though (anyone care to shed light).
Probably why the right didn’t put up a decent candidate against him last year, supporting some guy from Brooklyn who owned a couple of diners — Brown implemented 90% of their agenda. — probably why the government decided to back the rail loop.
Reduced to being a puppet.
So much for the Democracy of Auckland. No wonder the Right was pissed off that Brown was elected Mayor. Watch the next election for Mayor. Scary stuff.
This has been something that Penny Bright has been complaining about. So Trotter really must have picked it up from her.
More opposition to the TPP.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-swenson/tpp-job-creation-corporate-power-grab_b_4684746.html
Hundreds of millions worth of rotting, abandoned mansions in London
Saudis and other foreigners have more money and assets than they know what to do with.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/31/inside-london-billionaires-row-derelict-mansions-hampstead
Vampire squids always succeed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/infographics/2013-12-20/blackstones-big-bet-on-rental-homes.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-20/wall-street-unlocks-profits-from-distress-with-rental-revolution.html
Interesting article, CV
I am wondering how the market’s ‘invisible hand’ can be said to be functioning as it is believed it does – supply is not ‘magically’ meeting demand at all; empty houses, lack of housing, lots of money for some, not enough for others.
Yet we keep following the misguided belief that our problems will all sort themselves out – simply by people following self interest – without any intervention….
Remember that markets do indeed work – but only on behalf of the wealthy.
Neoliberalism has redefined both our culture and even our entire language in ways that ordinary people do not understand.
It may be true that our system has been corrupted by a very wealthy and powerful section of people, yet I think that what you say re the ‘market working’ isn’t correct CV the theory was that the markets will sort out supply and demand without any need for rules and regulations (such as tax on imports etc). I have a nasty feeling this is still the accepted view despite it being clearly proven false.
This is an important point because our politicians are still speaking of approaches based on market theory when it is clearly being proven defunct before our very eyes…yet they still keep pursuing it.
…then again- perhaps you were simply being smart.
I agree re our culture & language changing more than we realise.
QFT
I see in the morning paper that morons are following LB around and disrupting his meetings. I wonder who is paying them?
Well, apparently (I think Russell Brown covered it?) one of them is Cam Slater with a duck-caller, but another is Penny Bright with her usual poorly-photoshopped face/rat banners.
And also President Obama is going to pardon low level dope users who have been incarcerated for no good reason. That wouldn’t go down well here because the firm who gets the incarceration contracts would lose business and that is the most important thing for National to pay off its supporters.
@ hook..
..and here..the useless bastards who rule over us have signed a deal with this american private prison company..
..guaranteeing to provide them with enough prisoners to fill their cells..
..and that if the state does not deliver this quota of prisoners every year..
..the taxpayers of nz have to pay financial penalties to the prison company..
..y’know..!..vegans get accused of economic-treason..for opposing how the country exploits animals for money..
..but..without even going into how ‘treasonous’ it is to fuck the country/waterways in search of their white-gold.. and black gold..
..this gaggle of rightwing/rand-ite detritus .. are the real economic-traitors..
..phillip ure.
Looks like a bloody end is looming.
Military commanders pledge support to Yanukovych, condemn protesters
Jan. 31, 8:40 p.m. — After two months of unrest, Ukraine’s army got involved in the ongoing political crisis, when the Ministry of Defense unexpectedly issued a Jan. 31 statement, asking President Viktor Yanukovych to “apply measures for stabilizing of situation in the country.”
The commanders called protesters’ occupation of government buildings “inadmissible” and said that “further escalation of confrontation threatens to integrity of the country.”
The decision to send Yanukovych a special letter was made at a general meeting of the ministry’s office the day before and, according to Anatoliy Hrytsenko, an opposition lawmaker and former defense minister, the officers had been pressured to support Yanukovych.
“I know for sure that officers, who were not agreeing to the ‘common approval’ are now being pressured by their commanders and chiefs,” Hrytsenko said on his Facebook page. In its separate statement, the Defense Ministry also denied the reports that army was allegedly involved in assisting the police during the ongoing political crisis. — Oksana Grytsenko
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/euromaidan-rallies-in-ukraine-jan-28-live-updates-335735.html
Reposting from yesterday, hat tip fender –
Full report and graphics here –
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/Well-being/civic-human-rights/non-voters-2008-2011-gen-elections.aspx
There was a shocking item from joe 90 on OM yesterday (Jokeyhen OM31/1 24 1 1) about some Utah school children seeing their lunch time food thrown out because their parents hadn’t paid their school charges.
I looked up Utah on google to get an idea of what goes on. I wondered if we and Utah had anything in common. Had we been doing our usual trawling of the international policy waters for Ideas to a desert idea island, and met with Utah? For those interested in educational moves, I’ve picked out some links and some interesting quotes
It appears that we may be getting this new Key Education Leadership Policy from Utah.
It seems that education is a Big Business in Utah. The terminology is of big business and a drive for efficiency and successful test passing. It has a feeling of education, as part of the service economy forecast to be the only one we have, being a big player. And children being pawns in this mind-stuffing program that is part of a vicious circle where it will be a relatively meaningless ritual from the past – educating children for whom there are no jobs and limited life opportunities.
Information about the Utah Education Policy Center at the University of Utah. … for the Evaluation of Leadership Preparation and Practice ·
http://uepc.utah.edu/
Links . Utah Education Network
http://www.uen.org/k12educator/uels/
It appears that Utah is raising its interest in digital education: –
A heading stated -Utah surpasses all others in digital education, new study finds | (There was a link but it is not available now say the Salt Lake Tribune with salty tears.)
and
Apr 1, 2013 – Utah ranks No. 1 when it comes to state policies dealing with online education, according to a new national study. (The link for this shows 404 Not Found. How very not transparent, open and available this ‘information’ is!))
Then other interesting policy surrounds ‘Common Core’ – which sounds better than the National Standards we seem to follow. This is from Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/common-core_n_4367550.html
I like the promising sound of the headline.- Common Core State Standards Focus On Critical Thinking Amid Political Debate
AP | By By PHILIP ELLIOTT Posted: 12/01/2013 8:05 am EST | Updated: 01/23/2014 6:58 pm EST
Welcome to a classroom using the Common Core State Standards, one of the most politicized and misunderstood changes in education for students and their teachers in kindergarten through high school.
In 45 states and the District of Columbia, Lawson and other teachers are starting to use the standards to guide what skills students learn and when…
At the core of the standards is a reduced emphasis on memorization. Students now have to connect the dots and apply critical thinking. It’s what experts call higher-order thinking. Teachers say it’s preparing students for life after high school.
That has made classrooms much more of a hands-on proposition….
[Children are being pushed ahead faster.] For instance, subtraction is now introduced in kindergarten instead of first grade….
Coinciding with the new standards are new tests for students and evaluations for teachers. The tests, mandated under the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind education law, help states identify schools that are struggling and provide them extra help.
The teacher evaluations were not originally part of the Common Core. But in exchange for millions of federal dollars to help them avoid layoffs during the worst of the recession, states agreed to greater accountability for students and teachers. Many opted to go with the Common Core and linked students’ progress with teacher performance…..
To hear the standards’ critics — mainly tea party-aligned conservatives, but also some parents and teachers — tell it, there are few things more dangerous happening in the country.
http://neatoday.org/2013/05/10/six-ways-the-common-core-is-good-for-students/?utm_source=nea_today_express&utm_medium=email&utm_content=core&utm_campaign=130515neatodayexpress
Some interesting stats from Utah’s budget about education.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865591793/Gov-Gary-Herbert-unveils-133-billion-budget.html?pg=1
The governor released the budget at Utah Valley University, highlighting the focus on public and higher education spending, which adds up to more than $3.6 billion.
His budget would provide $64 million to pay for the 10,300 new students expected in the state’s public schools and increase the funding mechanism for schools — the weighted pupil unit — by $61.6 million, or 2.5 percent.
Herbert is also recommending $2 million to improve counseling aimed at lowering the state’s 22 percent high school dropout rate and $7.5 million for early intervention programs, including all-day kindergarten.
The $157 million in new spending going to public education is fair, said Martell Menlove, state superintendent of public instruction.
https://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-s-school-turnaround-program-helps-salt-lake-city-schools-make-grade
Since its inception in 2003, the Darden-Curry Partnership has helped to turn around failing schools across 16 states, including Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Its goal is to work as a partner in helping school systems optimize classroom performance.
Positive Turnaround Through Collaboration
“In the state of Utah, a number of districts had persistently low-achieving schools,” said Karl Wilson, state director of Title 1 and federal programs at the Utah State Office of Education. “We have seen these schools implement the principles that were developed through PLE, and they have achieved 20, 30 and 40 percent gains in areas such as reading, language arts and mathematics.”
(Explanation about the system) –
“They need to be willing to commit to dramatic growth, to make difficult changes to establish conditions for growth, and be able to demonstrate publicly to their stakeholders that dramatic success and growth are possible,” he said.
The Salt Lake City school system experienced growth in all four initial partnership schools during its first year with the program. Going forward, it must sustain its positive improvements so that all involved – especially students – continue to get high marks.
An ambitious retired education superintendent is among leaders pushing this.
“We needed to intervene quickly and do things differently,” she said. “We sought quick wins by becoming data-driven, suspending beliefs and assumptions about children’s learning abilities (what does this mean – will it be positive for the children’s good education?) and regularly assessing the children’s mastery of what was taught.”…
“Now, the group will go after the harder goals,” she said. “They will further establish the ‘Salt Lake Way’ and take changes in the curriculum and the way success is measured into all of the district’s schools.”
(Note expertise, thrusting, demanding, efficiency business approach to education. Teachers will have leaders helping them to get constantly better results. Sounds like an awful, stressful sweat-shop situation to me.)
Ogden School District Puts UVA Training to Work
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Standard Examiner
The sweeping administrative changes Ogden School District made recently were aimed at getting strong leadership into struggling schools, Superintendent Brad Smith says. And the definition of strong leaders? That came largely from the training district officials have received from the University of Virginia School Turnaround program.
(Not teachers, not educational practitioners, but officials who will be virtual enforcers of the policy. This is actually a War for Education type of approach, like the War Against Drugs, and other communist style driven ‘five year’ plans that have been disdained by vocal capitalists. Odd.)
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Speaks to Educators in U.Va. School Turnaround Specialist Program
Darden School of Business
Monday, August 1, 2011
“You are doing some of the toughest, most controversial work in education in this country today, and I thank you for your courage” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to the group of principals, state and school district leaders who were gathered for a weeklong event at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.
http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/darden-curry-ple/news/home/
(This means that the federal government is glad that it can turn people’s attention to education and improvements of outcomes therein, and therefore people may fail to notice that little positive is happening in the country and that it is actually failing as an entity. It is a patchwork of some successful and civilised states and many others falling into disorder and decadence.)
What a waste of food.
I don’t know whether they had paid their fees but in New Zealand of course we have had cases where the childrens’ lunchs were stolen by the teacher who then ate them herself. At least the food wasn’t discarded. The teacher is still in the profession, apparently.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=108948774
If you’re going to provide a link to backup your allegation at least make sure it works.
I don’t see why it didn’t work. I’ve tried again. It looks identical
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10894874
It seems to work this time. Can anyone see any difference?
Yes, the first link has two 7s in it, the second only one.
Thank you.
I was sitting there looking at it and couldn’t see anything that was different.
As the Toyota ad’s went “Bugger”.
Not of course that it is terribly much importance in the scheme of things. It was just one of those weird stories that caught my attention.
The “first” of the principals jockeying for a position in John Key’s/Hekia Parata’s new principal leaders group has emerged. Up at Whangarei Boys High, 30 boys were taken out of class, and made to sit in the assembly hall while staff chased up “outstanding” monies owed.
These monies were for related costs, not course fees, the “education” there is free. So we now see education take a backward step, relegated to that of being subservient to “related fees”. This on the same day “our” first Charter School opened.
Hekia Parata denies any money demanded is part of her responsibility. “My hands are clean.”
It’s a poor area and a nasty thing to do. Of course this head teacher wants to challenge the way boy’s education is provided. looks like humiliating them is on the agenda
This has been going on under the radar for a while now.
Some years ago, a high school principal in Feilding did the same. The schools think that parents can some how shit out money, we are seeing that with the BYOD trend.
Nothing like reading yet another ‘Advertorial’ in the Herald online in the ongoing series giving blind,unbalanced support to the National Party to start the day the right way, hoicking a big one in the direction of Granny Herald and the Jonolist who wrote the rubbish,(Armstrong, who else),
Unbalanced seems to be the province of both the Herald and it’s tired old hack Armstrong as they try and talk up Slippery the Prime Minister and His flag waving as some form of vision for New Zealand,
”The trouble is the rhetoric simply does not wash”, unquote Armstrong, your absolutely right John, the rhetoric does not wash, neither your bullshit unbalanced Jonolism or Slippery the Prime Minister’s stupid empty heads ‘idea’ of changing the flag in the face of Labour’s first big policy announcement of the year,(perhaps in the face of the next major announcement from Labour we can expect from National a promise of a free flag in the letter box if only we vote for them),
”The trouble is YOUR rhetoric simply does not wash” Mr Armstrong when your writing shows more than just unbalanced jonolism, some might add that such is ‘simply’ the product of an unbalanced mind…
The media have been given their marching orders by the corporates.
“Deliver NZ to us.”
Gower, Garner, Armstrong, Hosking, Smith, Williams, Roughan, Murphy and all the others are paid 30 pieces of silver to betray their own country.
Shame.
Yes those evil “corporates”. Or maybe they are simply trying to save a failed business model in a tiny market. The average journalist in NZ is paid a pittance and over worked. So they right crap. That is more likely the explanation for poor journalism than your “corporate” conspiracy.
Very very dull.
I don’t think you’re being quite fair to John Armstrong, Bad 12 – his column in today’s Herald (which I’ve only just picked up on) gives Cunliffe quite a few good points for the Best Start policy but does state that the media releases and fact sheets have to include all the facts, not just some of them, and he also is quite clear about Key’s behaviour on this matter :
“As it was, coverage of the baby bonus shifted markedly as Key – like a pig in muck – ruthlessly and sarcastically picked up on and picked over Labour’s …………. ”
I read that as both a warning to Labour to get a bit smarter, and its a very telling comment on how Key behaves.
Can’t agree with you there JK, ‘wing-nuts’ love such language, ruthless and sarcastic are the currency of those who think they are ‘real or hard men’
What i see Armstrong’s latest effort as is the ‘damning of David Cunliffe with faint praise’ approach where the hero in the form of Slippery the Prime Minister uses His sarcasm to ruthlessly expose Cunliffe’s weakness,
Unfortunately the mistake of not having David Parker,(who i assume knew the nuts and bolts of the policy inside out), on hand to give a follow up explanation of those details to the waiting media pack managed to give Slippery an opening which took a little of the gloss off of the initial announcement,
Incidently, i fully agree with the ‘explained’ policy it gives the most to those most in need not necessarily in terms of actual dollars, the increased parental leave component is of a far greater dollar value than the $60 ‘Best Start’, it is the fact that this policy doesn’t differentiate between those who have work and those who havn’t that pleases me…
“this policy doesn’t differentiate between those who have work and those who havn’t that pleases me…”
But it should.
A point of view that would only have validity if the minimum wage was a living wage.
But thanks for the view from across the ditch, sspylands
SSLands, But it WONT, so suck it up, get ready to pay for it, and, know that i will be laughing at you every week while you do…
okay Bad 12 – I’m seeing aspects a bit differently to you, but the essence of Best Start being for all pleases me too. Its a start (albeit smallish) against inequality ….
JK, oh i think that while we have capitalism we will always have inequality, once implemented tho $60 will be a huge boost to those who have kids while on a benefit or who find themselves on a benefit while they have babies, hopefully as finances improve ‘Best Start’ will be offered for these kids as they get older…
I was pondering the news about the Reserve Bank and the interest rate raising etc. What about, while we have our present system, we raise inflation levels to between 2 and 6 per cent. At present a cautious prudent RB aims at 2 per cent as a mid-level between 0 and 5 I think.
But below 2% it means that hardly anything is happening. And this inflation screwdown makes holding the value of savings more important than actual business activity and wage growth, (to keep up with the uncounted part of our economy where inflation is rampant – housing).
The system only partly works as it is, it actually detracts from having a strong thriving economy, and it worries about savings, which are modest and which if there were more would slow the economy down to a crawl or even leave it lying on the floor crying like a baby.)
So 2-6% with midpoint 3-4 say and allowing to 6% for some upsetting, spiking jolts. And include actions that tend to make the exchange rate, trend downwards. The Reserve Bank should have a few methods to do that.
We could stage a few strikes so that everything doesn’t seem so hunky-dory in this country of milk and honey, and hokey pokey ice cream, and gradually the exchange rate would go down. Exports and the economy would move upwards, interest rates could go a little upwards, thus cutting down the swingeing profit on playing with our dollar by those wankers who do that.
Imported goods would become a little dearer, but wage rises on a reasonable but still cautious scale would help that.
And a biggie, our government will encourage enterprise within the Nation. NATIONAL will proudly present itself as having National Interests at heart (as opposed to more money for themselves and some neat perks), and the two parties will fight for the hearts and minds and jobs of NZ.
We will then have energy left to face fully all the other challenges that can’t be properly attended to now because of the foul entropy of our major political parties, from which I hope that Labour is emerging, and we will all sing Jerusalem and then God Defend New Zealand with our hands on our hearts. (Which my grandchild’s child care centre is teaching the 3 year olds. How very yank-like!)
End of diatribe and too bad for any other dia effect you have experienced.
Often pondered the idea of a mortgage strike.
Everyone refuses to pay the extra rises, when the Reserve bank act deals it’s usual destruction.
A comment I made elsewhere.
“Time we stopped the sheer lunacy and destructiveness of gifting banks higher profits, and killing New Zealand’s export industries, small business and householders, with mortgages, in pursuit of the stupid idea that higher interest rates will drop Auckland house prices.
Haven’t you all figured it out yet, higher interest rates attracts even more hot lending money into the NZ housing market”.
kjt
True higher interest rates just increase the difference between the still very low US federal rates whereby someone can probably make a tidy sum just borrowing from them, and lending it out to us at a 5% differential or more just at the touch of a button.
And yet people who need some interest to provide a living capital formed from their savings, can’t survive on the US rates – their savings get eaten up by inflation and bank charges if interest is too low. So they have to raise their rates and we might get an even playing field. Have we actually ever had one since the neo libs glibly went on about it decades ago?
‘Interest rates’ are another Banksters con, consider for a moment where the current 2+% of ‘growth’ is calculated to be coming from within the economy,
(1), Christchurch and it’s rebuild, growth??? only in the system devised by a race of primitive ape like creatures or the world Banking Cartels,(very hard to tell the difference), without having accounted for the actual losses incurred from the series of earthquakes,(multiple billions),it is then stupid to simply add the spending on ‘replacements’ into the growth figures,
(2), House price inflation, the main center of this inflation occurring in Auckland with a lesser amount again the result of the Christchurch rebuild, who actually is suffering this inflation that the reserve Bank is hell bent upon controlling,
i do not live in either Auckland or Christchurch along with some 2.7 million other people so the over-inflation of the Auckland and Christchurch property markets affects me and 2 million seven hundred thousand other people HOW???,
The fact is that it doesn’t, house price over-inflation has pretty much no effect what-so-ever on the rest of the economy, the price of milk doesn’t rise because of house price over-inflation in Auckland and wages for the majority of New Zealand workers will not rise because of it either so including house price inflation, which in all reality financially effects only the buyer of a house, in the way we measure inflation is plainly stupid…
“The fact is that it doesn’t, house price over-inflation has pretty much no effect what-so-ever on the rest of the economy,”
Thanks genuis – actually it does. Do you think the suppliers of materials and services for house building don’t supply those to other sectors?
Christ what would you know?
F off Noddy, only you seem to think i am talking in terms of new build housing when it is obvious that i am talking about the over-inflation in the price of existing houses,
Jesus, the economic un-genius speaks, such inflation in materials and services for house building is simply down to you ‘wing-nuts’, if you all were not intent on building monolithic structures instead of normal size housing as compensation for the lack of size in a certain of your appendages their would be no problem either in supply of labour or materials,
Please please economic un-genius give us all the proof of such an assertion…
Higher interest rates have the excellent effect, from Key’s sponsors point of view, of transferring wealth from ordinary working people, most of whom have net debt, to the already rich, and to the financial institutions, whose share of GDP has risen just as workers, and small and medium business owners/contractors, share, has dropped.
The reserve bank act, more than anything else, blatantly highlights the Neo-liberal indifference to the future of New Zealand.
Even a capitalist Government, one with principles, would be concerned that New Zealand businesses are dying, and thousands of jobs going, from the double whammy of higher interest rates than offshore competition, and the exchange rate pushed up by those same interest rates.
I can tell you from first hand experience, what happens when your US competition can get finance at 3%, while it costs you 12% or more. And, that’s if you can get any business finance, at all, beyound your mortgage.
“If you want more people on welfare, vote National”.
There is an interesting commentary over on the Pundit, Ganesh Nana, about why raising interest rates really isn’t necessary.
Imagine it’s being promoted so that all those RWNJ’s can get their money out of the country while the exchange rate is way up – no finer way to indicate that you know Nact will lose the election
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/former-greenpeace-leading-light-condemns-them-for-opposing-gm-golden-rice-crop-that-could-save-two-million-children-from-starvation-per-year-9097170.html
– Interesting
To you
Is the Independent really that? When there is a corporate with the equivalent wealth of a nation in its coffers, it can jiggle media to run a piece that attacks a worthwhile non-profit for the first two-thirds of its article, and for balance, an answer on the end of quite a thorough pasting.
Greenpeace, however, said that vitamin supplements and the addition of green, leafy vegetables to the diet of vitamin-A deprived children has already shown to work in places such as the Philippines, where vitamin-A deficiency has fallen from 47 per cent to 15 per cent.
“Vitamin-A deficiency is already dropping so rapidly in the Philippines that it may have ceased to be a significant problem before golden rice comes onto the market,” said Doug Parr, Greenpeace’s chief scientist.
This Canadian ecologist just looks like any well-fed fat-necked executive. He was in Greenpeace for a while in 1971. What has he been doing for it since then? Why did he not stay doing good things with it? Has he been following up more interesting and lucrative projects?
Decades ago there was a huge advance in rice growing Yields called the Green Revolution 1968+. The call was that hugely increased rice production could eliminate malnutrition and starvation. What actually happened was the landlords gathered the rice off the rice farmers and made pots of money with sales in foreign countries. Malnutrition and starvation was worse for S E Asian people.
(Funny how in NZ the better we are at producing meat/milk, the more we pay for it.)
When famine is talked about it often is not mentioned that there was a governing power that made it a disaster instead of a cyclical shortage. The Bengali one came to mind.I looked up google.
The first when the British East India Company was powerful. – out of the ordinary, occurred in 1768 and was followed in late 1769 by more severe conditions. By September 1769 there was a severe drought, and alarming reports were coming in of rural distress. These were, however, ignored by company officers.
By early 1770 there was starvation, and by mid-1770 deaths from starvation were occurring on a large scale. Later in 1770 good rainfall resulted in a good harvest and the famine abated. However, other shortfalls occurred in the following years, raising the total death toll.
About ten million people,[6][7] approximately one-third of the population of the affected area, are estimated to have died in the famine.
The second in 1943 – The Bengalis were denied help from their own countrymen, because of competition. The free market prevailed, everybody charged to the max, and there was also protectionism, to look after their own area and prevent civil unrest. There was refusal to act in an honest fashion from neighbouring provinces, with dark words of deliberate hoarding by Bengalis and disbelief in their statements. Transport carrying grain was refused egress, and numbers of barriers put up. Disgraceful stuff.
About 1.5 million people died.
The Government of India Act 1935 had removed most of the Government of India’s authority over the Provinces, so they had to rely on negotiation.
Thus, even when the Government of India decreed that there should be free trade in grain, politicians, civil servants, local government officers and police obstructed the movement of grain to famine areas.[38] In some cases Provinces seized grain in transit from other Provinces to Bengal.[39]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_famine_of_1943#Government_inaction
So any statements accusing of bad behaviour or finding reason to throw dirt when there is food production discussions, should be questioned. In this gold rice case, it probably means more of the big companies taking over and forcing the old varieties out so that their grain must be used and paid for instead of seed stocks being kept freely by prudent food producers.
They would be self sufficient and what the companies want is people who turn to them for their essential supplies and they hold their lives and money in the palm of the company’s owners and executives. There is of course that Monsanto scam whereby pollen carries their patented genes to mingle with the old varieties and then by growing their own grain, which has been tainted with Monsanto types, the farmers are breaking intellectual protection laws and illegally using Monsanto patented seed.
Great famine of Ireland. Another genocide perpetrated by the power elite. On white people, no less. If you were a coloured population, what chance would you have.
They forgot to mention all the small farmers in developing countries the so called Green revolution put out of business.
Making them dependant on imported rice forever.
Good for Goldman Sacks the world, though.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/goldman-bankers-get-rich-betting-on-food-prices-as-millions-starve-8459207.html
Or. “How Wall Street made money by starving millions”.
Red herring. Let’s fix the inequal situation we have where 10% of people have 40% of the wealth, and 50% of the people only have 1% of the wealth, then see if we need shiny science projects to make sure everyone eats.
+1
Exactly.
Plenty of food produced already. The monetary signals are not sending it to were it is needed.
I remember reading the amount required to end food poverty world wide. It was some small fraction of the world spending on weapons.
Early election coming up. Anyone surprised?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/234891/g20-forum-may-affect-election-date
Sounds like more arse kissing by Key of his heroes.
Regarding the Key’s ‘out of the blue’ flag change red herring during this election year:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/what-should-be-on-nzs-flag/9671710/Not-right-time-to-change-flag
If everyone isn’t voting for their favourite tv star and voting for Philomena Clunk on Charlie Booker Show then they should be. She is priceless. But then I think a proper value should be set on her in case the tv bosses try to use that line when naming her salary.
Charlie B says that some pub in Brit is offering drinks that will cause drink and drive problems. Charlie says it is the only pub in the land that comes with a police-car chaser.
Philomena Cunk aka Diane Morgan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvpbW7JRu0Q
could the herald be more craven-servants of the govt..?
..here is their online coverage of a damning united nations report on our human rights..
headline:..’NZ has ‘excellent’ human rights record’
(teaser/promo-paragraph..)
“..Justice Minister Judith Collins has welcomed the recommendations in a largely-positive United Nations report on New Zealand’s human rights records..”
just bold/bare-faced fucken lies..every word of it..
..phillip ure..
Not sure if this has been posted already but a draft copy of the un outcome report that lists the 155 human rights recommendations for New Zealand is avaliable at. http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/1401/Draft%20report%20of%20the%20Working%20Group%20on%20the%20Universal%20Periodic%20Review.1.pdf
I did a post on how a UBI would address inequality here
http://thestandard.org.nz/ubi-addressing-inequality/
It turns out I derived something that is already known as a measure of inequality call the Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve. My results were based on individual incomes rather than households but essentially they give the same result.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient#US_income_Gini_indices_over_time
This has a description of its limitations and how to interpret it.
To see NZ’s value over time this report has it
http://www.nzchildren.co.nz/income_inequality.php
Have to say successive governments in the last 35 years have not done much to shift it since rogernomics and the 1987 crash which raised it dramatically. The lower this number the greater the equality. Why is OK to have a coefficient of around 33? Surely we’d want to reduce this?
I’d suggest that governments performance in addressing inequality can be measured thus. I’d expect the next government to make a significant shift in this before I believe they are interested in address inequality.
The debate is carries on here
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9672616/Inequality-Is-it-growing-or-not
Other links
http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/parl-support/research-papers/00PlibCIP181/household-incomes-inequality-and-poverty
A report that is worth a read
http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/
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Hear Ye! Hear Ye! . . .
. . . here begineth the inaugural gathering of The Standard’s Chapel of the Printed Poster. It has been proposed that the Big List Of John Key’s Lies make the transition from cyber space into meat world by becoming a printed poster which shall be plastered up across the length and breadth of New Zealand.
At this inaugural meeting I would be grateful for any comments regarding whether or not
– this a good idea
– is it even legal
– who is interested in handling the operations side of this project (NOTE: lprent has agreed to act as Treasurer and, if this gets off the ground, donations can be made into a bank account he will manage, being made direct into said bank. This seems the easiest solution in terms of having someone we can trust run the books, and maintain anonymity in that donations can be made in person at any branch of the bank concerned) At this stage we first need to establish costs including cost of production and distribution. Also, are there any artistic types out there prepared to have a crack at submitting a design for consideration.
– how can we go about “spreading the word” and gathering the funds needed to make it happen.
. . . the floor is open.
Brilliant idea.
Perfectly legal – truth is a complete defence against libel.
However Key could bring a bogus suit and use every dirty trick to bankrupt you before it even got to court. However, I’m sure you’d find a lawyer willing to represent you for free. You couldn’t buy that sort of publicity for a legal practice.
Brilliant!!!!!
very very good idea..
..tell me when and i will publicise/advertise it @whoar..
..why not give a koha option for copies..?
..phillip ure..
Money from me yes. Practical suggestion – if trying to fit something onto a noticeboard, anything bigger than A4 is a nuisance.
It might be treated as a serial – make a joke, a trilogy in four parts – collect all the parts and your prize might be a change of government! lt might be divided into chapters for clarity running numerically and advise that the next chapter will be available next week. It would state on the first – this is the first of three/? chapters. It might make a funny (not suitable for bedtime stories for the young or sensitive.) Has it got a title – Remember the Wit and Widom of Muldoon or Richard Prebble’s I’ve Been Thinking.
It should be printed clearly. Certain colours don’t show up ie yellow. Royal blue is good, colour draws the eye blue/red? Black fine but would need something so the eye didn’t skip over it.
If meant to be on a large board then font would be bigger for that. But popping a number up and having them available at political stalls would surely be all right. It’s information and there would be no logo on it, and anybody could give it out surely. Though many wouldn’t.
Do you have any idea how much $$ is needed?
Got a bank account number [that you are o.k about making public] for making deposits into?
Lolz, un-budgeted for political activism is always a hard one, count me in for an initial $100 Blip, if this looks like going ahead and then stumbles for any reason can i suggest that any collected donations go toward the future cost of running the Standard…
good idea!
present
Hello to all
Certainly we are discussing this idea openly and that is a good thing, but we must acknowledge certain professional details will have to be kept from the public until any authorisation is given for release of any business or personal identities. I actually see no reason for the general public to know any of the details of those who are being paid for a service and this information is touched on later.
I believe we should have a target of May at the latest, for the beginning of distribution.
If it’s an early election, paste ups can be bigger, if later in the year a more measured approach would be best with funding being the obvious decider.
I believe there will be strong need for a certain amount of cross communication on topics where the public forum is ill suited and some suggestions for how best to mange this would be appreciated.
Perhaps Lprent would allow a specific group of permissions for a locked off ‘Poster Project Page’ (PPP) 😉 where those who eventually deal with the details can do so productively. This is not exclusion it is after the brainstorming, when stuff actually has to happen.
A place where the project can be discussed as per the normal public forum but you know-without the public. I do not even know if this is possible but I envisage a normal chat thread with a ‘PPP’ log-in required which can be distributed via our emails. Obviously this may involve a certain amount of moderation (by request) but let’s be honest here, if we cannot ignore tr–ls who decide it is funny to pop in and stir then why are we even bothering to put any effort in. We are grown ups and if we just work on the project and ignore their gibbering they will get bored and go away.
I also ask that if this idea has the support of The Standard’s operators, then a public post is opened once a week, a post is opened where those involved and those interested can go to to discuss, catch up and generally keep this rolling along for awhile.
At this point I make the following statement.
To my knowledge I am not involved with or associated with anyone in the paste up business in New Zealand. My reference to a certain company in the original proposal, (linked to above) was merely that, a reference to an existing paste up operation and I had no intention of implying any knowledge of this idea by the company referenced. Nor do i have, or am aware of, any association with or knowledge of the company, its staff, and or its interests that has not come from general observation of the businesses during its day to day public activities. (if that need further clarification from a legal point of view please let me know)
A
Back to The List.
The legal issues are critical obviously, but as all information is sourced from publicly available resources I would guess we are clear. MMM… guessing, and the law , always a good combo.. So if one of the many lawyers out there could clarify the project’s legal position sooner rather than later, the better chance we have of making it all happen. This is what your contribution to actual activism can be about if you choose it.
B
The next hurdle is the paste up.
I propose a letter/email is drafted inviting those in ownership of paste up services to view the list on The Standard, and view the proposal on the table. Then they are able to independanty decide if it is a project they are interested in. As a commercial gig they might not give a damn, but there is the serious issue of its content and its potential affects on their business. A theatre poster that pushes the boundaries of public decency is one thing, a list publicly critical of the PM is quite another.
If we get a green light at that point , it is a negotiation on cost and we will know our primary goal for fundraising.
C
Service required.
I propose that the action is a once a fortnight paste up, incorporated into their existing rounds, and possibly with as few as a half dozen posters per round put up at locations of their discretion. These guys know their job and know which locations would suit for impact and duration ( public’s light fingers aside) Obviously there will be some care needed so as not to waste posters on environs not needing that much persuasion in questioning the PM’s integrity.
This does not have to be a blitz campaign. Simplicity is our friend here. As yet we don’t even have an Election date but If done in ten locations* nationwide with ten posters being distributed once a fortnight we could sustain a campaign up into November with a print run of under 2000 posters.
*ten locations is envisaged as being four to five centers with a couple of runs per location.
D
Printing
Once progress with a paste up company is determined we can look at confirming printing prices and the associted freight requirements etc.
Whilst thinking about the initial idea of printing at different locations to avoid freight, I realised this is potentially problematic to the printer for obvious commercial reasons. So a more user-friendly printer might be required and we find funds for freighting the posters to the paste up operations. It seems the common sense solution and the original idea was an off the cuff effort. (So is this but at least it has more detail 🙂 )
Is there a willing printer out there?
I will be making some enquiries with various people re printing and advise others to do the same.
Please though, be a bit discreet about it. If they are not someone you trust and know well, I would maybe wait a bit before making enquiries.
What are we looking at for the quotes are a variety of prices and we may as well cover the range so we know our options.
Quote per 1000 in A0, A1, A2 posters in three colours minimum.
That will give us options.
The posters must not be super flashy full colour look I have thirty thousand fonts type deals.
Two maybe three colours, clear text and practical fonts. i repeat : Simplicity is our friend on this.
As far as layout I beleive all submissions should be welcome and I do believe it should be an open discussion re the final design. If someone can pitch some ideas for that process please?
otherwise a simple webpage with designs and vote buttons?
Once we have relevant data of funding targets we will know if we have a practical chance of going forward and the design side can kick in.
but let’s take this one step at a time
To be clear
Simplicity is our friend on this endeavour.
People want this information, they are looking for it everywhere
they just don’t know it yet.
Quote per 1000 in A0, A1, A2 posters in three colours minimum.
Two maybe three colours, clear text and practical fonts.
All submissions welcome but let’s take this one step at a time
That’s it from me, thank you for your time and I hope we can make this happen.
-If I missed anything just say so, please forgive me if I have doubled up a bit on some topics, the brain is a bit frazzled. It has been a couple of months of very long hours in the studio, I have just hung a new show, I am knackered. I go sleep now.
I wish you all well and will catch this page for updates on Monday at the earliest.
Hei konā
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^^^ Wise words are wise.
I love the idea – a Poster Project Page – and labeling it PPP – shoving it right up John Key & co. With the exception of the few malingers from the right, most here will only be too happy to dig in and reach out to help. It is brilliant. BLiP has done a tremendous job, even the GCSB must be astounded at his knowledge, it probably trumps their capacity !!
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Okay!!! I’m getting the vibe this could be a real goer. Please keep the comments rolling in. At this stage I feel suitably enthusiastic to get some data from some bill stickers re costs. Will get started on this first thing Monday – anyone got any contacts or recommendations? I’ll start with this group and see where I get to: http://www.0800phantom.co.nz/
I love the idea of making poster available for sale. Perhaps we could sweeten the deal by including a disc with the art work and page captures of all the links?? Then again, if the idea takes off and we get, say, a few thousand orders, that could prove to be a bit of a pain. Just brainstorming, I know about the KISS Principle.
In order to get the message across, should we stick to just the Top 100 Lies – the poster should, IMHO, have a link and one of those bar-code thingywotsits which send people to a internet site with details of all the lies anyway. Again, lprent has agreed to host that somewhere here.
Blip
You are firing. I was wondering about Facebook, if some could be released there. From time to time to keep up the profile and interest. I’m not a great facebook user, but others can handle it no trouble. And of course we need to be prepared for some nasty comments, on Facebook. It could give handy publicity.
Aw – the toilet roll idea not a goer then? Shucks. I’d have bought a six pack and then eaten a plethora of figs…just because 😉
Hi Blip,
I think a top fifty lies would be a practical and effective visual. perhaps there is a way to group it as a top ten over five categories. That would be a strong ‘on the street’ image of five paragraph blocks. Catches the eye of a passer by and immediately says ‘there is more to read here than the headline’ without being a tsunami of words. I am sure others will have ideas on what the categories should be, but ‘Lies in the House’ surely has to be one of them.
The full list will still be available on-line of course, and depending on final funding we may be able to swing different versions as the year progresses.
I will contact a few printers this week for some quotes, ( without sharing any real details about the content) just letting them know it is a text based three colour run. I will include A3 but for street pasting we should be in the A2 and above scale as outlined above.
There is obvious support for smaller posters for people to distribute amongst their own networks and again a top fifty list would fit most A3 and even A4 ‘office runs’
Please, can someone clarify our legal position on this project really soon?
If people are thinking of printing and distributing materials at or from their places of employment make sure you have checked any contractual obligations you may have signed. JK might not care about you keeping your job, but I and many others do.
NOTE: It would be good if people read both chains of comments that have been posted before adding new ideas. A PPP can work if we keep it simple and define its objectives as soon as we can. The last thing we want to see is two months of ‘what about ….???’ and no action. Those who have been involved in actual organization of activism before know that the one item no-one here needs to see is the ego. This project is about Blip’s List.
BLIP’S LIST AND THE FIRST IDEAS
http://thestandard.org.nz/note-to-media-check-your-facts/#comment-765308
INAUGURAL GATHERING AND COMMENTS
(-which is this thread but handy for future reference)
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01022014/#comment-767017
THE PPP OUTLINED by freedom
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01022014/#comment-767077
note: this last link was included for easy reference to the proposal, not because it is my idea. Ideas need discussion. It is merely a proposal containing practical workable ideas and relevant crucial questions.
Brilliant BLiP!
Take a look at Karol’s post yesterday about the “How are you doing?” poster in South Korea. The poster maker make the point that posting online doesn’t have the same impact, it just disappears in 24 hours unless it happen to go viral, even then the impact is limited. But physical posters out there on the street cut through.
My thoughts:
– choose the ‘lies’ carefully, pick ones that have clear evidence to back up his bull. I.e. not ones where him stretching the truth could be a matter of opinion.
– talk to someone who knows what they are talking about re any possible legal issues. You might have to be careful about your ‘liar’ wording, I don’t know.
– talk to someone who knows design and/or marketing to make sure you maximize impact and message.
– there are plenty of knowledgable people here on this sight who would be very happy to steer you in the right direction on these points I’m sure.
– do it!
‘site’ not ‘sight’ lol.
This is such a brilliant idea. A few thoughts (haven’t read all the comments above yet, so sorry if am repeating something).
Get legal advice on content. Pretty sure you will be able to get this for free.
Make the posters available online for people to print out and put up where the live/work. A3, A4 and A5 minis. Not sure what format/size you are going for, so perhaps this could be an edited version?
I still reckon give the list its own wordpress site and get it linked to from all over the blogosphere/twitter/FB etc. That is alot more work of course, and I like the hardcopy poster as a priority.
Maybe some crowdsourced funding to make a paid position? There is real potential to use the left-wing social media network here.
What will the content of the poster be like eg how to transition from a list full of internet links to something that isn’t clickable?
Would be good to get a few other National MPs, especially Blinglish, with either an outright lie or some contradictory statements.
Yahoo!!!
You have done such a fantastic job BLiP that this poster idea should go ahead. It would be such an awful waste of your many hours of work if it isn’t advertised as widely as possible. I will certainly do my bit to spread the posters around my tiny corner of society.
If this project is handled well I am sure it will receive media attention although I suggest a certain political reporter from TV3 is left out of the loop for the time being.
My suggestion: there be bill boards erected in every town and city in the country by July of this year.
The SCotPP is NOT a registered political party so therefore does NOT come under the Electoral Finance Act. It is NOT an attempt to gather votes for a particular political party but rather an attempt to provide information to the public at large.
I’m willing to do my bit towards bringing this plan to fruition. 🙂
Hats, badges, paraphernalia, all at a rip off price. So as Tories buy them all up!
Great Radio doco celebrating Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday on RNZ (broadcast last night). Would have preferred a 2-hour tribute though. 1 hour a little too short.
Swordfish You saw our tribute on the day did you? A few clips there. Nice.
Xox
Good to hear National Radio is still doing some quality broadcasting. It’s beginning to degrade.
Can whoever is moderating every day do us a favour and carry any comment about posters over to a thread that starts with the word Poster. I thought that Open Mike doesn’t get archived for long and anyway it is so diverse. We need to have permanent places for ideas so they don’t fall like autumn leaves and get covered with others and then trodden on. Reading others ideas can be a starter for more to pop up, or amendments to improve one, or allow for unforeseen problems.
So how about it? Yu fullas know how to do it. Good on you. I hope you see the advantage of what I am suggesting.
Apart from that, I don’t know what lprent thinks but Trademe on their community board have a sticky thread that never goes away and ideas just build up ion it and for useful information it is valuable to have one that appears every day. So that’s another idea. But still it would be useful to have ideas relating to one project on one thread rather than just jammed into a sticky thread in a mixed pile.