Watch out for the petition from Su’a William Sio to be presented in Parliament this week, from people anxious about the East-West link. I think this is going to be quite a movement against this massive arterial/motorway, and a key organising issue leading to the election next year for southern Auckland.
+1 don’t need be vegan to be healthy but for some people it’s seems to be the only way they finally get how to do so. A bit like going gluten free did for me even though I don’t weight problem in the sense of being too heavy more not heavy enough. Of course unlike Vegans it’s not a lifestyle choice because a medical condition isn’t really a choice. Even though more crap food is becoming gluten free I built up such a great eating habit I don’t want eat that stuff.
As much as I appreciate some of the appeals of the vegan lifestyle, I personally view it as a diet of affluence even moreso than meat eating because the missing dietary requirements usually have to be met through supplements (it’s the only way I’ve ever managed it) or specific targeting of foods that aren’t easy to locally produce in any single environment.
Meat-eating is still highly intensive but I have personally found that chickens will eat your vegetable scraps and scrounge around grass/garden areas very effectively (not requiring much maintenance), provide eggs and one of the best lean meat protein sources available.
The issues with our food production is *how* we do it, not *what* we eat…
uh – I am not talking about “expense” in dollar terms. I was actually referring to the high-level technological/transport infrastructure that is required just to meet a vegan diet. It is a diet that in use only in affluent nations where the infrastructure exists to provide the necessary nutrition through more advanced means.
Sooooooo… basically you just confirmed my hypothesis. You are getting a necessary vitamin that is readily available through meat consumption from your local supermarket…
It’s what I was trying to point out – those food miles add up and they are a significant contribution to issues in the world. On top of that, these are food products available here and around the Western world in our supermarkets because we *are* affluent societies. We *can* go down to the supermarket and, as long as we have the cash, buy these things.
Others may argue about the health benefits, I could care less. I’m more concerned about the misrepresentation of veganism as a viable alternative in a low energy economy.
You might be better to follow the other part of his advice. “I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine”.
Better you gave up the drugs and see how much better you will be. Why you might even get a job and get off the benefit system.
David Scott won 6 World Ironman championships as a vegan. Peter Brock is a vegan as are Mac Danzig, Ruth Heidrich and Greg Chappell just to name a few of many top vegan athletes.
And on it goes, the wailing of ex-Green Party candidate David Hay at the Party decision not to include Him on it’s 2014 Party Vote list just became farcical as Hay calls for Green Party activists and volunteers to ‘strike’ over what He sees as unwarranted treatment by the Party,
It would seem that Hay is more than happy to use the NZ Herald in what can only be described as a futile attempt to split the Party,(and the Herald will more than happily indulge Hay in His elongated hissy fit),
What the ongoing public display of child-like whining from Hay shows about Hay’s character to me is that it was the ME aspect of Hays character that lead His political ‘thinking’ and as his self advancement has been stymied He has no further use for the Party and is happy to attempt to ferment dissent within it,
My view is that the sooner the Party makes the ex-candidate an ex-member the better for all it will be…
Well said Marama, you have to wonder what irks or eats away at the mind of the David Hay’s of this world, how many candidates have put their names forward to the Green Party,(and any other for that matter),only to be rejected by a selection committee,
Zillions i would say over the decades and do they all run off to the media whining like beaten dogs over having had their ego’s bruised, like hell they do and my opinion is the well disciplined Green Party has escaped a bullet by not selecting a candidate, who by His actions has shown He cares little for the discipline or the unity of the Party,
While the Green Party sticks to both arms of it’s it’s foundation, Enviroment and Social justice and equality for all then the Parliamentary members can expect the full support of the members and quite frankly those who wish to exploit their ego driven agenda at the expense of the Party should be invited to fuck off and join Colon Craig…
The David Hay thing seems all a bit odd to me. Never heard of the guy before – so he can’t have much of a political/activist profile, even though he was on last election’s list.
And there’s been vague accusations about the GP having moved away from its core values, but nothing explicit.
OTOH, Hay has been deemed unsuitable to be on the GP list, with no clear reasons given – though Hay’s own actions in the last week make him look like he’s not GP material – all ME and little about being a team player or anything about the ways he’s working for the good of the community.
Yep a narrative for people to relate to. Different approach to well lit guys in suits saying vote for ME! Many previous candidate ads could be mistaken for network tv or radio ads. Also put spot ads on facebook.
The Green campaign a couple of elections ago using a young girl broke convention a little, ditch ad agency orthodoxy but don’t go too negative on the Key gang, go positive on Labour Green Mana–“you deserve better”.
I was wondering about the legality of signs with just a face that people hold up in the street or at at political meetings or in the background of TV interviews. Do they need an authorisation statement? I hope not, because I want to make some.
e.g. a Muldoon face in the background when Key is being interviewed on TV. I’m not actually going to do that one but you get the idea. http://i40.tinypic.com/2mdl7vr.jpg
I doubt that anything about Muldoon would really work today. I suspect that only people near retirement age actually remember him. It will be, after all, at the time of the next election, 30 years since Muldoon was PM and about 22 since he died.
Try finding someone under the age of 45, excluding the sort of people who remain glued to these blogs, who actually remembers Rob. Even the people of any age who do remember would be hard pressed to tell you anything bad about him. That is except for the ones that believe that Saint Roger Douglas cleaned up the mess Rob caused. Very old people would tell you he gave them super at 80% of the average wage and that you got it at 60, not like the 67 these evil Labour people want to impose.
No it would be a bit like saying what a terible man Forbes was as PM.
I’d say that roughly half of all voters were 45 and over. So a fair proportion of voters will remember Sir Rob. And it’d be a good political economic history lesson for the young ones.
I would say, having read many of the comments in “John Key is Rob Muldoons Doppelganger”, that most people do not remember Rob at all.
To have such a lot of people equate Key’s and Muldoon’s behaviour proves my point that people simply do not remember Rob.
In terms of their actual policy platforms Rob was very close to the currently expressed views of the Labour and Green parties. The worst thing he did for New Zealand was in his attempts to have the state control things like prices and salaries, and his attempts to pick winners in industrial companies. He also wanted the state to own many businesses and to set their policies. He also liked to force companies to do things he wanted, not things that were good for either the companies or New Zealand.
Remember supplementary minimum prices, carless days, state insurance companies, Think Big? Remember him swinging a punch at people who had heckled him (Mallard anyone)?
Sounds awfully like Norman and Cunliffe doesn’t it?
Yes, that would seem to describe them very aptly. I guess that Winston must be the last MP who entered Parliament when Rob was PM. Dunne, Goff, Mallard, McCully were all in 1984 weren’t they. None of the veteran MPs except Winnie would remember Rob in his prime.
and his attempts to pick winners in industrial companies.
Yeah and this government has been picking Warner Bros, SkyCity, Serco and a few others as winners.
Car-less days were a result of the OPEC oil reduction. Pity that they didn’t continue it – we’d have excellent public transport now.
As for state insurance companies, well, insurance is actually a natural monopoly. I know, I know, it doesn’t really seem that way as there’s plenty of companies in the market place but it’s one of those things that is what I term a demand monopoly – everybody needs it and when that happens the obvious economies of scale pertain only to a monopoly. There’s a few other reasons as well.
Think Big would have been great – if Muldoon hadn’t borrowed to build it. Just printed the money and utilised our own resources effectively. It was the borrowing that killed Think Big, not the project itself. Oh, and a fixed NZ$.
Remember him swinging a punch at people who had heckled him (Mallard anyone)?
Nope, that was Bob Jones and we all had a great laugh at it at the time.
Bob Jones certainly belted a TV reporter who chased him along the river when Bob was fishing.
However Rob did take a swing at people who were heckling him after an election meeting in Auckland. He insisted on leaving the hall by the front door and then took some swings at people in the street. He wasn’t the boxer that Bob Jones had been though so I don’t think there was any damage done. In that regard Rob was like Mallard.
Carless days were totally nuts. Muldoon was stupid enough to demand that Government owned vehicles must have their day between Monday and Friday so that it meant that some sacrifice be made. The sacrifice was the taxpayer’s of course because they then bought 25% more cars to cover the needs.
I am sure we (wife and I) were not the only ones who bought a second car when the policy came in.
I suggest that you put on your reading glasses and have another look at what I said Tracey.
I said that “… old people will tell you he GAVE them super at 80% of the average …”
I said GAVE Tracey, not STOLE. They would tell you that it was the Labour Government that stole it when they means tested it.
They are probably too complicated for a billboard. It has to be a message that people can take in within a second or two whilst driving past.
I am not going to get into a debate on them but the National party “Iwi/Kiwi” were absolutely superb in that regard. I don’t mean the content, I mean the speed with which the message could be absorbed.
I think that it would take to long to register the meaning of the billboards you are proposing.
Is the same for me. All indented left and is the same on 4 different browsers, and on 3 different computers, one a brand new win 8 machine I am building. But at least the reply is now working, hopefully.
NZ Herald editorial: anti-government regulation rant focused on core political issues /sarc.
Portable swimming pools, no wine in dairies, “anti-smacking Bill”, lightbulbs, banning cell phones while driving, compulsory immunisation, water flow in showers, – cause they limit people’s “freedom” and can have unintended consequences, especially on the “economy” (does that mean the impact on business profits?).
Still, it’s saying Key’s government is more “nanny state” than Clark’s government was.
Blubber Boy, infamous in His own bathtub,(just ask the rubber ducky about it’s treatment),has made the RadioNZ news with the defamation case,(much higher none of us could expect Him to slither),
Even Bryce Edwards, He of NZ Herald fame supports Blubber in His quest to have ‘wail oil’ taken by the Court as media,(Bryce has a point which after i have finished poking the stick i will get to),
My thoughts this morning is that the Blubber should stand up for journalistic integrity,(stop that laughter),everywhere and refuse point blank any courts order to divulge the contents of and identify His sources which lead to Him claiming that an Auckland businessman was intimately involved with Bevan Chuang,
Such a noble upholding of the journalistic ‘right’ to protect a ‘source’ in the face of the power of the judiciary would probably,(hopefully), result in Blubber Boy getting tossed in a jail cell and we might see a ‘Free the whale’ campaign start someplace,(go on Bryce make our day), while the rest of us sit around and laugh like loons as Blubber Boy eats cold wheat-bix in a jail cell where most of us think He belongs anyway,
Oh and befor i forget, Bryce’s point about Blubber being ‘media’, it appears in this latest of court appearences,(serial offender or what),Blubber is being told by the Court that He aint ‘media’, however, in a previous case the offending offensive one was told after He published the name of someone who the Court had given name suppression that ‘wail oil’ was ‘media’,
Seems at the least to be a little 2 faced by the judiciary, and damn i really want to see Him swing…
[Agreed bad12 and I have just posted about this – MS]
i never read whaleoil..(haven’t for at least a couple of yrs..i think..i stopped over the postings of pics of severed heads of animals he has slaughtered..)
..and i may be one of the few who have not read the (so i’m told) gripping/detailed accounts of len browns’ jism/seed/bodily-functions..(and no thank you..i’ll maintain that innocence..if you don’t mind..)
..but i am feeling uncomfortable over a court deciding what is or what isn’t ‘media’..
..and i see that ruling as a total orifice-pluck on the part of that judge..
..however much individuals may criticise slater for his choices of material/uses of that media..
..he..much as ‘truth’ was..is definitely part of the new media landscape..
Agreed. pu. I also don’t read WO and haven’t read all that spurious Len Brown stuff. But am also not comfortable with the court ruling on what is media – especially given the current sad state of a lot of our so-called press and news media.
Nor me (1 ever visit to the wallowing Whale, and another to a site operated by some sort of Penguin – both by links from this site me thinks).
I’m confident – relaxed even, that I’m not missing too much. The right wing view comes from various “horses’ mouths”.
Strangely enough, they all seem very similar, as though they were singing some sort of chorus. Even the new lingo is the same. Where is it they face? – it’s not Mecca …. Helensville perhaps?, or maybe the direction of the nearest talk-back radio transmitter.
The media issue, I assume is important because if he is media he can rely on public interest but does the press have an obligation to research, avoid bias, and report any surrounding circumstances, would it include an obligation to at least put the allegations to them before publishing and print their response?
Does the public interest have to be significant, and is it objective or subjective?
If Whaleoil’s sources are not protected, is anyone writing on The Standard protected?
With a slippery slope argument arriving any minute, let me put the question:
If being a “news distributor” is the principle criteria for protecting source anonymity, could all contributors to The Standard be revealed if required to do so?
Whaleoil’s (uncomfortable) interests are pretty similar to ours.
Try pressing Shift + Refresh (the circled arrow). THis should force your browser(s) to reload the style sheets.
There was a problem retransferring the DNS over the weekend. I was down with a dose of the flu (still am a bit) and didn’t deal with it early enough and then made a screwup on the time to live.
Quick note to McFlock, Karol, Weka, Bill, Rogue, Puddleglum….just reread the whole thread on 29 November Open Mike 18-18.5.1.1.1.2 excellent reading. Really enjoyed the insights and the easy debate. We may differ, disagree etc but hell , that’s one hell of a good read. Thank you all.
Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. (Proverbs 23:29)
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. (John 19:29)
Although he promptly dropped dead afterwards, so the term “vinegar” might genuinely imply something even less palatable than a Central Otago vanity plonk.
Life in the 21st century western style (USA version). I just heard some consumer related news on Radionz item. Thanksgiving day trading, some stores have opened for the first time. 10 million transactions in one day I think. $54 billion I think taken. Protests by workers wanting more pay outside Walmart.
The old kaleidoscope effect. Every time you shake it and look at it you get a different colour, perspective. Some in my family support NACTs. Looking at the same happenings in NZ we think about them entirely differently.
Concerned about the Auckland ‘daft lunatic Plan’ and ‘democracy for developers’?
Live in the Eden-Albert area?
Seen this?
“You are welcome to attend a Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan Public Meeting.
There will be a Presentation on the Notified Unitary Plan by independent planner David Wren – with particular emphasis on Albert-Eden area and topics which are likely to be of interest to locals.
David Wren will speak for about 40 minutes followed by plenty of time for questions and answers.
Date: Saturday 7 December 2013
Time: 9.30am to 12 Noon (doors open at 9.30am and there is access to displays in the lobby and opportunities to discuss issues prior to the main presentation).
Venue: Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, The Chamber Room, 489 Dominion Road, BALMORAL”
____________________________________________________________________________
and while I’m here,
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of (philosopher? ) kings”- 25:2.
Now, away to a tangi, people die, very moving.
Great listening on RadioLive right now – Cameron Slater and Michelle Boag arguing because he called her a lying poisonous scumbag, which is in itself ironic coming from someone like Slater. Also, Michelle once again stated that Slater is an ACC beneficiary, which is another irony when his favourite sport is beneficiary bashing.
So far the greatest number of ‘likes’ on the NZ Herald for New Zealander of the Year article have gone to Graham McCready for taking a private prosecution against the ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks – ACT Leader and MP for Epsom!
todays’ revelations are about/detail how australian spooks/govt offered unlimited raw data on australian citizens to their five eyes partners..to do with what they wished..
..whoar..!..eh..?..
..i wonder when our revelation will happen..?
..and is helen clark ‘sweating’ at all on these upcoming revelations..over there in noo yawk…?
NR radio again. Imagine again that NR decries the lack of factual correctness on the internet. Yet a smidgen of common sense would stop a guest from spouting nonsense. Its known that the firepower of an army is key to its success, that soldiers are trained in rapid accurate fire, so when a former top shot in the US marines guns down the president, looking down on a log slow moving cavalcade in Texas, is it any wonder Oswald got three shots off. You can imagine the jokes had he missed, former Marine couldn’t shoot diddly. So to my surprise NR guest declares he couldn’t believe that a lone gun man could of gotten three shots off in quick succession. Has the man never seen war movies of lines of muskets, highly trained to do just that, rapid fire. No, imagination mixed with common sense is not a requirement in a guest on Moro.
Cycling past this exit onto a cycle way, and keep meeting these aggressive drivers. Well turns out they were likely exiting a gym, didn’t make the connection until I heard about hormone abuses. I wonder do police stats show more accidents near gyms?
I recently had the pleasure of driving from Wellington to Auckland.
To maintain my sanity and ensure I didn’t do anything stupid like fall asleep at the wheel I divided the trip into 3 sections over 2 days.
As a quick aside, I totally recommend checking out any one of the short walks in Tongariro National Park, it was my best stop of the trip.
The traffic and behaviour of other drivers was pretty good right up until I hit the Bombay Hills. The increase of frequency of aggresive, rude and plain dangerous driving was stark.
I saw one incident of a frustrated driver shortly before I left Wellington compared to almost a dozen between Bombay and Glen Eden.
I ride a pushbike on almost a daily basis in Auckland so I am used to psychotic drivers, but this experience highlighted just how normalised bad driving is in Auckland compared to other cities and towns in New Zealand.
Hehe. Your comment brings to mind this piece that starts off:
“My gym has begun to sound like the set of a porno. So much grunting and heaving and panting. It reverberates around the room in a testosterone-laden symphony of man clownery.
“I’ve had enough. Grunty bloke, it’s time to shut up. I’m fairly certain I work out just as hard, yet you don’t hear me groaning like a constipated caveman on steroids every time I break a sweat.
“Women deliver babies with less fuss than the way you puff and whine through a bicep curl.
“Unless you’re attempting to pass a bowling ball through the tip of your urethra there’s really no reason for all the noise.
“And I’m not buying your ”but grunting makes me stronger” nonsense.”
Coming up on the Panel this afternoon: Neil Miller and Jordan Williams
Another black day for Radio New Zealand National
Monday, 2 December 2013
Miller is a smug and conceited git who is on record touting the racist right wing “humorist” P.J. O’Rourke as his favorite writer. If Miller stuck to beer assessing, then he would be sufferable, if only just sufferable. Unfortunately, he tends to veer into political commentary, but he knows little about anything other than beer.[1] Jordan Williams is a junior colleague of the infamous ex-ACT M.P. and S.S. spokesman Stephen Franks, and is becoming well known to Panel listeners as a pretentious but shallow commentator—very like Franks and Miller, in fact. So far, Williams’ most infamously stupid contribution—and there are many to choose from—remains this classic, uttered on the Panel a couple of months ago: “Capping rents seems like a recipe for disaster”. [2]
So look at what’s happened, whether accidentally or not: two government-friendly right wing commentators appear on the day that another right wing commentator, Cameron Slater, is one of the major topics of discussion. That represents another minor victory for the beleaguered National-led regime, which needs all the help it can get after the disaster (for National) in Christchurch over the weekend. But it represents another body-blow to the credibility of Radio New Zealand National.
Speaking right now is another guest on the programme—-Garth “The Knife” McVicar. By way of some kind of justification for giving this bloodthirsty lout airtime, Mora prefaced his appearance by saying this: “Okay, we’ve had CRIMINOLOGISTS on the programme before….”
So treating violent psychopaths like McVicar respectfully is some kind of balancing manoeuvre.
..was how mora just sat by and let that clown mcvicar deny the provable-facts of the drop in crime here..
..(a drop that is but an echo of the international trend of sharply dropping rates of crime..)..
..mora makes no mention of that international trend echo..(does he not know..?..could someone tell him..?
..if he does know..?..huh..!..)
..why does he/mora just let these outright/easily provable lies go uncalled/unquestioned..?
..he does himself no favours by doing this..
..today i linked to a story on how sweden is closing four of their prisons..
..a combination of those dropping rates..and the swedish focus on rehabilitation..instead of being solely focused on retribution..as is practised here..
..i noted at the foot of that story/link..how at a time when sweden is closing four prisons..
..we are building a new super-prison..
..have handed our prison system over to the american private industry model..(now there’s a success story/role-model..eh..?..that american prison system..)
..and the cherry on top of this cake of fucken wrongheaded-incompetence/ignorance..
..is that the govt has signed contracts with these private prison spivs..
..guaranteeing to supply enough prisoners to fill their prisons..(!)
..now..that just fucken bends my head out of shape..that prisoner-guarantee..
Had to laugh at the “highbrow???” of Mensa Mora’s Mucky Show 4-5 pm today. The Mad Machiavellian Miller crapping on about whom, according to his girlfriend and others, he resembles.
James McOnie and someone else and someone else apparently. One only has to Google a pic of said Mad Miller to know that the most striking likeness is to – wait for it – SlaterPorn. There must be whakapapa !
Thought about you with anticipation Morrissey as in the course of a three hour plus drive home to the North I listened to the fascinatingly gross right wing fucks Jordan Williams, Mad Miller, and Garth McVictim. Gushingly hosted by The Nicest Man On Earth. Truly incredible !
A passing comment by Mad Miller suggests he might’ve been a late call to today’s Mucky Show – you may well be correct in your suspicion that a troika of outlandish right wingers was rapidly assembled to provide “balance” in the wake of the Christchurch result.
A passing comment by Mad Miller suggests he might’ve been a late call to today’s Mucky Show
Miller replaced Mai Chen at the last moment. It’s a pity, because she has shown a willingness to contest lazy ideologists in the past. Her absence ensured that Jordan Williams got (yet another) free ride.
– you may well be correct in your suspicion that a troika of outlandish right wingers was rapidly assembled to provide “balance” in the wake of the Christchurch result.
As bad as Neil Miller and Jordan Williams are, what I found utterly insulting was bringing on that S.S. obergruppenführer to “discuss” law and order. Surely, if McVicar is acceptable to the producers of this programme, then Kyle Chapman has to be consulted next time the Panel has a discussion about arson.
Probably already covered somewhere above but don’t have time to check – who would have thought it – forgive me the following words we’re not allowed to use – “G….y” Herald caning “N…y” National ???
The award for MSM capabilities in photojournalism goes to ……
c a m e r o n b u r r r N E L L ! ! ! for
“Turning the Sod”
(unassisted – the guy rolls over all on his own)
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Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
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Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
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Watch out for the petition from Su’a William Sio to be presented in Parliament this week, from people anxious about the East-West link. I think this is going to be quite a movement against this massive arterial/motorway, and a key organising issue leading to the election next year for southern Auckland.
isnt it like asset sales and too late?
nope fully in play
“..16 Celebrities You Never Knew Were Vegan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/01/vegan-celebrities_n_4351908.html
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson turned vegan in 2010 –
– and has since loss 100 pounds.
“Becoming a vegan gave me another opportunity to live a healthy life.
I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine – I could hardly breathe –
– [I had] high blood pressure, -[was] almost dying – [and had] arthritis.
And once I became a vegan – all that stuff diminished” – said Tyson..”
phillip ure..
So maybe he should have stopped taking drugs instead? Being vegan doesn’t make you lose weight. Not eating sugary bullshit and exercise does.
+1 don’t need be vegan to be healthy but for some people it’s seems to be the only way they finally get how to do so. A bit like going gluten free did for me even though I don’t weight problem in the sense of being too heavy more not heavy enough. Of course unlike Vegans it’s not a lifestyle choice because a medical condition isn’t really a choice. Even though more crap food is becoming gluten free I built up such a great eating habit I don’t want eat that stuff.
16 celebrities whose vegan-status means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
@ lanth..
..given the environmental giant-boot-print from eating flesh and the multi-varied bye-products..
..’vegan status’ does actually mean quite a bit..
..and given the influence of celebrities on the opinions of others/popular culture..
..’in the grand scheme of things’..
..how can it not mean ‘something’….?
..phillip ure..
As much as I appreciate some of the appeals of the vegan lifestyle, I personally view it as a diet of affluence even moreso than meat eating because the missing dietary requirements usually have to be met through supplements (it’s the only way I’ve ever managed it) or specific targeting of foods that aren’t easy to locally produce in any single environment.
Meat-eating is still highly intensive but I have personally found that chickens will eat your vegetable scraps and scrounge around grass/garden areas very effectively (not requiring much maintenance), provide eggs and one of the best lean meat protein sources available.
The issues with our food production is *how* we do it, not *what* we eat…
@ zorr..
..not having bought meat for decades..i occaisonally take note of current prices..
..and..whoar..!..eh..?
..nah..!..you are wrong..being vegan is not more expensive that being a carnivore..
..it is much cheaper..
..and you r eating chook arguments stand if only viewed thru a single lens..
..myself..and many others..are vegan for animal welfare/environmental reasons – as much as for personal health reasons..
..it’s a three-fer..eh..?
..personal health/wellbeing..not hurting any animals..and helping the planet..
..are the three legs of the vegan-stool…
..phillip ure..
uh – I am not talking about “expense” in dollar terms. I was actually referring to the high-level technological/transport infrastructure that is required just to meet a vegan diet. It is a diet that in use only in affluent nations where the infrastructure exists to provide the necessary nutrition through more advanced means.
@zorr..”.. I was actually referring to the high-level technological/transport infrastructure that is required just to meet a vegan diet…”
cd u expand on that plse..i don’t understand what you are referring to..
“..It is a diet that in use only in affluent nations..”..well..not really..if you take rice/vegetables as the basic third world diet..
..it is the first world diet rich in animal/bye-product fats that is causing the ‘first world diseases’..(as they are known as..and for good reason..)
“..where the infrastructure exists to provide the necessary nutrition through more advanced means..”
..again i am usure as to what you are referring to..
..is it supplements..?
..factcheck:..i have been vegan for 15 yrs..i take no supplements..
(..a vegan diet doesn’t mean having to neck handfuls of supplements..)
..i am on no meds of any kind..
..i had a recent health-check..(blood-pressure of a young man’ etc etc..)
..and i know people who have been vegan for twice as long as i have..
..who are in similar general good health..
..that is the evidence i lean to ..zorr..
..phillip ure..
If I may ask then, where do you get your B12 from?
@ b12..soy milk..marmite..etc..etc..
..phillip ure..
Sooooooo… basically you just confirmed my hypothesis. You are getting a necessary vitamin that is readily available through meat consumption from your local supermarket…
It’s what I was trying to point out – those food miles add up and they are a significant contribution to issues in the world. On top of that, these are food products available here and around the Western world in our supermarkets because we *are* affluent societies. We *can* go down to the supermarket and, as long as we have the cash, buy these things.
Others may argue about the health benefits, I could care less. I’m more concerned about the misrepresentation of veganism as a viable alternative in a low energy economy.
You might be better to follow the other part of his advice. “I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine”.
Better you gave up the drugs and see how much better you will be. Why you might even get a job and get off the benefit system.
‘drugs’..alwyn..?
..these days i use pot…that’s it..
..no booze..
..how about yrslf..?..there alwyn..?
…(hic..!..)..what’s yr poison..?..(aside from ‘unjustified feelings of superiority’..eh..?..)
..looking forward to getting really pissed @ the xmas parties..?
..there..alwyn..?
phillip ure..
Anyone actually win the heavyweight boxing championship while vegan?
David Scott won 6 World Ironman championships as a vegan. Peter Brock is a vegan as are Mac Danzig, Ruth Heidrich and Greg Chappell just to name a few of many top vegan athletes.
Yeah, not the question I asked, is it?
The point is that saying “LOOK MIKE TYSON’S A VEGAN” is pointless. He became a vegan after the sporting achievements he’s famous for.
Not to mention the fact that Bill Clinton’s “vegan diet” isn’t:
http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2013/08/13/bill-clintons-vegan-diet/
Or this vegan poster boy who isn’t:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB120122116182915297
(“Small servings” of chicken and fish, huh?)
… and when you add that all up the result is my severe side-eye for vegans trying to convert me to their way of eating.
Oh that’s mean
And on it goes, the wailing of ex-Green Party candidate David Hay at the Party decision not to include Him on it’s 2014 Party Vote list just became farcical as Hay calls for Green Party activists and volunteers to ‘strike’ over what He sees as unwarranted treatment by the Party,
It would seem that Hay is more than happy to use the NZ Herald in what can only be described as a futile attempt to split the Party,(and the Herald will more than happily indulge Hay in His elongated hissy fit),
What the ongoing public display of child-like whining from Hay shows about Hay’s character to me is that it was the ME aspect of Hays character that lead His political ‘thinking’ and as his self advancement has been stymied He has no further use for the Party and is happy to attempt to ferment dissent within it,
My view is that the sooner the Party makes the ex-candidate an ex-member the better for all it will be…
Excellent comment about this from Marama Davidson here:
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/12/01/fair-democracy-let-david-hay-speak-and-put-his-hand-up-fair-democracy-common-sense-and-strong-leadership-spoke-back/
Well said Marama, you have to wonder what irks or eats away at the mind of the David Hay’s of this world, how many candidates have put their names forward to the Green Party,(and any other for that matter),only to be rejected by a selection committee,
Zillions i would say over the decades and do they all run off to the media whining like beaten dogs over having had their ego’s bruised, like hell they do and my opinion is the well disciplined Green Party has escaped a bullet by not selecting a candidate, who by His actions has shown He cares little for the discipline or the unity of the Party,
While the Green Party sticks to both arms of it’s it’s foundation, Enviroment and Social justice and equality for all then the Parliamentary members can expect the full support of the members and quite frankly those who wish to exploit their ego driven agenda at the expense of the Party should be invited to fuck off and join Colon Craig…
The David Hay thing seems all a bit odd to me. Never heard of the guy before – so he can’t have much of a political/activist profile, even though he was on last election’s list.
He’s been making vague accusations about the GP leaders, but nothing concrete: the GP has upped it’s (previously pretty non-existant) MPs living in the Auckland area in the last few years: Julie Ann Genter has been high profile about Auckland’s transport system. Denis Roche & Kennedy Graham are pretty active Auckland-based MPs. On top of that I’ve often seen other Green MPs at Auckland actions, notably Gareth Hughes and Jan Logie.
And there’s been vague accusations about the GP having moved away from its core values, but nothing explicit.
OTOH, Hay has been deemed unsuitable to be on the GP list, with no clear reasons given – though Hay’s own actions in the last week make him look like he’s not GP material – all ME and little about being a team player or anything about the ways he’s working for the good of the community.
Hay seems a bit too, managerialist for my liking, even though he says a lot of good things about green issues. He’s been part of the Auckland Council team – but that could mean anything.
Hay stood against Banks and Goldsmith in Epsom, and apparently was way more popular with men than women.
my five cents worth on david hay..
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/comment-whoar-i-am-puzzled-by-the-leveldegree-of-attention-paid-to-the-green-challenger-david-hay-but-he-hay-does-have-a-valid-point-about-the-green-partyies-long-neglect-of-inattention/
(excerpt:..)
“..ed:..the link will take you to (yet another) media piece on the quixotic tilt at russel norman..by one david hay..
..and just why the media have seized upon this exercise in clowning..by this (obvious) outlier is beyond me..”
(cont..)
phillip ure..
Suggestion for labour or greens at nextyear campaign.
Cartoon style billboards
Two panels
First panel
Paula Bennet climbing a ladder labelled support for single mothers, retraining for single mothers, etc
Second Panel
Paula Bennet at top of ladder pushing away while others still on it
Then another of Key climbing the career success ladder with State housing support, widow pension, free university education
second panel
at top pushing it away
and so on…
Simple to the point, highly visual.
Yep a narrative for people to relate to. Different approach to well lit guys in suits saying vote for ME! Many previous candidate ads could be mistaken for network tv or radio ads. Also put spot ads on facebook.
The Green campaign a couple of elections ago using a young girl broke convention a little, ditch ad agency orthodoxy but don’t go too negative on the Key gang, go positive on Labour Green Mana–“you deserve better”.
I was wondering about the legality of signs with just a face that people hold up in the street or at at political meetings or in the background of TV interviews. Do they need an authorisation statement? I hope not, because I want to make some.
e.g. a Muldoon face in the background when Key is being interviewed on TV. I’m not actually going to do that one but you get the idea.
http://i40.tinypic.com/2mdl7vr.jpg
I doubt that anything about Muldoon would really work today. I suspect that only people near retirement age actually remember him. It will be, after all, at the time of the next election, 30 years since Muldoon was PM and about 22 since he died.
Try finding someone under the age of 45, excluding the sort of people who remain glued to these blogs, who actually remembers Rob. Even the people of any age who do remember would be hard pressed to tell you anything bad about him. That is except for the ones that believe that Saint Roger Douglas cleaned up the mess Rob caused. Very old people would tell you he gave them super at 80% of the average wage and that you got it at 60, not like the 67 these evil Labour people want to impose.
No it would be a bit like saying what a terible man Forbes was as PM.
I’d say that roughly half of all voters were 45 and over. So a fair proportion of voters will remember Sir Rob. And it’d be a good political economic history lesson for the young ones.
I would say, having read many of the comments in “John Key is Rob Muldoons Doppelganger”, that most people do not remember Rob at all.
To have such a lot of people equate Key’s and Muldoon’s behaviour proves my point that people simply do not remember Rob.
In terms of their actual policy platforms Rob was very close to the currently expressed views of the Labour and Green parties. The worst thing he did for New Zealand was in his attempts to have the state control things like prices and salaries, and his attempts to pick winners in industrial companies. He also wanted the state to own many businesses and to set their policies. He also liked to force companies to do things he wanted, not things that were good for either the companies or New Zealand.
Remember supplementary minimum prices, carless days, state insurance companies, Think Big? Remember him swinging a punch at people who had heckled him (Mallard anyone)?
Sounds awfully like Norman and Cunliffe doesn’t it?
NZ First would seem to me to be the zombie of Muldoon’s National Party: grey, rotting, bits dropping off, but still lurching on.
Yes, that would seem to describe them very aptly. I guess that Winston must be the last MP who entered Parliament when Rob was PM. Dunne, Goff, Mallard, McCully were all in 1984 weren’t they. None of the veteran MPs except Winnie would remember Rob in his prime.
Yeah and this government has been picking Warner Bros, SkyCity, Serco and a few others as winners.
Car-less days were a result of the OPEC oil reduction. Pity that they didn’t continue it – we’d have excellent public transport now.
As for state insurance companies, well, insurance is actually a natural monopoly. I know, I know, it doesn’t really seem that way as there’s plenty of companies in the market place but it’s one of those things that is what I term a demand monopoly – everybody needs it and when that happens the obvious economies of scale pertain only to a monopoly. There’s a few other reasons as well.
Think Big would have been great – if Muldoon hadn’t borrowed to build it. Just printed the money and utilised our own resources effectively. It was the borrowing that killed Think Big, not the project itself. Oh, and a fixed NZ$.
Nope, that was Bob Jones and we all had a great laugh at it at the time.
Bob Jones certainly belted a TV reporter who chased him along the river when Bob was fishing.
However Rob did take a swing at people who were heckling him after an election meeting in Auckland. He insisted on leaving the hall by the front door and then took some swings at people in the street. He wasn’t the boxer that Bob Jones had been though so I don’t think there was any damage done. In that regard Rob was like Mallard.
Carless days were totally nuts. Muldoon was stupid enough to demand that Government owned vehicles must have their day between Monday and Friday so that it meant that some sacrifice be made. The sacrifice was the taxpayer’s of course because they then bought 25% more cars to cover the needs.
I am sure we (wife and I) were not the only ones who bought a second car when the policy came in.
Something had to be done about the extremely high oil prices at the time, which were crippling our balance of payments.
what? Very old people remember he stole their pension. I guess you missed the baby boomer phenomenon.
I suggest that you put on your reading glasses and have another look at what I said Tracey.
I said that “… old people will tell you he GAVE them super at 80% of the average …”
I said GAVE Tracey, not STOLE. They would tell you that it was the Labour Government that stole it when they means tested it.
It was 1984 Labour, sorry ACT, that stole our future.
Douglas’ better future, remember, bit like Key’s really.
They are probably too complicated for a billboard. It has to be a message that people can take in within a second or two whilst driving past.
I am not going to get into a debate on them but the National party “Iwi/Kiwi” were absolutely superb in that regard. I don’t mean the content, I mean the speed with which the message could be absorbed.
I think that it would take to long to register the meaning of the billboards you are proposing.
What is wrong with The Standard? I thought I’d fixed it by deleting cache and cookies etc, but now it’s back to looking like shit again.
Is the same for me. All indented left and is the same on 4 different browsers, and on 3 different computers, one a brand new win 8 machine I am building. But at least the reply is now working, hopefully.
The TS is back to normal for me since last night. Before that it looked like a mid-to-late 1990s message board – low graphics, naff layout.
It’s looking fine for me now on Chrome.
Today it is Kiwiblog up the creek with just a single word below each contribution from Jadis and one cannot log-in.
Oh well, whatever is going on… it isn’t partisan. 🙂
Mine is the same as David H.
All back to normal again.
So have the Conservatives got any policies yet which are actually conservative?
Or are they still all extreme? Like guns for all.
Conservatives, my arse….
NZ Herald editorial: anti-government regulation rant focused on core political issues /sarc.
Portable swimming pools, no wine in dairies, “anti-smacking Bill”, lightbulbs, banning cell phones while driving, compulsory immunisation, water flow in showers, – cause they limit people’s “freedom” and can have unintended consequences, especially on the “economy” (does that mean the impact on business profits?).
Still, it’s saying Key’s government is more “nanny state” than Clark’s government was.
Where are the blazing DEMOCRACY UNDER ATTACK banners then?
The Herald’s anonymous editor should have to repeat these words about too many rules to the families of. Pike River..
Ah, a jonolist learned a new word: eczematous
and then used it incorrectly.
Blubber Boy, infamous in His own bathtub,(just ask the rubber ducky about it’s treatment),has made the RadioNZ news with the defamation case,(much higher none of us could expect Him to slither),
Even Bryce Edwards, He of NZ Herald fame supports Blubber in His quest to have ‘wail oil’ taken by the Court as media,(Bryce has a point which after i have finished poking the stick i will get to),
My thoughts this morning is that the Blubber should stand up for journalistic integrity,(stop that laughter),everywhere and refuse point blank any courts order to divulge the contents of and identify His sources which lead to Him claiming that an Auckland businessman was intimately involved with Bevan Chuang,
Such a noble upholding of the journalistic ‘right’ to protect a ‘source’ in the face of the power of the judiciary would probably,(hopefully), result in Blubber Boy getting tossed in a jail cell and we might see a ‘Free the whale’ campaign start someplace,(go on Bryce make our day), while the rest of us sit around and laugh like loons as Blubber Boy eats cold wheat-bix in a jail cell where most of us think He belongs anyway,
Oh and befor i forget, Bryce’s point about Blubber being ‘media’, it appears in this latest of court appearences,(serial offender or what),Blubber is being told by the Court that He aint ‘media’, however, in a previous case the offending offensive one was told after He published the name of someone who the Court had given name suppression that ‘wail oil’ was ‘media’,
Seems at the least to be a little 2 faced by the judiciary, and damn i really want to see Him swing…
[Agreed bad12 and I have just posted about this – MS]
i never read whaleoil..(haven’t for at least a couple of yrs..i think..i stopped over the postings of pics of severed heads of animals he has slaughtered..)
..and i may be one of the few who have not read the (so i’m told) gripping/detailed accounts of len browns’ jism/seed/bodily-functions..(and no thank you..i’ll maintain that innocence..if you don’t mind..)
..but i am feeling uncomfortable over a court deciding what is or what isn’t ‘media’..
..and i see that ruling as a total orifice-pluck on the part of that judge..
..however much individuals may criticise slater for his choices of material/uses of that media..
..he..much as ‘truth’ was..is definitely part of the new media landscape..
..and to claim otherwise is a nonsense..
..phillip ure..
Agreed. pu. I also don’t read WO and haven’t read all that spurious Len Brown stuff. But am also not comfortable with the court ruling on what is media – especially given the current sad state of a lot of our so-called press and news media.
karol +1
Nor me (1 ever visit to the wallowing Whale, and another to a site operated by some sort of Penguin – both by links from this site me thinks).
I’m confident – relaxed even, that I’m not missing too much. The right wing view comes from various “horses’ mouths”.
Strangely enough, they all seem very similar, as though they were singing some sort of chorus. Even the new lingo is the same. Where is it they face? – it’s not Mecca …. Helensville perhaps?, or maybe the direction of the nearest talk-back radio transmitter.
Agree, the judiciary can’t have to both ways.
The media issue, I assume is important because if he is media he can rely on public interest but does the press have an obligation to research, avoid bias, and report any surrounding circumstances, would it include an obligation to at least put the allegations to them before publishing and print their response?
Does the public interest have to be significant, and is it objective or subjective?
If Whaleoil’s sources are not protected, is anyone writing on The Standard protected?
With a slippery slope argument arriving any minute, let me put the question:
If being a “news distributor” is the principle criteria for protecting source anonymity, could all contributors to The Standard be revealed if required to do so?
Whaleoil’s (uncomfortable) interests are pretty similar to ours.
**Hmm will shift this over to relevant debate**
Cannot reply. Same on Firefox and Safari. Text for comments are OK but layout very basic. All other sites are as normal.
Try pressing Shift + Refresh (the circled arrow). THis should force your browser(s) to reload the style sheets.
There was a problem retransferring the DNS over the weekend. I was down with a dose of the flu (still am a bit) and didn’t deal with it early enough and then made a screwup on the time to live.
I’ve purged all of the caches at the server end in case that is the problem.
That seemed to work for me on IE as it suddenly righted itself without me doing anything.
Thanks, lprent – and take care of that flu. We need you …..
Sorry to be a nuisance 1prent. I have no “circled arrow” or any key resembling word “refresh” on it. Can you hazard a guess which key it should be?
Oh… its suddenly come right. Life’s normal again. If you did something 1prent… thank-you. 🙂
Shift + F5 on windows keyboards
The refresh button on the button bar usually looks like a green circle cut at either one or two points with arrow(s) on them.
It has righted and back to usual bright and breezy format. Thanks Iprent.
lprent
+1
Quick note to McFlock, Karol, Weka, Bill, Rogue, Puddleglum….just reread the whole thread on 29 November Open Mike 18-18.5.1.1.1.2 excellent reading. Really enjoyed the insights and the easy debate. We may differ, disagree etc but hell , that’s one hell of a good read. Thank you all.
cheers – yes, it definitely gave me a fair bit to mull over, too – thanks 🙂
Mulled wine at Christmas – is that your bag?
If I were to be completely honest, my bag is probably anything with more ethanol than methanol in it.
According to an oenophile friend, the problem really is what I’m drinking 🙂
Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. (Proverbs 23:29)
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. (John 19:29)
Although he promptly dropped dead afterwards, so the term “vinegar” might genuinely imply something even less palatable than a Central Otago vanity plonk.
he he (and that’s all folks, at this time of the mornin’ to ya’) ffs 😀
“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver”- 25:12
Yaaaaaay, TS back to ‘normal’ (using that word plurally) 🙂
Life in the 21st century western style (USA version). I just heard some consumer related news on Radionz item. Thanksgiving day trading, some stores have opened for the first time. 10 million transactions in one day I think. $54 billion I think taken. Protests by workers wanting more pay outside Walmart.
The old kaleidoscope effect. Every time you shake it and look at it you get a different colour, perspective. Some in my family support NACTs. Looking at the same happenings in NZ we think about them entirely differently.
Hi folks!
Concerned about the Auckland ‘daft lunatic Plan’ and ‘democracy for developers’?
Live in the Eden-Albert area?
Seen this?
“You are welcome to attend a Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan Public Meeting.
There will be a Presentation on the Notified Unitary Plan by independent planner David Wren – with particular emphasis on Albert-Eden area and topics which are likely to be of interest to locals.
David Wren will speak for about 40 minutes followed by plenty of time for questions and answers.
Date: Saturday 7 December 2013
Time: 9.30am to 12 Noon (doors open at 9.30am and there is access to displays in the lobby and opportunities to discuss issues prior to the main presentation).
Venue: Mt Eden War Memorial Hall, The Chamber Room, 489 Dominion Road, BALMORAL”
____________________________________________________________________________
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/democracy-for-developers/
A look into the lives of the people who make the electronics we use.
http://www.jsonline.com/business/migrant-workers-pay-to-get-jobs-making-electronics-b99151857z1-234004661.html
and while I’m here,
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of (philosopher? ) kings”- 25:2.
Now, away to a tangi, people die, very moving.
You’re back, format and all. Great, no more of John Key’s dirty deeds. Funny how the site crashed on the day of the by-election.
wtf!
Great listening on RadioLive right now – Cameron Slater and Michelle Boag arguing because he called her a lying poisonous scumbag, which is in itself ironic coming from someone like Slater. Also, Michelle once again stated that Slater is an ACC beneficiary, which is another irony when his favourite sport is beneficiary bashing.
Seen this folks?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/your-views/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501154&objectid=11149526
So far the greatest number of ‘likes’ on the NZ Herald for New Zealander of the Year article have gone to Graham McCready for taking a private prosecution against the ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks – ACT Leader and MP for Epsom!
YAY!
dodgy john is going…. going…. 🙂
Penny Bright
http://www.dodgyjohnhas gone.com
todays’ revelations are about/detail how australian spooks/govt offered unlimited raw data on australian citizens to their five eyes partners..to do with what they wished..
..whoar..!..eh..?..
..i wonder when our revelation will happen..?
..and is helen clark ‘sweating’ at all on these upcoming revelations..over there in noo yawk…?
..d’yareckon..?
..phillip ure..
NR radio again. Imagine again that NR decries the lack of factual correctness on the internet. Yet a smidgen of common sense would stop a guest from spouting nonsense. Its known that the firepower of an army is key to its success, that soldiers are trained in rapid accurate fire, so when a former top shot in the US marines guns down the president, looking down on a log slow moving cavalcade in Texas, is it any wonder Oswald got three shots off. You can imagine the jokes had he missed, former Marine couldn’t shoot diddly. So to my surprise NR guest declares he couldn’t believe that a lone gun man could of gotten three shots off in quick succession. Has the man never seen war movies of lines of muskets, highly trained to do just that, rapid fire. No, imagination mixed with common sense is not a requirement in a guest on Moro.
Cycling past this exit onto a cycle way, and keep meeting these aggressive drivers. Well turns out they were likely exiting a gym, didn’t make the connection until I heard about hormone abuses. I wonder do police stats show more accidents near gyms?
Are you in Auckland?
I recently had the pleasure of driving from Wellington to Auckland.
To maintain my sanity and ensure I didn’t do anything stupid like fall asleep at the wheel I divided the trip into 3 sections over 2 days.
As a quick aside, I totally recommend checking out any one of the short walks in Tongariro National Park, it was my best stop of the trip.
The traffic and behaviour of other drivers was pretty good right up until I hit the Bombay Hills. The increase of frequency of aggresive, rude and plain dangerous driving was stark.
I saw one incident of a frustrated driver shortly before I left Wellington compared to almost a dozen between Bombay and Glen Eden.
I ride a pushbike on almost a daily basis in Auckland so I am used to psychotic drivers, but this experience highlighted just how normalised bad driving is in Auckland compared to other cities and towns in New Zealand.
Hehe. Your comment brings to mind this piece that starts off:
“My gym has begun to sound like the set of a porno. So much grunting and heaving and panting. It reverberates around the room in a testosterone-laden symphony of man clownery.
“I’ve had enough. Grunty bloke, it’s time to shut up. I’m fairly certain I work out just as hard, yet you don’t hear me groaning like a constipated caveman on steroids every time I break a sweat.
“Women deliver babies with less fuss than the way you puff and whine through a bicep curl.
“Unless you’re attempting to pass a bowling ball through the tip of your urethra there’s really no reason for all the noise.
“And I’m not buying your ”but grunting makes me stronger” nonsense.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/wellbeing/9399413/Grunty-gym-bloke-please-pipe-down
Coming up on the Panel this afternoon: Neil Miller and Jordan Williams
Another black day for Radio New Zealand National
Monday, 2 December 2013
Miller is a smug and conceited git who is on record touting the racist right wing “humorist” P.J. O’Rourke as his favorite writer. If Miller stuck to beer assessing, then he would be sufferable, if only just sufferable. Unfortunately, he tends to veer into political commentary, but he knows little about anything other than beer.[1] Jordan Williams is a junior colleague of the infamous ex-ACT M.P. and S.S. spokesman Stephen Franks, and is becoming well known to Panel listeners as a pretentious but shallow commentator—very like Franks and Miller, in fact. So far, Williams’ most infamously stupid contribution—and there are many to choose from—remains this classic, uttered on the Panel a couple of months ago: “Capping rents seems like a recipe for disaster”. [2]
So look at what’s happened, whether accidentally or not: two government-friendly right wing commentators appear on the day that another right wing commentator, Cameron Slater, is one of the major topics of discussion. That represents another minor victory for the beleaguered National-led regime, which needs all the help it can get after the disaster (for National) in Christchurch over the weekend. But it represents another body-blow to the credibility of Radio New Zealand National.
[1] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-2092013/#comment-690249
[2] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-12092013/#comment-695426
UPDATE!!!
Speaking right now is another guest on the programme—-Garth “The Knife” McVicar. By way of some kind of justification for giving this bloodthirsty lout airtime, Mora prefaced his appearance by saying this: “Okay, we’ve had CRIMINOLOGISTS on the programme before….”
So treating violent psychopaths like McVicar respectfully is some kind of balancing manoeuvre.
This programme is now beyond satire.
what really pissed me off about today..
..was how mora just sat by and let that clown mcvicar deny the provable-facts of the drop in crime here..
..(a drop that is but an echo of the international trend of sharply dropping rates of crime..)..
..mora makes no mention of that international trend echo..(does he not know..?..could someone tell him..?
..if he does know..?..huh..!..)
..why does he/mora just let these outright/easily provable lies go uncalled/unquestioned..?
..he does himself no favours by doing this..
..today i linked to a story on how sweden is closing four of their prisons..
..a combination of those dropping rates..and the swedish focus on rehabilitation..instead of being solely focused on retribution..as is practised here..
..i noted at the foot of that story/link..how at a time when sweden is closing four prisons..
..we are building a new super-prison..
..have handed our prison system over to the american private industry model..(now there’s a success story/role-model..eh..?..that american prison system..)
..and the cherry on top of this cake of fucken wrongheaded-incompetence/ignorance..
..is that the govt has signed contracts with these private prison spivs..
..guaranteeing to supply enough prisoners to fill their prisons..(!)
..now..that just fucken bends my head out of shape..that prisoner-guarantee..
..we are ruled by ignorant fools..
..phillip ure..
ACT – less than 1% of the voters
25% of panel invitees.
Had to laugh at the “highbrow???” of Mensa Mora’s Mucky Show 4-5 pm today. The Mad Machiavellian Miller crapping on about whom, according to his girlfriend and others, he resembles.
James McOnie and someone else and someone else apparently. One only has to Google a pic of said Mad Miller to know that the most striking likeness is to – wait for it – SlaterPorn. There must be whakapapa !
Thought about you with anticipation Morrissey as in the course of a three hour plus drive home to the North I listened to the fascinatingly gross right wing fucks Jordan Williams, Mad Miller, and Garth McVictim. Gushingly hosted by The Nicest Man On Earth. Truly incredible !
A passing comment by Mad Miller suggests he might’ve been a late call to today’s Mucky Show – you may well be correct in your suspicion that a troika of outlandish right wingers was rapidly assembled to provide “balance” in the wake of the Christchurch result.
A passing comment by Mad Miller suggests he might’ve been a late call to today’s Mucky Show
Miller replaced Mai Chen at the last moment. It’s a pity, because she has shown a willingness to contest lazy ideologists in the past. Her absence ensured that Jordan Williams got (yet another) free ride.
– you may well be correct in your suspicion that a troika of outlandish right wingers was rapidly assembled to provide “balance” in the wake of the Christchurch result.
As bad as Neil Miller and Jordan Williams are, what I found utterly insulting was bringing on that S.S. obergruppenführer to “discuss” law and order. Surely, if McVicar is acceptable to the producers of this programme, then Kyle Chapman has to be consulted next time the Panel has a discussion about arson.
Probably already covered somewhere above but don’t have time to check – who would have thought it – forgive me the following words we’re not allowed to use – “G….y” Herald caning “N…y” National ???
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9466873/Work-starts-on-MacKays-to-Peka-Peka-expressway
The award for MSM capabilities in photojournalism goes to ……
c a m e r o n b u r r r N E L L ! ! ! for
“Turning the Sod”
(unassisted – the guy rolls over all on his own)
The Guardian is picking up on the Government’s attempt to soften us all up for a fall in NZ’s Education Sector ranking in the OECD Pisa Report.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/dec/01/michael-gove-labour-international-league-table