There are some very concerning trends in the TV3 Poll that have been ignored or even mis-represented in the MSM. In my view these will be worsened by the unpopular decision to bring Tamihere into the already unstable mix.
43% say Shearer is the best Labour Leader, but only 9% say Shearer is their preferred PM. However 12% say Cunliffe s the best Labour Leader and 6% Little.
That 43% for Shearer will be a reflection of the wider public while the 12% for Cunliffe will reflect a less populist leaning sub-set, given this is Cunliffe’s first significant outing in the Leadership stakes. (Thank to Patrick Gower and Chris Hipkins: did Cunliffe pay these two?)
Only 1 in 3 of Labour’s 33% see Shearer as the preferred PM. But there is a 12% that sees Cunliffe as the best Labour Leader.
It is possible that the TV3 Reid Poll found that Cunliffe has a level of support from Labour leaning people close to that of Shearer’s.
I’d love to see a further breakdown of the Reid Poll results.
Further concerning trends from Feb 12 to Oct 12 in the TV3 Reid Poll are that the Labour Leader:
Has more style than substance: 15% to 28%
Is rather narrow minded: 9% to 20%
Tends to talk down to people: 9% to 18%
Is too inflexible: 11% to 19%
Is rather inexperienced: 65% to 73%
Has a lot of personality: 35% to 30%
These details explain the desperate behaviour over the past few weeks of the clique around poor Shearer.
The meeting a few of them had last Wednesday, in Vivace on High Street in Auckland, decided that Tamihere was one way of getting a temporary lift in numbers to keep Shearer from having to face the membership in a few months. Understandable given the polling details above.
“The meeting a few of them had last Wednesday, in Vivace on High Street in Auckland, decided that Tamihere was one way of getting a temporary lift in numbers to keep Shearer from having to face the membership in a few months.”
I’m sorry but that doesn’t make any sense at all. Tamihere is merely a member. He has nothing to do with the caucus vote that would trigger the leadership competition that enables members to vote. If members do vote, his vote would count as 1, just as any other member’s would.
The reference was to Popularity numbers, not Caucus numbers.
Camp Shearer believes that if they improve the Labour support to high 30s that he can avoid having the awful members have a say on his tenure.
Yep, Tamihere claims to be a straight talker, but there aint nothing straight about his talk. He does not call a spade a spade. He does not speak clearly. He does not make his opinion known on the matter at hand.
For example – Is Tova, the “stupid little girl”, stupid? Well from what can be gleaned she is most definitely not stupid.
Is Tova little? Well, I wouldn’t know actually but presumably not. Probably average size. Besides Tamihere, what has her size got to do with anything.
Is Tova a girl? Well, no, she is a grown woman. So, wrong again Tamihere. You need to learn to speak clearly and in black and white.
John Tamihere – first burst to his ego and looky at that – not a straight word spoken anywhere, not a spade a spade, not one ounce of clear statement on anything, not able to decipher between black and white. He does not speak with any authority, he does not call a spade a spade, and in fact it is entirely impossible to decipher what he was saying there.
John Tamihere – last person in the world to call a spade a spade.
woman-hater John Tamihere and the accused woman-raper Clint Rickards hang out together…….
scary
[lprent: Please be more careful about what you say, you stated the facts incorrectly and made us liable. Clint Rickards was acquitted. I have amended your comment to demonstrate what you should have said to be factually correct. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Rickards ]
If you want the good oil, you need to find yourself some friendly plods, like, maybe guys who you grew up with that are ok sharing stories….All anecdotal of course!
The difficulty I’ve always seen with the publicly available information about that particular case and the involvement of Clint Rickards was the evidence that he had a broken leg in plaster at the time and he denied ever being there.
From memory an All Black supported the evidence re: the broken leg.
Given none of the statements ever made about the allegations ever suggested that one of the people involved had their leg in plaster it wasn’t surprising that he was found not guilty – at least to my non-trained eyes.
I notice there’s no mention of that in the Wikipedia reference.
Like with Scott Guy or Peter Ellis or David Bain there’s lots of times when there is strong feelings and opinions around particular cases.
I’d have to say I’d rather support a system that relies on evidence to make decisions and sets a high standard of “beyond reasonable doubt” otherwise we might as well be back using dunking seats for witches and lynch mobs.
Nice one JT. You like to be called JT, makes you sound like one of the boy’s, Eh, JT? Well, JT you are a misogynistic, Racist, Brain Dead Moron who really is more suited for the ACT party (you’d fit right in). So please do us a favour (just by joining Labour you have probably alienated most women that vote Labour, and the article in today’s paper just finished the job). And leave.
Tamihere at his usual bullying ignorant level alas off a lady reporter yesterday calling her a stupid little girl.
Darien Fenton (junior whip to angry-boy Hipkins) says — I wouldn’t say it didn’t upset me, but don’t want to make a comment. In Stuff.
Darien, that is up there with the most useless responses of all times.
At the Annual Conference in Ellerslie you abused Service Workers who supported the shift to democratic selection of a Leader. You ranted at one til she was in tears. You had heaps of invective for union and labour members: but not an ounce for a bully like Tamihere. Shame on you.
With Tbe new processes your placing on the list must be under threat. After the conference gig you will not get union support again. Swallowing a rat for a whip position was not one of your better moves. You need to win back the membership and union support u once had. Go to the backbenches with Cunliffe.
3.1 insider asks
Why would an opposition whip have to have a view on someone who isn’t even an MP?
because the decision to have Tamihere back into Labour is not a simple decision about a simple Joe Average member. It was a major decision that involved conversations with Twyford, Cosgrave, Robertson, Shearer and more.
They think all the anti-PC element who disliked Helen will now flock to planet Shearer. And despite what Shearer and Tamihere say, giving JT a shot at a seat was discussed between them in a very positive manner. Phil, my MP, thinks it is an inspired idea. (It settles an old score)
So it should be of considerable interest to a whip how Tamihere behaves.
Many ordinary Joe Average members got bolickings at the Conference from senior MPs for supporting the 40% threshold for a wider leadership vote. Why should Tamihere have special exemptions?
The idea of giving Tamihere a shot at a seat to grab back the anti-PC voters is as inspired as giving John Ansell a shot to link with poor whites who blame their plight on the “Treaty Industry”. Why not go the whole hog and get Kyle Chapman? Maybe the “Beast of Blenheim” could be coopted as well? When all we see from the ruling faction of Labour is this sort of inspiration, and the totally incompetent gagging of anyone who says something slightly progressive, I would have to think very hard before even giving one of them an electorate vote.
What’s the difference between John Tamihere and John Banks apart from a few years in age? It seems they both support charter schools, probably both like Harley Davidsons, and both have problems seeing “front bums” anywhere but the kitchen. Well, I’ll call them “back pussies” and they can go and —— each other as far as I’m concerned.
“At the Annual Conference in Ellerslie you abused Service Workers who supported the shift to democratic selection of a Leader. You ranted at one til she was in tears.”
Citation needed. And Fenton voted for the change to a (party wide) democratic leadership election. Everyone did. However, what you meant is that she voted for the normal union position of 50% plus one.
“After the conference gig you will not get union support again.”
And yet Darien remains a life member of the SFWU and a popular and active participant in the union’s activities. Funny old world, eh?
“At the Annual Conference in Ellerslie you abused Service Workers who supported the shift to democratic selection of a Leader. You ranted at one til she was in tears.”
While Darien is capable of robust debate, I don’t believe for a moment she would behave like that.
One of the greatest pressures being placed on the environment today is due to the need to sustain the required economic growth that ensures the stable functioning of our current economic system.
To then service that debt requires future earnings over and above what is required merely to continue the existing level of economic activity. So economic growth, often in the form of more debt, must accompany debt service.
This is the elephant in the room. The only reason why we need growth in our economy is to feed the greed of the banksters and by doing that we destroy the environment.
Time to change the financial system to a positive money system and the economy to a stable state. That way we can provide for our children and grand children rather than destroying any hope they have.
Couldn’t agree more DTB. Reminds me of the old proverb that I can’t seem to find attributed to anyone in particular – “We do not inherit our world from our parents, we borrow it from our children.”
Ven Young is sitting over there in Heaven…National Party man who tried to decriminalize homosexuality back when Norm Kirk (Labour) was very disparaging of gays…..he looks a little puzzled with the “right wing wet dream” bit, he is asking why “lefties” align anti gay politics with the Right? I said to him to ask that of Marilyn Waring…another National Party person.
Syria has said it would not use chemical weapons against its own people after the United States warned it would take action against any such escalation.
The statements came amid media reports, citing European and US officials, that Syria’s chemical weapons had been moved and could be prepared for use in response to dramatic gains by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
Reviving old claims first made months ago – “”Syria has stressed repeatedly that it will not use these types of weapons, if they were available, under any circumstances against its people,” the foreign ministry said.”
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier warned that Washington would take action if Syria used the weapons.
“I am not going to telegraph any specifics what we do in the event of credible evidence that the Assad regime has resorted to using chemical weapons against their own people, but suffice to say, we are certainly planning to take action if that eventuality were to occur,” she said during a visit to Prague on Monday.
Setting the scene for more action based on BS, just in case..
The rebels have begun to advance quickly in recent weeks after months of slow sieges to cut off army routes and supplies.
Read: The rebel sponsors have imported more AQ fighters, and probably armed them to the teeth also.
In the past few weeks, they seized several military bases around the country, and an oil field and hydro-electric dam in the northeast. Rebels are using anti-aircraft weapons to attack the military helicopters and fighter jets that have bombarded their positions with impunity until now
Yup, tooled up with some big guns – where did they get the armoury I wonder!
The opposition-linked Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian army was trying to take over Daraya, on the southern outskirts of Damascus, and was attacking rebels with rockets as it advanced into some parts of the town
Opposition linked – Must make them impartial *good guys* by default then eh!
Whats interesting is that there is no UN mandate which says they can interfere in domestics, only international, does not seem to rate a mention in the MSM reports though!
It’s like they’d call the state run media chanels ‘state run’.
Or are you saying that they shouldn’t have mentioned the outfit’s affiliations, or that they shouldn’t have run what they had to say, or what, exactly?
And on the chem weapons stuff, again this is standard MO right?
The govt is moving the weapons, for whatever reason.
Western intel. sees that they are moving the weapons.
At this point, they are going to say that there will be consequences if those weapons are used.
That’s not because they are itching to get in there, (they’d be in there already if that was the case), it’s because if they don’t say that, then the regime might take that as a signal that they would be ok with their use.
It’s all about signals.
Like when Saddam wasn’t told directly that invading Kuwait would be met with consequences, he took it as a green light.
Same thing. If the regime resorts to using chems, the west doesn’t want there to have been any ambiguity about where they stood.
Same thing. If the regime resorts to using chems, the west doesn’t want there to have been any ambiguity about where they stood.
I believe you are mistaken in thinking that this media messaging is for the consumption of the Syrian ‘regime’.
As in the case of Iraq’s supposed WMD, the media messaging is for our consumption.
The Archdruid has written recently about the nature of nuclear deterrence. Many of the rules apply to chemical weapons as well. Assad knows that any use of chemical weapons on Turkey will trigger a massive and immediate NATO campaign that he would be lucky to survive a week of.
Nato will be hard pressed to get involve in this messy business. The stumbling block for NATO involvement is Russia, who has just recently setup a naval base in Syria in the exchange of at least six billion dollars worth of armaments. Now, much of the arms are sent from Iran. Many of the rebels are an assortment from different groups and heavily sponsored by the Arabs.
“Easily the most important development of “late monopoly capitalism” is the triumph of the rentiers or the absentee owners, as Veblen called them. These people are less “entreprenuers” than economic barons. They call themselves “venture capitalists,” “investment bankers,” “hedge fund managers,” “brokers” and “financial analysts.” But the term “bankster” is as good a descriptor as any other, as i
t captures the predatory venality of what is essentially organized criminality. As a political force, the banksters rule the realm through a combination of graft, propaganda, legalized extortion and outright thievery. As creditors, they have made “serfs” out of millions with their insidious usurious policies. As legal activists, they have manipulated the tax codes to engross a larger share of social wealth. As ideologues, they have pushed the view that government indebtedness, rather than unemployment, is the true measure of “crisis.” And as class warriors, they are currently using the big stick of “austerity” to smash the welfare state.
The “financialization” of capitalism is a catastrophic turn. In many ways, it is the institutionalization of barbarism. When “austerity” is the ideal, it becomes normal: to see people homeless on the streets; to see the elderly working in menial jobs when they ought to be comfortably retired; to see children going hungry; to see young people without prospects, crushed by debt; to see poverty “feminized” as familes collapse, or never get going, under the strain; to see people die prematurely for want of health care; to see crime rampant, as social bonds wither; to see “tribalism” return in sinister forms, as people turn to “race,” “nation” and “religion” in search of authentic identity; to see addiction grow apace; to see the general spread of mindlesssness and meaninglessness as “the market” colonizes every social space. We are already experiencing many of these social pathologies. It’s an open question whether a society of this nature has any real future.”
“Neoliberalism is a philosophy which construes profit making as the essence of democracy and consuming as the only operable form of citizenship. It also provides a rationale for a handful of private interests to control as much as possible of social, economic, and political life in order to maximize their personal profit. Neoliberalism is marked by a shift from the manufacturing to the service sector, the rise of temporary and part-time work, growth of the financial sphere and speculative activity, the spread of mass consumerism, the commodification of practically everything.
Neoliberalism combines free market ideology with the privatization of public wealth, the elimination of the social state and social protections, and the deregulation of economic activity. Core narratives of neoliberalism are: privatization, deregulation, commodification, and the selling off of state functions. Neoliberalism advocates lifting the government oversight of free enterprise/trade thereby not providing checks and balances to prevent or mitigate social damage that might occur as a result of the policy of “no governmental interference”; eliminating public funding of social services; deregulating governmental involvement in anything that could cut into the profits of private enterprise; privatizing such enterprises as schools, hospitals, community-based organizations, and other entities traditionally held in the public trust; and eradicating the concept of “the public good” or “community” in favor of “individual responsibility.”
It is a form of terrorism because it abstracts economics from ethics and social costs, makes a mockery of democracy, works to dismantle the welfare state, thrives on militarization, undermines any public sphere not governed by market values, and transforms people into commodities. Neoliberalism’s rigid emphasis on unfettered individualism, competitiveness and flexibility displaces compassion, sharing and a concern for the welfare of others. In doing so, it dissolves crucial social bonds and undermines the profound nature of social responsibility and its ensuing concern for others. In removing individuals from broader social obligations, it not only tears up social solidarities, it also promotes a kind of individualism that is almost pathological in its disdain for public goods, community, social provisions, and public values. Given its tendency to instrumentalize knowledge, it exhibits mistrust for thoughtfulness, complexity, and critical dialogue and in doing so contributes to a culture of stupidity and cruelty in which the dominant ethic is organized around the discourse of war and a survival of the fittest mentality. Neoliberalism is the antithesis of democracy.
“Hell” of an eternity here in Purgatory…just saw some recently deceased resident of the Hamptons trudging back from the Pearly Gates, in a delicious piece of irony St Peter has employed Thorsten Veblen and some spear wielding New Guinea natives to escort Wall Streets finest back to Purgatory.
On the note of larceny there was one “hell” of a row coming out of there, a fellow called Tetzel and several of the numerous Dominicans down there were arguing with John Law that they deserved the credit for the invention of derivatives…indulgences that specified spiritual repayment at some unspecified future date…the Devils agents on Earth report that Goldman Sachs execs are filing a class action for damages against this claim to their IP in “virtual” financial instruments. Just after that we all got boiled in oil, Lucifer decided that the cost of litigation should be “socialized”. Financial crime it appears does pay, and we, like you on Earth got the bill.
Didnt seem much comment here about it, but Fonterra shareholders fund kicked off on Friday. Say what you like about it, but it is essentially a stockmarket listing through the backdoor. I read on another site that farmer-suppliers cannot just ring one of the directors and have a chat with them about the company anymore because they are now bound by insider trading laws.
One of the strengths of Fonterra is that it is a co-op, collectively owned by its suppliers, and provides a wide range of support for them. (I also note that Fonterra EMPLOYS its tanker drivers, and doesnt have them as owner operators – one of the few companies to do so). Co-ops have been a mainstay throghout agriculture — Ballance, Ravensdown, LIC, RD1, and so on — even the Farmer’s chain store used to the the Farmers Co-Op Trading Society.
However, a few people high up on Fonterra’s board have decided that co-ops some how resemble Stalinist collective agriculture, and want to undermine it, and there are come stupid hayseed cockies singing their praises.
I also think we need to re-look at the Tomorrow’s Schools (TS) reforms of 23 years ago, schools pretty much lost a lot of support when this happened, causing a lot of students to fall through the cracks, plus the whole consept of winner and loser schools, and the white flight from schools in smaller areas.
I have to also mention that TS may have also resulted in more central control of education, ie by the minister, and that with the old Education Boards in charge, the restructuring of Christchurch schools might have gone a bit differently, (not to mention Mallards school closing frenzy last decade).
Apple Inc., which has received over $9 million in Pentagon contracts in recent years, has rejected from its App Store, and therefore from all iPhones, a simple informative application.
Drones+ is an application that shows no depictions of the carnage of war and reveals no secret information. It simply adds a location to a map every time a drone strike is reported in the media and added to a database maintained by the U.K.’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Apple has rejected the app as “objectionable and crude.”
Drone wars continue because the U.S. public is unaware what is being done in our name with our money. We are interested in knowing where our government is using drones and has killed people, not in celebrating that killing.
The people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and elsewhere living under the drones can’t ignore what’s being done to them. Neither should we, as it’s done with our money and in our names.
A recent study by Stanford and NYU found that drones traumatize innocent populations, who have no way of knowing how to protect themselves from drone strikes. Further, only 2% of victims of these strikes are high-level targets. The drones kill civilian men, women, and children, are being used to target rescuers, schools and funerals, and create significant anti-U.S. hostility — exactly as the Pakistani and Afghan governments have said they do.
Here is a link to a newly published scientific research paper which comes to the conclusion that the seismic information collected from the Palisades seismic station on 9/11 does not support the official assertion that 2 planes were responsible for the collapse of the two twin towers and WTC7.
Here is a link to a newly published scientific research paper which [begins its analysis on the assumption] that the seismic information collected from the Palisades seismic station on 9/11 does not support the official assertion that 2 planes were responsible for the collapse of the two twin towers and WTC7.
Great, two links for the price of one! Thanks McFuck.
And for those of you who are interested, seismic data is a pretty robust kind of science about what kind of forces are unleashed around the globe. It’s how we know about the strength of Nuclear explosions, Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions.
Planes ramming into buildings at a significant distance from the ground are pretty insignificant details in the scheme of things. Explosions activating the seismic recorder in a seismic station 34 km away from these explosions on the other hand are not so insignificant.
Nor are the assumptions around which one starts one’s analysis. The dude, for example, ruled out other types of waves based on assumptions of what waveforms the collisions would have caused, made assumptions about the average speeds of those assumed waveforms through the ground, and only those assumptions enabled him to draw the conclusion of a time discrepancy. “Scientific” my arse.
But feel free to continue making a hobby out of peoples’ deaths.
The “dude” is:
André Rousseau and he is a Doctor of Geophysics and Geology, a former researcher in the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), who has published 50 papers on the relationships between the characteristics of progressive mechanical waves and geology.
Dr. Rousseau is an expert on measurement of acoustic waves.
I would say that’s doctor Dude to you.
There were no other events that would qualify as seismic triggers and if we talk about the refusal to consider reasons for why the three buildings collapsed maybe we should have a look at NIST which refused to look at the possibility for the use of explosives because nobody they said had heard any loud bangs.
And in response to your last remark. It is the survivors who want a new and independent investigation and with some 70.000 first responders dying and two wars started in the aftermath of the attacks so your comment is callous and sow a severe disregards for the fact that these people are not making a hobby out of other peoples deaths you sad excuse for a human being.
I would say that’s doctor Dude to you.
That’s sweet. And yet the doctors who don’t agree with you are government conspiracists. I was simply pointing out that the “scientific” paper explicitly states that it seeks to demonstrate alternative theories. He successfully does this by making unreferenced assumptions about waveforms and propagation speeds. This is not “scientific”. It is borderline reasonable.
There were no other events that would qualify as seismic triggers
According to his theory, based on uncited assumptions.
Some survivors do not believe that the official explanation is enough to explain the deaths of their loved ones. Fair enough.
Two illegitimate wars were started using the incidents as an excuse. Fair enough.
Not sure on the actual numbers, but it’s fair to say that thousands of first responders have been seriously harmed or killed by inhaling the debris while trying to save lives. No argument.
My last point was simply pointing out that you, personally, have made a fucking hobby out of seeing patterns in clouds and thereby stating as fact that there is a big man in the sky. Stamp your moral outrage all you want, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you drool at the sight of the latest piece of bullshit that you happen to agree with – as we all know, anything else is black propaganda.
I also have a PhD. I’ve published 75 papers in the peer reviewed literature. I do not think chemtrails exist and have serious doubts about WTC theories. I am apparently “Too blind to see denier brainwashed dude.” Ah well, I never liked the word dude anyway.
By the way, I just read the article. It does indeed start out with a premise or an assumption. This is not typical of French scientists I have known and worked with. Especially in forensic investigations, which this purports to be, any investigator should be led by the evidence. They should not lead the evidence.
Hey Murray, I saw a congrats is in order! It seems you and your team will be transporting atoms along fiber optics in oh, the next four years or so. Way to go! Can’t wait to see that happen! LOL.
Actually, the basics of what we described in our article have already been done in a couple of laboratories. What you have linked is an old press release from the university PR department and is not from the scientific literature, but I understand you have trouble telling the difference. Maybe you’ve been staring at chemtrails that were a bit close to the Sun? If you find the actual article, you might be able to find someone who can explain it to you.
Nice piece of stalking, by the way. Says heaps for your talents as a fearless investigator and noble truthseeker. It also creeps me out a little, but maybe I’m just over sensitive.
I apologise Murray – This should have been appended to McFlock’s comment.
And there again you attack the “hypothesiser”. I sure hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in your bum. Is it so wrong that Ev has such a different view from you that you need to lambast her so repetitively? Different != wrong necessarily..
And McFlock “Keystone Kooks” – unnecessary don’t you think?
Oh dear, A simple Google search and you feel stalked? You who jumps on every thing I write here? Who couldn’t wait to get me dumped of a facebook page? It’s one thing to do the stalking but not so funny when it happens to you isn’t it?
Your university puts out PR about you and your team developing “Beam me up” technology while you can’t get your head around simple Newtonian laws is what makes this search result funny though. 😀
Funny, when I studied Mathematics and the different ways of proving stuff, I missed proof by vilification, repetition, dishonesty and character assassination. They must be reserved for those who see further than the rest of us.
Yawn. Ding dong.
That’s a very pretty red herring. How does it alter the fact (since you’re all about truthiness) that – as McFlock says – the “analysis” starts by assuming its conclusion? Is that how they do science on your planet?
And for those of you interested to find out why I find OTH to be an absolute and total bore, read the very detailed research submitted by André Rousseau a Doctor of Geophysics and Geology, a former researcher in the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), who has published 50 papers on the relationships between the characteristics of progressive mechanical waves and geology. Dr. Rousseau is an expert on measurement of acoustic waves. Here is the link to the PDF.
For those of you not familiar with the layout of a scientific paper here are some ground rules on how to present your work. The first thing you do is to write an Abstract when you begin to assemble the results of your research in order to present it to your scientific peers.
An Abstract is nothing more than an introduction to your research and an explanation of the thesis you have been working on. This is not the same as starting with an idea and bending the science in order to proof your thesis.
The proper response is to read the paper and to either refute the paper with scientific arguments or if you have no such arguments to hold your tongue.
For OTH and McFlock to suggest that the Abstract is anything other than that is to say the least disingenuous. However I am very happy to hear their proper scientific response. With a paper starting with:
Abstract: In this paper we aim to refute the findings of Dr. Roussau with regards to his assertions that only controlled demolitions could have brought down the Twin towers and WTC 7 on 11/9/2001. We aim to show that only two planes flown into the Twin towers can be held responsible for the freefall collapse of both the twin towers and WTC 7…. Oh wait, you can’t!
For OTH and McFlock to suggest that the Abstract is anything other than that is to say the least disingenuous.
[much laughter]
Hey, you might want to check whether the abstract conforms to your own source’s description.
The main issue is that there is no consideration of a “question”. The aim isn’t to examine the seismic records and their consistency with current literature. It’s not even to examine other possible explanations. It explicitly sets out to refute previous conclusions.
In addition to that BIG issue, the methodology description is absent, and as for the rest of the “article” conventional science tends to keep the methodology, discussion and commentary on the conclusion separate, just to ensure that preconceptions do not taint the analysis.
Wrong question oh, Wisewoman (Rofl)! The question should be how much experience do I have in reading them and…. even more important understanding them.
Too wit, Murray Olsen says he has written 75 scientific papers but he still has a problem understanding Newtons laws of Physics.
Y’know, I’d completely forgotten about 9/11 these last few months. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but the whole Obama winning thing seemed to have not only caused the internal collapse of the Republican Party (faster than freefall?), but also the end of the associated birther/truther/CCD axis. The end of the racist birther movement is clearly linked to the election; what point is there in moaning after Obama’s been elected a second time? None. may as well put the white sheet back on the bed now. Shame about the eyeholes though.
As I’ve pointed out previously, mad conspiracy theories usually only last a generation or so. Elvis, JFK, the Lindberg baby … all had a decade or so of currency, then became irrelevant through the passage of time. 9/11 truth deniers have already hit their peak and its a long slide through disinterest, eye rolling and derision and into a deserving obscurity that awaits the remaining acolytes.
It seems to me TRP that you are awfully keen to universally pan “conspiracy theories”. I can only assume this MAY be because there seems to be a belief that “theorists” are nutbar right wingers whereas I don’t actually think there is a relevant or common point on the political spectrum and the “nutbar” descriptor is subjective.
Perhaps it might be beneficial to look at (just a handful) of historical “conspiracy theories” which were later proven to be fact. There are probably of course countless others however these are perhaps some of the more prominent.
Project MKULTRA
Bay of Pigs
Operation Northwoods
Gulf of Tonkin
Accordingly, irrespective of whether you agree with Ev’s assertions and/or hypotheses, it may not be prudent to universally discount what she suggests as these may (or may not) also be proven to be correct in retrospect.
.
Humans have been conspiring ever since they stepped off the spaceship onto planet earth.
It is one of our most common traits. We do it as much as work, love, game, construct, destruct, plot, plan, play, plop, and plunder. It is as old as the hills.
Everybody conspires, and consequently every organisation conspires. Look it up in the dictionary.
People who roundly dismiss “conspiracy theorists” as fools are in fact themselves the fools.
This is where critical thinking comes in. And the fact is that interpreting facts to support your hypothesis is not a way to reliably determine the truth of your hypothesis.
It’s possible that aliens destroyed the twin towers with nano-thermite. The problem is that we then have to develop a theory to explain away hundreds of millions of people watching on TV as a plane apparently flew into a goddamn building. It’s possible that twenty floors of each tower were painted with explosives cunningly disguised as wallpaper paste. The trouble is that at the moment there’s no evidence of either scenario. All we have are people staring at pixelated images for ten years, interpolating the dots with assumptions and wishful thinking.
No one denies that conspiracies do happen. But that isn’t evidence for every touted conspiracy being real.
The widely accepted theory for what happened on 9/11 is of a conspiracy as well.
The question is, which conspiracy theory best fits all the observed and known facts.
The widely accepted theory posits that a terrorist group did it. That group admits they did it.
I’ve not seen how truthers fit the fact of AQ involvement into their theory. In fact, I haven’t seen anything resembling an actual theory from them at all.
I don’t universally pan conspiracy theories, because, as you point out, some turn out to be true. I am pretty down on the 3 recent rightwing ones (Birther/Truther/CCD) because they are (in order) racist, fantastical and in denial about observable fact.
As P’s B notes, 9/11 was a conspiracy. So was the Chilean 9/11. So were Watergate, Iran Contra and the Hollow Men. Add to that professional cycling and most Italian football games in recent years. It’s really just the offensive or downright stupid ones I tend to take against.
Mike, I respectfully ask what differentiates a right wing conspiracy theory from a left wing one? Assuming I’m missing something obvious, examples of each would be useful to help me understand.
All too often the tricky thing about conspiracy theorists is that they take actual incidents and twist and manipulate until they become far fetched. I hate it when they do that
Shit the irony. On Sept 10 anyone talking about hijacked Boeings being crashed into the Twin Towers would have considered delusional, twisted, far fetched conspiracy theorists.
But after Sept 11 it’s merely an “actual incident”.
Actually a guy tried to do it to the fedex building in the 1990s. And a guy tried to hijack a plane to do it when nixon was in the White House, but got shot while the plane was still on the ground. And the PFLP was doing simultaneous hijackings in the 1960s.
A bit of an evolution, really.
But no worries, I’m sure it was completely out of the blue to someone who thinks they know everything…
I hand’t realised that there had been so many similar style attempts in the past, albeit smaller scale ones.
Given what you said you’d have thought they’d be far more ready for big one on 9/11 eh? Wonder how they never managed to intercept a single hijacked plane with an F15 or F16 even an hour after the first incident was confirmed.
you mean like the two F16s that were scrambled from Washington DC towards flight 93 when they figured out that an unknown number of other aircraft might be involved?
Well the good news for today is that it looks like Petrobras has pulled out of oil drilling in the Raukumara basin on the East Coast of New Zealand, likely a result of pressure from environmental groups and local Iwi plus the fact that Petrobras has major financial problems at the moment.
My only worry about Petrobras pulling out is which bunch of cowboys the government will call in to take their place. For all their faults, and my total opposition to deepwater drilling in our shaky tectonic plates, Petrobras is the technical leader in this field.
The next lot will be worse. A luta continua.
But it gets worse. Inadequate equipment, untrained crew, no instruction manuals. And the problems were systematic across the entire RNZAF, to the extent that it was unable to “adequately and reliably ensure safe and effective military air operations”. And then there’s this:
The report found knowledge of problems went to the top of the command chain.
The Chief of Air Force at the time of the accident, Air Vice-Marshal Graham Lintott, was last year promoted to be New Zealand’s defence attache in Washington.
So much for accountability.
So, our air force is inadequately trained and the top brass knew about it but did nothing to correct it. One wonders how they got to be the top brass.
Where on earth did you get that photo of Russel Norman and Andrew Little on the booze in the back of a limo? I didn’t think they would have been seen together.
As a follow on from Karols TPPA article yesterday:
Good interview with Jane Kelsey and Lori Wallach hosted by Bomber from last week (Apologies if this has already been posted/discussed, it may well have been)
The three areas covered are:
Why should New Zealanders be concerend about signing up to the TPPA?
Why would the Government back a deal that does not benefit New Zealand?
How much is the TPPA a manifestation of the new USA China cold war?
I did mention it in my TPP post last Friday, Rosie. But it is well worth mentioning again for those who haven’t already seen it. They cover a lot of important ground.
I also see that the Greens have picked up on the increase of secrecy around the Auckland TPP negotiations this week.
“I am confident we can find ways that advance U.S. interests [on these two issues] without causing projectile political vomiting in New Zealand, and many of the other countries of the TPP,”
Thanks for linking your article Karol. My headspace has been elsewhere of late. And yes, I had read today how stakeholders had been locked out of the meetings, which they hadn’t anticipated. Imagine travelling from overseas only to have the rules change on you, on your arrival.!
Must be a real bad buzz going on inside if negotiaters feel they must lock out previously welcome observers……….
Winston has told Parliament that Brendan Horan is outski.
Apart from anything else, a useful reminder to those who just want to add NZ First to the Labour-led majority after the election, and confidently assume it’ll all be hunky-dory.
Minor party lists are a breeding ground for unreliables (Garrett, Copeland, Kopu, etc) and the opposition should be aiming for a majority with a buffer, otherwise Fruity McLoopy MP can hold the balance of power (see John Banks).
Minor party lists are a breeding ground for unreliables…
Your prejudice is showing. I think you’ll find that there’s just as many unreliables in major parties they just don’t get found out as often probably due to being on the backbench rather than the front bench. Think, Field, Worth, Wong, etc, etc.
Not prejudice. Accurate and deliberate choice of words. Key word: “Lists”.
Major parties have unreliables too, but more of them have won electorate contests. This is no fail-safe mechanism (e.g. Field), but it makes it more likely that they will come under scrutiny, not least in the original candidate selection.
Every three years we have presidential-style campaigns which do not match our voting system, and consequently every three years the coat-tails are barely scrutinised. Especially of minor parties.
NZfirst has no real surprises – the Horan thing seems to be a “could’ve happened to any party” thing, rather than anything on the scale of an MP who turns out not to be eligible to be in parliament, and another who insists on having “Dr” on his office door by virtue of an internet-order degree.
I’d go so far as to say (and yes, the competition is strong) that ACT’s biggest freak in the last ten years is its current electorate MP.
An interesting bit of another revelation about the governments “job creation” policies – implemented by WINZ paying grants to desperate young job-seekers to get their passports and tickets, to line up for jobs across the Tasman Sea:
This was for once an excellent performance by Jacinda Ardern in challenging Bennett in the House today.
Have a look at the link above, and what this is about!
It puts another “spin” on the “low” registered unemployment figures that Key and Natz love to go on about, in contrast to the Household Labour Force Survey.
NZ is following the “economic model” of the Philippines, Pakistan, and other poor nations, EXPORTING its work force now.
“Hoping isn’t going to change the fact that roughly 6000 people move off the benefit each year to move overseas, some of whom have apparently done so with help from Ms Bennett,” Ms Ardern said.
“We have a Government that believes unemployed Kiwis are better off leaving New Zealand because it has given up on finding work for them.”
Big strategy blunder from Ardern, more like it – just more fuelling of the already entrenched hatred of the poorest of our poor. In fact, I’d say using the transition to work grant to fly a beneficiary over to Australia to take up secured employment would clearly be within the rules because it’s about assisting people into employment. Regardless of this, though, Ardern’s shown a complete lack of judgement with the way she’s gone about things. Following in the footsteps of her leader’s “sickness beneficiary painting the roof” ill-thought out fiasco. I always thought Ardern was a light-weight. Now she’s confirmed it. Dumb, just plain dumb.
Mary: Of course it is “within the rules”, and Bennett more or less had to admit it.
I understand your criticism of Ardern, as she tends to pick issues that she believes have “press appeal”. She admittedly fails to raise her voice for the beneficiaries as such, apart from making rather general critical remarks in major speeches.
From my view she is still an “apprentice”, and I fear she may be influenced by the wrong “mentors” and also restrained somehow, re what she can say, and how far she can go.
Nevertheless it is worth exposing the government’s apologetic explanations of unemployment not being so high, given low numbers on the UB.
She risks though a fiasco like Shearer with the GCSB story about Key being filmed during a meeting there, and a tape existing that held the footage.
That may be right, but Ardern showed total lack of judgement by going down the “sickness beneficiary on the roof” road, which was her main reason for speaking out. Just naive and strategically dumb. Bennett of course responded by saying it wasn’t the intent for the transition to work grant to meet the cost of airfares to Australia, as if they’re made to fly people over for a holiday on the Gold Coast, which of course is not happening. Bennett will now feel justified making it clear in the rules that airfares to even secured employment can’t be covered by the grant, which ironically will have the effect of increasing unemployment by preventing people accepting employment opportunities which they’d otherwise be able to take up. Her effort today I think shows there’s no hope for her. It shows she’s either too naive for the job, or simply too right-wing or both, like her bumbling leader.
I don’t see it as going to the fiddler-on-the-roof narrative. It seems more that it’s aimed at exposing the fact the our current government is disappearing people of the unemployment register by shipping them to Aussie. It makes their stats look as though they are increasing the amount of jobs in NZ.
And it’s IS against the guidelines of the transition to work grant, which includes this stipulation:
You may get a Transition to Work Grant if you are:
· aged 16 years or over
· looking for a job, moving into a job, or between jobs
· a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.
You should also normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here.
Karol, you’re quoting from the policy only, which is often very different from the legislation or principal instrument. In this case the principal instrument is the Transition to Work Grant Programme, in which there’s no reference at all to needing to “normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here”:
Clause 9 of the programme sets out the types of costs that can be met, and at 9(b) it says:
“(vi) relocation costs, if the applicant needs to relocate his or her place of residence to take up employment.”
As I’ve mentioned, there’s no reference to the job being in NZ only, so if the person has secured employment in Australia there’s no bar to the programme being used to assist a person to move there. I’d also go so far as to say that this would be well within the purpose of the grant which surely must be about assisting people to move from receipt of a benefit into employment?
Regardless of Ardern’s press statement, she should’ve shown the nous not to approach the topic in the way she did because all it will do is stir up what is already an entrenched hatred of beneficiaries, the same resentment that was fueled by Shearer’s “sickness benefit on the roof” remarks. At the very best all Ardern’s done is to push Bennett into changing the programme so that it assists a smaller number of people to move off a benefit and into employment. At the same time she’s helped, unwittingly or not, to grow the anti-poor sentiment that’s become so rife within New Zealand society.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Ardern chose the wrong way.
Mary you makes some good points, the opposition benches are buoyed by small gains lately. ‘Fast or last’ when a scoop against National comes along. Its competitive & this plum was rushed, I know it is her portfolio but Adern wasn’t a good choice to land the hit. Alas this would have been right up DC’s ally & what’s more he would have made it stick! Think i will keep a weekly tab on lost opportunities.
I think you’re right, and there’s a stack of lost opportunities regularly. The issue here, apparently, and if there even was one, was about people leaving for Australia. Instead the social welfare spokesperson went in with her social welfare hat on. What else could we have expected could happen? Like I said before, dumb, just plain dumb. Where the hell are Labour’s advisers? The problem’s not just with benefit/poverty issues – it’s everywhere within Labour. Just look at the leadership / conference fiasco? I mean, fuck, how stupid are these people?
Well, in Question Time today, it seemed to me that the crux of the matter was that Bennett was not fully in touch with an area under her ministerial policy. She seemed to be caught out that she wasn’t aware whether WINZ staff had been allowing people to get transition allowances to take up a job in Aussie. Bennett said:
Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well, except that it is not the policy intent, and that is very clear to staff.
Aren’t ministerial directives to staff in her area pretty strong guidelines that need to be followed. hence the point about being an NZ resident on the WINZ website.
It doesn’t look like Bennett will make a rule that the transition allowance never be used for fares to Aussie. In this NZH article tonight, she gives examples of an occasional extenuating circumstance when it may be in order to pay such fares.
Bollocks, Mary. You are reading waaay to much into this, as your claim to know her motivation for speaking out shows. It is appalling that this government have given up hope of providing work for our young and good on Ardern for sticking it to Bennett. Its bad enough that our education system subsidises the future doctors, scientists and engineers of Australia, Britain and the middle east, but paying for an air ticket out for people who could be training to rebuild Chch maybe the most cynical thing I’ve heard from this witless Government since they first got in.
Oh, actually, I’ve now looked at Ardner’s press release. This part does play into the bludger bennie discourse and is entirely unnecessary. Ardern doesn’t need it to show up the government’s lack of interest in providing work for the unemployed:
Revelations today that taxpayers are picking up the tab for unemployed Kiwis to fly to Australia to take up job offers is further proof that the Government has no interest in creating work opportunities here,
Because it’s a variation on the line that – beneficiaries are doing [xxx] and getting away with something luxurious that they shouldn’t on tax payer money. It also draws focus away from the fact that it’s the government in the wrong, and beneficiaries are actually being given a bad deal. It didn’t need to be said.
No its not a variation on the line, its a straight fact. The Government is illegally using taxpayer funds. There is no explicit or implicit criticism of the unemployed in pointing that out. Remember, these people are going off the benefit and going into work. That’s the direct opposite of the bludger bene meme.
“Remember, these people are going off the benefit and going into work. That’s the direct opposite of the bludger bene meme.”
Yes, it is, but that’s not how the poor-hating right-wing will describe it. Just wait for when the post on Slater’s blog about it arrives. There’ll be no mention of how the one-off grant is dwarfed into insignificance by the savings in ongoing benefit payments, just how the poor are screwing the taxpayer for overseas trips. It’s probably there already.
No Felix, but Ardern should’ve thought about strategy when picking her battles, that’s all. She clearly didn’t, unless of course she disagrees with the current (and lawful) policy that assists people to move from a benefit into employment.
Who needs enemies when you have someone like Ardern as your advocate. Cheap political point-scoring with beneficiaries as the dart-board, and the ultimate losers.
agreed adele, all most people will hear is some politician having a go at beneficiaries again and good job. bloody beneficiaries. They wont know who Adern even is. Shallow sound bites. Its our times. Adern added an extra layer of political complexity that nobody cares for.
Nightline on TV3 has just done an anti-beneficiary piece now. They’ve conflated the various types of costs to make it sound not only that the help for the travel is unlawful (by focusing on the policy instruction that says “normally for those staying in New Zealand”, which is wrong because there’s no such requirement in the principal instrument), but they’ve said that the grant is being used to simply travel to Australia to ‘look’ for work, which is also wrong. Relocation costs can only be met if the person has secured employment.
So, already we’ve got the media reporting “look at all these thieving beneficiaries getting their airfares paid for by the taxpayer so they can take off to live the life of Reilly in Aussie, and it’s illegal!” So much for the truth, eh? -which is that relocation costs can lawfully be paid, but only for actual costs and capped at $1500 (for example, a ticket to Aussie might only be $300 or $400 so that’s what’s paid – it’s not a standard amount of $1500), and only when employment has been secured (not simply to go somewhere to look for work) thus saving potentially thousands and thousands of dollars of ongoing benefit payments per grant issued.
Thanks Jacinda – good thinking. I guess tomorrow you’ll be telling Bennett she needs to “stop giving these bludgers free trips to Aussie – it’s an outrage!” What’s worse, Jacinda, is that Bennett will be only too happy to oblige. In fact, the media beat-up will probably mean she’ll be left with no choice. Nice work.
So you think that giving someone $300 or $400 to relocate to where they’ve secured a job and no longer need to be on a benefit therefore saving thousands and thousands of dollars is a loophole?
While we are at it, could you tell me any one Labour MP sitting in the House at present, who does clearly and resolutely raise her or his voice for beneficiaries? I admit there may be one or the other, but they do not sit in the front line, and they are not observed as being very vocal to make sufficient impact.
Fact is: Beneficiaries are for most politicians now a NO GO AREA. The nasty MSM have made sure that beneficiaries do too often get mentioned in the same line with criminal offenders, drug users, alcohol abusers, rapists, robbers, murderers and the likes, and while the recession-like times hit many worker’s pockets, too many of them have developed a lack of sympathy and even hatred for supposed “bludgers” they have to feed through.
The submission hearing process before the Social Services Committee, presently taking place, is a clear evidence of this.
There are NO media reports, there is virtually NO press release with sufficient information from any party, apart from one by Ardern on 30 November. It is indeed SCANDALOUS that the most draconian, mean spirited welfare “reforms” are being pushed through like a necessary, undisputed, un-sensational measure, not even worth talking and reporting about.
Perhaps someone here takes note of this and raise it with “connected” party members or whosoever.
For many of the remaining activists it is like “the last man (or woman) standing” in a lost battle, I fear. I simply cannot believe what is going on here.
Dead right. The debate now isn’t about, for example, the adequacy of benefit levels but about whether benefits should be paid at all. That’s what policies of the 1990s did, that’s what’s pushed us to where we are now, which is it’s every person for themselves. No area has been left unscathed by all of this, not even the judiciary, who’ve also been suckered into the pop-analysis which says “beneficiary=poor=own fault=useless=fuck off and anyone who argues will get dealt to in the same way”.
Meanwhile, for all their promises of a new economic model, Britain’s politicians – of right and left – remain stuck on the old debt-fuelled system.
In 2003, Vince Cable warned of a looming crisis: “The growth of the British economy is sustained by consumer spending pinned against levels of personal debt secured, if at all, against house prices …” A decade on, not much has changed – possibly not even the sticky ending.
Thing is, that’s exactly what Labour’s KiwiBuild is. NZers getting even deeper into debt to fuel growth. It’s certainly not addressing the problem of debt based money.
My point exactly nice plan to stimulate growth in an artificial and actual way.
Artificial due mortgages etc and actual due to down flow effects of building.
During the boom Clark years most of the boom was off the back of expanding housing prices inflated by various means supply and demand issues, this enabled home owner to remortgage easily and spend spend spend creating artificial growth.
Labour want to expand the house bubble effect by 1000000 units. Much better to recognise the problem that we face and face it head on.
We need bold direction and solutions now.
What is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to do about the arguably ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks, the Minister for Small Business, and Regulatory Reform — and Associate Minister for Education, and Commerce, when he appears, (as I understand it) in the Wellington District Court on Tuesday 11 December 2012 at 1.45pm – facing a private prosecution for alleged electoral fraud?
(1)Every candidate commits an offence who transmits a return of electoral expenses knowing that it is false in any material particular, and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Is the arguably ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks, the Minister for Small Business, and Regulatory Reform — and Associate Minister for Education, and Commerce, going to be, at the very least, ‘stood down’ as a Minister, by National Prime Minister John Key?
Been interesting watching Ken Burn’s recent documentary on the Dustbowl.
Apart from some lessons about mis-managing the environment one quote stands out for me.
“But of all our losses, the most distressing is our loss of self-respect. How can we feel that our work has any dignity or importance when the world places so low a value on the products of our toil?”
—Caroline Henderson, Oklahoma farmer during the 1932 drought during the Depression.
I’ve never understood this government and right-wingers penchant for denigrating it’s own citizens and the low paid.
I’ve never understood employers who pay people a pittance and expect loyalty and dedication.
I’ve never understood the reason why small businesses support policies that benefit the corporates (including reducing wages, high unemployment and paying a pittance in benefits ) and lead to their own extinction.
Ken Burns — excellent film maker. Just finished watching his doco on Prohibition. What a fuck up that was. As if banning booze was going to solve all of societys’ problems – even then there were heaps of loopholes and exceptions.
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We're going backwardsIgnoring the realitiesGoing backwardsAre you counting all the casualties?We are not there yetWhere we need to beWe are still in debtTo our insanitiesSongwriter: Martin Gore Read more ...
Willis blamed Treasury for changing its productivity assumptions and Labour’s spending increases since Covid for the worsening Budget outlook. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, December 18 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast above ...
Today the Auckland Transport board meet for the last time this year. For those interested (and with time to spare), you can follow along via this MS Teams link from 10am. I’ve taken a quick look through the agenda items to see what I think the most interesting aspects are. ...
Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
There are some very concerning trends in the TV3 Poll that have been ignored or even mis-represented in the MSM. In my view these will be worsened by the unpopular decision to bring Tamihere into the already unstable mix.
“Less people think Mr Shearer is doing well. That’s down to 31.6 percent. And more people think Mr Shearer’s doing a poor job, at 34.4 percent – that’s a 2.9 percent rise.”
Patrick Gower yesterday: http://www.3news.co.nz/Poll-shows-possible-change-of-Govt/tabid/1607/articleID/278887/Default.aspx
43% say Shearer is the best Labour Leader, but only 9% say Shearer is their preferred PM. However 12% say Cunliffe s the best Labour Leader and 6% Little.
That 43% for Shearer will be a reflection of the wider public while the 12% for Cunliffe will reflect a less populist leaning sub-set, given this is Cunliffe’s first significant outing in the Leadership stakes. (Thank to Patrick Gower and Chris Hipkins: did Cunliffe pay these two?)
Only 1 in 3 of Labour’s 33% see Shearer as the preferred PM. But there is a 12% that sees Cunliffe as the best Labour Leader.
It is possible that the TV3 Reid Poll found that Cunliffe has a level of support from Labour leaning people close to that of Shearer’s.
I’d love to see a further breakdown of the Reid Poll results.
Further concerning trends from Feb 12 to Oct 12 in the TV3 Reid Poll are that the Labour Leader:
Has more style than substance: 15% to 28%
Is rather narrow minded: 9% to 20%
Tends to talk down to people: 9% to 18%
Is too inflexible: 11% to 19%
Is rather inexperienced: 65% to 73%
Has a lot of personality: 35% to 30%
These details explain the desperate behaviour over the past few weeks of the clique around poor Shearer.
The meeting a few of them had last Wednesday, in Vivace on High Street in Auckland, decided that Tamihere was one way of getting a temporary lift in numbers to keep Shearer from having to face the membership in a few months. Understandable given the polling details above.
http://www.reidresearch.co.nz/TV3+POLL+RESULTS.html
“The meeting a few of them had last Wednesday, in Vivace on High Street in Auckland, decided that Tamihere was one way of getting a temporary lift in numbers to keep Shearer from having to face the membership in a few months.”
I’m sorry but that doesn’t make any sense at all. Tamihere is merely a member. He has nothing to do with the caucus vote that would trigger the leadership competition that enables members to vote. If members do vote, his vote would count as 1, just as any other member’s would.
The reference was to Popularity numbers, not Caucus numbers.
Camp Shearer believes that if they improve the Labour support to high 30s that he can avoid having the awful members have a say on his tenure.
Ok right, that makes sense.
Tamihere has kicked off predictably…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8030417/Tamihere-calls-journalist-stupid-little-girl
Shearer? ‘Unavailable for comment’.
Put the guy out of his misery.
And JT says politics has been “dumbed down” …. as if his comments, and talk-back radio hosts, are the height of in-depth, and considered thinking?
Yep, Tamihere claims to be a straight talker, but there aint nothing straight about his talk. He does not call a spade a spade. He does not speak clearly. He does not make his opinion known on the matter at hand.
For example – Is Tova, the “stupid little girl”, stupid? Well from what can be gleaned she is most definitely not stupid.
Is Tova little? Well, I wouldn’t know actually but presumably not. Probably average size. Besides Tamihere, what has her size got to do with anything.
Is Tova a girl? Well, no, she is a grown woman. So, wrong again Tamihere. You need to learn to speak clearly and in black and white.
John Tamihere – first burst to his ego and looky at that – not a straight word spoken anywhere, not a spade a spade, not one ounce of clear statement on anything, not able to decipher between black and white. He does not speak with any authority, he does not call a spade a spade, and in fact it is entirely impossible to decipher what he was saying there.
John Tamihere – last person in the world to call a spade a spade.
Maybe get someone to ask JT what he gets up to in his spare time with Clint Rickards, among others!
If NZ’ers can’t see it by now, they will never see it…
Hey but Norman is filling in the gap well…He’s a nice man with a crystal clear background…
Yea, more votes to the Greens!
I don’t think JT realises his attitude belongs in the 70’s. We need more photo’s in the media with him and creepy Clint.
I should have used the /sarc tag on the RN comment.
There needs to be more JT/CR details washed out for sure, which is why there won’t be!
there’s a connection between JT and CR?
Indeed there is…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10544252
http://www.3news.co.nz/Trust-stands-by-decision-to-employ-Clint-Rickards/tabid/423/articleID/80930/Default.aspx
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/clint-rickards-seeks-new-role-3345456
http://www.waipareira.com/_blog/News/post/Trust_Board_Set_For_Another_Year/
gawd….
woman-hater John Tamihere and the accused woman-raper Clint Rickards hang out together…….
scary
[lprent: Please be more careful about what you say, you stated the facts incorrectly and made us liable. Clint Rickards was acquitted. I have amended your comment to demonstrate what you should have said to be factually correct. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Rickards ]
If you want the good oil, you need to find yourself some friendly plods, like, maybe guys who you grew up with that are ok sharing stories….All anecdotal of course!
The difficulty I’ve always seen with the publicly available information about that particular case and the involvement of Clint Rickards was the evidence that he had a broken leg in plaster at the time and he denied ever being there.
From memory an All Black supported the evidence re: the broken leg.
Given none of the statements ever made about the allegations ever suggested that one of the people involved had their leg in plaster it wasn’t surprising that he was found not guilty – at least to my non-trained eyes.
I notice there’s no mention of that in the Wikipedia reference.
Like with Scott Guy or Peter Ellis or David Bain there’s lots of times when there is strong feelings and opinions around particular cases.
I’d have to say I’d rather support a system that relies on evidence to make decisions and sets a high standard of “beyond reasonable doubt” otherwise we might as well be back using dunking seats for witches and lynch mobs.
Ok, fair enough I did wonder that a little later. Apologies to Mr Rickards too.
[lprent: 🙂 ]
😯 Culkin face
😯
Nice one JT. You like to be called JT, makes you sound like one of the boy’s, Eh, JT? Well, JT you are a misogynistic, Racist, Brain Dead Moron who really is more suited for the ACT party (you’d fit right in). So please do us a favour (just by joining Labour you have probably alienated most women that vote Labour, and the article in today’s paper just finished the job). And leave.
David H
A MALE
Only confirms that he is pretty much a brown …[RL:Deleted.]
Tamihere at his usual bullying ignorant level alas off a lady reporter yesterday calling her a stupid little girl.
Darien Fenton (junior whip to angry-boy Hipkins) says — I wouldn’t say it didn’t upset me, but don’t want to make a comment. In Stuff.
Darien, that is up there with the most useless responses of all times.
At the Annual Conference in Ellerslie you abused Service Workers who supported the shift to democratic selection of a Leader. You ranted at one til she was in tears. You had heaps of invective for union and labour members: but not an ounce for a bully like Tamihere. Shame on you.
With Tbe new processes your placing on the list must be under threat. After the conference gig you will not get union support again. Swallowing a rat for a whip position was not one of your better moves. You need to win back the membership and union support u once had. Go to the backbenches with Cunliffe.
Why would an opposition whip have to have a view on someone who isn’t even an MP?
3.1 insider asks
Why would an opposition whip have to have a view on someone who isn’t even an MP?
because the decision to have Tamihere back into Labour is not a simple decision about a simple Joe Average member. It was a major decision that involved conversations with Twyford, Cosgrave, Robertson, Shearer and more.
They think all the anti-PC element who disliked Helen will now flock to planet Shearer. And despite what Shearer and Tamihere say, giving JT a shot at a seat was discussed between them in a very positive manner. Phil, my MP, thinks it is an inspired idea. (It settles an old score)
So it should be of considerable interest to a whip how Tamihere behaves.
Many ordinary Joe Average members got bolickings at the Conference from senior MPs for supporting the 40% threshold for a wider leadership vote. Why should Tamihere have special exemptions?
The idea of giving Tamihere a shot at a seat to grab back the anti-PC voters is as inspired as giving John Ansell a shot to link with poor whites who blame their plight on the “Treaty Industry”. Why not go the whole hog and get Kyle Chapman? Maybe the “Beast of Blenheim” could be coopted as well? When all we see from the ruling faction of Labour is this sort of inspiration, and the totally incompetent gagging of anyone who says something slightly progressive, I would have to think very hard before even giving one of them an electorate vote.
What’s the difference between John Tamihere and John Banks apart from a few years in age? It seems they both support charter schools, probably both like Harley Davidsons, and both have problems seeing “front bums” anywhere but the kitchen. Well, I’ll call them “back pussies” and they can go and —— each other as far as I’m concerned.
“At the Annual Conference in Ellerslie you abused Service Workers who supported the shift to democratic selection of a Leader. You ranted at one til she was in tears.”
Citation needed. And Fenton voted for the change to a (party wide) democratic leadership election. Everyone did. However, what you meant is that she voted for the normal union position of 50% plus one.
“After the conference gig you will not get union support again.”
And yet Darien remains a life member of the SFWU and a popular and active participant in the union’s activities. Funny old world, eh?
While Darien is capable of robust debate, I don’t believe for a moment she would behave like that.
How Banking Harms the Environment
This is the elephant in the room. The only reason why we need growth in our economy is to feed the greed of the banksters and by doing that we destroy the environment.
Time to change the financial system to a positive money system and the economy to a stable state. That way we can provide for our children and grand children rather than destroying any hope they have.
Agree. Stable societies of the past all had some means of re-distributing accumulated income back into the “tribe”. We don’t, quite the opposite.
Couldn’t agree more DTB. Reminds me of the old proverb that I can’t seem to find attributed to anyone in particular – “We do not inherit our world from our parents, we borrow it from our children.”
Finlayson judged top politician
Guess who has done the best job of *fixing* establishment problems lately…
You have to read through these awards, then take a look at who got to vote, and why they might want to be propping up CF.
A gay man who votes against gay marriage – he’s the right wing’s wet dream.
Ven Young is sitting over there in Heaven…National Party man who tried to decriminalize homosexuality back when Norm Kirk (Labour) was very disparaging of gays…..he looks a little puzzled with the “right wing wet dream” bit, he is asking why “lefties” align anti gay politics with the Right? I said to him to ask that of Marilyn Waring…another National Party person.
Syria violence pushes UN from Damascus – Todays reuters propaganda report
Reviving old claims first made months ago – “”Syria has stressed repeatedly that it will not use these types of weapons, if they were available, under any circumstances against its people,” the foreign ministry said.”
Setting the scene for more action based on BS, just in case..
Read: The rebel sponsors have imported more AQ fighters, and probably armed them to the teeth also.
Yup, tooled up with some big guns – where did they get the armoury I wonder!
Opposition linked – Must make them impartial *good guys* by default then eh!
Whats interesting is that there is no UN mandate which says they can interfere in domestics, only international, does not seem to rate a mention in the MSM reports though!
Wellll, yeah nah. eh.
They call it ‘oppositon linked’, because it is.
It’s like they’d call the state run media chanels ‘state run’.
Or are you saying that they shouldn’t have mentioned the outfit’s affiliations, or that they shouldn’t have run what they had to say, or what, exactly?
And on the chem weapons stuff, again this is standard MO right?
The govt is moving the weapons, for whatever reason.
Western intel. sees that they are moving the weapons.
At this point, they are going to say that there will be consequences if those weapons are used.
That’s not because they are itching to get in there, (they’d be in there already if that was the case), it’s because if they don’t say that, then the regime might take that as a signal that they would be ok with their use.
It’s all about signals.
Like when Saddam wasn’t told directly that invading Kuwait would be met with consequences, he took it as a green light.
Same thing. If the regime resorts to using chems, the west doesn’t want there to have been any ambiguity about where they stood.
I believe you are mistaken in thinking that this media messaging is for the consumption of the Syrian ‘regime’.
As in the case of Iraq’s supposed WMD, the media messaging is for our consumption.
The Archdruid has written recently about the nature of nuclear deterrence. Many of the rules apply to chemical weapons as well. Assad knows that any use of chemical weapons on Turkey will trigger a massive and immediate NATO campaign that he would be lucky to survive a week of.
Not sure what Turkey has got ot do with it, goes without saying that if someone uses Chems against a NATO member there are going to be consequences.
This is really obvious.
He’s moving his stockpiles.
We know that.
He knows that we know.
So, you say ‘We see you moving them weapons, don’t you be thinking about using them now y’hear’.
What’s the alternative.
You say nothing. He hears you say nothing.
That is also a signal.
So what’s your theory?
If the west wanted to be in there. they’d be in there now.
Sheesh p’s b, it sounds like you believe everything you read in the paper…
Not at all.
I just don’t take everything I read in the paper as being proof of something else.
Nato will be hard pressed to get involve in this messy business. The stumbling block for NATO involvement is Russia, who has just recently setup a naval base in Syria in the exchange of at least six billion dollars worth of armaments. Now, much of the arms are sent from Iran. Many of the rebels are an assortment from different groups and heavily sponsored by the Arabs.
“Easily the most important development of “late monopoly capitalism” is the triumph of the rentiers or the absentee owners, as Veblen called them. These people are less “entreprenuers” than economic barons. They call themselves “venture capitalists,” “investment bankers,” “hedge fund managers,” “brokers” and “financial analysts.” But the term “bankster” is as good a descriptor as any other, as i
t captures the predatory venality of what is essentially organized criminality. As a political force, the banksters rule the realm through a combination of graft, propaganda, legalized extortion and outright thievery. As creditors, they have made “serfs” out of millions with their insidious usurious policies. As legal activists, they have manipulated the tax codes to engross a larger share of social wealth. As ideologues, they have pushed the view that government indebtedness, rather than unemployment, is the true measure of “crisis.” And as class warriors, they are currently using the big stick of “austerity” to smash the welfare state.
The “financialization” of capitalism is a catastrophic turn. In many ways, it is the institutionalization of barbarism. When “austerity” is the ideal, it becomes normal: to see people homeless on the streets; to see the elderly working in menial jobs when they ought to be comfortably retired; to see children going hungry; to see young people without prospects, crushed by debt; to see poverty “feminized” as familes collapse, or never get going, under the strain; to see people die prematurely for want of health care; to see crime rampant, as social bonds wither; to see “tribalism” return in sinister forms, as people turn to “race,” “nation” and “religion” in search of authentic identity; to see addiction grow apace; to see the general spread of mindlesssness and meaninglessness as “the market” colonizes every social space. We are already experiencing many of these social pathologies. It’s an open question whether a society of this nature has any real future.”
“Neoliberalism is a philosophy which construes profit making as the essence of democracy and consuming as the only operable form of citizenship. It also provides a rationale for a handful of private interests to control as much as possible of social, economic, and political life in order to maximize their personal profit. Neoliberalism is marked by a shift from the manufacturing to the service sector, the rise of temporary and part-time work, growth of the financial sphere and speculative activity, the spread of mass consumerism, the commodification of practically everything.
Neoliberalism combines free market ideology with the privatization of public wealth, the elimination of the social state and social protections, and the deregulation of economic activity. Core narratives of neoliberalism are: privatization, deregulation, commodification, and the selling off of state functions. Neoliberalism advocates lifting the government oversight of free enterprise/trade thereby not providing checks and balances to prevent or mitigate social damage that might occur as a result of the policy of “no governmental interference”; eliminating public funding of social services; deregulating governmental involvement in anything that could cut into the profits of private enterprise; privatizing such enterprises as schools, hospitals, community-based organizations, and other entities traditionally held in the public trust; and eradicating the concept of “the public good” or “community” in favor of “individual responsibility.”
It is a form of terrorism because it abstracts economics from ethics and social costs, makes a mockery of democracy, works to dismantle the welfare state, thrives on militarization, undermines any public sphere not governed by market values, and transforms people into commodities. Neoliberalism’s rigid emphasis on unfettered individualism, competitiveness and flexibility displaces compassion, sharing and a concern for the welfare of others. In doing so, it dissolves crucial social bonds and undermines the profound nature of social responsibility and its ensuing concern for others. In removing individuals from broader social obligations, it not only tears up social solidarities, it also promotes a kind of individualism that is almost pathological in its disdain for public goods, community, social provisions, and public values. Given its tendency to instrumentalize knowledge, it exhibits mistrust for thoughtfulness, complexity, and critical dialogue and in doing so contributes to a culture of stupidity and cruelty in which the dominant ethic is organized around the discourse of war and a survival of the fittest mentality. Neoliberalism is the antithesis of democracy.
+1
Describes neo-liberalism perfectly. We, as a society, need to see it as the threat that it is.
This should be a post in it’s own right.
True. Might want to credit the right person
http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/a_conversation_with_henry_a_giroux_20121202/
“Hell” of an eternity here in Purgatory…just saw some recently deceased resident of the Hamptons trudging back from the Pearly Gates, in a delicious piece of irony St Peter has employed Thorsten Veblen and some spear wielding New Guinea natives to escort Wall Streets finest back to Purgatory.
On the note of larceny there was one “hell” of a row coming out of there, a fellow called Tetzel and several of the numerous Dominicans down there were arguing with John Law that they deserved the credit for the invention of derivatives…indulgences that specified spiritual repayment at some unspecified future date…the Devils agents on Earth report that Goldman Sachs execs are filing a class action for damages against this claim to their IP in “virtual” financial instruments. Just after that we all got boiled in oil, Lucifer decided that the cost of litigation should be “socialized”. Financial crime it appears does pay, and we, like you on Earth got the bill.
Didnt seem much comment here about it, but Fonterra shareholders fund kicked off on Friday. Say what you like about it, but it is essentially a stockmarket listing through the backdoor. I read on another site that farmer-suppliers cannot just ring one of the directors and have a chat with them about the company anymore because they are now bound by insider trading laws.
One of the strengths of Fonterra is that it is a co-op, collectively owned by its suppliers, and provides a wide range of support for them. (I also note that Fonterra EMPLOYS its tanker drivers, and doesnt have them as owner operators – one of the few companies to do so). Co-ops have been a mainstay throghout agriculture — Ballance, Ravensdown, LIC, RD1, and so on — even the Farmer’s chain store used to the the Farmers Co-Op Trading Society.
However, a few people high up on Fonterra’s board have decided that co-ops some how resemble Stalinist collective agriculture, and want to undermine it, and there are come stupid hayseed cockies singing their praises.
No good will come of this.
Call for a review of Tomorrow’s Schools
I also think we need to re-look at the Tomorrow’s Schools (TS) reforms of 23 years ago, schools pretty much lost a lot of support when this happened, causing a lot of students to fall through the cracks, plus the whole consept of winner and loser schools, and the white flight from schools in smaller areas.
I have to also mention that TS may have also resulted in more central control of education, ie by the minister, and that with the old Education Boards in charge, the restructuring of Christchurch schools might have gone a bit differently, (not to mention Mallards school closing frenzy last decade).
Apple Inc. censors anti-drone application
Apple Inc., which has received over $9 million in Pentagon contracts in recent years, has rejected from its App Store, and therefore from all iPhones, a simple informative application.
Drones+ is an application that shows no depictions of the carnage of war and reveals no secret information. It simply adds a location to a map every time a drone strike is reported in the media and added to a database maintained by the U.K.’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism.
Apple has rejected the app as “objectionable and crude.”
Drone wars continue because the U.S. public is unaware what is being done in our name with our money. We are interested in knowing where our government is using drones and has killed people, not in celebrating that killing.
The people in Pakistan and Afghanistan and elsewhere living under the drones can’t ignore what’s being done to them. Neither should we, as it’s done with our money and in our names.
A recent study by Stanford and NYU found that drones traumatize innocent populations, who have no way of knowing how to protect themselves from drone strikes. Further, only 2% of victims of these strikes are high-level targets. The drones kill civilian men, women, and children, are being used to target rescuers, schools and funerals, and create significant anti-U.S. hostility — exactly as the Pakistani and Afghan governments have said they do.
Ask Apple to stop hiding the simplest of facts.
http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6750
Here is a link to a newly published scientific research paper which comes to the conclusion that the seismic information collected from the Palisades seismic station on 9/11 does not support the official assertion that 2 planes were responsible for the collapse of the two twin towers and WTC7.
FIFY
Great, two links for the price of one! Thanks McFuck.
And for those of you who are interested, seismic data is a pretty robust kind of science about what kind of forces are unleashed around the globe. It’s how we know about the strength of Nuclear explosions, Earthquakes and Volcanic eruptions.
Planes ramming into buildings at a significant distance from the ground are pretty insignificant details in the scheme of things. Explosions activating the seismic recorder in a seismic station 34 km away from these explosions on the other hand are not so insignificant.
Nor are the assumptions around which one starts one’s analysis. The dude, for example, ruled out other types of waves based on assumptions of what waveforms the collisions would have caused, made assumptions about the average speeds of those assumed waveforms through the ground, and only those assumptions enabled him to draw the conclusion of a time discrepancy. “Scientific” my arse.
But feel free to continue making a hobby out of peoples’ deaths.
The “dude” is:
André Rousseau and he is a Doctor of Geophysics and Geology, a former researcher in the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), who has published 50 papers on the relationships between the characteristics of progressive mechanical waves and geology.
Dr. Rousseau is an expert on measurement of acoustic waves.
I would say that’s doctor Dude to you.
There were no other events that would qualify as seismic triggers and if we talk about the refusal to consider reasons for why the three buildings collapsed maybe we should have a look at NIST which refused to look at the possibility for the use of explosives because nobody they said had heard any loud bangs.
And in response to your last remark. It is the survivors who want a new and independent investigation and with some 70.000 first responders dying and two wars started in the aftermath of the attacks so your comment is callous and sow a severe disregards for the fact that these people are not making a hobby out of other peoples deaths you sad excuse for a human being.
Who cares who he is? His “analysis” starts by assuming its conclusion.
I would say that’s doctor Dude to you.
That’s sweet. And yet the doctors who don’t agree with you are government conspiracists. I was simply pointing out that the “scientific” paper explicitly states that it seeks to demonstrate alternative theories. He successfully does this by making unreferenced assumptions about waveforms and propagation speeds. This is not “scientific”. It is borderline reasonable.
There were no other events that would qualify as seismic triggers
According to his theory, based on uncited assumptions.
Some survivors do not believe that the official explanation is enough to explain the deaths of their loved ones. Fair enough.
Two illegitimate wars were started using the incidents as an excuse. Fair enough.
Not sure on the actual numbers, but it’s fair to say that thousands of first responders have been seriously harmed or killed by inhaling the debris while trying to save lives. No argument.
My last point was simply pointing out that you, personally, have made a fucking hobby out of seeing patterns in clouds and thereby stating as fact that there is a big man in the sky. Stamp your moral outrage all you want, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you drool at the sight of the latest piece of bullshit that you happen to agree with – as we all know, anything else is black propaganda.
I also have a PhD. I’ve published 75 papers in the peer reviewed literature. I do not think chemtrails exist and have serious doubts about WTC theories. I am apparently “Too blind to see denier brainwashed dude.” Ah well, I never liked the word dude anyway.
By the way, I just read the article. It does indeed start out with a premise or an assumption. This is not typical of French scientists I have known and worked with. Especially in forensic investigations, which this purports to be, any investigator should be led by the evidence. They should not lead the evidence.
Hey Murray, I saw a congrats is in order! It seems you and your team will be transporting atoms along fiber optics in oh, the next four years or so. Way to go! Can’t wait to see that happen! LOL.
Actually, the basics of what we described in our article have already been done in a couple of laboratories. What you have linked is an old press release from the university PR department and is not from the scientific literature, but I understand you have trouble telling the difference. Maybe you’ve been staring at chemtrails that were a bit close to the Sun? If you find the actual article, you might be able to find someone who can explain it to you.
Nice piece of stalking, by the way. Says heaps for your talents as a fearless investigator and noble truthseeker. It also creeps me out a little, but maybe I’m just over sensitive.
Nah, you’re not over-sensitive, but try not to let it concern you. You’ve just been googled by the Keystone Kooks.
I apologise Murray – This should have been appended to McFlock’s comment.
And there again you attack the “hypothesiser”. I sure hope it doesn’t come back to bite you in your bum. Is it so wrong that Ev has such a different view from you that you need to lambast her so repetitively? Different != wrong necessarily..
And McFlock “Keystone Kooks” – unnecessary don’t you think?
Oh dear, A simple Google search and you feel stalked? You who jumps on every thing I write here? Who couldn’t wait to get me dumped of a facebook page? It’s one thing to do the stalking but not so funny when it happens to you isn’t it?
Your university puts out PR about you and your team developing “Beam me up” technology while you can’t get your head around simple Newtonian laws is what makes this search result funny though. 😀
Funny, when I studied Mathematics and the different ways of proving stuff, I missed proof by vilification, repetition, dishonesty and character assassination. They must be reserved for those who see further than the rest of us.
Yawn. Ding dong.
I so agree Murray, so why don’t you stop?
TGNZ- keystone kooks?
On the same if not higher level than “mcfuck”. What’s good for the kander is good for the kook.
That’s a very pretty red herring. How does it alter the fact (since you’re all about truthiness) that – as McFlock says – the “analysis” starts by assuming its conclusion? Is that how they do science on your planet?
Eleven years. No evidence. Pitiful.
And for those of you interested to find out why I find OTH to be an absolute and total bore, read the very detailed research submitted by André Rousseau a Doctor of Geophysics and Geology, a former researcher in the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS), who has published 50 papers on the relationships between the characteristics of progressive mechanical waves and geology. Dr. Rousseau is an expert on measurement of acoustic waves. Here is the link to the PDF.
Start by assuming the conclusion. Is that how they do science in France?
For those of you not familiar with the layout of a scientific paper here are some ground rules on how to present your work. The first thing you do is to write an Abstract when you begin to assemble the results of your research in order to present it to your scientific peers.
An Abstract is nothing more than an introduction to your research and an explanation of the thesis you have been working on. This is not the same as starting with an idea and bending the science in order to proof your thesis.
The proper response is to read the paper and to either refute the paper with scientific arguments or if you have no such arguments to hold your tongue.
For OTH and McFlock to suggest that the Abstract is anything other than that is to say the least disingenuous. However I am very happy to hear their proper scientific response. With a paper starting with:
Abstract: In this paper we aim to refute the findings of Dr. Roussau with regards to his assertions that only controlled demolitions could have brought down the Twin towers and WTC 7 on 11/9/2001. We aim to show that only two planes flown into the Twin towers can be held responsible for the freefall collapse of both the twin towers and WTC 7…. Oh wait, you can’t!
Only one link and no swear words and still in purgatory?
For OTH and McFlock to suggest that the Abstract is anything other than that is to say the least disingenuous.
[much laughter]
Hey, you might want to check whether the abstract conforms to your own source’s description.
The main issue is that there is no consideration of a “question”. The aim isn’t to examine the seismic records and their consistency with current literature. It’s not even to examine other possible explanations. It explicitly sets out to refute previous conclusions.
In addition to that BIG issue, the methodology description is absent, and as for the rest of the “article” conventional science tends to keep the methodology, discussion and commentary on the conclusion separate, just to ensure that preconceptions do not taint the analysis.
But I’m sure you know all that.
How much experience do you have with writing scientific papers Traveller Ev?
Wrong question oh, Wisewoman (Rofl)! The question should be how much experience do I have in reading them and…. even more important understanding them.
Too wit, Murray Olsen says he has written 75 scientific papers but he still has a problem understanding Newtons laws of Physics.
Funny.
You’ve probably got 10 years’ experience in part A of your question, but the answer to part B is likely somewhere approaching zero.
But who needs a decade of formal scientific training when they have an ego like your…
I love how you hate personal attacks but are more than happy to deal them out. You are a funny little thing. Ignorant. But amusing
Y’know, I’d completely forgotten about 9/11 these last few months. Maybe I was being overly optimistic, but the whole Obama winning thing seemed to have not only caused the internal collapse of the Republican Party (faster than freefall?), but also the end of the associated birther/truther/CCD axis. The end of the racist birther movement is clearly linked to the election; what point is there in moaning after Obama’s been elected a second time? None. may as well put the white sheet back on the bed now. Shame about the eyeholes though.
As I’ve pointed out previously, mad conspiracy theories usually only last a generation or so. Elvis, JFK, the Lindberg baby … all had a decade or so of currency, then became irrelevant through the passage of time. 9/11 truth deniers have already hit their peak and its a long slide through disinterest, eye rolling and derision and into a deserving obscurity that awaits the remaining acolytes.
It seems to me TRP that you are awfully keen to universally pan “conspiracy theories”. I can only assume this MAY be because there seems to be a belief that “theorists” are nutbar right wingers whereas I don’t actually think there is a relevant or common point on the political spectrum and the “nutbar” descriptor is subjective.
Perhaps it might be beneficial to look at (just a handful) of historical “conspiracy theories” which were later proven to be fact. There are probably of course countless others however these are perhaps some of the more prominent.
Project MKULTRA
Bay of Pigs
Operation Northwoods
Gulf of Tonkin
Accordingly, irrespective of whether you agree with Ev’s assertions and/or hypotheses, it may not be prudent to universally discount what she suggests as these may (or may not) also be proven to be correct in retrospect.
.
Humans have been conspiring ever since they stepped off the spaceship onto planet earth.
It is one of our most common traits. We do it as much as work, love, game, construct, destruct, plot, plan, play, plop, and plunder. It is as old as the hills.
Everybody conspires, and consequently every organisation conspires. Look it up in the dictionary.
People who roundly dismiss “conspiracy theorists” as fools are in fact themselves the fools.
(some_conspiracy_theories == true) != (all_conspiracy_theories == reasonable)
This is where critical thinking comes in. And the fact is that interpreting facts to support your hypothesis is not a way to reliably determine the truth of your hypothesis.
It’s possible that aliens destroyed the twin towers with nano-thermite. The problem is that we then have to develop a theory to explain away hundreds of millions of people watching on TV as a plane apparently flew into a goddamn building. It’s possible that twenty floors of each tower were painted with explosives cunningly disguised as wallpaper paste. The trouble is that at the moment there’s no evidence of either scenario. All we have are people staring at pixelated images for ten years, interpolating the dots with assumptions and wishful thinking.
No one denies that conspiracies do happen. But that isn’t evidence for every touted conspiracy being real.
The widely accepted theory for what happened on 9/11 is of a conspiracy as well.
The question is, which conspiracy theory best fits all the observed and known facts.
The widely accepted theory posits that a terrorist group did it. That group admits they did it.
I’ve not seen how truthers fit the fact of AQ involvement into their theory. In fact, I haven’t seen anything resembling an actual theory from them at all.
It’s been a long time.
ThatguyNZ:
I don’t universally pan conspiracy theories, because, as you point out, some turn out to be true. I am pretty down on the 3 recent rightwing ones (Birther/Truther/CCD) because they are (in order) racist, fantastical and in denial about observable fact.
As P’s B notes, 9/11 was a conspiracy. So was the Chilean 9/11. So were Watergate, Iran Contra and the Hollow Men. Add to that professional cycling and most Italian football games in recent years. It’s really just the offensive or downright stupid ones I tend to take against.
Mike, I respectfully ask what differentiates a right wing conspiracy theory from a left wing one? Assuming I’m missing something obvious, examples of each would be useful to help me understand.
Cheers.
All too often the tricky thing about conspiracy theorists is that they take actual incidents and twist and manipulate until they become far fetched. I hate it when they do that
Shit the irony. On Sept 10 anyone talking about hijacked Boeings being crashed into the Twin Towers would have considered delusional, twisted, far fetched conspiracy theorists.
But after Sept 11 it’s merely an “actual incident”.
Actually a guy tried to do it to the fedex building in the 1990s. And a guy tried to hijack a plane to do it when nixon was in the White House, but got shot while the plane was still on the ground. And the PFLP was doing simultaneous hijackings in the 1960s.
A bit of an evolution, really.
But no worries, I’m sure it was completely out of the blue to someone who thinks they know everything…
I hand’t realised that there had been so many similar style attempts in the past, albeit smaller scale ones.
Given what you said you’d have thought they’d be far more ready for big one on 9/11 eh? Wonder how they never managed to intercept a single hijacked plane with an F15 or F16 even an hour after the first incident was confirmed.
you mean like the two F16s that were scrambled from Washington DC towards flight 93 when they figured out that an unknown number of other aircraft might be involved?
McFuck. Wow. Mature
Well the good news for today is that it looks like Petrobras has pulled out of oil drilling in the Raukumara basin on the East Coast of New Zealand, likely a result of pressure from environmental groups and local Iwi plus the fact that Petrobras has major financial problems at the moment.
nice
John Key promising to subsidise them in 3…2…
My only worry about Petrobras pulling out is which bunch of cowboys the government will call in to take their place. For all their faults, and my total opposition to deepwater drilling in our shaky tectonic plates, Petrobras is the technical leader in this field.
The next lot will be worse. A luta continua.
Well, it’s been sackcloth and ashes for a few days 🙁 (there was a coutier attack)
🙂
Missed this bit:
So, our air force is inadequately trained and the top brass knew about it but did nothing to correct it. One wonders how they got to be the top brass.
how are you Draco?
The Governor of the Reserve Bank has been caught behaving inappropriately by Norman:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/12/the-reserve-banks-indecent-relationship.html
Where on earth did you get that photo of Russel Norman and Andrew Little on the booze in the back of a limo? I didn’t think they would have been seen together.
Put your glasses on and look again, Alwyn, and make sure they’re not those blue tinted ones 🙂
Alwyn, you’d be surprised what one can do with Photoshop.
As a follow on from Karols TPPA article yesterday:
Good interview with Jane Kelsey and Lori Wallach hosted by Bomber from last week (Apologies if this has already been posted/discussed, it may well have been)
The three areas covered are:
Why should New Zealanders be concerend about signing up to the TPPA?
Why would the Government back a deal that does not benefit New Zealand?
How much is the TPPA a manifestation of the new USA China cold war?
http://livenews.co.nz/2012/11/citizen-a-with-martyn-bomber-bradbury-jane-kelsey-lori-wallach-on-the-tppa-negotiations/
Wayne, if you’re out there, you need to watch this mi amigo.
I did mention it in my TPP post last Friday, Rosie. But it is well worth mentioning again for those who haven’t already seen it. They cover a lot of important ground.
I also see that the Greens have picked up on the increase of secrecy around the Auckland TPP negotiations this week.
Don’t know if this has been mentioned, but Gordon Campbell has found a hella quote from Groser;
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2012/12/04/gordon-campbell-on-tim-grosers-political-projectile-vomiting-about-the-tppa/
“I am confident we can find ways that advance U.S. interests [on these two issues] without causing projectile political vomiting in New Zealand, and many of the other countries of the TPP,”
Oh God. Why Tim Groser? Why do idiot words fall out every time you open your mouth?
He’s a National MP. Really, what else would you expect?
Thanks for linking your article Karol. My headspace has been elsewhere of late. And yes, I had read today how stakeholders had been locked out of the meetings, which they hadn’t anticipated. Imagine travelling from overseas only to have the rules change on you, on your arrival.!
Must be a real bad buzz going on inside if negotiaters feel they must lock out previously welcome observers……….
Winston has told Parliament that Brendan Horan is outski.
Apart from anything else, a useful reminder to those who just want to add NZ First to the Labour-led majority after the election, and confidently assume it’ll all be hunky-dory.
Minor party lists are a breeding ground for unreliables (Garrett, Copeland, Kopu, etc) and the opposition should be aiming for a majority with a buffer, otherwise Fruity McLoopy MP can hold the balance of power (see John Banks).
Your prejudice is showing. I think you’ll find that there’s just as many unreliables in major parties they just don’t get found out as often probably due to being on the backbench rather than the front bench. Think, Field, Worth, Wong, etc, etc.
Not prejudice. Accurate and deliberate choice of words. Key word: “Lists”.
Major parties have unreliables too, but more of them have won electorate contests. This is no fail-safe mechanism (e.g. Field), but it makes it more likely that they will come under scrutiny, not least in the original candidate selection.
Every three years we have presidential-style campaigns which do not match our voting system, and consequently every three years the coat-tails are barely scrutinised. Especially of minor parties.
But list candidates come under candidate selection, too – they don’t just suddenly appear.
Even minor parties now look at their lists carefully – mostly because UF was especially funny after 2002.
Yeah, but;
NZFirst
ACT
United future (who was a a worm like event from having Pete George in the house, for the love of christ)
NZfirst has no real surprises – the Horan thing seems to be a “could’ve happened to any party” thing, rather than anything on the scale of an MP who turns out not to be eligible to be in parliament, and another who insists on having “Dr” on his office door by virtue of an internet-order degree.
I’d go so far as to say (and yes, the competition is strong) that ACT’s biggest freak in the last ten years is its current electorate MP.
Fair call on Pete George, though 😉
An interesting bit of another revelation about the governments “job creation” policies – implemented by WINZ paying grants to desperate young job-seekers to get their passports and tickets, to line up for jobs across the Tasman Sea:
http://www.labour.org.nz/news/government-aids-export-of-job-seekers-to-oz
This was for once an excellent performance by Jacinda Ardern in challenging Bennett in the House today.
Have a look at the link above, and what this is about!
It puts another “spin” on the “low” registered unemployment figures that Key and Natz love to go on about, in contrast to the Household Labour Force Survey.
NZ is following the “economic model” of the Philippines, Pakistan, and other poor nations, EXPORTING its work force now.
http://www.3news.co.nz/WINZ-cash-grants-for-tickets-to-Australia/tabid/1607/articleID/279169/Default.aspx
Big strategy blunder from Ardern, more like it – just more fuelling of the already entrenched hatred of the poorest of our poor. In fact, I’d say using the transition to work grant to fly a beneficiary over to Australia to take up secured employment would clearly be within the rules because it’s about assisting people into employment. Regardless of this, though, Ardern’s shown a complete lack of judgement with the way she’s gone about things. Following in the footsteps of her leader’s “sickness beneficiary painting the roof” ill-thought out fiasco. I always thought Ardern was a light-weight. Now she’s confirmed it. Dumb, just plain dumb.
Mary: Of course it is “within the rules”, and Bennett more or less had to admit it.
I understand your criticism of Ardern, as she tends to pick issues that she believes have “press appeal”. She admittedly fails to raise her voice for the beneficiaries as such, apart from making rather general critical remarks in major speeches.
From my view she is still an “apprentice”, and I fear she may be influenced by the wrong “mentors” and also restrained somehow, re what she can say, and how far she can go.
Nevertheless it is worth exposing the government’s apologetic explanations of unemployment not being so high, given low numbers on the UB.
She risks though a fiasco like Shearer with the GCSB story about Key being filmed during a meeting there, and a tape existing that held the footage.
That may be right, but Ardern showed total lack of judgement by going down the “sickness beneficiary on the roof” road, which was her main reason for speaking out. Just naive and strategically dumb. Bennett of course responded by saying it wasn’t the intent for the transition to work grant to meet the cost of airfares to Australia, as if they’re made to fly people over for a holiday on the Gold Coast, which of course is not happening. Bennett will now feel justified making it clear in the rules that airfares to even secured employment can’t be covered by the grant, which ironically will have the effect of increasing unemployment by preventing people accepting employment opportunities which they’d otherwise be able to take up. Her effort today I think shows there’s no hope for her. It shows she’s either too naive for the job, or simply too right-wing or both, like her bumbling leader.
I don’t see it as going to the fiddler-on-the-roof narrative. It seems more that it’s aimed at exposing the fact the our current government is disappearing people of the unemployment register by shipping them to Aussie. It makes their stats look as though they are increasing the amount of jobs in NZ.
And it’s IS against the guidelines of the transition to work grant, which includes this stipulation:
Karol, you’re quoting from the policy only, which is often very different from the legislation or principal instrument. In this case the principal instrument is the Transition to Work Grant Programme, in which there’s no reference at all to needing to “normally live in New Zealand and intend to stay here”:
http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and-procedures/legislation/welfare_programmes/transition_to_work_grant_programme.htm
Clause 9 of the programme sets out the types of costs that can be met, and at 9(b) it says:
“(vi) relocation costs, if the applicant needs to relocate his or her place of residence to take up employment.”
As I’ve mentioned, there’s no reference to the job being in NZ only, so if the person has secured employment in Australia there’s no bar to the programme being used to assist a person to move there. I’d also go so far as to say that this would be well within the purpose of the grant which surely must be about assisting people to move from receipt of a benefit into employment?
Regardless of Ardern’s press statement, she should’ve shown the nous not to approach the topic in the way she did because all it will do is stir up what is already an entrenched hatred of beneficiaries, the same resentment that was fueled by Shearer’s “sickness benefit on the roof” remarks. At the very best all Ardern’s done is to push Bennett into changing the programme so that it assists a smaller number of people to move off a benefit and into employment. At the same time she’s helped, unwittingly or not, to grow the anti-poor sentiment that’s become so rife within New Zealand society.
There’s more than one way to skin a cat. Ardern chose the wrong way.
Mary you makes some good points, the opposition benches are buoyed by small gains lately. ‘Fast or last’ when a scoop against National comes along. Its competitive & this plum was rushed, I know it is her portfolio but Adern wasn’t a good choice to land the hit. Alas this would have been right up DC’s ally & what’s more he would have made it stick! Think i will keep a weekly tab on lost opportunities.
I think you’re right, and there’s a stack of lost opportunities regularly. The issue here, apparently, and if there even was one, was about people leaving for Australia. Instead the social welfare spokesperson went in with her social welfare hat on. What else could we have expected could happen? Like I said before, dumb, just plain dumb. Where the hell are Labour’s advisers? The problem’s not just with benefit/poverty issues – it’s everywhere within Labour. Just look at the leadership / conference fiasco? I mean, fuck, how stupid are these people?
Giving their best advice, which seems to be a core part of the problem.
Precisely.
Interesting the legislation doesn’t refer to normally living in NZ and intending to stay here. Nor does it say jobs overseas are ineligible.
http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/manuals-and-procedures/legislation/welfare_programmes/transition_to_work_grant_programme.htm
edit: I see Mary has posted the same thing while I was typing.
Well, in Question Time today, it seemed to me that the crux of the matter was that Bennett was not fully in touch with an area under her ministerial policy. She seemed to be caught out that she wasn’t aware whether WINZ staff had been allowing people to get transition allowances to take up a job in Aussie. Bennett said:
Aren’t ministerial directives to staff in her area pretty strong guidelines that need to be followed. hence the point about being an NZ resident on the WINZ website.
It doesn’t look like Bennett will make a rule that the transition allowance never be used for fares to Aussie. In this NZH article tonight, she gives examples of an occasional extenuating circumstance when it may be in order to pay such fares.
Bollocks, Mary. You are reading waaay to much into this, as your claim to know her motivation for speaking out shows. It is appalling that this government have given up hope of providing work for our young and good on Ardern for sticking it to Bennett. Its bad enough that our education system subsidises the future doctors, scientists and engineers of Australia, Britain and the middle east, but paying for an air ticket out for people who could be training to rebuild Chch maybe the most cynical thing I’ve heard from this witless Government since they first got in.
Brighter Future? Blighted Future!
Oh, actually, I’ve now looked at Ardner’s press release. This part does play into the bludger bennie discourse and is entirely unnecessary. Ardern doesn’t need it to show up the government’s lack of interest in providing work for the unemployed:
How does that play into the ‘bludger bennie discourse’ Karol?
Because it’s a variation on the line that – beneficiaries are doing [xxx] and getting away with something luxurious that they shouldn’t on tax payer money. It also draws focus away from the fact that it’s the government in the wrong, and beneficiaries are actually being given a bad deal. It didn’t need to be said.
No its not a variation on the line, its a straight fact. The Government is illegally using taxpayer funds. There is no explicit or implicit criticism of the unemployed in pointing that out. Remember, these people are going off the benefit and going into work. That’s the direct opposite of the bludger bene meme.
“Remember, these people are going off the benefit and going into work. That’s the direct opposite of the bludger bene meme.”
Yes, it is, but that’s not how the poor-hating right-wing will describe it. Just wait for when the post on Slater’s blog about it arrives. There’ll be no mention of how the one-off grant is dwarfed into insignificance by the savings in ongoing benefit payments, just how the poor are screwing the taxpayer for overseas trips. It’s probably there already.
Sorry Mary, I must have missed a memo. Are we no longer to make any criticism that the government’s goons might object to?
No Felix, but Ardern should’ve thought about strategy when picking her battles, that’s all. She clearly didn’t, unless of course she disagrees with the current (and lawful) policy that assists people to move from a benefit into employment.
Tēnā koe, Mary
Who needs enemies when you have someone like Ardern as your advocate. Cheap political point-scoring with beneficiaries as the dart-board, and the ultimate losers.
agreed adele, all most people will hear is some politician having a go at beneficiaries again and good job. bloody beneficiaries. They wont know who Adern even is. Shallow sound bites. Its our times. Adern added an extra layer of political complexity that nobody cares for.
Nightline on TV3 has just done an anti-beneficiary piece now. They’ve conflated the various types of costs to make it sound not only that the help for the travel is unlawful (by focusing on the policy instruction that says “normally for those staying in New Zealand”, which is wrong because there’s no such requirement in the principal instrument), but they’ve said that the grant is being used to simply travel to Australia to ‘look’ for work, which is also wrong. Relocation costs can only be met if the person has secured employment.
So, already we’ve got the media reporting “look at all these thieving beneficiaries getting their airfares paid for by the taxpayer so they can take off to live the life of Reilly in Aussie, and it’s illegal!” So much for the truth, eh? -which is that relocation costs can lawfully be paid, but only for actual costs and capped at $1500 (for example, a ticket to Aussie might only be $300 or $400 so that’s what’s paid – it’s not a standard amount of $1500), and only when employment has been secured (not simply to go somewhere to look for work) thus saving potentially thousands and thousands of dollars of ongoing benefit payments per grant issued.
Thanks Jacinda – good thinking. I guess tomorrow you’ll be telling Bennett she needs to “stop giving these bludgers free trips to Aussie – it’s an outrage!” What’s worse, Jacinda, is that Bennett will be only too happy to oblige. In fact, the media beat-up will probably mean she’ll be left with no choice. Nice work.
Were you aware that this loophole was created by Labour?
Bit slow mate.
Bit irrelevant mate
Same thing really.
So you think that giving someone $300 or $400 to relocate to where they’ve secured a job and no longer need to be on a benefit therefore saving thousands and thousands of dollars is a loophole?
While we are at it, could you tell me any one Labour MP sitting in the House at present, who does clearly and resolutely raise her or his voice for beneficiaries? I admit there may be one or the other, but they do not sit in the front line, and they are not observed as being very vocal to make sufficient impact.
Fact is: Beneficiaries are for most politicians now a NO GO AREA. The nasty MSM have made sure that beneficiaries do too often get mentioned in the same line with criminal offenders, drug users, alcohol abusers, rapists, robbers, murderers and the likes, and while the recession-like times hit many worker’s pockets, too many of them have developed a lack of sympathy and even hatred for supposed “bludgers” they have to feed through.
The submission hearing process before the Social Services Committee, presently taking place, is a clear evidence of this.
There are NO media reports, there is virtually NO press release with sufficient information from any party, apart from one by Ardern on 30 November. It is indeed SCANDALOUS that the most draconian, mean spirited welfare “reforms” are being pushed through like a necessary, undisputed, un-sensational measure, not even worth talking and reporting about.
Perhaps someone here takes note of this and raise it with “connected” party members or whosoever.
For many of the remaining activists it is like “the last man (or woman) standing” in a lost battle, I fear. I simply cannot believe what is going on here.
Dead right. The debate now isn’t about, for example, the adequacy of benefit levels but about whether benefits should be paid at all. That’s what policies of the 1990s did, that’s what’s pushed us to where we are now, which is it’s every person for themselves. No area has been left unscathed by all of this, not even the judiciary, who’ve also been suckered into the pop-analysis which says “beneficiary=poor=own fault=useless=fuck off and anyone who argues will get dealt to in the same way”.
It might sound good now, but it will all fall over when the Liberals allow Reinhart to import thousands of workers from Asia to work in her mines.
Then they will all want to come home.
George Osborne’s growth plan relies on us accruing even more debt
Thing is, that’s exactly what Labour’s KiwiBuild is. NZers getting even deeper into debt to fuel growth. It’s certainly not addressing the problem of debt based money.
My point exactly nice plan to stimulate growth in an artificial and actual way.
Artificial due mortgages etc and actual due to down flow effects of building.
During the boom Clark years most of the boom was off the back of expanding housing prices inflated by various means supply and demand issues, this enabled home owner to remortgage easily and spend spend spend creating artificial growth.
Labour want to expand the house bubble effect by 1000000 units. Much better to recognise the problem that we face and face it head on.
We need bold direction and solutions now.
What is NZ Prime Minister John Key going to do about the arguably ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks, the Minister for Small Business, and Regulatory Reform — and Associate Minister for Education, and Commerce, when he appears, (as I understand it) in the Wellington District Court on Tuesday 11 December 2012 at 1.45pm – facing a private prosecution for alleged electoral fraud?
( CRN: 12085501327 – the charge relating to the filing of a false return.)
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2001/0035/latest/DLM94799.html
134 False return
(1)Every candidate commits an offence who transmits a return of electoral expenses knowing that it is false in any material particular, and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Is the arguably ‘Not-So-Honorable’ John Banks, the Minister for Small Business, and Regulatory Reform — and Associate Minister for Education, and Commerce, going to be, at the very least, ‘stood down’ as a Minister, by National Prime Minister John Key?
If not – why not?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Been interesting watching Ken Burn’s recent documentary on the Dustbowl.
Apart from some lessons about mis-managing the environment one quote stands out for me.
“But of all our losses, the most distressing is our loss of self-respect. How can we feel that our work has any dignity or importance when the world places so low a value on the products of our toil?”
—Caroline Henderson, Oklahoma farmer during the 1932 drought during the Depression.
I’ve never understood this government and right-wingers penchant for denigrating it’s own citizens and the low paid.
I’ve never understood employers who pay people a pittance and expect loyalty and dedication.
I’ve never understood the reason why small businesses support policies that benefit the corporates (including reducing wages, high unemployment and paying a pittance in benefits ) and lead to their own extinction.
We reap what we sow in more ways than one.
Ken Burns — excellent film maker. Just finished watching his doco on Prohibition. What a fuck up that was. As if banning booze was going to solve all of societys’ problems – even then there were heaps of loopholes and exceptions.
Remember that banning of anything is fantastic for those who control the supply, then taking control of the black markets!
When you reverse the ban, the control remains with those who hold effective monopolies!
Societys problems had nothing to do with anything, other than convenient catch phrases!