Will the admitted illegal actions of the GCSB lead to charges being laid?
Will NZ get a seat on the the Security Council?
Mission impossible?
Murray McCully is supposed to be in New York lobbying for New Zealand to be awarded one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council.
But even before he got off the plane his mission had been sabotaged on the home front.
While he was in transit, in the operation to extradite Kim Dotcom to the U.S. headlines around the world were recounting revelations of NZ secret service malfeasance, as well as cover up and lying, at the highest levels of the NZ state
Unless something changes, McCully has no show of convincing the UN General Assembly of our independent bona fides.
I would have thought that illegal snooping on someone was a serious matter?
I would have thought perjury was a serious matter?
But not, it seems, if these illegal actions are done on behalf of the United States.
If we have no respect for our own national laws and norms on behalf of the American super power, how could we be trusted to respect international laws and norms if they were in conflict with US interests?
Has McCully given up on his Quixotic mission?
In his only opportunity to address the general assembly, instead of putting New Zealand’s case case for one of the non permanent seats on the Security Council, McCully spent most of his speech on Syria and criticising the Security Council’s veto power.
Way to go Murray!
Why was New Zealand’s mission to secure one of the non-permanent seats dropped off your agenda?
Mr McCully said later on Q+A today that he received some sporadic applause for his comments and sensed a real sense of frustration among the General Assembly.
.If New Zealand really wanted a seat on the Security Council we must announce to the world that our sovereignity is invioble, that Dotcom will get a fair hearing, that evidence of perjury in this matter will be investigated, that acts of illegality by secret agencies will be punished. That when it comes to justice the US will have to stand in the queue like everyone else.
Information held by the Herald shows Gen-I studied data showing the amount of time it took information on the internet connection to reach the Xbox server. It went from 30 milliseconds to 180 milliseconds – a huge increase for online gamers.
The reason for the extra time emerged in a deeper inquiry, which saw a “Trace Route” search which tracks internet signals from their origin to their destinations. When the results were compared it showed the internet signal was being diverted inside New Zealand.
The data showed the internet signal had previously taken two steps before going offshore – but was now taking five.
Any thoughts from the techie types out there as to whether there are any reasons this could happen other than the signal was being illegally diverted to monitor it?
And if the GCSB are telling the truth that the illegal surveillance of Dotcom didn’t start until 16 December 2011, then who else would have been doing it earlier? The NSA running an op in New Zealand? Now, that would be really interesting.
They should, yes. The IP addresses will have to be globally routable. The IP addresses may just point to the very edge of the ‘shell’ of the network, but it’s still showing you something, even if only a very little. Although the fact that there were 3 additional hops will also show you the intermediary providers they use to funnel the data their way.
You’d have to mirror outgoing and incoming connections. Not especially hard, but more effort than just diverting the stream entirely. It’s also much more obvious that surveillance is going on – the only reason traffic could be mirrored is for monitoring purposes. Traffic being routed inefficiently could be just that – a routing error.
I find it amusing that this investigation started because Kim Dotcom is such a nerd and a rich one. Any other average person wouldn’t have any clue this was happening (or the resources/clout to get an investigation done by Gen I).
I am far from an IT expert, but am informed by Anita from Kiwipolitico (who knows a lot more about this than me), on this occasion over at the Dim-Post, that re-routing is necessary if you want to decrypt encrypted messages.
Given that Kim Dotcom is very likely to have been encrypting much of his messaging, then diversion rather than mirroring may well have been the GCSB’s (or NSA’s) best method of obtaining the most useful intelligence.
Especially given that mirroring gives you all sorts of extraneous shit you are not really interested in.
There is more information at http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcoms-gaming-lag-hints-spying-121004/
including an interview with the big man himself.
Whatever the reason whether it be incompetence or a security agency diverting traffic so it can have a snoop the justification for a full inquiry just got bigger.
And I was surprised to hear how big the GCSB is. It apparently has over 300 employees.
Thanks for that link, ms. Really interesting read which has been updated in the last few hours. I followed an earlier link via KDC twitter and KDC’s comments were not reported then.
KDC is now saying the problems started in Oct, and Telecom was asked to check, but then went silent. He also says the GCSB had also installed four cameras on the property, and this will come out in Court. It all gets murkier and murkier.
Holy crap, 300, that is potentially a lot of leather arm chairs and snifters of single malt! Maybe two or three of ’em just monitor The Standard and other blogs sorting out who is who all day.
The speculation whether there were donations to National as well as ACT is most interesting.
The inspector general is obviously some kind of patsy retirement post given the meagre funds allocated to the ‘watchdog’ compared to overall GCSB funding.
The answers here could turn out to be political dynamite.
No wonder Dotcom keeps smiling.
He has the tech savvy to guess what happened, and confidence that the NZ legal system will eventually reveal the details. Let’s hope he’s right.
This could go right to the top- Key after all is in direct charge of the spy network. And (!) including maybe the current GG, who ran the GCSB for some months. Key has assumed he has had ‘plausible deniability’ all down the line. That is looking thin now, as the underlings start to talk.
And let’s hear it from the Minister of Police, the esteemed Ann Tolley, on the apparent perjury. Fresh from the high-heeled stomp on the boy racer’s wagon…
It could be a couple of reasons, what they really need to do is an internic/whois lookup on th IP numbers from that tracert.
Those routes and how they got there are very hard to track because of the 0.0.0.0 default gateway and device routed packets.
In the modern day the NZ internet uses what’s called numberless IP or port routing, those routes are managed using RIP or a similiar routing management protocol.
Once they know who “owned” those IP numbers they’ll have an idea of location. You would have to ask the Telco who owned it though, which means you’d be better to do it officialy, I’m sure they’d want to help, but policy may prevent them.
There is no reason on earth to route a packet to Wellington and back again.
I’d suspect packet snooping was the goal, and they must’ve broken into a Telco switch or have backbone RIP access to pull it off.
I don’t think the Americans’ would’ve helped them hack a NZ site without good reason, but if they said it was for Dotcom then maybe, which raises a whole raft of questions about protocol and checks and balances.
1. An overseas intelligence organisation has rerouted Dotcom’s feed so that it can be analysed. Not likely since the loop happened between Dotcom’s house and the Sky Tower.
2. A NZ intelligence organisation has rerouted Dotcom’s feed so that it can be analysed. Quite likely given the current performance of the various Government Departments. They seem to not understand that the law is something they should adhere to.
3. It is a monumental stuff up by Telecom and its technicians and Dotcom is elegantly playing us all like chumps. This cannot be ruled out given Telecom’s general performance and Dotcom’s uncanny ability to affect public discourse of the issue.
For a slightly more geeky pointy headed discussion of the issue try Dimpost’s blog at http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/a-question-for-the-level-3-boys/
Apologies for no embedded links. I am on holiday and on an Ipad …
Considering the GCSB is there too protect us from Cyber Terrorism, they are actually the people you people should be asking.
They are meant too be protecting us, not spying on us.
They sent a message to me and others on this board, the message was a scary one.
Nothing too do with them, someone else was trying out those stack smashers they left behind last night.
We have nothing too hide, so not a big deal, but why would he smash his own board?
…… Coz he’s a wannabe hacker.
Anonymous are a bunch of incompetents who never read a single line of kernel code it their lives, they steal the ability from people who have, and we hate them for it.
This one’s for Muzza and for David H. A few days ago we had a chat about the psychology of commenters on stuff.co.nz, comapring them to talkback callers. You made the point Muzza that these folks don’t necessarily represent the mindset of the rest of NZ but are influential in their own way.
After a bout of despair I vowed not to get involved in these discussions again but…….there is an article in yesterdays Dom Post by Vernon Small questioning whether voters are turning away from Key. Check out the feedback. It’s refreshing. Add your voice if you want, the discussion is continuing today. We keep looking to opposition politicans for leadership and hope but we can’t forget that WE as a population are the ones that should be driving democracy. (In a very general sense, and via action not just by posting comments on an msm news site lol)
I’ve seen a lot of very negative comments about Key and National leading up to the last election, too. I guess turnout was just depressed enough thanks to the MSM narrative of National having a home-run that we ended up with the result we did.
Thanks for that link Rosie. I understand the despair too … have felt it acutely since NACT got in and more so since their return but I have to believe good over comes bad, compassion and integrity wins over greed and self-interest. It is certainly unravelling before our very eyes and with such volume that even the least politically aware must be noticing. Rose tinted glasses perhaps but it helps keep me going!
I’ll check out the link later, thanks for posting..
The thing with the MSM is that they generally do not care who the government is, they simply make up the news, and drive the narrative which suits their corporate owners agenda.
News media generally meant to straddle the middle line, as they exist regardless of who is in government or who is in opposition, they get to “make the news”
So far as people joining online conversations and the like – My feelings are that online anything comes with the elevated risk of false economy, which is when people use online communities and believe they they are making a difference, or that its influential, this to me is false, because my feeling is that it is not!
Online, especially in the MSM is heavily controlled, monitored and moderated, and as such is is not hard to see where it can be used to take the energy away from people, by allowing them to feel a sense of emotion either positive or negative about , in this instance our political situation.
Only when people take to the streets, and become very enagaged in political process, not just voting, but demanding accountability through continued engagement, will NZ stand any chance of turning around the course we are on!
Hey Muzza. I fully agree with your thoughts on the msm, and am under no illusion of it’s agenda. Its’ content is often quite vapid and becoming more inane with an increasing focus on “entertainment” (mind numbing celebrity entertainment). In regard to the Vernon Small article, I was just very pleased to see some anti national/shonkey talk going on. And yes, these msm online comments sections are very moderated. Only about 50% or less of my posts ever make it to the page (on fairfax).
I also firmly believe in action but man, where is it? Yes, theres been some solid protest around asset sales, but over the last decade, and the last 4 years in particular, it feels like we have become the “OK” meme. Just accepting. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx6evUA2F1qf04yf.jpg
Maybe just too tired, too indifferent, too preoccupied and disillusioned? I was just a kid during the time of the Springboks tour and the Nuclear Free movement but later came to appreciate and admire the actions and efforts (sometimes at great personal risk) that went into promoting and standing up for social and environmental justice. I was inspired by these people and I guess that gave me the encouragment to ‘get involved’ in taking action alongside others as other issues arose. (So thank you to anyone here who was involved in those protests) Governments come and go and we are faced with evolving threats and issues regularly but it feels like we’ve lost our fire. And our unity.
we are faced with evolving threats and issues regularly but it feels like we’ve lost our fire. And our unity
Rosie, student loans have a big part to play, so does immigration/emmigration, into the mix.
I recall when I was growing up, that locally when there were protests, it was the students who seemed to be leading the charge so to speak, and taking stands against the issues of the time. so how to quell what was a large chunk of protestors? Get them under control via debt, its certainly worked well to crush what was left of the student protests for the past 10-15 years.
We see some coming about again of late, but nothing which is going to make change.
Immigration/emmigration is self explanatory IMO, and of course there are the pro’s and con’s on both sides. Needless to say that if you want to remove unity from any country, then just ensure that you keep the doors revolving as quickly as possible. That alongside keeping those who stay, at eachother using the worst kinds of race/class warfare you could find in the “developed” world!
You are right though, the fire has been extinguished, and people appear to me to be very “thick” these days, walking around like mindless zombies, talking about “stuff” which is simply that, just stuff. I look at the younger generations in my family, and realise that they do not even realise just how dumbed down life has made them, the digital kids are trapped.
If people want to argue the attack on peoples mind, they need look no further than the charter schools fiasco, as the lastest attack on furture generations of Kiwi young.
Its going to take something very big before that unity you refer might kick in again, but it will happen Rosie, the question for me is, will it be too late.
Points noted re student debt and revolving door population and its effect on our ‘voicelessness”.
“people appear to me to be very ‘thick’ these days”
Try living in the Ohariu electorate Muzza! I do understand what you say however. I also wonder how it is for young people who have been born in the time of neoliberalism (getting sick of that word). Very generally speaking they haven’t been raised in a way, or exposed to a system that honours collectivity, and the idea of collective effort equalling collective gain. Many in my generation (x) have abandoned that priciple too, and have rather selfish pursuits. They don’t realise that independence (in the form of creativity and self sufficience) and selflessness/ compassion can co exist. It’s all “MY independence or nothing” Maybe that lack of collective awareness prevents young people and gen y’ers in general from particpating in democracy, even our most basic democratic right – voting.
Dumbing down. Well, we’ve seen the effects of that on the American population in regard to their education system and your point about charter schools being introduced here is valid. As it is it does feel like we live in time devoid of critical thinking (or just thinking), questioning and engagement in meaningful discussion. It is just ‘stuff’ that seems to be the topic, as you say. Look at our free tv content. Unless it’s on Maori chanel (and they do have some great shows) you’ll have to get a dvd out or go online if you want to watch a documentary. A dumbed down nation is a submissive nation.
Anyway, I am deteriorating into rant so will leave you in peace.
One time if you feel like answering I’d be interested to know your thoughts (if any) on the outcomes of the Occupation Movement, internationally and here.
Anyway, I am deteriorating into rant so will leave you in peace.
One time if you feel like answering I’d be interested to know your thoughts (if any) on the outcomes of the Occupation Movement, internationally and here.
The occupy movement, along with the “arab spring’, should be under the microscope for how to manufacture, hijack and destroy, hope, the same can be applied to Obama (remember is campaign slogans). Remember the Tea Party in the USA – How people brought into what was solid ideas, but yet the movement had been created entirely to steal the energy from the real grass roots movements. The key feature is to take over and re-direct what could be a threat to nullify it, or to turn it into something, that next time people will not be inclined to get involved with
Occupy internationally and locally lacked cohesive demands, and then got taken over in the USA by the likes of Michael Moore, David Graber, which means that the establishment had already taken the control of the messages. While the intentions of the occupy movement were most likely solid, they were well and truly schooled in how technology will be used, along with the intelligence community to divert the energy to where it wants it to be directed, to control the narrative, to kill something off.
NZ occupy, while not controlled to the same degree, was IMO still equally missing some basic tennants of what might have allowed them some degree of success. The active community from what I heve seen in AKL, is factuous, and full of people in it for their own gains, and the chance of a joined up approach is currently not likely. There are some really good people too, but until self importance is put aside, and they can find a “face” who can translate some very clear messages which ressonate with the “middle class”, its going to be hard to see it being a force for change!
For an examply of how to get some traction see Syriza in greece, they brought together a bunch of disparate factions cohesively, had clear concise ideas, which they portrayed coherently, they increased their vote from 4-27%, and were a wisker away from being part of the government. What that would have meant is debateable in reality, but the case study is how Syriza pulled itslf together, the clarity of the messages/policies, and what those message/policies were!
Could go all day on this, but thats about it for now…Take it easy Rosie
“Occupy internationally and locally lacked cohesive demands and got taken over…………”
Agreed. Thanks for taking ther the time to respond Muzza. Noted your points about the unity in the left wing factions in Greece, and their almost success in their elections. Also noted your point about there being good people in the movement in NZ, in Akld in your example but the movement was factious and folks driving their own agenda. Ditto here in Wgtn.
In the early days of the movement before it came here I spent everyday on the livestream talking with people involved. It was hugely exciting and there was a real sense of connection and hope. I was uplifted by the speeches from people like Naomi Klein (I attended one of her talks over a decade ago when I lived in AK and have always liked where she comes from) and other campaigners who I’d never heard of and from the people themselves. I was wondering how this movement would translate into our culture. Not so well, I think, in the end and despite the best intentions.
After attending the international day of solidarity in October last year I decided to stay on the periphery of the movement. I didn’t know how the movement could progress without a clear directive and demands, or leadership for that matter. I got that they wanted to diffuse a traditional power dynamic and they wanted to stay true to the model of the movement but just in my opinion there was no time for navel gazing. When I raised issues of our current political status I was told the movement was a post political movement. I was at odds with that statement. How could any movement that is essentially wanting a system change not be political? There was also the issue of the ego’s yet again and I felt a sense of the Wgtn chapter being exclusive and some how closed. There were some great people doing great work so I don’t mean to be disrespectful however I think we missed a good opportunity in NZ, especially as we were going into an election. I think there was more effect or should a say a different effect in both the US and the UK due to a different tact and a different political, economic and social situation compared to here, even though we have similarities. I could go on too.
Got to dash – I have ducklings and their parents that come into the garden looking for food and water!
Rosie, I appreciate your affirmation of the Springbok protest “activists”. I was one of them, and in the middle of the Hamilton ground which was terrifying. Now I am old and, regrettably, cannot get “out there” to demonstrate any more. (Nowadays, I am a “computer activist”!) But I have to say that I am dismayed at the amount of apathy in this country in connection with vitally important issues which are likely to adversely affect my grandchildren. Indifference is the killer! Oh, for some sign of “the old fire” (with the sole exception of the Queen Street protest against this government wrecking our beautiful environment in its insatiable greed to make money, especially for the already rich.
Dr Terry. That is great to hear of your participation in the Springboks protests. Yes, I can imagine how terrifying that must have felt. What courage it must have taken to stand your ground. (The picket line has been a scary enough place for me at times! I’d have been useless had I been in your position) One of my former colleagues was involved in the Mt Eden protest and it was her determination and conviction that I found so inspiring. She was also a feminist and I learnt what I could from her about feminism. Its your generation that cared and made changes, so don’t feel regret at not being ‘out there’ now. Doing what you do is necessary and relevent. I’m not surprised that you feel dismay at the current apathy and I feel uncomfortable that my generation is part of that apathy.
Hi Weka. They’ve changed their format. To read in chronological order you will need to scroll down till you get to click on “read more comments” And then scroll backwards to read in order of the thread.Currently there are 50 comments.
It started out positive yesterday and has deteriorated.
I’m kicking myself because I broke my ban on commenting on fairfax sites and now have a jerk called eziyo telling me I’m the reason he’s moving to Australia (yes, a complete stranger he has never met) plus other inanities directed at me. It was kind of my fault becuase I got personal and called him racist. My bad. Ignorant and prejudiced would have been the correct term. He’s also completely misunderstood what I’m talking about. Oh god, why do I even care…………..
Thank you Rosie for that .. Yay it finally looks as if the worm is turning. There was a couple of very good comments from a Kiwi who will never desert NZ ( I came here when I was 15 from England) I will never leave either. Coming from England via italy and round the cape on a liner, it was great I was 15 and the parents had owned a pub, so didn’t worry about the drinking, until the beer flavored sea sickness lol. BUT NZ was so clean after Southampton, Genoa, they were all dirty and grey. Capetown was very Dangerous Height of apartheid. Damn I’m getting old lol. It was amazing arriving at the Overseas Terminal at 10pm on a clear warm October night back in 1969. I’m getting stir crazy, been stuck in bed with this rotten flu all week. So don’t let the depressing views of the haters get to you, just hope that the Nacts implode before they can do too much damage. And Shearer stands aside in favour of Cunliffe it’s the only way to go. Thanks again it was great to see that there are not just haters out there. Keep up the good work.
One can live in hope! I guess its better late than never that folks are waking up to the reality of the monster govt they voted in. Now we just need some action. (And I agree, Cunliffe needs to be in that oppostion leadership position sooner rather than later)
Sorry to hear of your flu. I bet its a stunning day up the coast today so hopefully thats enough to signal to that virus that its time to go. All the best for a good recovery:)
Anyone else been getting redirect loop problems under chrome for “the standard”? I have tried clearing cookies several times etc, but the problem reappears almost immediately. “The Standard” is the only site I have encountered this problem with under chrome.
Yeah, I often get “redirect loop” problems at the standard – usually when I get into a conversation with tsmithfield, Gosman, kiwi_prometheus or BalancedView.
Public safety may be paramount, but the use of the armed forces for law enforcement purposes can only happen with the approval of the Prime Minister or next most senior Minister. it will be very interesting to see whether that approval has been granted in this case, or whether the police and army are once again relying on the Napier interpretation to bypass the law. If they are doing the latter, then I think its something Parliament needs to look at.
It seems that the police may be getting a little gung-ho in their use of the armed forces to assist with policing.
In the National Business Review dated Friday January 20 2012 (The same day as the Dotcom raids).
OFCANZ deputy director Detective Inspector Grant Wormald talks about working with the U.S. Authorities over recent months.
OFCANS work is prioritised and assigned by the Commissioner of police who seeks advice from the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Co-ordination (ODESC)
Given that the GCSB is part of the OCDES that advises the Prime Minister and according to Wormald
“The FBI contacted New Zealand Police in early 2011 with a request to assist with their investigation into the Mega Conspiracy.” said Mr Wormald.
“We were happy to provide this assistance. Staff from OFCANZ and New Zealand Police have worked with the US authorities over recent months to effect today’s successful operation.
When the FBI first contacted the N.Z. Police to assist in their investigation how far up the chain of command did that request go? After all this was not a run of the mill Armed Offenders Squad call out. And it was way above the operational level that the Prime Minister doesn’t get involved in.
I know Wormald has a creditability problem with some people, but credible or not as deputy director of OFCANZ saying that N.Z. Police and OFCANZ had been working with the U.S. Authorities for months prior to the raid proves that Key knows more than he is telling, he must do surly.
Feminine mystery, restrained by logic
Becomes mostly masculine, except in one obvious way.
One should not expect a man to be unable to see the beauty – is that the request?
The danger, I’m told, is to weave your webs in the morning.
Having met the danger, it is bewildering.
There will be no loss of life or limb;
No piercings or tattoos, but you’ll excuse me if I shave.
The varmints path, while rough,
is still too indulgent.
Isn’t it just that the four seasons have forgotten their name?
Nothing that is forgotten disappears.
Nothing that is given up is rejected.
The Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way:
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.
Truly, ‘Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the Secret Essences’;
He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the Outcomes.
These two things issued from the same mould, but nevertheless are different in name.
This ‘same mould’ we can but call the Mystery,
Or rather the ‘Darker than any Mystery’,
The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences.
–
Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into the experience while you are alive!
Think…and think…while you are alive.
What you call “salvation” belongs to the time
before death.
If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will rejoin with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten-
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the
City of Death.
If you make love with divine now, in the next
life you will have the face of satisfied desire.
So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,
Believe in the Great Sound!
Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that
does all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.
by Kabir
–
Love After Love- Derek Walcott
The time will come
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
At your own door, in your own mirror,
And each will smile at the other’s welcome,
And say, sit here, Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give Wine. Give Bread. Give back your heart
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you
All your life, whom you ignored
For another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
“…..proves that Key knows more than he is telling, he must do surly.” Yep. Surly describes him well. 🙂 Back at Katy @7
Katy. That is a useful piece of research. It does suggest that a proper inquiry is needed – desperately!
I suppose if a group is not visible, and is unlikely to have light shone on them, and if the representative of the people whose job it is to oversee is asleep, then it would be human nature to bend/break the rules. Integrity would become flexible?
Todays daily rag:
“MR KEY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD”
A STRANGE TERRIBLE AND TRAGIC TALE OF THE RUBE WHO GETS ROBBED OF ALL HIS BREAD IN TINSEL TOWN.
and it wan’t even his own money!!!
an aside,
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day. 2 Peter 3: 8
handy to remember when too focused, the |Devil| is in the detail
“All this Time the Guard was looking at her through a telescope,
then through a microscope and then through an opera glass
At last he said,
You’re going the wrong way and shut up the window and went away.”
(As it is written: “See I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” )-To the Romans 9:33
I love that playing WoW is a character defect in republican eyes, but wearing a tri-corner hat and demanding to see birth certs in real life is simply “heartland america”.
The Rotary Club of Remuera has pulled the pin on John Ansell’s “Colourblind” campaign launch and cancelled its meeting in Auckland on Monday, October 8.
In a statement, club president John Burrowes says Rotary is a non-political organisation and following what he termed “media hype” it became obvious the club had been “ambushed” into providing a platform for a political ad campaign launch.
Mr Ansell, due to fly up from Wellington on Saturday, told NBR ONLINE Rotary had “misrepresented me terribly.”
He says he was invited to talk some weeks ago by a Rotary club member and told he could invite “whoever I like.”
On that basis he invited other people and the media.
So what now? If companies have to pay for background checks, depending on the cost then how many are doing to say bugger it? and it’s even worse if the schools are cash strapped.
if the govt keeps cutting funding to the police and others eventually there will be anarchy
Just released that meridian has walked away from the talks with the smelter at bluff.
A source also said that meridian had plans with the electricity that the smelter would
have used.
Sorry cant link, but it is on the stuff site.
What next for the economy, the ‘great decimation of our economy’ continues by the
‘keystoners’
-Civil Defence-dysfunctional
-divided
Duplication of Control (Kaos) Too many chiefs(over-managed like the rest of NZ)
another freakin disaster?
-Willis Street Pedestrian Barriers; Killing Business? Just Kill More Pedestrians.
(kill kill kill kill kill the poor: Glad I’m not a Kennedy, imagine being a Kennedy)
-over the Ring-Wraiths
-NZTA; New Zealand Termination Agency (knackered PR)
Brit Comedy Friday on ONE: laugh your way to the chamber.
(Yes Minister)
Parkinsons Dis-ease-Now Pigs On The Wing: nothing like a little xenotransplantation to get ya movin.
Oh this is not good. This is not good at all. Negotiations break down between Rio Tinto and Meridian. Closure of Tiwai Point would devastate the lower South Island. The small silver lining is that it would make power companies a less attractive investment for asset sales with a flood of electricity onto the market, but this would harm a lot of workers and their families.
Mitt Romney’s ‘victory’ in the first presidential debate is disturbing.
The guy is probably the most right wing Republican presidential candidate ever, and his running mate is even more right wing then he is (Im waiting for some war vet to ‘nut out’ and shoot Romney, so Paul Ryan can slide into the Oval Office – a la Manchurian Candidate).
If Romney gets in, those in the USA who aren’t rich are pretty much fucked.
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
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Will Dotcom get a fair hearing?
Will evidence of police perjury be investigated?
Will the admitted illegal actions of the GCSB lead to charges being laid?
Will NZ get a seat on the the Security Council?
Mission impossible?
Murray McCully is supposed to be in New York lobbying for New Zealand to be awarded one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council.
But even before he got off the plane his mission had been sabotaged on the home front.
While he was in transit, in the operation to extradite Kim Dotcom to the U.S. headlines around the world were recounting revelations of NZ secret service malfeasance, as well as cover up and lying, at the highest levels of the NZ state
Unless something changes, McCully has no show of convincing the UN General Assembly of our independent bona fides.
I would have thought that illegal snooping on someone was a serious matter?
I would have thought perjury was a serious matter?
But not, it seems, if these illegal actions are done on behalf of the United States.
If we have no respect for our own national laws and norms on behalf of the American super power, how could we be trusted to respect international laws and norms if they were in conflict with US interests?
Has McCully given up on his Quixotic mission?
In his only opportunity to address the general assembly, instead of putting New Zealand’s case case for one of the non permanent seats on the Security Council, McCully spent most of his speech on Syria and criticising the Security Council’s veto power.
Way to go Murray!
Why was New Zealand’s mission to secure one of the non-permanent seats dropped off your agenda?
http://www.3news.co.nz/Murray-McCully-criticises-Security-Council-at-United-Nations/tabid/1607/articleID/270987/Default.aspx
.If New Zealand really wanted a seat on the Security Council we must announce to the world that our sovereignity is invioble, that Dotcom will get a fair hearing, that evidence of perjury in this matter will be investigated, that acts of illegality by secret agencies will be punished. That when it comes to justice the US will have to stand in the queue like everyone else.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10838484
Any thoughts from the techie types out there as to whether there are any reasons this could happen other than the signal was being illegally diverted to monitor it?
And if the GCSB are telling the truth that the illegal surveillance of Dotcom didn’t start until 16 December 2011, then who else would have been doing it earlier? The NSA running an op in New Zealand? Now, that would be really interesting.
I’m not a techie but it looks significant and it looks like an intelligence gathering organisation jumped the gun.
And you have to admire Dotcom’s media savvy.
He has obviously had this information for nearly a year but chose now, when it will do most damage, to release it.
Stand by for a couple of blockbusters, a dinner with Key and a large donation to the National Party …
Another question for techie types: would Gen-I know the IP addresses of the extra three “steps”?
They should, yes. The IP addresses will have to be globally routable. The IP addresses may just point to the very edge of the ‘shell’ of the network, but it’s still showing you something, even if only a very little. Although the fact that there were 3 additional hops will also show you the intermediary providers they use to funnel the data their way.
Crikey Toad. That could be very big!
Yep the ping rate would have driven Dotcom spare at the time. It is one of the most important aspects for online gaming.
You don’t divert an IP stream to monitor it, you make a copy and monitor that.
You’d have to mirror outgoing and incoming connections. Not especially hard, but more effort than just diverting the stream entirely. It’s also much more obvious that surveillance is going on – the only reason traffic could be mirrored is for monitoring purposes. Traffic being routed inefficiently could be just that – a routing error.
I find it amusing that this investigation started because Kim Dotcom is such a nerd and a rich one. Any other average person wouldn’t have any clue this was happening (or the resources/clout to get an investigation done by Gen I).
No, port mirroring is the way it’s done.
So then you’d be getting all sorts of other traffic as well.
I am far from an IT expert, but am informed by Anita from Kiwipolitico (who knows a lot more about this than me), on this occasion over at the Dim-Post, that re-routing is necessary if you want to decrypt encrypted messages.
Given that Kim Dotcom is very likely to have been encrypting much of his messaging, then diversion rather than mirroring may well have been the GCSB’s (or NSA’s) best method of obtaining the most useful intelligence.
Especially given that mirroring gives you all sorts of extraneous shit you are not really interested in.
There is more information at http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcoms-gaming-lag-hints-spying-121004/
including an interview with the big man himself.
Whatever the reason whether it be incompetence or a security agency diverting traffic so it can have a snoop the justification for a full inquiry just got bigger.
And I was surprised to hear how big the GCSB is. It apparently has over 300 employees.
Thanks for that link, ms. Really interesting read which has been updated in the last few hours. I followed an earlier link via KDC twitter and KDC’s comments were not reported then.
KDC is now saying the problems started in Oct, and Telecom was asked to check, but then went silent. He also says the GCSB had also installed four cameras on the property, and this will come out in Court. It all gets murkier and murkier.
Holy crap, 300, that is potentially a lot of leather arm chairs and snifters of single malt! Maybe two or three of ’em just monitor The Standard and other blogs sorting out who is who all day.
The speculation whether there were donations to National as well as ACT is most interesting.
The inspector general is obviously some kind of patsy retirement post given the meagre funds allocated to the ‘watchdog’ compared to overall GCSB funding.
“Maybe two or three of ’em just monitor The Standard and other blogs sorting out who is who all day.”
Of course, The Standard is very important.
and yet you’ve returned…
Indeed, if The Standard weren’t important I wouldn’t be here…an important person like myself can’t waste his time on The Standard.
contrari-wise
The answers here could turn out to be political dynamite.
No wonder Dotcom keeps smiling.
He has the tech savvy to guess what happened, and confidence that the NZ legal system will eventually reveal the details. Let’s hope he’s right.
This could go right to the top- Key after all is in direct charge of the spy network. And (!) including maybe the current GG, who ran the GCSB for some months. Key has assumed he has had ‘plausible deniability’ all down the line. That is looking thin now, as the underlings start to talk.
And let’s hear it from the Minister of Police, the esteemed Ann Tolley, on the apparent perjury. Fresh from the high-heeled stomp on the boy racer’s wagon…
Tolley won’t involve herself – on the basis that perjury by senior Police officers is an “operational matter”.
It could be a couple of reasons, what they really need to do is an internic/whois lookup on th IP numbers from that tracert.
Those routes and how they got there are very hard to track because of the 0.0.0.0 default gateway and device routed packets.
In the modern day the NZ internet uses what’s called numberless IP or port routing, those routes are managed using RIP or a similiar routing management protocol.
Once they know who “owned” those IP numbers they’ll have an idea of location. You would have to ask the Telco who owned it though, which means you’d be better to do it officialy, I’m sure they’d want to help, but policy may prevent them.
There is no reason on earth to route a packet to Wellington and back again.
I’d suspect packet snooping was the goal, and they must’ve broken into a Telco switch or have backbone RIP access to pull it off.
I don’t think the Americans’ would’ve helped them hack a NZ site without good reason, but if they said it was for Dotcom then maybe, which raises a whole raft of questions about protocol and checks and balances.
Key has issued a blanket denial.
There appear to be three possibilities:
1. An overseas intelligence organisation has rerouted Dotcom’s feed so that it can be analysed. Not likely since the loop happened between Dotcom’s house and the Sky Tower.
2. A NZ intelligence organisation has rerouted Dotcom’s feed so that it can be analysed. Quite likely given the current performance of the various Government Departments. They seem to not understand that the law is something they should adhere to.
3. It is a monumental stuff up by Telecom and its technicians and Dotcom is elegantly playing us all like chumps. This cannot be ruled out given Telecom’s general performance and Dotcom’s uncanny ability to affect public discourse of the issue.
For a slightly more geeky pointy headed discussion of the issue try Dimpost’s blog at http://dimpost.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/a-question-for-the-level-3-boys/
Apologies for no embedded links. I am on holiday and on an Ipad …
Considering the GCSB is there too protect us from Cyber Terrorism, they are actually the people you people should be asking.
They are meant too be protecting us, not spying on us.
They sent a message to me and others on this board, the message was a scary one.
Nothing too do with them, someone else was trying out those stack smashers they left behind last night.
We have nothing too hide, so not a big deal, but why would he smash his own board?
…… Coz he’s a wannabe hacker.
Anonymous are a bunch of incompetents who never read a single line of kernel code it their lives, they steal the ability from people who have, and we hate them for it.
So JH watch out, they know you now ……..
This one’s for Muzza and for David H. A few days ago we had a chat about the psychology of commenters on stuff.co.nz, comapring them to talkback callers. You made the point Muzza that these folks don’t necessarily represent the mindset of the rest of NZ but are influential in their own way.
After a bout of despair I vowed not to get involved in these discussions again but…….there is an article in yesterdays Dom Post by Vernon Small questioning whether voters are turning away from Key. Check out the feedback. It’s refreshing. Add your voice if you want, the discussion is continuing today. We keep looking to opposition politicans for leadership and hope but we can’t forget that WE as a population are the ones that should be driving democracy. (In a very general sense, and via action not just by posting comments on an msm news site lol)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/vernon-small/7766785/Vernon-Small-Are-voters-turning-against-John-Key
I’ve seen a lot of very negative comments about Key and National leading up to the last election, too. I guess turnout was just depressed enough thanks to the MSM narrative of National having a home-run that we ended up with the result we did.
Thanks for that link Rosie. I understand the despair too … have felt it acutely since NACT got in and more so since their return but I have to believe good over comes bad, compassion and integrity wins over greed and self-interest. It is certainly unravelling before our very eyes and with such volume that even the least politically aware must be noticing. Rose tinted glasses perhaps but it helps keep me going!
Hi Rosie, hope you’re well.
I’ll check out the link later, thanks for posting..
The thing with the MSM is that they generally do not care who the government is, they simply make up the news, and drive the narrative which suits their corporate owners agenda.
News media generally meant to straddle the middle line, as they exist regardless of who is in government or who is in opposition, they get to “make the news”
So far as people joining online conversations and the like – My feelings are that online anything comes with the elevated risk of false economy, which is when people use online communities and believe they they are making a difference, or that its influential, this to me is false, because my feeling is that it is not!
Online, especially in the MSM is heavily controlled, monitored and moderated, and as such is is not hard to see where it can be used to take the energy away from people, by allowing them to feel a sense of emotion either positive or negative about , in this instance our political situation.
Only when people take to the streets, and become very enagaged in political process, not just voting, but demanding accountability through continued engagement, will NZ stand any chance of turning around the course we are on!
Have a good day Rosie, Cheers
Thanks Lanthanide and LynW:)
Hey Muzza. I fully agree with your thoughts on the msm, and am under no illusion of it’s agenda. Its’ content is often quite vapid and becoming more inane with an increasing focus on “entertainment” (mind numbing celebrity entertainment). In regard to the Vernon Small article, I was just very pleased to see some anti national/shonkey talk going on. And yes, these msm online comments sections are very moderated. Only about 50% or less of my posts ever make it to the page (on fairfax).
I also firmly believe in action but man, where is it? Yes, theres been some solid protest around asset sales, but over the last decade, and the last 4 years in particular, it feels like we have become the “OK” meme. Just accepting.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvx6evUA2F1qf04yf.jpg
Maybe just too tired, too indifferent, too preoccupied and disillusioned? I was just a kid during the time of the Springboks tour and the Nuclear Free movement but later came to appreciate and admire the actions and efforts (sometimes at great personal risk) that went into promoting and standing up for social and environmental justice. I was inspired by these people and I guess that gave me the encouragment to ‘get involved’ in taking action alongside others as other issues arose. (So thank you to anyone here who was involved in those protests) Governments come and go and we are faced with evolving threats and issues regularly but it feels like we’ve lost our fire. And our unity.
Rosie, student loans have a big part to play, so does immigration/emmigration, into the mix.
I recall when I was growing up, that locally when there were protests, it was the students who seemed to be leading the charge so to speak, and taking stands against the issues of the time. so how to quell what was a large chunk of protestors? Get them under control via debt, its certainly worked well to crush what was left of the student protests for the past 10-15 years.
We see some coming about again of late, but nothing which is going to make change.
Immigration/emmigration is self explanatory IMO, and of course there are the pro’s and con’s on both sides. Needless to say that if you want to remove unity from any country, then just ensure that you keep the doors revolving as quickly as possible. That alongside keeping those who stay, at eachother using the worst kinds of race/class warfare you could find in the “developed” world!
You are right though, the fire has been extinguished, and people appear to me to be very “thick” these days, walking around like mindless zombies, talking about “stuff” which is simply that, just stuff. I look at the younger generations in my family, and realise that they do not even realise just how dumbed down life has made them, the digital kids are trapped.
If people want to argue the attack on peoples mind, they need look no further than the charter schools fiasco, as the lastest attack on furture generations of Kiwi young.
Its going to take something very big before that unity you refer might kick in again, but it will happen Rosie, the question for me is, will it be too late.
Points noted re student debt and revolving door population and its effect on our ‘voicelessness”.
“people appear to me to be very ‘thick’ these days”
Try living in the Ohariu electorate Muzza! I do understand what you say however. I also wonder how it is for young people who have been born in the time of neoliberalism (getting sick of that word). Very generally speaking they haven’t been raised in a way, or exposed to a system that honours collectivity, and the idea of collective effort equalling collective gain. Many in my generation (x) have abandoned that priciple too, and have rather selfish pursuits. They don’t realise that independence (in the form of creativity and self sufficience) and selflessness/ compassion can co exist. It’s all “MY independence or nothing” Maybe that lack of collective awareness prevents young people and gen y’ers in general from particpating in democracy, even our most basic democratic right – voting.
Dumbing down. Well, we’ve seen the effects of that on the American population in regard to their education system and your point about charter schools being introduced here is valid. As it is it does feel like we live in time devoid of critical thinking (or just thinking), questioning and engagement in meaningful discussion. It is just ‘stuff’ that seems to be the topic, as you say. Look at our free tv content. Unless it’s on Maori chanel (and they do have some great shows) you’ll have to get a dvd out or go online if you want to watch a documentary. A dumbed down nation is a submissive nation.
Anyway, I am deteriorating into rant so will leave you in peace.
One time if you feel like answering I’d be interested to know your thoughts (if any) on the outcomes of the Occupation Movement, internationally and here.
Very right Rosie, thats exactly what it is…
The occupy movement, along with the “arab spring’, should be under the microscope for how to manufacture, hijack and destroy, hope, the same can be applied to Obama (remember is campaign slogans). Remember the Tea Party in the USA – How people brought into what was solid ideas, but yet the movement had been created entirely to steal the energy from the real grass roots movements. The key feature is to take over and re-direct what could be a threat to nullify it, or to turn it into something, that next time people will not be inclined to get involved with
Occupy internationally and locally lacked cohesive demands, and then got taken over in the USA by the likes of Michael Moore, David Graber, which means that the establishment had already taken the control of the messages. While the intentions of the occupy movement were most likely solid, they were well and truly schooled in how technology will be used, along with the intelligence community to divert the energy to where it wants it to be directed, to control the narrative, to kill something off.
NZ occupy, while not controlled to the same degree, was IMO still equally missing some basic tennants of what might have allowed them some degree of success. The active community from what I heve seen in AKL, is factuous, and full of people in it for their own gains, and the chance of a joined up approach is currently not likely. There are some really good people too, but until self importance is put aside, and they can find a “face” who can translate some very clear messages which ressonate with the “middle class”, its going to be hard to see it being a force for change!
For an examply of how to get some traction see Syriza in greece, they brought together a bunch of disparate factions cohesively, had clear concise ideas, which they portrayed coherently, they increased their vote from 4-27%, and were a wisker away from being part of the government. What that would have meant is debateable in reality, but the case study is how Syriza pulled itslf together, the clarity of the messages/policies, and what those message/policies were!
Could go all day on this, but thats about it for now…Take it easy Rosie
“Occupy internationally and locally lacked cohesive demands and got taken over…………”
Agreed. Thanks for taking ther the time to respond Muzza. Noted your points about the unity in the left wing factions in Greece, and their almost success in their elections. Also noted your point about there being good people in the movement in NZ, in Akld in your example but the movement was factious and folks driving their own agenda. Ditto here in Wgtn.
In the early days of the movement before it came here I spent everyday on the livestream talking with people involved. It was hugely exciting and there was a real sense of connection and hope. I was uplifted by the speeches from people like Naomi Klein (I attended one of her talks over a decade ago when I lived in AK and have always liked where she comes from) and other campaigners who I’d never heard of and from the people themselves. I was wondering how this movement would translate into our culture. Not so well, I think, in the end and despite the best intentions.
After attending the international day of solidarity in October last year I decided to stay on the periphery of the movement. I didn’t know how the movement could progress without a clear directive and demands, or leadership for that matter. I got that they wanted to diffuse a traditional power dynamic and they wanted to stay true to the model of the movement but just in my opinion there was no time for navel gazing. When I raised issues of our current political status I was told the movement was a post political movement. I was at odds with that statement. How could any movement that is essentially wanting a system change not be political? There was also the issue of the ego’s yet again and I felt a sense of the Wgtn chapter being exclusive and some how closed. There were some great people doing great work so I don’t mean to be disrespectful however I think we missed a good opportunity in NZ, especially as we were going into an election. I think there was more effect or should a say a different effect in both the US and the UK due to a different tact and a different political, economic and social situation compared to here, even though we have similarities. I could go on too.
Got to dash – I have ducklings and their parents that come into the garden looking for food and water!
Cheers Muzza, have a great weekend!
Rosie, I appreciate your affirmation of the Springbok protest “activists”. I was one of them, and in the middle of the Hamilton ground which was terrifying. Now I am old and, regrettably, cannot get “out there” to demonstrate any more. (Nowadays, I am a “computer activist”!) But I have to say that I am dismayed at the amount of apathy in this country in connection with vitally important issues which are likely to adversely affect my grandchildren. Indifference is the killer! Oh, for some sign of “the old fire” (with the sole exception of the Queen Street protest against this government wrecking our beautiful environment in its insatiable greed to make money, especially for the already rich.
Dr Terry. That is great to hear of your participation in the Springboks protests. Yes, I can imagine how terrifying that must have felt. What courage it must have taken to stand your ground. (The picket line has been a scary enough place for me at times! I’d have been useless had I been in your position) One of my former colleagues was involved in the Mt Eden protest and it was her determination and conviction that I found so inspiring. She was also a feminist and I learnt what I could from her about feminism. Its your generation that cared and made changes, so don’t feel regret at not being ‘out there’ now. Doing what you do is necessary and relevent. I’m not surprised that you feel dismay at the current apathy and I feel uncomfortable that my generation is part of that apathy.
muzza, at the risk of sounding like a poltician, may I congratulate you because I agree with you.
Regards,
Rosie, where is the button to order comments from oldest to newest?
Hi Weka. They’ve changed their format. To read in chronological order you will need to scroll down till you get to click on “read more comments” And then scroll backwards to read in order of the thread.Currently there are 50 comments.
It started out positive yesterday and has deteriorated.
I’m kicking myself because I broke my ban on commenting on fairfax sites and now have a jerk called eziyo telling me I’m the reason he’s moving to Australia (yes, a complete stranger he has never met) plus other inanities directed at me. It was kind of my fault becuase I got personal and called him racist. My bad. Ignorant and prejudiced would have been the correct term. He’s also completely misunderstood what I’m talking about. Oh god, why do I even care…………..
Thank you Rosie for that .. Yay it finally looks as if the worm is turning. There was a couple of very good comments from a Kiwi who will never desert NZ ( I came here when I was 15 from England) I will never leave either. Coming from England via italy and round the cape on a liner, it was great I was 15 and the parents had owned a pub, so didn’t worry about the drinking, until the beer flavored sea sickness lol. BUT NZ was so clean after Southampton, Genoa, they were all dirty and grey. Capetown was very Dangerous Height of apartheid. Damn I’m getting old lol. It was amazing arriving at the Overseas Terminal at 10pm on a clear warm October night back in 1969. I’m getting stir crazy, been stuck in bed with this rotten flu all week. So don’t let the depressing views of the haters get to you, just hope that the Nacts implode before they can do too much damage. And Shearer stands aside in favour of Cunliffe it’s the only way to go. Thanks again it was great to see that there are not just haters out there. Keep up the good work.
One can live in hope! I guess its better late than never that folks are waking up to the reality of the monster govt they voted in. Now we just need some action. (And I agree, Cunliffe needs to be in that oppostion leadership position sooner rather than later)
Sorry to hear of your flu. I bet its a stunning day up the coast today so hopefully thats enough to signal to that virus that its time to go. All the best for a good recovery:)
Gotta love the irony of people using their employers internet to complain about bludgers…
Anyone else been getting redirect loop problems under chrome for “the standard”? I have tried clearing cookies several times etc, but the problem reappears almost immediately. “The Standard” is the only site I have encountered this problem with under chrome.
Yes, same experience I have to run IE to view the site.
Happening to me too. Just in the last week. Having to use IE just for the standard. Chrome is now opening TS in a different way too.
Yeah, I often get “redirect loop” problems at the standard – usually when I get into a conversation with tsmithfield, Gosman, kiwi_prometheus or BalancedView.
The fact checks on yesterdays US debates make interesting reading.
Factcheck; Dubious Denver Debate Declarations
Politifact: Fact-checking the Denver presidential debate.
Washington Post: Factchecking the first presidential debate of 2012.
I/S has an interesting post up at NRT:
It seems that the police may be getting a little gung-ho in their use of the armed forces to assist with policing.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7774170/Armed-standoff-at-military-base-house
In the National Business Review dated Friday January 20 2012 (The same day as the Dotcom raids).
OFCANZ deputy director Detective Inspector Grant Wormald talks about working with the U.S. Authorities over recent months.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/megaupload-founder-arrested-new-zealand-us-officials-request-aw-108114
OFCANS work is prioritised and assigned by the Commissioner of police who seeks advice from the Officials Committee for Domestic and External Security Co-ordination (ODESC)
http://www.ofcanz.govt.nz/faq
The ODESC gives the Prime Minister strategic advice on security and intelligence Matters, according to Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officials_Committee_for_Domestic_and_External_Security_Co-ordination
Given that the GCSB is part of the OCDES that advises the Prime Minister and according to Wormald
“The FBI contacted New Zealand Police in early 2011 with a request to assist with their investigation into the Mega Conspiracy.” said Mr Wormald.
“We were happy to provide this assistance. Staff from OFCANZ and New Zealand Police have worked with the US authorities over recent months to effect today’s successful operation.
When the FBI first contacted the N.Z. Police to assist in their investigation how far up the chain of command did that request go? After all this was not a run of the mill Armed Offenders Squad call out. And it was way above the operational level that the Prime Minister doesn’t get involved in.
I know Wormald has a creditability problem with some people, but credible or not as deputy director of OFCANZ saying that N.Z. Police and OFCANZ had been working with the U.S. Authorities for months prior to the raid proves that Key knows more than he is telling, he must do surly.
Oh Dear
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/7771898/Wellington-families-face-lean-times
Feminine mystery, restrained by logic
Becomes mostly masculine, except in one obvious way.
One should not expect a man to be unable to see the beauty – is that the request?
The danger, I’m told, is to weave your webs in the morning.
Having met the danger, it is bewildering.
There will be no loss of life or limb;
No piercings or tattoos, but you’ll excuse me if I shave.
The varmints path, while rough,
is still too indulgent.
Isn’t it just that the four seasons have forgotten their name?
Nothing that is forgotten disappears.
Nothing that is given up is rejected.
The Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way:
The names that can be named are not unvarying names.
It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang;
The named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.
Truly, ‘Only he that rids himself forever of desire can see the Secret Essences’;
He that has never rid himself of desire can see only the Outcomes.
These two things issued from the same mould, but nevertheless are different in name.
This ‘same mould’ we can but call the Mystery,
Or rather the ‘Darker than any Mystery’,
The Doorway whence issued all Secret Essences.
–
Friend, hope for the Guest while you are alive.
Jump into the experience while you are alive!
Think…and think…while you are alive.
What you call “salvation” belongs to the time
before death.
If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive,
do you think
ghosts will do it after?
The idea that the soul will rejoin with the ecstatic
just because the body is rotten-
that is all fantasy.
What is found now is found then.
If you find nothing now,
you will simply end up with an apartment in the
City of Death.
If you make love with divine now, in the next
life you will have the face of satisfied desire.
So plunge into the truth, find out who the Teacher is,
Believe in the Great Sound!
Kabir says this: When the Guest is being searched for,
it is the intensity of the longing for the Guest that
does all the work.
Look at me, and you will see a slave of that intensity.
by Kabir
–
Love After Love- Derek Walcott
The time will come
When, with elation,
You will greet yourself arriving
At your own door, in your own mirror,
And each will smile at the other’s welcome,
And say, sit here, Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give Wine. Give Bread. Give back your heart
To itself, to the stranger who has loved you
All your life, whom you ignored
For another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,
The photographs, the desperate notes,
Peel your image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.
🙂
“…..proves that Key knows more than he is telling, he must do surly.” Yep. Surly describes him well. 🙂 Back at Katy @7
Katy. That is a useful piece of research. It does suggest that a proper inquiry is needed – desperately!
I suppose if a group is not visible, and is unlikely to have light shone on them, and if the representative of the people whose job it is to oversee is asleep, then it would be human nature to bend/break the rules. Integrity would become flexible?
ianmac. Agreed “a proper inquiry is needed – desperately!” This must exclude any of Key’s henchmen(women). God spare us from the likes of Neazor!
Todays daily rag:
“MR KEY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD”
A STRANGE TERRIBLE AND TRAGIC TALE OF THE RUBE WHO GETS ROBBED OF ALL HIS BREAD IN TINSEL TOWN.
and it wan’t even his own money!!!
an aside,
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day. 2 Peter 3: 8
handy to remember when too focused, the |Devil| is in the detail
“All this Time the Guard was looking at her through a telescope,
then through a microscope and then through an opera glass
At last he said,
You’re going the wrong way and shut up the window and went away.”
(As it is written: “See I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” )-To the Romans 9:33
Ok, I this has got to be one of the most desperate attempts at character assassination that I’ve ever seen.
lolz
gop sez dems pwned.
I love that playing WoW is a character defect in republican eyes, but wearing a tri-corner hat and demanding to see birth certs in real life is simply “heartland america”.
Loltastic.
If someone with active commenting ability at kiwiblog would dump this into the Ansell thread over there, I would be much obliged. :
http://t.co/5DYeV4N5
So what now? If companies have to pay for background checks, depending on the cost then how many are doing to say bugger it? and it’s even worse if the schools are cash strapped.
if the govt keeps cutting funding to the police and others eventually there will be anarchy
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10838478
I mean make people pay for background checks what next ? Judge Dredd?
Neo liberalism in a nutshell: public schools having to pay for public police checks.
Hi folks!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE FOR YOURSELVES HOW WE ARE NOT GIVEN THE ‘DEVILISH DETAIL’ ABOUT WHERE OUR TAXES ARE BEING SPENT?
http://wheresmytaxes.co.nz/
See?
We aren’t told the NAMES of the contractors/ consultants; the SCOPE; TERM or VALUE of the contracted services within each ‘slice’ of the pie chart.
The ‘devil is in the detail’.
Isn’t it time to OPEN THE BOOKS and give us this DEVILISH DETAIL?
Given that New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ – shouldn’t we be the MOST ‘transparent’?
So why aren’t we being told EXACTLY where our public monies are being spent?
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1111/S00095/wheres-nationals-corporate-welfare-reform.htm
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Just released that meridian has walked away from the talks with the smelter at bluff.
A source also said that meridian had plans with the electricity that the smelter would
have used.
Sorry cant link, but it is on the stuff site.
What next for the economy, the ‘great decimation of our economy’ continues by the
‘keystoners’
MSM
-Civil Defence-dysfunctional
-divided
Duplication of Control (Kaos) Too many chiefs(over-managed like the rest of NZ)
another freakin disaster?
-Willis Street Pedestrian Barriers; Killing Business? Just Kill More Pedestrians.
(kill kill kill kill kill the poor: Glad I’m not a Kennedy, imagine being a Kennedy)
-over the Ring-Wraiths
-NZTA; New Zealand Termination Agency (knackered PR)
Brit Comedy Friday on ONE: laugh your way to the chamber.
(Yes Minister)
Parkinsons Dis-ease-Now Pigs On The Wing: nothing like a little xenotransplantation to get ya movin.
Oh this is not good. This is not good at all. Negotiations break down between Rio Tinto and Meridian. Closure of Tiwai Point would devastate the lower South Island. The small silver lining is that it would make power companies a less attractive investment for asset sales with a flood of electricity onto the market, but this would harm a lot of workers and their families.
Mitt Romney’s ‘victory’ in the first presidential debate is disturbing.
The guy is probably the most right wing Republican presidential candidate ever, and his running mate is even more right wing then he is (Im waiting for some war vet to ‘nut out’ and shoot Romney, so Paul Ryan can slide into the Oval Office – a la Manchurian Candidate).
If Romney gets in, those in the USA who aren’t rich are pretty much fucked.
Couple a thousand less hits last month, changing politics? or minds?