In spite of the coronavirus, the Green vote in polls has only dipped and not collapsed: most surveys still show the party at 17-20% of the vote, second behind the CDU, which is a vast improvement on the meagre 8.9% at federal elections in 2017.
The German Greens, who have been continuously represented in parliament since 1983 and formed a government with the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPD) between 1998 and 2005, have renewed their profile and electoral hopes over the last two years.
Under the leadership duo Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, in charge since January 2018, Die Grünen have sought to do away with the image of a stubbornly single-issue protest party in favour of that of a pragmatic consensus-builder with expertise in steering society through not just the climate crisis but wider societal and demographic shifts.
So they're way ahead of our lot, who are still hamstrung by sectarianism.
The co-leader Habeck’s pitch, put forward in his 2016 book Wer wagt, beginnt (Who Dares Begins), is that the old left-right axis is making way for a new scale of open and closed political systems, and that the Greens are best placed to address challenges that fall outside orthodox creeds of political faith.
This return to source ethos is the way to go. It provides a basis of authenticity. The Greens can present as both radical in thinking and pragmatic in practice. James would no doubt argue that he's been doing this combo, but the recent abject apology suggests he's surrounded by those unable to see the big picture. Nonetheless I remain hopeful that our common interests will prevail over narrowmindedness.
You can't actually just speak of the 'Die Gruenen' as a monotlithic block considering that they did their split in to 'Fundis' and 'Realos' about 20+ odd years ago.
a bit of history here, then you need to admit that the all parties of the German Government inclusive the conservatives under CDU/CSU have more 'green' thinking int their small finger then pretty much most parties in NZ in their combined hands.
So essential 'green' building standards (something for rich private schools only in NZ) in Germany have been legislated into the building code, i.e. double glazing, insulation, water reducing measures etc are standard now. Cycling lanes here still something worth of upset and frothing at the mouth in Germany is common place and are being build with every road. No-one other then the one who wants to build a carpark is entitled to one, people park and then walk a few minutes to their house doors. These are just a few very small things that in NZ are still pie in the sky things.
So really, as i said many many years ago here on the Standard my opinion is that the Greens NZ will split with the 'realos' such as James Shaw surviving at the cost of the fundamentalists. It will then also mean that hte 'realos' given the right cirumstances will work with other parties then just Labour, after all they do like to be in Government.
But the Green Party of Germany at this moment is a very different beast then what it was in its inception and that needs to be acknowledged and is as far removed from the Greens in NZ ideologically (and ideology has no meaning if it can't be achieved) as geographically.
Thanks for that, Sabine. Nothing provoking me to disagree. Perhaps I do see the prospect of a split here as less likely, however. It's happened twice already!
First time was in the Values Party, mid-1970s. Then there was a three-way split in the early '90s in the current party – provoked by the looming spectre of the Alliance.
The Green Society was a small New Zealand political party dedicated to environmentalism. It was established in the spring of 1994 by former members of the Green Party, including Hans Grueber, Chris Marshall, and Peter Whitmore. They opposed the decision by the Green Party to become part of the Alliance, a broad left-wing coalition – they stated that this "abandoned a long tradition of being an independent green political force", diluting the group's pure environmental focus.
At the same time, they were critical of another Green Party off-shoot, the Progressive Green Party, for being too close to the right and therefore not independent either. The Green Society described itself as the only truly "green" party in the New Zealand political environment.
Correctly so, in principle. However, I saw the big picture and supported us joining the Alliance. The left & the right wings of the establishment had both gone neoliberal so it was the only viable opposition.
Buggered if I know. Why do you ask? If you really believe those who were banging on about Marxism are fossilised, why not say so? Humans moving in elliptical mental orbits are a worthy group for sociological analysis. One can focus on the gravitational pull of whatever causes each focus (of the ellipse).
…surrounded by those unable to see the big picture.
Very few people can actually see the Big Picture. That's why individualism, which focuses on the individual without taking into account anybody else, always fails.
Here's an interesting thought on the thorny topic of allocating the first covid vaccinations: along with frontline staff, vaccinate potential superspreaders first, in preference to the most vulnerable.
The idea is that the specific transmission patterns of this specific virus mean better results will likely be achieved more quickly with source control than by allocating scarce protective resource to the most vulnerable.
No, not the e-mail address that you are using, but your ISP account/connection with the same IP address.
I thought it was odd and decided to check with you. I’ll leave it for Lprent to look into further. I don’t want to cause unnecessary panic and there is probably a perfectly logical explanation for it …
It is going over my head too. This latest comment of yours @ 8:36 AM has a slightly different IP address associated with it than your other comments this morning!?
Can't think of any reason the 8:36 comment should have had a different IP address. But this one now should be different AFAIK since I've done power-off reboots of my modem/router and my device. That disconnect from my ISP and reconnect should give me a different IP address, yeah?
The full scan didn't find any concerns and it says it's up to date.
If you want to target 'super spreaders' then you need to vaccinate kids first. They ar the ones most likely to be aysmptomatic, only have a mild case (to them) and then go home and infect the parents, who then infect people at the supermarket, the gas station, the church etc etc etc.
…you need to vaccinate kids first. They are the ones most likely to be aysmptomatic, only have a mild case (to them) and then go home and infect the parents, who then infect people at the supermarket, the gas station, the church etc etc etc.
You have a citation for that Sabine? Actual unequivocal scientific proof that children are spreading Covid 19? I know its a theory, but has it been proven?
In the meantime…I say vaccinate any adult who's keen to be a guinea pig.
Panic vaccines are not necessarily the best for our children.
Found these US-based online pages. Alas I can't vouch for their accuracy – the advice may simply be precautionary, although as Covid-19 is a novel virus that we’re all still learning about, a precautionary approach would be prudent, IMHO.
"We know at this point that children can catch coronavirus, and also that they can spread the disease, even if they don’t have symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control suggest that children as well as adults keep a 6-foot distance from others outside their household, if possible." https://www.mana.md/can-children-spread-covid-19/
"An important guiding principle to remember is that the more people children interact with, and the longer that interaction, the higher the risk of COVID-19 spread. While children may be spending time with other people as they return to daycare or school settings, it is important to remember that exposure to additional children and adults outside of daycare or school should be managed to decrease risk." https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children/protect-children.html
A Road Transport Forum analysis of NZTA figures, highlighted the "unparalleled increases" in heavy vehicles on the roads.
Since 2010, the maximum truck size has increased from 44 tonnes to about 63 tonnes under special permits.
"The level of adoption by commercial heavy vehicle owners exceeded forecasts rendering initial predictions of impact as obsolete," the analysis said.
Most of the truck growth had been since 2014, which the analysis said was illustrated by the number of heavy vehicle kilometres travelled rising from 1.6 billion to 2.5b in 2020, a 56 percent increase.
I found myself having a one-sided arguement with the tranny this morning.
Trucking lobbyists bleating for even more subsidies from the state.
In the RNZ article you have linked to the reason for ruined roads is obvious:
Since 2010, the maximum truck size has increased from 44 tonnes to about 63 tonnes under special permits.
"The level of adoption by commercial heavy vehicle owners exceeded forecasts rendering initial predictions of impact as obsolete," the analysis said.
Most of the truck growth had been since 2014, which the analysis said was illustrated by the number of heavy vehicle kilometres travelled rising from 1.6 billion to 2.5b in 2020, a 56 percent increase.
Followed by:
"The new highways – the Wellington one, the Waikato Expressway – we've just come up that this morning and there's potholes, digouts, repairs already and this is a new highway.
"It's not built to the heavier standard. The left-hand lane is rough as guts where the heavy traffic travels, the right-hand lane is not as bad – that tells me there's not enough substructure when they build them."
Road safety, Climate Change, roading bills, carbon neutrality, pollution from rubber and diesel exhaust all point to getting the freight off the roads.
The Greens’ confidence-and-supply agreement with the Government raises the prospect of tapping the National Land Transport Fund for rail infrastructure, prompting a hostile response from the trucking lobby. Ken Shirley, chief executive of the Road Transport Forum, calls the policy a “kick in the teeth” for road users who pay for the fund and says it displays “contempt for the user-pays integrity” of the system. “Using it as a slush fund to pay for other transport modes will breed a high level of resentment.”
BS…If the farker Truckers paid the ACTUAL amount that they should for the damage they cause…instead of being subsidised by NZ Tax/Rate payers…then we would have a level playing field. Fkn Ken Shirley…an ex Nat
If the farker Truckers paid the ACTUAL amount that they should for the damage they cause…instead of being subsidised by NZ Tax/Rate payers
The truckers aren't subsidised by the tax payers although they are by the rate payers. NZTA roads are maintained by charges to vehicles while local roads are maintained by rates.
But, due to the total screwing of the charges, this means that truckies are heavily subsidised by the other road users, primarily the personal vehicle users.
Actually, wasn't there an article a few months ago about how the covid lockdown was impacting funding for roads as no one was driving anywhere?
We were still getting goods to stores which means that a large amount of trucking was still happening but the personal vehicles on the road would have dropped precipitously.
Most of the truck growth had been since 2014, which the analysis said was illustrated by the number of heavy vehicle kilometres travelled rising from 1.6 billion to 2.5b in 2020
Coincidentally, I've been driving pretty much monthly from Palmerston North to Rotorua and back since 2014, and both the growth in truck numbers and the effect of that on road quality have been obvious. Those pricks should be paying a lot more in road user charges, preferably so much that it discourages long-haul trucking wherever there's a railway or ports available.
"In other words, one fully loaded 18-wheeler does the same damage to a road as 9600 cars. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the trucking industry represents 11% of all vehicles on the road in the US, while paying 35% of all highway taxes. But if trucks represent 11% of vehicles, their heavy loads cause them to do 99% of all road damage! [2] The trucking industry paid $35 Billion in highway taxes in 2005, according to the ATA. Since most of the $100 Billion in highway taxes paid goes to maintenance (and US infrastructure maintenance is far behind), this implies that the trucking industry receives a $60 Billion annual subsidy from other drivers."
It's kinda hard here in NZ to figure out what's really happening with the funding. I've looked a number of times and never found anything that explicitly details out NZTA's cost allocation model.
I have seen puff pieces where NZTA claims the cost allocation models basically attributes almost all repair and maintenance cost to heavy vehicles, and the funds collected from light vehicles in petrol excise tax and RUC only go towards shared expenses such as land used for roads, signage and markings etc.
That has an element of plausibility, since a lot of the vast expense on roading in cities is driven by the simple space taken up by cars.
But even taking those stories completely at face value, it still appears light vehicles are being stung for enormously expensive new road projects that are driven entirely be demand from the trucking industry, such as the Mt Messenger bypass or new Saddle Rd. Light vehicles are just fine with what is there now, it's heavy vehicles that find it problematic. Furthermore, a lot of the high expense of new projects is driven by the trucking industry's need for gentle grades and curves, needing vastly more construction expense.
I've looked a number of times and never found anything that explicitly details out NZTA's cost allocation model.
I found it once. Haven't been able to find it again.
But, from what I recall, their own figures disproved their claims that the charges were proportional. Heavy trucks were getting a massive subsidy from cars. IIRC, cars were being charged $1 per kilometre and heavy trucks ~$400 but when those trucks really needed to be charged $9600 (using the car amount as the base) that meant that the trucks were being massively subsidised.
Government Departmental online presences are “liquid” to say the least. I have been following MBIE Covid employer wage subsidy info, and the content can change by the hour. As do others, like MSD were talking about removing the option to include partners in National Superannuation, but that seems to have been dropped too–just as well really!
Oddly I don't think I heard one of them urging an increase in road user charge, nor any interviewer suggesting it. Just haven't got round to that yet, I guess.
The solution to trucking is the pricing mechanism of the market properly applied. In this case it means shifting everyone to RUC and dropping the road taxes on petrol and other fuels. The GHG taxes would remain.
Road funding is from road taxes on petrol and RUCs for diesel. The is then ring-fenced so that that money can only be spent on roads. But the taxes are applied in such a way so that commercial trucks get a massive subsidy from personal cars (probably another reason why National doesn't want public transport as increasing use of public transport would decrease the subsidy to trucks from private vehicles).
A study by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) determined that the road damage caused by a single 18-wheeler was equivalent to the damage caused by 9,600 cars. (GAO: Excessive Truck Weight: An Expensive Burden We Can No Longer Afford) The study seems to have based its calculations around the number of axles per vehicle. The study found that essentially, road damage was related to the 4th power of the relative loads. That means that if one vehicle carries a load of 1,500 pounds per axle and another carries a load of 3,000 pounds on each axle, the road damage caused by the heavier vehicle is not twice as much, but 2 to the 4th power as much (2x2x2x2 = 16 times as much road damage as the lighter vehicle).
How the RUCs would work is by charging on a mass per axil basis and based upon the maximum load of each vehicle so as to get as close to that 2^4 damage increase as possible.
As you can see, the charges aren't going anywhere close to the 2^4. The lowest RUC listed is two axils up to 3.5 tonne @ $72/1000km. In the same two axil category the not more than 9 tonnes vehicles are only charged slightly more than twice as much when they should be charged more than 16 times more. And that's still pretty light weight.
The 18 wheelers, instead of being charged several thousand times more as they should be, are charged a measly $329/1000km.
This represents a massive subsidy from the lighter vehicles to the heavier and that's just within the RUC. Estimating the subsidy from petrol fuelled vehicles to trucks is even more complicated but we can assume that its huge.
Just as the geomagnetic poles flip, something similar happens between the East and the West
The West now more resembles the Soviet Union .Everything bad that happens (Trump) is the fault of foreigners
The post modernist cultural revolution around sex and gender
The Soviets were vilified for their "godlessness"
Now Russia is vilified for it's religion , and religion in general is a BAD thing in the West
This interview of a Canadian journalist who has lived in Russia for the past 17 years , comments on this flip , whereby the West has become more like the Soviet Union
Interviewed by Aaron Mate he doesn't exactly play ball with all of Mates gambits
He is rather damning of Putin, but astonished by the acceptance of Russiagate in western audiences, and comments on his treatment in Russia .Apparently Russians fall about laughing at the idea Putin controls Trump when he cant even control his own country.
The other is that when one mode dominates it tends toward it's extreme, and that in reaction to this we see a flip to another mode. Conservatism yields to liberalism, then to socialism and then repeating in a slow generational cycle.
In other words the Russian reaction to the extremism of the Soviets, has been to move toward conservatism flipping around the end loop of sequence I described above. What you describe in Russia is good empirical evidence to supporting my suggestion.
It would also align with why, during the 90's after the fall of the Soviet regime, that western liberalism so totally failed to take root in Russia.
My other intuition about this is that as long as we treat politics as a power game between the three modes, and as a result one mode dominates or even goes through periods of extremism, we will inevitably see this cycle perpetuate itself in increasing rounds of instability.
I've no idea of how universally true this triplet model cycle is, or if it's useful in any real sense, but it's an interesting curiosity.
But otherwise yes, I rather agree with much of you comment. Aaron Mate should be good; people who actually live in country often bring interesting insights to the table.
Good morning Francesca, good interview there, Grey Zone (with Push Back) is turning out to be one of the most consistently good serious sources of critical world news around at the moment.
The Russia hysteria whipped up by western media (especially since 2016) and brought into lock stock and barrel by so many smart people on the Left is an embarrassment and shameful. As I have mentioned many times on this site it only goes to prove Lefties are just as easily herded around and manipulated by their media as any tea party idiot
When are the "centrists" going to renounce Christianity?
Resulting in monsters such as Pope Innocent 3, Queen Ann, and supporting Trump.
That encourages violence against, “non believers”
Surely supporting a dogma that has resulted in so much death, destruction, totalitarian control and blocking of human progress, is giving them a bad name.
Something for the right wing to attack them with. 🤣
Even now we see the "Holy Crusade" against the "Godless" in which they include, strangely, Islam, continuing.
When are the "centrists" going to renounce Christianity?
The old institutional churches became irrelevant to the political process a century ago.
With perhaps the exception of Catholicism (which in my view has yet to come to terms with it's 'extraordinary history'), Christianity has been entirely marginalised out of the political process.
But for what it’s worth I'm on record here for vigorously repudiating religious fanatics, fundamentalists and assorted religious bigots over the years. And the odd libertarian whose arrived here (anyone remember Redbaiter?) has been confronted as well. It's not just marxist's that we need to recognise as 'out of bounds', it's any ideology that goes to extremes that we need to guard against.
Once we recognise the need for limits, this (as DtB usefully mentioned the other day) raises the question of exactly where the boundaries ought to lie. That conversation strikes me as a whole other barrel of fun.
We will ignore the influence of the Brethren, Catholicism and the US evangelist "prosperity gospel" on the National party as we speak, then.
Much as I dislike Collins lack of ethics and morality, at least it is somewhat of a counter to "Christians" who bend it to their own end, of justifying their own wealth.
You missed the opportunity to challenge me the most difficult question; if the old institutional churches have such a compromised history, what then is the possible role of religion in the future?
The answer is yes, if faith is to play any legitimate role in our evolving social and political fabric, we do need to understand where historically it went too far into extremism and fully repudiate that. In essence I believe this demands a complete renewal and recasting of what we think religion is.
It's not just marxist's that we need to recognise as 'out of bounds', it's any ideology that goes to extremes that we need to guard against.
Capitalism is one of those extreme ideologies as it steals from the majority to enrich a few while they provide little to no benefit to either those they steal from nor society in general.
And, no, it wasn't the shareholders being entrepreneurial. It was the people who came up with the idea which, more often than not, was an employee.
Concepts such as private ownership, money, markets, companies, banking and credit creation are going to around for a long time yet. Capitalism as perhaps first properly described by Adam Smith, is not so much a political philosophy, but an ancient collection of economic and social practices that were refined by the Dutch and English during the Enlightenment era into a tool that has during the past 200 years massively reduced human poverty and suffering almost everywhere.
It is of course true that the modern neo-liberal conception of capitalism has it's own extremist expressions, especially when it co-degenerates into the libertarian code of absolute individualism usurping all other considerations. By all means pay attention to when capitalism gets it wrong (and it does, often quite badly), but not at the expense of also selectively ignoring the enormously beneficial impact it has brought to humanity. It would be much more useful to start thinking about where this boundary lies, than the absolutist anti-capitalism you've been espousing here for ages.
In rejecting the entire concept of capitalism you make the same category of mistake that right wingers do when they reject all socialism because of the excesses of marxism. You're doing the equivalent of the "Reds under the Bed" scaremongering that KJT was bitterly railing against.
Concepts such as private ownership, money, markets, companies, banking and credit creation are going to around for a long time yet.
Yes but that doesn't mean we need capitalism which is the means of production being privately owned and controlled rather than being a legal entity not owned at all but enforced by the nation and controlled by the people who work there with the rewards also going to those who work there and not shareholders (because there wouldn't be any).
Capitalism as perhaps first properly described by Adam Smith, is not so much a political philosophy, but an ancient collection of economic and social practices that were refined by the Dutch and English during the Enlightenment era into a tool that has during the past 200 years massively reduced human poverty and suffering almost everywhere.
Nomadic tribesmen, even today, don't consider themselves to be in poverty. They have everything that they need. Whereas, in capitalist countries, many people don't have what they need. They don't have the heating, the food, the healthcare, and many other things all of which are needed.
Your mistaking correlation with causation. Capitalism happened and now we have less poverty thus it was capitalism that decreased poverty.
The decrease to Enlightenment values and then outright socialism in the early to mid 20th century as the New Deal and its cousins propagated around the world.
And now were seeing another increase in developed countries as 19th century mores come into play again in the form of neoliberalism.
It would be much more useful to start thinking about where this boundary lies,
It lies in property. The absolute ownership and control of companies/businesses that indirectly owns and controls people for the benefit of those owners.
Get rid of that ownership, make all businesses coops with a legal mandate of profit sharing and responsibility. How a coop runs would be up to the people in it although still needing to meet safety laws. Wages would be set by them although they would still need to meet the minimum wage.
We get the benefits of companies without the bludging of the shareholders and thus we'd likely see more innovation and less poverty.
Society is an extension of that cooperation and so we have a central administration supplying healthcare and numerous other essentials that everyone needs decided democratically.
make all businesses coops with a legal mandate of profit sharing and responsibility.
During the 80's I worked seven years for a mid-sized USA corporate that did a 20% annual profit share among all the non-C, non-commissioned staff. Worked very well; I have very fond memories of it.
Point is it can be done without necessarily eliminating ownership.
As for the rest of your comment that essentially romanticises the ‘noble savage’ … forget about it. I used to believe that tosh too.
Point is it can be done without necessarily eliminating ownership.
No it can't as the owners will always step in and grab the lion's share – and then they'll grab more. This is why we keep having recessions and depressions, poverty keeps increasing and resilience goes out the window.
As for the rest of your comment that essentially romanticises the ‘noble savage’
No, it really doesn't. There is a very real question there: Was there actually poverty before capitalism started 5000+ years ago?
Tough times? Sure
Could bad weather wipe out an entire tribe? Yep
Was there poverty within the tribe? Probably not. Any one of the ~200 people in a tribe being weakened due to poverty would endanger the entire tribe.
No it can't as the owners will always step in and grab the lion's share – and then they'll grab more.
Why? You are assuming all owners are always by nature greedy arseholes. This isn't true at all, in many SME businesses the owner treats their long term, productive employees almost like family.
Of course as businesses go public the legal requirement to put shareholder interest ahead of everything else is an extremist feature of neoliberalism, but it's not inherent to capitalism. The rules could easily, and indeed often are, reshaped to encompass the interests of a much wider range of stakeholders.
A relatively simple law change is all that's needed to ensure businesses comply.
You are assuming all owners are always by nature greedy arseholes. This isn't true at all, in many SME businesses the owner treats their long term, productive employees almost like family.
Yes it is and no they don't.
I've worked in small businesses. Biggest waste of space ever.
Of course as businesses go public the legal requirement to put shareholder interest ahead of everything else is an extremist feature of neoliberalism, but it's not inherent to capitalism.
Yes it is. We've seen it throughout history.
A relatively simple law change is all that's needed to ensure businesses comply.
You need to get the law change through and make sure it sticks. Last couple of government have proven that that's not likely to happen.
You need enforcement as well and NZ law doesn't really do that. The people need to complain first and they can't afford to.
And your assertion that the mere act of owning a business is enough to turn a normal person into an amoral greedy arsehole is quite bizarre really. I'm sure there are some who are, it would very odd if there were not. But if you only ever encountered just this sort I have to say you were very unlucky.
And your assertion that the mere act of owning a business is enough to turn a normal person into an amoral greedy arsehole is quite bizarre really.
Not really. It's a pretty old concept. Sure, one can quibble about the degree to which this occurs, or whether it affects every business owner. But the motivation do commodify personal interactions exists.
Anyone looking for a decent explanation of the mechanism of how and why this occurs especially under capitalism can do a lot worse than read up on Marx's research and comments on alientation.
But in general, small business owners are as self-absorbed as farmers. I've almost never seen a farmer happy about the weather, and I've almost never seen a small business owner happy about foot traffic or council bylaws. Some might think they regard their employees as "family", but that's easy to do when the staff have to put up with your crap or else they lose their only income source. That's just another form of alienation.
The marxist framework proposes that the world can be neatly divided up into classes of oppressor and oppressed, with labels of evil and virtue permanently affixed to each.
But while Marx proposed that whenever you find a relationship between a more powerful group and a weaker group that the relation will always be one of oppressor and oppressed. This proposes that every hierarchical relationship is just another version of the very worst exploitation and enslavement imaginable.
But in most cases, hierarchical relationships are not enslavement. Thus, while it is true that kings have normally been more powerful than their subjects, employers more powerful than their employees, and parents more powerful than their children, these have not necessarily been straightforward relations of oppressor and oppressed. Much more common are mixed relationships, in which both the stronger and the weaker receive certain benefits, and in which both can also point to hardships that must be endured in order to maintain it.
Marx by contrast reduces all relations to one of power and exploitation of the lowest possible nature. And that a violent revolutionary overthrow of the oppressors is necessary because power is never relinquished voluntarily. And then when the formerly oppressed class obtain total power, all class antagonisms will magically disappear. Why this should occur is never explained.
Yet the most cursory examination of real human relationships show how much more complex and varied they are than Marx’s cartoonish depiction of them.
What a fucking pile of horseshit.I've worked in a number of SME's and have been treated very well indeed. I currently work in an office consisting of 4 people – accounts, legal/HR, Ops Manager and me, Marketing and Sales Manager. The owner is very hands off and trusts us to do what we need to do. I've only been there 2 months of a 12 month maternity cover and feel connected to my team. The business is a family owned business, having been run over 2 generations, and I feel very much like a part of the organisation, as well as part of the extended family at large.
You know where I have been treated the worst? Treated as a mere functioning robot and warm body to make up the numbers? The fucking government. I've held 3 government jobs in my time and never again will I do it.
And your assertion that the mere act of owning a business is enough to turn a normal person into an amoral greedy arsehole is quite bizarre really.
I didn't say that owning a business turned them into it. I was saying that they started off that way. Although I'm sure that some decent people who started business also ended up that way.
It's like the research that showed financiers were just as sociopathic as murderers. It's possible, in fact probable, that they didn't start out that way but they certainly were when the survey went through.
I'm sure there are some who are, it would very odd if there were not. But if you only ever encountered just this sort I have to say you were very unlucky.
You remind me of a man I once worked with who had been married seven times (seriously) … who complained how unlucky he was to have met so many gold digging crazy bitches.
(And this while swigging on a bottle of Wild Turkey at 6:30am …)
Relationaships can be complex. But refusing to laugh at your bosses' crappy or sexist jokes is an easy way to lose your job, income, home, and food. Unless capitalism is diluted to some extent by socialism.
Slavery is literally the endpoint of unrestrained capitalism, be it plantations or sweatshops, pimps or dealers. OSH regulations are written in blood spilled by capitalism.
You are confusing absolute poverty with relative poverty. Hunter gatherers could only live in very low population densities, in small groups, at very low levels of resource use. In favourable environments they might enjoy a relatively chill lifestyle, but lethal hazards of accident, disease, violence, bad weather and famine still dominated their fates. Infant mortality was always fairly high, and while some fortunate individuals might live to an old age, the average life expectancy was much lower than we enjoy now. For much of our pre-history there was probably fewer than 10 million humans on the entire planet.
Of course such a low ceiling on development meant that inequality was low because everyone was more or less equally poor.
You are confusing absolute poverty with relative poverty.
It's not a question of relative or absolute. It's a question of society looking out for each other or a small clique oppressing the rest for their own aggrandizement.
Under capitalism, we have the latter and so we have poverty that shouldn't exist. Poverty that holds us back from even better results because the resources are held by the few and not given to the development that the many could provide if they had access to those resources.
Profit, that funding given out to shareholders who do nothing of value, really is a dead-weight loss.
Ask anyone who tried to run a business with inadequate capital exactly what the value of it is.
The reason why your analysis of capital is so very narrow is that you seem to have no appreciation of how time, entropy and risk are all related. Shareholders might not be digging ditches and bending steel bars with their bare hands, but they're playing an equally vital role all the same.
I spent much of my working life in and around heavy industry, designing, building and commissioning all manner of productive systems. Among many things this exposed me to the workings of some very serious capital indeed. Perhaps this colours my view on the matter.
The reason why your analysis of capital is so very narrow is that you seem to have no appreciation of how time, entropy and risk are all related. Shareholders might not be digging ditches and bending steel bars with their bare hands, but they're playing an equally vital role all the same.
No they're not.
Capital can easily be provided by loans at 0% from the government. Especially when you consider that the resources being used belong to the government in the first place.
Then consider this: When shares are bought on the share-market the money goes to the previous shareholder and not the company.
And don't talk IPOs either as they're systematically listed below value meaning that the original 'investors' manage to make a 100% profit in a week or so. Where does the money come from to pay it back?
So, no, shareholders aren't providing anything vital that can't be provided in a better way that by passes the dead-weight loss of profit. We cannot afford the rich and it really is us paying for them to be rich but we really don't have any choice in the matter as it stands.
"So essential 'green' building standards (something for rich private schools only in NZ) in Germany have been legislated into the building code, i.e. double glazing, insulation, water reducing measures etc are standard now".
As the have been in the NZ building code since the previous Labour Government.
is that why we push for air cons in rental houses to get them warm?
In germany these standards were legislated in the 90s, and retrofitting of all other properties is law – enforced by government.
Here it is a do something by 2021 – please pretty please, and if the landlord dos nothing the tenant can 'negotiate' with the landlord and when that 'negotiation' does amount to nothing much or results in the tenant losing his/her rental they can go to the tenancy tribunal for 'mediation'.
This is my main issue with green minded people in NZ, they are so easily satisfied with little to nothing but 'feel good' and 'lookit we are doing something'.
And then the government changes and it can be revoked by lunch, because at the end of the day what has yet to happen is a rethink of society by the population as a whole and by all of the parties. and that has not happened yet, and the Green Party is not driving this change.
Christianity, Islam, Marxism and many other is'ms have at their core the same moral code, and underlying desire to make peoples lives better.
That power hungry arseholes subverted the message later to "oppress" the "masses" often bloodily, does not invalidate the message.
Should the French repudiate Liberté, égalité, fraternité Because, Robespierre?
I share the abhorrence for armed revolutions.
To often it ends up in the same sort of arseholes at the top.
However we did have a non-violent revolution in the 30’s to 50’s that resulted in a much better life than previously for most people.
Which contrary to Ads history rewrite owed as much to enlightenment thought, economic thinkers, including Marx, and others, as much as Christian ideas of relief of oppression and redistribution. (Which bear a remarkable similarity to Marx. Which some commentators should actually, read, before spouting US anti communist McCarthyism).
is a hindsight label. At the time, lawyers. Robespierre & Danton. History's lesson: watch any lawyer who enters politics extremely carefully! 😉
We dodged a bullet with Lange. He just sent the Rainbow Warrior bombers back to France so Mitterand (fellow socialist) could release them & stick medals on them…
Don't play with facts DF because it pleases you and makes for a more lively discussion. Lange did not send the RW bombers back to France, NZ was not powerful enough to wield strictures over that feisty, thorny and often corrupt country. They paid some reparation and then put their people into an 'isolation hotel' on one of their South Pacific colonies for a while, and then found excuses to repatriate them. An act of contrition – I don't think. https://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/about/our-history/bombing-of-the-rainbow-warrior/the-bombing-of-the-rainbow-warrior-fact-file/
By the way an interesting interview with Keith Ovenden this morning about his new book 'Bill and Shirley'. He referred to the RW, commented unfavourably on the running of the SIS, and said that actually there were about forty French operatives here, with stolen passports etc. Lovely stuff for the intelligence officials to grab and suck information from. Which should have been their mission, but they didn't know how to accept it!
Thanks francesca. I have read and thought about Sutch and what Ovenden has said and written about him is helpful in my understanding of him. He was very confident and dismissive of others opinions apparently and probably because he actually did know better and comprehended the situation and likely future moves in a well-informed way.
I remember reading about a USA woman (was Russian) called Faith Popcorn who set up an agency where she advises business on likely future trends in the minds of consumers. https://faithpopcorn.com/
Sutch would have been doing similar with the good of NZ in mind, and would want to check and renew his knowledge about Russian doings and get it straight from the horse's mouth and not through USA influenced sources. I reckon he understood far more about world politics and our place in them. I think he wanted to talk to the Russian guy and find out what was going on and chose open air, without bugs to pick up a conversation that would go beyond the anti-commie version that USA has promulgated.
Re the Ovenden book my Dad was at university at the same time as Bill Sutch and they graduated together. My Dad was always amazed at the 'shock, horror' expressed later about Sutch's views. His view was that Sutch had never changed his views, had never hidden them and it said nothing good/intelligent about the establishment that they were not able to recognise this and decide whether they (the establishment) were going to be concerned about them vis a vis his government roles.
Sutch was a very bright person married to another very bright person in Shirley Smith.
Christianity, Islam, Marxism and many other is'ms have at their core the same moral code, and underlying desire to make peoples lives better.
True that is the superficial appeal, but marxism is the odd man out here for several reasons:
One is that it is an entirely materialist philosophy that describes all social phenomenon in terms of oppressor/oppressed power relationships. And all modern 'critical theories' that lend so heavily from Marx still use this model; indeed extend it into places Marx never dreamed of.
And as a consequence of this, because power is assumed to never give up it's privilege voluntarily, the marxist framework has the idea of violent social reconstruction baked in. Even when neo-marxist movements try to distance themselves from this, it has a bad habit of creeping back in when the rubber hits the road.
Religion by contrast has at it’s heart the idea that all power is in reality located with the divine, and that in relationship to this, all humans are but servants. This recasts the inequality question into an answer that says, “yes all people are different, but we are here to be of service to each other out of respect, fear and love for our creator.”
LOL are you super defensive….ALL This started from me calling out a mass murderer who became a born again christian. (and that was only a SIDE comment ) But you bit hard…SLURS you railed. christianity demeaned. lmao Get over yourself : )
[Have a good look in the mirror. You seem to take issue with people’s religious beliefs and with Christianity in particular. That by itself is not an issue but the way you go about it and word your comments is problematic as they come across as slurs, mockery, and insults. Please lift your game, thanks – Incognito]
Check out Redlgix comments…you know for BALANCE an all : )
[I believe my Moderation note was addressed to you, about your commenting behaviour and style, yes? Please don’t assume you can tell Authors and Moderators what to do here, as that tends to really piss off those who help run this site in their free time – Incognito]
Jaysus, hope you don't think I'm a Marxist. Most of what I know about Marxism I learned from you, but now I’m wondering if I should check out Wikipedia – you know, for a bit of balance.
No I don't, very few people formally use that label these days. But the left is generally populated by people who are attracted to exploring ideas and novelty, which also means that we have more difficulty than most in drawing lines in the sand. We tend to think all non-conventional ideas must somehow be good ones, when in fact most are not.
It would help if the left was a bit more clear eyed on this.
This is a very sobering report about dodgy activities within Parliament. And there is a strong sense of credibility.
In this personal essay, former Alliance MP Phillida Bunkle reveals the ugly underside of funding, power and bullying during her time at Parliament
Eighteen years after I left Parliament in 2002, little, if anything, has changed to make the parliamentary work place safer. There is currently a meltdown across Parliament involving five Serious Fraud Office Investigations into the funding of political parties and an escalating number of complaints concerning serious personal abuse…..
From Bunkle that is a warning to listen to. One of my concerns about the Serious Fraud Office is that they won't take cases to Court unless they consider they will win, I think it has to be a dead cert. So things can be bad quite close to the surface, and if the perpretators are careful they stay unscathed.
(Picture those insects than can walk on water, not breaking the meniscus.) Water striders! Or Water Spiders. We are up against some smart opponents in trying to preserve what is left of a pretty good society.
I rather like/admire spiders, perhaps more so than the unscrupulous type of Parliamentary worker. I know a woman who worked recently inside the system, but who is signed up in the Secrecy act. She indicated without saying a word that there are some pretty awful stuff going on in there.
Bugger this Covid-19 – it takes away the right of people to have a long period of experiencing everything in their body giving way and losing their ability to take any pleasure in life. It's so unfair for Covid-19 to act so quickly and now people who suggest that people should have the right to have a shorter period of incapacity through other illnesses are pushing for the same affect.
It's wrong this euthanasia – everyone should have to suffer every possible minute of their living and breathing – it's our density, sorry I mean destiny. We should actually not take any medications at all because that means we are interfering in our destiny, really, don't you think. Why should we let people go a little bit earlier? Make them go right to the end in their bodies and their minds and really we shouldn't give them medication to help with pain, that is interfering with destiny too.
The mentality of people who say they are concerned about others welfare and so no change can be made is questionable. It just reflects NZrs common inability to make decisions about anything important in a rational and compassionate way.
Vicki said she didn't want to see people suffer, but felt the End of Life Choice Act was not watertight.
The Act includes a provision that allows doctors to stop the process if they believe coercion is happening.
But Vicki's greatest fear is that people will feel pressured to end their lives earlier than they need to.
"The coercion thing is one of biggest concerns for me about this bill, people say it wouldn't happen – well we already have an elderly abuse problem in this country," she said.
Coercion is going to happen, directly or indirectly. Doctors won't stop it, or will be blind to it.
There was another article last week about a young girl and her father who treasured the 5 extra years they had together which wouldn't have been if euthanasia was available.
People in their lowest moments won’t be able to weigh up what extra time with family means.
What about the family in their lowest moments. Can't other people mind their own business and let families be, to reach their own decisions with legal controls. There is so little concern about young and old people suffering terribly overseas with bad conditions of life and death which is continuous. Getting all concerned and compassionate about people dying here doesn't show compassion, it shows a lack of real morality and a retreat to sentimentality.
Thanks PaddyOT – Of course it would be better if they were there at the bedside and knew all about what was happening, it would be expected if they were able to be present. In the end this is about listening and following the wishes of the dying person.
There was another article last week about a young girl and her father who treasured the 5 extra years they had together which wouldn't have been if euthanasia was available.
Why would having euthanasia available not allow them to have those 5 years?
An important view Muttonbird. I am not sure how many people actually understand the specifics underlying the Act of Law this referendum will enable when voting.
The vote is also not about a family at all rationalizing a choice to end a life, as no other related party to the recipient of a lethal dose has any say or needs to be informed beforehand.
No independent witnesses are required to confirm it’s the eligible person’s own choice and the Act does not require independent witnesses to be present for any stage of the process.
Interesting quiz on the, " End of Life Choice Act: Think you know what you’re voting on?"
On the site is also a video link to Grant Illingworth QC. He points out the uniqueness of this Referendum because voting is for the first time to enact an Act of law that is already finalised.
" This means that every New Zealander is expected to ‘think like a lawyer’ to understand the implications of this specific law when they vote. "
True that. Not my quote. But when people believe that families will have discussions, or that a doctor is present at that moment before death to stop it, illustrates that the public may not be fully informed of specifics of an already decided on Act of Law that they cast their vote on.
One simply heads off to a doctor, who needs no other history or conversations with others, other than a confirmation that within 6 months you're dead, a lethal dose prescription is dispensed, within four days a person can choose to die wherever they please on their own. It's not euthenasia as some think either.
I do not particularly have an issue with having an end of life choice bill; there are already some legal options. Rather, a concern that sectors of the public do not get input into an already done deal, what the 'culture' of death means for their loved ones is omitted.
One simply heads off to a doctor, who needs no other history or conversations with others, other than a confirmation that within 6 months you're dead, a lethal dose prescription is dispensed, within four days a person can choose to die wherever they please on their own. It's not euthenasia as some think either.
11 Second opinion reached to be given by independent medical practitioner
(1) This section applies if the attending medical practitioner reaches the opinion described in section 10(2)(a) or (c).
(2) The attending medical practitioner must—
(a) ask the SCENZ Group for the name and contact details of an independent medical practitioner; and
(b) ask the independent medical practitioner for their opinion on whether the person requesting the option of receiving assisted dying is a person who is eligible for assisted dying.
(3) The independent medical practitioner must—
(a) read the person’s medical files; and
(b) examine the person; and
(c) reach the opinion that—
(i) the person is a person who is eligible for assisted dying; or
(ii) the person is not a person who is eligible for assisted dying; or
(iii) the person would be a person who is eligible for assisted dying if the person’s competence it were established as described in under section 12 that the person was competent to make an informed decision about assisted dying.
(4) The independent medical practitioner must—
(a) complete a prescribed an approved form recording their opinion; and
(b) send the completed form to the rRegistrar; and
(c) send a copy of the completed form to the attending medical practitioner.
That's the bit saying that, after the first opinion is reached, a second independent doctor is called in and needs to reach the same same opinion independently.
There's also part of the legislation laying out when a third opinion is needed.
You should probably read the bill rather than listen to people spreading misinformation.
I did read the Bill , you have stated what I said. A person heads off to a doctor and their choice is signed off.
My point was that there is no consultation or considerations of family and beliefs as people may wish or think. You twisted what I wrote inferring that this is about your vote or mine.
I expressed a concern about a Bill that has the potential for doctors to overide unique circumstance and sensitivities around a person's death where values and responsibilities that 'family' believe are theirs towards the dying person, can be dismissed.
Harete Hipango was one of the submitters on this aspect. Maori greatly affected disproportionately through having a terminal illness earlier in life.
It is not the Euthanasia Bill.
The Bill also includes,
* "the self-administration by the person of a lethal dose of medication to relieve their suffering by hastening death"
* "Welfare guardians have no power to make decisions or take actions under this Act".
No other related parties such as family need to be informed or consulted with, only the form fillers signing off. So already a blurred area determining if there is coercion when the client chooses to keep the decision confidential, the doctor does not then have family contact to determine this.
The recipient can chose any doctor, when and where they die and can die alone. No independent witness is needed either for example to say whether the recipient rescinded their wish and changed their mind at those last moments.
" * No person may make public in respect of any death to which this section applies—
(a) the method by which the medication was administered to the deceased:
(b) the place where the medication was administered to the deceased:
(c) the name of the person who administered the medication to the deceased, or the name of that person’s employer. "
I did not DTB say how anyone should vote. I have two siblings who have died horrible deaths in the last few years struggling to their deaths in their 40s . I have another with a short time left, ironically none personally wanted to advance time of death nor did their end of life decision not include family.
However for what it matters my own vote is yes to an individual's own choice.
I did read the Bill , you have stated what I said. A person heads off to a doctor and their choice is signed off.
But that's not what happens. After the first doctor signs off there is a second, independent consultation required and perhaps a third.
My point was that there is no consultation or considerations of family and beliefs as people may wish or think.
I don't wish for family consultations – its none of their business and its likely when the family will be most manipulative.
where values and responsibilities that 'family' believe are theirs towards the dying person, can be dismissed.
It's entirely up to the person dying. The family don't have a say no matter what they believe unless the person dying allows them.
"Welfare guardians have no power to make decisions or take actions under this Act".
I think you'll find that, if a person has guardians, then the third opinion instantiates. You know, the one that's a psychologist who's job is to determine if the person is of sound mind. If they're not, which the existence of guardians may indicate to be the case, then they don't get to take the drugs.
Jacinda Ardern visits Broxh, who livestreams wood carving on Twitch.
A small glimpse of the person but also interesting that she is appearing on perhaps not so well known platforms. Or maybe you just like to watch wood carving.
That's an awesome video Editractor. I enjoyed the profile presented of Broxh too. A guy who is very humble but in this video is a special reminder of what should lie at the heart of governance, being a caretaker of people's rights "to be".
Aunty's visit and when she speaks to him, she validates him and lifts up his 'unpaid' work to a prominence it deserves.
I like the way she is humble too, when she has taken time to understand and considers 'tapu' , asking if she is not treading on protocols. Her deferring to other's expertise, knowing it's Broxh's place to stand, not hers, is not often seen in power hungry politics.
At the end is Broxh returning to his shed, after he has left the camera livestreaming across the world; he is blown away by Aunty visiting him yet it's Broxh who's a leader in his own way.
FFS. Four more cases in the community. I'm convinced the 'close contacts' are not isolating and that is why we are continually getting these new cases. What is being done to ensure close contacts are isolating properly? Will some journalist please ask that question!!!
People are selfish and they just aren't going to do it on their own. This is the issue with L2.5 – people don't give a shit.
These community cases will never end if what's described above is happening, and Auckland will forever be at L2.5 and kids' sport will be fucked for months.
Muttonbird Some people haven't ever lived an isolated life. They have been brought up in crowded dwellings. They are used to feeling sick if they are sick. They have the need to attend to things for each other, it may be in the culture that it is wrong to shut people up in rooms away from others – like sending someone to coventry in English custom. So not too much of the being selfish, there are conventions that prod people into behaving certain ways – hard to change.
I don't give a monkey's if they've never lived an isolated life. If they have been told to isolate they should isolate, for the greater good. There is supposed to be support around them.
Listen, I am going to go proper mental if this crappy Level 2.5 isn't lifted next week.
I'll be firing off angry letters to journalists, and MPs left and right alike! I'll vote for whoever gets this city out of the castrated life we are living because a few selfish/ignorant people can't/won’t do what they are told.
How the hell does a positive case roam around Countdown New Lynn 4 weeks after a Level 3 lockdown?
I keep noticing the evangelical church attendees being infected. It's a coincidence that I have just got a book about the Eyam people in England in the 1600s when that village got hit by bubonic plague. There were two different ministers in town, one that had been the Puritan man, and a later one reverting to pre-Puritan.
The Puritan one was strong on the idea that the infection came to those who had sinned in some way and prayer being beneficial. The other was more to keep yourself safe and behave sensibly – also to pray and take steps to help yourself and keep an eye on neighbours, but not mingle. He set up systems to follow so they didn't all go to pieces. Only about 80 were left of about 350 in this small village that had sealed itself off with food coming from the nearby Lord's farm.
The idea of prayer alone and belief in retribution for past sins and punishment so you can't change anything yourself takes away courage and agency.
I'm sure people do care about their loved ones and not passing it on to them.
The thing is that people learn about keeping themselves safe from causal relation – if I do A then B happens.
But in this case there is chance involved and people find it really difficult to perceive the true risk – a little hug won't hurt, he only likes the food I cook etc.
Quoting Wikipedia, even for such a lost cause as your ridiculously P.C. butchering of language, is certainly better than your normal practice of quoting, uncritically, people like David Frum and Keith Olbermann.
"Judith Collins says prospect of Labour-Green government should 'scare the bejesus' out of NZ"
Well that's a headline I didn't expect to see! Wow, that's an approach from Collins I didn't expect to see.]! The woman is as predictable as she is nasty.
If it had been a green farm rather than a green school then noone would have battered an eyelid. But they are both businesses earning export dollars. And of course there is horse-trading – that's the whole point of MMP – people use leverage to get the things that are important to their party.
Of course, I would like more money to be spent on making every school a great school. Rather than all those big Auckland schools getting mega resources through economies of scale.
What if the media is the tool whereby ignorance is strategically manufactured as a successful ploy by Judith ? Follow the Big money promises on another National project.
Let's apply an agnoto-epistemological approach to critiquing National's idea to make YOUR power companies bow down to save a giant private company, Rio Tinto's Tiwai.
Ask the hard questions, ( Does Tiwai need saving ? Why, what's the evidence and at what cost? What profits does NZ benefit from? Whose magic money will Tiwai be given? What's the dark side of saving Tiwai , both here and at the mine face? ).
Follow ALL the money trail and convert it's inherent impacts to a monetary value across all sectors. The long term costs out of taxpayer's pockets may make horse racing and green schools monies into small change, including counting the cost of job loss.
From the outset ,Tiwai , unlike the 2013 situation, is not operating at a loss. This is a greedy Rio Tinto having a 'boohoo!' moment that they did not, at this time of extreme hardship, make ENOUGH profit on $78 Million this year ! Yet others have gone under.
So what better time than an election to engage Judith's brain to create another 'bejesus we're doomed!' crisis. Particularly obnoxious when Judith is mythologizing on ignorance and playing with people who are frightened and vulnerable at this time; the true knowledge of the near future in this Covid world is still an unknown, yet that evil play on public fears will be swallowed by the masses.
The media lacks accountability as it is also the tool for perverting knowledge and truth and this election especially playing a large part in promoting "truthiness", exploiting a data void. Neither Judith nor the media present any validated information to uphold many claims.
National's deliberate deployment of nonknowledge and ignorance to seed fear is repugnant, but oh so MAGA like.
Trucks are bad for the environments health. Reduce our dependence on them for long haul and boost rail. There would still be trucks but let's have real co-operation with businesses near to rail, perhaps removing wagons and having a method of running the railcar to the business where it can be unloaded.
Is it normal and legal for local mp's to advertise on the back of city buses? The national contender for Rotorua has his mug on the back of buses. I have never seen that type of election advertising on buses in Auckland.
The issues of concern are not about having NO "end of life" law nor with the intent or purpose of the Act ie. to give choice to individuals to die by suicide. The concern is with what is seen as weaknesses in addressing the wider culture of assisted suicide, the shortcomings of unacceptable risk and legal loopholes of these laws in their current form.
• " I don't wish for family consultations – its none of their business and its likely when the family will be most manipulative."
That the dying of a family member is none of a family's business that is your right of choice, a truth for you, so be it for you.
For many it is not only a legal issue, but a cultural and spiritual issue as well.
A doctor is required to advise the patient to consult with family but cannot breach confidentiality. This is just one of the flaws the Medical Association has with this Bill. Resting the decision squarely on the doctors judgement is that they do their best with no evidence, knowing nothing about the family or situation.
(My own doctor wouldn't have a clue who my partner and children are and knows buggar all about me outside of his practice ! )
Another flaw concerning doctors is that a coerced family member whether by bullying , " undue influence” by psychological abuse and/or other pressures such as " economic duress" is more likely to NOT disclose this pressure to the doctor ( as is the case with many suffering abuse). That there is no ongoing formal assessment process investigating the client's claim to be the truth leaves open a 'wrongful death' conflicting with the " Crimes Act". The issue is that no concrete safeguards against coercion exist in the Act in it's current form.
That doctors face making a final decision that their client WILL die within six months is under the law a matter that is also open to legal challenge of being a 'wrongful death' when the diagnosis of longevity with particular diseases is not a definitive certainty.
• A " Welfare Guardian" is a Court appointed person who acts for a person "who is totally unable to make or communicate decisions about their own care and this welfare guardian must not have a conflict of interest."
Hence, the very person who is the only legal voice of a client is omitted. In this case, a multitude of people do not get past doctor number one. No matter their suffering their choice is gone. The sufferer's rights are gone.
It should concern people voting on a referendum, that is already a done deal law , if those laws are then deficient.
"A lack of safeguards, no real consultation with medicine, no real consultation with nurses or pharmacists who are also named in the act."
Just because something is written as a law does not automatically make it good law for everyone and many people over time have been victims of poor written law. ( Homosexuals, prostitutes, DV and abuse victims…)
It should also concern people that the NZ Medical Association does not support this final form of the Bill and, " The fact that 98% of palliative care professionals and most doctors are opposed." That 90 percent of the submissions to the Justice Select Committee were against the Act. Of the 600 doctors who wrote in, 93 percent were opposed.
It seems RL is against overthrowing oppression, by retaliating, no matter how bad or deadly it is. That is too "Marxist".
The French were supposed to have just continued to "eat cake", the Russians to put up with serfdom and poverty under the Tsars, Chinese to continue to be subjected to whatever warlord was most ruthless, Vietnam to continue under French control, BLM to refrain from anything except the odd march while black people are still murdered by cops, the 1951 strikers to allow themselves to be peacefully beaten up by Masseys Cossacks.
As Ghandi said, not in the same words, but, the largely peaceful transfer of power, resulting from his movement, in India, was only possible because the British people had a conscience.
How did obeying the law work for European Jews in the 1930's and 40's?
Sometimes, as Marx observed, not advocated, revolution is the only way out.
Unfortunately as we have observed, the victor is not normally the people, as Marx wanted, but simply the "warlord" that can muster the most guns, (or support from outside such as the many violent overthrowing of democratic Governments by the USA) The most ruthless arsehole. Like Hitler, Stalin, Bolsanaro, Pinochet, et al.
Yes. Revolutions often result in swapping one oppressor for another.
It seems RL is against overthrowing oppression, by retaliating, no matter how bad or deadly it is.
Well yes I am. For two main reasons:
One is that retaliation usually destabilises society to the point that the resulting chaos results in more oppression. In other words the cure usually turns out worse than the disease.
The other is more subtle. In any hierarchical system there will be differences in capacity, talent, authority and rank … but marxism narrowly reduces all these relationships one of oppressor/oppressed, always couched as the basest exploitation imaginable.
Of course it's perfectly possible to overthrow any hierarchy, but it's replacement inevitably involves a new one to take it's place. Which under marxist thinking permanently locks society into a cycle of 'revolutionary reconstruction' and destabilisation. And in the ensuing chaos of course, the body count just keeps rising until finally everyone sickens of it.
So why is it that when I point out the fatal, and proven flaws of marxism that immediately it's presumed that I must also be against addressing injustice?
Why does the marxist framework have to have a monopoly on left wing thought? Why is it the only means of addressing inequality that we are allowed to talk about?
Why is it that the socialist left has so little confidence in it's ability to effectively address real problems, without waiting until they are so intolerable and entrenched that "revolution is the only way out"? We need better tools and better ways of getting results, than an obsolete political schema that has a whole pack of bad presuppositions embedded at it's core.
Thing is, Marx predicted that, too. Basically arguing capitalist-dominated systems would introduce concessions to the working class when the discontent became serious enough even for them.
But these actions out of self preservation would only delay the inevitable – revolution would eventually occur. Not all revolutions would be successful, though.
The trouble is that Marx was methodical and precise when describing the shortcomings of capitalism, but essentially made a vague template of woo in predicting what would happen.
Which leaves two shortcomings: no timetable or real prerequisites for this successful revolution; and no way to demonstrate the false nature of failed revolutions until after the fact.
So really, the Marxist-communist is a bit like someone awaiting the first/second coming of christ: no idea if it's a year or a thousand years after first prediction and with no clear way to rule it out, so the dude in the robe might be the messiah, or he might be a very naughty boy who's starved Georgia and the Ukraine and sent millions to death in the gulags.
Democratic socialism, of course, can accept the Marxist description of the problems with capitalism without accepting the inevitability of revolution.
But even if revolution occurs (and it is always a risk at any time), a description is not always an endorsement. Realising that if shit keeps going this way without systemic change people will end up against the wall is subtly different from trying to bring that eventuality about.
So why is it that when I point out the fatal, and proven flaws of marxism that immediately it's presumed that I must also be against addressing injustice?
Because you're always in favour of perpetuating that injustice.
Why is it that the socialist left has so little confidence in it's ability to effectively address real problems, without waiting until they are so intolerable and entrenched that "revolution is the only way out"?
The problem there isn't the socialist Left but the people who get voted into power on a socialist ticket and then fail to implement socialist policies.
Got it in one…good link. We even get a mention in one of the articles.
"Here’s what I say to you: You’re living in a dream world. What everyone wants to believe is that when things reach a tipping point and go from being merely crappy for the masses to dangerous and socially destabilizing, that we’re somehow going to know about that shift ahead of time. Any student of history knows that’s not the way it happens. Revolutions, like bankruptcies, come gradually, and then suddenly. One day, somebody sets himself on fire, then thousands of people are in the streets, and before you know it, the country is burning. And then there’s no time for us to get to the airport and jump on our Gulfstream Vs and fly to New Zealand. That’s the way it always happens. If inequality keeps rising as it has been, eventually it will happen. We will not be able to predict when, and it will be terrible—for everybody. But especially for us."
RL. In your fixation with "Marxism" you are continually missing the point.
Time to move past the US exceptionalist meme of Capitalism/”Freedom” good, Socialism, Communism, Marxism, bad.
I doubt if anyone on the "Left" is solely informed by Marx.
We all have many influences on our thinking.
The “socialist left” has advanced in thought way past, “Marxism”. I gave one example, of the communist party in Portugal, who are happy with supporting a moderate democratically elected “socialist” Government.
Isn't Hanuaer saying much the same as Marx, about revolution?
The “socialist left” far from advocating revolution as you appear to claim, are working on incremental improvement to and within our political system.
Maybe this is true, but it's very odd how whenever I point out the fatal flaws of marxism and the political framework it proposes, just how many people here leap angrily to it's defense.
As if I was attacking their core identity or something?
It would also be helpful if the left started engaging with your own reasonably complex amalgam of beliefs and influences, rather than expecting you to accept some ill-defined Marxian framework.
"Why does the marxist framework have to have a monopoly on left wing thought? Why is it the only means of addressing inequality that we are allowed to talk about?"
It doesn't.
You appear to have missed decades of "left wing thought".
And even “Marxist” thought. Try reading Marx. Instead of repeating US Mccarthyist ideas of left wing thought. Until you do, you are arguing from a “strawman” perspective. No one, not even “Marxists” hold the views you think they do. People are not “defending Marx”. They are arguing against your view of the “Left”.
You appear to have missed decades of "left wing thought".
All well and good, yet when pressed far too many left wingers still insist on that Marx is the central and essential figure. As evidenced by the heated defense I encounter when I suggest that maybe it's time we retired the old bugger.
And the exhortation that I must read his works chapter and verse. Are we not allowed to have some thoughts of our own?
"nut picking refers to intentionally seeking out extremely fringe, non-representative statements or individuals from members of an opposing group and parading these as evidence of that entire group's incompetence or irrationality.[16]"
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
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Update on the German Greens: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/07/german-greens-well-placed-for-share-of-power-despite-covid-setback
So they're way ahead of our lot, who are still hamstrung by sectarianism.
This return to source ethos is the way to go. It provides a basis of authenticity. The Greens can present as both radical in thinking and pragmatic in practice. James would no doubt argue that he's been doing this combo, but the recent abject apology suggests he's surrounded by those unable to see the big picture. Nonetheless I remain hopeful that our common interests will prevail over narrowmindedness.
You can't actually just speak of the 'Die Gruenen' as a monotlithic block considering that they did their split in to 'Fundis' and 'Realos' about 20+ odd years ago.
http://bright-green.org/2015/09/16/die-grunen-20-years-past-the-crossroads
a bit of history here, then you need to admit that the all parties of the German Government inclusive the conservatives under CDU/CSU have more 'green' thinking int their small finger then pretty much most parties in NZ in their combined hands.
So essential 'green' building standards (something for rich private schools only in NZ) in Germany have been legislated into the building code, i.e. double glazing, insulation, water reducing measures etc are standard now. Cycling lanes here still something worth of upset and frothing at the mouth in Germany is common place and are being build with every road. No-one other then the one who wants to build a carpark is entitled to one, people park and then walk a few minutes to their house doors. These are just a few very small things that in NZ are still pie in the sky things.
So really, as i said many many years ago here on the Standard my opinion is that the Greens NZ will split with the 'realos' such as James Shaw surviving at the cost of the fundamentalists. It will then also mean that hte 'realos' given the right cirumstances will work with other parties then just Labour, after all they do like to be in Government.
But the Green Party of Germany at this moment is a very different beast then what it was in its inception and that needs to be acknowledged and is as far removed from the Greens in NZ ideologically (and ideology has no meaning if it can't be achieved) as geographically.
Also their name is Alliance 90/The Greens.
and they have been in Government a few times namely in 1998 – 2005 .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_90/The_Greens
Thanks for that, Sabine. Nothing provoking me to disagree. Perhaps I do see the prospect of a split here as less likely, however. It's happened twice already!
First time was in the Values Party, mid-1970s. Then there was a three-way split in the early '90s in the current party – provoked by the looming spectre of the Alliance.
Correctly so, in principle. However, I saw the big picture and supported us joining the Alliance. The left & the right wings of the establishment had both gone neoliberal so it was the only viable opposition.
What would he make of fossilised fogeys who bang on about lefties and what all lefties think?
Buggered if I know. Why do you ask? If you really believe those who were banging on about Marxism are fossilised, why not say so? Humans moving in elliptical mental orbits are a worthy group for sociological analysis. One can focus on the gravitational pull of whatever causes each focus (of the ellipse).
Very few people can actually see the Big Picture. That's why individualism, which focuses on the individual without taking into account anybody else, always fails.
Here's an interesting thought on the thorny topic of allocating the first covid vaccinations: along with frontline staff, vaccinate potential superspreaders first, in preference to the most vulnerable.
The idea is that the specific transmission patterns of this specific virus mean better results will likely be achieved more quickly with source control than by allocating scarce protective resource to the most vulnerable.
https://www.sciencealert.com/young-people-should-be-amongst-the-first-to-receive-the-covid-19-vaccine-experts-argue
So ……. Church congregations first?
Yeah, that's a reasonable logical conclusion if the idea is valid.
Who else is using your account to post comments here?
???
If there's anyone trying to post comments using my e-mail it would be some kind of malicious party. Nobody else has access to any of my devices.
If that's a hint about my commenting behaviour or anyone else's, it's gone over my head.
No, not the e-mail address that you are using, but your ISP account/connection with the same IP address.
I thought it was odd and decided to check with you. I’ll leave it for Lprent to look into further. I don’t want to cause unnecessary panic and there is probably a perfectly logical explanation for it …
Thanks for the heads up.
There shouldn't be anyone or anything else trying to connect from my house.
I'll try reboots of everything and run an antivirus scan. If it keeps happening I'd be grateful to know.
It is going over my head too. This latest comment of yours @ 8:36 AM has a slightly different IP address associated with it than your other comments this morning!?
Can't think of any reason the 8:36 comment should have had a different IP address. But this one now should be different AFAIK since I've done power-off reboots of my modem/router and my device. That disconnect from my ISP and reconnect should give me a different IP address, yeah?
The full scan didn't find any concerns and it says it's up to date.
Yeah, quite different IP address this time 🙂
Just outta curiosity about that entity purportedly sharing my IP address, did it have anything interesting to say?
Russians Andre
you mark my words
Not really.
If you want to target 'super spreaders' then you need to vaccinate kids first. They ar the ones most likely to be aysmptomatic, only have a mild case (to them) and then go home and infect the parents, who then infect people at the supermarket, the gas station, the church etc etc etc.
How many anti vaccers will throw a hissy fit?
…you need to vaccinate kids first. They are the ones most likely to be aysmptomatic, only have a mild case (to them) and then go home and infect the parents, who then infect people at the supermarket, the gas station, the church etc etc etc.
You have a citation for that Sabine? Actual unequivocal scientific proof that children are spreading Covid 19? I know its a theory, but has it been proven?
In the meantime…I say vaccinate any adult who's keen to be a guinea pig.
Panic vaccines are not necessarily the best for our children.
https://bpac.org.nz/bpj/2013/april/h1n1-vaccination.aspx
Found these US-based online pages. Alas I can't vouch for their accuracy – the advice may simply be precautionary, although as Covid-19 is a novel virus that we’re all still learning about, a precautionary approach would be prudent, IMHO.
Road Transport Truckers whining again….And yet :
A Road Transport Forum analysis of NZTA figures, highlighted the "unparalleled increases" in heavy vehicles on the roads.
Since 2010, the maximum truck size has increased from 44 tonnes to about 63 tonnes under special permits.
"The level of adoption by commercial heavy vehicle owners exceeded forecasts rendering initial predictions of impact as obsolete," the analysis said.
Most of the truck growth had been since 2014, which the analysis said was illustrated by the number of heavy vehicle kilometres travelled rising from 1.6 billion to 2.5b in 2020, a 56 percent increase.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/425473/truckers-demand-billion-dollar-spend-to-fix-dilapidated-roads
Put it on RAIL. COASTAL SHIPPING. Been "talked" about for years. Pisses me off….
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/497/docs/497.pdf
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2017/11/28/value-rail-new-zealand/
I found myself having a one-sided arguement with the tranny this morning.
Trucking lobbyists bleating for even more subsidies from the state.
In the RNZ article you have linked to the reason for ruined roads is obvious:
Followed by:
Road safety, Climate Change, roading bills, carbon neutrality, pollution from rubber and diesel exhaust all point to getting the freight off the roads.
The Greens’ confidence-and-supply agreement with the Government raises the prospect of tapping the National Land Transport Fund for rail infrastructure, prompting a hostile response from the trucking lobby. Ken Shirley, chief executive of the Road Transport Forum, calls the policy a “kick in the teeth” for road users who pay for the fund and says it displays “contempt for the user-pays integrity” of the system. “Using it as a slush fund to pay for other transport modes will breed a high level of resentment.”
https://www.noted.co.nz/money/money-money/the-great-rail-revival-why-its-time-to-get-rail-back-on-track
BS…If the farker Truckers paid the ACTUAL amount that they should for the damage they cause…instead of being subsidised by NZ Tax/Rate payers…then we would have a level playing field. Fkn Ken Shirley…an ex Nat
very true
The truckers aren't subsidised by the tax payers although they are by the rate payers. NZTA roads are maintained by charges to vehicles while local roads are maintained by rates.
But, due to the total screwing of the charges, this means that truckies are heavily subsidised by the other road users, primarily the personal vehicle users.
Actually, wasn't there an article a few months ago about how the covid lockdown was impacting funding for roads as no one was driving anywhere?
We were still getting goods to stores which means that a large amount of trucking was still happening but the personal vehicles on the road would have dropped precipitously.
Most of the truck growth had been since 2014, which the analysis said was illustrated by the number of heavy vehicle kilometres travelled rising from 1.6 billion to 2.5b in 2020
Coincidentally, I've been driving pretty much monthly from Palmerston North to Rotorua and back since 2014, and both the growth in truck numbers and the effect of that on road quality have been obvious. Those pricks should be paying a lot more in road user charges, preferably so much that it discourages long-haul trucking wherever there's a railway or ports available.
Hell Yes…
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1911/S00398/the-hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy.htm
Here the US subsidy revealed…NZ will be similar…
"In other words, one fully loaded 18-wheeler does the same damage to a road as 9600 cars. According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the trucking industry represents 11% of all vehicles on the road in the US, while paying 35% of all highway taxes. But if trucks represent 11% of vehicles, their heavy loads cause them to do 99% of all road damage! [2] The trucking industry paid $35 Billion in highway taxes in 2005, according to the ATA. Since most of the $100 Billion in highway taxes paid goes to maintenance (and US infrastructure maintenance is far behind), this implies that the trucking industry receives a $60 Billion annual subsidy from other drivers."
https://truecostblog.com/2009/06/02/the-hidden-trucking-industry-subsidy/
Ratepayers…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/98979927/rural-councils-hit-by-larger-trucks-rollout
Enough talk aye. No more farkin around. Time
for Action
It's kinda hard here in NZ to figure out what's really happening with the funding. I've looked a number of times and never found anything that explicitly details out NZTA's cost allocation model.
I have seen puff pieces where NZTA claims the cost allocation models basically attributes almost all repair and maintenance cost to heavy vehicles, and the funds collected from light vehicles in petrol excise tax and RUC only go towards shared expenses such as land used for roads, signage and markings etc.
That has an element of plausibility, since a lot of the vast expense on roading in cities is driven by the simple space taken up by cars.
But even taking those stories completely at face value, it still appears light vehicles are being stung for enormously expensive new road projects that are driven entirely be demand from the trucking industry, such as the Mt Messenger bypass or new Saddle Rd. Light vehicles are just fine with what is there now, it's heavy vehicles that find it problematic. Furthermore, a lot of the high expense of new projects is driven by the trucking industry's need for gentle grades and curves, needing vastly more construction expense.
The Nats…(and the neolib "Labour", who I will NEVER absolve ) each did their best to screw our NZ Rail and Coastal Shipping.. Needs Action .
The Fuel Efficiciency alone is reason let alone all others..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_New_Zealand
https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/497/docs/497.pdf
http://nzsf.org.nz/about-shipping-in-new-zealand
I found it once. Haven't been able to find it again.
But, from what I recall, their own figures disproved their claims that the charges were proportional. Heavy trucks were getting a massive subsidy from cars. IIRC, cars were being charged $1 per kilometre and heavy trucks ~$400 but when those trucks really needed to be charged $9600 (using the car amount as the base) that meant that the trucks were being massively subsidised.
Government Departmental online presences are “liquid” to say the least. I have been following MBIE Covid employer wage subsidy info, and the content can change by the hour. As do others, like MSD were talking about removing the option to include partners in National Superannuation, but that seems to have been dropped too–just as well really!
Totaly agree, if you want good roads, upgrade the railway, gauge as well and put the freight back where it belongs.
Oddly I don't think I heard one of them urging an increase in road user charge, nor any interviewer suggesting it. Just haven't got round to that yet, I guess.
The solution to trucking is the pricing mechanism of the market properly applied. In this case it means shifting everyone to RUC and dropping the road taxes on petrol and other fuels. The GHG taxes would remain.
Road funding is from road taxes on petrol and RUCs for diesel. The is then ring-fenced so that that money can only be spent on roads. But the taxes are applied in such a way so that commercial trucks get a massive subsidy from personal cars (probably another reason why National doesn't want public transport as increasing use of public transport would decrease the subsidy to trucks from private vehicles).
Damage to roads goes up by mass:
How the RUCs would work is by charging on a mass per axil basis and based upon the maximum load of each vehicle so as to get as close to that 2^4 damage increase as possible.
This is not how its done ATM:
As you can see, the charges aren't going anywhere close to the 2^4. The lowest RUC listed is two axils up to 3.5 tonne @ $72/1000km. In the same two axil category the not more than 9 tonnes vehicles are only charged slightly more than twice as much when they should be charged more than 16 times more. And that's still pretty light weight.
The 18 wheelers, instead of being charged several thousand times more as they should be, are charged a measly $329/1000km.
This represents a massive subsidy from the lighter vehicles to the heavier and that's just within the RUC. Estimating the subsidy from petrol fuelled vehicles to trucks is even more complicated but we can assume that its huge.
The market only works if the pricing is correct.
And the pricing has been very definitely screwed.
Could it be he's setting up to follow the well-worn trail of fleeing fascists? Here's hoping.
https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1302849186925342720
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/9/7/1975627/–unlike-dictators-in-other-countries-he-can-t-simply-shut-down-media-outlets-that-he-doesn-t-like
Picking it wouldnt be Scotland : )…
https://people.com/politics/scottish-farmers-in-donald-trump-golf-course-documentary/
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-51666413
Indeed. They're very unfair to him there. So nasty.
http://notesfromthegeekshow.blogspot.com/2017/01/from-scotland-with-love.html
Lol, the 10 second sussing out : )
I think I've watched that three times now and it doesn't get old. I like that they have to explain for the US audience what bawbag means.
It gets better with age. So prescient. Not that any kind of crystal ball was really needed, mind.
The Stalinist show trial of the century
Democracy at work folks!
"I have seen the future and it's murder."…Leonard Cohen
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2020/09/us-war-on-journalism-assange-fights-extradition-in-british-court.html#more
Just as the geomagnetic poles flip, something similar happens between the East and the West
The West now more resembles the Soviet Union .Everything bad that happens (Trump) is the fault of foreigners
The post modernist cultural revolution around sex and gender
The Soviets were vilified for their "godlessness"
Now Russia is vilified for it's religion , and religion in general is a BAD thing in the West
This interview of a Canadian journalist who has lived in Russia for the past 17 years , comments on this flip , whereby the West has become more like the Soviet Union
Interviewed by Aaron Mate he doesn't exactly play ball with all of Mates gambits
He is rather damning of Putin, but astonished by the acceptance of Russiagate in western audiences, and comments on his treatment in Russia .Apparently Russians fall about laughing at the idea Putin controls Trump when he cant even control his own country.
Just as the geomagnetic poles flip, something similar happens between the East and the West
That insight has some alignment with a speculative comment I made a few weeks back.
In other words the Russian reaction to the extremism of the Soviets, has been to move toward conservatism flipping around the end loop of sequence I described above. What you describe in Russia is good empirical evidence to supporting my suggestion.
It would also align with why, during the 90's after the fall of the Soviet regime, that western liberalism so totally failed to take root in Russia.
My other intuition about this is that as long as we treat politics as a power game between the three modes, and as a result one mode dominates or even goes through periods of extremism, we will inevitably see this cycle perpetuate itself in increasing rounds of instability.
I've no idea of how universally true this triplet model cycle is, or if it's useful in any real sense, but it's an interesting curiosity.
But otherwise yes, I rather agree with much of you comment. Aaron Mate should be good; people who actually live in country often bring interesting insights to the table.
Good interview, well worth the time.
Thanks for taking the time!
Good morning Francesca, good interview there, Grey Zone (with Push Back) is turning out to be one of the most consistently good serious sources of critical world news around at the moment.
The Russia hysteria whipped up by western media (especially since 2016) and brought into lock stock and barrel by so many smart people on the Left is an embarrassment and shameful. As I have mentioned many times on this site it only goes to prove Lefties are just as easily herded around and manipulated by their media as any tea party idiot
I notice that while media around the world barely mention Assange's outrageous lack of access to his lawyers this (link below) goes on with barely a murmur from this same bunch of hacks…"Ghislaine Maxwell had a face-to-face visit from her lawyers that was THREE TIMES longer than usual with double the attorneys"https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8698663/Ghislaine-Maxwell-got-visit-lawyers-THREE-TIMES-longer-usual.html
Assange extradition hearings begin: the future of a free press on trial
Thanks for that
If this was happening in Belarus or China or Russia ,the western media would be hyperventilating
I really want to take to the streets over this but I live in a one horse town, and I don't want to frighten the horse
When are the "centrists" going to renounce Christianity?
Resulting in monsters such as Pope Innocent 3, Queen Ann, and supporting Trump.
That encourages violence against, “non believers”
Surely supporting a dogma that has resulted in so much death, destruction, totalitarian control and blocking of human progress, is giving them a bad name.
Something for the right wing to attack them with. 🤣
Even now we see the "Holy Crusade" against the "Godless" in which they include, strangely, Islam, continuing.
Commenting on the "flip" KJT
What was once sacrosanct is now verboten
and both attitudes , from the past and present ,fiercely and passionately and emotionally defended
The old orthodox thought becomes crazed and crank, what was considered outlandish now becomes the new "correct" and on it goes
Cook was a hero, now he's scum, tomorrow who knows
We're not in a linear state of progress, more of a loop, and I take it all with a large grain of salt
The Canadian journalist in the link was pretty even handed I thought, neither a huge fan of modern Russia , nor hugely condemnatory
In our haste to denounce others who don't share our values we lose our sense of shared humanity
At the risk of being labelled a christian…oh horrors, I rather like the text
and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
The World English Bible translates the passage as:
You hypocrite! First, remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
When are the "centrists" going to renounce Christianity?
The old institutional churches became irrelevant to the political process a century ago.
With perhaps the exception of Catholicism (which in my view has yet to come to terms with it's 'extraordinary history'), Christianity has been entirely marginalised out of the political process.
But for what it’s worth I'm on record here for vigorously repudiating religious fanatics, fundamentalists and assorted religious bigots over the years. And the odd libertarian whose arrived here (anyone remember Redbaiter?) has been confronted as well. It's not just marxist's that we need to recognise as 'out of bounds', it's any ideology that goes to extremes that we need to guard against.
Once we recognise the need for limits, this (as DtB usefully mentioned the other day) raises the question of exactly where the boundaries ought to lie. That conversation strikes me as a whole other barrel of fun.
We will ignore the influence of the Brethren, Catholicism and the US evangelist "prosperity gospel" on the National party as we speak, then.
Much as I dislike Collins lack of ethics and morality, at least it is somewhat of a counter to "Christians" who bend it to their own end, of justifying their own wealth.
You missed the opportunity to challenge me the most difficult question; if the old institutional churches have such a compromised history, what then is the possible role of religion in the future?
The answer is yes, if faith is to play any legitimate role in our evolving social and political fabric, we do need to understand where historically it went too far into extremism and fully repudiate that. In essence I believe this demands a complete renewal and recasting of what we think religion is.
Capitalism is one of those extreme ideologies as it steals from the majority to enrich a few while they provide little to no benefit to either those they steal from nor society in general.
And, no, it wasn't the shareholders being entrepreneurial. It was the people who came up with the idea which, more often than not, was an employee.
Capitalism is one of those extreme ideologies
Concepts such as private ownership, money, markets, companies, banking and credit creation are going to around for a long time yet. Capitalism as perhaps first properly described by Adam Smith, is not so much a political philosophy, but an ancient collection of economic and social practices that were refined by the Dutch and English during the Enlightenment era into a tool that has during the past 200 years massively reduced human poverty and suffering almost everywhere.
It is of course true that the modern neo-liberal conception of capitalism has it's own extremist expressions, especially when it co-degenerates into the libertarian code of absolute individualism usurping all other considerations. By all means pay attention to when capitalism gets it wrong (and it does, often quite badly), but not at the expense of also selectively ignoring the enormously beneficial impact it has brought to humanity. It would be much more useful to start thinking about where this boundary lies, than the absolutist anti-capitalism you've been espousing here for ages.
In rejecting the entire concept of capitalism you make the same category of mistake that right wingers do when they reject all socialism because of the excesses of marxism. You're doing the equivalent of the "Reds under the Bed" scaremongering that KJT was bitterly railing against.
Yes but that doesn't mean we need capitalism which is the means of production being privately owned and controlled rather than being a legal entity not owned at all but enforced by the nation and controlled by the people who work there with the rewards also going to those who work there and not shareholders (because there wouldn't be any).
Did they?
Nomadic tribesmen, even today, don't consider themselves to be in poverty. They have everything that they need. Whereas, in capitalist countries, many people don't have what they need. They don't have the heating, the food, the healthcare, and many other things all of which are needed.
Your mistaking correlation with causation. Capitalism happened and now we have less poverty thus it was capitalism that decreased poverty.
Thing is, we can probably point out that there was an increase in poverty before there was a decrease and that increase could have been directly attributed to capitalism. The poverty created by the East India Company comes to mind.
The decrease to Enlightenment values and then outright socialism in the early to mid 20th century as the New Deal and its cousins propagated around the world.
And now were seeing another increase in developed countries as 19th century mores come into play again in the form of neoliberalism.
It lies in property. The absolute ownership and control of companies/businesses that indirectly owns and controls people for the benefit of those owners.
Get rid of that ownership, make all businesses coops with a legal mandate of profit sharing and responsibility. How a coop runs would be up to the people in it although still needing to meet safety laws. Wages would be set by them although they would still need to meet the minimum wage.
We get the benefits of companies without the bludging of the shareholders and thus we'd likely see more innovation and less poverty.
Society is an extension of that cooperation and so we have a central administration supplying healthcare and numerous other essentials that everyone needs decided democratically.
make all businesses coops with a legal mandate of profit sharing and responsibility.
During the 80's I worked seven years for a mid-sized USA corporate that did a 20% annual profit share among all the non-C, non-commissioned staff. Worked very well; I have very fond memories of it.
Point is it can be done without necessarily eliminating ownership.
As for the rest of your comment that essentially romanticises the ‘noble savage’ … forget about it. I used to believe that tosh too.
No it can't as the owners will always step in and grab the lion's share – and then they'll grab more. This is why we keep having recessions and depressions, poverty keeps increasing and resilience goes out the window.
No, it really doesn't. There is a very real question there: Was there actually poverty before capitalism started 5000+ years ago?
Tough times? Sure
Could bad weather wipe out an entire tribe? Yep
Was there poverty within the tribe? Probably not. Any one of the ~200 people in a tribe being weakened due to poverty would endanger the entire tribe.
No it can't as the owners will always step in and grab the lion's share – and then they'll grab more.
Why? You are assuming all owners are always by nature greedy arseholes. This isn't true at all, in many SME businesses the owner treats their long term, productive employees almost like family.
Of course as businesses go public the legal requirement to put shareholder interest ahead of everything else is an extremist feature of neoliberalism, but it's not inherent to capitalism. The rules could easily, and indeed often are, reshaped to encompass the interests of a much wider range of stakeholders.
A relatively simple law change is all that's needed to ensure businesses comply.
Yes it is and no they don't.
I've worked in small businesses. Biggest waste of space ever.
Yes it is. We've seen it throughout history.
Biggest waste of space ever.
That's odd, my experience was quite the opposite.
And your assertion that the mere act of owning a business is enough to turn a normal person into an amoral greedy arsehole is quite bizarre really. I'm sure there are some who are, it would very odd if there were not. But if you only ever encountered just this sort I have to say you were very unlucky.
Not really. It's a pretty old concept. Sure, one can quibble about the degree to which this occurs, or whether it affects every business owner. But the motivation do commodify personal interactions exists.
Anyone looking for a decent explanation of the mechanism of how and why this occurs especially under capitalism can do a lot worse than read up on Marx's research and comments on alientation.
But in general, small business owners are as self-absorbed as farmers. I've almost never seen a farmer happy about the weather, and I've almost never seen a small business owner happy about foot traffic or council bylaws. Some might think they regard their employees as "family", but that's easy to do when the staff have to put up with your crap or else they lose their only income source. That's just another form of alienation.
The marxist framework proposes that the world can be neatly divided up into classes of oppressor and oppressed, with labels of evil and virtue permanently affixed to each.
But while Marx proposed that whenever you find a relationship between a more powerful group and a weaker group that the relation will always be one of oppressor and oppressed. This proposes that every hierarchical relationship is just another version of the very worst exploitation and enslavement imaginable.
But in most cases, hierarchical relationships are not enslavement. Thus, while it is true that kings have normally been more powerful than their subjects, employers more powerful than their employees, and parents more powerful than their children, these have not necessarily been straightforward relations of oppressor and oppressed. Much more common are mixed relationships, in which both the stronger and the weaker receive certain benefits, and in which both can also point to hardships that must be endured in order to maintain it.
Marx by contrast reduces all relations to one of power and exploitation of the lowest possible nature. And that a violent revolutionary overthrow of the oppressors is necessary because power is never relinquished voluntarily. And then when the formerly oppressed class obtain total power, all class antagonisms will magically disappear. Why this should occur is never explained.
Yet the most cursory examination of real human relationships show how much more complex and varied they are than Marx’s cartoonish depiction of them.
" Yes it is and no they don't."
What a fucking pile of horseshit.I've worked in a number of SME's and have been treated very well indeed. I currently work in an office consisting of 4 people – accounts, legal/HR, Ops Manager and me, Marketing and Sales Manager. The owner is very hands off and trusts us to do what we need to do. I've only been there 2 months of a 12 month maternity cover and feel connected to my team. The business is a family owned business, having been run over 2 generations, and I feel very much like a part of the organisation, as well as part of the extended family at large.
You know where I have been treated the worst? Treated as a mere functioning robot and warm body to make up the numbers? The fucking government. I've held 3 government jobs in my time and never again will I do it.
I didn't say that owning a business turned them into it. I was saying that they started off that way. Although I'm sure that some decent people who started business also ended up that way.
It's like the research that showed financiers were just as sociopathic as murderers. It's possible, in fact probable, that they didn't start out that way but they certainly were when the survey went through.
That tends to be the result of a sociopathic culture – it produces more sociopaths.
I'd say that was the norm.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidsturt/2018/03/08/10-shocking-workplace-stats-you-need-to-know/#5e05c397f3af
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/116733239/four-worst-habits-of-new-zealand-managers
@DtB
You remind me of a man I once worked with who had been married seven times (seriously) … who complained how unlucky he was to have met so many gold digging crazy bitches.
(And this while swigging on a bottle of Wild Turkey at 6:30am …)
Relationaships can be complex. But refusing to laugh at your bosses' crappy or sexist jokes is an easy way to lose your job, income, home, and food. Unless capitalism is diluted to some extent by socialism.
Slavery is literally the endpoint of unrestrained capitalism, be it plantations or sweatshops, pimps or dealers. OSH regulations are written in blood spilled by capitalism.
Was there poverty within the tribe? Probably not
You are confusing absolute poverty with relative poverty. Hunter gatherers could only live in very low population densities, in small groups, at very low levels of resource use. In favourable environments they might enjoy a relatively chill lifestyle, but lethal hazards of accident, disease, violence, bad weather and famine still dominated their fates. Infant mortality was always fairly high, and while some fortunate individuals might live to an old age, the average life expectancy was much lower than we enjoy now. For much of our pre-history there was probably fewer than 10 million humans on the entire planet.
Of course such a low ceiling on development meant that inequality was low because everyone was more or less equally poor.
It's not a question of relative or absolute. It's a question of society looking out for each other or a small clique oppressing the rest for their own aggrandizement.
Under capitalism, we have the latter and so we have poverty that shouldn't exist. Poverty that holds us back from even better results because the resources are held by the few and not given to the development that the many could provide if they had access to those resources.
Profit, that funding given out to shareholders who do nothing of value, really is a dead-weight loss.
who do nothing of value
Ask anyone who tried to run a business with inadequate capital exactly what the value of it is.
The reason why your analysis of capital is so very narrow is that you seem to have no appreciation of how time, entropy and risk are all related. Shareholders might not be digging ditches and bending steel bars with their bare hands, but they're playing an equally vital role all the same.
I spent much of my working life in and around heavy industry, designing, building and commissioning all manner of productive systems. Among many things this exposed me to the workings of some very serious capital indeed. Perhaps this colours my view on the matter.
No they're not.
Capital can easily be provided by loans at 0% from the government. Especially when you consider that the resources being used belong to the government in the first place.
Then consider this: When shares are bought on the share-market the money goes to the previous shareholder and not the company.
And don't talk IPOs either as they're systematically listed below value meaning that the original 'investors' manage to make a 100% profit in a week or so. Where does the money come from to pay it back?
So, no, shareholders aren't providing anything vital that can't be provided in a better way that by passes the dead-weight loss of profit. We cannot afford the rich and it really is us paying for them to be rich but we really don't have any choice in the matter as it stands.
@Sabine 1.1.
"So essential 'green' building standards (something for rich private schools only in NZ) in Germany have been legislated into the building code, i.e. double glazing, insulation, water reducing measures etc are standard now".
As the have been in the NZ building code since the previous Labour Government.
After our Green party pushed for them.
is that why we push for air cons in rental houses to get them warm?
In germany these standards were legislated in the 90s, and retrofitting of all other properties is law – enforced by government.
Here it is a do something by 2021 – please pretty please, and if the landlord dos nothing the tenant can 'negotiate' with the landlord and when that 'negotiation' does amount to nothing much or results in the tenant losing his/her rental they can go to the tenancy tribunal for 'mediation'.
This is my main issue with green minded people in NZ, they are so easily satisfied with little to nothing but 'feel good' and 'lookit we are doing something'.
And then the government changes and it can be revoked by lunch, because at the end of the day what has yet to happen is a rethink of society by the population as a whole and by all of the parties. and that has not happened yet, and the Green Party is not driving this change.
/agreed
The government needs to enforce compliance and not wait for those affected by the non-compliance to complain and then, maybe, do something about it.
@Francesca. 7.1.
Christianity, Islam, Marxism and many other is'ms have at their core the same moral code, and underlying desire to make peoples lives better.
That power hungry arseholes subverted the message later to "oppress" the "masses" often bloodily, does not invalidate the message.
Should the French repudiate Liberté, égalité, fraternité Because, Robespierre?
I share the abhorrence for armed revolutions.
To often it ends up in the same sort of arseholes at the top.
However we did have a non-violent revolution in the 30’s to 50’s that resulted in a much better life than previously for most people.
Which contrary to Ads history rewrite owed as much to enlightenment thought, economic thinkers, including Marx, and others, as much as Christian ideas of relief of oppression and redistribution. (Which bear a remarkable similarity to Marx. Which some commentators should actually, read, before spouting US anti communist McCarthyism).
Couldn’t agree more
Violent revolution and chaos and it’s the opportunist arseholes who grab the reins and hijack the whole movement to a better society
arseholes
is a hindsight label. At the time, lawyers. Robespierre & Danton. History's lesson: watch any lawyer who enters politics extremely carefully! 😉
We dodged a bullet with Lange. He just sent the Rainbow Warrior bombers back to France so Mitterand (fellow socialist) could release them & stick medals on them…
Don't play with facts DF because it pleases you and makes for a more lively discussion. Lange did not send the RW bombers back to France, NZ was not powerful enough to wield strictures over that feisty, thorny and often corrupt country. They paid some reparation and then put their people into an 'isolation hotel' on one of their South Pacific colonies for a while, and then found excuses to repatriate them. An act of contrition – I don't think. https://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/about/our-history/bombing-of-the-rainbow-warrior/the-bombing-of-the-rainbow-warrior-fact-file/
By the way an interesting interview with Keith Ovenden this morning about his new book 'Bill and Shirley'. He referred to the RW, commented unfavourably on the running of the SIS, and said that actually there were about forty French operatives here, with stolen passports etc. Lovely stuff for the intelligence officials to grab and suck information from. Which should have been their mission, but they didn't know how to accept it!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018763065/bill-sutch-and-shirley-smith-a-memoir-by-keith-ovenden
Yeah, you're right about that. I just glossed it in my memory. At the time, I couldn't believe he'd trusted them!
That was such an interesting interview Grey!
Sutch's reputation has been pulled this way and that over the years
Thanks francesca. I have read and thought about Sutch and what Ovenden has said and written about him is helpful in my understanding of him. He was very confident and dismissive of others opinions apparently and probably because he actually did know better and comprehended the situation and likely future moves in a well-informed way.
I remember reading about a USA woman (was Russian) called Faith Popcorn who set up an agency where she advises business on likely future trends in the minds of consumers. https://faithpopcorn.com/
Sutch would have been doing similar with the good of NZ in mind, and would want to check and renew his knowledge about Russian doings and get it straight from the horse's mouth and not through USA influenced sources. I reckon he understood far more about world politics and our place in them. I think he wanted to talk to the Russian guy and find out what was going on and chose open air, without bugs to pick up a conversation that would go beyond the anti-commie version that USA has promulgated.
Re the Ovenden book my Dad was at university at the same time as Bill Sutch and they graduated together. My Dad was always amazed at the 'shock, horror' expressed later about Sutch's views. His view was that Sutch had never changed his views, had never hidden them and it said nothing good/intelligent about the establishment that they were not able to recognise this and decide whether they (the establishment) were going to be concerned about them vis a vis his government roles.
Sutch was a very bright person married to another very bright person in Shirley Smith.
Christianity, Islam, Marxism and many other is'ms have at their core the same moral code, and underlying desire to make peoples lives better.
True that is the superficial appeal, but marxism is the odd man out here for several reasons:
One is that it is an entirely materialist philosophy that describes all social phenomenon in terms of oppressor/oppressed power relationships. And all modern 'critical theories' that lend so heavily from Marx still use this model; indeed extend it into places Marx never dreamed of.
And as a consequence of this, because power is assumed to never give up it's privilege voluntarily, the marxist framework has the idea of violent social reconstruction baked in. Even when neo-marxist movements try to distance themselves from this, it has a bad habit of creeping back in when the rubber hits the road.
Religion by contrast has at it’s heart the idea that all power is in reality located with the divine, and that in relationship to this, all humans are but servants. This recasts the inequality question into an answer that says, “yes all people are different, but we are here to be of service to each other out of respect, fear and love for our creator.”
AKA : The Flying Spaghetti Monster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster
And of course…."Intelligent Design" (Pseudoscience)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design
I actually think Jesus existed……but not as a son of "god"
He was depending on where you are in Time…a Terrorist or Partisan/Freedom Fighter….. : )
There is a song by Jello Biafra….but I wont link it
What makes you think I am a Christian? Your sneering mockery of the Christian faith is noted and deplored, but it misses the target.
lol….Methinks you doth etc….Anyway…I think I posted no Sneer…or Mock. Whassamatter? Not like my analogy?
No it's you who started this exchange, are you wimping out on me now?
LOL are you super defensive….ALL This started from me calling out a mass murderer who became a born again christian. (and that was only a SIDE comment ) But you bit hard…SLURS you railed. christianity demeaned. lmao Get over yourself : )
[Have a good look in the mirror. You seem to take issue with people’s religious beliefs and with Christianity in particular. That by itself is not an issue but the way you go about it and word your comments is problematic as they come across as slurs, mockery, and insults. Please lift your game, thanks – Incognito]
Nah, you thought you'd take a cheap shot on Christianity, I called you on it.
Now you're trying to gaslight your way out of it with some very familiar tactics.
Jesus.lol…speaking of "familiar" an all….haha
See my Moderation note @ 1:46 PM.
Check out Redlgix comments…you know for BALANCE an all : )
[I believe my Moderation note was addressed to you, about your commenting behaviour and style, yes? Please don’t assume you can tell Authors and Moderators what to do here, as that tends to really piss off those who help run this site in their free time – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 2:13 PM.
Leave you to it then….
Jaysus, hope you don't think I'm a Marxist. Most of what I know about Marxism I learned from you, but now I’m wondering if I should check out Wikipedia – you know, for a bit of balance.
Jaysus, hope you don't think I'm a Marxist.
No I don't, very few people formally use that label these days. But the left is generally populated by people who are attracted to exploring ideas and novelty, which also means that we have more difficulty than most in drawing lines in the sand. We tend to think all non-conventional ideas must somehow be good ones, when in fact most are not.
It would help if the left was a bit more clear eyed on this.
Arent YOU Left ?…Yea Right…: )
: )
This is a very sobering report about dodgy activities within Parliament. And there is a strong sense of credibility.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/six-years-of-unrelenting-bullying-at-parliament?utm_source=Friends+of+the+Newsroom&utm_campaign=667ae16227-Daily+Briefing+08.09.20&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-667ae16227-95522477
From Bunkle that is a warning to listen to. One of my concerns about the Serious Fraud Office is that they won't take cases to Court unless they consider they will win, I think it has to be a dead cert. So things can be bad quite close to the surface, and if the perpretators are careful they stay unscathed.
(Picture those insects than can walk on water, not breaking the meniscus.) Water striders! Or Water Spiders. We are up against some smart opponents in trying to preserve what is left of a pretty good society.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJp0hOgYWCE
I rather like/admire spiders, perhaps more so than the unscrupulous type of Parliamentary worker. I know a woman who worked recently inside the system, but who is signed up in the Secrecy act. She indicated without saying a word that there are some pretty awful stuff going on in there.
If you like your humour near the edge and we'll written, there is some new Frankie Boyle on University Tube:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LwPyI8puGc8
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018762966/i-feel-like-a-burden-sometimes-dying-woman-urges-public-to-say-no-to-euthanasia
Bugger this Covid-19 – it takes away the right of people to have a long period of experiencing everything in their body giving way and losing their ability to take any pleasure in life. It's so unfair for Covid-19 to act so quickly and now people who suggest that people should have the right to have a shorter period of incapacity through other illnesses are pushing for the same affect.
It's wrong this euthanasia – everyone should have to suffer every possible minute of their living and breathing – it's our density, sorry I mean destiny. We should actually not take any medications at all because that means we are interfering in our destiny, really, don't you think. Why should we let people go a little bit earlier? Make them go right to the end in their bodies and their minds and really we shouldn't give them medication to help with pain, that is interfering with destiny too.
The mentality of people who say they are concerned about others welfare and so no change can be made is questionable. It just reflects NZrs common inability to make decisions about anything important in a rational and compassionate way.
Coercion is going to happen, directly or indirectly. Doctors won't stop it, or will be blind to it.
There was another article last week about a young girl and her father who treasured the 5 extra years they had together which wouldn't have been if euthanasia was available.
People in their lowest moments won’t be able to weigh up what extra time with family means.
What about the family in their lowest moments. Can't other people mind their own business and let families be, to reach their own decisions with legal controls. There is so little concern about young and old people suffering terribly overseas with bad conditions of life and death which is continuous. Getting all concerned and compassionate about people dying here doesn't show compassion, it shows a lack of real morality and a retreat to sentimentality.
Under this Act , family do not get a say in any discussion nor have to be informed.
Thanks PaddyOT – Of course it would be better if they were there at the bedside and knew all about what was happening, it would be expected if they were able to be present. In the end this is about listening and following the wishes of the dying person.
Why would having euthanasia available not allow them to have those 5 years?
ditto, same question here.
An important view Muttonbird. I am not sure how many people actually understand the specifics underlying the Act of Law this referendum will enable when voting.
The vote is also not about a family at all rationalizing a choice to end a life, as no other related party to the recipient of a lethal dose has any say or needs to be informed beforehand.
No independent witnesses are required to confirm it’s the eligible person’s own choice and the Act does not require independent witnesses to be present for any stage of the process.
Interesting quiz on the, " End of Life Choice Act: Think you know what you’re voting on?"
https://www.votesafe.nz/quiz?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=referendum&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7vfiiuak6wIVkX8rCh3EBASGEAAYAiAAEgILD_D_BwE
On the site is also a video link to Grant Illingworth QC. He points out the uniqueness of this Referendum because voting is for the first time to enact an Act of law that is already finalised.
" This means that every New Zealander is expected to ‘think like a lawyer’ to understand the implications of this specific law when they vote. "
That indicates a major problem with the law in that its not understandable by the majority of people.
True that. Not my quote. But when people believe that families will have discussions, or that a doctor is present at that moment before death to stop it, illustrates that the public may not be fully informed of specifics of an already decided on Act of Law that they cast their vote on.
One simply heads off to a doctor, who needs no other history or conversations with others, other than a confirmation that within 6 months you're dead, a lethal dose prescription is dispensed, within four days a person can choose to die wherever they please on their own. It's not euthenasia as some think either.
I do not particularly have an issue with having an end of life choice bill; there are already some legal options. Rather, a concern that sectors of the public do not get input into an already done deal, what the 'culture' of death means for their loved ones is omitted.
Well, its certainly not how you think it is.
Euthanasia Act:
That's the bit saying that, after the first opinion is reached, a second independent doctor is called in and needs to reach the same same opinion independently.
There's also part of the legislation laying out when a third opinion is needed.
You should probably read the bill rather than listen to people spreading misinformation.
I'll still be voting for.
I did read the Bill , you have stated what I said. A person heads off to a doctor and their choice is signed off.
My point was that there is no consultation or considerations of family and beliefs as people may wish or think. You twisted what I wrote inferring that this is about your vote or mine.
I expressed a concern about a Bill that has the potential for doctors to overide unique circumstance and sensitivities around a person's death where values and responsibilities that 'family' believe are theirs towards the dying person, can be dismissed.
Harete Hipango was one of the submitters on this aspect. Maori greatly affected disproportionately through having a terminal illness earlier in life.
It is not the Euthanasia Bill.
The Bill also includes,
* "the self-administration by the person of a lethal dose of medication to relieve their suffering by hastening death"
* "Welfare guardians have no power to make decisions or take actions under this Act".
No other related parties such as family need to be informed or consulted with, only the form fillers signing off. So already a blurred area determining if there is coercion when the client chooses to keep the decision confidential, the doctor does not then have family contact to determine this.
The recipient can chose any doctor, when and where they die and can die alone. No independent witness is needed either for example to say whether the recipient rescinded their wish and changed their mind at those last moments.
" * No person may make public in respect of any death to which this section applies—
(a) the method by which the medication was administered to the deceased:
(b) the place where the medication was administered to the deceased:
(c) the name of the person who administered the medication to the deceased, or the name of that person’s employer. "
I did not DTB say how anyone should vote. I have two siblings who have died horrible deaths in the last few years struggling to their deaths in their 40s . I have another with a short time left, ironically none personally wanted to advance time of death nor did their end of life decision not include family.
However for what it matters my own vote is yes to an individual's own choice.
But that's not what happens. After the first doctor signs off there is a second, independent consultation required and perhaps a third.
I don't wish for family consultations – its none of their business and its likely when the family will be most manipulative.
It's entirely up to the person dying. The family don't have a say no matter what they believe unless the person dying allows them.
I think you'll find that, if a person has guardians, then the third opinion instantiates. You know, the one that's a psychologist who's job is to determine if the person is of sound mind. If they're not, which the existence of guardians may indicate to be the case, then they don't get to take the drugs.
Jacinda Ardern visits Broxh, who livestreams wood carving on Twitch.
A small glimpse of the person but also interesting that she is appearing on perhaps not so well known platforms. Or maybe you just like to watch wood carving.
Ah cool Cheers. Judith might visit some Kauri Karving…
(rough cut with a chainsaw for Export..by some ; )
That's an awesome video Editractor. I enjoyed the profile presented of Broxh too. A guy who is very humble but in this video is a special reminder of what should lie at the heart of governance, being a caretaker of people's rights "to be".
Aunty's visit and when she speaks to him, she validates him and lifts up his 'unpaid' work to a prominence it deserves.
I like the way she is humble too, when she has taken time to understand and considers 'tapu' , asking if she is not treading on protocols. Her deferring to other's expertise, knowing it's Broxh's place to stand, not hers, is not often seen in power hungry politics.
At the end is Broxh returning to his shed, after he has left the camera livestreaming across the world; he is blown away by Aunty visiting him yet it's Broxh who's a leader in his own way.
FFS. Four more cases in the community. I'm convinced the 'close contacts' are not isolating and that is why we are continually getting these new cases. What is being done to ensure close contacts are isolating properly? Will some journalist please ask that question!!!
People are selfish and they just aren't going to do it on their own. This is the issue with L2.5 – people don't give a shit.
These community cases will never end if what's described above is happening, and Auckland will forever be at L2.5 and kids' sport will be fucked for months.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122698120/coronavirus-six-new-cases-of-covid19-reported-four-in-the-community
Muttonbird Some people haven't ever lived an isolated life. They have been brought up in crowded dwellings. They are used to feeling sick if they are sick. They have the need to attend to things for each other, it may be in the culture that it is wrong to shut people up in rooms away from others – like sending someone to coventry in English custom. So not too much of the being selfish, there are conventions that prod people into behaving certain ways – hard to change.
I don't give a monkey's if they've never lived an isolated life. If they have been told to isolate they should isolate, for the greater good. There is supposed to be support around them.
Listen, I am going to go proper mental if this crappy Level 2.5 isn't lifted next week.
I'll be firing off angry letters to journalists, and MPs left and right alike! I'll vote for whoever gets this city out of the castrated life we are living because a few selfish/ignorant people can't/won’t do what they are told.
How the hell does a positive case roam around Countdown New Lynn 4 weeks after a Level 3 lockdown?
Something is not working here.
I keep noticing the evangelical church attendees being infected. It's a coincidence that I have just got a book about the Eyam people in England in the 1600s when that village got hit by bubonic plague. There were two different ministers in town, one that had been the Puritan man, and a later one reverting to pre-Puritan.
The Puritan one was strong on the idea that the infection came to those who had sinned in some way and prayer being beneficial. The other was more to keep yourself safe and behave sensibly – also to pray and take steps to help yourself and keep an eye on neighbours, but not mingle. He set up systems to follow so they didn't all go to pieces. Only about 80 were left of about 350 in this small village that had sealed itself off with food coming from the nearby Lord's farm.
The idea of prayer alone and belief in retribution for past sins and punishment so you can't change anything yourself takes away courage and agency.
I'm sure people do care about their loved ones and not passing it on to them.
The thing is that people learn about keeping themselves safe from causal relation – if I do A then B happens.
But in this case there is chance involved and people find it really difficult to perceive the true risk – a little hug won't hurt, he only likes the food I cook etc.
I dreaded the day I would read that there is a positive case of Covid – 19 in a school. West Auckland St Dominic's. Read on stuff news 20 minutes ago.
…that someone is credible by using words such as "renowned" – they're [sic] not.
???? Are you suddenly talking about two people?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Idiot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they
Quoting Wikipedia, even for such a lost cause as your ridiculously P.C. butchering of language, is certainly better than your normal practice of quoting, uncritically, people like David Frum and Keith Olbermann.
Keep it up. You're on the improve.
"Judith Collins says prospect of Labour-Green government should 'scare the bejesus' out of NZ"
Well that's a headline I didn't expect to see! Wow, that's an approach from Collins I didn't expect to see.]! The woman is as predictable as she is nasty.
Geez she actually was looking in the mirror!!!!
"Fifty million-plus dollars thrown at the racing and gambling industry – no one bats an eyelid.
Twelve million to be spent on a school – and people lose their minds."
Frank gets it right.
https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2020/09/08/life-in-level-2-two-tier-welfare-a-green-school-right-rage-wrong-reason/
If it had been a green farm rather than a green school then noone would have battered an eyelid. But they are both businesses earning export dollars. And of course there is horse-trading – that's the whole point of MMP – people use leverage to get the things that are important to their party.
Of course, I would like more money to be spent on making every school a great school. Rather than all those big Auckland schools getting mega resources through economies of scale.
What if the media is the tool whereby ignorance is strategically manufactured as a successful ploy by Judith ? Follow the Big money promises on another National project.
Let's apply an agnoto-epistemological approach to critiquing National's idea to make YOUR power companies bow down to save a giant private company, Rio Tinto's Tiwai.
Ask the hard questions, ( Does Tiwai need saving ? Why, what's the evidence and at what cost? What profits does NZ benefit from? Whose magic money will Tiwai be given? What's the dark side of saving Tiwai , both here and at the mine face? ).
Follow ALL the money trail and convert it's inherent impacts to a monetary value across all sectors. The long term costs out of taxpayer's pockets may make horse racing and green schools monies into small change, including counting the cost of job loss.
From the outset ,Tiwai , unlike the 2013 situation, is not operating at a loss. This is a greedy Rio Tinto having a 'boohoo!' moment that they did not, at this time of extreme hardship, make ENOUGH profit on $78 Million this year ! Yet others have gone under.
So what better time than an election to engage Judith's brain to create another 'bejesus we're doomed!' crisis. Particularly obnoxious when Judith is mythologizing on ignorance and playing with people who are frightened and vulnerable at this time; the true knowledge of the near future in this Covid world is still an unknown, yet that evil play on public fears will be swallowed by the masses.
The media lacks accountability as it is also the tool for perverting knowledge and truth and this election especially playing a large part in promoting "truthiness", exploiting a data void. Neither Judith nor the media present any validated information to uphold many claims.
National's deliberate deployment of nonknowledge and ignorance to seed fear is repugnant, but oh so MAGA like.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/2018762796/savage-new-film-depicts-brutality-of-new-zealand-gang-life
Interesting NZ film on gang culture and the way that people in them feel.
Trucking firms build bigger heavier trucks that pound the roads, then the roads deteriorate faster, then they demand more repairs. Just get the trains on the go, and put up the odometer tax each year like the tax on tobacco.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/425473/truckers-demand-billion-dollar-spend-to-fix-dilapidated-roads
Trucks are bad for the environments health. Reduce our dependence on them for long haul and boost rail. There would still be trucks but let's have real co-operation with businesses near to rail, perhaps removing wagons and having a method of running the railcar to the business where it can be unloaded.
Is it normal and legal for local mp's to advertise on the back of city buses? The national contender for Rotorua has his mug on the back of buses. I have never seen that type of election advertising on buses in Auckland.
We had to look at Mike Hosking on the back of the odd bus here in Auckland. No fun stuck in traffic behind that sight for long periods of time.
The issues of concern are not about having NO "end of life" law nor with the intent or purpose of the Act ie. to give choice to individuals to die by suicide. The concern is with what is seen as weaknesses in addressing the wider culture of assisted suicide, the shortcomings of unacceptable risk and legal loopholes of these laws in their current form.
• " I don't wish for family consultations – its none of their business and its likely when the family will be most manipulative."
That the dying of a family member is none of a family's business that is your right of choice, a truth for you, so be it for you.
For many it is not only a legal issue, but a cultural and spiritual issue as well.
A doctor is required to advise the patient to consult with family but cannot breach confidentiality. This is just one of the flaws the Medical Association has with this Bill. Resting the decision squarely on the doctors judgement is that they do their best with no evidence, knowing nothing about the family or situation.
(My own doctor wouldn't have a clue who my partner and children are and knows buggar all about me outside of his practice ! )
Another flaw concerning doctors is that a coerced family member whether by bullying , " undue influence” by psychological abuse and/or other pressures such as " economic duress" is more likely to NOT disclose this pressure to the doctor ( as is the case with many suffering abuse). That there is no ongoing formal assessment process investigating the client's claim to be the truth leaves open a 'wrongful death' conflicting with the " Crimes Act". The issue is that no concrete safeguards against coercion exist in the Act in it's current form.
That doctors face making a final decision that their client WILL die within six months is under the law a matter that is also open to legal challenge of being a 'wrongful death' when the diagnosis of longevity with particular diseases is not a definitive certainty.
• A " Welfare Guardian" is a Court appointed person who acts for a person "who is totally unable to make or communicate decisions about their own care and this welfare guardian must not have a conflict of interest."
https://www.justice.govt.nz/family/powers-to-make-decisions/welfare-guardians/apply-for-a-welfare-guardian/
Hence, the very person who is the only legal voice of a client is omitted. In this case, a multitude of people do not get past doctor number one. No matter their suffering their choice is gone. The sufferer's rights are gone.
It should concern people voting on a referendum, that is already a done deal law , if those laws are then deficient.
"A lack of safeguards, no real consultation with medicine, no real consultation with nurses or pharmacists who are also named in the act."
Just because something is written as a law does not automatically make it good law for everyone and many people over time have been victims of poor written law. ( Homosexuals, prostitutes, DV and abuse victims…)
It should also concern people that the NZ Medical Association does not support this final form of the Bill and, " The fact that 98% of palliative care professionals and most doctors are opposed." That 90 percent of the submissions to the Justice Select Committee were against the Act. Of the 600 doctors who wrote in, 93 percent were opposed.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/kerre-mcivor-mornings/audio/vote-2020/dr-amanda-landers-on-her-concerns-for-the-end-of-life-choice-act/#ath
Sorry the reply failed to link above, was in reply to DTB @
12.1.3.1.1.1
In Vino.
It seems RL is against overthrowing oppression, by retaliating, no matter how bad or deadly it is. That is too "Marxist".
The French were supposed to have just continued to "eat cake", the Russians to put up with serfdom and poverty under the Tsars, Chinese to continue to be subjected to whatever warlord was most ruthless, Vietnam to continue under French control, BLM to refrain from anything except the odd march while black people are still murdered by cops, the 1951 strikers to allow themselves to be peacefully beaten up by Masseys Cossacks.
As Ghandi said, not in the same words, but, the largely peaceful transfer of power, resulting from his movement, in India, was only possible because the British people had a conscience.
How did obeying the law work for European Jews in the 1930's and 40's?
Sometimes, as Marx observed, not advocated, revolution is the only way out.
Unfortunately as we have observed, the victor is not normally the people, as Marx wanted, but simply the "warlord" that can muster the most guns, (or support from outside such as the many violent overthrowing of democratic Governments by the USA) The most ruthless arsehole. Like Hitler, Stalin, Bolsanaro, Pinochet, et al.
Yes. Revolutions often result in swapping one oppressor for another.
It seems RL is against overthrowing oppression, by retaliating, no matter how bad or deadly it is.
Well yes I am. For two main reasons:
One is that retaliation usually destabilises society to the point that the resulting chaos results in more oppression. In other words the cure usually turns out worse than the disease.
The other is more subtle. In any hierarchical system there will be differences in capacity, talent, authority and rank … but marxism narrowly reduces all these relationships one of oppressor/oppressed, always couched as the basest exploitation imaginable.
Of course it's perfectly possible to overthrow any hierarchy, but it's replacement inevitably involves a new one to take it's place. Which under marxist thinking permanently locks society into a cycle of 'revolutionary reconstruction' and destabilisation. And in the ensuing chaos of course, the body count just keeps rising until finally everyone sickens of it.
So why is it that when I point out the fatal, and proven flaws of marxism that immediately it's presumed that I must also be against addressing injustice?
Why does the marxist framework have to have a monopoly on left wing thought? Why is it the only means of addressing inequality that we are allowed to talk about?
Why is it that the socialist left has so little confidence in it's ability to effectively address real problems, without waiting until they are so intolerable and entrenched that "revolution is the only way out"? We need better tools and better ways of getting results, than an obsolete political schema that has a whole pack of bad presuppositions embedded at it's core.
There's plenty of instances of the socialist left getting into government, addressing real problems, and not waiting until things were intolerable.
Most European countries from the 1950s did that.
Thing is, Marx predicted that, too. Basically arguing capitalist-dominated systems would introduce concessions to the working class when the discontent became serious enough even for them.
But these actions out of self preservation would only delay the inevitable – revolution would eventually occur. Not all revolutions would be successful, though.
The trouble is that Marx was methodical and precise when describing the shortcomings of capitalism, but essentially made a vague template of woo in predicting what would happen.
Which leaves two shortcomings: no timetable or real prerequisites for this successful revolution; and no way to demonstrate the false nature of failed revolutions until after the fact.
So really, the Marxist-communist is a bit like someone awaiting the first/second coming of christ: no idea if it's a year or a thousand years after first prediction and with no clear way to rule it out, so the dude in the robe might be the messiah, or he might be a very naughty boy who's starved Georgia and the Ukraine and sent millions to death in the gulags.
Democratic socialism, of course, can accept the Marxist description of the problems with capitalism without accepting the inevitability of revolution.
But even if revolution occurs (and it is always a risk at any time), a description is not always an endorsement. Realising that if shit keeps going this way without systemic change people will end up against the wall is subtly different from trying to bring that eventuality about.
Because you're always in favour of perpetuating that injustice.
The problem there isn't the socialist Left but the people who get voted into power on a socialist ticket and then fail to implement socialist policies.
As Labour just did – again.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable".
Or as that well known "Marxist" Nick Hanauer stated, the pitchforks are coming unless we reduce inequality.
Got it in one…good link. We even get a mention in one of the articles.
"Here’s what I say to you: You’re living in a dream world. What everyone wants to believe is that when things reach a tipping point and go from being merely crappy for the masses to dangerous and socially destabilizing, that we’re somehow going to know about that shift ahead of time. Any student of history knows that’s not the way it happens. Revolutions, like bankruptcies, come gradually, and then suddenly. One day, somebody sets himself on fire, then thousands of people are in the streets, and before you know it, the country is burning. And then there’s no time for us to get to the airport and jump on our Gulfstream Vs and fly to New Zealand. That’s the way it always happens. If inequality keeps rising as it has been, eventually it will happen. We will not be able to predict when, and it will be terrible—for everybody. But especially for us."
And what makes you think I disagree with this? Maybe it was where I stated earlier "we are on the cusp of a global crisis" that confused you?
Maybe it was the literally hundreds of comments on the centrality of the gross inequality problem I must have made over the years that misled you?
RL. In your fixation with "Marxism" you are continually missing the point.
Time to move past the US exceptionalist meme of Capitalism/”Freedom” good, Socialism, Communism, Marxism, bad.
I doubt if anyone on the "Left" is solely informed by Marx.
We all have many influences on our thinking.
The “socialist left” has advanced in thought way past, “Marxism”. I gave one example, of the communist party in Portugal, who are happy with supporting a moderate democratically elected “socialist” Government.
Isn't Hanuaer saying much the same as Marx, about revolution?
The “socialist left” far from advocating revolution as you appear to claim, are working on incremental improvement to and within our political system.
Maybe this is true, but it's very odd how whenever I point out the fatal flaws of marxism and the political framework it proposes, just how many people here leap angrily to it's defense.
As if I was attacking their core identity or something?
It would also be helpful if the left started engaging with your own reasonably complex amalgam of beliefs and influences, rather than expecting you to accept some ill-defined Marxian framework.
That would amount to dialogue.
I expect "the left" will set up an international zoom conference any time soon.
RL.
"Why does the marxist framework have to have a monopoly on left wing thought? Why is it the only means of addressing inequality that we are allowed to talk about?"
It doesn't.
You appear to have missed decades of "left wing thought".
And even “Marxist” thought. Try reading Marx. Instead of repeating US Mccarthyist ideas of left wing thought. Until you do, you are arguing from a “strawman” perspective. No one, not even “Marxists” hold the views you think they do. People are not “defending Marx”. They are arguing against your view of the “Left”.
You appear to have missed decades of "left wing thought".
All well and good, yet when pressed far too many left wingers still insist on that Marx is the central and essential figure. As evidenced by the heated defense I encounter when I suggest that maybe it's time we retired the old bugger.
And the exhortation that I must read his works chapter and verse. Are we not allowed to have some thoughts of our own?
You do realise that Marx wrote more than just the Communist Manifesto? You are a very ignorant person.
RL.
This is why we are suggesting you read Marx.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man
"nut picking refers to intentionally seeking out extremely fringe, non-representative statements or individuals from members of an opposing group and parading these as evidence of that entire group's incompetence or irrationality.[16]"