Open mike 09/02/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, February 9th, 2016 - 123 comments
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openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

123 comments on “Open mike 09/02/2016 ”

  1. Pascals bookie 1

    As noted previously, the Assad regime are fuckwits, if you support them, this is what you support.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/296042/mass-deaths-in-syrian-jails-amount-to-'extermination

    If you support this, and go on about US war crimes, you aren’t really opposed ot war crimes.

    I don’t think we should act in ways that make us complicit with US war crimes, and I don’t think we should act in ways that make us complicit with these war crimes either.

    • Paul 1.1

      Both sides in this horrible war are committing atrocities.
      I just hope this is not being released right now to give the Saudis a casus belli.
      150 000 troops are on alert.

      By the way on the issue of war crimes. In World War 2, the Germans committed unspeakable war crimes. And we also know that the Allies committed war crimes on civilians ( Dresden, the mass rapes in East Prussia by the Soviets) .
      Yet people wanted the Allies to prevail.
      It is possible to abhor the actions of the Syrian government , yet still hope for the defeat of ISIS.

      • Pascals bookie 1.1.1

        It’s not hard to find the stats on who has killed the most civilians though. And yes, ISIS sucks. Pointing that out doesn’t excuse Assad, or justify aiding him.

        Much of the support for Assad ignores and denies the nature of his regime, and even at times explicitly seeks to justify his crimes.

        From the beginning of the war the regime’s method has been , to quote various examples of pro Assad graffitti, ‘Either Assad or Syria burns’.

        One of his first actions was to release the worst most battle hardened jihadis from jail, and to execute thousands of less radical detainees. So even the fact that ISIS and AQ affiliates are so powerfull now is on Assad to some degree. (you can also track who he targets the most, and where; it all tells the same tail).

        • One Two 1.1.1.1

          I don’t think we should act in ways that make us complicit with US war crimes, and I don’t think we should act in ways that make us complicit with these war crimes either

          The correct response is to NEVER be involved in warfare, or invade foreign nations while talking with a forked tongue

          That is what the US/UK and the so called allies have been up to for decades in the ME

          Best to remain neutral in ones own mind, because it is a moral dilemma you can’t ever be on the correct side of, should you choose to take one

          • pete 1.1.1.1.1

            I think the millions of gypsies, Jews, negros and so on who perished in the Nazi death camps may well have a different point of view. Sometimes war is necessary.

            Perhaps if Germany had sent troops to Croatia, or the UN had taken a proactive role in Bosnia or Dafur, many millions would have been saved.

            And what countries have ever been neutral. Where did much of Switzerland’s wealth come from? Acting as banker to Nazi Germany and a receiver of loot from the camps. Sweden? No, they grew rich by supplying raw materials and minerals to Nazi Germany. Hardly neutral.

            • Pascals bookie 1.1.1.1.1.1

              WW2 is rarely a good analogy, but I agree with One Two’s point here. No one lied about entering WW2. The stakes were clear, laid out, with no flinching from the scale of what would be required to achieve success.

              Compare that to the horsehit we are being sold now. ‘OMG ISIS is as big a threat as the Nazis and we must respond with a token bullshit poorly defined response in which our allies are every bit as bad as our enemies, but don’t worry we will have few casualties and it won’t mean any tax hikes, and if you don’t support then omg get some guts’

              It’s just nonsense, and it won’t end well for anyone

              • Draco T Bastard

                +1

                Indefinite war is great for the profits of arms manufacturers and bankers though.

                • pete

                  True it is obviously great for the arms manufacturers and scum like Halliburton, but indefinite war is extremely bad for most sectors of the economy. A strong and growing economy benefits banks. More, I would have thought, than a war based economy.

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    It was WWII that finally brought the world out of The Great Depression. IMO, TPTB are looking for the same effect from this continuous war that they’ve started.

              • pete

                Hi Pascal. Ok, ignoring WW2, what about Malaya? A very effective outcome with huge local support. Korean War, with UN backing, had great success for the majority of the Korean peoples. The list of ‘just’ wars is long.

                I agree that the fight against Isis may not end well, and our allies (Saudi Arabia for example) are sure not an inspiration to join. But truly, ISIS is as great a threat as the Nazi, to the LOCAL people. I do not think we can just ignore that, any more than we should have ignored darfur, Rwanda and so on.

                The UN should be leading the way, but that is not likely to happen.

                • Pascals bookie

                  Sure there are just wars, I’m not a pacifist. But citing something that worked isn’t justification of doing something that won’t work, or is awful.

                  To say that ISIS is “as great a threat as the Nazi, to the LOCAL people” hides as much as it reveals. (And again, I stipulate that ISIS suck, and are very bad, and so on and so forth.) Look at the death rates in Syria, who is doing the overwhelming lions share of the killing and sectarian cleansing. Assad is also a threat ‘on the scale of the Nazis to the local people’. It all depends on how you choose to define ‘the local people’, and who you magic away as somehow not counting as local people

            • Naturesong 1.1.1.1.1.2

              WWII should not be viewed without context.

              It really was WWI pt.2.

              And the seeds for that were sewn decades prior.

              • pete

                Not sure I would agree. Ww1 was the clash of empires: German, French, ottoman, Russian.

                Ww2 was primarily a clash of ideology: fascism and communism. And capitalism and democracy.

    • aerobubble 1.2

      Who wins? Who’s winning? The Syrian people, no. Assad? No. Assad inherited the role from his father. Sure a gulag but a peaceful stable gulag, now look at it. Assad is the worst leader in history to remain leader. Should he win he loses,in the history books and on the ground, supremely weak lacking a population, shored up by Iran and Russia. Assad is a joke.

      Russia? They want a base in Syria, but can they afford it, why would we care that they have a base at the cost to Russia of subsidizing Assad.

      Iran? How exactly does Hezbollah look to middle east Muslim, as a group dedicated to protecting them or supporting the wholesale destruction of the Syrian peoples.

      Isil? So young westerners are going to join and build the califate, wtf, doing the work of anyone who for all intent hates muslims because thats what it looks like.

      Denmark? By seizing Syrian jewels they insure they get the poorest and most needy, while Germany gets the sizable block of Syrian society, lawyers, doctots etc. What’s to worry about, a desperate suddenly released from the gulag that was Syria, eager, moderate mulsims, its win win for EU. With the added bonus of outing stupid leaders and establishments in Poland Hungrey who cant see the opportunity or the message it sends of a return to the stale politics of pre-eu wall eastern gulag.

      Putin is an historical dwarf, riding the questionable 1% policy, that his family can’t be too rich, has he read the history of his own country.

    • Both the U.S., the Russians and their respective clients have done bad stuff in Syria. Anyone who sees otherwise is not seeing the whole picture. Both nations are funding and arming factions that are not interested in protecting civilians

      But you will not see an American or Russian commander hauled before the United Nations to explain the actions of the forces they are responsible for. Too much distrust in the I.C.C.

  2. Tautoko Mangō Mata 2

    The TPP National Assessment Analysis- in the National Herald today. I have supplied an obvious omission to the text.

    “1.1.3 Investment and Investor-State Dispute Settlement
    Joining TPP would benefit NZ Investors….”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11586183

    but would be a huge risk for the rest of NZers who have had no input into the TPP prior to signing. i.e. The largest group of NZ stakeholders who were not invited to the negotiations or given access to the proposed text prior to signing.

    • Tautoko Mangō Mata 2.1

      and, for the info of our PM

      Feb 02, 2016
      Record Number of Investor-State Arbitrations Filed in 2015

      Geneva, 2 February 2016 – UNCTAD has updated its recently launched Investment Dispute Settlement Navigator. The ISDS Navigator is now up to date as of 1 January 2016.

      The update reveals that the number of investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) cases filed in 2015 reached a record high of 70. Spain was by far the most frequent respondent in 2015, with 15 claims brought against it. The Russian Federation is second on this list with 7 cases.

      As of 1 January 2016, the total number of publicly known arbitrations against host countries pursuant to international investment agreements (IIAs) has reached nearly 700.

      http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/News/Hub/Home/458#.VrjhmZNcwpc.twitter

      • pat 2.1.1

        so the growth of cases continues and TPPA still to add to that……but nothing to be concerned about eh…70 cases represents approx $560.000,000 of wasted public funds, regardless of outcome

  3. The lost sheep 3

    Talking about perceptions of media bias, YouGov poll of 7 European countries finds that in 5 of them more people believe the Press has a left wing bias

    Britain and Finland are the only countries in which more people think the Press shows more Right than Left Wing bias, but even in those countries, almost twice as many people say that the Press either has ‘about the right balance’ or ‘shows a left wing bias’.

    https://yougov.co.uk/news/2016/02/07/british-press-most-right-wing-europe/

    • Molly 3.1

      Polls without informed discussion beforehand, records prejudice or bias.

      One of their polls is about Beyonce… couldn’t really bother reading more.

      • The lost sheep 3.1.1

        You Gov is widely quoted here Molly. But I note that in the past you have often dismissed sources that contradict your beliefs.

        • pat 3.1.1.1

          whats your point …thats a survey of 7 european country’s press….curiously one of the 2 that are deemed to have a right wing bias is Britain, and it is generally the anglo countries that are accused of having a RW bias to their press…the results could be interpreted to support that view.

          • The lost sheep 3.1.1.1.1

            Even in Britain, belief in a right wing bias is a view held by no more than 26% of the population. Almost twice that % disagree there is a right wing bias.

            My point is that this survey suggests the theory of widespread right wing control of The Press oft quoted here is not a belief shared by the majority of people in those countries.

            Pure speculation, but if the same survey was conducted here, I’d venture the result would be similar to Finland.

            • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1.1.1

              My point is that this survey suggests the theory of widespread right wing control of The Press oft quoted here is not a belief shared by the majority of people in those countries.

              Peoples belief is not a truly valid measurement.

            • reason 3.1.1.1.1.2

              The Herald , DomPost and TV3 should all come with the National party Logo on them ………………

              Never pay for them or watch TV3 ………….. I’ve talked 3 or 4 people into cancelling their subscriptions to the right wing rags…..

              TV3 seem to have cut their own throats by becoming the national party channel……………….. good job I say 🙂

              I now await the lostsheep to tell us the ‘taxpayers union’ is straight up too ..

              Which is why our impartial press use them ………………

              I think he’s using Baaaa Baaa Baad Faith :0

        • Molly 3.1.1.2

          Never been a fan of polls that offer multiple choices without any kind of informed discussion or article beforehand. Wouldn’t use them myself for this reason.

          BTW, I went into a couple of the YouGov polls before posting to check out the source, and they were fairly trite and simplistic, then I was asked about Beyonce and lost all interest.

          I would rather some form of analysis that is based on dismantling media articles and programmes to get a true idea of bias – whether ‘left’ or ‘right.’

          • Muttonbird 3.1.1.2.1

            I find it interesting the lost sheep would criticise a poster for dismissing sources that contradict their beliefs when his own prime minister regularly dismisses data and surveys which contradict his governments position saying that ‘you can always find another opinion’.

            Why indeed would a poster like the lost sheep suddenly hold all information sources at their word? It seems like the usual RWNJ method of confining debate to me. That is the allowing of lively debate within acceptable parameters, and the dismissing of any views outside those parameters.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2

      Talking about perceptions of media bias, YouGov poll of 7 European countries finds that in 5 of them more people believe the Press has a left wing bias

      Which pretty much just confirms that perception is a really bad way of doing anything.

      What we really need is some software that can objectively measure the actual bias.

      • The lost sheep 3.2.1

        Peoples belief is not a truly valid measurement.
        Not ‘truly’ valid agreed.
        But valid in the sense that they perceive it to true.
        And when people perceive something to be true, they tend not to change that belief unless presented with comprehensive proof they are wrong.
        (Consider how you react when i tell you your belief in a widespread RW bias is untrue).

        What we really need is some software that can objectively measure the actual bias.
        But if you believe it is true, surely you already have some credible evidence that proves so?
        I’d be particularly interested in seeing a linkage to the credible objective evidence that proves….
        1. There is a significant RW bias in the NZ media.
        2. There is a linkage between any such bias and peoples political preferences.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1

          And when people perceive something to be true, they tend not to change that belief unless presented with comprehensive proof they are wrong.

          Actually, research shows that people will hold on to the beliefs against the evidence – especially RWNJs:

          All of this matters, of course, because we still operate in politics and in media as if minds can be changed by the best honed arguments, the most compelling facts. And yet if our political opponents are simply perceiving the world differently, that idea starts to crumble. Out of the rubble just might arise a better way of acting in politics that leads to less dysfunction and less gridlock…thanks to science.

          (Consider how you react when i tell you your belief in a widespread RW bias is untrue).

          You didn’t provide any proof.

          But if you believe it is true, surely you already have some credible evidence that proves so?

          I’ve done my own but even I wouldn’t call that credible. It’s good enough for me. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any solid research into NZ MSM bias at any time and the shifting of the Overton Window over the last few decades would probably shift the perception of bias – This Harvard research actually has Fox News as only mildly right-wing FFS.

          All of this is why I called for software that could measure the bias objectively and in real time.

          • The lost sheep 3.2.1.1.1

            There is no evidence then?
            Gee, I would have thought that if it was a real phenomena, and it was significantly distorting our democracy…someone would have been interested/concerned enough to quantify the effect. But no one has?

            Are you aware of the ‘hostile media effect’ and ‘confirmation bias’ Draco?
            IMO most of the ‘belief’ in RW bias I see here is due to them. Just like if you go to RW sites you will find the ‘belief’ the Media has a LW bias.
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hostile_media_effect
            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

    • Expat 3.3

      The lost sheep

      Most of the countries in the survey have a large number of media sources, far greater than that in NZ, this helps to balance and mitigate dominate media bias. This is the main issue in NZ, the Murdoch run media are all blatantly bias (doesn’t matter what country), hence the nature of the NZ Hearald.

      • Colonial Viper 3.3.1

        a very similar corporate media hegemony runs through the whole western world.

        You have to tune into RT, Al Jazeera, Press TV, etc. to get a different point of view.

        • The lost sheep 3.3.1.1

          Expat/ Viper,
          The point is that anyone CAN access the sources you quote, just as you do.
          So how can you claim that some people are restricted in their access?

          AND, there is no evidence that any such bias actually exists. See above. Please provide credible evidence to prove there is actually an issue here, outside of confirmation bias and hostile media effect?

          • Colonial Viper 3.3.1.1.1

            The point is that anyone CAN access the sources you quote, just as you do.
            So how can you claim that some people are restricted in their access?

            Look, is this even an honest question from you? I can’t tell some times.

            Its much harder to access RT than it is to turn on the TV at 6pm. Part of this is that of habit and conditioning.

            AND, there is no evidence that any such bias actually exists.

            Look for it and you will see it everywhere.

            It is the things we are not told which give it away.

            • Expat 3.3.1.1.1.1

              CV

              Not only is he lost, but deaf and blind as well.

            • The lost sheep 3.3.1.1.1.2

              Viper – Its much harder to access RT than it is to turn on the TV at 6pm. Part of this is that of habit and conditioning. Part of this is that of habit and conditioning.
              How is it harder to watch the news at a specific time? Both are extremely easy things to do.
              What ‘conditioning’? Evidence please.

              What you are missing is that everyone has exactly the same level of choice that YOU do, and like YOU everyone freely chooses what media outlets they do or don’t want to access.
              Do you actually have any evidence about what people do or don’t access, or are you just making an assumption about that?

              And do you have any actual ‘evidence’ to my questions in 3.2.1 above?
              Look for it and you will see it everywhere.
              That is ‘evidence’ of nothing. Except the fact that you honestly believe that everyone will see what you see. As the survey above suggests, they do not.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Right, so you’re making fucktard assertions about choice again. I think your zombie arguments actually ate your brain.

                • The lost sheep

                  So you don’t have any evidence or a counter argument either OAB?

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    Yes, I have: that you are asserting that “choice” exists in some meaningful way, as opposed to being your rhetorical security blankie. You present no evidence for it, nor have you ever, in all the times you’ve been challenged on this specific point.

                    But you knew that, and decided that mendacity would serve you instead. As per normal.

                    • The lost sheep

                      you are asserting that “choice” exists in some meaningful way

                      ‘Choice’ is the act of choosing between various possibilities, and absolutely I am asserting that NZ’ers can and do widely exercise choice in gathering information.

                      I am asserting that YOU have access to a wide range of possible sources of information, and that YOU do in fact make choices as to which of them you will or will not access.
                      Are you seriously suggesting you do not?

                      I further assert 98.8% of NZ Households have Internet access that provides an almost endless range of possibilities for individuals to choose from various sources, and that a very large % of NZ’ers do in fact do so.

                      Here is some ‘evidence’ to back that assertion…

                      http://www.aut.ac.nz/research/research-institutes/icdc/projects/world-internet-project

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      And around and around and around you go. You have asserted it at least three times now, so it must be true.

                    • The lost sheep

                      You accused me of providing no evidence, so I presented some.

                      Are you not going to address that evidence OAB?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      Yawn. I predicted your lies last year. Dishonesty is your only debating tactic.

                    • The lost sheep

                      That’s a really pathetic attempt at evasion OAB.
                      Once again you are not willing to honestly address the perfectly reasonable evidence based discussion in hand.

                      I’ll just take it as read that my points above stand, and you have no answer to them.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      “Evasion”: nope: I attacked your assumptions head on.

                      The answers are contained in the discussion I linked to. You indicated your intention to ignore them then: I see no merit in schooling you again, because you’ll ignore substantive rebuttal and tell lies about my opinions.

                      Puddleglum destroyed your “choice” assertions last year. Get over it.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    Now the ‘choice’ argument lies bleeding in the gutter, what does it mean to have such a wide range of media available?

                    Does it simply help to entrench pre-existing beliefs, by providing instant gratification to the confirmation bias?

                    Does it impede contemplation, as Nicholas Carr argues?

                    Or does it simply provide material for sexual congress with porcine mammals? Let’s leave that up to Sheep, eh?

                    • The lost sheep

                      “Evasion”: nope: I attacked your assumptions head on.
                      The answers are contained in the discussion I linked to…..

                      Ah, the Gish Gallop / Shotgun strategy.
                      This from someone who believes ‘you fuck pigs’ is a formal proposition.

                      Now the ‘choice’ argument lies bleeding in the gutter, what does it mean to have such a wide range of media available?
                      Honestly? After a refusing on multiple occasions to engage with my discussion, you ask me a question…..and expect a reply?

                      What would my reply be if I was following your standards? Oh that’s right, “you fuck pigs”?

                      But actually, not being you, I will make a reasoned reply….

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      When an argument’s been rebutted, citing the rebuttal is the opposite of a Gish gallop.

                      A Gish gallop is a string of false statements delivered in a monologue so as to render substantive rebuttal impossible in the screen-time allotted.

                      Whereas I’m citing one substantive argument – Puddleglum’s – to point out that your assertions about choice are offered in predicted bad faith.

                      Oh, and I wasn’t asking you: this is a public forum. I have less than no interest in your reckons on the subject so long as you refrain from putting words in my mouth.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      your standards

                      Must you plagiarise my observations? I already pointed out the rhetorical mirror in your face.

                    • The lost sheep

                      Now the ‘choice’ argument lies bleeding in the gutter, what does it mean to have such a wide range of media available?

                      Lets deal with choice first.
                      Every human society asserts that individuals have it to some degree, and will therefore be held responsible for the consequences of choices they make. In itself this does rather contradict the ‘bleeding in the gutter’ idea, but lets go on.

                      There is a well formed consensus of the definition of ‘choice’. In common dictionary usage ‘the act of choosing between two or more possibilities’, but for the sake of this exercise lets add the slightly more rigorous clause philosophy often invokes,’where there is no constraint on the ability to choose between the possibilities’.

                      So lets look for evidence of ‘choice’ out there in the real world. Your place is probably as good as any to search.
                      How did you come to be reading this comment? Could that have occurred in a completely random manner, without you having made some deliberate selections among a range of possibilities?
                      Self evidently, at some stage you were not on TS. At that point you had a range of possibilities available as to how you could use the time before you: do some work, have a conversation with another person, do a crossword, watch animal porn, go to TS, etc, etc. TS was not the only option available to you, and there was no constraint that meant it was the only possibility you could choose.
                      You made a conscious ‘choice’ to come here.
                      Having made that choice, you were then presented with a large number of possible threads and comments which you could select to read. You did not get to this one by randomly stabbing at the keyboard did you? You had to select it from the multiple possibilities available to you without constraint.

                      You could not be on TS and at this comment unless you had made a serious of deliberate choices to be doing so, instead of the other possibilities you had no restraint in choosing.

                      And now you must make further choices between possibilities. Do you reply or not reply? There is no constraint to prevent you choosing either possibility. You cannot proceed with your day without making a choice on this (unless sitting immobile staring at the screen is the possibility you select).
                      If you have chosen to reply, how do you do so? Again, there are a range of possibilities; you could make a reasonable and informed direct answer to the points i have made, or you could deliberately evade making any direct reply.
                      I’m assuming you choose the latter, and then you have further choices to make from a range of possible devices: conflation, red herring, shotgun, you fuck pigs….
                      Make your choice OAB.

                      I’ll address the “what does it mean to have such a wide range of media available?” in open mike. Turns out there is quite a lot of hard data on that, and I’m sure those interested in the theory of media control will find it fascinating.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      😆

                      None of that has the slightest bearing on Puddleglum’s argument. Not one word.

                      our ability to be autonomous agents is dependent upon ‘circumstances’ – not on our ‘free will’.

                      It’s just you asserting your beliefs over and over again. Have you forgotten that given my lack of a formal education, i [sic] will need to think it over closely.

                      Why have you gone for argumentum ad nauseam instead?

                    • The lost sheep

                      As predicted OAB, you have made the choice to be evasive, and the techniques you have chosen are the ones I was able to predict i.e. ‘the red herring’ and ‘conflation’.

                      Red Herring – We are not discussing ‘Puddleglum’, or continuing a discussion we had months ago that occurred in a completely different context.

                      Conflation – ‘Free Will’ and ‘Choice’ are not the same thing at all.

                      You came into the discussion when we were discussing ‘choice’ in a very specific context, and not ‘free will’.
                      You continued to argue in that context of ‘choice’, until I presented evidence that people were in fact exercising ‘choice’ in the specific context we were discussing.
                      In order to avoid addressing that evidence you then attempted to ‘shift the goalposts’ by sidetracking to a previous discussion about ‘choice’ that PG had himself (delightfully) conflated into a discussion about ‘free will’. (So what you are actually doing is using a double conflation as a red herring. Remarkable!)

                      So back to the question in hand, which is ‘choice’.
                      I have made a number of reasonable and entirely valid points regarding ‘choice’ above. I have given some very specific cases of ‘choice’ to illustrate my argument.
                      What possible reason would you have for not addressing my argument honestly and directly?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      our ability to be autonomous agents is dependent upon ‘circumstances’ – not on our ‘free will’.

                      You honestly can’t see how that relates to the kind of ‘choices’ you’re asserting?

                      Puddleglum’s comments are relevant because you’re relying on the same assertions now as then.

                      CV also touched on it: ‘habit and conditioning’.

                      Your position depends upon you failing to understand this.

                    • The lost sheep

                      ‘Free will’ is a question on which there is a very broad range of Philosophic opinion and no agreed consensus.
                      Therefore your assertion of a specific ‘relationship’ between ‘free will’ and ‘choice’ can only rest on one of the very many available theoretical assumptions. It cannot be ‘true’.

                      As far as I can tell, you subscribe to to some form of ‘hard determinism’, and therefore assert that choice is an illusion, even when it appears to be free.
                      I take it that you would assert that you have no choice but to reply to this comment. There is an actual constraint preventing you from not replying.
                      You will not choose the terms you reply in. You have no option but to reply in the one manner that is open to you.
                      You do not actually choose the flavour of your ice cream, you simply point out the one option available to you.

                      So in relation to the matter of media choice, you would say that when an individual opens up google, the apparent opportunity they have to access 1 billion websites is just an illusion. The sites they can access are constrained by ‘circumstance’. They have no free will to choose the one site available to them at that point.

                      There are a couple of major objections to the ‘hard determinist’ view obviously, but the principle one is the one I crudely point out above.
                      The vast majority of Humans would think that the idea you have no choice but to tell someone they fuck pigs is bollocks.

                      It is universally understood across all cultures that there are in fact notions such as Justice, Moral obligation, merit, and responsibility actually present in normally developed human beings.
                      Following from that, is the equally universal understanding that individuals really do assert choice over at least some of their acts, and they are in fact capable of a degree of self-determination.
                      From which follows the universal understanding that individuals will be held responsible for acts they were deemed to have choice over.

                      So in short. ‘No choice at all’ is a nonsense.
                      To some or less degree we have it, and research like the AUT research into internet usage gives us some very interesting information confirming the choices we make on our access to the media.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      It is universally understood across all cultures that there are in fact notions such as Justice, Moral obligation, merit, and responsibility actually present in normally developed human beings.

                      Oh, so whatever society deems useful is true? What are you going to say as the findings and conclusions of Neurolaw make their way into judges’ decisions?

                      Perhaps you should set up a “Wingnut Reckons” legalish campaign to hold back the tide 😆

          • Expat 3.3.1.1.2

            The lost sheep

            “AND, there is no evidence that any such bias actually exists.”

            You really are a “Lost Sheep” if you haven’t read the Hearld, The Daily Telegraph, or any other Murdoch media publication including Fox news.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 3.3.1.1.3

            There is indeed evidence that bias exists: a plethora of academic studies identify and quantify it, to the extent, for example, of discussing public health strategies to ‘mitigate’ the impact of media racism. A great example of how media bias directly impacts on the available range of ‘choices’.

            This goes directly to Puddleglum’s observation that our ability to be autonomous agents is dependent upon ‘circumstances’ – not on our ‘free will’.

            I mentioned Carr already. And confirmation bias. And I have to see you come close to an attempt to fit Crosby Textor into your model.

            • The lost sheep 3.3.1.1.3.1

              This is where determinism is really dangerous eh OAB?
              Because if you believe individuals are not free to choose to change, and that only ‘circumstance’ can determine how people act, then you believe the only way to produce change is to alter circumstance….
              And the implication then is that the alteration of circumstance must take priority over the individual that lacks free will.

              Think like that, and next thing you know, you are supporting the suppression of individuals In the name of the agency ‘changing circumstance’. In the best interests of the (mindless) people of course!

              BTW, did you decide whether you could bring yourself to say whether or not you support the authoritarian actions of the Venezuelan Socialists?

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                What have I told you about putting words in my mouth? You lack the imaginative capacity.

                To put it another way, your framing is self-serving and useless, and your hostility makes explaining things to you tiresome and unrewarding.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                if you believe individuals are not free to choose to change,

                That’s so bad it’s not even wrong. You can’t conceive of any other ways change might occur other than by free-will fairy dust or authoritarian coercion?

                I’m glad I don’t think like you.

  4. Undecided 4

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/76665812/Shane-Jones-throws-weight-behind-shifting-Government-welcome-to-Waitangi-away-from-Ti-Tii-marae

    As I understand it the Treaty was signed in many different marae around NZ so I don’t see any problem with moving the welcome but then my understanding is quite limited

    Is there any problem with moving it?

    • Chooky 4.1

      “Is there any problem with moving it?”…you mean rather than getting rid of the inconvenience altogether?

      Yes it would suit gutless Disneyland jonkey Gollum nact who cant face up to open public debate on the TPPA at Waitangi

      (…instead his minions …eg. Shane Jones et al are thrown up to advocate dismantling Waitangi)

      While I am at it …why doesnt the Maori Party stop being Joneky’s support party?…they are a disgrace!

      Also the coverage of Waitangi Day on Waitangi Day on RNZ was a disgrace…much of it was NOT about Waitangi Day at all…it was interviews with a motley lot of delinquent foreign soccer players ( one of whom kidnapped a penguin and kept it in his bath!)

      … and then the RNZ radio host started talking about comparing the prices of sundry pathetic commodities internationally…(at that point I turned off my car radio in disgust at the triteness and bilge)

      …From RNZ I was looking for interviews with people like Ranganui Walker and Claudia Orange about the significance of Waitangi and the Treaty as New Zealand’s founding historical document.

      (in other words a bit of gravitas, history and inspiration instead of a commercial trite consumer Disneyland farce…thanks for nothing RNZ)

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/waitangiday

      btw…Morriessey where are you?!

      • Undecided 4.1.1

        I was thinking more long the lines of legal issues or something, so theres no reason the welcome can’t be moved.

        Since the Treaty was signed in different marae (not sure if it was ratified in Waitangi, maybe someone with more knowledge can confirm) maybe Waitangi Day could be held at the other marae where it was signed?

        • marty mars 4.1.1.1

          I don’t think it could be moved, not without upsetting mana.

          • Undecided 4.1.1.1.1

            That’s a shame, as someone that lives in the South Island it seems not quite real (not sure how to put it) to me

            Having it one year at a South Island marae or other North Island maraes might help more people connect it with maybe and see it less as a Northland thing and more of a NZ thing

            • weka 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Myself I don’t think Waitangi Day should be messed with when things are complex and heated as they are. Better to work through the issues rather than trying to avoid them.

              But I get what you mean about the SI thing. I too feel quite removed from Waitangi. There is no reason why South Islanders couldn’t work on commemorating the partnership in our own way separate from Waitangi Day 😉 Perhaps each region has a date when the Treaty was signed there that could be significant.

              • Undecided

                I would like that and I’m sure others would as well, mind you I did a quick search on google and its not easy to find the exact dates when the treaty was signed or when it was settled

                Of course that might just be me

              • Pasupial

                The Waitangi signing is the most important, because that was the first signing. But also because it was there signed by:

                …a number of chiefs who had already signed the 1835 Declaration of Independence, in which 52 chiefs, mainly from Northland, had declared their sovereignty over New Zealand.

                http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/treaty-of-waitangi/page-1

                About 50 meetings were held from February to September 1840 to discuss and sign the copies, and a further 500 signatures were added to the treaty. A number of chiefs and some tribal groups refused to sign, including Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (Waikato iwi), Tuhoe, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tuwharetoa and possibly Moka ‘Kainga-mataa’. Some were not given the opportunity to sign.[34] A number of non-signatory Waikato and Central North Island chiefs would later form a kind of confederacy with an elected monarch called the Kingitanga. (The Kingitanga Movement would later form a primary anti-government force in the New Zealand Wars.)

                Nonetheless, on 21 May 1840, Lieutenant-Governor Hobson proclaimed sovereignty over the whole country, (the North Island by Treaty and the South Island by discovery) and New Zealand was constituted as a colony separate from New South Wales on 16 November 1840.

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi

                There is a series; “Lost in Translation”, hosted by Mike King I saw on Māori TV which covers this process. That; “South Island by discovery” rankles because the treaty was in fact signed Waipounamu Kai Tahu:

                Each year the Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival alternates between the three locations where Ngāi Tahu signed the Treaty: Te Rau Aroha Marae at Awarua (Bluff) [2015]; Ōtākou Marae, near Dunedin [2014]; and Ōnuku Marae on Banks Peninsula [2016].

                http://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/ngai-tahu-treaty-festival-at-onuku-marae/

                • Chooky

                  +100 Thanks Parsupial

                  Every year the South Island Maori and Pakeha along with other tribes around NZ celebrate the Treaty of Waitangi in their own way and in their own local areas.(I thought this was common knowledge in the South Island)

                  This should not mitigate against the major historical annual event and celebrations at Waitangi.

                  “Treaty of Waitangi Signings in the South Island

                  The Treaty of Waitangi was signed in Waitangi on 6 February 1840. Signings in the South Island took place in May and June of that year.

                  Ōnuku signing

                  On 30 May 1840, two Ngāi Tahu chiefs, Iwikau and John Love (Hone Tikao), signed the Treaty of Waitangi at Ōnuku on Akaroa Harbour. The Akaroa area plays a significant role in Treaty history, as it was European involvement in an 1830 raid on the area by Te Rauparaha that led to British intervention and eventually the development of the Treaty…

                  http://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/treaty-of-waitangi-signings-in-the-south-island/

                  http://bwb.co.nz/books/the-treaty-of-waitangi

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Orange

                  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waitangi_Day

                  …”The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840, in a marquee in the grounds of James Busby’s house (now known as the Treaty house) at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands. The Treaty made New Zealand a part of the British Empire, guaranteed Māori rights to their land and gave Māori the rights of British subjects. There are differences between the English version and the Māori translation of the Treaty, and since 1840 this has led to debate over exactly what was agreed to at Waitangi. Māori have generally seen the Treaty as a sacred pact, while for many years Pākehā (the Māori word for New Zealanders of predominantly European ancestry) ignored it. By the early twentieth century, however, some Pākehā were beginning to see the Treaty as their nation’s founding document and a symbol of British humanitarianism. Unlike Māori, Pākehā have generally not seen the Treaty as a document with binding power over the country and its inhabitants. In 1877 Chief Justice James Prendergast declared it to be a ‘legal nullity’, a position it held until the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975, when it regained significant legal standing.”…

                  • Undecided

                    Well speaking as someone from the South Island I think it’d be a good idea to celebrate it at least once at Akaroa because then I could go to it and see what its all about

                    • weka

                      Can you go to the existing one at Akaroa?

                    • There are some awesome celebrations down there – seriously great. I’m south through and through and it gets done down here. Good comments above give nice detail – thanks.

                      http://www.akaroa.com/waitangi-day-commemorations-okains-bay

                    • Undecided

                      To be fair I didn’t know Akaroa held one but it would still seem like the minor celebration (might be a little of the little brother syndrome creeping in)

                      Still good to attend though, I’ll have to keep an eye out for it next time

                    • Pasupial

                      Undecided

                      Perhaps it wasn’t as well publicised up there, in Dunedin in 2014 it was certainly well known (ODT articles, mayor’s attendance etc). You’ll have to wait another 3 years for that, as you’ve just missed your chance this time (from above link):

                      Ōnuku Rūnanga is hosting the 2016 Ngāi Tahu Treaty Festival at Ōnuku Marae, Akaroa on February 6… Those travelling to the Waitangi Day celebrations are asked to meet at Akaroa Area Primary School, 141 Rue Jolie, Akaroa, where buses will shuttle them to and from the marae.

                      I spent the weekend with whānau, so missed this (though there was a historical walking lecture that I had been considering), but apparently in Dunedin:

                      The council had decided to “step up” and organise events to celebrate Waitangi Day on the two years out of three the Ngai Tahu celebrations were not held at Otakou Marae.

                      http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/372482/historic-flags-mark-waitangi-day

                      [edit; Didn’t see the replies to your 12:49 comment, should have refreshed before typing. Guess there’s not much hope of getting the Christchurch council to have off-year Waitangi events with how strapped for cash they are with ongoing earthquake expenses]

                    • Undecided

                      Thanks for that

    • aerobubble 4.2

      Its a great litmus test. Seeing Key choke on being told he would be shepharded into a white tent off to the side for secret talks where Maori can controlled the message. Just like they’ve been treated. The tppa is a joke, a last century agreement by global corp who have too much money and little sense, as capitalism and communism both target dinosaurs like them. How does NZ lose by leaving, its almost a free trader anyway, will contintue to be, it will leave the other parties choking to explain the the free trade agreement needs to include all these restrictions on free trade for global dinosaurs corperations.

      • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1

        +1

      • Chooky 4.2.2

        +100…if anyone is Mickey Mouse and in Disneyland it is jonkey

      • Chooky 4.2.3

        This is good on the TPPA from Wayne Hope

        ‘Flagging the TPPA’

        http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/02/09/must-read-flagging-the-tppa/

        “In the middle of the anti-TPPA march down Queen street was a stooped pakeha woman carrying the New Zealand flag. A few paces in front, groups of Maori marched under the Tino rangitiratanga ensign. These domestically opposed symbols of national identity were,for the moment, standing together against a common threat – the transnational corporation….

        The government`s scornful reaction to this course of events reveals the inherent weakness of their position. John Key, Stephen Joyce, Todd McClay and fellow protagonists are,effectively, standing on behalf of transnational capitalism and its inter-state machinery against our legal and political sovereignty.

        Where then does this leave the Labour party leadership?
        This is the central question arising from last Thursday`s historic march.

        Will they support the national ensigns of Maori and Pakeha nationhood against the TPPA? Or will they, ultimately, lend weight to the Trojan horse of transnational capitalism?”

        • Draco T Bastard 4.2.3.1

          Labour will lend weight to the Trojan horse of transnational capitalism.

          Labour has always been a capitalist supporting party. What we need are parties that will start the long overdue removal of capitalism.

    • Jenny Kirk 6.1

      Key sounds really tired in that audio.

      And he knows darn well, or should know, that there is always a lot of loud arguing/ discussion/ disagreement / agreement on marae but no way would Maori allow “violent riots” to break out inside their wharenui. He’s just hyping up the ante.

    • cogito 6.2

      Hope opposition parties give Key absolute raging hell in parliament today.

      • Skinny 6.2.1

        +1
        Yes and I hope John Key is taken to task over this;

        Listening to an interview with PM John Key this morning where he says “that some opponents of the TPPA have been misleading the public.”

        I find this quite an incredible thing to say when one of his own, Whangarei electorate MP Shane Reti was either mislead himself by his own Masters or was misleading the public on their behalf?

        http://m.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11503021

        • Skinny 6.2.1.1

          Ok before someone pulls me up the exact quote on RNZ this morning was

          “and you’ve got some people who have been misled.”

          I guess you could include mislead by one of his own MPs if you were putting what Key said in a fair context 🙂

          The full paragraph;

          “You’ve got a group of people who are just opposed to free trade, you’ve got a whole bunch of people who, in my view, are just protesting the government, and you’ve got some people who have been misled.”

          *However I have heard Key blaming opponents of the TPPA for misleading the public, just can not be bothered finding a link.

  5. The Chairman 7

    Māori group urges bigger tobacco tax rise

    The service has made a submission to the finance and expenditure select committee urging further tax increases at a rate of 20 percent.

    While there were concerns the strategy (the annual 10 % tobacco tax increase) took the biggest toll on already vulnerable whanau, Ms Martin-Hawke said the alternative was worse.

    “Carrying on smoking ends up being more of a burden economically than the tax increases imposed initially on our whanau.”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/296054/maori-group-urges-bigger-tobacco-tax-rise

    A concern being overlooked here is if people don’t give up, they’ll be hit with a double whammy. Moreover, more may turn to crime to support their habit.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/64718489/Retailers-fear-violence-over-cigarettes

    Thoughts?

    • vto 7.1

      Thoughts?

      Putting up the price only affects the poor. Why do you advocate such a manner of turning off smoking? It is simply wrong for that reason.

      Better to simply ban it. Or limit daily purchases.

      Further thought?

      Stop picking on smokers. Beer, wine and spirits should also undergo a 20% price rise each and every year too.

      Thoughts? Bullshit and politicians lead to no credibility.

      Leave people alone.

      • The Chairman 7.1.1

        “Putting up the price only affects the poor. Why do you advocate such a manner of turning off smoking?”

        I’m not advocating for it.

        It’s the National Maori Tobacco Control Service that is urging the government to keep increasing the cost of tobacco.

    • weston 7.2

      ever increasing the price of tobacco seems pretty stupid stratagy to me , its just going to force people to grow their own and if that is made illegal then the police will have yet another substance to look for and the black market sales of tobacco will increase as will the price in proportion to the risk .
      i am not up to date with the latest stats but the tax take on tobacco must be considerable already far more for example than the cost of treating smoking related illnesses .i think it would be an act of insanity to further increase smokers taxes and as for a smoke free nz by 2025 just a pipedream inmo

  6. Michael 8

    Is anybody like me, no longer able to access this site via a desktop and only by mobile device? Any help with this?

  7. Skinny 9

    I bet Hooton has a spring in his step as he wanders into the RNZ studio this morning. Back on the payroll.

    By now he will have been contacted by the snake oil department of the NZ National party, after they suffered a mauling over the TPPA. The final straw being the booing of John Key at the footy. Waiting for a stinging attack by him directed at Little and Labour.

    • Skinny 9.1

      Hooton your rants about Tiewhai Harawira, then Sue Bradford’s sit down street protest, and reffering to every protester interviewed by Campbell at the Auckland TPPPA protest was ignored by the Nine to Noon host as churlish. Same as saying Labour and THE Green’s leaders wouldn’t pull out of the TPPA.

      I wouldn’t pay a cent for that bottle of snake oil you just peddled. Anyway by now you would have recieved a call from selfie stick Joyce admonishing your poor performance. My advice is go for a long run around no tree hill and regroup with something alot better than that crap you span this morning.

  8. greywarshark 10

    I don’t think this is the way to affordable housing for the future. But it looks a fun space, and could be used as a training area for getting oriented to starting a new colony on Mars. Enjoy.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPMmxcWQvjQ

  9. Draco T Bastard 11

    The act of designating deviance is one of power.

    And it tends to be the MSM and the ones that they favour that defines deviance. That’s why people who care for the environment get classed as radicals while those who destroy it get classed as saviours.

  10. I hear some big changes are coming for employment law. The major legislative change passed its first reading in Parliament last year.

    http://willnewzealandberight.com/2016/02/09/employment-law-changes-coming-but-will-businesses-be-ready/

    Has the Government proposed the right changes or has it botched employment law?

    • aerobubble 12.1

      Foreshore is being inundated, mosquitoes are bring disease, climate change was a decision, thirty years ago we voted in govts that did away with regulation and who released global finance upon us due to predictable huge flows of cheap high density middle east fuel. The same people who bash govt are in govt, the same people who want profits at any cost aren’t about to worry that companies make less money, it has never stopped them in the past running bad regulations into law.

      Brownlee knows that job uncertainty is part of the future economy yet quite perplexingly declares that student should be unfront taxed to investing in their education,education that may well be useless in the future.

      So let’s be straight govt has been failing, is failing, and will continue to fail until we have some moments of clarity, some blood on the metaphorical floor, talk of nooses and old nags being put down. Neo-lib was a giant scam, involving a basic sell out of the democratic process, a giant distraction, distortion and dismissal of real concerns.

  11. Penny Bright 13

    Know about this meeting tonight Aucklanders?

    http://www.remueraheritage.org.nz/news-and-events/public-meeting-on-rezoning

    2016 PUBLIC MEETING ON UNITARY PLAN REZONING

    09-Feb-2016

    Last month Auckland Council announced dramatic revisions to home zoning maps with no public consultation. Thousands of properties are affected.

    Property owners have no formal right of reply – is this fair?

    Join local residents groups to find out how your property is affected and what you can do to have your say.

    9th Feb at 6pm at ASB Main Stadium

    237 Kohimarama Rd, Kohimarama.

    Guest speaker will be Richard Burton of Auckland 2040

    – See more at: http://www.remueraheritage.org.nz/news-and-events/public-meeting-on-rezoning#sthash.V9RbLnO5.dpuf
    ________________________________________________

    Penny Bright
    2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.

  12. Tautoko Mangō Mata 14

    “Consultation” and what passes as such by this Govt.

    Prue Kapua of the Māori Women’s Welfare League nails it:
    The league had three hui that, rather than consultation, consisted of officials giving PowerPoint presentations, Ms Kapua said.
    “The TPK [Te Puni Kokiri] or the government think that’s consultation, they need to go back and read a whole lot of cases about what constitutes consultation, and that’s been the criticism. You know these presentation hui are a nonsense.”
    Ms Kapua said officials had interpreted feedback to suit their agenda: to hurry the Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill through, and to make money from commercialising Māori land when not all tāngata whenua wanted that.
    “The tribunal report is clear in terms of you can’t just have a situation where you set up meetings, you people the meeting with a mixture of officials and advisory group people who’ve been appointed by the

    “The league had three hui that, rather than consultation, consisted of officials giving PowerPoint presentations, Ms Kapua said.
    “The TPK [Te Puni Kokiri] or the government think that’s consultation, they need to go back and read a whole lot of cases about what constitutes consultation, and that’s been the criticism. You know these presentation hui are a nonsense.”

    “The tribunal report is clear in terms of you can’t just have a situation where you set up meetings, you people the meeting with a mixture of officials and advisory group people who’ve been appointed by the minister, and they sit there and they do a PowerPoint display about what position they’re up to and call that ‘consultation’.
    “So for them to think there that isn’t opposition and there isn’t concern – they’re just playing a game of ostriches, they’ve just got their heads in the sand.”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/296039/consultation-on-maori-land-law-'nonsense

    Go Prue!

  13. reason 15

    Quote of the year so far …………..

    “I think it’s a shame that it takes a hard-working nurse throwing a dildo at a politician to open up this debate.”

    And it may only be a rumor….. so far ……. but I have heard the GCSB is now monitoring people who buy sex toys as potential terrorists …………..

    My inside informant ‘Deep-Throat’ coughed that one up ……………

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11586195

    • Rodel 15.1

      Interesting photo in the Herald but which one is the dildo and which one is the real …?

      Heard someone on Jim Mora’s show referring to a certain ‘Dildo Baggins.. Who could that be?
      That aside I don’t condone throwing things at politicians or anyone.

  14. savenz 16

    Where Key belongs – go Iceland!!!

    “Iceland has sentenced its 26th banker to jail for causing the 2008 financial collapse.

    After the 2008 crisis, Iceland sentenced 26 bankers to a combined 74 years in prison. Charges ranged from breach of fiduciary duties to embezzlement and market manipulation. Most of those convicted have been sentenced to prison for two to five years, but their Supreme Court is hearing arguments to consider increasing sentences beyond the six year maximum.

    Iceland had one of the world’s most thriving economies before the 2008 financial collapse, but it was also among the countries that were severely affected by the downturn. Instead of rewarding sham banking procedures with bailout money, the country took a different path. Banks were let to fail and social programs were kept intact. Most importantly, Iceland sent fraudulent bankers to jail.

    When the country’s leading banks collapsed, defaults totalled US$114 billion. The parliament passed emergency legislation in October 2008 to take over the major banks’ domestic operations and refused to take over foreign assets or obligations.

    According to the International Monetary Fund, “Iceland has rebounded after the 2008/9 crisis and will soon surpass pre-crisis output levels with strong performance in tourism and fisheries. Debt ratios are on a downward path and balance sheets have broadly been restored. The financial sector is back on track though with some important items remaining on the docket.”

    http://www.australiannationalreview.com/iceland-sentences-26-top-bankers-prison/

    • joe90 16.1

      The Pirate Party’s Birgitta Jonsdottir could be the next prime minister too.

      She has never been mild, but her solitude radicalizes her. “I want to be the mosquito in the tent,” she says, “so they cannot get any sleep.” Stubbornly, Birgitta follows the Pirate Party guidelines: horizontal leadership, power rotation, liquid democracy. She votes in Parliament according to the majority will collected on the Píratar web platform. Birgitta is a captain with no title or privileges. Yet she leads.

      With only three parliamentarians, Pirates have surged into first place for the next legislative elections. (With 38 percent of voter intention, they are ahead of both traditional parties combined.) “People are really fed up,” she comments. Birgitta could become prime minister. She rolls her big eyes and says, “That is my worst nightmare.”

      https://backchannel.com/lisbeth-salander-s-real-life-twin-may-be-iceland-s-next-prime-minister-be314284fca4#.tm6i9jym8

  15. ianmac 17

    In the House Key gave his “Prime Ministers Statement.”
    Andrew giving his reply. Succinct. Full of future intent.
    The Greens are pleased that Aucklanders didn’t have to pay $4,000 for the PM’s speech.
    http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/about-parliament/see-hear/ptv

    • cogito 17.1

      Good speeches by Andrew Little and James Shaw…. and also by Winston (but I didn’t hear all of it).

      Key was arrogant, conceited and odious.

      • mickysavage 17.1.1

        Yep Key’s speech was nothing but an attack on Labour. FFS he is the PM and has been there for nearly 8 years. Clearly there is no plan …

  16. Morrissey 18

    Another dreadful Panel today. Even the presence of the thoughtful
    Finlay Macdonald cannot compensate for Ella Henry and Jim Mora.

    The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 9 February 2016
    Jim Mora, Ella Henry, Flnlay Macdonald, Zara Potts

    Incredibly, this show is still declining in quality. Here are the “highlights”….

    JIM MORA: It’s eleven minutes to four, and Zara Potts with What the Woooorld’s Talking About.

    ZARA POTTS: First up is the very strong reaction to the performance by Beyoncé in the Super Bowl half-time show. By the way, the Super Bowl is getting very big in New Zealand, strangely.

    MORA: Yeah it is.

    ZARA POTTS: Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani is angry at the way she referenced the Black Lives Matter movement during her performance, which featured dancers dressed in black berets, like the Black Panthers, and the dancers formed an “X” shape on the field.

    JESSE MULLIGAN: I must say, I didn’t even pick up on those references.

    MORA: Me neither.

    ZARA POTTS: He says it was an “outrageous attack on police officers.”

    ELLA HENRY: At least she didn’t sing “I Shot the Sheriff.”

    ALL: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

    ZARA POTTS: It was certainly the most political Super Bowl performance ever.

    ………………….

    ZARA POTTS: There’s new research out on why we sigh. So why do we sigh? To stretch our lungs, apparently. It’s a mini workout. We yawn to stretch the alveoli in our lungs. Twelve times an hour we do it.

    MORA: REALLY? I don’t think I sigh twelve times an hour. [1]

    ………………….

    ELLA HENRY: I go to Game of Thrones dinner parties.

    JIM MORA: Do you?

    ELLA HENRY: Yeeeeeesss…. [2]

    ………………………………

    Later, after the 4:30 news, during the Soapbox segment….

    ELLA HENRY: There seems to be an increase in the ferocity of mosquitos in the north.

    JIM MORA: So the mosquitos are more numerous and ferocious in the north. And you’re bearing the scars.

    ad absurdum…..

    [1] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11082011/#comment-363107
    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21102013/#comment-714288

    [2] http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-04062013/#comment-643309

  17. fender 19

    Gareth Morgan should just donate some money or STFU.

    Just heard him tell RNZ he’ll stump up with the difference so long as he can “use it for 10 or 15 years or whatever”.

    And here he says “…once my family has finished enjoying it”.

    Too many rich pricks think they can take over anything and everything don’t they.

    It’s this if you’re wondering what I’m on about.

    • b waghorn 19.1

      Absolutely the clowns got more money than god but he wants givalittle punters to subsidize his beach get away. What a dick

    • Whispering Kate 19.2

      John Campbell tonight looked like he wasn’t amused with the open ended “when my family doesn’t want to use it anymore” – what a bribe that was – let the Give A Little page do its thing and hope the Government will stump up with the rest – but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

    • Hami Shearlie 19.3

      I think Morgan may just have cancelled out any goodwill he has gained from donating money to causes here in the past. It’s always HIS way, we must do what HE says is the right thing – Really? He’s only got money now because he’s Sam Morgan’s father – no other reason – he’s no better and no smarter than any other man in the street! He’s aquired an ego that is rather larger than the average man’s though! How generous to donate the land AFTER he and his family have enjoyed it for a rather long time, using it while the erosion is minimal, then donating it when it has almost disappeared! And I bet he wouldn’t be able to see what is wrong with this picture – he has lost touch with how ordinary kiwis think! Vast amounts of money can do that to a person!

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    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    2 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
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