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.
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.
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).
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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….
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.
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.
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?
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?
‘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.
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 😆
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.
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?
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?
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?”…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)
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?
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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].
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…
…”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.”…
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
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.
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
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.
[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]
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.
“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?”
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.
+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?
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.
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.”
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
“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.”
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.
“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.”
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.”
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
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.
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.
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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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, ...
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The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
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, ...
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. ...
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 ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. 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 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
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.
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.
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).
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
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.
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
+1
Indefinite war is great for the profits of arms manufacturers and bankers though.
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.
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.
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.
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
Hi pascal. Good points.
WWII should not be viewed without context.
It really was WWI pt.2.
And the seeds for that were sewn decades prior.
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.
USSR; sealed train 1917.
Conditions for rise of Nazi party; Treaty of Versailles 1919
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.
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.
and, for the info of our PM
http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/News/Hub/Home/458#.VrjhmZNcwpc.twitter
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
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/
Polls without informed discussion beforehand, records prejudice or bias.
One of their polls is about Beyonce… couldn’t really bother reading more.
You Gov is widely quoted here Molly. But I note that in the past you have often dismissed sources that contradict your beliefs.
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.
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.
Peoples belief is not a truly valid measurement.
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
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.’
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.
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.
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.
Actually, research shows that people will hold on to the beliefs against the evidence – especially RWNJs:
You didn’t provide any proof.
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.
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
Look for it and you will see it everywhere.
It is the things we are not told which give it away.
CV
Not only is he lost, but deaf and blind as well.
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.
Right, so you’re making fucktard assertions about choice again. I think your zombie arguments actually ate your brain.
So you don’t have any evidence or a counter argument either OAB?
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.
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
And around and around and around you go. You have asserted it at least three times now, so it must be true.
You accused me of providing no evidence, so I presented some.
Are you not going to address that evidence OAB?
Yawn. I predicted your lies last year. Dishonesty is your only debating tactic.
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.
“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.
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?
“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….
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.
your standards
Must you plagiarise my observations? I already pointed out the rhetorical mirror in your face.
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.
😆
None of that has the slightest bearing on Puddleglum’s argument. Not one word.
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?
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?
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.
‘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.
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 😆
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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?
“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?!
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?
I don’t think it could be moved, not without upsetting mana.
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
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.
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
The Waitangi signing is the most important, because that was the first signing. But also because it was there signed by:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/treaty-of-waitangi/page-1
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:
http://ngaitahu.iwi.nz/ngai-tahu-treaty-festival-at-onuku-marae/
+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.”…
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
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
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
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):
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:
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]
Thanks for that
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.
+1
+100…if anyone is Mickey Mouse and in Disneyland it is jonkey
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?”
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.
If ever Peter Dutton shows his face in NZ he should be arrested and charged with crimes against humanity.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201788498/john-key-on-his-watangi-day-no-show
floundering
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.
Hope opposition parties give Key absolute raging hell in parliament today.
+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
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.
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?
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.
“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.
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
Know stacks growing their own baccie already.
And they wont be going back to buying.
Is anybody like me, no longer able to access this site via a desktop and only by mobile device? Any help with this?
I’m on a desktop and can access this morning. Have you tried restarting your browser, different browser, dumping cookies etc?
Check the address.
If it’s http://www.thestandard.org.nz remove the leading www. and try again.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
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.
“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!
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
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.
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/
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
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
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.
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 …
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
Morrissey you are back!….Good!
Welcome back!
Really enjoy your humorous takes on the dire Panel.
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.
Absolutely the clowns got more money than god but he wants givalittle punters to subsidize his beach get away. What a dick
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.
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!
Assange? Hmmmmm.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/02/why-the-assange-allegation-is-a-stitch-up
quite a funny name you picked there Borin
‘Panic situation’: Asian stocks tumble amid fears of new global recession
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/09/panic-situation-as-asian-stocks-tumble-amid-fears-of-new-global-recession
Keep Calm and Carry On
http://thestandard.org.nz/keep-calm-and-carry-on/
The crash is on its way.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/feb/09/market-turmoil-nikkei-plunges-european-stocks-germany-ftse-live
Deutsche Bank is shaking to its foundations – is a new banking crisis around the corner?
http://secularinvestor.com/deutsche-bank-shaking-foundations-new-banking-crisis-around-corner/13242/
Lending to emerging markets comes to a halt
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/07/lending-to-emerging-markets-comes-to-a-halt.html
What the Heck is Going On in the Stock Market?
http://wolfstreet.com/2016/02/07/what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-stocks/