She makes the telling point “Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up in a community where there are no jobs, no space to live or move, and the police are on the streets stopping-and-searching you as you come home from school. The people who do will be waking up this week in the sure and certain knowledge that after decades of being ignored and marginalised and harassed by the police, after months of seeing any conceivable hope of a better future confiscated, they are finally on the news.”
“Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea…”
Did you hear Deborah Hill Cone blithering about this yesterday on Jim Mora’s “The Panel”? She was full of scorn for the idea that there were any problems in London or in Great Britain: “What social issues are they protesting about? I didn’t know there WERE any social issues. ARE there social issues?”
The other people in the studio—Jim Mora, Sharon Brett-Kelly and Bernard Hickey—all decided to stay silent and let her rave.
But a little later, Hill Cone was at it again. “It’s all RELATIVE, isn’t it! These people in London are all so much better off than their parents were. They are all living comfortably.”
Sharon Brett-Kelly couldn’t let that go on unanswered. “Oh, the conditions in many parts of London are bleak and many people feel hopeless and abandoned. I have lived there, and I know how desperate the people there are.” Bernard Hickey agreed with Sharon Brett-Kelly.
Deborah Hill Cone could say nothing. She had no answer.
It’s a pity these vacuous voices of the smug right and the far right are not challenged more often in this forthright manner.
+1 – especially when she wore those dumb specs. She was ranting about being stuck in Queenstown and having to drive to ChCh to get back to Auckland the other week – bless her cotton socks, at least she can afford a holiday in the snow!
Read an interesting book a while back: “Hooligan – A history of respectable fears” (by Geoffrey Pearson). He identifies a recurring history of disorder and riots in working class English areas, nearly always accompanied by middle-class panic, outrage, and hand-wringing in the newspapers, often waxing nostalgic about how people were so much better behaved twenty years earlier. The irony is that things were pretty much the same twenty years earlier, just the folk devils had a different name (skinheads, football hooligans, mods, teds, larrikans, cads and roughs, garroters etc.).
Pearson’s point is that there has for centuries been a strong anti-police tradition in poor, working class English neighborhoods. It’s a class thing. But the media have nearly always defined it in terms of rampant criminality and moral decline. At this point in the London riots, the pattern seems to holding true.
… the media have nearly always defined it in terms of rampant criminality and moral decline. At this point in the London riots, the pattern seems to holding true.
The more bewildered commentators in the New Zealand media are repeating the same reactionary line. Here’s a selection of comments from yesterday…
NewstalkZB: The Mike Hosking Breakfast—Hosking talks to TVNZ’s London correspondent Paul Hobbs, who is presumably paid to live in London so he can interpret the situation there with increased insight. If so, TVNZ should demand its money back…
HOBBS: There’s nothing political about this at all! It’s just a sport for these young men! HOSKING: What are the reasons they’re giving for the rioting? HOBBS: There’s no rhyme or reason for any this. It’s just a SPORT! HOSKING: Have the police locked it down yet?
NewstalkZB Eight to Midnight with Kerre Woodham…
WOODHAM: Those little toe-rags. This is when I wish I was in the police! I’d love to turn a fire-hose on them! Those little TOE-RAGS! CALLER: I was talking to a friend of mine who knows what’s going on over there, and he says all this is because of the GIRL GANGS over there! WOODHAM: thoughtfully Hmmmmmm. That’s interesting. I had a caller earlier on who said it was the EASTERN EUROPEAN GANGS who are organizing it all. CALLER: There’s nothing spontaneous at all about these riots. It’s all highly structured. WOODHAM: Those little TOE-RAGS…
Lisa Owen on TVNZ7 news last night was going on about how people couldn’t be rioting because of austerity as they were taking all kinds of non-essential consumer items (especially the latest and most pricey electronic goods eg plasma TVs and laptops). She seemed to miss the significance of any class war angle, or of the significance of the focus of much looting – ie on the artefacts of a rampant consumer society.
She seemed to miss the significance of any class war angle, or of the significance of the focus of much looting – ie on the artefacts of a rampant consumer society.
I don’t think she misses the significance of it. I think—in fact I know—that she routinely self-censors. She knows it’s unacceptable to give any sort of political analysis. Everything is devoid of context, devoid of history. Riots just happen, and all the people in them are “toe-rags”.
Lisa Owen, Kerre Woodham, Mike Hosking and Paul Hobbs do not lack brains or understanding. What they lack is the courage to state what they and everybody else knows to be the truth.
Yeah, that’s classic. Same dynamics playing out. “Girl Gangs”, ha.
The Independent seems to partly get it: “There is a context of mistrust of the police here. After the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, the police allowed false reports that the Brazilian had been wearing a bulky coat and had run from officers to circulate without contradiction. And after the 2009 death of Ian Tomlinson, the police denied that the newspaper vendor had been pushed by an officer. It was only when a video emerged showing that this was the case that the police admitted the truth.”
And don’t forget the death of Harry Stanley in 1999 – when the police mistook a Scot with table leg for an Irishman with a gun. He lived in Hackney. The first inquest gave an open verdict. It took 5 years to get the police held accountable.
People shouldn’t assign a single motive to these rioters.
Undoubtedly there are people who want to breakout against their circumstances by opposing police and destroying property.
Equally, there are people who want to similarly breakout but they have respect for people and the effort they are making to put food on their own tables, and so do not destroy business and homes.
There are those who feel the pressure of a consumer society to gain status through possessions but who for too long have not been able to afford them and so they loot the shops to get them.
There are others who feel the same status pressure but choose not to loot from other worker and their by create more victims.
There are those who loot because they are organised by under world characters.
There are people who burn a building for no other reason than they want to break a taboo, get a buzz from it, and film it on their cell phone to up load to youtube, and in the mean time some poor person has lost their home, or their job, their income, their possessions, their means to get to work.
There are those who want to be part of a celebrity event and don’t care who gets hurt.
Traditionally events like this are cannibalistic. They eat their own community.
If they were really serious about “protesting” in equality and class oppression then they should target the rich, their institutions, their wealth.
His-story tells us that eventually the disaffected will attack the source of their great frustrations, whatever they may be, and the privileged, in whatever capacity, will become the stretched neck of inequity.
I’ve lived in London during bombings, riots, and never did they spread from city to city, suburb to surburb. Now sure there are always going to be a group of youngster hanging around waiting for trouble, especially with the contempt the boomers level at them, and add to the contempt of politicians who hate the poor and unemployed (who are also citizens), but when the economics of theft and fraud, stealing billions of unaccountantable bonuses while laying down decades of social, fiscal, and ecological debts, then it would surprised me if the riots had not have happened, but hey heinsight is easy. The media is doing a good job of trying to make this into a youth problem, avoiding talking about why everyone should be on the streets, and misdirecting the debate because the Police are obviously stretched and always on the back foot as technology keeps the rioters one step ahead.
But hey we have been here before, before radio riots and social uprisings would march through london to parliament and they were really angry. So we might be seeing a power change back to mobs and citizens brought on technology. so beware the future, not so may apathetic citizens.
Politicians had to do much better to keep the London mobs at bay, will have to.
I make no bones about this post being a plug for a TV program. In fact I give it the Jackal’s tick of approval and full endorsement. Covering current affairs with a focus on human rights, The Stream digs out priceless bits of info from the WWW. If you’re a blogger or political commentator, The Stream is a must watch program…
Actually, I tend to switch off when it comes on in the morning, and switch to RNZ. I’m developing a resistance to people enthusing over the latest e-/Internet development – been seeing it since the mid 90s. But in fact, AJ covers enough of the important news in the NewsHour and other morning shows.
My friend flatted with her when she was doing Steve Crow’s “Porn Idol” or whatever it was called, she’s a very sad individual indeed.
It’s all about being famous, and what she’s famous for isn’t even a consideration. Politics is just the latest attempt in a long line of attempts at being recognised.
Just as she wasn’t singing before she decided to “be a singer”, she probably didn’t have any political ideas before she decided to “be a politician”.
Pray Felix if she was to run for National how would we tell her apart from Maggie in the next Auckland power outage? Two faintly female forms in the gloaming and some mindless high pitched meandering right wing diatribe…..
when i was a kid i bred mice to sell to pet shops – until the fashion changed from coloured mice to white mice
left with tea chests full of mice i could not kill (being a budding Buddhist) i just kept feeding them and supplying them with the strips of torn up newspaper they used for nesting – and of course the daily task of cleaning their converted tea-chests
one day things changed – mice started eating their babies, buggering their peers, and generally going mad
’til i had to let them go (in the local bush) or watch them all die
population density – not measured in humans per square mile but in fear and despair per square politician – is what causes all societal breakdown
The main parts of the article are summed up in these paragraphs…
The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill aims to save about $25 million over five years by freeing up 450 court days each year.
It introduces measures such as allowing courts to proceed in the absence of a defendant who does not have a reasonable excuse and reserving jury trials for the most serious and complex cases
In other words your right to be tried by your peers, and in person go west (Power seems intent on chucking away centuries of legal practiice and precedent such as habeus corpus). This is all in the name of efficiency and cost savings….justice denied in the face of the dollar.
Now where are all those good libertarians? This should be something they are up in arms about.
Jeez, 8 hours later and not one RWNJ appears to care about their personal liberties……Simon Power, you are free to lock the buggers up. Seeya Gos and TS…..
Police in London have released images of the “most wanted” suspects behind the ransacking of the English capital as stories emerge of the incredible behaviour of emboldened looters.
But I also think an equivalent approach would be to release images of the Most Wanted for pillaging the potential & necessary income for the least well-off in diverse countries.
Yeah, how about some of those hedge fund managers.
Apparently there has not been a single charge laid yet over the post-2008 financial collapse in the US. Compare with the 1980s Savings and Loan scandals in which hundreds of bankers were convicted and that was only around a paltry US$140 billion total fraud.
When are people like Roger Douglas, Prebble, Ruth Richardson, Faye Richer rail and Don Brash going to be charged for the money they have cost us over the last few decades.
“Steal a million you get a knighthood, Steal $100 you are put in jail”.
Nice to see the Mum’s and Dad’s investors have been playing the stock market again over the last couple of days. Surprise, surprise, all the losses have been recovered.
Same goes for the foreign currency traders. Who do these money-men think they are kidding. Let’s talk up a storm because we know we are going to be able to cash in on it any day soon…
Meanwhile life for the masses goes on as usual – shafted again.
Nice to hear 3 News bashing Sue Bradford and letting Petulant Bean have her say about the ‘massive fraud committed by beneficiaries” in the form of ‘over-payments’ although (was it Gower, I believe so?) did mutter quickly that most of the breath-taking amount was caused by WINZ staff messing up – as I can attest! I declare income, they forget to charge it, then when they ‘discover’ it, it’s added to my breath-taking debt. (There wouldn’t be a debt, if they did what they were supposed to do when I declare income… 🙁 )
Since WINZ are obviously so incompetent at paying you the correct amount of money, why don’t you work out what they should be paying you yourself? If they pay extra, put it in a bank account and don’t touch it (unless you need it for an emergency or something).
Then when they want it paid back, it’s all sitting there, and may have got you a few extra dollars in interest, too.
My sister and her boyfriend, while studying for Phds and doing clinical psychology, ended up knowing the student loan/student allowance rules better than the people in the office on campus did, just based on the numbers of times they got it wrong or told them something that was wrong. In the end they stopped going.
WINZ get paid to get it right, but considering their numbers are being reduced as we speak what can we expect from a stressed out organisation.
My question is: I wonder which party the WINZ social workers will vote for?
Are they keen to bash the beneficiary along with Paula Bennett just because they see a few people doing the fraud bit or are they going to get rid of Bennett by considering the other beneficiaries that are actually real human beings enduring a financially hard time – a hard time, I might add, that anyone might experience.
Anyone know what the Petulant Bean’s work history is. How much of her adult life has she drawn her money from the public purse in one way or another – of course, a princely chunk now that she is a Minister of the Crown. Has she no conscience?
Yes, I did manage after a lot of trying, to apply, but you’ve missed my point, which is that your technology fails more often than not!
I will continue to try to contact your ‘clients’ to point this out. They should not be paying you when your service is so poor!
You’ve missed the point, Lanth.. They didn’t pay me ‘extra’! I rang up as I am supposed to do, to ‘declare earnings’. They’re supposed to reduce or cancel the following week’s payment depending on how much I earned. At least one woman didn’t know how to do that, or so I was told when I rang days later to ask why it hadn’t been done. Instead, she’d added the payment she should have reduced, to my debt. Another woman said “Oh, I’ll just add it to your debt then”, and I protested, saying “No, you have plenty of time to adjust my next payment” and she said something like “Meh, no, adding it to your debt is easier”.
This angers me so greatly, because many of us were told at a job seminar, that having a debt (or even having had one!) disqualifies us from applying for any government job. I think that’s a new thing, only since PB has been Minister, as under Labour they had no policy against hiring “bennies”. (It reminds me of what I learned during my brief sojourn on ATS : in the USA, almost all employers advertising vacancies state that they will not accept applications from anyone who is not currently employed! If that comes oin here, and it’s starting to, it may be necessary to stretch the truth – as I have in fact done, pretending casual work is permanent…)
Totally agree – the rules and WINZ admin re part time work and income need to be improved. Days worked and day paid can differ and support differs depending on which is taken as the basis for an income evaluation. Both methods create inequities and the whole thing is as clear as mud. IMO it should be administered in conjunction with IRD on a no fault basis. Any debts on part time work should be interest free and calculated quarterly using the kindest measure (one which creates the least debt) and then repaid gradually out of benefit or income or both.
WINZ has shown itself to be incapable of operating the system it designed and yet wants to prosecute individuals. There is a better way.
the removal of secondary income tax would be a start. That is a dinosaur from a different era and only hurts current employment options. It not only restricts the options for those under WINZ but everyday working people are also harmed by it. Many many people need two or three jobs to get by these days and secondary tax is a vehicle that needs a new WOF. We have a fully adequate range of tax rates to fairly accommodate the income tax generated. Secondary Income Tax is a pecuniary punishment.
During a Parliamentary debate today, National MP Chris Tremain made a number of inaccurate statements that were clearly designed to limit National’s responsibility for any negative consequences due to budget cuts. What made me cringe was this statement…
Chris “Dennis Plant” Tremain’s primary qualification is his Dad’s rugby playing.
Don’t forget his ability to put on a serious face as he poses as a backdrop to John Key in parliament. He’s learned how to nod assent every now and again, just to show that he’s listening…
Paul Hutchison said that about Franklin – no marching in the streets meant no one cared about having their local government assets stolen by Rodney Hide and their democracy removed by this government. There was a protest when Key went to a posh luncheon there with business interests that would have included the promise of even cheaper labour to decrease their expenses and maximise their profits. But it wasn’t a march down the street. This is NActMU’s Plan – enforce a police state because nobody protests. Their plan is progressing well.
Nobody is marching in the streets. New Zealanders are too busy trying to survive in 2 or 3 jobs to waste their energy on protesting; NActMU knows this. That is why they’re trying it on in Parliament. By the time New Zealanders do realise that marching in the street is all that’s left to them, it will be too late. It has always been too late, every time National have ruined the economy; everything will have been sold, and Kiwis’ sovereignty traded away.
Norman Finkelstein, one of the leading American intellectuals and a widely admired political dissident, has been banned from Israel. Now the Israeli government is trying to sabotage his excellent and popular website.
How much simpler if he was just another of those Palestinian untermenschen. Then they could simply kill him, or arrest him as a “terrorist”…
Recently the official website for Norman Finkelstein has come under various web attacks. We are currently trying to address the attacks. Unfortunately, while we are trying to address the issue, new posts will be delayed until a permanent solution is found.
Thank you for your comments and concerns. Please visit back frequently or sign up to the mailing list (left side bar) in order to receive an update to the situation.
THE GOVERNMENT TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT IT’S CHANGING THE FLAG TO A CONDOM, BECAUSE IT MORE ACCURATELY REFLECTS THE GOVERNMENT’S POLITICAL STANCE. A CONDOM ALLOWS FOR INFLATION, HALTS PRODUCTION, DESTROYS THE NEXT GENERATION, PROTECTS A BUNCH OF DICKS, & GIVES YOU A SENSE OF SECURITY WHILE UR ACTUALLY BEING SCREWED
A friend sent me this. Don’t know if it has been posted here before.
We sure as fuck are being screwed.
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Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
What’s to blame for the coalition’s choppy start? Six months in, and the mojo meter is in the doldrums. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management and a perception ...
The striking report goes far beyond the proposed repeal of the Oranga Tamariki Act’s Treaty of Waitangi provision, and its impact should be felt far beyond the unique circumstances of the claim it addresses. Earlier this week, the Waitangi Tribunal released an interim report on the government’s proposed repeal of ...
The world has been experiencing a productivity slowdown, from which New Zealand has not been exempt. COVID-19 temporarily boosted labour productivity, but more recently, productivity has retreated. The overall trend since 2007 has been one of slow productivity ...
What’s more wasteful than spending $315k on syrup and machine maintenance? Trying to drum up a controversy about it.Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic idylls of 2019. A “rat” was a disgusting rodent and not a self-administered plague test; the sixth Labour government was in power; and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, Monash University Ken stocker/Shutterstock In the wake of numerous killings of women allegedly by men’s violence in 2024, thousands of Australians have joined rallies across the country to demand action ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Henry Cutler, Professor and Director, Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, Macquarie University Oleg Ivanov IL/Shutterstock Waiting times for public hospital elective surgery have been in the news ahead of this year’s federal budget. That’s the type of non-emergency surgery ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Konstantine Panegyres, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Amna Artist/Shutterstock One of the earliest descriptions of someone with cancer comes from the fourth century BC. Satyrus, tyrant of the city of Heracleia on the Black Sea, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rose, Professor of Sustainable Future Transport, University of Sydney LanaElcova/Shutterstock Electric vehicles are often seen as the panacea to cutting emissions – and air pollution – from transport. Is this view correct? Yes – but only once uptake accelerates. Despite the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Giselle Natassia Woodley, Researcher and Phd Candidate, Edith Cowan University There is widespread agreement Australia needs to do better when it comes to gender-based violence. Anger and frustration at the numbers of women being killed saw national rallies over the weekend and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Graham, Lecturer in Economics, University of Sydney Mark and Anna Photography/Shutterstock As home ownership moves further out of reach for many Australians, “rentvesting” is being touted as a lifesaver. Rentvesting is the practice of renting one property to live ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sukhmani Khorana, Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture, UNSW Sydney Netflix The new season of Heartbreak High is garnering mixed reviews. Critics are writing about the racy story lines, comparing it to other coming-of-age series about teenage relationships and ...
Bob Carr intends to launch legal action against Winston Peters and Julie Anne Genter is facing a second allegation of bullying. Both sucked the air out of an announcement on education, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...
In 1995, Sally Clark went out on her own in a bold and unorthodox attempt to join an illustrious group of equestrian riders conquering the world. In the days of glovebox road maps, brick cell phones, and the hit song How Bizarre, Clark refused to follow Sir Mark Todd, Blyth ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Beaglehole, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago niphon/Getty Images The number of people accessing medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Aotearoa New Zealand increased significantly between 2006 and 2022. But the disorder is still under-diagnosed and ...
To celebrate the start of New Zealand music month, we look back at the best local tuneage that managed to weasel its way into Hollywood productions. There’s nothing quite like the thrilling zap of recognition when New Zealand weasels its way into a glamorous Hollywood production. Crack open a Tui ...
People trust other people more than institutions. So how can the media gain that trust through journalists without losing what’s important about the institution? Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on two years of curating the news for The Bulletin.Amonth ago, armed cops descended on my neighbourhood as calls to “lock your ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
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Great commentary from a lady stuck in a house in the middle of the London riots.
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2011-08-09/panic-streets-london
She makes the telling point “Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea what it is like to grow up in a community where there are no jobs, no space to live or move, and the police are on the streets stopping-and-searching you as you come home from school. The people who do will be waking up this week in the sure and certain knowledge that after decades of being ignored and marginalised and harassed by the police, after months of seeing any conceivable hope of a better future confiscated, they are finally on the news.”
“Most of the people who will be writing, speaking and pontificating about the disorder this weekend have absolutely no idea…”
Did you hear Deborah Hill Cone blithering about this yesterday on Jim Mora’s “The Panel”? She was full of scorn for the idea that there were any problems in London or in Great Britain: “What social issues are they protesting about? I didn’t know there WERE any social issues. ARE there social issues?”
The other people in the studio—Jim Mora, Sharon Brett-Kelly and Bernard Hickey—all decided to stay silent and let her rave.
But a little later, Hill Cone was at it again. “It’s all RELATIVE, isn’t it! These people in London are all so much better off than their parents were. They are all living comfortably.”
Sharon Brett-Kelly couldn’t let that go on unanswered. “Oh, the conditions in many parts of London are bleak and many people feel hopeless and abandoned. I have lived there, and I know how desperate the people there are.” Bernard Hickey agreed with Sharon Brett-Kelly.
Deborah Hill Cone could say nothing. She had no answer.
It’s a pity these vacuous voices of the smug right and the far right are not challenged more often in this forthright manner.
I resent those fekkers using up my tax dollars up on their fat salaries at Radio NZ, Hill Cone can take a fly jump.
The woman is a fracking idiot!
+1 – especially when she wore those dumb specs. She was ranting about being stuck in Queenstown and having to drive to ChCh to get back to Auckland the other week – bless her cotton socks, at least she can afford a holiday in the snow!
Read an interesting book a while back: “Hooligan – A history of respectable fears” (by Geoffrey Pearson). He identifies a recurring history of disorder and riots in working class English areas, nearly always accompanied by middle-class panic, outrage, and hand-wringing in the newspapers, often waxing nostalgic about how people were so much better behaved twenty years earlier. The irony is that things were pretty much the same twenty years earlier, just the folk devils had a different name (skinheads, football hooligans, mods, teds, larrikans, cads and roughs, garroters etc.).
Pearson’s point is that there has for centuries been a strong anti-police tradition in poor, working class English neighborhoods. It’s a class thing. But the media have nearly always defined it in terms of rampant criminality and moral decline. At this point in the London riots, the pattern seems to holding true.
… the media have nearly always defined it in terms of rampant criminality and moral decline. At this point in the London riots, the pattern seems to holding true.
The more bewildered commentators in the New Zealand media are repeating the same reactionary line. Here’s a selection of comments from yesterday…
NewstalkZB: The Mike Hosking Breakfast—Hosking talks to TVNZ’s London correspondent Paul Hobbs, who is presumably paid to live in London so he can interpret the situation there with increased insight. If so, TVNZ should demand its money back…
HOBBS: There’s nothing political about this at all! It’s just a sport for these young men!
HOSKING: What are the reasons they’re giving for the rioting?
HOBBS: There’s no rhyme or reason for any this. It’s just a SPORT!
HOSKING: Have the police locked it down yet?
NewstalkZB Eight to Midnight with Kerre Woodham…
WOODHAM: Those little toe-rags. This is when I wish I was in the police! I’d love to turn a fire-hose on them! Those little TOE-RAGS!
CALLER: I was talking to a friend of mine who knows what’s going on over there, and he says all this is because of the GIRL GANGS over there!
WOODHAM: thoughtfully Hmmmmmm. That’s interesting. I had a caller earlier on who said it was the EASTERN EUROPEAN GANGS who are organizing it all.
CALLER: There’s nothing spontaneous at all about these riots. It’s all highly structured.
WOODHAM: Those little TOE-RAGS…
Lisa Owen on TVNZ7 news last night was going on about how people couldn’t be rioting because of austerity as they were taking all kinds of non-essential consumer items (especially the latest and most pricey electronic goods eg plasma TVs and laptops). She seemed to miss the significance of any class war angle, or of the significance of the focus of much looting – ie on the artefacts of a rampant consumer society.
She seemed to miss the significance of any class war angle, or of the significance of the focus of much looting – ie on the artefacts of a rampant consumer society.
I don’t think she misses the significance of it. I think—in fact I know—that she routinely self-censors. She knows it’s unacceptable to give any sort of political analysis. Everything is devoid of context, devoid of history. Riots just happen, and all the people in them are “toe-rags”.
Lisa Owen, Kerre Woodham, Mike Hosking and Paul Hobbs do not lack brains or understanding. What they lack is the courage to state what they and everybody else knows to be the truth.
Yeah, that’s classic. Same dynamics playing out. “Girl Gangs”, ha.
The Independent seems to partly get it: “There is a context of mistrust of the police here. After the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in 2005, the police allowed false reports that the Brazilian had been wearing a bulky coat and had run from officers to circulate without contradiction. And after the 2009 death of Ian Tomlinson, the police denied that the newspaper vendor had been pushed by an officer. It was only when a video emerged showing that this was the case that the police admitted the truth.”
There is no doubt that the cops are lying ineffective wankers. When there is no respect for the cops, these sorts of things are bound to happen.
Those girl gangs are a menace, I tells ya, a menace!
And don’t forget the death of Harry Stanley in 1999 – when the police mistook a Scot with table leg for an Irishman with a gun. He lived in Hackney. The first inquest gave an open verdict. It took 5 years to get the police held accountable.
People shouldn’t assign a single motive to these rioters.
Undoubtedly there are people who want to breakout against their circumstances by opposing police and destroying property.
Equally, there are people who want to similarly breakout but they have respect for people and the effort they are making to put food on their own tables, and so do not destroy business and homes.
There are those who feel the pressure of a consumer society to gain status through possessions but who for too long have not been able to afford them and so they loot the shops to get them.
There are others who feel the same status pressure but choose not to loot from other worker and their by create more victims.
There are those who loot because they are organised by under world characters.
There are people who burn a building for no other reason than they want to break a taboo, get a buzz from it, and film it on their cell phone to up load to youtube, and in the mean time some poor person has lost their home, or their job, their income, their possessions, their means to get to work.
There are those who want to be part of a celebrity event and don’t care who gets hurt.
Traditionally events like this are cannibalistic. They eat their own community.
If they were really serious about “protesting” in equality and class oppression then they should target the rich, their institutions, their wealth.
His-story tells us that eventually the disaffected will attack the source of their great frustrations, whatever they may be, and the privileged, in whatever capacity, will become the stretched neck of inequity.
Live updates:
http://thewestlondoner.wordpress.com/
I’ve lived in London during bombings, riots, and never did they spread from city to city, suburb to surburb. Now sure there are always going to be a group of youngster hanging around waiting for trouble, especially with the contempt the boomers level at them, and add to the contempt of politicians who hate the poor and unemployed (who are also citizens), but when the economics of theft and fraud, stealing billions of unaccountantable bonuses while laying down decades of social, fiscal, and ecological debts, then it would surprised me if the riots had not have happened, but hey heinsight is easy. The media is doing a good job of trying to make this into a youth problem, avoiding talking about why everyone should be on the streets, and misdirecting the debate because the Police are obviously stretched and always on the back foot as technology keeps the rioters one step ahead.
But hey we have been here before, before radio riots and social uprisings would march through london to parliament and they were really angry. So we might be seeing a power change back to mobs and citizens brought on technology. so beware the future, not so may apathetic citizens.
Politicians had to do much better to keep the London mobs at bay, will have to.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14462271
http://thewestlondoner.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/london26.jpg
The Stream
I make no bones about this post being a plug for a TV program. In fact I give it the Jackal’s tick of approval and full endorsement. Covering current affairs with a focus on human rights, The Stream digs out priceless bits of info from the WWW. If you’re a blogger or political commentator, The Stream is a must watch program…
Actually, I tend to switch off when it comes on in the morning, and switch to RNZ. I’m developing a resistance to people enthusing over the latest e-/Internet development – been seeing it since the mid 90s. But in fact, AJ covers enough of the important news in the NewsHour and other morning shows.
Does anyone know who this RWNJ is?
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Liz-Shaw-Candidate-for-Auckland-Central-2011/151939684879425
a very strange person
http://www.google.co.nz/search?q=liz+shaw+candidate&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a
She will never live this down……goodbye Liz.
Her best policy is too build a bridge from Australia to NZ.
Or she has one to relocate Christchurch to Albany…
Edit: I notice those particular policies didn’t make her list. Must have been talked out of them
A strange person indeed but hardly a RWNJ and more a very sad person who’s best ignored.
She’s been around since about 2004-05.
I think she hit the headlines for appearing in a porn magazine while saying she wanted to be PM one day.
I recall crossing swords with her on studentz.co.nz before it merged into varsity.co.nz
Her policies are all over the place.
No, but she has the same name as a Doctor Who character! 😀
My friend flatted with her when she was doing Steve Crow’s “Porn Idol” or whatever it was called, she’s a very sad individual indeed.
It’s all about being famous, and what she’s famous for isn’t even a consideration. Politics is just the latest attempt in a long line of attempts at being recognised.
Just as she wasn’t singing before she decided to “be a singer”, she probably didn’t have any political ideas before she decided to “be a politician”.
She should be running for National really.
Jesus F Christ – have you seen those pictures?????
I thought she would still be in hiding.
Pray Felix if she was to run for National how would we tell her apart from Maggie in the next Auckland power outage? Two faintly female forms in the gloaming and some mindless high pitched meandering right wing diatribe…..
i was reading her facebook post she says she is far right wing
This lady says it all.
when i was a kid i bred mice to sell to pet shops – until the fashion changed from coloured mice to white mice
left with tea chests full of mice i could not kill (being a budding Buddhist) i just kept feeding them and supplying them with the strips of torn up newspaper they used for nesting – and of course the daily task of cleaning their converted tea-chests
one day things changed – mice started eating their babies, buggering their peers, and generally going mad
’til i had to let them go (in the local bush) or watch them all die
population density – not measured in humans per square mile but in fear and despair per square politician – is what causes all societal breakdown
http://thepeakoilpoet.blogspot.com/2011/08/london-bridge-is-falling-down-tpop.html
http://thepeakoilpoet.blogspot.com/2011/08/peak-people.html
and for fun
http://thepeakoilpoet.blogspot.com/2011/08/great-australian-poem.html
tPoP
meanwhile your right to a fair and honest trial slips further out of reach as we are left to trust the Maori Party and Act to save what is left of our Justice System
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5421373/Govt-works-to-shore-up-support-for-justice-bill
The main parts of the article are summed up in these paragraphs…
The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill aims to save about $25 million over five years by freeing up 450 court days each year.
It introduces measures such as allowing courts to proceed in the absence of a defendant who does not have a reasonable excuse and reserving jury trials for the most serious and complex cases
In other words your right to be tried by your peers, and in person go west (Power seems intent on chucking away centuries of legal practiice and precedent such as habeus corpus). This is all in the name of efficiency and cost savings….justice denied in the face of the dollar.
Now where are all those good libertarians? This should be something they are up in arms about.
Jeez, 8 hours later and not one RWNJ appears to care about their personal liberties……Simon Power, you are free to lock the buggers up. Seeya Gos and TS…..
Opportunist crimes should be punished:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/5421331/Britains-most-wanted-Looters-tried-on-shoes-in-rampage
But I also think an equivalent approach would be to release images of the Most Wanted for pillaging the potential & necessary income for the least well-off in diverse countries.
Yeah, how about some of those hedge fund managers.
Apparently there has not been a single charge laid yet over the post-2008 financial collapse in the US. Compare with the 1980s Savings and Loan scandals in which hundreds of bankers were convicted and that was only around a paltry US$140 billion total fraud.
When are people like Roger Douglas, Prebble, Ruth Richardson, Faye Richer rail and Don Brash going to be charged for the money they have cost us over the last few decades.
“Steal a million you get a knighthood, Steal $100 you are put in jail”.
Is there any other band wagon this prat would like to jump on?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby-world-cup-2011/news/article.cfm?c_id=522&objectid=10744212
Can I ask said Prime Minister to admit he has under taxed the rich and ‘fix’ his governments mistakes?
And the next US president could be…..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/09/michael-moore-matt-damon-us-president
Nice to see the Mum’s and Dad’s investors have been playing the stock market again over the last couple of days. Surprise, surprise, all the losses have been recovered.
Same goes for the foreign currency traders. Who do these money-men think they are kidding. Let’s talk up a storm because we know we are going to be able to cash in on it any day soon…
Meanwhile life for the masses goes on as usual – shafted again.
Nice to hear 3 News bashing Sue Bradford and letting Petulant Bean have her say about the ‘massive fraud committed by beneficiaries” in the form of ‘over-payments’ although (was it Gower, I believe so?) did mutter quickly that most of the breath-taking amount was caused by WINZ staff messing up – as I can attest! I declare income, they forget to charge it, then when they ‘discover’ it, it’s added to my breath-taking debt. (There wouldn’t be a debt, if they did what they were supposed to do when I declare income… 🙁 )
Since WINZ are obviously so incompetent at paying you the correct amount of money, why don’t you work out what they should be paying you yourself? If they pay extra, put it in a bank account and don’t touch it (unless you need it for an emergency or something).
Then when they want it paid back, it’s all sitting there, and may have got you a few extra dollars in interest, too.
My sister and her boyfriend, while studying for Phds and doing clinical psychology, ended up knowing the student loan/student allowance rules better than the people in the office on campus did, just based on the numbers of times they got it wrong or told them something that was wrong. In the end they stopped going.
Easy to say, Lanth, harder to do when you’re broke with bills to pay.
Besides, why should she have to?
Yes Felix,
WINZ get paid to get it right, but considering their numbers are being reduced as we speak what can we expect from a stressed out organisation.
My question is: I wonder which party the WINZ social workers will vote for?
Are they keen to bash the beneficiary along with Paula Bennett just because they see a few people doing the fraud bit or are they going to get rid of Bennett by considering the other beneficiaries that are actually real human beings enduring a financially hard time – a hard time, I might add, that anyone might experience.
Anyone know what the Petulant Bean’s work history is. How much of her adult life has she drawn her money from the public purse in one way or another – of course, a princely chunk now that she is a Minister of the Crown. Has she no conscience?
Rhetorical question, that.
You’ve missed the point, Lanth.. They didn’t pay me ‘extra’! I rang up as I am supposed to do, to ‘declare earnings’. They’re supposed to reduce or cancel the following week’s payment depending on how much I earned.
At least one woman didn’t know how to do that, or so I was told when I rang days later to ask why it hadn’t been done. Instead, she’d added the payment she should have reduced, to my debt. Another woman said “Oh, I’ll just add it to your debt then”, and I protested, saying “No, you have plenty of time to adjust my next payment” and she said something like “Meh, no, adding it to your debt is easier”.
This angers me so greatly, because many of us were told at a job seminar, that having a debt (or even having had one!) disqualifies us from applying for any government job. I think that’s a new thing, only since PB has been Minister, as under Labour they had no policy against hiring “bennies”. (It reminds me of what I learned during my brief sojourn on ATS : in the USA, almost all employers advertising vacancies state that they will not accept applications from anyone who is not currently employed! If that comes oin here, and it’s starting to, it may be necessary to stretch the truth – as I have in fact done, pretending casual work is permanent…)
Totally agree – the rules and WINZ admin re part time work and income need to be improved. Days worked and day paid can differ and support differs depending on which is taken as the basis for an income evaluation. Both methods create inequities and the whole thing is as clear as mud. IMO it should be administered in conjunction with IRD on a no fault basis. Any debts on part time work should be interest free and calculated quarterly using the kindest measure (one which creates the least debt) and then repaid gradually out of benefit or income or both.
WINZ has shown itself to be incapable of operating the system it designed and yet wants to prosecute individuals. There is a better way.
the removal of secondary income tax would be a start. That is a dinosaur from a different era and only hurts current employment options. It not only restricts the options for those under WINZ but everyday working people are also harmed by it. Many many people need two or three jobs to get by these days and secondary tax is a vehicle that needs a new WOF. We have a fully adequate range of tax rates to fairly accommodate the income tax generated. Secondary Income Tax is a pecuniary punishment.
Well folks, just heard on TV3 today that John Key is going to announce welfare reforms at the National conference this weekend.
Hang onto your hats folks, its going to be one hell of a ride….
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK1108/S00272/police-and-air-force-training-exercise-in-auckland.htm
wow – it could also be training to rescue John Key when people try to tell him what they think of him selling off our assets.
Disgusting that we may have to pay to visit our third biggest island. What’s the actual purpose of this bill? It’s not like Rakiura is 100% Conservation land. If it was, I could understand.
National Challenges NZ to Riot
During a Parliamentary debate today, National MP Chris Tremain made a number of inaccurate statements that were clearly designed to limit National’s responsibility for any negative consequences due to budget cuts. What made me cringe was this statement…
Unsurprising. Chris “Dennis Plant” Tremain’s primary qualification is his Dad’s rugby playing.
Chris “Dennis Plant” Tremain’s primary qualification is his Dad’s rugby playing.
Don’t forget his ability to put on a serious face as he poses as a backdrop to John Key in parliament. He’s learned how to nod assent every now and again, just to show that he’s listening…
Ha! Yeah the pair of them are like a couple of nodding dogs on the back shelf of Key’s limo.
It’s no wonder NZ is on the slide then with that level of “intelligence” in power. My favorite from his speech today was:
“There were a number of economists, actually more than a number…”
This is who you voted into power New Zealand. Wake the fuck up!
Jackal,
Paul Hutchison said that about Franklin – no marching in the streets meant no one cared about having their local government assets stolen by Rodney Hide and their democracy removed by this government. There was a protest when Key went to a posh luncheon there with business interests that would have included the promise of even cheaper labour to decrease their expenses and maximise their profits. But it wasn’t a march down the street. This is NActMU’s Plan – enforce a police state because nobody protests. Their plan is progressing well.
Nobody is marching in the streets. New Zealanders are too busy trying to survive in 2 or 3 jobs to waste their energy on protesting; NActMU knows this. That is why they’re trying it on in Parliament. By the time New Zealanders do realise that marching in the street is all that’s left to them, it will be too late. It has always been too late, every time National have ruined the economy; everything will have been sold, and Kiwis’ sovereignty traded away.
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/
Norman Finkelstein’s website is under attack by
ChinaIsraelNorman Finkelstein, one of the leading American intellectuals and a widely admired political dissident, has been banned from Israel. Now the Israeli government is trying to sabotage his excellent and popular website.
How much simpler if he was just another of those Palestinian untermenschen. Then they could simply kill him, or arrest him as a “terrorist”…
http://www.normanfinkelstein.com/
NORMANFINKELSTEIN.COM WEB ATTACKS UPDATE.
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THE GOVERNMENT TODAY ANNOUNCED THAT IT’S CHANGING THE FLAG TO A CONDOM, BECAUSE IT MORE ACCURATELY REFLECTS THE GOVERNMENT’S POLITICAL STANCE. A CONDOM ALLOWS FOR INFLATION, HALTS PRODUCTION, DESTROYS THE NEXT GENERATION, PROTECTS A BUNCH OF DICKS, & GIVES YOU A SENSE OF SECURITY WHILE UR ACTUALLY BEING SCREWED
A friend sent me this. Don’t know if it has been posted here before.
We sure as fuck are being screwed.