Somehow, unbelievably so, National is up slightly to 45.5%. You really have to wonder what they have to do to dent their support.
Labour is up 2% to 33.5% at the expense of the Greens, down 2.5% to 11%. I am surprised by this. I thought that the Greens have been on fire this year and are just more nimble and focussed in responding to issues. Labour really need to sort this out.
Yesterday was a good example. Delahaunty bet Mahuta to a response on Parata’s idiot decision to close Salisbury School. And although Chauvel did well against Collins in Parliament the Greens managed to come out saying the report should be released first. Labour needs to respond to issues more quickly.
NZ First at 5% is still the kingmaker. The thought of a Labour – Green – NZ First coalition fills me with dread. It would be very unstable.
Labour is still behind its election result in 2008. We still do not have cause to celebrate …
Perhap a unified team approach would be better, let the heavy hitters loose to provide support to shearer.
Also this election will be won by the members at grass roots level and not in the msm, the Tory mcontrol have embedded too many hooks and levers into the system for labour to counter successfully a that level so revert to a mass party a catch all non elite parand hit hit the streets.
I would think the most people who are polled don’t give a fuck outside of the two months on either side of an election, still it keeps the money rolling in for the pollsters and gives a bit of excitement to political tragics.
This solidifies Shearer’s position going into the barbeque-conspiracy season.
Maybe it’s time to agree with rOb, confess our sins, light the yule log, kiss the secretary, skoll the nog, unwrap the presents, get trollied, grops the wife’s sister, hang the roofer, confirm our fealty, accept surveillance of this site and our actual names, O Come O Come Emmanuel, and at the end of the day, all the humming and harr-ing is just water under the bridge, we get in behind, watch the Boxing Day cricket, mate – I mean Mayte, Rugby was the Winner and we’re all winners, water off a duck’s back, delay the Visa payments again, and on January 1st at dawn take all our collective unrealised dreams that will never happen under Labour, take those dreams out, bury them deep in the offal pit, and every Christmas come back and do the same thing, and dance around David Cunliffe’s grave and tramp the soft warm earth down singing “Coulda Would Shoulda” and “Should Old Acquiantance Be Forgot …”
Yes of course vaccinating pregnant mothers would have saved this unfortunate prematurely born child, and are you trying to tie this death to the un-vaccinated child who died, the one it mentions with the underlying health conditions!
One other pertussis death has been reported this year. It involved a 3-year-old unimmunised child with underlying health conditions from another part of the country.
Yes because that sentence really does a nice job of confusing multiple issues, but ensuring that the less able thinkers, link both these deaths in the article to lack of vaccination!
Then you sign your comment off with an idle threat.
To assess the impact of anti-vaccine movements that targeted pertussis whole-cell vaccines, we compared pertussis incidence in countries where high coverage with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines (DTP) was maintained (Hungary, the former East Germany, Poland, and the USA) with countries where immunisation was disrupted by antivaccine movements (Sweden, Japan, UK, The Russian Federation, Ireland, Italy, the former West Germany, and Australia). Pertussis incidence was 10 to 100 times lower in countries where high vaccine coverage was maintained than in countries where immunisation programs were compromised by anti-vaccine movements.
Please go look up the failure rate of the pertussis vaccine. Then please present proof that the premature baby and the one with the underlying health conditions wouldn’t have died if we they had been vaccinated.
And yes I understand your point about the epidemic, but I still want you to answer the question.
My argument does not rest on the specific details of the cases mentioned: it relies on the fact of the epidemic, and the fact that anti-vaccine campaigns increase the incidence of pertussis by ten to one-hundred fold.
If you have a failure rate in mind, cite it. Bear in mind that there is more than one pertussis vaccine, and the Ministry of Health’s statement:
Risks associated with the vaccine.
In some overseas trials of acellular pertussis, between 0.7 and 2.6 recipients in 10,000 had fits or shock-collapse, neither of which cause long-term problems. These reactions have not happened in overseas trials of the vaccine now being used in New Zealand.
There is no association between the vaccine and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
You know that whooping cough is a communicable disease, right? It doesn’t just spring out of nowhere spontaneously?
If everyone in the community around the 6-week old baby, and the 3-year old had been immunised, they would not have been able to catch whooping cough. Therefore they would not have died from whooping cough (could still have died from something else, though).
It’s called herd immunity.
I heard from my sister that when someone is expecting a baby now, GPs are starting to round up all of the family members likely to have contact with the child and giving them vaccines for whooping cough, to help prevent it being transferred to the newborn.
“If everyone in the community around the 6-week old baby, and the 3-year old had been immunised, they would not have been able to catch whooping cough. Therefore they would not have died from whooping cough (could still have died from something else, though).”
I’m a very strong advocate of immunisation, however, this is not factually correct, pertussis vaccine is not 100% effective and it’s immunogenic effect can wane over time. However it is certain that effective immunisation campaigns for Pertussis and other infectious/non infectious diseases are among the most effective interventions within the health system and that in this case effective immunisation would most likely have lessened the chance of this outcome.
TVNZ’s shallow talent pool really starting to bite
Television One Breakfast, 6:45 a.m., Thursday 13 December 2012
Is there really nobody better than Rawdon Christie to front Breakfast television? Not only does he lack on-air rapport with his female co-presenters, but his comments on practically everything are comically ill-informed and naïve.
A particularly sad example of his lack of nous was evident this morning….
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: I just find it extraordinary that this minister is trashing the reputation of this expert and yet she will not release the report.
RAWDON CHRISTIE: But Minister Collins must have a good reason for not disclosing the report. She’s a VERY canny operator.
PETRA BAGUST: Hmmmmm.
RAWDON CHRISTIE: I mean, she’s a VERY smart politician.
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: Hmmmmm. We-e-e-e-e-ell….
Christie continues to blither on in support of the government, while the women maintain a tense silence. I predict the axe will fall on this fellow before long…
Rawdon Christie is TVNZ’s answer to Bruce Forsyth, ‘nice to see you…. to see you nice ‘
A vacuous shill for the NACT gov’t is what TVNZ has always been about since mid 08 as that man Joyce knows how to control the message via his usual tactics honed from his time at mediawonks.
The only one with credibility is Peter Williams and he’s too smart to take those gigs and to busy playing golf with the right folk in remuera. He knows they need to keep at least one face the geriatrics (their core demographic) can recall.
Labour are now back to the consistent level they maintained throughout the Goff period.
National are consistently 8-10 points below where they were in that period.
The Greens are consistently running 4 points up and NZ First with 4-5 points.
The only substantive difference from the 2008 election is that the Greens are up and ACT is gone.
4-5 point swing to the “left” from the “right”. All gains to Greens.
Labour has a lot of work to do.
Keep working on the membership numbers. A strong team on the streets is our only hope.
The government is going to work with speed to implement the recommendations of the Pike River inquiry
Mr Joyce said the Government would put into effect the 16 recommendations of the Commission, aimed at addressing systemic failures in the health and safety regulatory regime, as soon as possible.
“We owe it to the families of the victims of Pike River to ensure we follow through promptly on every recommendation the Royal Commission has made,” said Mr Joyce …
… Mr Finlayson said Government will decide early next year what form the new independent regulator would take. He said the taskforce would advise the Government on other key recommendations by the end of April next year, when it is scheduled to report back on New Zealand’s entire workplace health and safety system.
Independent regulator are now deemed essential for mine safety, but the ideology that spawned the Pike River disaster is still alive and kicking in this government. The independent assessors for monitoring vehicles on the road, in particular trucks, is at risk of being sidelined.
“Larger trucking businesses may be well placed to self-certify compliance with certificate of fitness requirements because they carry suitably qualified maintenance staff.”
I guess we’re not going to have a massive pile-up of trucks and cars and dead people all at once, but this will increase road accidents. A slow but certain increase in preventable injury and death.
Deregulating road safety – another disaster waiting to happen.
You’re exactly right rosy viper. The ideology has been shown to have fatal flaws, the consequences of which are the likes of Pike River and leaky homes, amongst much more.
There is no way the same ideology that led to Pike River can be allowed to apply to heavy trucking. What are they thinking? It will kill people. Like it has already.
Entrepreneurs are by definition risk-takers, as are gamblers, hedge-fund managers, currency traders and all their ilk. Risk takers do not believe that it’s ‘worth’ investing a large amount to prevent very low probability events – irrespective of the severity of the consequences.
This government has absolutely no intention of putting in place adequate risk management and safety regulations let alone establishing a regulatory authority with the necessary technical expertise, resources and clout to ensure the regulations are adhered to.
Your example of mindless deregulation of trucking absolutely demonstrates this government’s lack of genuine concern for safety, and epitomises their total disregard for learning from international best-practice.
The recording was made early Saturday evening in the public waiting area at the Auckland police watch house after the protest against the TPP negotiations that afternoon. The senior sergeant was in an adjoining room speaking loudly on the phone.
The recording was started after the officer was overheard boasting that an officer had hit John Minto in the eye during the protest. (We have witnesses who heard this although it’s not on the attached recording)
However the tape raises serious questions about the police role at the TPP –
• Why do police see themselves as particularly accountable to the US embassy?
• Why are the police dealing directly with the US Embassy rather than via Foreign Affairs for example?
Hard to see why they even bother pretending anymore. Just an answer to that one question – why would the police be talking to the embassy? is enough. Dirty and smelly and low – that crack about John Minto boils my blood too.
It is a pity Charles Chauvel was not leading the charge against Collin’s handling of the Bain case.
Jamie-lee Ross would have been dog tucker had Charles been the Labour front man.
Does anyone know if Charles is away? Or ill? Justice is his portfolio.
It gets worse. In the process, Collins also showed an unfair predisposition to consult with the prosecution. Collins sought “advice” on the Binnie report from the Solicitor General – whose office spent the best part of two decades maintaining Bain’s guilt. She is, of course, free to consult anyone she likes, but it is reasonable to expect she should do so in an even-handed fashion. Instead, she (at the very least) discussed the contents of the report and sought advice on it from the prosecution, while denying Bain’s defence team anything like a similar courtesy. She also hired Robert Fisher QC to provide a “peer review” of Binnie’s report – but, as Labour justice spokesperson Charles Chauvel has pointed out on RNZ this morning, Collins either doesn’t know or won’t tell us what Fisher’s terms of reference are, and what level of documentation he has been given to enable him to conduct, within a mere matter of days, a meaningful evaluation of Binnie’s report.
Excellent. Thanks r0b. I was also feeling I should try to post something on it, but don’t have the energy/time to put together my own take on the issues.
I thought POAL was going to to take the union to the cleaners, that their legal advice was rock solid, that it was all a cunning plan that the union had fallen right into?
What’s a promise from Slippery the Prime Minister really worth???, my opinion, well known,is that anything that that Slippery little Shyster says should be treated as suspect,
Slippery has just spent the past 4 years re-decorating the office of Prime Minister in colors,tone, and, intent so as to have it carry all the prestige and gravitas of a sales shack parked among the tin on any used-car lot situated in an Auckland back-street,
We will know more later as Slippery is at the moment engaged in a meeting with the families of the Pike River Miners,
He seems to be there with intent to apologize for the deregulated Government actions that aided and abetted the Coal Company in it’s game of Russian Roulette played with the lives of the Miners,
The families of those Miners seem to be there to ask Slippery, as the Prime Minister, to honor His promise to ‘do everything in His power to bring home the bodies of their family’,
What’s a promise from the Slippery Prime Minister worth???…
POAL has just been fined $40,000 for hiring scab labour in an attempt to break the MUNZ strike.
It was reportedly paying a foreign engineer $10,000 a week to do work that the MUNZ employees could otherwise do.
In a stinging criticism POAL is said to have made “calculated decisions” to break the law.
“Containers were stacked around the perimeter fence and the engineering workshop which obscured the vision of (union) employees on the picket line.” This occurred after a striking member had taken photographs of the scab workers and then complained to POAL about its actions.
It really is time for Len Brown and Auckland Council to step in because POAL is clearly out of control.
Gee, the issues are coming think and fast: more than one blogger can post about. Funny all this stuff is being made public at the same time, and just after the House went into recess!
If your employees lack job security, feel overworked and under-rewarded, then there is a high chance that they will be attracted to economies or organisations that are continuing to grow strong, and that offer greater opportunities for career development and reward flexibility.
Notice how filthy lying hypocrite Slater hasn’t got the guts to post about the Ports of Auckland getting slammed for employing strike-busting contractors. Coward.
He has actually. I looked just now and there is a post on the subject.
I didn’t read it but the title was “POAL fined today 40K…” so he certainly mentioned it.
His site apparently only lists the date of postings, not the time so I can’t say whether it was before your comment.
However the oldest comments are at least two hours ago so it may have been about the time you put your remark up.
A security researcher has published yet another reason not to use Internet Explorer for anything, under any circumstances: it can track your mouse cursor movements, even when it’s minimised.
Affecting all versions newer than IE 6.0, and with no plans for a fix by Microsoft, the bug is demonstrated here (not being an IE user, this El Reg hack hasn’t tested the game).
As the notice from spider.io states, the exploit “compromises the security of virtual keyboards and virtual keypads” – often used as a “secure” login that defeats keyloggers.
I don’t use IE as it’s been the most insecure browser for quite some time and now it shows that it’s even more insecure.
And then the mouse becomes as suspect as the keyboard as far as security goes making such things as Kiwibanks’ KeepSafe less secure due to the fact that keyloggers will be able to log the mouse as well.
Just heard that a Duisenberg car was passed in at an auction on reaching bids of $6.4 million NZ?but the owners didn’t feel that was a sufficient price for them. I thought you might like to know where all that money that is retained by the very rich and/or successful criminals goes to.
Investing in practical manufactures that employ non and semi skilled people at a reasonable wage, little. Paying inflated prices for beautiful objects like hand-made cars, diamonds, works of art that an artist could never live off in their own lifetime, lots. And going to seminars where one meets like minded people, has a good nosh and hears about the latest methods of tax avoidance or evasion.
joe90
Henry George – is that a name? Someone who has been as important should have been called something more notable like say, Lewmount Barnthorough. Hard to overlook that. But very interesting to read about Henry but I note that he died offering his services to the people but unable to last the life distance to do so. Shame that.
And this other name Chrystia Freeland – good name and great thoughts. If to be forewarned is to be forearmed then I need to keep reading stuff like this. At least I’ll be able to identify my foes and know whose paid fist has knocked me flat.
fuck me – I really thought we’d hit the limit of bunksie’s barefaced contempt for all things ethical or credible, but then there’s this comment during the week’s coverage of child poverty:
ACT’s John Banks says the Government’s trial of charter schools will help lift thousands of disadvantaged children out of poverty.
Indeed. And a kick in the balls will help restore sight to the blind.
Darn… After months of staying within our “free” 25GB international traffic limits, last month we blew out to 103GB above it. Good thing that the price dropped to $1/GB…. Still increases our monthly costs by about 50% effectively without warning. Good thing generally. Bad thing for costs.
Part of that was a change to the backup systems. Most of it was the big jump in comments and people reading comments. But I’m going to move the primary server back offshore so we can get more stable cost structure than what happens over the southern cross.
Don’t you worry about it and please don’t. Authors are the last people I’d call on. They write those interesting posts… I’m more irritated because I thought I had that completely under control.
In fact no-one (apart from me) needs to worry about it. We have a more than a years worth of server costs in the bank these days. It is slowly accumulating into an acceptably sized defence fund and hedge against server costs. (But donations from non-authors are always welcome of course….)
I’ve spent much of the last couple of years pushing the server costs down to the point that we could run something several sizes of what we have now on donations if we had to. That ideal requires that we’re not paying more than $300 per month. I’ve held it down to ~$360 per month for the last 4 months.
The problem is that I get essentially free traffic inside NZ, but overseas traffic, most of which is unwanted bots keeps blowing my targets.
But basically keeping the primary server in NZ is just too hard to stay inside my budget because of the frigging Southern Cross cable costs.
Not much anyone can do about it. The server will be going offshore soon for several reasons.
1. I don’t like the proposed cyber-bullying bill because it violates several tenets of long standing internet principles and principles of natural justice. The simplest way to argue about it will be show other people on the net how to shift their systems to completely avoid it. One part of that is show how to hide servers in other jurisdictional locations.
2. The costs on the southern cross cable are ridiculously high and damn near force servers to locate offshore. Politicians like Curran should exert effort making themselves useful rather than playing their silly games. Getting some competition in the overseas cables into NZ would help a lot with encouraging businesses to stay here.
3. I want flat costs for the servers to help with budgeting. These days I should be able to drop the costs of the primary server down to something that is essentially flat and about half of what we pay now until we triple in traffic volumes again.. That would put the total server cost back inside the easy donation envelope again.
4. I have to pass this through the trust, but once I move the server and check it for loads, I’ll probably pay well in advance.
LPrent,
Is there any chance of you returning the “donate” option that existed before the incomprehensible PayPal, as an alternative to it? Where the system just asked users to punch in their credit card details, and that was it.
My bank is Post Bank, and the wait time at this time of year is astronomical, and getting a park nearby is unlikely too.
What about internet banking? I was removing the PayPal as it has been some time since anyone used it. Mostly they just put it in using direct internet banking.
The Standard Trust account at Kiwibank
Account: 38-9010-0427551-00
Set the Particulars to ‘Donation’
For those who havnt read the nice Michael Roberts blog, the latest on “Apples, robots and robber barons”. It features Keynesian Krugman who worries about sounding Marxist, and then dispenses his fallback arguments that technology can save capitalism from nasty ‘robber barons’.
…”Wow! exclaimed Krugman, struck by this figure which shows the share of income going to labour at a post-war low. He comments: “So the story has totally shifted; if you want to understand what’s happening to income distribution in the 21st century economy, you need to stop talking so much about skills, and start talking much more about profits and who owns the capital. Mea culpa: I myself didn’t grasp this until recently. But it’s really crucial.” 11 December.
So we need to start talking about profits and who owns the capital. Yikes! This smacks of Marxist economics. And indeed, in another post, Krugman recognises just that. “I think our eyes have been averted from the capital/labor dimension of inequality, for several reasons. It didn’t seem crucial back in the 1990s, and not enough people (me included!) have looked up to notice that things have changed. It has echoes of old-fashioned Marxism — which shouldn’t be a reason to ignore facts, but too often is. And it has really uncomfortable implications.” Indeed, it does.
Krugman considers whether we are reverting to Marxist talk. “Are we really back to talking about capital versus labor? Isn’t that an old-fashioned, almost Marxist sort of discussion, out of date in our modern information economy? Well, that’s what many people thought; for the past generation discussions of inequality have focused overwhelmingly not on capital versus labor but on distributional issues between workers, either on the gap between more- and less-educated workers or on the soaring incomes of a handful of superstars in finance and other fields. But that may be yesterday’s story. ….the wage gap between workers with a college education and those without, which grew a lot in the 1980s and early 1990s, hasn’t changed much since then. Indeed, recent college graduates had stagnant incomes even before the financial crisis struck. Increasingly, profits have been rising at the expense of workers in general, including workers with the skills that were supposed to lead to success in today’s economy…
Why is mainstream economics suddenly waking up to these issues? Maybe it is because some mainstream economists have had a revelation about how capitalism really works. Maybe they have a sense of injustice about labour’s share. It seems Paul Krugman fits those two explanations. But for others, it is more likely that the mainstream is aware of the social implications of growing inequality and the threat to capitalism itself if things go on the way they have been.
If the advanced capitalist economies remain in a long depression and income inequalities remain, the likelihood of social explosions is going to increase. Faith in capitalism as the only system that works will fade like belief in Christ – but much more quickly. That is the fear for the mainstream. It is the same fear that drove Keynes in the 1930s to look for new and more radical ways to ‘save capitalism’ from its own flaws. The strategists of capital reluctantly accepted some of his prescriptions for a while as Keynesian prescriptions appeared to offer a way out of slumps within capitalism. But when Marx’s law of profitability exerted itself during the 1970s, Keynesianism was dropped for neoliberal (neoclassical) policies that aimed to drive up the share of profit and squeeze social benefits. Now the neoliberal policy has failed and the mainstream (mainly the Keynesians) are issuing an emergency warning. Yikes – this is the longest post yet! STOP.”
Keynesianism is a means to prop up capitalism but it will still fail as the modus operandi of capitalism is to take all the wealth and give it to the few. Neo-liberalism, on the other hand, is a justification for taking all the wealth and giving it to the few in larger chunks which always results in an even bigger crash than what we got under Keynesianism.
For example, one of the reasons some high-technology manufacturing has lately been moving back to the US is that these days the most valuable piece of a computer, the motherboard, is basically made by robots, so cheap Asian labour is no longer a reason to produce them abroad. Robots mean that labour costs don’t matter so much and capitalists can then locate in advanced countries with large markets and better infrastructure. Even the low wages earned by factory workers in China have not insulated them from being undercut by new machinery.
This.
This is exactly what I’ve been saying for some time now but it has a major problem under the present socio-economic system – the majority of people (ie, the workers) lose all and accumulation to the owners accelerates the end result of which will be an even greater crash and, eventually, revolution. The only option we have is to replace capitalism but no political party seems willing to admit that.
“no political party seems willing to admit that.”
Mainstream, capitalist political party. Not surprising since they are committed to managing capitalism in all of its decline and dotage. There are however anti-capitalist parties, small as they may be still, pointing the way.
There are left currents and huge debates surrounding working class uprisings such as the Arab Spring, the strikes and Occupations of the EU and US, and ‘third-world’ movements like Bolivarianism in LA and more recently the miners strikes in SA. All of these show that there is an awakening of an anti-capitalist movement in the masses that is looking for political vehicles to transform dying capitalism into some form of post-capitalist, socialist society that can take all the huge advances of capitalist development and turn it to social good.
Part of this process is a reactivation of the rank and file in the old social democratic parties along class lines which is what we see happening in the NZ Labour Party. In particular radical youth are driving this process. Out of that there will be a regroupment of the working class into some form of anti-capitalist party.
Yes. The automation and technology are not the problem in themselves; it is the fact that they are owned by the capitalists who use them to displace labour and aggregate an increasing portion of wealth to themselves. The problem is not the hammer; it’s fools using it to smash porcelain.
Ultimately it is labour that gives value to things (aside from their embedded energy and environmental costs). When the labour content plummets to zero, prices and profits also drop to zero.
It’s a completely stupid and self-defeating system.
All too true vindow viper, and too few of us provide any sort of a challenge, the mainstream left is quiet lite blue and any red is fading to pink..off well if climate change and the oilprovide the great event can’t shake the tree tleft the true left or nleft progressive left will simply fade away.
red rattler said
“Faith in capitalism as the only system that works will fade like belief in Christ ”
I differ. As capitalism decays and people suffer we will turn more to whatever religion dominates our horizon.. Christianity was supposed to be based on Jesus Christ’s teachings, which were generally good ones and elevated ordinary people for respect alongside the rich.
His teachings have been perverted and converted into another form that supports a handy hierarchy for the didactic and upwardly mobile into either of the states of ephemeral soulfulness and other-worldliness or a materialistic club offering supposed membership privileges.
A lot of Christianity relies on Old Testament ideas that are acknowledged by Christ but then superseded by his new teachings. Christ remains as a teacher and leader who is inspiring of hope and viable pathways through problems to a better society. The religious however do not always find the right path even if they look for it, which many don’t.
One of these right things would be to donate some money to The Standards costs soon. A practical step along the pathway.
Cringe-inducing banter on Jim Mora’s show
National Radio, Thursday 13 December 2012, 4:15 p.m.
At the start of each episode of The Panel, that ever more dire and dismal Jim Mora vehicle, a valuable seven or eight minutes is squandered by preambulatory banter, which is almost always dull, and often excruciatingly dull. And sometimes, as happened on today’s programme, things get said that must make Mora wonder why the hell he bothers with the irksome chitchat regime foisted on him by his producers….
Jim Mora: Michelle Boag and Brian Edwards, two of the smartest operators in the tangled worlds of media and public relations!
Brian Edwards: I just LOVE coming on this programme. You always say the nicest things about me.
Michelle Boag: Jim’s obviously full of the festive spirit. *
Jim Mora: Yes I am actually.
Edwards: Good, otherwise we’d think you were just a CRAWLER.
Mora:[feigning hurt feelings] That’s defamatory.
Boag: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
After the 4:30 news, it’s time for the SOAPBOX, where the panellists talk about “what they have been thinking about”. Let’s see what Boag and Edwards—“two of the smartest operators”—have been occupying their minds….
Brian Edwards: I’m just getting so annoyed with table-hoggers in cafes and restaurants.
A long, uninteresting and unenlightening discussion ensues.
Later, Jim brings up the story of a man who has been sacked (allegedly) for criticizing Auckland Transport. This provokes Michelle Boag into a display of illiterate fury….
Boag: I find this INCREDULOUS!
Edwards: No you don’t. You find it incredible. You are incredulous.
On this we may eternally agree, Morrissey: Jim Mora is shit. RNZ could replace him with a Speak-and-Spell operated by a Dobermann and you’d get more insightful, better-researched questions out of it.
I think the problem is mainly to do with his producers. They insist on the obligatory “pleasantries” at the start of each show. Jim often sounds weary and bored when going through these deadly opening remarks.
And it’s the producers, not Jim himself, who lump him with guests who are often dull and inarticulate.
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It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
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 Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
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 ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
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The latest Roy Morgan poll is out.
Somehow, unbelievably so, National is up slightly to 45.5%. You really have to wonder what they have to do to dent their support.
Labour is up 2% to 33.5% at the expense of the Greens, down 2.5% to 11%. I am surprised by this. I thought that the Greens have been on fire this year and are just more nimble and focussed in responding to issues. Labour really need to sort this out.
Yesterday was a good example. Delahaunty bet Mahuta to a response on Parata’s idiot decision to close Salisbury School. And although Chauvel did well against Collins in Parliament the Greens managed to come out saying the report should be released first. Labour needs to respond to issues more quickly.
NZ First at 5% is still the kingmaker. The thought of a Labour – Green – NZ First coalition fills me with dread. It would be very unstable.
Labour is still behind its election result in 2008. We still do not have cause to celebrate …
http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2012/4847/
The polls will stay at the same depressing level until Labour gets a decent leader.
+1
Or allows its effective communicators to do their jobs without being accused of undermining the ineffective ones.
They could be just holding their guns as the election isn’t for two years…
…unless Key uses something to call one, like Maori water rights victory in the appeals court.
Perhap a unified team approach would be better, let the heavy hitters loose to provide support to shearer.
Also this election will be won by the members at grass roots level and not in the msm, the Tory mcontrol have embedded too many hooks and levers into the system for labour to counter successfully a that level so revert to a mass party a catch all non elite parand hit hit the streets.
Or Even better a decent Caucus, to go with a decent leader
I would think the most people who are polled don’t give a fuck outside of the two months on either side of an election, still it keeps the money rolling in for the pollsters and gives a bit of excitement to political tragics.
Whores will have their trinkets.
mmmmmmmmmmmmm trinkets
blingtacular
quick, pull the hatch down on their heads.
‘We still do not have cause to celebrate …’ but the Hollow men do Mickey.
Carry on trev will be the pillow talk your a real hero etc etc.
This solidifies Shearer’s position going into the barbeque-conspiracy season.
Maybe it’s time to agree with rOb, confess our sins, light the yule log, kiss the secretary, skoll the nog, unwrap the presents, get trollied, grops the wife’s sister, hang the roofer, confirm our fealty, accept surveillance of this site and our actual names, O Come O Come Emmanuel, and at the end of the day, all the humming and harr-ing is just water under the bridge, we get in behind, watch the Boxing Day cricket, mate – I mean Mayte, Rugby was the Winner and we’re all winners, water off a duck’s back, delay the Visa payments again, and on January 1st at dawn take all our collective unrealised dreams that will never happen under Labour, take those dreams out, bury them deep in the offal pit, and every Christmas come back and do the same thing, and dance around David Cunliffe’s grave and tramp the soft warm earth down singing “Coulda Would Shoulda” and “Should Old Acquiantance Be Forgot …”
…and go and defeat National.
Too soon?
Thanks very much, anti-science activists.
What’s the law on self-defence again?
Yes of course vaccinating pregnant mothers would have saved this unfortunate prematurely born child, and are you trying to tie this death to the un-vaccinated child who died, the one it mentions with the underlying health conditions!
Yes because that sentence really does a nice job of confusing multiple issues, but ensuring that the less able thinkers, link both these deaths in the article to lack of vaccination!
Then you sign your comment off with an idle threat.
Disgraceful, even by your low standards!
“Epidemic”, you tiresome cretin.
Underlying health conditions – What were those again, oh the article didn’t say what they were!
Stuff.co.nz – Scientific/Medical reporting of the highest quality!
Still, these articles aimed at illiciting emotional responses from stupid people who think they know everything, which is what it managed to do!
“Epidemic”. Ep-id-em-ic.
PS: Impact of anti-vaccine movements on pertussis control: the untold story:
My emphasis.
Please go look up the failure rate of the pertussis vaccine. Then please present proof that the premature baby and the one with the underlying health conditions wouldn’t have died if we they had been vaccinated.
And yes I understand your point about the epidemic, but I still want you to answer the question.
My argument does not rest on the specific details of the cases mentioned: it relies on the fact of the epidemic, and the fact that anti-vaccine campaigns increase the incidence of pertussis by ten to one-hundred fold.
If you have a failure rate in mind, cite it. Bear in mind that there is more than one pertussis vaccine, and the Ministry of Health’s statement:
Risks associated with the vaccine.
In some overseas trials of acellular pertussis, between 0.7 and 2.6 recipients in 10,000 had fits or shock-collapse, neither of which cause long-term problems. These reactions have not happened in overseas trials of the vaccine now being used in New Zealand.
There is no association between the vaccine and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Anaphylaxis is very rare.
PS: I don’t like the new authoring format!
@ echo off
Conflation – Con-Fla-Tion!
Confirmation – Con-Fir-Ma-tion
Citations: nil.
Understanding: absent.
Tiresome: check.
Ego: overweening.
You know that whooping cough is a communicable disease, right? It doesn’t just spring out of nowhere spontaneously?
If everyone in the community around the 6-week old baby, and the 3-year old had been immunised, they would not have been able to catch whooping cough. Therefore they would not have died from whooping cough (could still have died from something else, though).
It’s called herd immunity.
I heard from my sister that when someone is expecting a baby now, GPs are starting to round up all of the family members likely to have contact with the child and giving them vaccines for whooping cough, to help prevent it being transferred to the newborn.
“If everyone in the community around the 6-week old baby, and the 3-year old had been immunised, they would not have been able to catch whooping cough. Therefore they would not have died from whooping cough (could still have died from something else, though).”
I’m a very strong advocate of immunisation, however, this is not factually correct, pertussis vaccine is not 100% effective and it’s immunogenic effect can wane over time. However it is certain that effective immunisation campaigns for Pertussis and other infectious/non infectious diseases are among the most effective interventions within the health system and that in this case effective immunisation would most likely have lessened the chance of this outcome.
Yes, sorry, you’re entirely correct.
TVNZ’s shallow talent pool really starting to bite
Television One Breakfast, 6:45 a.m., Thursday 13 December 2012
Is there really nobody better than Rawdon Christie to front Breakfast television? Not only does he lack on-air rapport with his female co-presenters, but his comments on practically everything are comically ill-informed and naïve.
A particularly sad example of his lack of nous was evident this morning….
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: I just find it extraordinary that this minister is trashing the reputation of this expert and yet she will not release the report.
RAWDON CHRISTIE: But Minister Collins must have a good reason for not disclosing the report. She’s a VERY canny operator.
PETRA BAGUST: Hmmmmm.
RAWDON CHRISTIE: I mean, she’s a VERY smart politician.
NADINE CHALMERS ROSS: Hmmmmm. We-e-e-e-e-ell….
Christie continues to blither on in support of the government, while the women maintain a tense silence. I predict the axe will fall on this fellow before long…
Good back stories of the situation, including reference to the Binnie press release HERE
EDIT: The calibre of those who present *news* in NZ is so awful, it begs the question.
What is their job!
but they are raising the bar with Toni Street taking over from Petra for 2013. -sarc
<i>…Toni Street taking over from Petra for 2013.</i>
Oh GOD! This is the END of the world!
That Mayan prophecy thing was correct after all.
Yes. Yes they are.
There is nowhere squalid enough in Purgatory for such slothful commentary. It gets worse however, pure hubric content abounds. Check this…..is this the fare that you the living have been reduced to by their media?http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/8070895/Miley-Cyrus-dog-dead
Rawdon Christie is TVNZ’s answer to Bruce Forsyth, ‘nice to see you…. to see you nice ‘
A vacuous shill for the NACT gov’t is what TVNZ has always been about since mid 08 as that man Joyce knows how to control the message via his usual tactics honed from his time at mediawonks.
The only one with credibility is Peter Williams and he’s too smart to take those gigs and to busy playing golf with the right folk in remuera. He knows they need to keep at least one face the geriatrics (their core demographic) can recall.
Labour are now back to the consistent level they maintained throughout the Goff period.
National are consistently 8-10 points below where they were in that period.
The Greens are consistently running 4 points up and NZ First with 4-5 points.
The only substantive difference from the 2008 election is that the Greens are up and ACT is gone.
4-5 point swing to the “left” from the “right”. All gains to Greens.
Labour has a lot of work to do.
Keep working on the membership numbers. A strong team on the streets is our only hope.
The government is going to work with speed to implement the recommendations of the Pike River inquiry
Independent regulator are now deemed essential for mine safety, but the ideology that spawned the Pike River disaster is still alive and kicking in this government. The independent assessors for monitoring vehicles on the road, in particular trucks, is at risk of being sidelined.
I guess we’re not going to have a massive pile-up of trucks and cars and dead people all at once, but this will increase road accidents. A slow but certain increase in preventable injury and death.
Deregulating road safety – another disaster waiting to happen.
You’re exactly right rosy viper. The ideology has been shown to have fatal flaws, the consequences of which are the likes of Pike River and leaky homes, amongst much more.
There is no way the same ideology that led to Pike River can be allowed to apply to heavy trucking. What are they thinking? It will kill people. Like it has already.
Entrepreneurs are by definition risk-takers, as are gamblers, hedge-fund managers, currency traders and all their ilk. Risk takers do not believe that it’s ‘worth’ investing a large amount to prevent very low probability events – irrespective of the severity of the consequences.
This government has absolutely no intention of putting in place adequate risk management and safety regulations let alone establishing a regulatory authority with the necessary technical expertise, resources and clout to ensure the regulations are adhered to.
Your example of mindless deregulation of trucking absolutely demonstrates this government’s lack of genuine concern for safety, and epitomises their total disregard for learning from international best-practice.
GPJA: The Watch House Tape – American Embassy ‘extremely happy’ with policing of protest
Why was Stuff asking the Police for photos? Do they no longer have their own photographers?
Hard to see why they even bother pretending anymore. Just an answer to that one question – why would the police be talking to the embassy? is enough. Dirty and smelly and low – that crack about John Minto boils my blood too.
It is a pity Charles Chauvel was not leading the charge against Collin’s handling of the Bain case.
Jamie-lee Ross would have been dog tucker had Charles been the Labour front man.
Does anyone know if Charles is away? Or ill? Justice is his portfolio.
Charles did lead the charge in Question Time yesterday in the House – Question 5 Charles Chauvel to the Minister of Justice
http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/16747
On the TV One Breakfast show…
Gordon Campbell on Collins shoddy tactics (can’t get the WYSIWYG link button to work:
http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2012/12/13/gordon-campbell-on-judith-collins-handling-of-the-bain-compensation-report/
Just put up a post on this.
Excellent. Thanks r0b. I was also feeling I should try to post something on it, but don’t have the energy/time to put together my own take on the issues.
I know the feeling! And I’m happy to quote from much better writers than I on occasion…
Yes, I was also thinking that I couldn’t produce a better post on the issue than Gordon Campbell’s. He’s one of, if not THE top NZ journalists, IMO.
Appears to have been the one casualty of the wordpress update last night. Added to fix list.
It works, it’s just that now it gives you a choice of an advanced form of WYSIWYG and a cheaper form.
Well, that’s what I’m getting on Chrome In Win7.
Interesting. Two versions…. umm.
Collins doesn’t want to be the minister who compensated Bain.
So she needs cover.
Leave it to the prosecutor, after all they’ve been messing with the issue for ?two decades? now.
So what’s the chance, just before Christmas, Bain to get compensation?
Well it needs to be signed off by cambinet, so no, no chance.
Which leads to the other outcome, they will never pay out.
Where all the tories at?
I thought POAL was going to to take the union to the cleaners, that their legal advice was rock solid, that it was all a cunning plan that the union had fallen right into?
Nah?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10853815
“In a decision released yesterday, authority member Anna Fitzgibbon said the port had made “calculated decisions” to break the law.”
they got off lightly.
Pascal – true, yet no “lightly” in terms of respect and reputation!
What’s a promise from Slippery the Prime Minister really worth???, my opinion, well known,is that anything that that Slippery little Shyster says should be treated as suspect,
Slippery has just spent the past 4 years re-decorating the office of Prime Minister in colors,tone, and, intent so as to have it carry all the prestige and gravitas of a sales shack parked among the tin on any used-car lot situated in an Auckland back-street,
We will know more later as Slippery is at the moment engaged in a meeting with the families of the Pike River Miners,
He seems to be there with intent to apologize for the deregulated Government actions that aided and abetted the Coal Company in it’s game of Russian Roulette played with the lives of the Miners,
The families of those Miners seem to be there to ask Slippery, as the Prime Minister, to honor His promise to ‘do everything in His power to bring home the bodies of their family’,
What’s a promise from the Slippery Prime Minister worth???…
POAL has just been fined $40,000 for hiring scab labour in an attempt to break the MUNZ strike.
It was reportedly paying a foreign engineer $10,000 a week to do work that the MUNZ employees could otherwise do.
In a stinging criticism POAL is said to have made “calculated decisions” to break the law.
“Containers were stacked around the perimeter fence and the engineering workshop which obscured the vision of (union) employees on the picket line.” This occurred after a striking member had taken photographs of the scab workers and then complained to POAL about its actions.
It really is time for Len Brown and Auckland Council to step in because POAL is clearly out of control.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10853815
[lprent: fixed the link – had the HTML for a & in there ]
Weird: the link goes to the Herald front page, but works if you cut and paste it.
I look forward to all the law and order wingnuts
condemning PoALdemanding a retrospective law change to validate PoAL’s low-life actions.Gee, the issues are coming think and fast: more than one blogger can post about. Funny all this stuff is being made public at the same time, and just after the House went into recess!
In more news from the Third World…
From RadioNZ National news at noon, the Minister of Injustice will release the ‘Binnie report’ after 2 o’clock this afternoon…
Useless incompetent is useless and incompetent. Nothing to see here.
“For the 31 people who attended the camps prior to April this year, 61 per cent reoffended within six months…”
Context: NZ prison recidivism rate ≈ 50%
Norway prison recidivism rate ≈ 20%
Notice how filthy lying hypocrite Slater hasn’t got the guts to post about the Ports of Auckland getting slammed for employing strike-busting contractors. Coward.
He has actually. I looked just now and there is a post on the subject.
I didn’t read it but the title was “POAL fined today 40K…” so he certainly mentioned it.
His site apparently only lists the date of postings, not the time so I can’t say whether it was before your comment.
However the oldest comments are at least two hours ago so it may have been about the time you put your remark up.
Internet Explorer tracks cursor even when minimised
I don’t use IE as it’s been the most insecure browser for quite some time and now it shows that it’s even more insecure.
It tracks the mouse cursor movements, and then what?
And then the mouse becomes as suspect as the keyboard as far as security goes making such things as Kiwibanks’ KeepSafe less secure due to the fact that keyloggers will be able to log the mouse as well.
Just heard that a Duisenberg car was passed in at an auction on reaching bids of $6.4 million NZ?but the owners didn’t feel that was a sufficient price for them. I thought you might like to know where all that money that is retained by the very rich and/or successful criminals goes to.
Investing in practical manufactures that employ non and semi skilled people at a reasonable wage, little. Paying inflated prices for beautiful objects like hand-made cars, diamonds, works of art that an artist could never live off in their own lifetime, lots. And going to seminars where one meets like minded people, has a good nosh and hears about the latest methods of tax avoidance or evasion.
A couple of pieces from author and Reuters blogger Chrystia Freeland on the rise of the plutocrats.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chrystia-freeland/plutocrats-book_b_1997899.html
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2011/01/the-rise-of-the-new-global-elite/308343/
edit: Here’s Thom Hartman interviewing Freeland.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBZTitWwgWw
joe90
Henry George – is that a name? Someone who has been as important should have been called something more notable like say, Lewmount Barnthorough. Hard to overlook that. But very interesting to read about Henry but I note that he died offering his services to the people but unable to last the life distance to do so. Shame that.
And this other name Chrystia Freeland – good name and great thoughts. If to be forewarned is to be forearmed then I need to keep reading stuff like this. At least I’ll be able to identify my foes and know whose paid fist has knocked me flat.
fuck me – I really thought we’d hit the limit of bunksie’s barefaced contempt for all things ethical or credible, but then there’s this comment during the week’s coverage of child poverty:
Indeed. And a kick in the balls will help restore sight to the blind.
It is Christmas, so let’s just try (as hard as it is!) to have compassion for Banks as he is suffering from a tragic state of total delusion.
Darn… After months of staying within our “free” 25GB international traffic limits, last month we blew out to 103GB above it. Good thing that the price dropped to $1/GB…. Still increases our monthly costs by about 50% effectively without warning. Good thing generally. Bad thing for costs.
Part of that was a change to the backup systems. Most of it was the big jump in comments and people reading comments. But I’m going to move the primary server back offshore so we can get more stable cost structure than what happens over the southern cross.
I feel a donation coming on next time I go to my bank.
Don’t you worry about it and please don’t. Authors are the last people I’d call on. They write those interesting posts… I’m more irritated because I thought I had that completely under control.
In fact no-one (apart from me) needs to worry about it. We have a more than a years worth of server costs in the bank these days. It is slowly accumulating into an acceptably sized defence fund and hedge against server costs. (But donations from non-authors are always welcome of course….)
I’ve spent much of the last couple of years pushing the server costs down to the point that we could run something several sizes of what we have now on donations if we had to. That ideal requires that we’re not paying more than $300 per month. I’ve held it down to ~$360 per month for the last 4 months.
The problem is that I get essentially free traffic inside NZ, but overseas traffic, most of which is unwanted bots keeps blowing my targets.
But basically keeping the primary server in NZ is just too hard to stay inside my budget because of the frigging Southern Cross cable costs.
Is it wise to advertise this? Could vindictive scum like Clare Curran exploit this to cause problems for TS?
Not much anyone can do about it. The server will be going offshore soon for several reasons.
1. I don’t like the proposed cyber-bullying bill because it violates several tenets of long standing internet principles and principles of natural justice. The simplest way to argue about it will be show other people on the net how to shift their systems to completely avoid it. One part of that is show how to hide servers in other jurisdictional locations.
2. The costs on the southern cross cable are ridiculously high and damn near force servers to locate offshore. Politicians like Curran should exert effort making themselves useful rather than playing their silly games. Getting some competition in the overseas cables into NZ would help a lot with encouraging businesses to stay here.
3. I want flat costs for the servers to help with budgeting. These days I should be able to drop the costs of the primary server down to something that is essentially flat and about half of what we pay now until we triple in traffic volumes again.. That would put the total server cost back inside the easy donation envelope again.
4. I have to pass this through the trust, but once I move the server and check it for loads, I’ll probably pay well in advance.
LPrent,
Is there any chance of you returning the “donate” option that existed before the incomprehensible PayPal, as an alternative to it? Where the system just asked users to punch in their credit card details, and that was it.
My bank is Post Bank, and the wait time at this time of year is astronomical, and getting a park nearby is unlikely too.
What about internet banking? I was removing the PayPal as it has been some time since anyone used it. Mostly they just put it in using direct internet banking.
The Standard Trust account at Kiwibank
For those who havnt read the nice Michael Roberts blog, the latest on “Apples, robots and robber barons”. It features Keynesian Krugman who worries about sounding Marxist, and then dispenses his fallback arguments that technology can save capitalism from nasty ‘robber barons’.
http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/apples-robots-and-robber-barons/
…”Wow! exclaimed Krugman, struck by this figure which shows the share of income going to labour at a post-war low. He comments: “So the story has totally shifted; if you want to understand what’s happening to income distribution in the 21st century economy, you need to stop talking so much about skills, and start talking much more about profits and who owns the capital. Mea culpa: I myself didn’t grasp this until recently. But it’s really crucial.” 11 December.
So we need to start talking about profits and who owns the capital. Yikes! This smacks of Marxist economics. And indeed, in another post, Krugman recognises just that. “I think our eyes have been averted from the capital/labor dimension of inequality, for several reasons. It didn’t seem crucial back in the 1990s, and not enough people (me included!) have looked up to notice that things have changed. It has echoes of old-fashioned Marxism — which shouldn’t be a reason to ignore facts, but too often is. And it has really uncomfortable implications.” Indeed, it does.
Krugman considers whether we are reverting to Marxist talk. “Are we really back to talking about capital versus labor? Isn’t that an old-fashioned, almost Marxist sort of discussion, out of date in our modern information economy? Well, that’s what many people thought; for the past generation discussions of inequality have focused overwhelmingly not on capital versus labor but on distributional issues between workers, either on the gap between more- and less-educated workers or on the soaring incomes of a handful of superstars in finance and other fields. But that may be yesterday’s story. ….the wage gap between workers with a college education and those without, which grew a lot in the 1980s and early 1990s, hasn’t changed much since then. Indeed, recent college graduates had stagnant incomes even before the financial crisis struck. Increasingly, profits have been rising at the expense of workers in general, including workers with the skills that were supposed to lead to success in today’s economy…
Why is mainstream economics suddenly waking up to these issues? Maybe it is because some mainstream economists have had a revelation about how capitalism really works. Maybe they have a sense of injustice about labour’s share. It seems Paul Krugman fits those two explanations. But for others, it is more likely that the mainstream is aware of the social implications of growing inequality and the threat to capitalism itself if things go on the way they have been.
If the advanced capitalist economies remain in a long depression and income inequalities remain, the likelihood of social explosions is going to increase. Faith in capitalism as the only system that works will fade like belief in Christ – but much more quickly. That is the fear for the mainstream. It is the same fear that drove Keynes in the 1930s to look for new and more radical ways to ‘save capitalism’ from its own flaws. The strategists of capital reluctantly accepted some of his prescriptions for a while as Keynesian prescriptions appeared to offer a way out of slumps within capitalism. But when Marx’s law of profitability exerted itself during the 1970s, Keynesianism was dropped for neoliberal (neoclassical) policies that aimed to drive up the share of profit and squeeze social benefits. Now the neoliberal policy has failed and the mainstream (mainly the Keynesians) are issuing an emergency warning. Yikes – this is the longest post yet! STOP.”
Keynesianism is a means to prop up capitalism but it will still fail as the modus operandi of capitalism is to take all the wealth and give it to the few. Neo-liberalism, on the other hand, is a justification for taking all the wealth and giving it to the few in larger chunks which always results in an even bigger crash than what we got under Keynesianism.
This.
This is exactly what I’ve been saying for some time now but it has a major problem under the present socio-economic system – the majority of people (ie, the workers) lose all and accumulation to the owners accelerates the end result of which will be an even greater crash and, eventually, revolution. The only option we have is to replace capitalism but no political party seems willing to admit that.
“no political party seems willing to admit that.”
Mainstream, capitalist political party. Not surprising since they are committed to managing capitalism in all of its decline and dotage. There are however anti-capitalist parties, small as they may be still, pointing the way.
There are left currents and huge debates surrounding working class uprisings such as the Arab Spring, the strikes and Occupations of the EU and US, and ‘third-world’ movements like Bolivarianism in LA and more recently the miners strikes in SA. All of these show that there is an awakening of an anti-capitalist movement in the masses that is looking for political vehicles to transform dying capitalism into some form of post-capitalist, socialist society that can take all the huge advances of capitalist development and turn it to social good.
Part of this process is a reactivation of the rank and file in the old social democratic parties along class lines which is what we see happening in the NZ Labour Party. In particular radical youth are driving this process. Out of that there will be a regroupment of the working class into some form of anti-capitalist party.
Yes. The automation and technology are not the problem in themselves; it is the fact that they are owned by the capitalists who use them to displace labour and aggregate an increasing portion of wealth to themselves. The problem is not the hammer; it’s fools using it to smash porcelain.
Ultimately it is labour that gives value to things (aside from their embedded energy and environmental costs). When the labour content plummets to zero, prices and profits also drop to zero.
It’s a completely stupid and self-defeating system.
All too true vindow viper, and too few of us provide any sort of a challenge, the mainstream left is quiet lite blue and any red is fading to pink..off well if climate change and the oilprovide the great event can’t shake the tree tleft the true left or nleft progressive left will simply fade away.
red rattler said
“Faith in capitalism as the only system that works will fade like belief in Christ ”
I differ. As capitalism decays and people suffer we will turn more to whatever religion dominates our horizon.. Christianity was supposed to be based on Jesus Christ’s teachings, which were generally good ones and elevated ordinary people for respect alongside the rich.
His teachings have been perverted and converted into another form that supports a handy hierarchy for the didactic and upwardly mobile into either of the states of ephemeral soulfulness and other-worldliness or a materialistic club offering supposed membership privileges.
A lot of Christianity relies on Old Testament ideas that are acknowledged by Christ but then superseded by his new teachings. Christ remains as a teacher and leader who is inspiring of hope and viable pathways through problems to a better society. The religious however do not always find the right path even if they look for it, which many don’t.
One of these right things would be to donate some money to The Standards costs soon. A practical step along the pathway.
Cringe-inducing banter on Jim Mora’s show
National Radio, Thursday 13 December 2012, 4:15 p.m.
At the start of each episode of The Panel, that ever more dire and dismal Jim Mora vehicle, a valuable seven or eight minutes is squandered by preambulatory banter, which is almost always dull, and often excruciatingly dull. And sometimes, as happened on today’s programme, things get said that must make Mora wonder why the hell he bothers with the irksome chitchat regime foisted on him by his producers….
Jim Mora: Michelle Boag and Brian Edwards, two of the smartest operators in the tangled worlds of media and public relations!
Brian Edwards: I just LOVE coming on this programme. You always say the nicest things about me.
Michelle Boag: Jim’s obviously full of the festive spirit. *
Jim Mora: Yes I am actually.
Edwards: Good, otherwise we’d think you were just a CRAWLER.
Mora: [feigning hurt feelings] That’s defamatory.
Boag: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
After the 4:30 news, it’s time for the SOAPBOX, where the panellists talk about “what they have been thinking about”. Let’s see what Boag and Edwards—“two of the smartest operators”—have been occupying their minds….
Brian Edwards: I’m just getting so annoyed with table-hoggers in cafes and restaurants.
A long, uninteresting and unenlightening discussion ensues.
Later, Jim brings up the story of a man who has been sacked (allegedly) for criticizing Auckland Transport. This provokes Michelle Boag into a display of illiterate fury….
Boag: I find this INCREDULOUS!
Edwards: No you don’t. You find it incredible. You are incredulous.
Boag: [impatiently] Yes, all RIGHT!
* Here’s a video clip of Boag doing her key schtick—trying (unsuccessfully in this case) to intimidate….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7094218/Boag-keeps-eagle-eye-on-ACC-story
On this we may eternally agree, Morrissey: Jim Mora is shit. RNZ could replace him with a Speak-and-Spell operated by a Dobermann and you’d get more insightful, better-researched questions out of it.
I think the problem is mainly to do with his producers. They insist on the obligatory “pleasantries” at the start of each show. Jim often sounds weary and bored when going through these deadly opening remarks.
And it’s the producers, not Jim himself, who lump him with guests who are often dull and inarticulate.