Obviously, the Labour caucus did not listen to their membership when they selected Mumblefuck as “leader” of the party. How then did that come about? Well, this audio transcript of the pivotal decision moment has just come to me:
Voice 1: I hereby convene this session of the Iron Spines Society.
Voices [chanting]: We are the ABC Warriors!
Voice [booming]: Bigjobs!!
Voice 1: Yes. Now that our colleague has completed his 3 year assignment; snatching the laurels of failure from the jaws of victory, we needs must select a replacement. Lest we be at risk of the Goff’s human appearance seducing the punters away from the true path before our associate’s tasks are complete.
Voices: [indistinct disgruntled murmuring]
Voice 2: If I may have the floor? [sound of chairs moving etc.] We must be honest with ourselves; the Goff was a mistake; his humulation programing was too successful, and his, well; robotic…
Voices: [chuckling]
Voice: Bigjobs!!
Voice 2: His robotic command of numbers created a dangerous perception of competance.
Voices: [indistinct disgruntled murmuring]
Voice 1: We know this already, Robertron.
Voice 2: Ah, but does not our problem suggest it’s own solution? If the punters are indeed just a insufficiently industrious bunch of losers, then what do we need to seduce them to the cause of steel?
Voice 1: You’re right! What we need is the greatest loser concievable…
Voice 2: But where can we find this paragon of ineptituide?
[sound of door knock, then hinge squeak as it opens]
Voice 3: Did you want some tea? I mean, it smells like; engine oil, but that can’t… It must be tea – it’s in ummm… Teaspoons? No; cups. Or is it coffee? I may have some mango skins on me somewhere I could squeeze out for you? Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Africa…
That was a cut and paste of an earlier comment (33.2.1 on Zetettic’s 7/6 “Gone” post), which is about to slip off the bottom of the page. It seems relevant again with the Sky City rugby box fiasco, and anyway; is the best bit of writing I’ve done since I’ve started commenting on this site – though I’d been a reader for years.
Just so no gets confused: “Well, this audio transcript of the pivotal decision moment has just come to me”, means; I made up this satire to help deal with my anger about Labour’s incompetence. The; ABC Warriors, were a recurring story, with varying writers, in the 2000AD comic which is most famous for; Judge Dredd. They were; an unpleasant band of robotic mercenaries, whose main pleasure in unlife was watching human/ chainsaw torture porn.
It’s been years since I’ve read the comic (is is still being done? Is 2000AD?). Yeah, OK; maybe Hammerstein wasn’t as bad as MekQuake – but that’s a pretty low bar!
I don’t watch TV since it’s gone digital, and rarely enough before then (why didn’t you say; “it looks like you read too many comics”? That’d at least be relevant, though a decade out of date). However, I view DVDs of series, where you get the fill without the content (terms that seem exactly the wrong way round to me). And do sometimes look up news footage online; but I’m not often interested enough. I will stream TV3’s; 7 days, if its on though.
Pasupial is a nom de clave to protect myself against offline retaliation. It refers to my wee Basupial’s tendency to; cling on like a koala to a tree, with myself & Masupial.
I know I say “its a non story” on here a bit but the best non story of the week is the Labour MP’s at the sky city corporate box. If it was business then can the emails and recorded conversations be tabled or leaked to Winston.
I am really concerned that 4 labour MP’s are soliciting corporate sponsorship or business deals.
@ Yes
I’m not so sure about the; “centre” part of “centre right”, but yeah; you’ve been tolerably upfront about your views. And yes; it was a stuff-up by Labour, or at least; one part of the Labour caucus, rather than the Labour party as a whole.
However, NAct’s reponse that; the scandal lay in the Labour MPs accepting the seats in the Sky City box and then not voting for their legislation, suggests that a seat at the rugby really is enough to buy your average NAct MP. Whereas the 4 Labour MPs (plus their 10 minute leader) were merely guilty of a miserable error in judgement, rather than systemic corruption.
But it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good: The Greens have come out of this looking like the only Party in Parliament who actually believe in any ethical principles.
Man, who is advising these idiots? They had it on a plate this week – the Dunne affair, the continuous erosion of labour rights – and then they go and mingle with the SkyCity crowd. And all of a sudden, the topic is not the corrupt ways of the Key government and the Sky City deal, but the blatant hypocrisy of Labour politicians.
It’s fucking embarrassing, because as we know, and the MSM are constantly reminding us of it – in politics, it’s all about perception.
Yep key is calling it “deep hypocrisy” and sadly another arrow in the quiver that could be used to stop these gnats has been broken.
” Phil Goff, Annette King, Kris Faafoi and Clayton Cosgrove accepted SkyCity’s invitation. Their leader David Shearer declined, but turned up for 10 minutes anyway.
Prime Minister John Key said the Labour MPs had displayed “deep hypocrisy” after accusing the Government of being too close to SkyCity over the casino company’s plans to build a $400 million convention centre in Auckland in return for concessions on gambling laws.
“These guys have been running around parading as if they’re holier than thou, telling everybody how terrible SkyCity is and how the sky was going to cave in because a convention centre was being built and the moment we turn our back they are taking their sausage rolls and free beers in their box watching the All Blacks play,” he said today.”
I couldnt agree more.
Labour is a shambles and these Labour MPs dont seem to care, seems they think their career is over at next election already so they should be booted out now along with their wetfish leader
King, Goff, Faaafoi and Cosgrove are dickheads. Are they that stupid that they do not realise how bad it looks? Next time there is a request for the good people of South Auckland and West Auckland to put their hands in their pockets to help fund the Labour Party they will be less likely to do so because of these dickheads.
They are representatives of a proud political movement that has achieved a great deal of good for many ordinary people over many decades. These other bastards, the National Party, are wrecking the country and have to be thrown out next election. To maximise the left’s chances there needs to be no stuff ups and no dickhead moments.
All Labour MPs should be told to not accept any invitations to corporate boxes, especially those sponsored by Sky City, just in case they are too dickheaded to realise how bad it looks.
Nah, it is just four stupid vain people with a big sense of entitlement.
This is the core Shearer cheerleader team.
They are the ones that pushed Charles Chauvel out of winning Ohariu.
Besides taking $1,000 worth of hospitality each from Sky City, three of them used Tax Payer Funded flights to get to Auckland.
Did Sky City pay fot their overnight accomodation?
Did they stay in The Grand at Sky City’s expense?
Did they get Sky City Limos or Tax Payer Funded Corporate Limos?
Did any of them play tables with gift chips?
Does the term “being compromised” mean anything to these selfish morons?
So it is becoming abundantly clear that Brownlee needs to pan pretty much everyone to do with the Christchurch central city rebuild (especially the Christchurch City Council) in order to take the prying eyes away from this government’s most massive failing in this arena….
… that of the failure of the central city rebuild to spark. There have been plenty of stories of local investors and developers and entrepreneurs cashing up and leaving for other pastures. Long time locals. And now we, as participants in this rebuild, have come to a similar decision – a decision to pull back significantly from our intended steps.
The reason for this failure of Brownlee and this government? Imo, it was their decision to abandon the free market approach to the central city rebuild and take an interventionist approach on a par with soviet era Russia and their 5-year plans. This heavy-handed interventionist big-government left-wing approach has heavily distorted the scene. It has distorted the landscape to such an extent that private enterprise in the central city is pretty much impossible and that is why there is pretty much none going on.
That is why Brownlee is creating a crisis at the Council where there is none – to take the heat away from their failings.
It is a serious shame because the donut city becomes more of a reality with every passing day.
Yep, was in there yesterday and told that they have been getting help from Southland and Hawke Bay, among others, for some time already. It is like I said – there really is no crisis. There is a problem, but it is a problem that is consistent right across the city now, namely that of insufficient capacity. Pretty much anything that you need or want has a waiting list now and it is simply due to excess demand that simply cannot be met due to a lack of suitable people to do everything. And that aint going to be resolved.
And as above, the central city rebuild really is in dire straits. Aside from the more important housing and repair delays in the east, it is the most serious issue.
If the government had left the central city rebuild to the marketplace (subject to a few public institutions and relatively minor planning changes) then land values were plummeting to levels that would have made rebuilding stack up. And rebuilding by private enterprise would have sparked by now – as it has in other outer parts of the city.
By stepping in and mandating a Blueprint, and buying up half the city for their special anchor projects, they have completely distorted things.
Why has this government abandoned its political philosophy of small government, no interference, pro-free market? It’s approach in Chch is the most far-left interventionist approach this country has probably ever seen. And it is not working. Idiots.
Why has this government abandoned its political philosophy of small government, no interference, pro-free market?
It hasn’t. The correct terminology is Two faced or Speaking with forked tongue. What National say is never what they mean. They want small, non-interventionist government for everyone but them and their rich mates, i.e, everyone is on their own except for them and their rich mates who will get government support and handouts.
About time too, this is why we (the people of NZ) voted National in: to repeal section 97 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. Section 97 prevents the use of volunteers, contractors, or other casual employees by an employer during a strike or lockout.
I hope Key goes through with this but he probably won’t, just so he can be seen to be center-right…
You righties are unbelievable. You get all frothy on it if a law that you agree with is breached but if a law you do not agree with is breached you do not care.
Being prepared to break a particular law can be a legitimate form of protest, and after all, there are consequences, but neither law breaking nor consequences would be possible were it not for the rule of law.
I said, “can be”, because if we’re talking about the routine flouting or selective application of the law by the state, well, at that point the rule of law ceases.
Yet another scabs’ charter from the people who bought us the ’51 lockout. This dovetails nicely with the ‘reasonable’ changes they are proposing to allow bosses to walk away from bargaining. The boss ends bargaining, says ‘what are you gonna do about it?’ to their workers and if the staff take action, the boss brings in scabs under police protection. How’s that brighter future looking people?
Exactly, now that scabbing is legal what more can the Nats do to the remaining workers in this country? Chain them to work stations? Lock fire doors?
The tory labour legislation is all about downward pressure on wages and management by fear in a high unemployment environment. Jamie–Lee Ross what a tosser, hopefully he will get a suitable reaction if ever spotted in public by unionists.
Sure because a union would never start talks during the busy season at a meatworks would they? And they’d never go on strike during the busy time when they have the business over a barrell…no never
Its about time National started doing what they were put in to do.
Why not?
Workers are held to ransom by employers the rest of the time.
Every employer I ever worked for has insisted on getting all the work out of me before I get the money out of them. I’m sure a few folk can insist on it being the other way around, though. But not most workers.
When is the last time the meatworkers have struck during the busy season or the interisland ferries been stopped at Christmas because of strike action Winston?
If this is the problem that you say it is then why is the solution being applied 20 years too late?
When the people of New Zealand voted for National Ltd™ they did so, partially, on the basis of what John Key said. Among the statements he made about the direction his government would take are these . . .
. . . he lied. Again. And again. And again. He’s still lying. If John Key told the truth about National Ltd™’s intentions it would never have been elected. The actions of National Ltd™ in the area of employment are being rammed down the throat of New Zealand workers without a mandate.
Um, moral high horse? I just said you ducked the question, there’s no horse about it.
Undoubtedly there are laws which should be changed or repealed and perhaps infrequently there might be a need for entirely new laws. It is manifestly so, or else why bother with elections?
The rule of law also forms a significant part of the New Zealand constitution. The principles of the rule of law are not easily defined, but encompass ideas such as:
the powers exercised by parliamentarians and officials are based on legal authority;
there are minimum standards of justice to which the law must conform, eg laws affecting individual liberty should be reasonably certain and clear;
the law should have safeguards against the abuse of wide discretionary powers;
unfair discrimination should not be allowed by the law;
a person should not be deprived of his or her liberty, status or other substantial interest without the opportunity of a fair hearing before an impartial court or tribunal.
You need to wake up before you start typing, otherwise it just looks like a vague recollection of your disjointed R.E.M. sleep cycle.
Sadly, and astoundingly, that is our friend Dale when he is wide awake. You might think it resembles the semi-conscious outpourings of someone not fully awake, or even suffering from drug abuse, but I assure you, fender, the poor fellow won’t get any better.
You of course must be privy to details of the investigation before it is complete, whereas mere mortals will have to wait for official findings to be made public I suppose.
By the way, one of Bretts implications seemed to be that the NZ left would blame the “States” for making al Assad use chemical weapons on his own people.
The States has simply been itching to supply heavy weapons to the anti Assad brigade (even though half of them are foreign islamists from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other nice places)
Syria uses chemical weapons on its own people, and not one word form the left wing parties of New Zealand.
Your witlessness never ceases to astound me. Those are allegations only; nothing has been proved. Where there WAS irrefutable proof of chemical weapon usage was in 2009-9, when Israel used Phosphorus bombs in its murderous assault on Gaza.
Far from condemning that use of chemical weapons, I remember you frequently expressing your endorsement of it.
The rest of your little rant is, as always, too incoherent and confused to justify any response.
Actaully the official statement says “The Assad regime could prove that its request for an investigation was not just a diversionary tactic by granting the U.N. fact-finding mission immediate and unfettered access to conduct on-site investigations to help reveal the truth about chemical weapons use in Syria. While pushing for a U.N. investigation, the United States has also been working urgently with our partners and allies as well as individuals inside Syria, including the Syrian opposition, to procure, share, and evaluate information associated with reports of chemical weapons use so that we can establish the facts and determine what took place.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/text-us-statement-syria-chemical-weapons-19396269
But congratuations on finding a way to use the horrible death of 100-150 people in Syria as an excuse to spray around some more of your fanatical Jew hate, Morrissey.
No, I just get bored with you constantly making everything about Israel
So I make “everything” about Israel, you say. Where in all of the debate about Edward Snowden, for instance, have I even mentioned Israel?
The only reason I mentioned Israel was because one (admittedly substandard) poster raised the question of chemical weapons usage. Now, of course, you will probably pretend otherwise, but the fact is that only two regimes have used chemical weapons, and they have in both cases been defended by their U.S. sponsor with the most aggressive and cynical “diplomacy” imaginable. The U.S. even concocted a fantastic story that attempted to pin the blame for the Halabja massacre on another official enemy, Iran.
There is no evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons—unlike Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Israel.
I am sure you know that—but you keep on defending that halfwit Brett Dale if you want.
Probably because you haven’t thought of a way to connect Snowden and Israel. I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
Actually that’s not what I’d doing at all – not any more so than Annette Sykes celebrated 9/11 or Hone Harawera gave a moving eulogy of Osama bin Laden. You just enjoy attacking me in your limp fashion because you don’t agree with me – I’ve never known you to debate a point.
You are one of the most pointless commenters here.
Here’s what you said:
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
Looking forward to confirmation of CW use, purely so that you can continue your petty little squabble with Morrissey, who you greatly resemble, although he does actually make points, wrongheaded as they often might be.
“Looking forward to confirmation of CW use, purely so that you can continue your petty little squabble with Morrissey, who you greatly resemble, although he does actually make points, wrongheaded as they often might be.”
You are such a martyr – do you get no enjoyment out of bickering you holier than thou prude?
I don’t. But yon Morrissey has a habit of lumping Jewish celebrities in with Likud at every available opportunity
Another lie. I do not “lump Jewish celebrities in with Likud”; some of the bravest, most outspoken critics of the outlaw Israeli regime have been, and are, Jewish celebrities.
A while ago you alleged, absurdly, that my pointing out the vile racism, the merciless lies and the brutal and possibly catastrophic defamation of a Palestinian Christian peace activist by Sacha Baron Cohen means that I was, ergo, attacking all Jews.
Over the last couple of years on this excellent forum, I have also expressed contempt for Barack Obama, Tau Henare, Winston Peters, the Japanese and Chinese governments, the Indonesian government, the American-backed Arab dictators, and many other criminals, con-men and impostors who have managed to get themselves into positions of inordinate and unjustified power.
Yet you, for some absolutely spurious reason, have consistently maintained that I am “fixated on Israel” and that by, say, reminding people that Israel used Phosphorus bombs on the civilians of Gaza, is to “spray around Jew hate”. Apparently, Israeli politicians and their hardline supporters, like Sacha Baron Cohen and Jerry Seinfeld and Maureen Lipman, are immune to criticism; to even point out their fanatical devotion to the Holy State is a crime.
You have no consistency, no integrity and no credibility.
Probably because you haven’t thought of a way to connect Snowden and Israel.
Unbelievable! I publicly keelhaul you for your lack of integrity, your dishonesty, and your irrationality—and you’re back at it almost immediately. As I mentioned before, I do feel a degree of compassion for you, but your idiotic maliciousness sorely tries my patience.
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s [sic] own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
We’ll skip the unimaginative and incompetent abuse and go straight to your one point: you are evidently trying to suggest I support the Syrian regime. I do not. Only a fool, i.e. you, would draw that inference from anything I have written here or anywhere else.
Where did I ever suggest you supported the Syrian regime? I was commenting on your adamant refusal to entertain the likelihood that nerve gas had been used simply because of an all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex. You’re projecting somewhat
Where did I ever suggest you supported the Syrian regime?
I thought it might have been one of your little jests, like calling me a “Jew-hater”.
I was commenting on your adamant refusal to entertain the likelihood that nerve gas had been used simply because of an all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.
A thoroughly discredited regime, at present engaged in two overt wars, both of which it started, and two more undeclared wars, in Yemen and Pakistan, is now making claims similar to the false claims it made to start the 2003 Iraq war. Yet you choose to describe all those who do not accept the unproven allegations of that rogue state as “all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.” That’s not only trivialization, that’s flagrant misrepresentation.
“A thoroughly discredited regime, at present engaged in two overt wars, both of which it started, and two more undeclared wars, in Yemen and Pakistan, is now making claims similar to the false claims it made to start the 2003 Iraq war. Yet you choose to describe all those who do not accept the unproven allegations of that rogue state as “all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.” That’s not only trivialization, that’s flagrant misrepresentation.”
And correlation is not causation
“Projecting what?”
I wish I knew. That’s a question for your therapist.
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s [sic] own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
Now the US?UK is using the excuse of chemical weapons to validate the arming of Syrian rebel groups such as the Al Nusra Front an Al Qaeda affiliated organisation,
I made a link late last week, maybe from The Guardian, about the political entrepreneurship manipulating Shia / Sunni, and inter-sectarian oppositions, then there is always the memories of the mujahideen…
furthermore, there are the Iranian elections, all candidates competing in obedience to The Supreme Leader, seeking a more complicit Prez. from the single moderate, four conservative and one hardliner candidates.hmmm
In 2010, large amounts of information from numerous sources revealed the USA’s use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium shells in Iraq during various battles resulting from the USA’s illegal invasion in 2003. I don’t remember hearing any outrage about the illegal use of prohibited weapons from National. There was not a sound from their benches during or after the attacks, or later, when they were the Government and the truth became public. Coming to think of it they are still markedly reticent to comment on it.
A soldier’s body containing a live grenade and two bullets is brought back using three separate flights. Jonathan Coleman says Who could have imagined that this would happen. Well all of government really. Because they have fed us the story that our forces overseas are strictly there for reconstruction and to aid peace moves and then turned off their hearing aids off and pocketed their specs.
A major fall from grace gets 12 months home detention and 250 hours community service (what will he do I wonder) hen he was involved with others in losing $millions from hard-working taxpaying citizens. I want equal justice for beneficiaries who are found guilty of defrauding taxpayers.
Something odd happens every day. What’s odder is that nothing seems to be done to adjust the vision for a more practical and effective result.
Two democratic heroes;
Two very different treatments by Radio New Zealand
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 11 June 2013
Jim Mora, Tony Doe, David Farrar
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I could not listen after 4 o’clock, but if the combination of inanity and insincere unctuousness in the preshow chat was anything to go by, I’m kind of glad I missed the main show.
This is what, according to Susan Baldacci and Jim Mora, the World is Talking About….
1.) Do i-Phones have a soul?
2.) Designated drivers are often just “less drunk” rather than sober.
3.) An exciting new coffee cup design that eliminates cup rings.
4.) Dogshit detectors in Spain.
5.) Nelson Mandela’s health.
This last topic supplied the unctuousness factor. Susan Baldacci announced that Mandela had rallied a little over the last twenty-four hours; Mora huffed and sighed: “That’s goodish news.” More huffing and sighing, then more unctuous expressions of goodwill for the Pope, who is also not in the best of health.
This contrasts brutally with Mora’s behaviour after Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez died…
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 March 2013
JIM MORA: Okay, just a couple of minutes left. Should John Key go to Hugo Chávez’s funeral or not? I can see why he’s NOT going. Ha ha ha ha!
DAVID SLACK: Of course he should go. He’s been leaned on by the United States.
MORA: But he’d be seen to be endorsing a revolutionary left wing leader?
MARK INGALLS: I’m ashamed as a New Zealander that he’s not going.
I looked up Stanley the explorer in Wikipedia and was amazed at his great career and adaptability from very harsh beginnings. But others who hadn’t harsh or poor beginnings to overcome don’t always succeed in reaching their potential as civilised, well-rounded human beings. Note Jameson heir of a whiskey manufacturer below and don’t forget the truly awful Belgian King Leopold II. This is from Stanley’s entry in wikipedia.
In 1886, Stanley led the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition to “rescue” Emin Pasha, the governor of Equatoria in the southern Sudan.
King Leopold II demanded that Stanley take the longer route, via the Congo River, hoping to acquire more territory and perhaps even Equatoria.
After immense hardships and great loss of life, Stanley met Emin in 1888, charted the Ruwenzori Range and Lake Edward, and emerged from the interior with Emin and his surviving followers at the end of 1890.[25]
But this expedition tarnished Stanley’s name because of the conduct of the other Europeans: British gentlemen and army officers. An army major was shot by a carrier, after behaving with extreme cruelty.
James Jameson, heir to an Irish whiskey manufacturer, bought an 11-year-old girl and offered her to cannibals to document and sketch how she was cooked and eaten.[26] Stanley only found out when Jameson had died of fever.
I’m not so sure that Stanley should be painted in such a good light. From the same Wikipedia article…
However, statements by contemporaries of Stanley, such as Sir Richard Francis Burton, who claimed “Stanley shoots negroes as if they were monkeys”, paint a very different picture
For those who haven’t yet bothered to base their ‘pro-fluoride’ / ‘not-so-considered’ opinions on FACTS and EVIDENCE – you may be interested in this statement, from a leading UK Professor of Public Health?
Statement by leading UK Professor of Public Health.
Professor Peckham can be quoted as follows:-
As a Professor and Health Researcher I find pro-fluoridationists’ characterisation of those opposed to fluoridation as “quacks” offensive.
My work is supported by the UK Department of Health, I am a member of the UK Faculty of Public Health and have a number of funded research projects from the National Institutes for Health Research in the UK.
I have consistently opposed fluoridation policy due to the poor evidence base on its effectiveness, genuine concerns about potential health problems (requiring further research) and, therefore, the fact that imposing fluoridation is unethical.
Professor Stephen Peckham BSc. MA(Econ)., HMFPH
Director, Centre for Health Services Studies
Professor of Health Policy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Director, Policy Research Unit in Commissioning and the Healthcare System
University of Kent
______________________________________________________________________________
Hilarious that Booz Allen tried to discredit Snowden by saying that his salary was only $122,000 per year, and Snowden claimed that he earnt $200,000 per year.
But figure in the big annual bonuses and benefits that these private consultant types get…and $200,000 doesn’t sound unreasonable at all.
“Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, he he he! Get him a sun lamp!!!”
An unusually inane and depraved edition of The Panel
Radio NZ National, Friday 14 June 2013
Jim Mora, Lisa Scott, Chris Trotter
JIM MORA: It’s Susan Baldacci, with What the Wooooorld’s Talking About! What have you got for us today? SUSAN BALDACCI: First up, Jim, is this Perth radio host who has been suspended for saying Julia Gillard’s husband is gay, because he is a hairdresser. JIM MORA: This is bizarre, isn’t it! LISA SCOTT: They’re attacking her because she’s a woman! CHRIS TROTTER: The same thing went on with Helen Clark. There were some TERRIBLE things said about her husband too. MORA: Yeah but they were more subterranean, weren’t they? In Australia this kind of thing is much more out in the open. CHRIS TROTTER: Well, Ian Wishart’s Investigate magazine has a much larger readership than one might think. MORA: But surely no mainstream, reputable media outlets in this country would TOLERATE that sort of thing would they?
REALITY CHECK….
Mora is either dishonest or has a memory like John Banks, i.e., he is dishonest. A few years ago on The Panel, one DOCTOR MICHAEL BASSETT worked himself up into a state of preternatural malice and snarled, absurdly, that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier. I can think of nothing more despicable or extreme than uttering such a brutal and offensive falsehood on public radio—but Jim Mora did not say a word. Far from not tolerating “that sort of thing”, Mora’s guests on the Panel have included, as well as Bassett, such extreme and irrational figures as Nevil Breivik Gibson, Christine Spankin’ Rankin, and Garth Gaga George—to name just three off the top of my head. He has also respectfully interviewed such outré figures as the Sensible Sentencing Trust’s Garth “The Knife” McVicar. So much for his contention that no mainstream media outlets in this country would tolerate “that sort of thing.”
MORA: What else have you got for us? SUSAN BALDACCI: Well, this latest study shows that we’re all a little bit paranoid. There are three kinds of paranoia, apparently— MORA: Three kinds of paranoia? SUSAN BALDACCI:[annoyed] Y-y-y-y-yes.
She gives a brief survey of an article about paranoia she has just downloaded from the internet, and then the program takes a sinister turn….
SUSAN BALDACCI: Julian Assange is a little bit paranoid. MORA: Oh yes? Hur, hur, hur, hur! SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, he claims that being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he is deprived of his human right of getting enough sun. MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun? SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”. MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha! CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw! SUSAN BALDACCI: He thinks he should be allowed out of his Ecuador embassy hideout to sunbathe. MORA: He can get out on the balcony, where he gave that speech! LISA SCOTT: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! CHRIS TROTTER: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or get him a sun lamp! THAT’s what he needs! LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha! SUSAN BALDACCI: He he he he he! TROTTER: I suspect the ambassador’s just sick of the sight of him! “Are you ever going to LEEEEAAAVE?” MORA: Sun lamp! Get him a sun lamp!!! LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha! MORA: Back after the news!
……4 p.m. News……
WAYNE MOWAT: The time is nine minutes past four and due to circumstances beyond our control, we have some more music.
Plays George Harrison’s “Apple Scruffs”, then something by Fat Freddy’s Drop. Wayne Mowat tells us there’s been a fire alarm so everyone has had to leave the building for a short time.
They’re back in the studio at 4:15. Somebody—presumably not Mora himself—decides to ditch the discussion about fluoridation and the loons who have stampeded the Hamilton City Council into abandoning it. But they still go ahead with the entirely pointless, extended introductions of the guests. Trotter vapors on about Bloom’s Day, which is coming up in Auckland. “There’s a lot of laughing,” he promises, “and some weeping.”
Then it’s on to the big, in-depth discussions, “the news of the day in a different way”….
Topic No. 1:
Labour’s hypocritical MPs accepting “hospitality” from Sky City…. LISA SCOTT:giggles winsomely It just shows that politicians are people too. CHRIS TROTTER: When I heard David Shearer say he didn’t know they were there, I almost threw my cellphone at the wall. To say that you didn’t know just shows you have no control over your caucus. LISA SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, it’s not a good look. It’s a bad look, all right. I agree with you.
Topic No. 2:
Dunedin mayor Dave Cull’s email exchange about the Dalai Lama is to be released to the public…. CHRIS TROTTER: With our increasing closeness to and reliance on China, there will be increasing pressure on university chancellors, mayors and all public officials to not have ANYTHING to do with the Dalai Lama. LISA SCOTT: Isn’t that sad! CHRIS TROTTER: It is, really. He’s a lovely chap! LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
….[4:30 News]….
Soapbox….
MORA: What have you been thinking about, Lisa Scott? LISA SCOTT: I’ve been thinking about something called UBF. Do you know what it is—Unintentional Bitch Face. CHRIS TROTTER: Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho! LISA SCOTT: It’s when you look grumpy without meaning to. Posh Spice has UBF. MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! She does too! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Sellotape behind the ears! This is cheap cosmetic surgery! LISA SCOTT: I’ve got UGF—Unintentionally Gormless Face. MORA: Posh DOES have a look doesn’t she! Okay, Chris Trotter, what’s been on your mind?
CHRIS TROTTER: Oh, mine seems terribly worthy now, compared to that GREAT topic. But an interesting factoid I have just learned is that New Zealand now has more than one thousand people employed in security. Why do we need so many spooks? MORA: Do you remember when it was just the SIS? In those days you got the impression it was only fifty to a hundred people. CHRIS TROTTER: Yes, those were the trenchcoat days, trailing Dr. Bill Sutch. Now it’s all NCIS and MORA: We chortle, but if Big Data like Prism is going to conform and constrain and dominate our lives, then we NEED that expertise!
The program ends with Trotter taking up his guitar and singing a melancholy tribute to the legendary Dunedin student pub, the Captain Cook, which is closing after 150 years.
Unfortunately, this publicly funded yock-fest will continue on Monday…..
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
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 ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
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Obviously, the Labour caucus did not listen to their membership when they selected Mumblefuck as “leader” of the party. How then did that come about? Well, this audio transcript of the pivotal decision moment has just come to me:
Voice 1: I hereby convene this session of the Iron Spines Society.
Voices [chanting]: We are the ABC Warriors!
Voice [booming]: Bigjobs!!
Voice 1: Yes. Now that our colleague has completed his 3 year assignment; snatching the laurels of failure from the jaws of victory, we needs must select a replacement. Lest we be at risk of the Goff’s human appearance seducing the punters away from the true path before our associate’s tasks are complete.
Voices: [indistinct disgruntled murmuring]
Voice 2: If I may have the floor? [sound of chairs moving etc.] We must be honest with ourselves; the Goff was a mistake; his humulation programing was too successful, and his, well; robotic…
Voices: [chuckling]
Voice: Bigjobs!!
Voice 2: His robotic command of numbers created a dangerous perception of competance.
Voices: [indistinct disgruntled murmuring]
Voice 1: We know this already, Robertron.
Voice 2: Ah, but does not our problem suggest it’s own solution? If the punters are indeed just a insufficiently industrious bunch of losers, then what do we need to seduce them to the cause of steel?
Voice 1: You’re right! What we need is the greatest loser concievable…
Voice 2: But where can we find this paragon of ineptituide?
[sound of door knock, then hinge squeak as it opens]
Voice 3: Did you want some tea? I mean, it smells like; engine oil, but that can’t… It must be tea – it’s in ummm… Teaspoons? No; cups. Or is it coffee? I may have some mango skins on me somewhere I could squeeze out for you? Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Africa…
[Transcript ends]
That was a cut and paste of an earlier comment (33.2.1 on Zetettic’s 7/6 “Gone” post), which is about to slip off the bottom of the page. It seems relevant again with the Sky City rugby box fiasco, and anyway; is the best bit of writing I’ve done since I’ve started commenting on this site – though I’d been a reader for years.
Just so no gets confused: “Well, this audio transcript of the pivotal decision moment has just come to me”, means; I made up this satire to help deal with my anger about Labour’s incompetence. The; ABC Warriors, were a recurring story, with varying writers, in the 2000AD comic which is most famous for; Judge Dredd. They were; an unpleasant band of robotic mercenaries, whose main pleasure in unlife was watching human/ chainsaw torture porn.
Not all the ABC warriors (in particular Hammerstein) were like that especially when they hooked up with Nemesis the Warlock
It’s been years since I’ve read the comic (is is still being done? Is 2000AD?). Yeah, OK; maybe Hammerstein wasn’t as bad as MekQuake – but that’s a pretty low bar!
2000AD is still going strong, in fact the Dredd movie that recently came out was pretty good (even though it bombed at the box office)
+1, and every Dredd fan I know agrees, and wants more from Karl and the gang
Yes please. Still amazes me that they thought to age Dredd in real time in the comics.
Well rejuv drugs help
Pasupial, it looks as if you have been watching too much television. Are you aware of the difference between official fiction and reality ?
“Earthquake ? What earthquake ?” said the Mayor as he brushed off a few crumbs and some debris and passed the tea to Alice.
“.. and what is a Pasupial ?” asked the March Hare as he studied an old map of Australia.
@ Tom
You do understand the term; satire?
I don’t watch TV since it’s gone digital, and rarely enough before then (why didn’t you say; “it looks like you read too many comics”? That’d at least be relevant, though a decade out of date). However, I view DVDs of series, where you get the fill without the content (terms that seem exactly the wrong way round to me). And do sometimes look up news footage online; but I’m not often interested enough. I will stream TV3’s; 7 days, if its on though.
Pasupial is a nom de clave to protect myself against offline retaliation. It refers to my wee Basupial’s tendency to; cling on like a koala to a tree, with myself & Masupial.
7 Days is back on again. About the only thing worth watching on a Friday night until the Cricket comes on.
I know I say “its a non story” on here a bit but the best non story of the week is the Labour MP’s at the sky city corporate box. If it was business then can the emails and recorded conversations be tabled or leaked to Winston.
I am really concerned that 4 labour MP’s are soliciting corporate sponsorship or business deals.
Can anyone help?
You know you’re stirring……..
Not stirring – always declared my position on here. im centre right and enjoy the dialogue. It is a stuff up by labour isn’t it?
@ Yes
I’m not so sure about the; “centre” part of “centre right”, but yeah; you’ve been tolerably upfront about your views. And yes; it was a stuff-up by Labour, or at least; one part of the Labour caucus, rather than the Labour party as a whole.
However, NAct’s reponse that; the scandal lay in the Labour MPs accepting the seats in the Sky City box and then not voting for their legislation, suggests that a seat at the rugby really is enough to buy your average NAct MP. Whereas the 4 Labour MPs (plus their 10 minute leader) were merely guilty of a miserable error in judgement, rather than systemic corruption.
But it’s an ill wind that blows no one any good: The Greens have come out of this looking like the only Party in Parliament who actually believe in any ethical principles.
Yes a stuff up for sure.
Yes a stuff up for sure.
Yes a stuff up for sure.
Man, who is advising these idiots? They had it on a plate this week – the Dunne affair, the continuous erosion of labour rights – and then they go and mingle with the SkyCity crowd. And all of a sudden, the topic is not the corrupt ways of the Key government and the Sky City deal, but the blatant hypocrisy of Labour politicians.
It’s fucking embarrassing, because as we know, and the MSM are constantly reminding us of it – in politics, it’s all about perception.
Yep key is calling it “deep hypocrisy” and sadly another arrow in the quiver that could be used to stop these gnats has been broken.
” Phil Goff, Annette King, Kris Faafoi and Clayton Cosgrove accepted SkyCity’s invitation. Their leader David Shearer declined, but turned up for 10 minutes anyway.
Prime Minister John Key said the Labour MPs had displayed “deep hypocrisy” after accusing the Government of being too close to SkyCity over the casino company’s plans to build a $400 million convention centre in Auckland in return for concessions on gambling laws.
“These guys have been running around parading as if they’re holier than thou, telling everybody how terrible SkyCity is and how the sky was going to cave in because a convention centre was being built and the moment we turn our back they are taking their sausage rolls and free beers in their box watching the All Blacks play,” he said today.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10890361
What a fucken joke this labour opposition is.
I couldnt agree more.
Labour is a shambles and these Labour MPs dont seem to care, seems they think their career is over at next election already so they should be booted out now along with their wetfish leader
Just as well there is also a Greens opposition.
These arrogant clowns were being mollycuddled by Sky City hostesses while we were collecting Asset signatures .
Aye.
King, Goff, Faaafoi and Cosgrove are dickheads. Are they that stupid that they do not realise how bad it looks? Next time there is a request for the good people of South Auckland and West Auckland to put their hands in their pockets to help fund the Labour Party they will be less likely to do so because of these dickheads.
They are representatives of a proud political movement that has achieved a great deal of good for many ordinary people over many decades. These other bastards, the National Party, are wrecking the country and have to be thrown out next election. To maximise the left’s chances there needs to be no stuff ups and no dickhead moments.
All Labour MPs should be told to not accept any invitations to corporate boxes, especially those sponsored by Sky City, just in case they are too dickheaded to realise how bad it looks.
Dickheads, dickheads, dickheads.
Did I mention that I think they are dickheads?
Yeah, pretty fundamentally stupid eh? I really want to like Labour but they sure make it fucking difficult.
At this stage I don’t want to vote for any party.
Try the Vote Them Out party TC.
The only true alternative.
Maybe I’ll vote ALCP just because they are the only ones with a principle they actually stand behind.
Meh, party vote National and a tick for a local liberal to make yourself feel better.
Nah, it is just four stupid vain people with a big sense of entitlement.
This is the core Shearer cheerleader team.
They are the ones that pushed Charles Chauvel out of winning Ohariu.
Besides taking $1,000 worth of hospitality each from Sky City, three of them used Tax Payer Funded flights to get to Auckland.
Did Sky City pay fot their overnight accomodation?
Did they stay in The Grand at Sky City’s expense?
Did they get Sky City Limos or Tax Payer Funded Corporate Limos?
Did any of them play tables with gift chips?
Does the term “being compromised” mean anything to these selfish morons?
They are National lite this crew
The Lite Right.
Did Phil Goff, Annette King, Kris Faafoi and Clayton Cosgrove not think how this may be perceived?
Did they? Or not?
What do they have to say to this fubar? Have they answered the allegation?
So it is becoming abundantly clear that Brownlee needs to pan pretty much everyone to do with the Christchurch central city rebuild (especially the Christchurch City Council) in order to take the prying eyes away from this government’s most massive failing in this arena….
… that of the failure of the central city rebuild to spark. There have been plenty of stories of local investors and developers and entrepreneurs cashing up and leaving for other pastures. Long time locals. And now we, as participants in this rebuild, have come to a similar decision – a decision to pull back significantly from our intended steps.
The reason for this failure of Brownlee and this government? Imo, it was their decision to abandon the free market approach to the central city rebuild and take an interventionist approach on a par with soviet era Russia and their 5-year plans. This heavy-handed interventionist big-government left-wing approach has heavily distorted the scene. It has distorted the landscape to such an extent that private enterprise in the central city is pretty much impossible and that is why there is pretty much none going on.
That is why Brownlee is creating a crisis at the Council where there is none – to take the heat away from their failings.
It is a serious shame because the donut city becomes more of a reality with every passing day.
Brownlee should stick to his knitting.
Agreed VTO.
Interesting that offers of support are flooding in from other Councils. They obviously realise that if Christchurch gets beaten up they may be next.
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/newsmedia/mediareleases/2013/201306135.aspx
Yep, was in there yesterday and told that they have been getting help from Southland and Hawke Bay, among others, for some time already. It is like I said – there really is no crisis. There is a problem, but it is a problem that is consistent right across the city now, namely that of insufficient capacity. Pretty much anything that you need or want has a waiting list now and it is simply due to excess demand that simply cannot be met due to a lack of suitable people to do everything. And that aint going to be resolved.
And as above, the central city rebuild really is in dire straits. Aside from the more important housing and repair delays in the east, it is the most serious issue.
If the government had left the central city rebuild to the marketplace (subject to a few public institutions and relatively minor planning changes) then land values were plummeting to levels that would have made rebuilding stack up. And rebuilding by private enterprise would have sparked by now – as it has in other outer parts of the city.
By stepping in and mandating a Blueprint, and buying up half the city for their special anchor projects, they have completely distorted things.
Why has this government abandoned its political philosophy of small government, no interference, pro-free market? It’s approach in Chch is the most far-left interventionist approach this country has probably ever seen. And it is not working. Idiots.
square pegs and round holes, National’s policies and New Zealand’s needs
It hasn’t. The correct terminology is Two faced or Speaking with forked tongue. What National say is never what they mean. They want small, non-interventionist government for everyone but them and their rich mates, i.e, everyone is on their own except for them and their rich mates who will get government support and handouts.
Knitting??? More like eating everything in sight. Reminds me of Billy Bunter, the “Fat Owl of the Remove”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bunter
Prisoners to refurbish houses for HNZ
About time too, this is why we (the people of NZ) voted National in: to repeal section 97 of the Employment Relations Act 2000. Section 97 prevents the use of volunteers, contractors, or other casual employees by an employer during a strike or lockout.
I hope Key goes through with this but he probably won’t, just so he can be seen to be center-right…
Do you believe in the rule of law Winston?
Not always, depends on the law.
You righties are unbelievable. You get all frothy on it if a law that you agree with is breached but if a law you do not agree with is breached you do not care.
Good Answer some laws are just plain stupid.
WS ducks the question.
Being prepared to break a particular law can be a legitimate form of protest, and after all, there are consequences, but neither law breaking nor consequences would be possible were it not for the rule of law.
I said, “can be”, because if we’re talking about the routine flouting or selective application of the law by the state, well, at that point the rule of law ceases.
Yet another scabs’ charter from the people who bought us the ’51 lockout. This dovetails nicely with the ‘reasonable’ changes they are proposing to allow bosses to walk away from bargaining. The boss ends bargaining, says ‘what are you gonna do about it?’ to their workers and if the staff take action, the boss brings in scabs under police protection. How’s that brighter future looking people?
“I’d love to see wages drop”. John Key.
Exactly, now that scabbing is legal what more can the Nats do to the remaining workers in this country? Chain them to work stations? Lock fire doors?
The tory labour legislation is all about downward pressure on wages and management by fear in a high unemployment environment. Jamie–Lee Ross what a tosser, hopefully he will get a suitable reaction if ever spotted in public by unionists.
Sure because a union would never start talks during the busy season at a meatworks would they? And they’d never go on strike during the busy time when they have the business over a barrell…no never
Its about time National started doing what they were put in to do.
What, collective action timed to be as effective as possible?
Why are you so afraid of the freedoms of speech and assembly? Why are you whining about people exercising their freedoms?
Are you a cry-baby as well as a scab?
Scab…lol, sorry I seem to have misplaced my cloth cap as I trudge off down t’ mill
I’m not saying people can’t strike, if they want to strike then good on them but employers shouldn’t be held to ransom by some union delegates
Why not?
Workers are held to ransom by employers the rest of the time.
Every employer I ever worked for has insisted on getting all the work out of me before I get the money out of them. I’m sure a few folk can insist on it being the other way around, though. But not most workers.
@ O’Brien
I see you remembered your arse-hat though.
When is the last time the meatworkers have struck during the busy season or the interisland ferries been stopped at Christmas because of strike action Winston?
If this is the problem that you say it is then why is the solution being applied 20 years too late?
Hey Winston Smith, take your attitude to workers and shove it as hard as you can right up until your eyes water, arsehole.
Aint no trouble finding you in this you ignorant evil prick … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyUagbsg-HI
I appreciate that you have sexual feelings towards me but, alas, I’m happily married but don’t worry theres someone for everyone.
🙂
Once again you prove comprehension is not your forte.
It sounded like he/she wanted to have sexy times with me so I thought I’d let them down easy, don’t want to lead anyone on 🙂
Maybe you place too much importance in having your arsehole giving you “sexy times”.
I don’t discriminate about where people have sexy times
Good on you, though your discrimination towards workers makes you look rather discriminaTory.
W Smith I see you have turned up again to encourage the inhabitants to tease you with bananas and peanuts. Clever old you.
‘
When the people of New Zealand voted for National Ltd™ they did so, partially, on the basis of what John Key said. Among the statements he made about the direction his government would take are these . . .
. . . he lied. Again. And again. And again. He’s still lying. If John Key told the truth about National Ltd™’s intentions it would never have been elected. The actions of National Ltd™ in the area of employment are being rammed down the throat of New Zealand workers without a mandate.
Um, moral high horse? I just said you ducked the question, there’s no horse about it.
Undoubtedly there are laws which should be changed or repealed and perhaps infrequently there might be a need for entirely new laws. It is manifestly so, or else why bother with elections?
Comment apparently orphaned?
Syria uses chemical weapons on its own people, and not one word form the left wing parties of New Zealand.
But if a farmer from Otago, sprays chemicals on his apples, Russell Norman will be screaming from the roof tops.
Im sure the standard and the left wing parties will mention the syria story, of course they will blame the states though.
You need to wake up before you start typing, otherwise it just looks like a vague recollection of your disjointed R.E.M. sleep cycle.
You need to wake up before you start typing, otherwise it just looks like a vague recollection of your disjointed R.E.M. sleep cycle.
Sadly, and astoundingly, that is our friend Dale when he is wide awake. You might think it resembles the semi-conscious outpourings of someone not fully awake, or even suffering from drug abuse, but I assure you, fender, the poor fellow won’t get any better.
Fender
Oh Please, your ideology is stopping you from condemning a crime,
Yeah the “States” made Bashar al-Assad use chemical weapons did they?
Those Hobbit boxer shorts must be too tight, they seem to be restricting a supply of blood to your brain.
I rather think the implication was that the left wing parties whould be condemning Al-Assad. Your mind is fascinating.
You of course must be privy to details of the investigation before it is complete, whereas mere mortals will have to wait for official findings to be made public I suppose.
By the way, one of Bretts implications seemed to be that the NZ left would blame the “States” for making al Assad use chemical weapons on his own people.
The States has simply been itching to supply heavy weapons to the anti Assad brigade (even though half of them are foreign islamists from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and other nice places)
Nothing to go wrong here.
Syria uses chemical weapons on its own people, and not one word form the left wing parties of New Zealand.
Your witlessness never ceases to astound me. Those are allegations only; nothing has been proved. Where there WAS irrefutable proof of chemical weapon usage was in 2009-9, when Israel used Phosphorus bombs in its murderous assault on Gaza.
Far from condemning that use of chemical weapons, I remember you frequently expressing your endorsement of it.
The rest of your little rant is, as always, too incoherent and confused to justify any response.
Actaully the official statement says “The Assad regime could prove that its request for an investigation was not just a diversionary tactic by granting the U.N. fact-finding mission immediate and unfettered access to conduct on-site investigations to help reveal the truth about chemical weapons use in Syria. While pushing for a U.N. investigation, the United States has also been working urgently with our partners and allies as well as individuals inside Syria, including the Syrian opposition, to procure, share, and evaluate information associated with reports of chemical weapons use so that we can establish the facts and determine what took place.” http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/text-us-statement-syria-chemical-weapons-19396269
But congratuations on finding a way to use the horrible death of 100-150 people in Syria as an excuse to spray around some more of your fanatical Jew hate, Morrissey.
… your fanatical Jew hate, Morrissey.
What a deliriously funny example of desperation. You just can’t argue in good faith, can you?
A word to the wise, my friend: when you are unable to formulate a coherent and civilized response, silence is the better option.
That kind of mad rhetoric only makes you look bad. In fact, it’s so crazed that I’m not even offended, and I actually feel pity for you.
No, I just get bored with you constantly making everything about Israel
No, I just get bored with you constantly making everything about Israel
So I make “everything” about Israel, you say. Where in all of the debate about Edward Snowden, for instance, have I even mentioned Israel?
The only reason I mentioned Israel was because one (admittedly substandard) poster raised the question of chemical weapons usage. Now, of course, you will probably pretend otherwise, but the fact is that only two regimes have used chemical weapons, and they have in both cases been defended by their U.S. sponsor with the most aggressive and cynical “diplomacy” imaginable. The U.S. even concocted a fantastic story that attempted to pin the blame for the Halabja massacre on another official enemy, Iran.
There is no evidence that Syria has used chemical weapons—unlike Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and Israel.
I am sure you know that—but you keep on defending that halfwit Brett Dale if you want.
Probably because you haven’t thought of a way to connect Snowden and Israel. I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
I have no doubt you will.
Pretty much sums up your interest in things as far as I can see.
Ironic thopugh that you so look forward to using the deaths in syria as an excuse to indulge your, what was it, ‘semi-fictional persona’?
Actually that’s not what I’d doing at all – not any more so than Annette Sykes celebrated 9/11 or Hone Harawera gave a moving eulogy of Osama bin Laden. You just enjoy attacking me in your limp fashion because you don’t agree with me – I’ve never known you to debate a point.
That’s hilarious Pop.
You are one of the most pointless commenters here.
Here’s what you said:
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
Looking forward to confirmation of CW use, purely so that you can continue your petty little squabble with Morrissey, who you greatly resemble, although he does actually make points, wrongheaded as they often might be.
“Looking forward to confirmation of CW use, purely so that you can continue your petty little squabble with Morrissey, who you greatly resemble, although he does actually make points, wrongheaded as they often might be.”
You are such a martyr – do you get no enjoyment out of bickering you holier than thou prude?
I’m not claiming any sort of martyr status Pop. That would be you having a big old cry because the mean old bookie calls you on your contentless shit.
And pointless bickering for the sake of it is, obviously, pointless.
But at least you’ve confirmed that’s what you come here for, which is obvious enough given the way you (t)roll.
@Populuxe1
Please don’t confuse the actions of the Israeli government with Judaism.
@Populuxe1
Please don’t confuse the actions of the Israeli government with Judaism.
He’s not confused, richard, he’s just dishonest.
I don’t. But yon Morrissey has a habit of lumping Jewish celebrities in with Likud at every available opportunity
I don’t. But yon Morrissey has a habit of lumping Jewish celebrities in with Likud at every available opportunity
Another lie. I do not “lump Jewish celebrities in with Likud”; some of the bravest, most outspoken critics of the outlaw Israeli regime have been, and are, Jewish celebrities.
A while ago you alleged, absurdly, that my pointing out the vile racism, the merciless lies and the brutal and possibly catastrophic defamation of a Palestinian Christian peace activist by Sacha Baron Cohen means that I was, ergo, attacking all Jews.
Over the last couple of years on this excellent forum, I have also expressed contempt for Barack Obama, Tau Henare, Winston Peters, the Japanese and Chinese governments, the Indonesian government, the American-backed Arab dictators, and many other criminals, con-men and impostors who have managed to get themselves into positions of inordinate and unjustified power.
Yet you, for some absolutely spurious reason, have consistently maintained that I am “fixated on Israel” and that by, say, reminding people that Israel used Phosphorus bombs on the civilians of Gaza, is to “spray around Jew hate”. Apparently, Israeli politicians and their hardline supporters, like Sacha Baron Cohen and Jerry Seinfeld and Maureen Lipman, are immune to criticism; to even point out their fanatical devotion to the Holy State is a crime.
You have no consistency, no integrity and no credibility.
Probably because you haven’t thought of a way to connect Snowden and Israel.
Unbelievable! I publicly keelhaul you for your lack of integrity, your dishonesty, and your irrationality—and you’re back at it almost immediately. As I mentioned before, I do feel a degree of compassion for you, but your idiotic maliciousness sorely tries my patience.
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s [sic] own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
We’ll skip the unimaginative and incompetent abuse and go straight to your one point: you are evidently trying to suggest I support the Syrian regime. I do not. Only a fool, i.e. you, would draw that inference from anything I have written here or anywhere else.
Where did I ever suggest you supported the Syrian regime? I was commenting on your adamant refusal to entertain the likelihood that nerve gas had been used simply because of an all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex. You’re projecting somewhat
Where did I ever suggest you supported the Syrian regime?
I thought it might have been one of your little jests, like calling me a “Jew-hater”.
I was commenting on your adamant refusal to entertain the likelihood that nerve gas had been used simply because of an all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.
A thoroughly discredited regime, at present engaged in two overt wars, both of which it started, and two more undeclared wars, in Yemen and Pakistan, is now making claims similar to the false claims it made to start the 2003 Iraq war. Yet you choose to describe all those who do not accept the unproven allegations of that rogue state as “all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.” That’s not only trivialization, that’s flagrant misrepresentation.
You’re projecting somewhat
Projecting what?
“A thoroughly discredited regime, at present engaged in two overt wars, both of which it started, and two more undeclared wars, in Yemen and Pakistan, is now making claims similar to the false claims it made to start the 2003 Iraq war. Yet you choose to describe all those who do not accept the unproven allegations of that rogue state as “all too common anti-US knee jerk reflex.” That’s not only trivialization, that’s flagrant misrepresentation.”
And correlation is not causation
“Projecting what?”
I wish I knew. That’s a question for your therapist.
I wait with anticipation for the UN to confirm that Syria has used Sarin against it’s [sic] own people so I can flip you the middle finger and call you some choice names befitting the disgusting waste of protein you are.
Oops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p_quncrKlI
Ok, Syrian rebels used it against Syrians. They’re both as bad as each other.
Now the US?UK is using the excuse of chemical weapons to validate the arming of Syrian rebel groups such as the Al Nusra Front an Al Qaeda affiliated organisation,
What could go wrong with this plan?.
I made a link late last week, maybe from The Guardian, about the political entrepreneurship manipulating Shia / Sunni, and inter-sectarian oppositions, then there is always the memories of the mujahideen…
furthermore, there are the Iranian elections, all candidates competing in obedience to The Supreme Leader, seeking a more complicit Prez. from the single moderate, four conservative and one hardliner candidates.hmmm
In 2010, large amounts of information from numerous sources revealed the USA’s use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium shells in Iraq during various battles resulting from the USA’s illegal invasion in 2003. I don’t remember hearing any outrage about the illegal use of prohibited weapons from National. There was not a sound from their benches during or after the attacks, or later, when they were the Government and the truth became public. Coming to think of it they are still markedly reticent to comment on it.
here is a press release about one of the studies
http://www.thecbdf.org/ar/cbdf-reaserch-papers/61-international-journal-of-environmental-studies-and-public-health-ijerph-switzerland-genetic-damage-and-health-in-fallujah-iraq-worse-than-hiroshima-
p.s. here is the Greens policy on such
http://www.greens.org.nz/policy/globalaffairs
section on global security 3 B
A soldier’s body containing a live grenade and two bullets is brought back using three separate flights. Jonathan Coleman says Who could have imagined that this would happen. Well all of government really. Because they have fed us the story that our forces overseas are strictly there for reconstruction and to aid peace moves and then turned off their hearing aids off and pocketed their specs.
A major fall from grace gets 12 months home detention and 250 hours community service (what will he do I wonder) hen he was involved with others in losing $millions from hard-working taxpaying citizens. I want equal justice for beneficiaries who are found guilty of defrauding taxpayers.
Something odd happens every day. What’s odder is that nothing seems to be done to adjust the vision for a more practical and effective result.
Two democratic heroes;
Two very different treatments by Radio New Zealand
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Tuesday 11 June 2013
Jim Mora, Tony Doe, David Farrar
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I could not listen after 4 o’clock, but if the combination of inanity and insincere unctuousness in the preshow chat was anything to go by, I’m kind of glad I missed the main show.
This is what, according to Susan Baldacci and Jim Mora, the World is Talking About….
1.) Do i-Phones have a soul?
2.) Designated drivers are often just “less drunk” rather than sober.
3.) An exciting new coffee cup design that eliminates cup rings.
4.) Dogshit detectors in Spain.
5.) Nelson Mandela’s health.
This last topic supplied the unctuousness factor. Susan Baldacci announced that Mandela had rallied a little over the last twenty-four hours; Mora huffed and sighed: “That’s goodish news.” More huffing and sighing, then more unctuous expressions of goodwill for the Pope, who is also not in the best of health.
This contrasts brutally with Mora’s behaviour after Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez died…
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 March 2013
JIM MORA: Okay, just a couple of minutes left. Should John Key go to Hugo Chávez’s funeral or not? I can see why he’s NOT going. Ha ha ha ha!
DAVID SLACK: Of course he should go. He’s been leaned on by the United States.
MORA: But he’d be seen to be endorsing a revolutionary left wing leader?
MARK INGALLS: I’m ashamed as a New Zealander that he’s not going.
[Long uncomfortable pause….]
MORA: [grudgingly] Mmmmkay.
I looked up Stanley the explorer in Wikipedia and was amazed at his great career and adaptability from very harsh beginnings. But others who hadn’t harsh or poor beginnings to overcome don’t always succeed in reaching their potential as civilised, well-rounded human beings. Note Jameson heir of a whiskey manufacturer below and don’t forget the truly awful Belgian King Leopold II. This is from Stanley’s entry in wikipedia.
In 1886, Stanley led the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition to “rescue” Emin Pasha, the governor of Equatoria in the southern Sudan.
King Leopold II demanded that Stanley take the longer route, via the Congo River, hoping to acquire more territory and perhaps even Equatoria.
After immense hardships and great loss of life, Stanley met Emin in 1888, charted the Ruwenzori Range and Lake Edward, and emerged from the interior with Emin and his surviving followers at the end of 1890.[25]
But this expedition tarnished Stanley’s name because of the conduct of the other Europeans: British gentlemen and army officers. An army major was shot by a carrier, after behaving with extreme cruelty.
James Jameson, heir to an Irish whiskey manufacturer, bought an 11-year-old girl and offered her to cannibals to document and sketch how she was cooked and eaten.[26] Stanley only found out when Jameson had died of fever.
I’m not so sure that Stanley should be painted in such a good light. From the same Wikipedia article…
Richard I missed that – Stanley was a man of his time it seems. What a time, thumbs down.
FYI
For those who haven’t yet bothered to base their ‘pro-fluoride’ / ‘not-so-considered’ opinions on FACTS and EVIDENCE – you may be interested in this statement, from a leading UK Professor of Public Health?
______________________________________________________________________________
Statement by leading UK Professor of Public Health.
Professor Peckham can be quoted as follows:-
As a Professor and Health Researcher I find pro-fluoridationists’ characterisation of those opposed to fluoridation as “quacks” offensive.
My work is supported by the UK Department of Health, I am a member of the UK Faculty of Public Health and have a number of funded research projects from the National Institutes for Health Research in the UK.
I have consistently opposed fluoridation policy due to the poor evidence base on its effectiveness, genuine concerns about potential health problems (requiring further research) and, therefore, the fact that imposing fluoridation is unethical.
Professor Stephen Peckham BSc. MA(Econ)., HMFPH
Director, Centre for Health Services Studies
Professor of Health Policy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Director, Policy Research Unit in Commissioning and the Healthcare System
University of Kent
______________________________________________________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption /anti-privatisation’ campaigner
2013 Auckland Mayoral candidate
http://www.occupyaucklandvsaucklandcouncilappeal.org.nz/?page_id=152
Gluckman pronounced the last word for NZ;
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE1306/S00035/sir-peter-gluckman-statement-of-flouride.htm
IMO, the evidence base for its effectiveness is much better than the evidence base for any concerns.
same. ‘see ya’ on the ‘morrow.
Internal (upskirt) Affairs going on.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890527
The Depletion of Natural Capital
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/environment/news/article.cfm?c_id=39&objectid=10890145
1 in 5 Pensioners still in paid employment; high cost of living, finance company collapses and divorce
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10890446
Snowden: China stays quiet.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10890430
Europe Floods
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/europe/news/article.cfm?l_id=7&objectid=10889629
Hilarious that Booz Allen tried to discredit Snowden by saying that his salary was only $122,000 per year, and Snowden claimed that he earnt $200,000 per year.
But figure in the big annual bonuses and benefits that these private consultant types get…and $200,000 doesn’t sound unreasonable at all.
just about to retrieve some Chinese perspective before biking home (cold snap).
Here’s a good read, and a short one too:
http://indigenoushistory.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/what-if-people-told-european-history-like-they-told-native-american-history/
That’s good. The comments are interesting too.
Thanks Pb I enjoyed that.
On Chinese response to Snowden
L.A Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-chinese-media-snowden-20130613,0,2845643.story
from The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/evanosnos/2013/06/snowdens-chinese-fans.html
some Chinese net users arguing for asylum as a demonstration of State Power , or sending him to Russia 😀
10 000 Police to G8-ITV
“Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, he he he! Get him a sun lamp!!!”
An unusually inane and depraved edition of The Panel
Radio NZ National, Friday 14 June 2013
Jim Mora, Lisa Scott, Chris Trotter
JIM MORA: It’s Susan Baldacci, with What the Wooooorld’s Talking About! What have you got for us today?
SUSAN BALDACCI: First up, Jim, is this Perth radio host who has been suspended for saying Julia Gillard’s husband is gay, because he is a hairdresser.
JIM MORA: This is bizarre, isn’t it!
LISA SCOTT: They’re attacking her because she’s a woman!
CHRIS TROTTER: The same thing went on with Helen Clark. There were some TERRIBLE things said about her husband too.
MORA: Yeah but they were more subterranean, weren’t they? In Australia this kind of thing is much more out in the open.
CHRIS TROTTER: Well, Ian Wishart’s Investigate magazine has a much larger readership than one might think.
MORA: But surely no mainstream, reputable media outlets in this country would TOLERATE that sort of thing would they?
REALITY CHECK….
Mora is either dishonest or has a memory like John Banks, i.e., he is dishonest. A few years ago on The Panel, one DOCTOR MICHAEL BASSETT worked himself up into a state of preternatural malice and snarled, absurdly, that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier. I can think of nothing more despicable or extreme than uttering such a brutal and offensive falsehood on public radio—but Jim Mora did not say a word. Far from not tolerating “that sort of thing”, Mora’s guests on the Panel have included, as well as Bassett, such extreme and irrational figures as Nevil Breivik Gibson, Christine Spankin’ Rankin, and Garth Gaga George—to name just three off the top of my head. He has also respectfully interviewed such outré figures as the Sensible Sentencing Trust’s Garth “The Knife” McVicar. So much for his contention that no mainstream media outlets in this country would tolerate “that sort of thing.”
MORA: What else have you got for us?
SUSAN BALDACCI: Well, this latest study shows that we’re all a little bit paranoid. There are three kinds of paranoia, apparently—
MORA: Three kinds of paranoia?
SUSAN BALDACCI: [annoyed] Y-y-y-y-yes.
She gives a brief survey of an article about paranoia she has just downloaded from the internet, and then the program takes a sinister turn….
SUSAN BALDACCI: Julian Assange is a little bit paranoid.
MORA: Oh yes? Hur, hur, hur, hur!
SUSAN BALDACCI: Yeah, he claims that being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy, he is deprived of his human right of getting enough sun.
MORA: Is it a human right to get enough sun?
SUSAN BALDACCI: That’s what he claims! He claims that being not allowed to leave London is violating his “human rights”.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Haw haw haw haw haw!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He thinks he should be allowed out of his Ecuador embassy hideout to sunbathe.
MORA: He can get out on the balcony, where he gave that speech!
LISA SCOTT: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha!
CHRIS TROTTER: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha ha! Or get him a sun lamp! THAT’s what he needs!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
SUSAN BALDACCI: He he he he he!
TROTTER: I suspect the ambassador’s just sick of the sight of him! “Are you ever going to LEEEEAAAVE?”
MORA: Sun lamp! Get him a sun lamp!!!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
MORA: Back after the news!
……4 p.m. News……
WAYNE MOWAT: The time is nine minutes past four and due to circumstances beyond our control, we have some more music.
Plays George Harrison’s “Apple Scruffs”, then something by Fat Freddy’s Drop. Wayne Mowat tells us there’s been a fire alarm so everyone has had to leave the building for a short time.
They’re back in the studio at 4:15. Somebody—presumably not Mora himself—decides to ditch the discussion about fluoridation and the loons who have stampeded the Hamilton City Council into abandoning it. But they still go ahead with the entirely pointless, extended introductions of the guests. Trotter vapors on about Bloom’s Day, which is coming up in Auckland. “There’s a lot of laughing,” he promises, “and some weeping.”
Then it’s on to the big, in-depth discussions, “the news of the day in a different way”….
Topic No. 1:
Labour’s hypocritical MPs accepting “hospitality” from Sky City….
LISA SCOTT: giggles winsomely It just shows that politicians are people too.
CHRIS TROTTER: When I heard David Shearer say he didn’t know they were there, I almost threw my cellphone at the wall. To say that you didn’t know just shows you have no control over your caucus.
LISA SCOTT: Yeah, yeah, it’s not a good look. It’s a bad look, all right. I agree with you.
Topic No. 2:
Dunedin mayor Dave Cull’s email exchange about the Dalai Lama is to be released to the public….
CHRIS TROTTER: With our increasing closeness to and reliance on China, there will be increasing pressure on university chancellors, mayors and all public officials to not have ANYTHING to do with the Dalai Lama.
LISA SCOTT: Isn’t that sad!
CHRIS TROTTER: It is, really. He’s a lovely chap!
LISA SCOTT: Ha ha ha ha ha!
….[4:30 News]….
Soapbox….
MORA: What have you been thinking about, Lisa Scott?
LISA SCOTT: I’ve been thinking about something called UBF. Do you know what it is—Unintentional Bitch Face.
CHRIS TROTTER: Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!
LISA SCOTT: It’s when you look grumpy without meaning to. Posh Spice has UBF.
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! She does too! Ha ha ha ha ha!
Sellotape behind the ears! This is cheap cosmetic surgery!
LISA SCOTT: I’ve got UGF—Unintentionally Gormless Face.
MORA: Posh DOES have a look doesn’t she! Okay, Chris Trotter, what’s been on your mind?
CHRIS TROTTER: Oh, mine seems terribly worthy now, compared to that GREAT topic. But an interesting factoid I have just learned is that New Zealand now has more than one thousand people employed in security. Why do we need so many spooks?
MORA: Do you remember when it was just the SIS? In those days you got the impression it was only fifty to a hundred people.
CHRIS TROTTER: Yes, those were the trenchcoat days, trailing Dr. Bill Sutch. Now it’s all NCIS and
MORA: We chortle, but if Big Data like Prism is going to conform and constrain and dominate our lives, then we NEED that expertise!
The program ends with Trotter taking up his guitar and singing a melancholy tribute to the legendary Dunedin student pub, the Captain Cook, which is closing after 150 years.
Unfortunately, this publicly funded yock-fest will continue on Monday…..
Pretend to be surprised: intelligence agencies share and swap sensitive data with thousands of private corporates
Who would’ve thought.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-14/u-s-agencies-said-to-swap-data-with-thousands-of-firms.html
It’s the new norman