Actually the fact that protesters gave Key a hard time is good. And that poor old Key had to sneak away is pretty good as well. From Key’s point of view he would rather have not had any reports at all. So not too bad at all Paul.
The media portrayal was of a group of the usual thugs trying to disrupt a National Party meeting on private property. Guess where the public sympathy goes… it goes to National.
The protesters left feeling they had a great success but the meeting went ahead and so will the policies.
I always worry a bit when there is no protest because that means we are not doing enough.
Every shreeking protest is a sign that we are on the right track for the majority of New Zealanders.
Long may they protest.
Every shreeking protest is a sign that we are on the right track for the majority of New Zealanders.
Man, you really do have a warped view of reality. Completely fucken delusional in fact.
The media portrayal was of a group of the usual thugs trying to disrupt a National Party meeting on private property.
Government isn’t private and when the people in government and their supporters think it is then those people are inherently corrupt.
Can’t find the info but I wouldn’t be surprised if the yacht club was actually publicly owned or, at least, on public land. We do publicly support sports in this country after all.
The upper middle class aren’t aspirational. They got there generations ago.
They race yachts for fun.
And the old boys who’ve been racing for decades, they catch up for lunch there.
Aspirational is middle income people thinking they are middle class. It doesn’t apply to those that don’t need to work for a living.
I wonder how many of the National Party stalwarts who form the vast majority of Yacht Club members have aspired to do something really challenging—like reading a book?
The overwhelming majority of yacht club members are working class and tradespeople who sail centre-boarders worth less than your car. Or act as rail meat on the knobs yachts. I suspect most used to vote Labour, before Labour betrayed them, and belonged to a Union.
They spend less on their sport than most rugby players.
Yachts in New Zealand used to be owned mostly by very ordinary people. A lot built them themselves. It is notable how many are now rarely used, and deteriorating, as wages for working people have been slashed. Part of Douglas’ and Key’s brighter future.
The exception are clubs such as the “Squadron”. The majority of their members do not even sail. They prop up the bar in suits, networking! If they have a boat it is a massive gin palace owned as a tax dodge.
One of my best moments was getting booted out of the Squadron bar for wearing sailing clothes. Parking a ships lifeboat on one of the committees marina berths outside, had nothing to do with it, of course.
I am surprised your so pro protests fisiani we all know what happened here and in your homeland of South Africa regarding protesting. The Right Wing dictatorships got turfed out on their ears.
The government’s friends in the fast food, pharmaceutical and diet industries thank the government for failing to look after its people and allow them to be preyed upon.
“Apples commanded record prices due to a later-than-usual season and reduced volumes because of a cold, wet spring and summer hailstorms in all the main growing regions.”
Apples aren’t in season in Jan, that’s the time when last years cold stored ones have run out and the new seasons ones aren’t ripe.
I see lots in the article about weather but nothing about climate. This is only going to get worse, esp as we’re not supporting growers to adapt now before they have to.
The Herald is slow onto a story.
Yesterday commentators were saying exactly this, while the Herald was gibbering on about Sky City backing down.
Is journalism training provided there or is it simply the ability to repeat propaganda that counts?
‘SkyCity may need to shrink its international convention centre after public funding was ruled out, prompting critics to question whether the plan for a “world-class, iconic” building in downtown Auckland is now fading away.’
I am utterly unimpressed by the Government’s mismanagement of the Convention Centre (AKA Gambling Centre for Selfish Bastards or GCSB), from the beginning in 2009 to how they dealt with the cost ‘blow-out’ in 2015. They are way too easy with opening the wallet with taxpayer money, our money, for their corporate buddies. Meanwhile, Peter Dunne slashes The National Library Services to Schools for a measly $400k – nobody knows the exact figure and Treasury has not been involved – which is much less than the median house price in Auckland.
Bill convinced Key that not getting to surplus would hurt Key more than backing down over SKYCity… this was still about money but not in terms of saving it to give to those in need.
Little on tv3 this morning said that if sky city build a less than promised convention center a government he leads would review there gambling concessions
I would love to have Labour to announce that on becoming the Government they would hold a Royal Commission Inquiry into Gambling in New Zealand with particular emphasis on Casinos and the massive increase of pokies all over New Zealand bars and clubs. I would imagine that an inquiry looking into the effect of such gambling on our people would find it pretty hard to justify the existence of such places. We already have the TAB and if an inquiry felt that we needed additional gambling then it should come under a government structure similar to TAB. Private ownership of such gambling should be stopped.
Part of what cost the left the election was there plan to control power prices ,so any one with shares would be motivated buy selfishness every election time around any partial nationalisation IMO.
Good. I’ll accept for the moment that “review” doesn’t mean give them more pokies so they can make a bigger centre next time. That would be more Goff’s style. I’d also like to see them aware that the TVNZ block can be taken back at the same price for which it was sold. We are not Batista’s Cuba, to have casinos running the place.
Little and Labour need to grow a backbone. They need to be saying that they will be cancelling the gambling concessions whether the convention centre is built or not.
You can’t negotiate in plain daylight, they say. But once again this is a matter not black or white.
European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has been pushing European Union officials over the secret negotiations between the EU and the US over the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TIPP), another enormous “free trade” deal. She wants more disclosure both during the negotiations and full disclosure of the concluding deal before it is signed. This way, she argued, the public would have some knowledge of and input into a deal that would affect all Europeans. More openness would also increase public confidence in any deal, she noted
The Editor appears not to know that the EU is working on making negotiations at least look a bit like “plain daylight”, not simply talking about it.
It starts here; clearly still a work in progress, but the public is beginning to be informed on the EU negotiating positions.
Even if you can’t negotiate in plain daylight you can take the final version/draft, when negotiations are complete, and show it to your nation before signing.
This need for secrecy throughout is a giant red-herring. That so many corporations know what is in the drafts and citizen nations do not, speaks volumes about where this agreement is weighted.t
The corporations and overly wealthy, the ones that stand to benefit to our detriment, are fully cognizant of the details, in fact they get to write the terms.
The reason those who will bear the costs are not allowed to know, is the strength of public opposition into cementing corporate rights over democratic rights, would destroy the process of theft of our democracy, which is being continued.
“Trust us”, Wayne Mapp says. “Trust us”? the people that have ensured most of our incomes have dropped, caused recessions when our terms of trade says we should have had booms, advocate putting troops into yet another US caused middle Eastern mess and have a quarter of a million kids on poverty in one of the richest countries in resources per capita in the world.
We are still waiting for the rise in living standards and prosperity promised in the 80’s. “Trust us and our dog eat dog world view and privatisation of State enterprises will result in a higher living standard and more prosperity”.
They forgot to mention it would only be for 2% of us.
which is why Mapp never addresses the real concerns of folks but drops his mantra about hating all free trade deals… presumably cos he can’t do so with a straight face. 400 corporates alone int he USA are seeing the documents as “advisors”, and of course none show or tell their boards!!!
The distributive negotiation model requires secret bottom lines. You are describing an integrative negotiation, which requires a high degree of trust between negotiating partners.
It’s pretty clear already: I’m drawing a comparison between the two basic negotiation models and pointing out that secrecy is a requirement of one, whereas a high level of trust between the parties is a requirement of the other.
The only substantive way to inform the debate is for the government to tell everyone what New Zealand’s bottom lines are, whereas by not doing so, they stand a chance* of striking a better bargain.
Rock, meet hard place.
One solution would to change the negotiation model.
*yeah right – this thing isn’t getting signed any time soon.
So, we have to trust the government negotiators of all countries to do the best for their own country and by definition at a cost/detriment to the other or some other countries. I suspect that the powerful nations with the most wealth/clout will have an advantage over the others and be more favourable to them.
And when our country negotiators agree to the terms and sign up, do we, the people, then get a chance to reject them if we find them to be not really good enough?
The country whose corporations have been writing the agreement stand to benefit the most, unless we walk away. We’ve just seen an example of what good negotiators in NZ’s interest our government are.
and it is SO secret that 400 corporates have been tagged as advisors to the USA team, and all will have boards they report to, but Mapp suggests NONE of them are sharing anything with their Boards???
Well. If “free trade” really lifted “all boats” as the proponents claim, then there would be no need for secrecy.
New Zealand’s major problem is that our Governments have, already, in a fit of idealogical lunacy, abandoned almost all our trade protections, leaving us nothing to negotiate, so we have to beg other countries to do the same. Most shamefully when Key was trading on the sacrifices of our dead soldiers with South Korea.
It’s difficult enough to persuade two individuals to enter into an integrative negotiation, let alone two countries. There are twelve conducting the TPPA negotiations.
Is there much doubt that the CER has been good for NZ? Or the Chinafta? Trade agreements are one thing – the US’s wishes for the TPPA look more like restraint of trade, in that they seek unfair advantage for shareholders over citizens.
That said, Tory employment law has done far more damage to New Zealanders than trade ever will.
Actually if you did a total cost benefit analysis of the China FTA, I think you will find it is costing us a lot more than it gains.
People, like Wayne Mapp go on about the 7 billion dollars of milk powder we sell to them.
Totally ignoring the cost of constant stream of junk we have to borrow to buy back off them, the lost jobs, opportunities and industries, the cost of the unemployed and destroyed lives in New Zealand, (and China). The cost of borrowing for dairying which exceeds the long term profits etc, etc.
Both the USA and UK, and now China, got wealthy in the first place because of trade protections (often enforced with guns as the Chinese well remember). Now they have the money, they want to ensure other economies cannot do the same.
Ironically Germany got wealthy due to half their borrowings being forgiven after WW2. And lately by lending to wealthy Greeks and Italians so they could buy German cars. A form of Keynesian stimulus. Loans which the poor of those countries are now expected to pay back.
Both the USA and UK, and now China, got wealthy in the first place because of trade protections
And NZ. We became a country with a strong economy because we backed ourselves and worked together rather than selling ourselves out and fighting against each other.
…and ongoing release of documents to EU members and the general public throughout the negotiation process.
Hence holding a ‘secret bottom line’ as in the distributive model may be difficult? Yet the release of negotiation texts over the process and at the conclusion of negotiations may preclude integrative negotiation model?
Neither of your questions make sense to me. If we were in an integrative negotiation there wouldn’t be any expectation that negotiating texts would be confidential.
No surprise Tolley most likely knew of the seedy goings on prior to the 2014 general election. What sort of banana republic is Key operating when continued stonewalling of
the timeline he got briefed. The MSM has failed us as the fourth estate to demand answers.
The problem with landslides is that they cause a lot of damage, leave a lot of spoil, and require a huge clean-up afterwards. A lot of energy is spent on rescue and repair just to get things back to where they were.
In our case, rising unemployment, $100 billion debt, cuts throughout public services and hocking off the nation’s assets.
Nah, the National Party knew about it before the 2011 election, according to the NBR. The only way it can have been suppressed is if lots and lots of people decided that their ‘personal responsibility’ was to look the other way.
Well according to self appointed National party watch dog, and champion of the liberals Matthew Hooton, the NBR knew of some sort of investigation involving Sabin back in 2011. Which begs the question if this is correct, and the Leader of the National Party knew, as a good leader one could reasonably expect John Key to keep a close eye on him. Sitting him down to have a in depth discussion about his expectations of all his MP’s.
There is speculation that the 2011 investigation is seperate to the one last year. Which if true needs to be clarified by Key, or as many people suspect Key is deliberately misleading the public due to the suppression order. In my opinion the non disclosure of timelines is a miscarriage of justice.
John Key, we are to believe, is Sergeant Shultz. He knows nothing and remembers nothing. Pretty sure those are just the characteristics you need to run a country
“What happened in 2011 when the National Party found out? I expect they threatened the messenger”
Hoping to close the investigation down as well at that stage!
Also I’d say Key appointing Sabin as chair of the select Law and Order committee might have been an intentional move on his part. Having information on this issue before he said he did, Key put Sabin there to intimidate the police, to the extent of scaring them off and not continuing with the investigation! Typical of Key in self preservation mode!
Although I agree that the No Surprises policy can be detrimental as it causes government departments to give the advice that the minister wants to hear rather than the truth I don’t believe that this is one of those cases. In the case of an MP being investigated the MP needs to be stood down during the investigation as I point out below. It would be better if an MP stood themselves down as well but we can’t rely solely upon people’s honesty and integrity for that to happen and so we need procedures in place to ensure that it will.
To a degree, but at the same time they’d be picking powerful enemies if they made up serious investigations against parliamentarians they didn’t like.
The other point is that no surprises is confidential, and doesn’t dictate what the party leader should do. A minor investigation might not warrant a stand-down except in those areas where there might be a direct implication of conflict of interest or abject incompetence (a biosecurity minister bringing fruit through customs, for hypothetical sake). A minor scuffle in a bar or something, though, might not affect anything political, beyond a sad little oik getting 15 minutes of fame with a petty complaint.
But if there is a solid, long-term investigation into multiple serial offences, like if the minister for horticulture was a likely Mr Asia, then a stand-down might be right and proper (unless it affected the ongoing investigation). And the cops might play that card with invented complaints against their political enemies, but if shit gets that serious there are other problems with our democratic system. Useful symptom to look out for, I guess.
That’s just another MSM defense of this Government:
But those questions beg a much more important one: ought ministers be told anything about an investigation such as this?
Yes they should be. When an MP comes under investigation by police they need to be stood down until the investigation is complete else we end up where the MP is in a place of power that they could use to influence the investigation.
DTB … your last paragraph — which is exactly what happened here imho. Appointing Sabin chair of the Law and Order Select Committee was a very direct message to Police as far as I’m concerned, but thank goodness for decency, it didn’t work.
Maybe Key didn’t know til later ? Maybe he thought it was all fixed with the appointment of Sabin to head of that committee ?? Key must have been surprised someone with actual integrity defeated him by laying charges ?? This truth would not surprise me at all, so low is my opinion of Key and government-by-crony.
And if anyone has known since 2011 ? Charge the bastds with being accessories to whatever crimes Sabin is prosecuted with, (according to Speaker David Carter).
Is this the same G20 meeting JK went to? Has he signed this?
“On Tuesday, a draft statement from the Group of 20 finance officials warned that growing income inequality could harm economic growth, the first time the group has voiced concern over the issue.”
“A majority of large American companies have warned investors that falling incomes for most consumers could hurt their businesses. ” (This is what it takes for Gov to actually take notice)
When profit is in the pill or vaccine every organisation and company involved in ‘industry’ will exercise behaviour and operational strategy to protect profit above all else including mental and physical health
There is an interesting article in the Intercept regarding what motivates
young men to engage in terrorist acts on behalf of Islam. It gives an insight into the environment that influences them and could lead to much better ways of dealing with the problem than our leader is considering.
Especially noted the comment: “I also don’t think people should go and take part in other people’s conflicts, because from a distance you can’t really know what’s going on. Things are never so black and white, and if you go there, people are just going to end up using you.”
And the profound alienation that he must have been felt, seeing the invasion of Iraq and reading such pro-war MSM articles would have been intense.
[ Well Murray, if you think an explanation would be helpful to you, then there is a comments section over at the blog where the post was made. Go there and ask for one. I wonder though, do you really want an explanation? Or is the fact that you asking for an explanation here simply indicative of you grinding an axe for the sheer hell of it? – Bill]
[lprent: Since I did the permanent ban of Pat O’Dea…
A. There is specific part of the policy “Describing the site as having ulterior motivations, being a tool of someone…”.
I will do a cross blog ban on that when someone asserts that without bothering to show any proof or even any reason why they think the assertion is justified about the site or an author.
My presumption is that if they do so then they are a person who feels no compunction about lying for their own benefit. Even Cameron Slater, for all his multitudinous faults, at least tries to justify when he asserts that kind of crap. He links back to previous posts that explain his bullshit logic. Which is why he retains commenting rights here when he chooses to exercise them.
But Pat O’Dea didn’t bother even trying to justify his assertion as he tried to attack Labour via us. He also couldn’t see why he was acting like a troll on our site as he diverted the comments on posts into his own pet topic. He ignores what everyone else says and twists it into his obsessive focus on what he wants to say. That lack of awareness of others is the mark of a classic sociopathic personality in my view. They tend to be quite poisonous to debate. You don’t have to go far to realise that. Just read most of his longer comments here where he does exactly the same things – he asserts fallacies as fact and never ever bothers to justify his position.
B. Stephanie’s post on the other hand was quite supported by the evidence she pointed to in her own post, and I have seen exactly the same kind of commentary both in comments that have been moderated here and those left on the site. Not to mention some of the emails.
However she expressed an opinion, didn’t ascribe an ulterior motive to the site or the authors. So it isn’t covered by that policy.
Now I’m sure that some of it is ‘gender’ related, but I’d question whether it is anything more than the kind of stick I sometimes get because of my first name, age, or that I like laughing at young males and their dick obsessions in their various manifestations.
Stephanie still reacts to that kind of personal probing with actual unfocused emotion and that tends to act as a focus. She tends to be too nice or constrained to do what I do – which is to either tear into the perp with an even more personal speculation about what they are like with language as a ripping weapon. Or to just ignore what they said while I deconstruct the lack of logic or knowledge in their actual argument.
Basically I demonstrate why you need to be careful who you try that crap on as I wind them to incoherent sputtering. It amuses me.
But I have been an adult around the net for 35 years. She is a spring chicken. She is learning fast and actually doing a pretty good job overall of figuring out how to communicate effectively in this kind of net environment populated almost exclusively of older smart educated egotists. She is certainly the youngest moderator I have ever used.
That post demonstrates why. Such a lot of spluttering… ]
You would have gotten a reaction from me as well, Phil, if you’d done that. I would have considered it less than helpful. I disagree with a fair few things you say, but I doubt if you lose any sleep over that. I see a big difference between discussions on tactics and actually pulling in different directions.
It’s probably just some sort of psychotic episode I’m having, and I just can’t shake the feeling that Stephanie’s status as a moderator really pushes male buttons 😈
Always possible, and hard for a male to know whether that has happened or not, and to be honest about it. However, I wasn’t addressing the moderator status. It’s more having a go at people on one blog via another. Pat was widely condemned for it, and I think what he did was at best unhelpful. I can see similarities and differences here, but I can mainly see a left which is cannibalising itself. Maybe I’m just pissed off that my back still hurts.
[ It’s more having a go at people on one blog via another. Uh-huh. Really? – Bill]
Pat is clearly pissed off at TS and chose to write attack posts on another blog that included claims about the Standard that he knew were untrue. The post on Bootstheory is entirely truthful and composed of real or summarised comments from people who really should know better.
..how about this ‘summarised-comment’/quote..?..(what i ‘would’ say..(!)..)
“It’s got nothing to do with the fact you’re a woman, it’s about the fact you’re a nagging/shrill/bitchy/catty/oversensitive/overemotional/PMSing cow.”
It’s not about you, specifically, Phil, and not all the comments used are yours, so when I wrote “The idea that’s it’s all about you came from, er, you.” that’s actually correct. The worst comment, in my opinion, is actually not one of yours.
IMHO instead of throwing around words like bullshit, you should address the real issue. Why don’t you meditate on why a women might find the attitudes of a man like you offensive.
I’m not sure Pat would have known that his claims were untrue. We can often convince ourselves of some strange things. Apart from that, I accept what you say about the difference.
It’s good that you’ve clarified because I didn’t get that from the initial comment.
pat is attacking the site with mistruths imo
Stephanie’s post imo doesn’t seem like an attack (it was on her own blog for instance) but if it was it was against a commenter who has irritated her.
the bingo game is pretty mellow
In terms of working together the left is always jostling and some issues – identity, sexuality, gender, ability, war, age, climate change, and so on have proponents all along the spectrum. I don’t know who is left – I believe I am and those who have the same values are too (like you Murray) and others I wonder, but accept them for what they believe and realise that widening the definition of left beyond my values is necessary, important and sensible. I can accept both Stephanie and Phil as left – even alien was part of the left – the left is scaringly full of individuals with obnoxious ideas for me but the right have to be gone so that the people can be protected more and the environment can be rescued as much as possible. I love the left – we actually care.
I think we’re allowed to criticise moderators, as long as we don’t attack them or tell them what to do. If that weren’t the case, TS would be like a Young NActs’ Q&A session with FJK. I would be totally unable to debate Iraq with TRP, for instance.
Yep. And the moderators are allowed to criticise the other way as well.
That she did this bit of criticism offsite and got such a reaction on site speaks well of her tactics. Because after making such a to-do about not doing it here, you can hardly complain if she then does eh?
😈
Boots theory is her own personal site. She was expressing herself there in a public journal. Rather effectively I thought.
I would have liked to see Stephanie’s post here. I still would. I think it addresses some important points. I think many of us would benefit from addressing them here.
The left does need to be broad. Depending on which day of the week it is, I either hate or love that fact. Why can’t the laws of politics be like the laws of nature? Grrr.
I think what I don’t like is taking things from one blog to another. I have a sense of community about this place. As I said above (or maybe below) I wouldn’t be happy to see Phil do it either. It reminds me a bit of Pete George. I agreed with almost everything in the bingo game, it came from comments made, but I rather would have seen it here. I think that would have been healthier for us all. On the other hand, I’m often wrong and what I think should generally be ignored, so……
As for the back, thanks. It has a mind of its own 🙁
[ I think what I don’t like is taking things from one blog to another.. So why, pray tell, have you done precisely that? – Bill]
Because I’m writing about something that has already happened. Half of it happened here, with comments that convinced Stephanie to write about it on another blog. It started here and I thought it was being addressed here. I told Phil here what I thought of his comment. People tell me here what they think of mine. Most of them manage to do it without using bold.
Yeah, but you raised a specific point about the site policy and the banning of Pat O’Dea that needed answering. It means that you get a moderator comment and probably from me. The immediate answer comment was long gone so there was no point in answering way down thread. So it is black you get.
If I ever have criticisms of policy, I’ll raise them privately. Then they can be ignored privately. I try to stick to politics and the interactions we have with each other. I seem to cause enough confusion just with that, without straying into constitutional territory.
Murray – if I’m using bold in your comments, take it as read that a warning of some description is contained within. I don’t use bold in comments for the mere sake of replying.
I would find a bit more of a hint at the policy that I’m either violating or close to violating helpful. It’s easier to modify behaviour with a bit of guidance. I’m too old to guess.
@ Murray R
If you take my advice, you will relax and pass on this matter. I believe it is beyond hu-man understanding. I think it is a cultural matter which is convoluted and the more discourse there is, the less able to be concluded with a brief and clear explanation.
“I would find a bit more of a hint at the policy that I’m either violating or close to violating helpful. It’s easier to modify behaviour with a bit of guidance. I’m too old to guess.”
Good point. Sometimes bold comments are a bit obscure.
Bill’s comments to me looked like a caution to take care and probably to step back, rather than being about a specific part of the policy (other than that you are talking about an author/moderator).
1a) Because I took pains to quote accurately instead of spinning vast conspiracy theories
2) Because I deliberately chose not to link to the specific discussion or commenters I was quoting – my point was a general one about the absolute waves of smarmy, condescending sexism I encountered from a simple one-sentence comment
3) Because my little blog gets approximately 1% of the readership The Daily Blog gets (and 0.7% of the readership of The Standard) and I deliberately chose not to publish it here
4) Because the problem was never “somebody talking on another site about this site” and you’re a total numpty if you think it was.
Seeing as I have never – and I’ve searched the comments already – called you a “woman-hater”, phil, perhaps consider the paradox of accusing me of lying about things you’ve said, especially when it is very clear from the post Murray linked to that I never mentioned your name or even linked to your comments.
I think the point is that most of the reaction against O’Dea was not about him talking offsite. It was about what he said. In your comment earlier you said most of the reaction was the offsite bit.
Yeah, it looks like I misread the situation a bit, assuming that others were seeing it the same way I was. Not the first time I have got things a bit wrong, and it won’t be the last. I thought that Pat was doing something very bad by spewing on one left blog in a column on another, as well as not respecting what he wrote.
In the other case, I agreed with most of the bingo card – I’d seen what inspired it. I can see more of the difference now. That’s more than enough from me. Shut up, Muzza you old fool.
I get a bit passionate at times, and go off on the odd tangent. I can recognise that in myself. As a middle aged man, apologising for it is totally unthinkable though 🙂
To Bill: If I’m grinding any axe, it’s about the left in general being less cannibalistic. As for your questions, I suspect you’ve already made up your mind.
To lprent: Thanks for a coherent response. I can see now why, from your point of view there is a huge difference. I’m coming from a different point of view and have possibly taken something more seriously than I should have. I accept that what Pat ended up doing was unacceptable, and even if I didn’t, it’s your call. Maybe something will start happening on the ground that will focus us all better, myself included.
You might have noticed that I am really really strongly rules focused in the moderation. The reason why is to make sure that people are aware what will and will not cause particular reactions from moderators. To do anything else just gives you warlord rules as the system scales up. What works for a small blog doesn’t work for a large one.
But the rules tend to be loosely written but tightly focused for the same reason that law is. You want to identify areas of particular concern and limit what happens there. You sure as hell don’t want it so wide that unforeseen consequences abound.
Consider the daftness that can arise from “You shall not kill” as a commandment as opposed to “Do not murder”. Consider bacteria.
Not really. The purpose is to create the market. It’s one of the main planks of neoliberalism.
The govt’s job ends once the market is created. Further intervention in the market is warranted only when it acts in totally foreseeable ways that negatively affect the function of other markets (but not if that market destroys peoples livelihoods and communities).
So, we could give away all the state houses, and it would all work like magic, apparantly.
I’m really not sure what they think success will look like with this policy.
But once it’s done, I’m guessing they’ll just ride it out while viciously attacking (from all quarters) anyone who asks impertinent questions.
This from CR link to zerohedge — So to sum up – The American Dream is now… work your whole life (and we mean your whole life)… the number of workers 55 and over just hit 32.9 million, up 1.3 million from a year ago, and an all time high.
That is workers – up 1 million plus. This one below, for population numbers over 65 years in USA. If 55 years is considered old, then 65 and over, must be a burden to the country’s planners. Their present mode of ageism and an unhealthy economy seeking cheap underpaid labour overseas and high returns in their own supposed wealthier country has few options for older workers. Yet it is agreed that the middle class is being decimated by this behaviour. Can the economy recover health with this reckless lack of responsible business and political behaviour?
2010 USA figures – here are now more Americans age 65 and older than at any other time in U.S. history. According to a new Census Bureau report, there were 40.3 million people age 65 and older on April 1, 2010, up 5.3 percent from 35 million in 2000 (and just 3.1 million in 1900). http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2012/01/09/65-and-older-population-soars
Yet nearly one million jobs were cut from government and turned to private so abandoning the opportunity to fashion workforce decisions to assist healthy employment trends: Spending cuts and a renewed focus on creating private sector jobs has seen the number of people working for the state tumble from 6.3million to 5.7million….
There is usually a lack of will by business to undertake giving training and worker development. Men and women who wished to achieve individual advancement and autonomy, who pay for their own training will see the opportunities for skilled jobs with good pay recede, and even mothers being able to afford to concentrate on child care is no longer an affordable option:
The continuing financial squeeze means the number of stay-at-home mothers has dropped again, by 34,000 between February and April.
Of the 432,000 extra jobs created in the past year, nearly two-thirds have gone to women, who make up nearly half the workforce – 13.8million….
Job vacancies are the highest since the 2008 banking crisis, at 516,000.
But Mark Beatson, chief economist at the Chartered Instituted of Personnel and Development, said businesses were struggling to find people with the right skills.
edited
A very good session on RNZ between Mike Williams and Matthew Hooton this morning. And I never heard Mike say I agree with Matthew once although I could have missed it. Matthew came up with an excellent term – neo-muldoonary – in connection with the SkyCity machinations. Especially pertinent since Key is on record as saying he is a… Muldoon acolyte who has closely studied his mode-of-operation.
Sometime between 2008 and 2011. I don’t remember the exact time. He didn’t call himself an acolyte. That was my way of summing up what he did say, which was to the effect he had always admired Muldoon, and that he had studied him in detail. It was initially during a TV interview, but was almost certainly commented on in the newspapers and on radio at the time.
At the moment he likes to mention Holyoake because he’s probably decided it is politically advantageous to pretend he’s modelling himself of the NZ statesman of yesteryear – fancies his chances of becoming Sir John Key, the great NZ statesman of the early 21st century?
While he can’t remember how he felt about the 81 tour, Key has talked about his growing interest in politics as a teenager and when he was a uni student. The PM during that entire period was Rob Muldoon.
I can understand how Key would be taken with the way Holyoake basically gifted Kinloch to himself, while everyone thought how honest and gentlemanly he was.
The nastiest people are chosen by the nastiest people and however many levels its rolls up there is evil at each of them
It can’t change until enough people are able to see this world for what it is and to begin taking action developed through their awareness outwardly to others
So long as people continue to operate inside the false narratives and fake constructs designed to entrap there will be few who develop the necessary awareness
The book is the first to get published while the author is still being held at the US concentration camp/torture centre at Guantanamo Bay, a part of Cuba occupied by the US.
The interesting bit at the end of the wikipedia article is that the use of the base as a detention facility might exceed the terms of the lease, which might be grounds for challenging it. But then the Chagossians have a similar problem.
Seemed like a very good, caring, fair and compassionate person. RIP.
[It is the really fair, courageous and great people like him and Celia Lashlie who give selfless exemplary service to the community and the country that need to be given our highest honour, knighthood etc rather than be dished out to some self serving dodgy people or politicians who happen to be in the government’s good books]
The US has engaged in many high, mid, and low intensity military conflicts around the world in the last 25 years. Very few of these conflicts were justified honestly, or achieved more than a tiny fraction of their officially stated aims.
Terror and terrorism are invoked to rationalize some operations. Vague threats to national security are mentioned for others. Protection of Americans and American interests sometimes is made into a rationale. Terrorism and drugs are sometimes linked, and sometimes drug interdiction alone is used to justify an action that becomes part of the Great War of the American Empire. On several occasions, war has been justified because of purported ethnic cleansing or supposed mass killings directed by or threatened by a government.
Upon close inspection, all of these rationales fall apart. None is satisfactory. The interventions are too widespread, too long-lasting and too unsuccessful at what they supposedly accomplish to lend support to any of the common justifications.
The iPhone didn’t just magically appear out of the Apple campus in Cupertino. Whenever a company produces a technology product, it benefits from an accumulation of knowledge created by huge numbers of people outside the company, many of whom have worked in government-funded projects over the previous decades. Öner Tulum, a researcher at the Academic-Industry Research Network (theAIRnet), has shown how all of the technologies in the iPhone — things like touch-screen technology, GPS, and so on — originated with government spending, funded by taxpayer money.
That’s why a company like Apple should be using a substantial portion of its super-profits to support government investment in the next generation of innovation. Instead, the company runs an entire division devoted to finding ways to avoid taxation.
Considering that we have people and companies also avoiding paying taxes to the tune of several billion dollars per year just how much damage are those greedy scum doing to our high-tech future? We need to accept the fact that it is the government that does the basic research that supports innovation and then we need to fund it.
Agree completely and this is an essential reason patent law and the like is unstable in its current form and worse with what is proposed for the future i.e. TPP. Patent laws are unstable because they do not reflect reality or a sense of fairness. As such they will fail.
All inventions / patents result from an investment by the community to bring the inventor to that position in order to make that discovery. Such discoveries are 100% a community discovery, with an individual being the one to bring it to pinpoint fruition.
As such patents belong to the community, with an add-on for the pinpoint individual.
“Were we THAT sloppy?”
A depressing half hour of radio, Monday 16.2.15 (Part 1 of 2) The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 16 February 2015
Jim Mora, Barry Corbett, Lavina Good
Mostly a pretty uneventful program today—neither Barry Corbett nor Lavina Good said anything remotely interesting, leave alone intelligent, even in the “Soapbox” segment after the news. But then things picked up—actually, took a sinister turn—in the last ten minutes or so. Three topics were discussed.
Topic No. 1: KILLING STOATS
The Department of Conservation is using dogs to sniff out stoats, which have been devastating kiwis and other native birds in the wild. Jim Mora notes that after the dog has detected the stoat, the ranger then kills it. He asks why the heck don’t they just use the DOGS to kill the stoats? Barry Corbett is not sure whether that is a good idea or not; he’s a bit worried about possible cruelty. Lavina Good has no such qualms: “Kill the stoat,” she exhorts her fellow panelists. “Kill the stoat. KILL THE STOAT!”
JIM MORA: To discuss this, we welcome Scott Theobald from the Department of Conservation. Hello Scott. SCOTT THEOBALD: Hello. MORA: So why NOT let the dogs kill the stoats? SCOTT THEOBALD: Because it’s inhumane. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a dog kill an animal, it’s not a pretty sight. MORA:[testily]Yeah but hang on! Squeamishness surely can’t be a reason given the vicious and indiscriminate nature of what stoats do. That can’t REALLY be why you’re against it, can it.
…A brief but noticeable silence as an obviously disturbed Scott Theobald assesses the ethical standards of his inquisitor….
SCOTT THEOBALD: Ah, yes it can. …
……
Topic No. 2: STUDENTS DRINKING IN DUNEDIN
MORA: A local city contractor has refused to clean up Hyde Street in North Dunedin, after it was left COVERED in broken glass following an Orientation Week party. ….[He sighs to indicate moral seriousness]…. Okay, in our day, students had a larrup, but were we THAT sloppy? BARRY CORBETT: We were both at Otago, James. I think we had a lot of fun, but it was all in good spirit, wasn’t it! MORA:[baffled sigh] Uh, so North Dunedin has lost a lot of that amiable, rumpled reputation that it had. It seems a bit harder edged now. LAVINA GOOD: But the partying on the weekend was good-natured, wasn’t it? A bit of innocent fun, really. MORA: Is there a tipping point though? LAVINA GOOD: I’m sure there are worse things going on in the community than a bit of broken glass. MORA: Anyway, research out today shows that O-Week drinking could have a GATEWAY effect. This is fascinating, isn’t it. BARRY CORBETT:[skeptical] Hmmmm…. LAVINA GOOD:[skeptical] Hmmmm…. JIM MORA:[irritated] Isn’t it? BARRY CORBETT: I actually organized a couple of O-Weeks, and they were great fun! You used to report on it back when you were the editor of Critic, didn’t you, James?
……
Topic No. 3: SCHOOL UNIFORMS
The news about a Parnell school’s expensive P.E. tops leads to some animated discussion. It’s mostly pretty run of the mill stuff, until the following prime piece of ignorance…
LAVINA GOOD: I like that we have school uniforms, because they make us less of a class-conscious society.
That was pretty stupid, but as we shall see in Part 2, a few minutes later I was to hear far, far worse over on New Zealand’s version of Fox News….
hi morissey,
didnt hear the show (have largely weaned myself off both the panel and the politics slot on mondays, they were, in the recent past, appointment listening), but i cant help take the bait ref. topic 1.
1080 would hve to be the cruellest way for any critter to die.
i defy anyone reading this to cite another crueller, more painful way for a creature to die.
bear in mind i have said cruel, not economically efficient.
The point of my transcribing those comments, however, was to highlight the nature of the person making them. The interesting thing about what Mora said, and the impatient way he said it, was his apparent equanimity about, and approval of, a stoat being torn apart by a dog. His remarks fit, I think, with his equally depraved, approving attitude to human beings being imprisoned and persecuted by vengeful states.
i reckon that part of the appeal of the likes of the panel and (dare i say it) ts, is the voicing of opinion.
personally speaking one of my favourite parts of the newspaper was the letters to the editor followed by the rotating pieces by regular guest columnists.
this either reinforced and informed my attitude or disgusted me and gave insight to what THEY were thinking.
I’ll say, it’s hardly the stoats’ fault that it’s vicious little critter. Not to mention training a pack of dogs to destroy animals isn’t very smart if they get loose. What a stupid vacous statement to make from Mr. Mora.
“1080 would hve to be the cruellest way for any critter to die.
i defy anyone reading this to cite another crueller, more painful way for a creature to die.
bear in mind i have said cruel, not economically efficient.”
Being caught in a leg trap, left overnight, then hit on the head with a hammer, stunned but not killed, plucked, body left in the bush until dead from shock.
3 day slow death from internal bleeding from eating rat poison. I’ve seen mice in the death throes of this, it ain’t pretty.
I once heard a hunter on the radio talk about how being shot in the head was a worse way to die than a fast acting poison like cyanide. Being shot in the head is essentially a traumatic brain injury death. Not sure what I think about this.
hi weka,
i have no intention of escalating or taking this in a more graphic direction.
your example of 3 days dying after eating rat poison is close to the mark re 1080.
i understand that the cells break down slowly….
none of our examples are ideal and i would suggest that they would be illegal, certainly unlawful.
however because the almighty $ reigns supreme, doc can go down this dehumanizing path.
thanks gsays, I think I misunderstood your original point. I thought you meant that 1080 is one of the worst ways to kill an animal, but now I think you were meaning that DOC are hypocrites talking about cruelty when they use something like 1080.
I thought 1080 was reasonably quick for the primary kill, and took hours rather than days for secondary kill. But yes, I agree with you, there are animal cruelty issues here that barely get talked about. I did think the DOC guy in Morrisey’s piece was interesting, but I suspect that being killed by a dog is not necessarily kinder than most other methods (Mora is still an idiot).
It’s very complex, because the only real alternative to poison is trapping, and we often don’t do that humanely either.
Barry Corbett was completely and utterly shown up for the big mouth fool he can be in his knee-jerk-red-kneck brain fart on the unlawful activity of police in a civil matter at the cricket. He went painfully quiet – poor man.
A big brave radio personality whom everyone loves, followed up by being voted into Council because of his amazing wisdom, what else would anyone think when festooned with such festoons?
Unfortunately brain not big enough to untangle the tangling messages sent his way over the years.
“He’s a terrorism EXPERT!”
A depressing half hour of radio, Monday 16.2.15 (Part 2 of 2) Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB
After the 5 p.m. news, I listened to a Radio NZ National item about the Mark Lundy trial, then switched over to NewstalkZB’s notoriously addle-pated Larry Williams Drive show, just in time to catch the peroration of what sounded like one of the more bewildered callers to that haven of the terminally bewildered. This bloke had an Australian accent; apart from that, he was pretty much indistinguishable from the confused wretches that call in from Birkenhead, or Pukekohe, or Bulls, or Nelson or deepest, most benighted Southland. The caller confidently, but not very coherently, reeled off a series of clichés he might have picked up from repeated exposure to Fox News—or indeed, its Kiwi equivalent, NewstalkZB. When I tuned in, he was near the end of his spiel….
CALLER: It needs to be a regional force as well, comprising the neighboring Arab states. There is no alternative but for us to take part. This is more than a military campaign, it’s a war against an idea, an idea that has gone global.
…..Long pause, and then the surprise of the day……
LARRY “LACKWIT” WILLIAMS: Thanks for your expertise, Greg. That’s Professor Greg Barton, from Monash University! He’s a terrorism EXPERT! Okay, after the break, the Lundy trial….
If you think the name Greg Barton is familiar, it is. If you followed the Sydney siege in December 2014, you might recall that one “counter-terrorism expert” ramped up the anxiety levels by expertly opining that the gunman was not likely to be acting alone. That was Greg Barton. It’s interesting that NewstalkZB, even if nobody else does, still treats him as a credible commentator.
The source of that article is not the best and does not draw on much earlier research. In particular the age of first use and the impact on undeveloped brain. Coupled with the fact that most episodes the report are at age 16.5 years of age. I say cannabis is a drug that should have an age limit 21 – along with every other drug.
This is the argument the majority of supporters of legalisation have been arguing. Letting young people with underdeveloped brains smoke pot is exactly the same as letting young people drink alcohol with underdeveloped brains. A bloody stupid series of events.
But once again, just pure propaganda from the Tory rag herald – and happy consumption for the masses to keep the beer barons buying adds.
You should really read more b wagon before you dump herald propaganda on the standard.
My own personal experience i started smoking as a teen a lot of it was weak stuff as I got into my mid twenties skunk or clones as we called it became available and I went from enjoying it to giving up due to it winding my brain up pretty tight. Very unscientific I know .
Maybe if we legalized it we could control the THC levels.
1)..this is based on the entirely false-premise that pot is now stronger than it used to be..
..as one who has smoked since ‘used to be’ – i can report this is complete-bullshit..
..and don’t believe me..forensic-analysis of cannabis in court cases over the decades – both here and in america..confirm this…any changes in pot strength are minimal..
..good pot has always been good pot..
2)..and so what..?..if the pot is of good quality..you smoke less..’cos you need less..
3)..no matter how ‘wasted’ someone gets on pot..they are nowhere as ‘wasted’ as yr average kiwi teenager lying drunk in a gutter..
4)..who funded this research..?..the booze-pushers..?
5)..no matter what anti-pot bullshit is pumped out..
..it is impossible to deny the fact that cannabis is the safest of all the intoxicants to use..
hi phil,
last year i had an interesting chat with a police officer from northland.
he painted a grim anti-pot picture, obviously based on his experiences.
it culminated with him saying tptb want to move weed to a class b category.
this, according to him was because of the high potency of thc.
i went and had a look at the drug foundation (btw ross bell is a breath of fresh air) at studies on the levels of thc.
hasnt markedly increased and what was surprising was the range of thc levels on the same plant.
shhhh!
you will wake the booze merchants.
not to mention big pharma.
oh yes, there is also the cotton industry.
did i mention the building monoply and forestry owners?
none of them would want a plant that has 7 times the strength of wood,
can be harvested twice a year and doesnt need any sprays and chemicals.
also can you point me to an example where prohibition works?
Poaka should stick to enforcing the law and investigating ex-poaka, not trying to make law. We are not yet a police state. Problems in Te Tai Tokerau wouldn’t be due to economic depression by any chance, would they? The Netherlands must be really bad. And Portugal. And as for Uruguay….
I am surprised that nobody has drawn attention to this excellent (IMHO) article in the NZ Herald (I may have missed it?): The American working class has gone missing by Andrew Cherlin.
The original article appeared in The Washington Post and is worth visiting also because of its comments section (107 comments at the time writing this).
Cherlin contrasts the “people who have a diploma but not a bachelor’s degree” (i.e. the working class) with “the college-educated middle class, who already have bachelor’s degrees”. Ede advocates less emphasis on university degrees as a career path. Obviously, one’s career determines one’s ‘standing’ (i.e. class) in society. It is too late now to get really into this but it seems to me that there’s a paradox: encouraging the working class to pursue university education – which used to be almost free – may have contributed to diminishing the role of the same working class in society.
Half of our nation, by all reasonable estimates of human need, is in poverty. The jubilant headlines above speak for people whose view is distorted by growing financial wealth. The argument for a barely surviving half of America has been made before, but important new data is available to strengthen the case.
We have, of course, been following dutifully and unquestioningly in the US’s footsteps which has resulted in ever increasing poverty and inequality. About time we stopped doing that.
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Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, 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?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
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. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
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 ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
Labour in opposition will be shocked to learn which party had six years in power but squandered any chance to make real change. Grant Robertson’s valedictory speech was a predictably entertaining trip down memory lane. The acid-tongued incoming Otago University chancellor administered a sick burn to the coalition government. He ...
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is seen some as its ‘silicon shield’ against invasion – but how will overseas expansion affect that protection? The post The state of Taiwan’s silicon shield appeared first on Newsroom. ...
There’s relief for building owners bending under the weight of earthquake strengthening rules – and costs – that came into force seven years ago. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced a scheduled 2027 review of the earthquake-prone building regulations will now start this year. Owners will also get ...
Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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Dreadful journalism by the Herald.
As ever.
‘Protesters give Key a hard time.’
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11402528
Actually the fact that protesters gave Key a hard time is good. And that poor old Key had to sneak away is pretty good as well. From Key’s point of view he would rather have not had any reports at all. So not too bad at all Paul.
The media portrayal was of a group of the usual thugs trying to disrupt a National Party meeting on private property. Guess where the public sympathy goes… it goes to National.
The protesters left feeling they had a great success but the meeting went ahead and so will the policies.
I always worry a bit when there is no protest because that means we are not doing enough.
Every shreeking protest is a sign that we are on the right track for the majority of New Zealanders.
Long may they protest.
Man, you really do have a warped view of reality. Completely fucken delusional in fact.
Government isn’t private and when the people in government and their supporters think it is then those people are inherently corrupt.
Can’t find the info but I wouldn’t be surprised if the yacht club was actually publicly owned or, at least, on public land. We do publicly support sports in this country after all.
The Royal Akarana is on land leased by from the Auckland Council (previously owned by PoA).
Most likely RAYC itself is a trust.
Although membership is open to the public, RAYC has traditionally been one of the networking hubs of Auckland’s more affluent middle class.
That’s the “squadron” mate.
The upper middle class would not be seen dead at the Ak!
Not ashperashional enough.
The upper middle class aren’t aspirational. They got there generations ago.
They race yachts for fun.
And the old boys who’ve been racing for decades, they catch up for lunch there.
Aspirational is middle income people thinking they are middle class. It doesn’t apply to those that don’t need to work for a living.
I wonder how many of the National Party stalwarts who form the vast majority of Yacht Club members have aspired to do something really challenging—like reading a book?
The overwhelming majority of yacht club members are working class and tradespeople who sail centre-boarders worth less than your car. Or act as rail meat on the knobs yachts. I suspect most used to vote Labour, before Labour betrayed them, and belonged to a Union.
They spend less on their sport than most rugby players.
Yachts in New Zealand used to be owned mostly by very ordinary people. A lot built them themselves. It is notable how many are now rarely used, and deteriorating, as wages for working people have been slashed. Part of Douglas’ and Key’s brighter future.
The exception are clubs such as the “Squadron”. The majority of their members do not even sail. They prop up the bar in suits, networking! If they have a boat it is a massive gin palace owned as a tax dodge.
One of my best moments was getting booted out of the Squadron bar for wearing sailing clothes. Parking a ships lifeboat on one of the committees marina berths outside, had nothing to do with it, of course.
Oops, yup. You’re right, I’m thinking about the squadron.
I am surprised your so pro protests fisiani we all know what happened here and in your homeland of South Africa regarding protesting. The Right Wing dictatorships got turfed out on their ears.
“The Right Wing dictatorships got turfed out on their ears.”
Yeah but the government over there is more fucked up and corrupt than ever before.
Fishyuturn sky city back down.
Housing back down next.
Iraqi back down next!
Fishy fanboy loves his idol poll dancing!
granny doesnt do journalism, it does messaging on behalf of it’s owners.
Healthy food becomes less accessible for the poor.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=11402531
The government’s friends in the fast food, pharmaceutical and diet industries thank the government for failing to look after its people and allow them to be preyed upon.
“Apples commanded record prices due to a later-than-usual season and reduced volumes because of a cold, wet spring and summer hailstorms in all the main growing regions.”
Apples aren’t in season in Jan, that’s the time when last years cold stored ones have run out and the new seasons ones aren’t ripe.
I see lots in the article about weather but nothing about climate. This is only going to get worse, esp as we’re not supporting growers to adapt now before they have to.
The Herald is slow onto a story.
Yesterday commentators were saying exactly this, while the Herald was gibbering on about Sky City backing down.
Is journalism training provided there or is it simply the ability to repeat propaganda that counts?
‘SkyCity may need to shrink its international convention centre after public funding was ruled out, prompting critics to question whether the plan for a “world-class, iconic” building in downtown Auckland is now fading away.’
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11402525
I am utterly unimpressed by the Government’s mismanagement of the Convention Centre (AKA Gambling Centre for Selfish Bastards or GCSB), from the beginning in 2009 to how they dealt with the cost ‘blow-out’ in 2015. They are way too easy with opening the wallet with taxpayer money, our money, for their corporate buddies. Meanwhile, Peter Dunne slashes The National Library Services to Schools for a measly $400k – nobody knows the exact figure and Treasury has not been involved – which is much less than the median house price in Auckland.
Bill convinced Key that not getting to surplus would hurt Key more than backing down over SKYCity… this was still about money but not in terms of saving it to give to those in need.
Little on tv3 this morning said that if sky city build a less than promised convention center a government he leads would review there gambling concessions
good to see little say/do that..
..but that is only one of the symptoms of the disease/cancer on our society..
..there is only one clear/clean solution..
..nationalise the bastards..!
..mp’s should use their powers to do what we elected them for..
..to work for/in the common-good..
..if they can partial-privatise our commonly owned/paid-for assets..
..they have opened pandoras’ box..
..and offered up the option of nationalisation..
..or at the very least..partial-nationalisation..
..where the state takes 51% control..
..and the public/shareholders can hold the other 49%..
..what’s not to love about that..?
I would love to have Labour to announce that on becoming the Government they would hold a Royal Commission Inquiry into Gambling in New Zealand with particular emphasis on Casinos and the massive increase of pokies all over New Zealand bars and clubs. I would imagine that an inquiry looking into the effect of such gambling on our people would find it pretty hard to justify the existence of such places. We already have the TAB and if an inquiry felt that we needed additional gambling then it should come under a government structure similar to TAB. Private ownership of such gambling should be stopped.
Part of what cost the left the election was there plan to control power prices ,so any one with shares would be motivated buy selfishness every election time around any partial nationalisation IMO.
Good. I’ll accept for the moment that “review” doesn’t mean give them more pokies so they can make a bigger centre next time. That would be more Goff’s style. I’d also like to see them aware that the TVNZ block can be taken back at the same price for which it was sold. We are not Batista’s Cuba, to have casinos running the place.
Little and Labour need to grow a backbone. They need to be saying that they will be cancelling the gambling concessions whether the convention centre is built or not.
Neither National nor SkyCity give a shit about the convention centre, they only care about siphoning taxpayers money into corporate profits.
Dominion Post Editorial on the TPP.
They argue for more transparency, pointing out this government hasn’t a good track record making deals.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/66223914/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Trade-deal-secrecy-par-for-the-course
From the ‘stuff’ article
The Editor appears not to know that the EU is working on making negotiations at least look a bit like “plain daylight”, not simply talking about it.
It starts here; clearly still a work in progress, but the public is beginning to be informed on the EU negotiating positions.
“You can’t negotiate in plain daylight”
Well in fact you can. It happens all the time in various spheres and realms, not least in much of business.
The fact that the Key bozos can’t is for them to work out. The Skycity craps deal proves their incompetence at negotiation.
Even if you can’t negotiate in plain daylight you can take the final version/draft, when negotiations are complete, and show it to your nation before signing.
This need for secrecy throughout is a giant red-herring. That so many corporations know what is in the drafts and citizen nations do not, speaks volumes about where this agreement is weighted.t
They! are, negotiating in plain daylight.
The corporations and overly wealthy, the ones that stand to benefit to our detriment, are fully cognizant of the details, in fact they get to write the terms.
The reason those who will bear the costs are not allowed to know, is the strength of public opposition into cementing corporate rights over democratic rights, would destroy the process of theft of our democracy, which is being continued.
“Trust us”, Wayne Mapp says. “Trust us”? the people that have ensured most of our incomes have dropped, caused recessions when our terms of trade says we should have had booms, advocate putting troops into yet another US caused middle Eastern mess and have a quarter of a million kids on poverty in one of the richest countries in resources per capita in the world.
We are still waiting for the rise in living standards and prosperity promised in the 80’s. “Trust us and our dog eat dog world view and privatisation of State enterprises will result in a higher living standard and more prosperity”.
They forgot to mention it would only be for 2% of us.
“Trust us”…………….
@ kjt..
+ 1..
which is why Mapp never addresses the real concerns of folks but drops his mantra about hating all free trade deals… presumably cos he can’t do so with a straight face. 400 corporates alone int he USA are seeing the documents as “advisors”, and of course none show or tell their boards!!!
Well, no.
The distributive negotiation model requires secret bottom lines. You are describing an integrative negotiation, which requires a high degree of trust between negotiating partners.
What are you saying? Explain in plain English with examples if you can, please.
It’s pretty clear already: I’m drawing a comparison between the two basic negotiation models and pointing out that secrecy is a requirement of one, whereas a high level of trust between the parties is a requirement of the other.
The only substantive way to inform the debate is for the government to tell everyone what New Zealand’s bottom lines are, whereas by not doing so, they stand a chance* of striking a better bargain.
Rock, meet hard place.
One solution would to change the negotiation model.
*yeah right – this thing isn’t getting signed any time soon.
So, we have to trust the government negotiators of all countries to do the best for their own country and by definition at a cost/detriment to the other or some other countries. I suspect that the powerful nations with the most wealth/clout will have an advantage over the others and be more favourable to them.
And when our country negotiators agree to the terms and sign up, do we, the people, then get a chance to reject them if we find them to be not really good enough?
Exactly: you see the problem straight away. There probably isn’t enough trust between the parties for integrative negotiation to be an option.
Edit: although I don’t think you’ve summed up integrative negotiation very well: ‘by definition’, it aims at win/win solutions.
The country whose corporations have been writing the agreement stand to benefit the most, unless we walk away. We’ve just seen an example of what good negotiators in NZ’s interest our government are.
and it is SO secret that 400 corporates have been tagged as advisors to the USA team, and all will have boards they report to, but Mapp suggests NONE of them are sharing anything with their Boards???
Well. If “free trade” really lifted “all boats” as the proponents claim, then there would be no need for secrecy.
New Zealand’s major problem is that our Governments have, already, in a fit of idealogical lunacy, abandoned almost all our trade protections, leaving us nothing to negotiate, so we have to beg other countries to do the same. Most shamefully when Key was trading on the sacrifices of our dead soldiers with South Korea.
It’s difficult enough to persuade two individuals to enter into an integrative negotiation, let alone two countries. There are twelve conducting the TPPA negotiations.
Is there much doubt that the CER has been good for NZ? Or the Chinafta? Trade agreements are one thing – the US’s wishes for the TPPA look more like restraint of trade, in that they seek unfair advantage for shareholders over citizens.
That said, Tory employment law has done far more damage to New Zealanders than trade ever will.
Actually if you did a total cost benefit analysis of the China FTA, I think you will find it is costing us a lot more than it gains.
People, like Wayne Mapp go on about the 7 billion dollars of milk powder we sell to them.
Totally ignoring the cost of constant stream of junk we have to borrow to buy back off them, the lost jobs, opportunities and industries, the cost of the unemployed and destroyed lives in New Zealand, (and China). The cost of borrowing for dairying which exceeds the long term profits etc, etc.
Both the USA and UK, and now China, got wealthy in the first place because of trade protections (often enforced with guns as the Chinese well remember). Now they have the money, they want to ensure other economies cannot do the same.
Ironically Germany got wealthy due to half their borrowings being forgiven after WW2. And lately by lending to wealthy Greeks and Italians so they could buy German cars. A form of Keynesian stimulus. Loans which the poor of those countries are now expected to pay back.
And NZ. We became a country with a strong economy because we backed ourselves and worked together rather than selling ourselves out and fighting against each other.
Private borrowing was a problem long before the Chinafta.
Private borrowing was almost non-existent before we went ‘free-market’.
I assume any country not in the TPP is doomed to poverty for want of trading partners?
Perhaps Wayne knows we are being screwed like we were over SkyCity so revealing details would be suicide for the NACTs
So what’s the EU/US negotiation model called? Where EU texts (but not necessarily US) are released to the general public as the negotiations proceed?
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/trade-society/ttip-papers-published-eu-ombudsman-demands-more-transparency-311088
Reading is a skill: your link refers to “the legal language and binding rules”, not bottom lines.
…and ongoing release of documents to EU members and the general public throughout the negotiation process.
Hence holding a ‘secret bottom line’ as in the distributive model may be difficult? Yet the release of negotiation texts over the process and at the conclusion of negotiations may preclude integrative negotiation model?
Neither of your questions make sense to me. If we were in an integrative negotiation there wouldn’t be any expectation that negotiating texts would be confidential.
No surprise Tolley most likely knew of the seedy goings on prior to the 2014 general election. What sort of banana republic is Key operating when continued stonewalling of
the timeline he got briefed. The MSM has failed us as the fourth estate to demand answers.
m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11402445
Yes, but ‘honest John’ won the 2014 election by a ‘landslide’ don’t yer know. That means he can do anything.
The problem with landslides is that they cause a lot of damage, leave a lot of spoil, and require a huge clean-up afterwards. A lot of energy is spent on rescue and repair just to get things back to where they were.
In our case, rising unemployment, $100 billion debt, cuts throughout public services and hocking off the nation’s assets.
Nah, the National Party knew about it before the 2011 election, according to the NBR. The only way it can have been suppressed is if lots and lots of people decided that their ‘personal responsibility’ was to look the other way.
Well according to self appointed National party watch dog, and champion of the liberals Matthew Hooton, the NBR knew of some sort of investigation involving Sabin back in 2011. Which begs the question if this is correct, and the Leader of the National Party knew, as a good leader one could reasonably expect John Key to keep a close eye on him. Sitting him down to have a in depth discussion about his expectations of all his MP’s.
There is speculation that the 2011 investigation is seperate to the one last year. Which if true needs to be clarified by Key, or as many people suspect Key is deliberately misleading the public due to the suppression order. In my opinion the non disclosure of timelines is a miscarriage of justice.
John Key, we are to believe, is Sergeant Shultz. He knows nothing and remembers nothing. Pretty sure those are just the characteristics you need to run a country
As I have said before, the vocal supporters of “personal responsibility” do not take any themselves.
“Personal responsibility” is only for other people, especially the powerless.
Did you see Murdoch’s cartoon in the SST yesterday?
https://twitter.com/domesticanimal/status/566702346063736832/photo/1
The relevant detail is that the NBR says that the National Party knew before the 2011 election.
We know the investigation started in Whangarei and had to be moved. There is no mention anywhere of a separate investigation. ‘Speculation’, or smoke?
What happened in 2011 when the National Party found out? I expect they threatened the messenger.
“What happened in 2011 when the National Party found out? I expect they threatened the messenger”
Hoping to close the investigation down as well at that stage!
Also I’d say Key appointing Sabin as chair of the select Law and Order committee might have been an intentional move on his part. Having information on this issue before he said he did, Key put Sabin there to intimidate the police, to the extent of scaring them off and not continuing with the investigation! Typical of Key in self preservation mode!
Skinny .. your link is odd .. this is better I think …
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11402445
And noticeable they are not letting any replies through moderation .. are they trying to make it appear as if no-one is interested ??
Plenty of comments there now – I’m no lawyer, and some of them wouldn’t make it past moderation here.
And very few of those comments supporting the line of the editor.
I think it’s a valid argument: the no surprises rule has evolved into something quite toxic.
Although I agree that the No Surprises policy can be detrimental as it causes government departments to give the advice that the minister wants to hear rather than the truth I don’t believe that this is one of those cases. In the case of an MP being investigated the MP needs to be stood down during the investigation as I point out below. It would be better if an MP stood themselves down as well but we can’t rely solely upon people’s honesty and integrity for that to happen and so we need procedures in place to ensure that it will.
Lots of fishhooks there.
In effect it hands the police a veto over Parliamentary appointments.
To a degree, but at the same time they’d be picking powerful enemies if they made up serious investigations against parliamentarians they didn’t like.
The other point is that no surprises is confidential, and doesn’t dictate what the party leader should do. A minor investigation might not warrant a stand-down except in those areas where there might be a direct implication of conflict of interest or abject incompetence (a biosecurity minister bringing fruit through customs, for hypothetical sake). A minor scuffle in a bar or something, though, might not affect anything political, beyond a sad little oik getting 15 minutes of fame with a petty complaint.
But if there is a solid, long-term investigation into multiple serial offences, like if the minister for horticulture was a likely Mr Asia, then a stand-down might be right and proper (unless it affected the ongoing investigation). And the cops might play that card with invented complaints against their political enemies, but if shit gets that serious there are other problems with our democratic system. Useful symptom to look out for, I guess.
That would obviously be something that would have to be considered while writing up the process.
Yes sorry about that my iphone called it a day and I still haven’t mastered my new one yet, must read the instruction manual.
@skinny .. gd luck with that ! 😀
Haha thanks I’m a slacker and should know better.
That’s just another MSM defense of this Government:
Yes they should be. When an MP comes under investigation by police they need to be stood down until the investigation is complete else we end up where the MP is in a place of power that they could use to influence the investigation.
DTB … your last paragraph — which is exactly what happened here imho. Appointing Sabin chair of the Law and Order Select Committee was a very direct message to Police as far as I’m concerned, but thank goodness for decency, it didn’t work.
Maybe Key didn’t know til later ? Maybe he thought it was all fixed with the appointment of Sabin to head of that committee ?? Key must have been surprised someone with actual integrity defeated him by laying charges ?? This truth would not surprise me at all, so low is my opinion of Key and government-by-crony.
And if anyone has known since 2011 ? Charge the bastds with being accessories to whatever crimes Sabin is prosecuted with, (according to Speaker David Carter).
Is this the same G20 meeting JK went to? Has he signed this?
“On Tuesday, a draft statement from the Group of 20 finance officials warned that growing income inequality could harm economic growth, the first time the group has voiced concern over the issue.”
“A majority of large American companies have warned investors that falling incomes for most consumers could hurt their businesses. ” (This is what it takes for Gov to actually take notice)
Link: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/02/11/3621727/first-time-g-20-warns-income-inequality-dangerous/
that all hearkens back to that economics 101 rule that ideology blinds tories to..
..that is that the best stimulus to an economy..
..and one of the pillars of an ongoing economically sound society..
.. is to ensure the poorest have enough money to live on..
..and stripping all of the inequality etc. arguments out of the case..
.. you are left with that economics 101 rule..
..and that is that each and every week that living-wage churns instantly back into the economy..
..thru retailers/service-providers tills…
..plus more tax revenue for the govt..
..plus the lessened costs to the health system from everyone able to afford to eat well/better..
..everyone’s a winner..
..and why is labour not presenting these arguments..?
..instead of what they did in their election ’14 policies..
..namely offering nothing to/for the poorest..
..in their unspoken agreement with the tories..
..to continue to screw over the poorest/weakest..
..is this what we are..?
..is this what we have become..?
..and if not..labour had better start signalling/arguing the rationales of that economics 101 rule..and soon..
..now would be good..
(not to mention..)
“..What We Are Not Being Told About Suicide And Depression..
..For nearly two decades Big Pharma commercials have falsely told Americans that mental illness is associated with a chemical brain imbalance –
– but the truth is that mental illness and suicidality are associated with poverty – unemployment – and mass incarceration.
And the truth is that American society has now become so especially oppressive for young people –
– that an embarrassingly large number of American teenagers and young adults are suicidal and depressed..”
(cont..)
http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/what-we-are-not-being-told-about-suicide-and-depression
Homophobia is a major factor in suicide.
Underfunding of Mental Health by govt.
When profit is in the pill or vaccine every organisation and company involved in ‘industry’ will exercise behaviour and operational strategy to protect profit above all else including mental and physical health
Key may be a member of the G20 but the PM of New Zealand is not…
Meet Yanis Varoufakis.
http://theweek.com/articles/538886/greek-finance-minister-yanis-varoufakis-most-interesting-man-world
http://www.channel4.com/news/we-are-going-to-destroy-the-greek-oligarchy-system
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-31452402
There is an interesting article in the Intercept regarding what motivates
young men to engage in terrorist acts on behalf of Islam. It gives an insight into the environment that influences them and could lead to much better ways of dealing with the problem than our leader is considering.
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/02/14/imprisoned-terror-charges-fahim-ahmad-gives-insight-radicalization/
Good read.
Especially noted the comment:
“I also don’t think people should go and take part in other people’s conflicts, because from a distance you can’t really know what’s going on. Things are never so black and white, and if you go there, people are just going to end up using you.”
And the profound alienation that he must have been felt, seeing the invasion of Iraq and reading such pro-war MSM articles would have been intense.
You mean look below the surface???
Can someone explain to me how this is different from what Pat O’Dea did? I’m sure it must be in many ways that I’ve missed.
http://www.bootstheory.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/bingo-time-being-a-killjoy-feminist-thought-policewoman/comment-page-1/#comment-131
[ Well Murray, if you think an explanation would be helpful to you, then there is a comments section over at the blog where the post was made. Go there and ask for one. I wonder though, do you really want an explanation? Or is the fact that you asking for an explanation here simply indicative of you grinding an axe for the sheer hell of it? – Bill]
[lprent: Since I did the permanent ban of Pat O’Dea…
A. There is specific part of the policy “Describing the site as having ulterior motivations, being a tool of someone…”.
I will do a cross blog ban on that when someone asserts that without bothering to show any proof or even any reason why they think the assertion is justified about the site or an author.
My presumption is that if they do so then they are a person who feels no compunction about lying for their own benefit. Even Cameron Slater, for all his multitudinous faults, at least tries to justify when he asserts that kind of crap. He links back to previous posts that explain his bullshit logic. Which is why he retains commenting rights here when he chooses to exercise them.
But Pat O’Dea didn’t bother even trying to justify his assertion as he tried to attack Labour via us. He also couldn’t see why he was acting like a troll on our site as he diverted the comments on posts into his own pet topic. He ignores what everyone else says and twists it into his obsessive focus on what he wants to say. That lack of awareness of others is the mark of a classic sociopathic personality in my view. They tend to be quite poisonous to debate. You don’t have to go far to realise that. Just read most of his longer comments here where he does exactly the same things – he asserts fallacies as fact and never ever bothers to justify his position.
B. Stephanie’s post on the other hand was quite supported by the evidence she pointed to in her own post, and I have seen exactly the same kind of commentary both in comments that have been moderated here and those left on the site. Not to mention some of the emails.
However she expressed an opinion, didn’t ascribe an ulterior motive to the site or the authors. So it isn’t covered by that policy.
Now I’m sure that some of it is ‘gender’ related, but I’d question whether it is anything more than the kind of stick I sometimes get because of my first name, age, or that I like laughing at young males and their dick obsessions in their various manifestations.
Stephanie still reacts to that kind of personal probing with actual unfocused emotion and that tends to act as a focus. She tends to be too nice or constrained to do what I do – which is to either tear into the perp with an even more personal speculation about what they are like with language as a ripping weapon. Or to just ignore what they said while I deconstruct the lack of logic or knowledge in their actual argument.
Basically I demonstrate why you need to be careful who you try that crap on as I wind them to incoherent sputtering. It amuses me.
But I have been an adult around the net for 35 years. She is a spring chicken. She is learning fast and actually doing a pretty good job overall of figuring out how to communicate effectively in this kind of net environment populated almost exclusively of older smart educated egotists. She is certainly the youngest moderator I have ever used.
That post demonstrates why. Such a lot of spluttering… ]
whoar..!
..that’s the first board-game i’ve had made about me..
..(and my bad attitudes..)
..i’m both humbled and flattered..
..and..obsessive..?..much..?
..heh..!
..am i being stalked..?
..is there a basement somewhere with walls lined with pictures of me..
..with sharp=objects sticking into them..?
..heh..!
.very funny..!
No Phil, you’re not being stalked. Alan has gone (for now).
heh..!..
..it;s weird..sometimes…late at nite..
..i hear him mumbling in the distance..
..and all to a discordant electronic-beat…
and his alien voice on his music – although I quite liked it to a point
but..yep..!..it is also pretty fucken weird..
..and i do wonder what the reactions wd be had i done something similar..
..(constructed an attack-piece on the game-maker @ whoar..)
..i am sure the likes of the game-maker/weka/tracey wd have howled the roof off..
..i await their reactions to this little purler..
You would have gotten a reaction from me as well, Phil, if you’d done that. I would have considered it less than helpful. I disagree with a fair few things you say, but I doubt if you lose any sleep over that. I see a big difference between discussions on tactics and actually pulling in different directions.
It’s probably just some sort of psychotic episode I’m having, and I just can’t shake the feeling that Stephanie’s status as a moderator really pushes male buttons 😈
Always possible, and hard for a male to know whether that has happened or not, and to be honest about it. However, I wasn’t addressing the moderator status. It’s more having a go at people on one blog via another. Pat was widely condemned for it, and I think what he did was at best unhelpful. I can see similarities and differences here, but I can mainly see a left which is cannibalising itself. Maybe I’m just pissed off that my back still hurts.
[ It’s more having a go at people on one blog via another. Uh-huh. Really? – Bill]
Pat is clearly pissed off at TS and chose to write attack posts on another blog that included claims about the Standard that he knew were untrue. The post on Bootstheory is entirely truthful and composed of real or summarised comments from people who really should know better.
entirely truthful’..eh..?
..how about this ‘summarised-comment’/quote..?..(what i ‘would’ say..(!)..)
“It’s got nothing to do with the fact you’re a woman, it’s about the fact you’re a nagging/shrill/bitchy/catty/oversensitive/overemotional/PMSing cow.”
..whoar..!..eh..?
also not quite ‘entirely truthful’..
..is the attributing what other people said..
..to me…eh..?
..but near-enough ‘entirely truthful’…eh..?
..how very joyce-ian of you…eh..?
If you mean the Bootstheory post, it’s not attributed to any specific commenter. The idea that’s it’s all about you came from, er, you.
yeahh..fucken right..!
..it’s not about me..is it..?
..yu r so fucken full of it..eh..?
..that ‘game’didn’t really piss me off..
..yr bullshit does..
so once again..you say bullshit..’entirely truthful’..
..are called /asked about it..
..don’t answer..and just a fucken lying-sneer..
..enough..!
..u r now at the same status alan was..
..to be totally fucken ignored..
It’s not about you, specifically, Phil, and not all the comments used are yours, so when I wrote “The idea that’s it’s all about you came from, er, you.” that’s actually correct. The worst comment, in my opinion, is actually not one of yours.
IMHO instead of throwing around words like bullshit, you should address the real issue. Why don’t you meditate on why a women might find the attitudes of a man like you offensive.
I’m not sure Pat would have known that his claims were untrue. We can often convince ourselves of some strange things. Apart from that, I accept what you say about the difference.
It’s good that you’ve clarified because I didn’t get that from the initial comment.
pat is attacking the site with mistruths imo
Stephanie’s post imo doesn’t seem like an attack (it was on her own blog for instance) but if it was it was against a commenter who has irritated her.
the bingo game is pretty mellow
In terms of working together the left is always jostling and some issues – identity, sexuality, gender, ability, war, age, climate change, and so on have proponents all along the spectrum. I don’t know who is left – I believe I am and those who have the same values are too (like you Murray) and others I wonder, but accept them for what they believe and realise that widening the definition of left beyond my values is necessary, important and sensible. I can accept both Stephanie and Phil as left – even alien was part of the left – the left is scaringly full of individuals with obnoxious ideas for me but the right have to be gone so that the people can be protected more and the environment can be rescued as much as possible. I love the left – we actually care.
Hope your back gets better soon e hoa.
Pat is criticisng this site’s moderators. Stephanie is criticising its *commenters*. One of those is against site policy.
I think we’re allowed to criticise moderators, as long as we don’t attack them or tell them what to do. If that weren’t the case, TS would be like a Young NActs’ Q&A session with FJK. I would be totally unable to debate Iraq with TRP, for instance.
Yep. And the moderators are allowed to criticise the other way as well.
That she did this bit of criticism offsite and got such a reaction on site speaks well of her tactics. Because after making such a to-do about not doing it here, you can hardly complain if she then does eh?
😈
Boots theory is her own personal site. She was expressing herself there in a public journal. Rather effectively I thought.
I’ll answer this one now 🙂 (6:34 pm)
I would have liked to see Stephanie’s post here. I still would. I think it addresses some important points. I think many of us would benefit from addressing them here.
“I think we’re allowed to criticise moderators…”
I give shit to LPrent all the time. He’s a good sport about it.
The left does need to be broad. Depending on which day of the week it is, I either hate or love that fact. Why can’t the laws of politics be like the laws of nature? Grrr.
I think what I don’t like is taking things from one blog to another. I have a sense of community about this place. As I said above (or maybe below) I wouldn’t be happy to see Phil do it either. It reminds me a bit of Pete George. I agreed with almost everything in the bingo game, it came from comments made, but I rather would have seen it here. I think that would have been healthier for us all. On the other hand, I’m often wrong and what I think should generally be ignored, so……
As for the back, thanks. It has a mind of its own 🙁
[ I think what I don’t like is taking things from one blog to another.. So why, pray tell, have you done precisely that? – Bill]
Because I’m writing about something that has already happened. Half of it happened here, with comments that convinced Stephanie to write about it on another blog. It started here and I thought it was being addressed here. I told Phil here what I thought of his comment. People tell me here what they think of mine. Most of them manage to do it without using bold.
Yeah, but you raised a specific point about the site policy and the banning of Pat O’Dea that needed answering. It means that you get a moderator comment and probably from me. The immediate answer comment was long gone so there was no point in answering way down thread. So it is black you get.
[lprent: Opps I thought you were referring to my one further up… ]
To lprent 6:40 pm
If I ever have criticisms of policy, I’ll raise them privately. Then they can be ignored privately. I try to stick to politics and the interactions we have with each other. I seem to cause enough confusion just with that, without straying into constitutional territory.
Murray – if I’m using bold in your comments, take it as read that a warning of some description is contained within. I don’t use bold in comments for the mere sake of replying.
I would find a bit more of a hint at the policy that I’m either violating or close to violating helpful. It’s easier to modify behaviour with a bit of guidance. I’m too old to guess.
@ Murray R
If you take my advice, you will relax and pass on this matter. I believe it is beyond hu-man understanding. I think it is a cultural matter which is convoluted and the more discourse there is, the less able to be concluded with a brief and clear explanation.
I think I like that idea. It’s too easy for everyone to be misunderstood at the moment.
“I would find a bit more of a hint at the policy that I’m either violating or close to violating helpful. It’s easier to modify behaviour with a bit of guidance. I’m too old to guess.”
Good point. Sometimes bold comments are a bit obscure.
Bill’s comments to me looked like a caution to take care and probably to step back, rather than being about a specific part of the policy (other than that you are talking about an author/moderator).
Yeah, really.
“..I just can’t shake the feeling that Stephanie’s status as a moderator really pushes male buttons ..”
no..why..?
..gender has nothing to do with anything..in this case..
..(there’s a new square for the game..!..)
1) Because it’s true
1a) Because I took pains to quote accurately instead of spinning vast conspiracy theories
2) Because I deliberately chose not to link to the specific discussion or commenters I was quoting – my point was a general one about the absolute waves of smarmy, condescending sexism I encountered from a simple one-sentence comment
3) Because my little blog gets approximately 1% of the readership The Daily Blog gets (and 0.7% of the readership of The Standard) and I deliberately chose not to publish it here
4) Because the problem was never “somebody talking on another site about this site” and you’re a total numpty if you think it was.
so you wd be quite relaxed about me doing ‘the modertors-game’..
..over @ whoar..
..wd u..?
u call me every slur under the sun..homophobic/trans-phobic/woman-hating/feminist-hating..
..u attribute what other people said to me..
..and while i wd never/have never said to anyone what you ‘quoted’,me as saying..’the pms-bitch’ line..
..my tongue is bloody bleeding…
(and all the other moderaters + the bingo-creator here wd b quite relaxed about me linking to the moderaters-game..would they..?
.full of bully/power-freak/man-hating/make-repeated-false-accusation squares..
(i cd write half of them in five minutes..)
..that wd b ok..wd it..?.
(if i were so fucken infantile/obsessive..?..).
..i don’t think so somehow..eh…?)
..this person never answered the final-questions in that exchange they use..
..where i asked them to retract the false-accusations they had made about me ‘demanding transcripts be published’..
..which was just the latest of a series of bloody-lies…
..and was penny bright also calling that an injustice ‘cos she ‘hates women’..?
..or was that just me..no injustice-call..just a manifestation of my woman/homo/trans-hatred..eh..?
Seeing as I have never – and I’ve searched the comments already – called you a “woman-hater”, phil, perhaps consider the paradox of accusing me of lying about things you’ve said, especially when it is very clear from the post Murray linked to that I never mentioned your name or even linked to your comments.
I’m a total numpty then because I see that as an issue. Certainly not the only one, but an issue. Any other names you’d like to call me?
I think the point is that most of the reaction against O’Dea was not about him talking offsite. It was about what he said. In your comment earlier you said most of the reaction was the offsite bit.
Yeah, it looks like I misread the situation a bit, assuming that others were seeing it the same way I was. Not the first time I have got things a bit wrong, and it won’t be the last. I thought that Pat was doing something very bad by spewing on one left blog in a column on another, as well as not respecting what he wrote.
In the other case, I agreed with most of the bingo card – I’d seen what inspired it. I can see more of the difference now. That’s more than enough from me. Shut up, Muzza you old fool.
🙂 Nice to see you handling it gracefully. Not a very common occurance round here.
Just wait. Gazpacho is a dish best served cold. 🙂
I get a bit passionate at times, and go off on the odd tangent. I can recognise that in myself. As a middle aged man, apologising for it is totally unthinkable though 🙂
I thought women were ‘allowed’ to have their own opinions these days. Did someone turn the clock back to 1955 and not bother telling me?
If that’s addressed to me, I don’t have a problem with anyone having an opinion. It’s still 2015 where I am.
To Bill: If I’m grinding any axe, it’s about the left in general being less cannibalistic. As for your questions, I suspect you’ve already made up your mind.
To lprent: Thanks for a coherent response. I can see now why, from your point of view there is a huge difference. I’m coming from a different point of view and have possibly taken something more seriously than I should have. I accept that what Pat ended up doing was unacceptable, and even if I didn’t, it’s your call. Maybe something will start happening on the ground that will focus us all better, myself included.
You might have noticed that I am really really strongly rules focused in the moderation. The reason why is to make sure that people are aware what will and will not cause particular reactions from moderators. To do anything else just gives you warlord rules as the system scales up. What works for a small blog doesn’t work for a large one.
But the rules tend to be loosely written but tightly focused for the same reason that law is. You want to identify areas of particular concern and limit what happens there. You sure as hell don’t want it so wide that unforeseen consequences abound.
Consider the daftness that can arise from “You shall not kill” as a commandment as opposed to “Do not murder”. Consider bacteria.
I suspect bacteria come under the beasts of the field that all of us, excepting Phil, have god-given dominion over.
Citizenfour is a film about Edward Snowden (with Glenn Greenwald) playing in Rialto cinema Newmarket, and well worth seeing.
What I took away from it:
Je suis Nicky
Good discussion with the film makers here: http://www.cnet.com/news/edward-snowden-talks-citizenfour-with-poitras-greenwald/
Kia Ora TRP
Wallace Chapman had a panel discussion yesterday morning about the film.
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/sun/sun-20150215-0840-panel_discussion_of_citizenfour_documentary-048.mp3
I miss the feeds. Any word on when they might be able to be fixed?
Trust on state houses: We won’t buy unless they’re free
Kinda defeats the purpose of selling them unless the purpose is other than what the government says it is.
At least National are consistent.
The purpose is ALWAYS other than what the government says it is.
Not really. The purpose is to create the market. It’s one of the main planks of neoliberalism.
The govt’s job ends once the market is created. Further intervention in the market is warranted only when it acts in totally foreseeable ways that negatively affect the function of other markets (but not if that market destroys peoples livelihoods and communities).
So, we could give away all the state houses, and it would all work like magic, apparantly.
I’m really not sure what they think success will look like with this policy.
But once it’s done, I’m guessing they’ll just ride it out while viciously attacking (from all quarters) anyone who asks impertinent questions.
US economy going so well, old people are “un-retiring” for ‘economic reasons’
Work till you die is the new American economic leadership.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-15/un-retiring-increasingly-disabled-non-working-american-dream
This from CR link to zerohedge —
So to sum up – The American Dream is now… work your whole life (and we mean your whole life)… the number of workers 55 and over just hit 32.9 million, up 1.3 million from a year ago, and an all time high.
That is workers – up 1 million plus. This one below, for population numbers over 65 years in USA. If 55 years is considered old, then 65 and over, must be a burden to the country’s planners. Their present mode of ageism and an unhealthy economy seeking cheap underpaid labour overseas and high returns in their own supposed wealthier country has few options for older workers. Yet it is agreed that the middle class is being decimated by this behaviour. Can the economy recover health with this reckless lack of responsible business and political behaviour?
2010 USA figures – here are now more Americans age 65 and older than at any other time in U.S. history. According to a new Census Bureau report, there were 40.3 million people age 65 and older on April 1, 2010, up 5.3 percent from 35 million in 2000 (and just 3.1 million in 1900).
http://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/articles/2012/01/09/65-and-older-population-soars
In the UK:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2340119/Number-65s-work-doubles-decades-1million-time.html
The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show 1.03million people who are over state pension age are working – nearly one in ten. In 1992, the first year the ONS kept records, only 479,000 worked.
Yet nearly one million jobs were cut from government and turned to private so abandoning the opportunity to fashion workforce decisions to assist healthy employment trends:
Spending cuts and a renewed focus on creating private sector jobs has seen the number of people working for the state tumble from 6.3million to 5.7million….
There is usually a lack of will by business to undertake giving training and worker development. Men and women who wished to achieve individual advancement and autonomy, who pay for their own training will see the opportunities for skilled jobs with good pay recede, and even mothers being able to afford to concentrate on child care is no longer an affordable option:
The continuing financial squeeze means the number of stay-at-home mothers has dropped again, by 34,000 between February and April.
Of the 432,000 extra jobs created in the past year, nearly two-thirds have gone to women, who make up nearly half the workforce – 13.8million….
Job vacancies are the highest since the 2008 banking crisis, at 516,000.
But Mark Beatson, chief economist at the Chartered Instituted of Personnel and Development, said businesses were struggling to find people with the right skills.
edited
A very good session on RNZ between Mike Williams and Matthew Hooton this morning. And I never heard Mike say I agree with Matthew once although I could have missed it. Matthew came up with an excellent term – neo-muldoonary – in connection with the SkyCity machinations. Especially pertinent since Key is on record as saying he is a… Muldoon acolyte who has closely studied his mode-of-operation.
When did Key say that about Muldoon? Dis you have a reference?
I had thought he had been most taken with Holyoake.
Sometime between 2008 and 2011. I don’t remember the exact time. He didn’t call himself an acolyte. That was my way of summing up what he did say, which was to the effect he had always admired Muldoon, and that he had studied him in detail. It was initially during a TV interview, but was almost certainly commented on in the newspapers and on radio at the time.
At the moment he likes to mention Holyoake because he’s probably decided it is politically advantageous to pretend he’s modelling himself of the NZ statesman of yesteryear – fancies his chances of becoming Sir John Key, the great NZ statesman of the early 21st century?
While he can’t remember how he felt about the 81 tour, Key has talked about his growing interest in politics as a teenager and when he was a uni student. The PM during that entire period was Rob Muldoon.
I can understand how Key would be taken with the way Holyoake basically gifted Kinloch to himself, while everyone thought how honest and gentlemanly he was.
At work today we’re playing a very sick game.
How many state houses are boarded up to fenced off in New Lynn Auckland.
Including those which have been removed.
The count is at 15 – including 2 removed.
In the mean time – how many are homeless are their in New Lynn? I know more than 15 families personally.
This is a very sick joke – This National Government is a bad joke. It has no morality.
Greed is the sin, which will destroy our country.
yes, its been pissing me off….so many that can’t afford houses and so many houses boarded up.
fucked up society we are becoming.
Just a evil situation.
It’s is like the Nastiest people have been given social policy.
And they just doing their personal best to destroy as many people as possible.
The nastiest people are chosen by the nastiest people and however many levels its rolls up there is evil at each of them
It can’t change until enough people are able to see this world for what it is and to begin taking action developed through their awareness outwardly to others
So long as people continue to operate inside the false narratives and fake constructs designed to entrap there will be few who develop the necessary awareness
Many more will continue to shun the messengers
‘Guantanamo Diary’ and American democracy:
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/16/guantanamo-diary-and-american-democracy/
The book is the first to get published while the author is still being held at the US concentration camp/torture centre at Guantanamo Bay, a part of Cuba occupied by the US.
Phil
Someone was telling me that Guantanamo Bay is “leased” by the USA from Cuba…
it is one of those leases that cannot be broken/ended by the landlord..
“it is one of those leases that cannot be broken/ended by the landlord..”
I’m generally supportive of those leases. This is an exception. Castro’s Cuba has never cashed the cheque.
For $4,000 a year.
The interesting bit at the end of the wikipedia article is that the use of the base as a detention facility might exceed the terms of the lease, which might be grounds for challenging it. But then the Chagossians have a similar problem.
Some sad news. Educator and activist Bob Duff has died:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/66248553/robin-duff-has-died
And Celia Lashlie is seriously ill:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11402856
Both GREAT people and selfless workers for the future of NZ
hi trp and tracey,
i too have just heard that celia lashlie is very ill.
i had the privilege of hearing her speak a couple of years ago, (after reading her books, hearing interviews etc).
celia lashlie is someone that has PROFOUNDLY informed my thinking and behaviour.
i feel that the term hero is bandied about far too often.
celia lashlie is one of my heroes and i wish her and her whanau/friends the strength and courage needed in the near future.
Seemed like a very good, caring, fair and compassionate person. RIP.
[It is the really fair, courageous and great people like him and Celia Lashlie who give selfless exemplary service to the community and the country that need to be given our highest honour, knighthood etc rather than be dished out to some self serving dodgy people or politicians who happen to be in the government’s good books]
There is a good article and some nice comments from readers about him on Stuff in this link:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/66248553/robin-duff-has-died#comments
The Great War of American Empire
The US has engaged in many high, mid, and low intensity military conflicts around the world in the last 25 years. Very few of these conflicts were justified honestly, or achieved more than a tiny fraction of their officially stated aims.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-15/guest-post-great-war-american-empire
Empires engage in wars to get resources to their centre and to crush resistance of the outlying regions to that theft.
And, sometimes, because other empires want the area and it’s a good way to whittle each other down.
And sometimes because it’s a good way to keep armies busy so they don’t start looking inwards – Hadrian’s wall, for example.
How Superstar Companies Like Apple Are Killing America’s High-Tech Future
Considering that we have people and companies also avoiding paying taxes to the tune of several billion dollars per year just how much damage are those greedy scum doing to our high-tech future? We need to accept the fact that it is the government that does the basic research that supports innovation and then we need to fund it.
Agree completely and this is an essential reason patent law and the like is unstable in its current form and worse with what is proposed for the future i.e. TPP. Patent laws are unstable because they do not reflect reality or a sense of fairness. As such they will fail.
All inventions / patents result from an investment by the community to bring the inventor to that position in order to make that discovery. Such discoveries are 100% a community discovery, with an individual being the one to bring it to pinpoint fruition.
As such patents belong to the community, with an add-on for the pinpoint individual.
The end.
As Marx would say – wealth is created by the commons. And then it is privatised.
Really? Maybe I should read some of this Marx fulla, his name keeps cropping up ….
“Were we THAT sloppy?”
A depressing half hour of radio, Monday 16.2.15 (Part 1 of 2)
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Monday 16 February 2015
Jim Mora, Barry Corbett, Lavina Good
Mostly a pretty uneventful program today—neither Barry Corbett nor Lavina Good said anything remotely interesting, leave alone intelligent, even in the “Soapbox” segment after the news. But then things picked up—actually, took a sinister turn—in the last ten minutes or so. Three topics were discussed.
Topic No. 1: KILLING STOATS
The Department of Conservation is using dogs to sniff out stoats, which have been devastating kiwis and other native birds in the wild. Jim Mora notes that after the dog has detected the stoat, the ranger then kills it. He asks why the heck don’t they just use the DOGS to kill the stoats? Barry Corbett is not sure whether that is a good idea or not; he’s a bit worried about possible cruelty. Lavina Good has no such qualms: “Kill the stoat,” she exhorts her fellow panelists. “Kill the stoat. KILL THE STOAT!”
JIM MORA: To discuss this, we welcome Scott Theobald from the Department of Conservation. Hello Scott.
SCOTT THEOBALD: Hello.
MORA: So why NOT let the dogs kill the stoats?
SCOTT THEOBALD: Because it’s inhumane. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a dog kill an animal, it’s not a pretty sight.
MORA: [testily]Yeah but hang on! Squeamishness surely can’t be a reason given the vicious and indiscriminate nature of what stoats do. That can’t REALLY be why you’re against it, can it.
…A brief but noticeable silence as an obviously disturbed Scott Theobald assesses the ethical standards of his inquisitor….
SCOTT THEOBALD: Ah, yes it can. …
……
Topic No. 2: STUDENTS DRINKING IN DUNEDIN
MORA: A local city contractor has refused to clean up Hyde Street in North Dunedin, after it was left COVERED in broken glass following an Orientation Week party. ….[He sighs to indicate moral seriousness]…. Okay, in our day, students had a larrup, but were we THAT sloppy?
BARRY CORBETT: We were both at Otago, James. I think we had a lot of fun, but it was all in good spirit, wasn’t it!
MORA: [baffled sigh] Uh, so North Dunedin has lost a lot of that amiable, rumpled reputation that it had. It seems a bit harder edged now.
LAVINA GOOD: But the partying on the weekend was good-natured, wasn’t it? A bit of innocent fun, really.
MORA: Is there a tipping point though?
LAVINA GOOD: I’m sure there are worse things going on in the community than a bit of broken glass.
MORA: Anyway, research out today shows that O-Week drinking could have a GATEWAY effect. This is fascinating, isn’t it.
BARRY CORBETT: [skeptical] Hmmmm….
LAVINA GOOD: [skeptical] Hmmmm….
JIM MORA: [irritated] Isn’t it?
BARRY CORBETT: I actually organized a couple of O-Weeks, and they were great fun! You used to report on it back when you were the editor of Critic, didn’t you, James?
……
Topic No. 3: SCHOOL UNIFORMS
The news about a Parnell school’s expensive P.E. tops leads to some animated discussion. It’s mostly pretty run of the mill stuff, until the following prime piece of ignorance…
LAVINA GOOD: I like that we have school uniforms, because they make us less of a class-conscious society.
That was pretty stupid, but as we shall see in Part 2, a few minutes later I was to hear far, far worse over on New Zealand’s version of Fox News….
hi morissey,
didnt hear the show (have largely weaned myself off both the panel and the politics slot on mondays, they were, in the recent past, appointment listening), but i cant help take the bait ref. topic 1.
1080 would hve to be the cruellest way for any critter to die.
i defy anyone reading this to cite another crueller, more painful way for a creature to die.
bear in mind i have said cruel, not economically efficient.
You make a very fair point.
The point of my transcribing those comments, however, was to highlight the nature of the person making them. The interesting thing about what Mora said, and the impatient way he said it, was his apparent equanimity about, and approval of, a stoat being torn apart by a dog. His remarks fit, I think, with his equally depraved, approving attitude to human beings being imprisoned and persecuted by vengeful states.
all cool here.
i reckon that part of the appeal of the likes of the panel and (dare i say it) ts, is the voicing of opinion.
personally speaking one of my favourite parts of the newspaper was the letters to the editor followed by the rotating pieces by regular guest columnists.
this either reinforced and informed my attitude or disgusted me and gave insight to what THEY were thinking.
I’ll say, it’s hardly the stoats’ fault that it’s vicious little critter. Not to mention training a pack of dogs to destroy animals isn’t very smart if they get loose. What a stupid vacous statement to make from Mr. Mora.
Content warning for serious animal cruelty.
“1080 would hve to be the cruellest way for any critter to die.
i defy anyone reading this to cite another crueller, more painful way for a creature to die.
bear in mind i have said cruel, not economically efficient.”
Being caught in a leg trap, left overnight, then hit on the head with a hammer, stunned but not killed, plucked, body left in the bush until dead from shock.
3 day slow death from internal bleeding from eating rat poison. I’ve seen mice in the death throes of this, it ain’t pretty.
I once heard a hunter on the radio talk about how being shot in the head was a worse way to die than a fast acting poison like cyanide. Being shot in the head is essentially a traumatic brain injury death. Not sure what I think about this.
hi weka,
i have no intention of escalating or taking this in a more graphic direction.
your example of 3 days dying after eating rat poison is close to the mark re 1080.
i understand that the cells break down slowly….
none of our examples are ideal and i would suggest that they would be illegal, certainly unlawful.
however because the almighty $ reigns supreme, doc can go down this dehumanizing path.
thanks gsays, I think I misunderstood your original point. I thought you meant that 1080 is one of the worst ways to kill an animal, but now I think you were meaning that DOC are hypocrites talking about cruelty when they use something like 1080.
I thought 1080 was reasonably quick for the primary kill, and took hours rather than days for secondary kill. But yes, I agree with you, there are animal cruelty issues here that barely get talked about. I did think the DOC guy in Morrisey’s piece was interesting, but I suspect that being killed by a dog is not necessarily kinder than most other methods (Mora is still an idiot).
It’s very complex, because the only real alternative to poison is trapping, and we often don’t do that humanely either.
Barry Corbett was completely and utterly shown up for the big mouth fool he can be in his knee-jerk-red-kneck brain fart on the unlawful activity of police in a civil matter at the cricket. He went painfully quiet – poor man.
A big brave radio personality whom everyone loves, followed up by being voted into Council because of his amazing wisdom, what else would anyone think when festooned with such festoons?
Unfortunately brain not big enough to untangle the tangling messages sent his way over the years.
“He’s a terrorism EXPERT!”
A depressing half hour of radio, Monday 16.2.15 (Part 2 of 2)
Larry Williams Drive, NewstalkZB
After the 5 p.m. news, I listened to a Radio NZ National item about the Mark Lundy trial, then switched over to NewstalkZB’s notoriously addle-pated Larry Williams Drive show, just in time to catch the peroration of what sounded like one of the more bewildered callers to that haven of the terminally bewildered. This bloke had an Australian accent; apart from that, he was pretty much indistinguishable from the confused wretches that call in from Birkenhead, or Pukekohe, or Bulls, or Nelson or deepest, most benighted Southland. The caller confidently, but not very coherently, reeled off a series of clichés he might have picked up from repeated exposure to Fox News—or indeed, its Kiwi equivalent, NewstalkZB. When I tuned in, he was near the end of his spiel….
CALLER: It needs to be a regional force as well, comprising the neighboring Arab states. There is no alternative but for us to take part. This is more than a military campaign, it’s a war against an idea, an idea that has gone global.
…..Long pause, and then the surprise of the day……
LARRY “LACKWIT” WILLIAMS: Thanks for your expertise, Greg. That’s Professor Greg Barton, from Monash University! He’s a terrorism EXPERT! Okay, after the break, the Lundy trial….
If you think the name Greg Barton is familiar, it is. If you followed the Sydney siege in December 2014, you might recall that one “counter-terrorism expert” ramped up the anxiety levels by expertly opining that the gunman was not likely to be acting alone. That was Greg Barton. It’s interesting that NewstalkZB, even if nobody else does, still treats him as a credible commentator.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11294082/Sydney-siege-gunman-not-acting-alone.html
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16022015/#comment-969675
One for the pro pot guys to chew over
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11402709
The RTDs of the marijuana world.
The source of that article is not the best and does not draw on much earlier research. In particular the age of first use and the impact on undeveloped brain. Coupled with the fact that most episodes the report are at age 16.5 years of age. I say cannabis is a drug that should have an age limit 21 – along with every other drug.
This is the argument the majority of supporters of legalisation have been arguing. Letting young people with underdeveloped brains smoke pot is exactly the same as letting young people drink alcohol with underdeveloped brains. A bloody stupid series of events.
But once again, just pure propaganda from the Tory rag herald – and happy consumption for the masses to keep the beer barons buying adds.
You should really read more b wagon before you dump herald propaganda on the standard.
We can’t stop people under 21 from drinking or smoking tobacco, how would we stop them from smoking cannabis?
I suspect that the connection with psychosis won’t always be mitigated by prohibition until 21.
My own personal experience i started smoking as a teen a lot of it was weak stuff as I got into my mid twenties skunk or clones as we called it became available and I went from enjoying it to giving up due to it winding my brain up pretty tight. Very unscientific I know .
Maybe if we legalized it we could control the THC levels.
you obviously started smoking during the dark-years..
..when most of the importing ended..
..and before the local-growers got their act together..
..and when cannabis was often cannabis in name only..
..and when nz was notorious internationally for crap-pot..
..(fortunately i wasn’t here then..but those here then have confirmed that ‘dark’-period..)
..whereas for those older than you..
..words like ‘buddah’..durban-poison – afghani hashish..
..really strong honey hash-oil..plus more..
..these are the brands of pot we smoked..
..and they were as strong..some wd claim stronger..(durban-poison’..mmm!!!..)
..as the best skunk today..
..my condolances to you for missing that golden-period for pot in nz..
..and for having to grow up surrounded by/your only choice being weak/shitty bush-weed..
..’dark days..!..indeed..!
You kind of missed the point I’m pro weaker weed the article linked to is out of the lancet which I believe is a publication you rate highly.
@ waghorn..see 23.1..
Mr Ure likes to start every most days with a pro Cannabis post or two, so here’s something for him to ‘mull’ overnight.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/almost-a-quarter-of-new-psychosis-cases-linked-to-strong-skunk-like-cannabis-10047716.html
5 ‘mulled-over’ points..
1)..this is based on the entirely false-premise that pot is now stronger than it used to be..
..as one who has smoked since ‘used to be’ – i can report this is complete-bullshit..
..and don’t believe me..forensic-analysis of cannabis in court cases over the decades – both here and in america..confirm this…any changes in pot strength are minimal..
..good pot has always been good pot..
2)..and so what..?..if the pot is of good quality..you smoke less..’cos you need less..
3)..no matter how ‘wasted’ someone gets on pot..they are nowhere as ‘wasted’ as yr average kiwi teenager lying drunk in a gutter..
4)..who funded this research..?..the booze-pushers..?
5)..no matter what anti-pot bullshit is pumped out..
..it is impossible to deny the fact that cannabis is the safest of all the intoxicants to use..
..end of story..
hi phil,
last year i had an interesting chat with a police officer from northland.
he painted a grim anti-pot picture, obviously based on his experiences.
it culminated with him saying tptb want to move weed to a class b category.
this, according to him was because of the high potency of thc.
i went and had a look at the drug foundation (btw ross bell is a breath of fresh air) at studies on the levels of thc.
hasnt markedly increased and what was surprising was the range of thc levels on the same plant.
yep..!..
..that big-lie bullshit is designed to scare adults who may have smoked in their youth..
..but don’t any more..
..and are (understandably) scared by lying-crap such as this…
..and as an aside..
..one of the mysteries of modern-life for me..
..is why hone harawira is such a reactionary on cannabis..
..when he knows the damage to maori resulting from both alcohol –
– and police activities as a result of cannabis-prohibition..
..and how maori suffer the most from both..
..and also how legalisation wd be such an economic-boost for northland..
..as i said..it’s a mystery to me..
and more on that ‘..good pot has always been good pot’..point i made above..
..cannabis has been grown since forever..in many different cultures..
..how fucken euro-centic/egocentric to think/believe that we ‘modern’-people have just discovered how to grow strong/decent-pot..
..eh..?
shhhh!
you will wake the booze merchants.
not to mention big pharma.
oh yes, there is also the cotton industry.
did i mention the building monoply and forestry owners?
none of them would want a plant that has 7 times the strength of wood,
can be harvested twice a year and doesnt need any sprays and chemicals.
also can you point me to an example where prohibition works?
the ‘umble-plant has lots of powerful/self-interested enemies..
Poaka should stick to enforcing the law and investigating ex-poaka, not trying to make law. We are not yet a police state. Problems in Te Tai Tokerau wouldn’t be due to economic depression by any chance, would they? The Netherlands must be really bad. And Portugal. And as for Uruguay….
I am surprised that nobody has drawn attention to this excellent (IMHO) article in the NZ Herald (I may have missed it?): The American working class has gone missing by Andrew Cherlin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11402733
The original article appeared in The Washington Post and is worth visiting also because of its comments section (107 comments at the time writing this).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-missing-working-class/2015/02/13/d20d6352-b385-11e4-886b-c22184f27c35_story.html
Anyway, the article in the Herald reminded me of another recent one in the same publication: University-centric view risks losing talent by Rick Ede.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11399078
Cherlin contrasts the “people who have a diploma but not a bachelor’s degree” (i.e. the working class) with “the college-educated middle class, who already have bachelor’s degrees”. Ede advocates less emphasis on university degrees as a career path. Obviously, one’s career determines one’s ‘standing’ (i.e. class) in society. It is too late now to get really into this but it seems to me that there’s a paradox: encouraging the working class to pursue university education – which used to be almost free – may have contributed to diminishing the role of the same working class in society.
New Evidence that Half of America is Broke
We have, of course, been following dutifully and unquestioningly in the US’s footsteps which has resulted in ever increasing poverty and inequality. About time we stopped doing that.
Ta for that. I agree about not following in the US’s footsteps and that’s another reason why the TPPA should never go ahead.