Challenging the Washington Consensus
Hugo Chavez and Me
by TARIQ ALI March 7, 2013
Once I asked whether he preferred enemies who hated him because they knew what he was doing or those who frothed and foamed out of ignorance. He laughed. The former was preferable, he explained, because they made him feel that he was on the right track. Hugo Chávez’s death did not come as a surprise, but that does not make it easier to accept. We have lost one of the political giants of the post-communist era. Venezuela, its elites mired in corruption on a huge scale, had been considered a secure outpost of Washington and, at the other extreme, the Socialist International. Few thought of the country before his victories. After 1999, every major media outlet of the west felt obliged to send a correspondent. Since they all said the same thing (the country was supposedly on the verge of a communist-style dictatorship) they would have been better advised to pool their resources.
I first met him in 2002, soon after the military coup instigated by Washington and Madrid had failed and subsequently on numerous occasions. He had asked to see me during the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He inquired: “Why haven’t you been to Venezuela? Come soon.” I did. What appealed was his bluntness and courage. What often appeared as sheer impulsiveness had been carefully thought out and then, depending on the response, enlarged by spontaneous eruptions on his part. At a time when the world had fallen silent, when centre-left and centre-right had to struggle hard to find some differences and their politicians had become desiccated machine men obsessed with making money, Chávez lit up the political landscape.
He appeared as an indestructible ox, speaking for hours to his people in a warm, sonorous voice, a fiery eloquence that made it impossible to remain indifferent. His words had a stunning resonance. His speeches were littered with homilies, continental and national history, quotes from the 19th-century revolutionary leader and president of Venezuela Simón Bolívar, pronouncements on the state of the world and songs. “Our bourgeoisie are embarrassed that I sing in public. Do you mind?” he would ask the audience. The response was a resounding “No”. He would then ask them to join in the singing and mutter, “Louder, so they can hear us in the eastern part of the city.” Once before just such a rally he looked at me and said: “You look tired today. Will you last out the evening?” I replied: “It depends on how long you’re going to speak.” It would be a short speech, he promised. Under three hours.
The Bolívarians, as Chávez’s supporters were known, offered a political programme that challenged the Washington consensus: neo-liberalism at home and wars abroad. This was the prime reason for the vilification of Chávez that is sure to continue long after his death.
Politicians like him had become unacceptable. What he loathed most was the contemptuous indifference of mainstream politicians in South America towards their own people. The Venezuelan elite is notoriously racist. They regarded the elected president of their country as uncouth and uncivilised, a zambo of mixed African and indigenous blood who could not be trusted. His supporters were portrayed on private TV networks as monkeys. Colin Powell had to publicly reprimand the US embassy in Caracas for hosting a party where Chávez was portrayed as a gorilla.
Was he surprised? “No,” he told me with a grim look on his face. “I live here. I know them well. One reason so many of us join the army is because all other avenues are sealed.” No longer. He had few illusions. He knew that local enemies did not seethe and plot in a vacuum. Behind them was the world’s most powerful state. For a few moments he thought Obama might be different. The military coup in Honduras disabused him of all such notions….
Once I asked whether he preferred enemies who hated him because they knew what he was doing or those who frothed and foamed out of ignorance. He laughed. The former was preferable, he explained, because they made him feel that he was on the right track.*
But how did his people see him?
……. it was not the coup attempt or the referendum. It was the strike organised by the corrupted oil unions and backed by the middle-classes that worried him because it would affect the entire population, especially the poor: “Two factors helped sustain my morale. The first was the support we retained throughout the country. I got fed up sitting in my office. So with one security guard and two comrades I drove out to listen to people and breathe better air. The response moved me greatly. A woman came up to me and said: ‘Chávez follow me, I want to show you something.’ I followed her into her tiny dwelling. Inside, her husband and children were waiting for the soup to be cooked. ‘Look at what I’m using for fuel … the back of our bed. Tomorrow I’ll burn the legs, the day after the table, then the chairs and doors. We will survive, but don’t give up now.’ On my way out the kids from the gangs came and shook hands. ‘We can live without beer. You make sure you screw these motherfuckers.’”
*A takeaway message for our leaders here.
(If you are being praised by the Herald, instead of being slighted and ignored, then you know you have made a terrible mistake in direction.)
wow, Hecate , so you are letting us know someone in an elitist position of power may have been involved in or knew of some dirty deals involving America, Money Death and Destruction and the MSM may not have been entirely forthcoming with what they know ?
this is not news and most people here can also use google,
but I imagine very few read Spanish ( do you? )
what people generally come here for is to share an opinion on said information . . .
what drift? fill us in Tiger. I am very keen to hear what your view on Francis is. The whole world knew about the rumours you have linked to within minutes of him being elected. Its not a scoop
Why should I take the time to click random links, if you don’t take the time to summarise them and demonstrate a contiguous thread of connection between them?
It might just be me, but I prefer to read assertions and check supporting links if I want to know more / disagree / want to check veracity. Rather than just clicking on URLs that might be to somewhere interesting in English, or possibly just to somewhere nutty in another language.
One interesting section in the first of Hecate’s links. On Argentina…
“Under the helm of Minister of Economy Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, central bank monetary policy was largely determined by Wall Street and the IMF. The currency market was manipulated. The Peso was deliberately overvalued leading to an insurmountable external debt. The entire national economy was precipitated into bankruptcy.”
Shades of the National Ltd technocracy under John Key?
Been a lot of talk on this site about the new Popes bona fides….rather than add to this I am going to take an alternate approach. Tomorrow morning will be the first service most Catholics attend after the naming of the Pope, and I (as an agnostic non Catholic) am going to sit quietly in the back seat of the Cathedral and observe the congregations response, and listen to the Bishop. Could be interesting.
From their hard won leading role in our society, the Labour Party refuse to use their public declaration on the drought, to appeal to farmers and the rest of society that we really, seriously, need, to do something about climate change.
It’s just a reminder that Labour’s spokesman for the environment, Grant Robertson, is just like “Mr. Fuck It” described by Eddie here on TS today. He has a high caucus ranking but no accomplishments.
Correction: Robertson has an accomplishment. He’s been great for the Greens. They scoop Labour every time.
Here’s a frightening prospect. An election in which National is led by Stephen Joyce and Labour by Grant Robertson.
So, Slippery the Prime Minister modifies the truth claiming the past Chairman of the Board at the States coal miner Solid Energy asked the National Government to invest a billion dollars in Solid Energy’s diversification plans,
That past Chairman of the Solid Energy Board being questioned at the Parliamentary Select Committee denies ever having asked Slippery the Prime Minister for further investment from the Government,
In the latest bout of rewriting history the Prime Minister now claims that Solid Energy was asking the Government for 2-3 billion dollars annually which is simply bullshit,
The Treasury documents released by the Prime Minister as ‘proof’ of what He has been saying being correct simply point out that the Slippery little Shyster is lying through His teeth,
The 2-3 billion dollar cost of Solid Energy’s diversification are a Treasury estimate given to the Government after Solid Energy unfolded it’s expansion plans to Slippery’s Government and were not part of that submission given by Solid Energy, instead part of the advice sought by the Government from Treasury after talks with Solid Energy on it’s plans to diversify it’s business,
One thing about compulsive liars that i do know is that they seldom if ever admit their lies, when caught out on one lie they simply tell an even bigger lie in an effort to cover up the first one…
Lolz, welcome to it, the more people that realize that they are being cynically lied to with an ongoing litany from this Slippery little Shyster of a Prime Minister the less chance there will be that He continues to do so after November 2014…
The 2-3 billion dollar cost of Solid Energy’s diversification are a Treasury estimate given to the Government after Solid Energy unfolded it’s expansion plans to Slippery’s Government……
bad 12
An expansion and diversification in coal use, that as well as proving to be unaffordable would condemn us all to accelerating climate change.
Ummm well NO Jenny, if Solid Energy produced X amount of diesel from coal and X amount of bio-diesel then we as a country would be no more condemned to accelerating climate change than we will by importing and burning actual fuels from elsewhere,
Such accelerating climate change is a ‘theory’ which you may choose to believe or not, i am not discounting ‘climate change’ here i am simply not in a position to ‘know’ that the ‘theory’ of climate change’s acceleration will come to pass or such climate change may be far more benign than the ‘acceleration theory’ would have us believe,
Along with it’s intention to diversify into bio-diesel and coal to diesel Solid Energy was invested with an Australian firm CO2CRC into research and actual capture and sequesture of CO2,
As far as i can tell there is very little ‘intent’ from the major emitters of CO2 to radically rein in such production and given that as a country we do not occupy a ‘climate bubble’ then even if as a country our carbon emissions were reduced to zero this will have NO effect whatsoever on the eventual ‘climate out-comes’,
i prefer not to sit here on the Standard whining about that which i (or anyone else here), can markedly alter in the way of CO2 reduction and would therefore see accentuating moves where it is possible to remove from the atmosphere on an industrial scale amounts of carbon which negates what we as a country produces in a climate damaging manner as far more productive,
PS, isn’t the ‘the other’ barrow you push one of declining fuel production where fuel shortages are inevitable???, producing diesel from coal may be ‘unaffordable’ at the current market price of that product but in the future this will not necessarily be the case…
Fiordland is under threat, as many are aware, with 3 proposals to insert private toll transportation inside the conservation estate.
Environment Minister Nick Smith last month called the decisions for consent in for him to make “because the decisions are such a type that it is appropriate they are made by someone electorally accountable”. Well, excuse me, but doesn’t that make it more of a reason for NOT having a politician make the decisions? i.e. because long term decisions on what is best for the country need to be made, NOT short term on what will happen in the next election. (this type of shit gives me the shits with politicians).
The 3 projects are the tunnel, the monorail and the Haast-Hollyford road.
One of them, the tunnel, is headed by two Canterbury fullas, an Elworthy and a Gould. Would someone like to take a guess at the political patronage that is getting all hot and steamy under the National Party bedsheets over this?
What a fucking stink. Betcha the tunnel gets the go. Elworthy corrupt. Gould corrupt. Smith corrupt.
The more extreme this government gets (and it is extreme) the more extreme will be the reaction against their acts whence they are tossed onto the pyre.
Environment Minister Nick Smith last month called the decisions for consent in for him to make “because the decisions are such a type that it is appropriate they are made by someone electorally accountable”.
Hard to believe he gets to make this decision when so many in Queenstown are against it.. I read somewhere – oh, maybe it was on TV — that the tunnel is single lane only !! Disaster waiting to happen, according to experts who were asked about it .. must have been tv .. I’ll try and find a link.
Democracy in tatters everywhere in this our beloved land.
Found this by Mark Banham published in Wilderness magazine ..
“This ten-kilometre-long, five-metre-diameter tunnel is going to be an engineering marvel and although it’ll be a little spooky it’ll be completely safe, just like the Pike River Mine was and totally earthquake proof, just like Christchurch was.
So don’t worry kiddies there’s absolutely no chance it’ll ever make international headlines for all the wrong reasons like the Mont Blanc tunnel did back in 1999 when a margarine truck caught fire in it sending 39 people off to heaven.”
Yes it is a forgotten aspect of the tunnel proposal. 10 km is a very long tunnel. Recall one of Pike River’s problems was that they did not do enough pre-mining drilling to check what they had to tunnel through. They ran into unexpected (in their view) hard rock and it cost them dearly (we all know how dearly). This proposed tunnel is over 10 km (Pike River was about 2km). The unknowns are collosal. The risk of massive financial blowout are high. The risk of not even getting through are high. It would be as you say yeshe “an engineering marvel”.
Bomber has posted notice of a National Day of Action against asset sales, on TDB: Power to the People. 2pm Saturday April 27th.
Glad there’s sufficient notice for me to book a day off work.
Links on Bomber’s post at the above link for protests at various places around the country…. Problem is the Auckland-Britomart link takes me to a face book page, where I had to scroll down the page to a poster that says the protest is Sat 28 April…checked it, Saturday is 27 April. But eventually found this link that goes straight to the Britomart protest event page.
Did anyone listen to Kim Hill’s interview with Hordur Torfason?
Was it just me or did I sense a subtle attempt to undermine his arguments?
It just came over as quite a hostile interview.
Kim’s never been great at hiding her bias, she’s either gushing and fawning, undermining with her disruptive manner or just plain bored with her delivery.
Kim is good at mining the best infor usually and she tests for reality, I think she was interested in revealing the truth about Iceland’s recovery. She thinks a bit harder and with more critical thinking than the average joe dropping comments around with little world knowledge or mental exercise. She is very testing for people who are used to sycophancy all the time also. She may throw popular myths and opinions into the mix and lampoon them or question them and then find out her interviewee’s personal views.
Naughty me, i said i would post a link to Solid energy’s investment in removing CO2 from the atmosphere yesterday and didn’t, better late then never right,
Open the link yourself and then cut and paste from the address line on the webpage (I’m guessing you are trying to copy the link off the page instead).
Lolz, hell no i am way too much of a computer illiterate to copy’n’paste anything, Lolz i ploddingly write the link onto paper and then type it into the comment…
I was a slow learner bad12 and still haven’t got how to do audio links.
But if you find an interesting heading on google, you click on the heading to bring up that item in full, to read or manipulate it.
If you want to offer it for others edification, you highlight the address at the top of the page by putting your cursor there and pressing the right button on your mouse which should then give you a menu which includes Select All which you place your cursor on and then press left button to action it.
Then you go back to the highlighted address with your cursor, press right mouse button again and click on Copy on the menu window. Then you have the correct link address at your fingertips and you put it in the place you want with Right Mouse – Paste on menu with cursor and click left mouse button.
Thinking about that one, it would probably use less electricity just running the cars on electricity. On the process that they’re describing it sounds like there would be a huge amount of energy loss.
My take on what the Brits are saying about Air/Co2 to fuel is that they would not use much more energy in such production as what is now used refining oil to petrol and much of the same refinery processes could be used to enable the former as is used to produce the latter,
Interestingly or not, i also read an interesting ‘study’ into the means of capturing industrial amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere which the authors claim to be extremely cost effective,
It was all ‘theoretical’ and i will try and re-find the link to that later on, my view is the sooner that such ‘theory’ is proven as practical and economic the better as it is now obvious that there is little political will to alter current practices around CO2 emissions world-wide among the major emitters and if there is to be a climate saving ‘silver bullet’ it will be found by science/engineering producing a means of economically enabling the extraction from the atmosphere of CO2 on an industrial scale…
Have you listened to the Icelandic guy on radionz? 8:15 Hordur Torfason: Iceland and democracy
I made a note last night. He has been working on changing attitudes to gay rights and then when the money disaster overtook Iceland was involved in intelligent protests that has just enabled Iceland to not end up like the pictures they saw from USA with poor people lining up at soup kitchens.
Now he wants a new Constitution. He considers with resignation, that the Independent party, which reflects the wants of the rich, will win the next election for the nest 4 years and will change back most of what has been gained. But people will observe this and not approve he thinks so they will progress again.
I was thinking that we need a new constitution. It has to work for us not allow scandalous things to happen under sanction. I want to stop elected politicians considering that they have a mandate to do whatever comes out of their fevered minds. They would have the power to consult and explain with the people about their policy plans and have to get a definite okay of say 60% of a referendum then they can make changes. The changes that people want can be consulted about and introduced more easily with limitations, for a pilot period then to be monitored and altered to deal with failures and anomalies and reviewed again after another period say 5 years.
At present our country’s style is being so altered, so much loss and wasteful behaviour of introducing policies that get reversed when the opposing politicians get in or are so embedded that they cannot be changed without upheaval.
Yes Prism. A great story but clearly the battle is not won. I kept hearing parallels with NZ in that the rich elite twist the system, and lie to the population. The loss of Media is also a prime factor there and here. Hordur Torfason’s story is a mighty one but to move forward two steps and back one must need a huge degree of courage.
And Paul I think Kim was doing her job very well in sorting the popular myths re Icelandic survival from the realities. We need more interviewers like her. Yes?
I have heard two contradictory views, both from legal scholars. Some say we have a constitution in the form of historical precedent and others say effectively we don’t.
But both parties agree we do NOT have a constitution 99% of the population can understand and we should.
Amakiwi
I understand we have a constitution even though fragmented. But I want more than a joined-up consitution that is somewhat easier to understand. I want to change the elected governments power so that we can stop them rushing into policy reversals because some fast-talking jerk with fixed-ideological, upwardly mobile advisors want it.
So that’s just not getting a joined-up constitution, and it’s different from that of the USA that promises individual freedoms and yet doesn’t deliver good governance and support for community.
If Maori hadn’t persevered for their ideals and rights, I don’t know NZ would be now. Perhaps like a southern American state with self-interested white blokes and blokesses wanting everything their way and going for the crude, coarse financially advantageous option every time.
@Amakiwi,
The idea of an unwritten consitution would probably hold water if the NZ system didn’t come into existence by being “deemed necessary”, which effectively disconnected it from any lawful constitutional basis.
I suppose the challenge would be to highlight where this government has made cuts just to have the costs blow out as a result. The first that I can think of would be cutting public servants and then getting contractors in to do the same job for three times as much.
on the Auckland Unitary Plan; “we will run out of land by May or June” ???- Dick Quax
and slipped into the tele MSM; “manufacturing expansion”. IN- “food, beverage and tobacco products” (lot of “value-added” there)
Dom on the Drought; “more dry weather to come after light rain”. Oh look, they have broken the chain;
Stock sold early-Short-term slaughter spike followed by layoffs-Rural expenditure falls-City feels the pinch-Professionals suck it up-Cost of dinner (and milk) may increase (with the international commodity prices for protein)
Indian Skilled migrants overtake the British by canoe (some say that James, the brother of our Lord retired to the sub-continent and had a family).Predicted that a flow-on effect of the ChCh earthquake will be a further increase in Indian migration (bro is married to a lovely wee Indian lady, and from experience, they are worth checking out; they welcome a reprieve from male chauvinism)
Iran and Hizbollah are building a new para-military force comprising “tens of thousands” to protect their interests in a post-Assad Syria.
In addition,
according to “Western Diplomats”, another war between Israel and Hizbollah is “inevitable”
(Hizbollah have re-built an arsenal that includes 60,000 missiles) Man! it takes a freakin’ long time for current affairs to reach the daily broadsheets, unless the subject is America, the Pope or SBW.
For “muzza” (well, everybody deserves a break, sometimes)
“I had been through a great deal of emotional turmoil and privation during my travels and arrived at the port of Limassol (in Cyprus) with great relief at having left the scenes of my suffering behind me.
One evening I was gazing vacantly 😉 at the sea in the afterglow of sunset, having just finished a meal in a little Greek eatery, feeling very tranquil and relaxed, when I began to feel a strange pressure in my brain…
I felt a thrilling liquidity of being and an indescribable sensation, as if the whole universe was being poured into me, or perhaps rather as if the whole universe was welling up out of me from some deep centre. My “soul” thrilled and swelled and my consciousness passed out across the ocean and land in all directions, through the sky and out into space. Within moments I was among the stars and planets and strange entities of space. Somehow I was aware of great beings, millions of miles high, moving in space, through which the stars could be sen. Wave after wave of revelation swept through my whole being, too fast for my normal mind to record other than the joy and wonder of it.
-Muz Murray, “Sharing The Quest”
In short, our chief limitation lies in our assumption that our narrow, tightly-harnessed consciousness is normal and natural, whereas it is in fact highly abnormal and unnatural. The basic problem of human beings is simply and inability to “get it all together”. We possess all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle but it is so huge that we rarely see it as a whole.
Oliver Sacks has described a pair of ‘subnormal” twins in a New York mental hospital who amuse themselves by swapping TWENTY-FOUR-FIGURE prime numbers. (the brain cannot be “wired” to perform such feats).
Sheee-it! Just had to close a window to stop some light rain coming inside. Raining in New Lynn? But will it be enough in the right places to be a drought-breaker?
I’ve done a shed load of mulching so It’s not so much the garden but the house supply that has me worried.I checked the tank this morning and we’ve around 6-8 days worth left so very soon I’ll have to make the call on buying water in.
Go early …and it’ll rain….. go late…. a long wait….and no water…sigh.
Well if people don’t like them, then I have three types more to try… Or they can feed a image to gravator. But I am finding them kind of amusing.
Mind you I was thinking earlier that an effective means of non-banning moderation (that would appeal to my crude sense of humour) would be to get the site to specify particular images or overlays for the identicons.. I was thinking of a puddle at the bottom of a flag……
lprent – will there be some “amensties” in future also, given that some may “repent” at some stage for having gone over board at times and having been banned?
It is a great idea by the way, to offer such “amnesty”. People change and most will over time “mature” and grow up, so to say. It would be fair to give the permanently or longer term banned commenters a chance now and then, to show they have learned out of past misdeeds or offensive steps.
From the first link about anti-biotic resistant bugs:
“We may have to work with the pharmaceutical companies in public-private partnerships, and we may have to do some development of antibiotics on a public basis,” she said.
Fuck the PPP – costs far too much. Full out government funded research.
From the second link about the US missile defense systems:
“We will strengthen our homeland defence, maintain our commitments to our allies and partners, and make clear to the world that the United States stands firm against aggression,” Hagel told a Pentagon news conference.
Ha, that’s funny. The most aggressive country in the world happens to be the US.
Almost as funny as Bush Junior’s castigation of “outrageous conspiracy theories”, with the official conspiracy theory being about as plausible as Osama bin Laden dying nine different times, as has been variously reported.
Not to disagree but the perception out there in the exploited nations is that there are a few more scary predators peeping through the blinds than there used to be
I want to know what people have been doing to save water?
Have some people just thought about what they could do?
I had to cut my smug self down to size as I have been wasting water by running the tap from the bathtub when the bathroom window is open so as not to offend the neighbours close by with obvious sounds. When I chucked up last week they could not close their windows quick enough!
Statement of the Argentine Socialist Workers Party on Pope Francis
(PTS, March 14, 2014) Myriam Bregman, lawyer of the Professional Center for Human Rights (CeProDH), also a militant of the PTS (Socialist Workers Party) and in charge of the accusation in the trial of the ESMA (Navy School of Mechanic), referred about Jorge Mario Bergoglio, recently chosen by The Vatican as Pope Francis I.
During one of the criminal trials against the military genocides of the ESMA (occurred between 2010 and 2011), Bregman represented Patricia Walsh, daughter of the disappeared journalist andwriter Rodolfo Walsh, and she had the chance to question Jorge Bergoglio, in that time archbishop of Buenos Aires. She was one of the lawyers who demanded the Tribunal to cite him to appear in court as a witness in connection with the demand made for the catechist María Elena Funes, who accused him of facilitate the kidnap of the Jesuit priests Francisco Jalics and Orlando Yorio, who were members of the same order as Bergoglio.
About that event, the lawyer said: “Unlike the image that today is given of him as a humble person, Bergoglio had no shame in using all the privileges that his investiture gave him, refusing to declare like an ordinary person in Court, so he claimed move the whole session to the Buenos Aires Curia headquarter, and we had to proceed in there. During his statement, the actual Pope avoided straight answers and he contradicted the previous witness. He tried to make a formal defense of his acting during the period that lasted the Jesuit’s priests kidnap by the militaries, standing that when he knew they had been kidnapped he informed to his superiors. He made some affirmations very serious as well, such as that two or three days later of the kidnapping he knew they were at the ESMA. Something that still today no many Mothers of Plaza de Mayo know about their own sons, despite of their intense search. How did he find out? He related that he interviewed Videla and Massera, but some time later. He also admitted that when Jalisc and Yorio were released they told him that there still were people kidnapped in the ESMA, and he didn’t do anything”.
But what Myriam Bregman remembers most vividly of that questioning is when she asked him about the misappropriation of babies during the dictatorship: “I will always remember Bergoglio’s face. He answered that he found out recently about that, about ten years ago, which is year 2000, when the whole society knew about Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo search from at least year 1983, and some of the relatives of La Plata assert that he knew about the case of Ana Libertad Baratti de La Cuadra from year 1977”.
Finally, Bregman pointed out that Bergoglio’s recent attitude and the brief answers by that time had consistency with silence and concealment adopted by the ecclesiastic hierarchy during the whole years after the dictatorship, systematically denying to provide files or documentation that they had. Is part of the Catholic Church policy that blessed and directly collaborated with dictatorship initiated in Argentina in 1976. It is not strange for me that priests as Christian Von Wernich, who are convicted for being authors of the genocide, of the plan of torture and extermination of the dictatorship, were not ever being excommunicated and they can still preside mass as any other priest. The same as father Grassi, convicted for child abuse, and for whose expulsion the Church that Bergoglio used to command till yesterday, didn’t move a finger. Nobody can deny that today Pope Francisco I covered up genocides and pedophiles in Church lines.”
Estela de la Cuadra, whose mother Alicia co-founded the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 in hopes of identifying the stolen babies, said: ‘Bergoglio has a very cowardly attitude when it comes to something so terrible as the theft of babies.
‘He says he didn’t know anything about it until 1985.
‘He doesn’t face this reality and it doesn’t bother him.
‘The question is how to save his name, save himself. But he can’t keep these allegations from reaching the public. The people know how he is.’
lprent wrote on one post tonight that all this is just for one day, the “monster day” or whatever, some day to remember something, so he will switch us all back to “normal” tomorrow, I presume today then. Let us be patient, we may get our usual ids back.
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Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
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 ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
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Challenging the Washington Consensus
Hugo Chavez and Me
by TARIQ ALI March 7, 2013
Once I asked whether he preferred enemies who hated him because they knew what he was doing or those who frothed and foamed out of ignorance. He laughed. The former was preferable, he explained, because they made him feel that he was on the right track. Hugo Chávez’s death did not come as a surprise, but that does not make it easier to accept. We have lost one of the political giants of the post-communist era. Venezuela, its elites mired in corruption on a huge scale, had been considered a secure outpost of Washington and, at the other extreme, the Socialist International. Few thought of the country before his victories. After 1999, every major media outlet of the west felt obliged to send a correspondent. Since they all said the same thing (the country was supposedly on the verge of a communist-style dictatorship) they would have been better advised to pool their resources.
I first met him in 2002, soon after the military coup instigated by Washington and Madrid had failed and subsequently on numerous occasions. He had asked to see me during the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He inquired: “Why haven’t you been to Venezuela? Come soon.” I did. What appealed was his bluntness and courage. What often appeared as sheer impulsiveness had been carefully thought out and then, depending on the response, enlarged by spontaneous eruptions on his part. At a time when the world had fallen silent, when centre-left and centre-right had to struggle hard to find some differences and their politicians had become desiccated machine men obsessed with making money, Chávez lit up the political landscape.
He appeared as an indestructible ox, speaking for hours to his people in a warm, sonorous voice, a fiery eloquence that made it impossible to remain indifferent. His words had a stunning resonance. His speeches were littered with homilies, continental and national history, quotes from the 19th-century revolutionary leader and president of Venezuela Simón Bolívar, pronouncements on the state of the world and songs. “Our bourgeoisie are embarrassed that I sing in public. Do you mind?” he would ask the audience. The response was a resounding “No”. He would then ask them to join in the singing and mutter, “Louder, so they can hear us in the eastern part of the city.” Once before just such a rally he looked at me and said: “You look tired today. Will you last out the evening?” I replied: “It depends on how long you’re going to speak.” It would be a short speech, he promised. Under three hours.
The Bolívarians, as Chávez’s supporters were known, offered a political programme that challenged the Washington consensus: neo-liberalism at home and wars abroad. This was the prime reason for the vilification of Chávez that is sure to continue long after his death.
Politicians like him had become unacceptable. What he loathed most was the contemptuous indifference of mainstream politicians in South America towards their own people. The Venezuelan elite is notoriously racist. They regarded the elected president of their country as uncouth and uncivilised, a zambo of mixed African and indigenous blood who could not be trusted. His supporters were portrayed on private TV networks as monkeys. Colin Powell had to publicly reprimand the US embassy in Caracas for hosting a party where Chávez was portrayed as a gorilla.
Was he surprised? “No,” he told me with a grim look on his face. “I live here. I know them well. One reason so many of us join the army is because all other avenues are sealed.” No longer. He had few illusions. He knew that local enemies did not seethe and plot in a vacuum. Behind them was the world’s most powerful state. For a few moments he thought Obama might be different. The military coup in Honduras disabused him of all such notions….
Read more….
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/07/hugo-chavez-and-me/
Thanks for this Morrissey
Tariq Ali on Chavez
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/03/07/hugo-chavez-and-me/
But how did his people see him?
*A takeaway message for our leaders here.
(If you are being praised by the Herald, instead of being slighted and ignored, then you know you have made a terrible mistake in direction.)
I’m testing a new backup system this early morning. So if you hit a slow patch – then that is what it is.
completed at 0736. Turning off tests and heading back to bed.
Settle down now and have a cup of tea and perhaps a late snooze..
Juat dosing off now. Got up at 0330 to test the backup systems so I’d only disrupt the bots.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/new-pope-tied-to-argentinas-dirty-war/53265816?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-pope-tied-to-argentinas-dirty-war
http://www.globalresearch.ca/washingtons-pope-who-is-francis-i-cardinal-jorge-mario-bergoglio-and-argentinas-dirty-war/5326675
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/Chile_Miracle_Pinochet.html
http://www.elmundo.es/america/2010/11/08/argentina/1289232137.html
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/former-argentinian-dictator-says-he-told-catholic-church-of-disappeared-1.542154
http://elperiodistaonline.cl/globales/2013/03/prensa-argentina-vincula-a-bergoglio-con-el-secuestro-de-dos-jesuitas-en-1976/
http://memorialmagro.com.ar/node/982
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB185/index.htm
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/vatican_blasts_anti-clerical_c.html
http://blog.thehumanist.org/2011/01/life-sentence-for-gen-videla/
Yawn, and your point is???, besides getting the kick as soon as possible again that is…
Documentation
sentences please Hecate. What the fuck is your opinion
I have met some of the mothers of ‘the disappeared’.
http://memorialmagro.com.ar/node/982
might give you something of a clue of their desolation.
‘Met’ them where??? in your wet dreams perhaps…
When they toured the Antipodes. Perhaps you missed them ..
wow, Hecate , so you are letting us know someone in an elitist position of power may have been involved in or knew of some dirty deals involving America, Money Death and Destruction and the MSM may not have been entirely forthcoming with what they know ?
this is not news and most people here can also use google,
but I imagine very few read Spanish ( do you? )
what people generally come here for is to share an opinion on said information . . .
Si, pacito .. but people can generally the the drift.
what drift? fill us in Tiger. I am very keen to hear what your view on Francis is. The whole world knew about the rumours you have linked to within minutes of him being elected. Its not a scoop
Have you ever travelled in a non-english speaking country ? It is not that difficult, given good will on both sides. My purpose is documentation.
Francis ? I presume you mean Bergoglio. I have never met him, but I think his record speaks for itself. See above.
Rumours ? I suggest you read it. Ignorance is no excuse.
Why should I take the time to click random links, if you don’t take the time to summarise them and demonstrate a contiguous thread of connection between them?
It might just be me, but I prefer to read assertions and check supporting links if I want to know more / disagree / want to check veracity. Rather than just clicking on URLs that might be to somewhere interesting in English, or possibly just to somewhere nutty in another language.
Good point, but to put it in context it has to do with something which happened on another thread on The Standard. Yesterday ..
That was impressively devoid of context.
How about this ..
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/catholicchurch_2709.jsp
Hecate, what about chemtrails?
Que ? Please explain ..
documentation?
odd mix…. award winning investigative journalist and try-hard conspiracy theorist
Yes, but which one is which ? You tell me ..
One interesting section in the first of Hecate’s links. On Argentina…
“Under the helm of Minister of Economy Jose Alfredo Martinez de Hoz, central bank monetary policy was largely determined by Wall Street and the IMF. The currency market was manipulated. The Peso was deliberately overvalued leading to an insurmountable external debt. The entire national economy was precipitated into bankruptcy.”
Shades of the National Ltd technocracy under John Key?
That is interesting and, yes, it does sound like what this government is doing to our currency.
Methinks that is exactly what NAct are doing to our country and I bet that just like Argentina the perpe-traitors will escape with the loot.
Been a lot of talk on this site about the new Popes bona fides….rather than add to this I am going to take an alternate approach. Tomorrow morning will be the first service most Catholics attend after the naming of the Pope, and I (as an agnostic non Catholic) am going to sit quietly in the back seat of the Cathedral and observe the congregations response, and listen to the Bishop. Could be interesting.
Labour Party treachery betrays humanity itself.
From their hard won leading role in our society, the Labour Party refuse to use their public declaration on the drought, to appeal to farmers and the rest of society that we really, seriously, need, to do something about climate change.
Not one mention, of the two words, on everyone’s mind.
What even was the point of this statement?
It’s just a reminder that Labour’s spokesman for the environment, Grant Robertson, is just like “Mr. Fuck It” described by Eddie here on TS today. He has a high caucus ranking but no accomplishments.
Correction: Robertson has an accomplishment. He’s been great for the Greens. They scoop Labour every time.
Here’s a frightening prospect. An election in which National is led by Stephen Joyce and Labour by Grant Robertson.
chuckle
from doing commentaries on q-time for some time/years now..
..i have noted that tho’ much vaunted in many circles..
..that robertson has pretty much failed as opposition spokesperson..
..he didn’t succeed against ryall in health..
..and now joyce is just waving him away with a lazy hand in economic development..
..so i guess i am still waiting for examples of that much talked of vaunt..
..phillip ure..
What do we need to do? Pay more tax ?
So, Slippery the Prime Minister modifies the truth claiming the past Chairman of the Board at the States coal miner Solid Energy asked the National Government to invest a billion dollars in Solid Energy’s diversification plans,
That past Chairman of the Solid Energy Board being questioned at the Parliamentary Select Committee denies ever having asked Slippery the Prime Minister for further investment from the Government,
In the latest bout of rewriting history the Prime Minister now claims that Solid Energy was asking the Government for 2-3 billion dollars annually which is simply bullshit,
The Treasury documents released by the Prime Minister as ‘proof’ of what He has been saying being correct simply point out that the Slippery little Shyster is lying through His teeth,
The 2-3 billion dollar cost of Solid Energy’s diversification are a Treasury estimate given to the Government after Solid Energy unfolded it’s expansion plans to Slippery’s Government and were not part of that submission given by Solid Energy, instead part of the advice sought by the Government from Treasury after talks with Solid Energy on it’s plans to diversify it’s business,
One thing about compulsive liars that i do know is that they seldom if ever admit their lies, when caught out on one lie they simply tell an even bigger lie in an effort to cover up the first one…
Yep, Key is all at sea with his lies.
He is becoming known as the lying prime minister. Most everyone agrees that I speak to – even nat supporters.
nicely put bad12
i stole para 3,4,5 as part of a rant elsewhere – credited tho’ 🙂
Lolz, welcome to it, the more people that realize that they are being cynically lied to with an ongoing litany from this Slippery little Shyster of a Prime Minister the less chance there will be that He continues to do so after November 2014…
An expansion and diversification in coal use, that as well as proving to be unaffordable would condemn us all to accelerating climate change.
vto @ 5.1 above:
“I don’t have any recollection of that.” “I don’t remember.” “I can’t recall.”
Ummm well NO Jenny, if Solid Energy produced X amount of diesel from coal and X amount of bio-diesel then we as a country would be no more condemned to accelerating climate change than we will by importing and burning actual fuels from elsewhere,
Such accelerating climate change is a ‘theory’ which you may choose to believe or not, i am not discounting ‘climate change’ here i am simply not in a position to ‘know’ that the ‘theory’ of climate change’s acceleration will come to pass or such climate change may be far more benign than the ‘acceleration theory’ would have us believe,
Along with it’s intention to diversify into bio-diesel and coal to diesel Solid Energy was invested with an Australian firm CO2CRC into research and actual capture and sequesture of CO2,
As far as i can tell there is very little ‘intent’ from the major emitters of CO2 to radically rein in such production and given that as a country we do not occupy a ‘climate bubble’ then even if as a country our carbon emissions were reduced to zero this will have NO effect whatsoever on the eventual ‘climate out-comes’,
i prefer not to sit here on the Standard whining about that which i (or anyone else here), can markedly alter in the way of CO2 reduction and would therefore see accentuating moves where it is possible to remove from the atmosphere on an industrial scale amounts of carbon which negates what we as a country produces in a climate damaging manner as far more productive,
PS, isn’t the ‘the other’ barrow you push one of declining fuel production where fuel shortages are inevitable???, producing diesel from coal may be ‘unaffordable’ at the current market price of that product but in the future this will not necessarily be the case…
Fiordland is under threat, as many are aware, with 3 proposals to insert private toll transportation inside the conservation estate.
Environment Minister Nick Smith last month called the decisions for consent in for him to make “because the decisions are such a type that it is appropriate they are made by someone electorally accountable”. Well, excuse me, but doesn’t that make it more of a reason for NOT having a politician make the decisions? i.e. because long term decisions on what is best for the country need to be made, NOT short term on what will happen in the next election. (this type of shit gives me the shits with politicians).
The 3 projects are the tunnel, the monorail and the Haast-Hollyford road.
One of them, the tunnel, is headed by two Canterbury fullas, an Elworthy and a Gould. Would someone like to take a guess at the political patronage that is getting all hot and steamy under the National Party bedsheets over this?
What a fucking stink. Betcha the tunnel gets the go. Elworthy corrupt. Gould corrupt. Smith corrupt.
The more extreme this government gets (and it is extreme) the more extreme will be the reaction against their acts whence they are tossed onto the pyre.
Then it should be put to local referendum.
Hard to believe he gets to make this decision when so many in Queenstown are against it.. I read somewhere – oh, maybe it was on TV — that the tunnel is single lane only !! Disaster waiting to happen, according to experts who were asked about it .. must have been tv .. I’ll try and find a link.
Democracy in tatters everywhere in this our beloved land.
Found this by Mark Banham published in Wilderness magazine ..
“This ten-kilometre-long, five-metre-diameter tunnel is going to be an engineering marvel and although it’ll be a little spooky it’ll be completely safe, just like the Pike River Mine was and totally earthquake proof, just like Christchurch was.
So don’t worry kiddies there’s absolutely no chance it’ll ever make international headlines for all the wrong reasons like the Mont Blanc tunnel did back in 1999 when a margarine truck caught fire in it sending 39 people off to heaven.”
http://markbanham.blogspot.co.nz/
N.B. Need to scroll halfway down his blog to find ‘Welcome to Fiordland’, written April last year.
Yes it is a forgotten aspect of the tunnel proposal. 10 km is a very long tunnel. Recall one of Pike River’s problems was that they did not do enough pre-mining drilling to check what they had to tunnel through. They ran into unexpected (in their view) hard rock and it cost them dearly (we all know how dearly). This proposed tunnel is over 10 km (Pike River was about 2km). The unknowns are collosal. The risk of massive financial blowout are high. The risk of not even getting through are high. It would be as you say yeshe “an engineering marvel”.
Welcome to Fiordland
Thank you DTB !
Have these guys actually stopped to think about what the purpose of a national park is?
Not too sure that building roads and tunnels for fat rich tourists to ‘make their rides easier’ fits into that purpose.
It really is no different to mining there.
Like vto, im guessing Smith will rubber stamp it.
Bomber has posted notice of a National Day of Action against asset sales, on TDB: Power to the People. 2pm Saturday April 27th.
Glad there’s sufficient notice for me to book a day off work.
Links on Bomber’s post at the above link for protests at various places around the country…. Problem is the Auckland-Britomart link takes me to a face book page, where I had to scroll down the page to a poster that says the protest is Sat 28 April…checked it, Saturday is 27 April. But eventually found this link that goes straight to the Britomart protest event page.
Did anyone listen to Kim Hill’s interview with Hordur Torfason?
Was it just me or did I sense a subtle attempt to undermine his arguments?
It just came over as quite a hostile interview.
Kim’s never been great at hiding her bias, she’s either gushing and fawning, undermining with her disruptive manner or just plain bored with her delivery.
Top journalism RNZ styles
Kim is good at mining the best infor usually and she tests for reality, I think she was interested in revealing the truth about Iceland’s recovery. She thinks a bit harder and with more critical thinking than the average joe dropping comments around with little world knowledge or mental exercise. She is very testing for people who are used to sycophancy all the time also. She may throw popular myths and opinions into the mix and lampoon them or question them and then find out her interviewee’s personal views.
Agreed prism. A brilliant interviewer. The best and most intelligent we’ve got.
I can’t agree with you Paul. She came across to me as probing but not hostile or undermining.
oh Kim (lets burn together)
Naughty me, i said i would post a link to Solid energy’s investment in removing CO2 from the atmosphere yesterday and didn’t, better late then never right,
http://www.solidenergy.co.nz>…>newdevelopments>carbonmanagement
http://www.solidenergy.co.nz/…and…/native-forest-carbon-sink-trial
And on a related but not quite topic there is this CO2 from the atmosphere and back into fuel science,
http://www.imeche.org/news/…/uk_engineers_create_petrol_from_air.asp...
None of those links work bad12.
Faaaaaark!!!, Lolz now you know why i don’t put up links that often, F-ing things never seem to work for me…
Open the link yourself and then cut and paste from the address line on the webpage (I’m guessing you are trying to copy the link off the page instead).
Lolz, hell no i am way too much of a computer illiterate to copy’n’paste anything, Lolz i ploddingly write the link onto paper and then type it into the comment…
I was a slow learner bad12 and still haven’t got how to do audio links.
But if you find an interesting heading on google, you click on the heading to bring up that item in full, to read or manipulate it.
If you want to offer it for others edification, you highlight the address at the top of the page by putting your cursor there and pressing the right button on your mouse which should then give you a menu which includes Select All which you place your cursor on and then press left button to action it.
Then you go back to the highlighted address with your cursor, press right mouse button again and click on Copy on the menu window. Then you have the correct link address at your fingertips and you put it in the place you want with Right Mouse – Paste on menu with cursor and click left mouse button.
that is funny bad
Thanks bad, but the carbon management one doesn’t work. This is the correct link (I hope).
Tah much Karol, i had better keep adding the Google with my hopeless lack of being able to put up correct links,
Lolz, i am not sure which is worse my bad habit of non-provision or my inability to provide a correct link…
and this would be the PDF link.
And the air-fuel link.
Thinking about that one, it would probably use less electricity just running the cars on electricity. On the process that they’re describing it sounds like there would be a huge amount of energy loss.
My take on what the Brits are saying about Air/Co2 to fuel is that they would not use much more energy in such production as what is now used refining oil to petrol and much of the same refinery processes could be used to enable the former as is used to produce the latter,
Interestingly or not, i also read an interesting ‘study’ into the means of capturing industrial amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere which the authors claim to be extremely cost effective,
It was all ‘theoretical’ and i will try and re-find the link to that later on, my view is the sooner that such ‘theory’ is proven as practical and economic the better as it is now obvious that there is little political will to alter current practices around CO2 emissions world-wide among the major emitters and if there is to be a climate saving ‘silver bullet’ it will be found by science/engineering producing a means of economically enabling the extraction from the atmosphere of CO2 on an industrial scale…
Have you listened to the Icelandic guy on radionz? 8:15 Hordur Torfason: Iceland and democracy
I made a note last night. He has been working on changing attitudes to gay rights and then when the money disaster overtook Iceland was involved in intelligent protests that has just enabled Iceland to not end up like the pictures they saw from USA with poor people lining up at soup kitchens.
Now he wants a new Constitution. He considers with resignation, that the Independent party, which reflects the wants of the rich, will win the next election for the nest 4 years and will change back most of what has been gained. But people will observe this and not approve he thinks so they will progress again.
I was thinking that we need a new constitution. It has to work for us not allow scandalous things to happen under sanction. I want to stop elected politicians considering that they have a mandate to do whatever comes out of their fevered minds. They would have the power to consult and explain with the people about their policy plans and have to get a definite okay of say 60% of a referendum then they can make changes. The changes that people want can be consulted about and introduced more easily with limitations, for a pilot period then to be monitored and altered to deal with failures and anomalies and reviewed again after another period say 5 years.
At present our country’s style is being so altered, so much loss and wasteful behaviour of introducing policies that get reversed when the opposing politicians get in or are so embedded that they cannot be changed without upheaval.
Yes Prism. A great story but clearly the battle is not won. I kept hearing parallels with NZ in that the rich elite twist the system, and lie to the population. The loss of Media is also a prime factor there and here. Hordur Torfason’s story is a mighty one but to move forward two steps and back one must need a huge degree of courage.
And Paul I think Kim was doing her job very well in sorting the popular myths re Icelandic survival from the realities. We need more interviewers like her. Yes?
@ prism
I have heard two contradictory views, both from legal scholars. Some say we have a constitution in the form of historical precedent and others say effectively we don’t.
But both parties agree we do NOT have a constitution 99% of the population can understand and we should.
It’s time we wrote one.
Amakiwi
I understand we have a constitution even though fragmented. But I want more than a joined-up consitution that is somewhat easier to understand. I want to change the elected governments power so that we can stop them rushing into policy reversals because some fast-talking jerk with fixed-ideological, upwardly mobile advisors want it.
So that’s just not getting a joined-up constitution, and it’s different from that of the USA that promises individual freedoms and yet doesn’t deliver good governance and support for community.
If Maori hadn’t persevered for their ideals and rights, I don’t know NZ would be now. Perhaps like a southern American state with self-interested white blokes and blokesses wanting everything their way and going for the crude, coarse financially advantageous option every time.
we have much to be thankful to te tangata whenua for
+1
+1
@Amakiwi,
The idea of an unwritten consitution would probably hold water if the NZ system didn’t come into existence by being “deemed necessary”, which effectively disconnected it from any lawful constitutional basis.
Another Dispatch from the U$K class war. The artist taxi driver:
“Comic Relief the BBC and David Cameron what an absolute disgusting”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tzM4cqEluo&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvXKZByY6Sw&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=1
“Blind in one eye, partially deaf and facing major spinal surgery but Thalidomide mother is STILL found fit to work”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2293974/Blind-eye-partially-deaf-facing-major-spinal-surgery-Thalidomide-mother-STILL-fit-work.html
Republicans cut funding to family planning, costs blow out $200m.
I suppose the challenge would be to highlight where this government has made cuts just to have the costs blow out as a result. The first that I can think of would be cutting public servants and then getting contractors in to do the same job for three times as much.
on the Auckland Unitary Plan; “we will run out of land by May or June” ???- Dick Quax
and slipped into the tele MSM; “manufacturing expansion”. IN- “food, beverage and tobacco products” (lot of “value-added” there)
Dom on the Drought; “more dry weather to come after light rain”. Oh look, they have broken the chain;
Stock sold early-Short-term slaughter spike followed by layoffs-Rural expenditure falls-City feels the pinch-Professionals suck it up-Cost of dinner (and milk) may increase (with the international commodity prices for protein)
Indian Skilled migrants overtake the British by canoe (some say that James, the brother of our Lord retired to the sub-continent and had a family).Predicted that a flow-on effect of the ChCh earthquake will be a further increase in Indian migration (bro is married to a lovely wee Indian lady, and from experience, they are worth checking out; they welcome a reprieve from male chauvinism)
Iran and Hizbollah are building a new para-military force comprising “tens of thousands” to protect their interests in a post-Assad Syria.
In addition,
according to “Western Diplomats”, another war between Israel and Hizbollah is “inevitable”
(Hizbollah have re-built an arsenal that includes 60,000 missiles) Man! it takes a freakin’ long time for current affairs to reach the daily broadsheets, unless the subject is America, the Pope or SBW.
For “muzza” (well, everybody deserves a break, sometimes)
“I had been through a great deal of emotional turmoil and privation during my travels and arrived at the port of Limassol (in Cyprus) with great relief at having left the scenes of my suffering behind me.
One evening I was gazing vacantly 😉 at the sea in the afterglow of sunset, having just finished a meal in a little Greek eatery, feeling very tranquil and relaxed, when I began to feel a strange pressure in my brain…
I felt a thrilling liquidity of being and an indescribable sensation, as if the whole universe was being poured into me, or perhaps rather as if the whole universe was welling up out of me from some deep centre. My “soul” thrilled and swelled and my consciousness passed out across the ocean and land in all directions, through the sky and out into space. Within moments I was among the stars and planets and strange entities of space. Somehow I was aware of great beings, millions of miles high, moving in space, through which the stars could be sen. Wave after wave of revelation swept through my whole being, too fast for my normal mind to record other than the joy and wonder of it.
-Muz Murray, “Sharing The Quest”
In short, our chief limitation lies in our assumption that our narrow, tightly-harnessed consciousness is normal and natural, whereas it is in fact highly abnormal and unnatural. The basic problem of human beings is simply and inability to “get it all together”. We possess all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle but it is so huge that we rarely see it as a whole.
Oliver Sacks has described a pair of ‘subnormal” twins in a New York mental hospital who amuse themselves by swapping TWENTY-FOUR-FIGURE prime numbers. (the brain cannot be “wired” to perform such feats).
from “Beyond The Occult” by Colin Wilson.
Welcome To The Pleasure Dome (a Community of Sensation) http://www.answers.com/topic/community-of-sensation
we’re all nuts in here 🙂
Sheee-it! Just had to close a window to stop some light rain coming inside. Raining in New Lynn? But will it be enough in the right places to be a drought-breaker?
Radar doesn’t look too flash at the moment but the three day forecast animation looks promising.
http://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/rain-radar/all-new-zealand
http://www.metservice.com/maps-radar/rain-forecast/rain-forecast-3-day
Yeah – let’s hope. That little shower didn’t even last long enough for me to go outside and do a celebratory rain dance.
Drizzle.
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/sp201320.html
http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/satshots/20P_151732sair.jpg
http://www.usno.navy.mil/NOOC/nmfc-ph/RSS/jtwc/ab/abpwsair.jpg
http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/imagemain.php?&basin=austeast&sat=gms&prod=irn
I’ve done a shed load of mulching so It’s not so much the garden but the house supply that has me worried.I checked the tank this morning and we’ve around 6-8 days worth left so very soon I’ll have to make the call on buying water in.
Go early …and it’ll rain….. go late…. a long wait….and no water…sigh.
It’s Monster-id day.
http://blog.gravatar.com/2008/04/22/identicons-monsterids-and-wavatars-oh-my/
Was wondering where all the changed Gravatars had come from.
Much preferred the geometric shapes for those without gravatars, rather than the little monsters.
Snap!
I will put them back tomorrow. But it is the day of the amnesty… Monster day seemed appropriate.
hi Lynn; attempting to “cycle” up with Gravatar and a new e-mail. (could you please see that it gets past mods. Thanks) gr888
It is all automatic response after you get your email address set up at gravatar
Excellent!
Well I’ve enjoyed them 1prent. Some of them almost seemed a bit appropriate. 😀
Well if people don’t like them, then I have three types more to try… Or they can feed a image to gravator. But I am finding them kind of amusing.
Mind you I was thinking earlier that an effective means of non-banning moderation (that would appeal to my crude sense of humour) would be to get the site to specify particular images or overlays for the identicons.. I was thinking of a puddle at the bottom of a flag……
I quite like them. And Random got it right by throwing a pink monster my way…. v.cool.
I always knew you were easy on the eye.
blushing… 😉
++1
I have not felt inspired to comment today, but now I feel I must, just to see the monster. I think I like them.
lprent – will there be some “amensties” in future also, given that some may “repent” at some stage for having gone over board at times and having been banned?
It is a great idea by the way, to offer such “amnesty”. People change and most will over time “mature” and grow up, so to say. It would be fair to give the permanently or longer term banned commenters a chance now and then, to show they have learned out of past misdeeds or offensive steps.
Typing on a nexus7. Still getting used to the keyboard and the predictive stuff.
I give a thumbs up for the monsters.
I kind of thought a geometric shape was appropriate for my handle though a potato head with badly applied lipstick will do fine 🙂
RT : Reborn
Dont know about anyone else, but I didnt think that Solid Energy’s plans to become what was more or less a national oil company sounded too bad.
Elder should really be applauded for his vision, not denigrated.
ashpyrational
keep your powder dry
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10871643
might need a broader umbrella
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10871635
From the first link about anti-biotic resistant bugs:
Fuck the PPP – costs far too much. Full out government funded research.
From the second link about the US missile defense systems:
Ha, that’s funny. The most aggressive country in the world happens to be the US.
Almost as funny as Bush Junior’s castigation of “outrageous conspiracy theories”, with the official conspiracy theory being about as plausible as Osama bin Laden dying nine different times, as has been variously reported.
http://www.corbettreport.com/the-last-word-on-osama-bin-laden/
Not to disagree but the perception out there in the exploited nations is that there are a few more scary predators peeping through the blinds than there used to be
I want to know what people have been doing to save water?
Have some people just thought about what they could do?
I had to cut my smug self down to size as I have been wasting water by running the tap from the bathtub when the bathroom window is open so as not to offend the neighbours close by with obvious sounds. When I chucked up last week they could not close their windows quick enough!
Statement of the Argentine Socialist Workers Party on Pope Francis
(PTS, March 14, 2014) Myriam Bregman, lawyer of the Professional Center for Human Rights (CeProDH), also a militant of the PTS (Socialist Workers Party) and in charge of the accusation in the trial of the ESMA (Navy School of Mechanic), referred about Jorge Mario Bergoglio, recently chosen by The Vatican as Pope Francis I.
During one of the criminal trials against the military genocides of the ESMA (occurred between 2010 and 2011), Bregman represented Patricia Walsh, daughter of the disappeared journalist andwriter Rodolfo Walsh, and she had the chance to question Jorge Bergoglio, in that time archbishop of Buenos Aires. She was one of the lawyers who demanded the Tribunal to cite him to appear in court as a witness in connection with the demand made for the catechist María Elena Funes, who accused him of facilitate the kidnap of the Jesuit priests Francisco Jalics and Orlando Yorio, who were members of the same order as Bergoglio.
About that event, the lawyer said: “Unlike the image that today is given of him as a humble person, Bergoglio had no shame in using all the privileges that his investiture gave him, refusing to declare like an ordinary person in Court, so he claimed move the whole session to the Buenos Aires Curia headquarter, and we had to proceed in there. During his statement, the actual Pope avoided straight answers and he contradicted the previous witness. He tried to make a formal defense of his acting during the period that lasted the Jesuit’s priests kidnap by the militaries, standing that when he knew they had been kidnapped he informed to his superiors. He made some affirmations very serious as well, such as that two or three days later of the kidnapping he knew they were at the ESMA. Something that still today no many Mothers of Plaza de Mayo know about their own sons, despite of their intense search. How did he find out? He related that he interviewed Videla and Massera, but some time later. He also admitted that when Jalisc and Yorio were released they told him that there still were people kidnapped in the ESMA, and he didn’t do anything”.
But what Myriam Bregman remembers most vividly of that questioning is when she asked him about the misappropriation of babies during the dictatorship: “I will always remember Bergoglio’s face. He answered that he found out recently about that, about ten years ago, which is year 2000, when the whole society knew about Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo search from at least year 1983, and some of the relatives of La Plata assert that he knew about the case of Ana Libertad Baratti de La Cuadra from year 1977”.
Finally, Bregman pointed out that Bergoglio’s recent attitude and the brief answers by that time had consistency with silence and concealment adopted by the ecclesiastic hierarchy during the whole years after the dictatorship, systematically denying to provide files or documentation that they had. Is part of the Catholic Church policy that blessed and directly collaborated with dictatorship initiated in Argentina in 1976. It is not strange for me that priests as Christian Von Wernich, who are convicted for being authors of the genocide, of the plan of torture and extermination of the dictatorship, were not ever being excommunicated and they can still preside mass as any other priest. The same as father Grassi, convicted for child abuse, and for whose expulsion the Church that Bergoglio used to command till yesterday, didn’t move a finger. Nobody can deny that today Pope Francisco I covered up genocides and pedophiles in Church lines.”
Some links on the Pope and the Dirty War
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/pope-francis-election-stirs-up-argentine-dirty-war-allegations-biographer-calls-it-unfair/2013/03/14/3363e006-8c71-11e2-adca-74ab31da3399_story.html
http://www.globalresearch.ca/pope-francis-i-bergoglio-has-ties-to-a-dark-period-for-the-catholic-church/5326656
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/espanol/2013/03/14/eleccion-papal-agita-pasado-de-la-guerra-sucia/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/13/francis-first-pope-from-americas_n_2869332.html
http://www.kaosenlared.net/america-latina/item/50276-argentina-causa-esma-bergoglio-hoy-francisco-i-declar%C3%B3-que-pidi%C3%B3-a-massera-y-videla-por-la-liberaci%C3%B3n-de-los-sacerdotes.html
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com.ar/2013/03/italian-fascist-pope-francis.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/15/pope-francis-argentina-military-era
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/religion/argentine-jorge-bergoglio-elected-pope-francis/nWq5W/
http://life.nationalpost.com/2013/03/13/who-is-jorge-mario-bergoglio/http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/u-s-world/new-pope-argentinas-cardinal-mario-bergoglio-selected-as-pope-francis-first-jesuit-pope
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/popebio-article-1.1287994
+1
Estela de la Cuadra, whose mother Alicia co-founded the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in 1977 in hopes of identifying the stolen babies, said: ‘Bergoglio has a very cowardly attitude when it comes to something so terrible as the theft of babies.
‘He says he didn’t know anything about it until 1985.
‘He doesn’t face this reality and it doesn’t bother him.
‘The question is how to save his name, save himself. But he can’t keep these allegations from reaching the public. The people know how he is.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2293302/Pope-Francis-I-accused-turning-family-Argentinas-Dirty-War.html
What is with the new icons?
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-16032013/#comment-604593
The new pope has stirred up the rage of the monsters, perhaps?
Oh ta Draco T & Xtasy,
Now how do I get rid of this idiotic green triangle. I want an angry monster, not one that looks like a give-way sign…..ROAR…
Is it that penile droop which offends you ?
lprent wrote on one post tonight that all this is just for one day, the “monster day” or whatever, some day to remember something, so he will switch us all back to “normal” tomorrow, I presume today then. Let us be patient, we may get our usual ids back.
Never forget and adhere to the truth: “El pueblo unito jamas sera vencido”!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpSwSBbdxM
This is serious stuff, and I only hope enough of gen X and Y will learn this!
The emoticons have returned ..