Forgiveness is also a Labour value.
Forgiveness is the renunciation or cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offence, disagreement, or mistake.
All members of the Labour Party get out of bed in the morning, or go to a Branch meeting or a Conference, with the intent of doing the right thing.
I, or you, may disagree with them. Politics is how we work with these different views.
Agree totally. Forgiveness I read recently is a characteristic of the strong, not of the weak. Especially it is important since it disposes of the crippling effects of resentment, indignation and anger.
An examination of Labour/Left values would help us focus on what is truly important and be a timely reminder of what we seek to achieve, especially for others.
Quite right Khanno. I remember dear old dad telling us how he met the original founder of world Labour once and when pressed for practical instructions, the only single advice he gave them was exactly that. Forgiveness (I think the exact words were “as we forgive those who press arse against us” or summing) The only exception was currency dealers, funnily enough, beat the snot out of them….
What’s all this forgiveness thing. Who to whom?
‘Politics is how we work with these different views’.
Then putting forward different views is how we work at the political coalface.
In a real democracy there needs to be an opportunity for everyone in the country to put forward a reasoned view and have it considered. The views and analysis of performance cannot be contained to those within the mirror city all looking at their own reflections, listening to their own audio feed.
Aha! A sharp eye there, prism. But tell me, this Democracy thing, for who from whom? And reason, what does reason know? Any tips on leaving the Mirror city?
Uturn
Ummmm so confusing. I wonder if a pinhole camera might help here. It was great with the eclipse which would have been otherwise blinding. And we blinding well need to find our way out of where we are.
“I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more,” he says.
“This is a matter of freedom. If you don’t have many possessions then you don’t need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself,” he says.
Yes, I saw that while I was being randomly nosey over here, and the first article was about this:
“The deal was struck after China Southern (Airlines) told Immigration NZ that its Gold and Silver Card holders were seeking to avoid “the necessity to answer questions relating to financial backing and employment history and to provide evidence of these” ”.
To even be interested in a Sky Pearl Club Silver Card you have to fly the equivalent distance as that of here to London and back, every three years. It could be argued that the agreement with Immigration is one that “rich people” are accepted in good faith and that “poor people” are considered suspicious as default. If frequently flying around the world is not a symptom of being “rich”, then at least it is part of a certain set of middle-class values. If that’s the case, it’s almost predictably boring that favouritism is accepted by supporters of our current style of living. It’s also not a very accurate portrayal of the myriad variations of Chinese cultural beliefs.
While I was at Avondale market last week there was a stand promoting Falun Gong, or more specifically, they were promoting resistance to the Chinese communist party. The banner on the stall read something about truth and goodness, happiness and values, and I thought wow, modern politics has pushed people in a circle back round to pre-Confucianism. I wonder if they’ll drift just a little bit further and drop the values and goodness, maybe even the happiness. Then I lost interest and went back to my banana pancake, which is always very tasty – two for $1.50.
In certain Chinese writings, that were around while competing ideas like Confucianism also vied for dominance, there is the idea that an authentic person can be completely impoverished, while the confused rule, and that outward appearances are worthless. Also, that aligning oneself on the say-so of another, or accepting ingenuine gifts in the style of the prevailing fashion, are ideas that should be strenuously avoided if one seeks to live out all the years given by life. Sun Tzu had departed for his country estate by then, but his ideas on organising the acquisition of other people’s stuff were still in effect. I don’t know if Chinese organised criminals laundering money, or drug mules making deliveries, would carry Sky Pearl Club Silver or Gold cards. It might be a dead giveaway. Whether or not modern cultural beliefs are a threat to NZ is debateable. Probably, it’s just better to screen everyone as they arrive, than guess who is trouble or not by their frequent flyer plans.
More rubbish from the Novopay saga, which should be renamed No-mo(re)-pay.
After Te Puni Kokiri’s mind-numbingly long propaganda being read out yesterday on Morning Report, another tack is taken this morning with yet another lot of shambles unfolding. This time, courtesy of the Education Minister & Ministry. What are their responses?
WTF. You can’t make this shit up even with the strongest satire. It is clear that Minister Hekia has dumped the need to front up onto Assoc Minister Floss who himself is now fast vanishing from office.
As for the Ministry of Education, it should be honest and say it is no longer part of the Public Service, but provides aggravation by way of public disservice.
You missed the part where the MOE has announced that they are already planning to make staff redundant. LOL as if the issues will be solved by next year!
I encourage media to give appropriate air time to opposition MP’s to comment on issues such as this so that if ministers elect not to front interviews with the media at least the public know they are not totally irrelevant. Seems only fair.
Re Hekia Parata and your statement about her lack of fronting up. That lady wears an invisibility cloak. She is one slick ninja. She has repeatedly declined John Campbells requets for interviews regarding the CHCH schools fiasco and the nopay issues. It not the odd request either, theres been several. Instead the poor bedragled and harrased looking secretary for the MOE has to front up.
Is this the type of labour leader we need?
The herald has a write up about the labour conference and it takes it in his office.
One more telling blerb from the annointed one is that he once again refers to bloggers,
saying that the “Bloggers are just a background noise,that, that is all it is worthy of”
Today’s herald folks.
ps,sorry i can’t link.
“The influence of people sitting anonymously in front of computer screens behind darkened curtains is not something I think we should be taking as seriously as we do.”
The problem is that the blogs are accurately reflecting how Labour voters feel about David Shearer. Shooting the messenger doesn’t alter the fact that he has failed to do his job convincingly. He may well end up being an accidental Prime Minister, but that will be because of Nationals failings not his own popularity.
And much as I take heart from the poll trends, Labour should be a damn site closer to National, given the ammunition they have at their disposal. Shearer will survive this conference, but Labour may not survive Shearer.
Again Shearer opted to insult critics from his own Party (plus others). His main interest is (and has been) self-praise. Also, the following in the Herald, “When he’s asked about what differentiates Labour from National, he answers promptly and opts to focus on economic policy rather than social”. That really is something coming from a Labour leader! In short, his goal is exactly the same as National’s. Yet he still maintains that Labour will mean taking the country in a different direction!
Then Mr Shearer suggests Labour will offer “a more intelligent interventionist government”. Well, maybe more interventionist, but where from the intelligence? Surely he is imagining coalition with the Greens (where intelligence truly lies).
The Herald again, “There is a very long pause indeed when Shearer is asked what differentiates him from John Key” – yes, another of those awful long pauses. The Herald continues, “In many ways the two are comparable . . . Shearer is more like Key than he is like Clark. He finally answers he has respect for Key as a ‘communicator’ . . . “. My God, we know only too well the kinds of communications we are receiving from Key!!
Anyway, rest assured, Shearer “does know where he wants to take the country himself and will share that with the rest of us this weekend”. Hurrah! At last it is coming!! (Maybe)
Well as an Irish Catholic republican hater of titles I thought the reinstatement was really silly. Being a QC only allows the chosen few to charge more and serves no practical purpose. And restricting it to the ranks of barristers sole is artificial. There are plenty of good lawyers who practice as barristers and solicitors.
We won’t tell the Chinese anything except welcome them to gamble at our casinos and while you’re here, get a sure bet on our country’s remaining enterprises.
Speaking of John Key selling us out to casinos, gamblers and money launderers:
“New Zealand First is calling for Prime Minister John Key to reveal the full extent of his involvement in the Sky City-China Southern Airlines (CSA) gambler visa deal.”
Clearly the unTRUTH and the NBR are just trying to be controversial in order to gain readership by exploiting the death of Greg King. What a bunch of cretins!
Government needs skin in the game, a deposit guarentee
scheme on savings, basically insurance paid by banks
and other institutions would expose quickly those not
paying and so those running ponsi type schemes, with
the additional incentive that government has justification
for investigation. But National ended the deposit guarentee
by allowing South Canterbury Finance into the scheme and
not doing due diligence, win-win for crooks,
well National don’t believe in
due diligence, the market will do provide that. The
cult of no governance keeps on giving, Pike river, CTV,
SCF, but not Env.Canterbury funny enough, or alledgely fast
tracking Chinese criminals to launder money. And
wait up, why are australian banks deposits guarenteed but
not NZ ones, surely aligning with Australia to remove
inhibitors to businessness is a National policy???
Wonder what Australian regulators have to say about the
ametaur NZ banking system. We don;t need world standards,
rich successful kiwis never make their money criminally,
happens all over the world but not in NZ. Why is parliament
filled with cretins? The senatoral chamber keeps on doing this,
flash new regulation rammed into law that saves business
costs (usually not actively wanted by business) and neo-liberalism
neo-conservatism gets another victory for small incompete
government.
We cannot afford a DGS, WTF, we cannot NOT afford to protect
investors who have been hoodwinked. BUT WAIT, its worse, Key
promised to clear up the financial industry, that’s why the story
comes out on a friday, to protect Key. Key lost a billion in SCF,
then removed the incentive for government to stop further fraud.
Listening to the Dunedin Mayor this morning on the subject of the loss of Hillside engineering was like listening to a NACT robot. He was only interested in fending off Claire Curran.
There was talk about the NZ price for engineering work for Kiwirail being 25% higher than the alternative. No business could ignore that so we had to go with the cheapest – mantra!
When will the effect on our overseas reserves be taken into account. We have to borrow overseas to get the currency to pay for these overseas purchases. That in turn puts us further into hock as a country. What effect does that have on our exchange rate? Someone here will know and might find the time to explain. And in the meantime we are languishing with no jobs and declining business and rising unemployment. Dunedin could do with the money from building that NZrail stock, AND the onflow of spending to the community generally termed the multiplier effect.
The multiplier effect is what grows an economy.
The dry explanation – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplier_(economics)
also http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-expenditure-multiplier.htm
for ‘deep throat’ there is an interview hour on the subject through here http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/ramey_on_stimul.html
And the thing is that if the price difference was only 25% more expensive for NZ made then it is a false saving to manufacture offshore. The government would easily recoup that cost from the tax take of the workers and suppliers not to mention the obvious cost savings of having those people in the workforce as opposed to on a potential benefit..
False economy and completely disingenuous when solely the up front cost is considered.. What about the overall TCO?
I notice that on the feed column, there is a link to Ruth Dyson release decrying the fact that democracy in Canterbury is poked. I agree with her sentiments. But didn’t Labour vote in favour of giving Gerry Brownlie extra-ordinary powers and wasn’t it Gerry Brownlie who used those powers to replace the elected Regional Council with appointees?
Apologies if I’m remembering this incorrectly. Otherwise, shameful hypocrisy and selective memory or tacit admission of stupidity on the part of Labour.
Bill
You must learn to live in the now! What we said before is well, before. This is now and if you don’t like these principles.. well we’ve got other ones.
Michael Laws: neither fair nor balanced
Radio Live, Friday 16 November 2012
Today, it’s not the “ferals” of the poorest suburbs in Whanganui and Hastings that are the object of Michael Laws’ snarling contempt. Overnight, Israel has stepped up its ongoing brutalisation of Gaza, so it’s incumbent on all unconditional supporters of Israel to express their undying love for the Holy State.
Not all his listeners are as ready to uncritically accept what they are told in the mainstream news broadcasts. A young man called Aidan rings up Laws to remonstrate….
AIDAN: You are siding with the oppressors. LAWS: No they’re not. They are not the oppressors. AIDAN: Palestinians in Israel are discriminated agai— LAWS: Listen Aidan. Listen to me, otherwise I’ll think you’re mad. Israel started in 1948 as a Jewish state. [A long, wandery and incoherent rehash of Israeli propaganda follows.] Anyway, coming up after the news, I’ll be speaking to an EXPERT on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
…11 a.m. NEWS…
LAWS: This latest middle eastern, ahhhh, flashpoint. Joining us to give us a bit of a background to all this is Professor William Harris, from the Political Studies department at Otago University. Bill, this current conflict, with the Israelis firing back at the Palestinians… My understanding is that the Palestinians are bitterly divided between Hamas and Fatah. Is that right? PROFESSOR HARRIS: That is right. In fact they may even be divided more than that. Since their last big operation in 2008-9, things have been desultory. LAWS: From an outsider’s perspective it makes no sense. Why would Hamas fire rockets at Israel? HARRIS: Yes but Gaza has been under a tight siege. LAWS: Yes but hasn’t Egypt been a part of that siege too? HARRIS: Egypt wants to be a mediator too. LAWS: When the U.N. created Israel in 1948, did they create a Palestinian state as well?
In the face of such profound ignorance, Professor Harris managed to politely start educating the host, but this will be an ongoing project. Laws, who clearly knows hardly anything about the situation and has made no effort to do any reading about it, listened politely and asked reasonably intelligent questions.
Encouragingly, Laws indicated that Professor Harris will be coming back on the programme again, so at least someone with a bit of knowledge will occasionally get a hearing.
And Israel says it’s the Orphans that started it by firing rockets at them?
That’s exactly the message spouted by the BBC, Radio New Zealand, NewstalkZB, Radio Live, Television One and TV3. Nearly all of these broadcasters actually used Netanyahu’s fantastical and dishonest words—that Israelis “live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire”—and passed it off as their own copywriting.
Who instigated the Blockade then, Let alone enforced it with “Diplomacy”?
Israel instigated it, with the full support of its sponsor, the United States.
Morrissey
Let’s face it Netanyahu is a General and he’s getting old. There’s probably an urgent desire on the part of all old generals to do something vital before they die. Look at the USA ones! And the Israeli just wants to keep the pot boiling and the huge armament supplies and business flooding in.
And the Israelis have set up a political system that allows political power to those who have military power, so they are in permanent war mode. And they haven’t thought out the difficulties even impossibilities, of allowing any and all Jewish believers and sects to flourish. Now in the country they have their own version of the Taliban trying to drag them back into ancient times and sharia-type rules.
And the Palestinians are so bloody irritating with their persistence about their land rights and harrassing and threatening Israel with their armaments and their tunnels and their inadequate leadership that matches Israel’s. And they won’t say that Israel is legit.
So the score of death was three Israelis and fifteen West Bank. Some in Israel would think that’s too low a currency. The going rate has been far higher than that. For every one Israeli killed, it is about 30 Palestinians or perhaps down to 10 but also an olive grove, a strategic building and at least five houses demolished. Israel is mighty and will defend and punish.
And while this country of intelligent, so-called civilised people carries on like this, creating hatred and defiance and suspicion amongst the Palestinians who retaliate in a similar byzantine manner they stoke the fire of contempt and anger amongst a vast population of young men who are ready and willing to attack anyone, given enough encouragement by their holy ones. And we all feel it. If in the back of their minds Israelis are thinking that we deserve it after all they suffered down the centuries and in Nazi Germany, if they don’t make firm moves to peace and demand civil compensation for breaches, if there is some sort of positive outcome for them, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
Obama has spoken to Netanyahu by ‘phone, encouraging him to step up the brutal assault on Gaza. How many Israelis were casualties? Count them on one hand. As usual we behold the massive over-retaliation.
Nah, that’s a good idea OneTrack…but the problem is you said into Israel when you really meant to say into Palestinian land that is occupied by Israel
If Israel moves back to where they should be then the Palestinian rockets might stop…or they can just carry on like this for a couple more decades at most, until the USA can no longer protect Israel, and then we’ll see the brutal end of Israel from all their neighbours…that’s gonna be nasty
Something calling itself “OneTrack” is hopelessly confused.
…another plan would be if the palestinians stopped firing rockets into Israel and killing Israeli civilians.
The ignoramus has confused the Occupied Territories for Israel. Has this poor fool ever wondered why a few Palestinians are firing rockets into illegal settlements? Of course not. It doesn’t know what it’s talking about.
“So how did Republicans keep their House majority despite more Americans voting for the other party—something that has only happened three times in the last hundred years, according to political analyst Richard Winger? Because they drew the lines. ”
“It is impossible to read this as anything other than an attack on Nate Silver, who is by far the most prominent aggregator and analyzer of others’ polls currently operating today. And it simply reeks of sour grapes. During the campaign year, Silver consistently pointed out that Gallup’s results were oddly inconsistent with what other pollsters were finding. And he was right — Gallup got it wrong. It is not inappropriate to point that out. But Gallup presumes too much when it effectively threatens to take its surveys home and just stop playing.”
Brian Edwards. Dim-Post. Imperator Fish. QoT. Giovanni Tiso. Chris Trotter. No Right Turn. Tapu Misa. Probably more I’ve missed. And of course, several on the Standard.
Meanwhile, defending Shearer, those trusted Labour allies …
Fran O’Sullivan. Richard Long (Don Brash’s guy). A Facebook page set up by Nats. Others?
Did I really hear Shearer waxing about future input from ‘the grassroots’? Nah. Couldn’t be. They be utterly dismissable people who spray paint their curtains a dark colour and won’t tell anyone what their name is. (apparently)
And was that Goff praying or saying that ‘everyone’ (ie, caucus) was solidly behind Shearer while dismissing the Party’s grasroot sentiments as National Party tosh? (Headsup to Ph.Goff. – Nobody claimed there was a challenge from within caucus. ‘Everybody’ claimed they are right pissed off and disillusioned.)
Goff should count himself lucky to date for not been subject to the bright light of scrutiny about parachuting Shearer into a safe Labour seat, indeed the seat that the former three-term Prime Minister had just vacated.
There were other very obvious more deserving candidates then.
Rioting in Europe. People are angry and desperate. The leaders are themselves sitting on the golden egg. They had Faberge eggs in Russia before the revolution. Will there have to be another revolution, another war. because the dangerous playboys and autocratic men and women at the top have too little head space for brain?
Terry Pratchett’s character in the Discworld, Havelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork is a schemer but he does ensure that the place keeps going. He thinks his way past others who have aspirations. He allows for known moral problems, there is an Assassins Guild, a Thieves Guild, etc and they have stern standards to adhere to. Perhaps we need more honesty and less of the greasy promisers that slide away when there’s trouble.
Why is that Bomber thinks he can lie so openly and still taken seriously?
http://tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/the-problem-for-climate-deniers-like.html
“The reason climate deniers like Slater and Farrar keep the spin lies going is because for them, it’s a cultural war. Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat because it forces them to reflect upon the free market they slavishly worship.”
Ok…..What say you Farrar?
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/07/climate_data.html
“…what my view is, that there is global warming, and human activity is causing it, but that the extent of the warming is debatable and not as large as originally projected.”
So Farrar may disagree with the extent but he quite clearly states he believes it is happening and that humans cause it.
Well you can quibble over who believes what extent (I disagree with Farrar myself) but the fact remains that ” Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat ” is an utter falsehood. Provably so. A quick search of Kiwiblog has Farrar saying, many times, I believe in climate change and humans are causing it.
I often correct things or quibble over what others see as minor points and many probably think me a pedant, but IMO it’s important to get things correct, and when an error is pointed out to you, admit it.
it may still come through, or they may change the article…Tumeke’s moderation can take up to a day or so sometimes, that’s why I never post there anymore. And Bomber rarely interacts with the comments
looks like you’ve been ignored then. Its not really a site for discussion, just a place to go to read bomber’s thoughts…shame really, more of an online magazine because there is no interaction. Its gotten to the point where you not only know what topics are going to be posted on that blog, but also what is going to be said. Then again, that’s true for almost all blogs to a degree.
It could be better but I guess they are busy. Citizen A and the Union Report are worth a watch though…they’re the only TV shows I bother watching
I’m not worried about being personally ignored but it goes further to my opinion of Bomber being dishonest, disingenuous and focused purely on his own positions at the expense of honesty.
yeah, maybe, or maybe you have taken his words too strongly?…and it depends how you read what Farrar wrote, his last 7 words is what bomber is questioning – and not as large as originally projected That kind of statement leaves most readers thinking that climate change is questionable…check the comments on the post to see how Farrar’s post leads to heavy denial.
Bomber claims that Slater and Farrar are people who try to suggest that human pollution isn’t warming the planet and then says Muddy the waters on the science (there is no direct link between smoking and cancer) and keep repeating that position so people don’t think the science is as settled as it actually is.
Bomber uses the words try to suggest and muddy the waters …hardly claiming that Slater and Farrar flatly deny that warming is not occurring…
And lastly, Bomber uses the term climate deniers…that’s a vague term in itself…does it mean that they deny climate is changing, does it mean that they deny climate change is caused mainly by humans…or does it mean that they deny climate change is caused solely by humans?
Basically, Bomber is as vague as Farrar…and the other hand, Slater is in a league of his own.
I both agree and disagree (who said I’m unbalanced?).
Literally yes, Farrar acknowledges AGC. But he does minimise it and its significance in the quote TC pasted.
BUT I’m not so sure that denying AGC is different in any practical sense from denying its significance. The ship still sinks while Farrar et al argue that it’s just normal rain which has never been a problem before, or that there is a hole but it’s really not letting in as much water as alarmists suggest.
Oh, semantically they are distinct statements and Bomber should be more accurate, but in the practical world Farrar is firmly in the “fuck the planet, my paymasters are okay” camp: the same side as Monckton etc.
Indeed but Bombers post isn’t about Farrar minimizing the effect of AGW (which would be the honest position) but about Farrar expressly denying it to the point of:
“Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat” when Farrar explicitly states many times, he believes it is caused by humans.
It isn’t just right-wingers that omit facts and/or lie which is what bothers me about Bomber. He gets so barking mad at others for their lies and omissions but then proves himself to be no better.
Farrar doesn’t believe AGC is as significant as the [under]estimates predicted.
You’re getting worked up and throwing words like “integrity” around over the semantic difference between “does not affect” and “does not significantly affect”.
And quite frankly, the difference between:
1) an AGC denier; and
2) an AGC minimiser
is much less significant than the difference between:
3) someone who confuses 1 and 2; and
4) someone who is 1 or 2.
But Bomber gets your nuts in a knot. Have fun with that.
I think Farrar’s position lacks integrity. He’s saying that the science is correct and incorrect at the same time. He’s trying to say well, yes, AGW is happening but we don’t have to do anything about it. Which is a position of denial.
Well, whatever you think Farrar thinks the extent is he does not deny climate change is happening and that humans are causing it which is Bombers incorrect assertion. The honest position is that Farrar denies the extent of the damage being done, not that Farrar denies any damage in the first place.
It’s also a change in tune, with David Farrar often posting climate change denial rubbish. I guess he might have just woken up for a little while in the face of reality, but is still sleepily not really acknowledging the extent of the problem.
You can’t ignore the fact that Farrar makes a number of arguments in favour of the fossil fuel industry and posts articles that try to deny climate change exists just because of one example TC. It’s the overall denying that Bomber is responding to, which makes his argument justified.
The nation has a strong, well-regulated banking sector, but households, businesses and governments do not save enough of their income.
If we ‘save money’ under the present system we actually run out of money and the economy would grind to a halt as the only thing that would be left would be the debt caused by the private banks charging interest on money they created.
It is with regret that I have found confirmation that the comments on this site and forum are largely “navel gazing” types of comments, but the threads for discussion basically enforce this.
Now we have the prospect of full blown, wider, escalating war in the Middle East, and here most are pre-occupied with a “Labour Conference”, which is likely to result in a kind of scenario, similar to the majority votes in former Eastern Bloc ruling parties.
No way will anyone seriously challenge the leadership, and the mostly aged members will cast their votes and utter their support in old, stubborn fashion. There may be a bit of dissent and criticism, but I expect little.
So it is time to move on, and to establish a NEW party on the left, that is inclusive, also stops the divisiveness amongst many activist groups I know, which is more like a “social scene” for some, to battle it out amongst each other. Unity is a distant goal or rather dream, it sometimes seems.
Now why not bear a thought tonight also about what the hell goes on in Gaza and Palestine?
Does anybody give a damn in NZ? I am sure some do, but it is far too few.
Let the Middle East explode, I say, clear the air, let off steam perhaps, fight it out, which will never be cleared and sorted with bogey attempts to negotiate what is not negotiable.
This attack by Israeli forces was well calculated, it happened just before an election, and again, it is the right wing, nationalistic Likud, who started this on purpose. They want to create war to get a “crisis” feeling, so Israelis feel afraid and vote for them. It has worked too many times, and it is tried again.
The usual blame game goes on. Hamas and their supporters are all terrorists, that is the accusation, so we must march in and sort this out, is the addition.
This time though, it may lead to more, and Israelis should be bloody worried, as this may end the existence of this state, which was created in the early post war years, under support by powers, who were still “enjoying” their last years of “colonial dominance” of the world. They did contribute to the creation of the state of Israel, which is a state based on race interests and dominance, and they would not know, that colonialism was to end soon.
So let us see, whether the last remnant of a kind of neo-colonialist state of Zionists will survive, or whether jews will return to the diaspora, or at least learn to live with the natives of centuries of that land, in peace, and to share the land and interest.
I wonder whether anyone here grasps the significance?!
Yes, xtasy there is a lot more risk this time around for Israel.
I find it impossible to reconcile what Israel is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza given their own experience. For as long as they imprison Palestinians, deny a diplomatic solution and sporadically invade, there will be no resolution of this.
The way I see it, sadly, is that from my safe little home there is not an effective thing I can do about this except make my express my opinions to those who support Israeli action and ask our U.S-aligned government to express support for Palestinian aspirations… and our government is not going to do that anytime soon.
The only people who can stop the war in the Middle East is the people in the ME. But, as you point out, there’s some people who don’t want to stop the war and they’re the people in power and they don’t want to stop the war because it keeps them in power.
The Aliyah movement shows the nationalistic side to Israel, which is dominated by the settler movement, and who believe totally in the whole land, also the West Bank and Gaza, to be JEWISH land, that is theirs, and there to be taken and kept forever, as part of the promised land, that they believe God gave them!
The plan of the Aliyah movement, supported by the state of Israel, is to bring as many settlers of Jewish origin into the country, to strengthen the homeland character and solidarity, and to populate the land they believe is theirs.
The Israeli Defence Force and Likud also believe, that the West Bank can never be surrendered to Palestinian rule, as the control of it is essential to Israeli security.
Now this is important stuff, and it highly strategic a situation, so I wonder, where blase NZers stand on this all?!
Better shut up now, as I do not want to upset soft lefties with too radical info and material. I have a library full of stuff, and I suggest to everyone, study, study, study, learn, learn and learn and get real about what goes on. Sadly this country is run by idiots, sadly largely for idiots. If you want to save your country, take a damned bloody stand! That is for ALL Nzers.
Xtasy – The reason most in NZ, even those who do pay some interest, focus on local issues is because they feel there is some degree of input they can have which might one day, lead to directional change.
Sadly this is not going to happen, and there are much closer links between the ME situation, and NZ than people would like to accept. NZ is simply an extension of the powers who control “the west”, dicate wars, and control right down to the local “clubs”
NZ is rooted because the peoople have become fat, lazy, stupid and complicit!
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellsford, Onehunga, Westhaven marina – Gavin Strawhan walks the meanish streets of New Zealand in his entertaining debut novel The Call, almost sure to roar into the number 1 position on the Nielsen bestseller chart, its front cover bearing a rave from somebody: “A really good and genuinely ...
On a Thursday in February, at Wellington’s Conservation House, the Conservation Authority, a statutory body advising the eponymous department and minister, Tama Potaka, opened its 195th meeting. Under consideration that afternoon was an agenda item written by Tim Bamford, chief advisor in the Department of Conservation’s biodiversity, heritage and visitors ...
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A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
Forgiveness is also a Labour value.
Forgiveness is the renunciation or cessation of resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offence, disagreement, or mistake.
All members of the Labour Party get out of bed in the morning, or go to a Branch meeting or a Conference, with the intent of doing the right thing.
I, or you, may disagree with them. Politics is how we work with these different views.
Agree totally. Forgiveness I read recently is a characteristic of the strong, not of the weak. Especially it is important since it disposes of the crippling effects of resentment, indignation and anger.
An examination of Labour/Left values would help us focus on what is truly important and be a timely reminder of what we seek to achieve, especially for others.
Quite right Khanno. I remember dear old dad telling us how he met the original founder of world Labour once and when pressed for practical instructions, the only single advice he gave them was exactly that. Forgiveness (I think the exact words were “as we forgive those who press arse against us” or summing) The only exception was currency dealers, funnily enough, beat the snot out of them….
😀
What’s all this forgiveness thing. Who to whom?
‘Politics is how we work with these different views’.
Then putting forward different views is how we work at the political coalface.
In a real democracy there needs to be an opportunity for everyone in the country to put forward a reasoned view and have it considered. The views and analysis of performance cannot be contained to those within the mirror city all looking at their own reflections, listening to their own audio feed.
Aha! A sharp eye there, prism. But tell me, this Democracy thing, for who from whom? And reason, what does reason know? Any tips on leaving the Mirror city?
Uturn
Ummmm so confusing. I wonder if a pinhole camera might help here. It was great with the eclipse which would have been otherwise blinding. And we blinding well need to find our way out of where we are.
A nice article about the least pretentious leader in the world, Jose Mujica.
“I’m called ‘the poorest president’, but I don’t feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle, and always want more and more,” he says.
“This is a matter of freedom. If you don’t have many possessions then you don’t need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them, and therefore you have more time for yourself,” he says.
I love this man! He embodies all I hold dear and is a living example of my own values. Ahh, bless!
What a wonderful link TRP; all is forgiven 🙂
Sounds like a reasonable man.
Government for the casinos, by the casinos, of the casinos.
SkyCity Knew Of Plan To Ease New Zealand Access For Chinese High Rollers-Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7957580/SkyCity-knew-of-plan-to-ease-access
Yes, I saw that while I was being randomly nosey over here, and the first article was about this:
“The deal was struck after China Southern (Airlines) told Immigration NZ that its Gold and Silver Card holders were seeking to avoid “the necessity to answer questions relating to financial backing and employment history and to provide evidence of these” ”.
To even be interested in a Sky Pearl Club Silver Card you have to fly the equivalent distance as that of here to London and back, every three years. It could be argued that the agreement with Immigration is one that “rich people” are accepted in good faith and that “poor people” are considered suspicious as default. If frequently flying around the world is not a symptom of being “rich”, then at least it is part of a certain set of middle-class values. If that’s the case, it’s almost predictably boring that favouritism is accepted by supporters of our current style of living. It’s also not a very accurate portrayal of the myriad variations of Chinese cultural beliefs.
While I was at Avondale market last week there was a stand promoting Falun Gong, or more specifically, they were promoting resistance to the Chinese communist party. The banner on the stall read something about truth and goodness, happiness and values, and I thought wow, modern politics has pushed people in a circle back round to pre-Confucianism. I wonder if they’ll drift just a little bit further and drop the values and goodness, maybe even the happiness. Then I lost interest and went back to my banana pancake, which is always very tasty – two for $1.50.
In certain Chinese writings, that were around while competing ideas like Confucianism also vied for dominance, there is the idea that an authentic person can be completely impoverished, while the confused rule, and that outward appearances are worthless. Also, that aligning oneself on the say-so of another, or accepting ingenuine gifts in the style of the prevailing fashion, are ideas that should be strenuously avoided if one seeks to live out all the years given by life. Sun Tzu had departed for his country estate by then, but his ideas on organising the acquisition of other people’s stuff were still in effect. I don’t know if Chinese organised criminals laundering money, or drug mules making deliveries, would carry Sky Pearl Club Silver or Gold cards. It might be a dead giveaway. Whether or not modern cultural beliefs are a threat to NZ is debateable. Probably, it’s just better to screen everyone as they arrive, than guess who is trouble or not by their frequent flyer plans.
aahh, left, with the truth; what is truth
After Virtue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_Virtue
-your friendly neighbourhood Solipsist 🙂
More rubbish from the Novopay saga, which should be renamed No-mo(re)-pay.
After Te Puni Kokiri’s mind-numbingly long propaganda being read out yesterday on Morning Report, another tack is taken this morning with yet another lot of shambles unfolding. This time, courtesy of the Education Minister & Ministry. What are their responses?
The Minister’s office is not returning calls and the Ministry is not responding:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
WTF. You can’t make this shit up even with the strongest satire. It is clear that Minister Hekia has dumped the need to front up onto Assoc Minister Floss who himself is now fast vanishing from office.
As for the Ministry of Education, it should be honest and say it is no longer part of the Public Service, but provides aggravation by way of public disservice.
You missed the part where the MOE has announced that they are already planning to make staff redundant. LOL as if the issues will be solved by next year!
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/absolute-insanity.html
I encourage media to give appropriate air time to opposition MP’s to comment on issues such as this so that if ministers elect not to front interviews with the media at least the public know they are not totally irrelevant. Seems only fair.
They should all quit now with a screw you fix it yourselves.
Good one. Ministry of Aggravation. Very apt, and sounds educated too! How did you do it in NZs ‘faulty’ system?
“once was national” Big ups to you man:-)
Re Hekia Parata and your statement about her lack of fronting up. That lady wears an invisibility cloak. She is one slick ninja. She has repeatedly declined John Campbells requets for interviews regarding the CHCH schools fiasco and the nopay issues. It not the odd request either, theres been several. Instead the poor bedragled and harrased looking secretary for the MOE has to front up.
Getting rid of back room people is backfiring !
on this govt!
Is this the type of labour leader we need?
The herald has a write up about the labour conference and it takes it in his office.
One more telling blerb from the annointed one is that he once again refers to bloggers,
saying that the “Bloggers are just a background noise,that, that is all it is worthy of”
Today’s herald folks.
ps,sorry i can’t link.
Here ’tis. The man is a plonker:
“The influence of people sitting anonymously in front of computer screens behind darkened curtains is not something I think we should be taking as seriously as we do.”
The problem is that the blogs are accurately reflecting how Labour voters feel about David Shearer. Shooting the messenger doesn’t alter the fact that he has failed to do his job convincingly. He may well end up being an accidental Prime Minister, but that will be because of Nationals failings not his own popularity.
And much as I take heart from the poll trends, Labour should be a damn site closer to National, given the ammunition they have at their disposal. Shearer will survive this conference, but Labour may not survive Shearer.
Tend to agree with him. Anyone in this day and age who gets their curtains darkened isn’t worth the trouble.
Thank you for linking 🙂
Does Shearer still have your backing ?
Anyway, he is right about those sitting behind a keyboard posing no threat, they don’t.
Does that mean the opinions are not valid of the bloggers, of course not, but its simply not how change will happen, not from behind a keyboard!
What happens on the internets has influence outside of cyberspace.
I would be cautious about over-estimating that Weka!
behind darkened curtains
What a sad little bit of spin that is.
Again Shearer opted to insult critics from his own Party (plus others). His main interest is (and has been) self-praise. Also, the following in the Herald, “When he’s asked about what differentiates Labour from National, he answers promptly and opts to focus on economic policy rather than social”. That really is something coming from a Labour leader! In short, his goal is exactly the same as National’s. Yet he still maintains that Labour will mean taking the country in a different direction!
Then Mr Shearer suggests Labour will offer “a more intelligent interventionist government”. Well, maybe more interventionist, but where from the intelligence? Surely he is imagining coalition with the Greens (where intelligence truly lies).
The Herald again, “There is a very long pause indeed when Shearer is asked what differentiates him from John Key” – yes, another of those awful long pauses. The Herald continues, “In many ways the two are comparable . . . Shearer is more like Key than he is like Clark. He finally answers he has respect for Key as a ‘communicator’ . . . “. My God, we know only too well the kinds of communications we are receiving from Key!!
Anyway, rest assured, Shearer “does know where he wants to take the country himself and will share that with the rest of us this weekend”. Hurrah! At last it is coming!! (Maybe)
vainglorious plonker.
(who was never an “aid worker” )
The juxtaposition of Khandalla Man’s comment and Starlight’s comment really does sum it all up.
On the one hand, Labour supporters and the broad left saying …
“Let’s talk. Let’s try and work together to resolve our problems, in a positive spirit. We want the same thing.”
In response, the leadership says …
“There isn’t a problem!”
So the positive spirit turns into frustration, then anger.
In response to the anger, the leadership says …
“You’re a right-winger!” or “You’re a lonely sad loser!” (AKA a person with internet access)
And so the anger grows.
Hey mickysavage if you’re around I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the reinstatement of the rank of QC last night.
Well as an Irish Catholic republican hater of titles I thought the reinstatement was really silly. Being a QC only allows the chosen few to charge more and serves no practical purpose. And restricting it to the ranks of barristers sole is artificial. There are plenty of good lawyers who practice as barristers and solicitors.
Phil Goff expressed things very well during the debate on the bill.
He sure did.
Enough
When are we going to tell the Chinese we are not for sale?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/farming/7951798/Chinese-government-eyes-Fonterra-fund
We won’t tell the Chinese anything except welcome them to gamble at our casinos and while you’re here, get a sure bet on our country’s remaining enterprises.
At the same time, of course, we must continue to oblige American aspirations!
I suspect those two entities are one and the same, masquerading as “satisfying America and/or China, as if they in fact are somehow different.
Speaking of John Key selling us out to casinos, gamblers and money launderers:
“New Zealand First is calling for Prime Minister John Key to reveal the full extent of his involvement in the Sky City-China Southern Airlines (CSA) gambler visa deal.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1211/S00306/pm-must-come-clean-on-his-role-in-the-gambler-visa-deal.htm
Looking forward to a progressive party in the House to pledge a reversal of the policy for CSA frequent fliers. Might Labour have the guts?
How low can you go?
Clearly the unTRUTH and the NBR are just trying to be controversial in order to gain readership by exploiting the death of Greg King. What a bunch of cretins!
Dude, you need to put a warning about that picture, esp this early in the day.
:-D, Great article Jackal
That line from the “Fly” come to mind ….
“Help Me , Help Me , ….”
LOL Thanks PlanetOrphan, must watch that movie again sometime.
Government needs skin in the game, a deposit guarentee
scheme on savings, basically insurance paid by banks
and other institutions would expose quickly those not
paying and so those running ponsi type schemes, with
the additional incentive that government has justification
for investigation. But National ended the deposit guarentee
by allowing South Canterbury Finance into the scheme and
not doing due diligence, win-win for crooks,
well National don’t believe in
due diligence, the market will do provide that. The
cult of no governance keeps on giving, Pike river, CTV,
SCF, but not Env.Canterbury funny enough, or alledgely fast
tracking Chinese criminals to launder money. And
wait up, why are australian banks deposits guarenteed but
not NZ ones, surely aligning with Australia to remove
inhibitors to businessness is a National policy???
Wonder what Australian regulators have to say about the
ametaur NZ banking system. We don;t need world standards,
rich successful kiwis never make their money criminally,
happens all over the world but not in NZ. Why is parliament
filled with cretins? The senatoral chamber keeps on doing this,
flash new regulation rammed into law that saves business
costs (usually not actively wanted by business) and neo-liberalism
neo-conservatism gets another victory for small incompete
government.
We cannot afford a DGS, WTF, we cannot NOT afford to protect
investors who have been hoodwinked. BUT WAIT, its worse, Key
promised to clear up the financial industry, that’s why the story
comes out on a friday, to protect Key. Key lost a billion in SCF,
then removed the incentive for government to stop further fraud.
We need to defeat the GERM:
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/the-germ-is-infecting-our-schools.html
Roll out the vaccines. GERM is insidious and so destructive. A great article Dave.
People who have the interests of kids must read.
Listening to the Dunedin Mayor this morning on the subject of the loss of Hillside engineering was like listening to a NACT robot. He was only interested in fending off Claire Curran.
There was talk about the NZ price for engineering work for Kiwirail being 25% higher than the alternative. No business could ignore that so we had to go with the cheapest – mantra!
When will the effect on our overseas reserves be taken into account. We have to borrow overseas to get the currency to pay for these overseas purchases. That in turn puts us further into hock as a country. What effect does that have on our exchange rate? Someone here will know and might find the time to explain. And in the meantime we are languishing with no jobs and declining business and rising unemployment. Dunedin could do with the money from building that NZrail stock, AND the onflow of spending to the community generally termed the multiplier effect.
The multiplier effect is what grows an economy.
The dry explanation – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplier_(economics)
also http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-expenditure-multiplier.htm
for ‘deep throat’ there is an interview hour on the subject through here http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2011/10/ramey_on_stimul.html
This Canadian link faulting austerity is interesting. http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/10/multiplying-mistakes-tallying-economic-costs-austerity
And the thing is that if the price difference was only 25% more expensive for NZ made then it is a false saving to manufacture offshore. The government would easily recoup that cost from the tax take of the workers and suppliers not to mention the obvious cost savings of having those people in the workforce as opposed to on a potential benefit..
False economy and completely disingenuous when solely the up front cost is considered.. What about the overall TCO?
thatguynz
Yes why can’t we have that sort of wide economic thinking instead of being a vulture shopper seeking the cheapest.
Friday on my mind Listen – get tapping http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSowZcvoqr4
Yes indeed prism, from the “Easybeats” one notes!
Dr Terry
Yes. Lots of notes!
I notice that on the feed column, there is a link to Ruth Dyson release decrying the fact that democracy in Canterbury is poked. I agree with her sentiments. But didn’t Labour vote in favour of giving Gerry Brownlie extra-ordinary powers and wasn’t it Gerry Brownlie who used those powers to replace the elected Regional Council with appointees?
Apologies if I’m remembering this incorrectly. Otherwise, shameful hypocrisy and selective memory or tacit admission of stupidity on the part of Labour.
Bill
You must learn to live in the now! What we said before is well, before. This is now and if you don’t like these principles.. well we’ve got other ones.
Michael Laws: neither fair nor balanced
Radio Live, Friday 16 November 2012
Today, it’s not the “ferals” of the poorest suburbs in Whanganui and Hastings that are the object of Michael Laws’ snarling contempt. Overnight, Israel has stepped up its ongoing brutalisation of Gaza, so it’s incumbent on all unconditional supporters of Israel to express their undying love for the Holy State.
Not all his listeners are as ready to uncritically accept what they are told in the mainstream news broadcasts. A young man called Aidan rings up Laws to remonstrate….
AIDAN: You are siding with the oppressors.
LAWS: No they’re not. They are not the oppressors.
AIDAN: Palestinians in Israel are discriminated agai—
LAWS: Listen Aidan. Listen to me, otherwise I’ll think you’re mad. Israel started in 1948 as a Jewish state. [A long, wandery and incoherent rehash of Israeli propaganda follows.] Anyway, coming up after the news, I’ll be speaking to an EXPERT on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
…11 a.m. NEWS…
LAWS: This latest middle eastern, ahhhh, flashpoint. Joining us to give us a bit of a background to all this is Professor William Harris, from the Political Studies department at Otago University. Bill, this current conflict, with the Israelis firing back at the Palestinians… My understanding is that the Palestinians are bitterly divided between Hamas and Fatah. Is that right?
PROFESSOR HARRIS: That is right. In fact they may even be divided more than that. Since their last big operation in 2008-9, things have been desultory.
LAWS: From an outsider’s perspective it makes no sense. Why would Hamas fire rockets at Israel?
HARRIS: Yes but Gaza has been under a tight siege.
LAWS: Yes but hasn’t Egypt been a part of that siege too?
HARRIS: Egypt wants to be a mediator too.
LAWS: When the U.N. created Israel in 1948, did they create a Palestinian state as well?
In the face of such profound ignorance, Professor Harris managed to politely start educating the host, but this will be an ongoing project. Laws, who clearly knows hardly anything about the situation and has made no effort to do any reading about it, listened politely and asked reasonably intelligent questions.
Encouragingly, Laws indicated that Professor Harris will be coming back on the programme again, so at least someone with a bit of knowledge will occasionally get a hearing.
If Israel had a food for orphans of Gaza programme then I might have some time for them.
The blockade on Gaza has been running for how long ?
And Israel says it’s the Orphans that started it by firing rockets at them?
Who instigated the Blockade then, Let alone enforced it with “Diplomacy” ?
Let them build their Muslim Mosques/Temples I say.
And Israel says it’s the Orphans that started it by firing rockets at them?
That’s exactly the message spouted by the BBC, Radio New Zealand, NewstalkZB, Radio Live, Television One and TV3. Nearly all of these broadcasters actually used Netanyahu’s fantastical and dishonest words—that Israelis “live under a constant barrage of rockets and missile fire”—and passed it off as their own copywriting.
Who instigated the Blockade then, Let alone enforced it with “Diplomacy”?
Israel instigated it, with the full support of its sponsor, the United States.
Morrissey
Let’s face it Netanyahu is a General and he’s getting old. There’s probably an urgent desire on the part of all old generals to do something vital before they die. Look at the USA ones! And the Israeli just wants to keep the pot boiling and the huge armament supplies and business flooding in.
And the Israelis have set up a political system that allows political power to those who have military power, so they are in permanent war mode. And they haven’t thought out the difficulties even impossibilities, of allowing any and all Jewish believers and sects to flourish. Now in the country they have their own version of the Taliban trying to drag them back into ancient times and sharia-type rules.
And the Palestinians are so bloody irritating with their persistence about their land rights and harrassing and threatening Israel with their armaments and their tunnels and their inadequate leadership that matches Israel’s. And they won’t say that Israel is legit.
So the score of death was three Israelis and fifteen West Bank. Some in Israel would think that’s too low a currency. The going rate has been far higher than that. For every one Israeli killed, it is about 30 Palestinians or perhaps down to 10 but also an olive grove, a strategic building and at least five houses demolished. Israel is mighty and will defend and punish.
And while this country of intelligent, so-called civilised people carries on like this, creating hatred and defiance and suspicion amongst the Palestinians who retaliate in a similar byzantine manner they stoke the fire of contempt and anger amongst a vast population of young men who are ready and willing to attack anyone, given enough encouragement by their holy ones. And we all feel it. If in the back of their minds Israelis are thinking that we deserve it after all they suffered down the centuries and in Nazi Germany, if they don’t make firm moves to peace and demand civil compensation for breaches, if there is some sort of positive outcome for them, it will be a pyrrhic victory.
Obama has spoken to Netanyahu by ‘phone, encouraging him to step up the brutal assault on Gaza. How many Israelis were casualties? Count them on one hand. As usual we behold the massive over-retaliation.
Or another plan would be if the palestinians stopped firing rockets into Israel and killing Israeli civilians. Shocking idea. Wash your mouth out.
Nah, that’s a good idea OneTrack…but the problem is you said into Israel when you really meant to say into Palestinian land that is occupied by Israel
If Israel moves back to where they should be then the Palestinian rockets might stop…or they can just carry on like this for a couple more decades at most, until the USA can no longer protect Israel, and then we’ll see the brutal end of Israel from all their neighbours…that’s gonna be nasty
Something calling itself “OneTrack” is hopelessly confused.
…another plan would be if the palestinians stopped firing rockets into Israel and killing Israeli civilians.
The ignoramus has confused the Occupied Territories for Israel. Has this poor fool ever wondered why a few Palestinians are firing rockets into illegal settlements? Of course not. It doesn’t know what it’s talking about.
Morisey
This quote seems to apply to Michael Laws discourse – from a past Standard comment. From Monty Python – John Cleese et al.
Nicely put, my friend.
Gerrymandering:
“So how did Republicans keep their House majority despite more Americans voting for the other party—something that has only happened three times in the last hundred years, according to political analyst Richard Winger? Because they drew the lines. ”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/republicans-gerrymandering-house-representatives-election-chart
Gallup attacks Nate Silver.
“It is impossible to read this as anything other than an attack on Nate Silver, who is by far the most prominent aggregator and analyzer of others’ polls currently operating today. And it simply reeks of sour grapes. During the campaign year, Silver consistently pointed out that Gallup’s results were oddly inconsistent with what other pollsters were finding. And he was right — Gallup got it wrong. It is not inappropriate to point that out. But Gallup presumes too much when it effectively threatens to take its surveys home and just stop playing.”
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/13/gallup_is_very_upset_at_nate_silver/
You can’t “Mimick” genius.
If everyone started/tried to emulate Nate they’d be turfed out for being wrong all the time M8!
😈
And futhermore, he’d just start his own polls surely? …. same data folks!
Shearer’s critics are blogs aligned to the National Party, apparently …
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/121016/labour-conference-to-begin-amidst-attacks-on-shearer
So, those National blogs and bloggers …
Brian Edwards. Dim-Post. Imperator Fish. QoT. Giovanni Tiso. Chris Trotter. No Right Turn. Tapu Misa. Probably more I’ve missed. And of course, several on the Standard.
Meanwhile, defending Shearer, those trusted Labour allies …
Fran O’Sullivan. Richard Long (Don Brash’s guy). A Facebook page set up by Nats. Others?
Black is white. White is black.
Did I really hear Shearer waxing about future input from ‘the grassroots’? Nah. Couldn’t be. They be utterly dismissable people who spray paint their curtains a dark colour and won’t tell anyone what their name is. (apparently)
And was that Goff praying or saying that ‘everyone’ (ie, caucus) was solidly behind Shearer while dismissing the Party’s grasroot sentiments as National Party tosh? (Headsup to Ph.Goff. – Nobody claimed there was a challenge from within caucus. ‘Everybody’ claimed they are right pissed off and disillusioned.)
Goff should count himself lucky to date for not been subject to the bright light of scrutiny about parachuting Shearer into a safe Labour seat, indeed the seat that the former three-term Prime Minister had just vacated.
There were other very obvious more deserving candidates then.
We have always been at war with Eurasia.
Rioting in Europe. People are angry and desperate. The leaders are themselves sitting on the golden egg. They had Faberge eggs in Russia before the revolution. Will there have to be another revolution, another war. because the dangerous playboys and autocratic men and women at the top have too little head space for brain?
Terry Pratchett’s character in the Discworld, Havelock Vetinari, Lord Vetinari, Patrician of Ankh-Morpork is a schemer but he does ensure that the place keeps going. He thinks his way past others who have aspirations. He allows for known moral problems, there is an Assassins Guild, a Thieves Guild, etc and they have stern standards to adhere to. Perhaps we need more honesty and less of the greasy promisers that slide away when there’s trouble.
Some clips of the punishment that the rulers of European countries are dealing out on the people they are supposed to be serving. Hah! Some hints – not sure of content. http://mlcastle.net/raisethefist/tactics.html
Spain –
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/nov/14/eurozone-crisis-general-strikes-protest-day-of-action 14/11/12
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/29/spain-riot-police 29/9/12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaIrRU8p6FM 27/5/2011
(Comment under – Is it in a cops genes to be degenerate scum or do they just become that way?)
Greece limited level of confrontation while German delegation was visiting.
http://www.dw.de/greek-protesters-attack-german-official/a-16381676
Why is that Bomber thinks he can lie so openly and still taken seriously?
http://tumeke.blogspot.co.nz/2012/11/the-problem-for-climate-deniers-like.html
“The reason climate deniers like Slater and Farrar keep the spin lies going is because for them, it’s a cultural war. Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat because it forces them to reflect upon the free market they slavishly worship.”
Ok…..What say you Farrar?
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2012/07/climate_data.html
“…what my view is, that there is global warming, and human activity is causing it, but that the extent of the warming is debatable and not as large as originally projected.”
So Farrar may disagree with the extent but he quite clearly states he believes it is happening and that humans cause it.
Where is the integrity?
There’s just no respect any more. Won’t someone think of the children?
No, Felix, don’t despair. At least we have each other
Does anybody think of the children? Most certainly not the Nat’s who in effect voted in favour of their remaining in poverty.
Oooh sarcy.
Yeah, I’d say that was Farrar being a denier as the science clearly shows that the original projections were far below what’s actually happening.
Well you can quibble over who believes what extent (I disagree with Farrar myself) but the fact remains that ” Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat ” is an utter falsehood. Provably so. A quick search of Kiwiblog has Farrar saying, many times, I believe in climate change and humans are causing it.
It lacks integrity.
I agree with you.
I often correct things or quibble over what others see as minor points and many probably think me a pedant, but IMO it’s important to get things correct, and when an error is pointed out to you, admit it.
Indeed, I pointed it out on Tumeke some hours ago but not only has the article not changed but my comment never made it out of moderation.
To me that is somewhat dishonest if not outright lying
it may still come through, or they may change the article…Tumeke’s moderation can take up to a day or so sometimes, that’s why I never post there anymore. And Bomber rarely interacts with the comments
The comment that is currently on the article was approved sometime after I sent mine.
looks like you’ve been ignored then. Its not really a site for discussion, just a place to go to read bomber’s thoughts…shame really, more of an online magazine because there is no interaction. Its gotten to the point where you not only know what topics are going to be posted on that blog, but also what is going to be said. Then again, that’s true for almost all blogs to a degree.
It could be better but I guess they are busy. Citizen A and the Union Report are worth a watch though…they’re the only TV shows I bother watching
I’m not worried about being personally ignored but it goes further to my opinion of Bomber being dishonest, disingenuous and focused purely on his own positions at the expense of honesty.
The left-wing answer to Cam Sater.
yeah, maybe, or maybe you have taken his words too strongly?…and it depends how you read what Farrar wrote, his last 7 words is what bomber is questioning – and not as large as originally projected That kind of statement leaves most readers thinking that climate change is questionable…check the comments on the post to see how Farrar’s post leads to heavy denial.
Bomber claims that Slater and Farrar are people who try to suggest that human pollution isn’t warming the planet and then says Muddy the waters on the science (there is no direct link between smoking and cancer) and keep repeating that position so people don’t think the science is as settled as it actually is.
Bomber uses the words try to suggest and muddy the waters …hardly claiming that Slater and Farrar flatly deny that warming is not occurring…
And lastly, Bomber uses the term climate deniers…that’s a vague term in itself…does it mean that they deny climate is changing, does it mean that they deny climate change is caused mainly by humans…or does it mean that they deny climate change is caused solely by humans?
Basically, Bomber is as vague as Farrar…and the other hand, Slater is in a league of his own.
I both agree and disagree (who said I’m unbalanced?).
Literally yes, Farrar acknowledges AGC. But he does minimise it and its significance in the quote TC pasted.
BUT I’m not so sure that denying AGC is different in any practical sense from denying its significance. The ship still sinks while Farrar et al argue that it’s just normal rain which has never been a problem before, or that there is a hole but it’s really not letting in as much water as alarmists suggest.
Oh, semantically they are distinct statements and Bomber should be more accurate, but in the practical world Farrar is firmly in the “fuck the planet, my paymasters are okay” camp: the same side as Monckton etc.
Indeed but Bombers post isn’t about Farrar minimizing the effect of AGW (which would be the honest position) but about Farrar expressly denying it to the point of:
“Slater and Farrar can not ever agree that human pollution is causing the planet to heat” when Farrar explicitly states many times, he believes it is caused by humans.
It isn’t just right-wingers that omit facts and/or lie which is what bothers me about Bomber. He gets so barking mad at others for their lies and omissions but then proves himself to be no better.
Farrar doesn’t believe AGC is as significant as the [under]estimates predicted.
You’re getting worked up and throwing words like “integrity” around over the semantic difference between “does not affect” and “does not significantly affect”.
And quite frankly, the difference between:
1) an AGC denier; and
2) an AGC minimiser
is much less significant than the difference between:
3) someone who confuses 1 and 2; and
4) someone who is 1 or 2.
But Bomber gets your nuts in a knot. Have fun with that.
Thanks buddy.
You’ve made 9 comments on the earth-shattering issue that Bomber’s blog omits the word “significant”.
Just saying.
Dude states the Farrar can’t ever admit the humans are causing global warm when he specifically does several times. Its dishonest.
But whatever man, I’m just pointing out that Bomber is the left’s Cam Slater in this respect.
Anyway, time to go get drunk
Where shall we look for integrity Top Cat? (compliment intended)
I think Farrar’s position lacks integrity. He’s saying that the science is correct and incorrect at the same time. He’s trying to say well, yes, AGW is happening but we don’t have to do anything about it. Which is a position of denial.
Well, whatever you think Farrar thinks the extent is he does not deny climate change is happening and that humans are causing it which is Bombers incorrect assertion. The honest position is that Farrar denies the extent of the damage being done, not that Farrar denies any damage in the first place.
It’s also a change in tune, with David Farrar often posting climate change denial rubbish. I guess he might have just woken up for a little while in the face of reality, but is still sleepily not really acknowledging the extent of the problem.
You can’t ignore the fact that Farrar makes a number of arguments in favour of the fossil fuel industry and posts articles that try to deny climate change exists just because of one example TC. It’s the overall denying that Bomber is responding to, which makes his argument justified.
There are a large number of posts on Kiwiblog in which Farrar mentions his belief in AGW
I suggest you go and argue with him about those contradictions TC.
I really don’t know if I should laugh or cry as the normal lies about banking are spread through the nation.
If we ‘save money’ under the present system we actually run out of money and the economy would grind to a halt as the only thing that would be left would be the debt caused by the private banks charging interest on money they created.
It is with regret that I have found confirmation that the comments on this site and forum are largely “navel gazing” types of comments, but the threads for discussion basically enforce this.
Now we have the prospect of full blown, wider, escalating war in the Middle East, and here most are pre-occupied with a “Labour Conference”, which is likely to result in a kind of scenario, similar to the majority votes in former Eastern Bloc ruling parties.
No way will anyone seriously challenge the leadership, and the mostly aged members will cast their votes and utter their support in old, stubborn fashion. There may be a bit of dissent and criticism, but I expect little.
So it is time to move on, and to establish a NEW party on the left, that is inclusive, also stops the divisiveness amongst many activist groups I know, which is more like a “social scene” for some, to battle it out amongst each other. Unity is a distant goal or rather dream, it sometimes seems.
Now why not bear a thought tonight also about what the hell goes on in Gaza and Palestine?
Does anybody give a damn in NZ? I am sure some do, but it is far too few.
Let the Middle East explode, I say, clear the air, let off steam perhaps, fight it out, which will never be cleared and sorted with bogey attempts to negotiate what is not negotiable.
This attack by Israeli forces was well calculated, it happened just before an election, and again, it is the right wing, nationalistic Likud, who started this on purpose. They want to create war to get a “crisis” feeling, so Israelis feel afraid and vote for them. It has worked too many times, and it is tried again.
The usual blame game goes on. Hamas and their supporters are all terrorists, that is the accusation, so we must march in and sort this out, is the addition.
This time though, it may lead to more, and Israelis should be bloody worried, as this may end the existence of this state, which was created in the early post war years, under support by powers, who were still “enjoying” their last years of “colonial dominance” of the world. They did contribute to the creation of the state of Israel, which is a state based on race interests and dominance, and they would not know, that colonialism was to end soon.
So let us see, whether the last remnant of a kind of neo-colonialist state of Zionists will survive, or whether jews will return to the diaspora, or at least learn to live with the natives of centuries of that land, in peace, and to share the land and interest.
I wonder whether anyone here grasps the significance?!
Labour is getting its own house in order before going off on tangents and pontificating about foreign policy
Yes, xtasy there is a lot more risk this time around for Israel.
I find it impossible to reconcile what Israel is doing to the Palestinians in Gaza given their own experience. For as long as they imprison Palestinians, deny a diplomatic solution and sporadically invade, there will be no resolution of this.
The way I see it, sadly, is that from my safe little home there is not an effective thing I can do about this except make my express my opinions to those who support Israeli action and ask our U.S-aligned government to express support for Palestinian aspirations… and our government is not going to do that anytime soon.
The only people who can stop the war in the Middle East is the people in the ME. But, as you point out, there’s some people who don’t want to stop the war and they’re the people in power and they don’t want to stop the war because it keeps them in power.
The Aliyah movement shows the nationalistic side to Israel, which is dominated by the settler movement, and who believe totally in the whole land, also the West Bank and Gaza, to be JEWISH land, that is theirs, and there to be taken and kept forever, as part of the promised land, that they believe God gave them!
http://aliyahmagazine.com/
The Jerusalem Post is the conservative leading paper and written media in Israel, and it also has strong ties with the Aliyah and Likud.
http://www.jpost.com/
Hamas to them are terrorists, and their supports and voters as well. Hence the hard line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliyah
The plan of the Aliyah movement, supported by the state of Israel, is to bring as many settlers of Jewish origin into the country, to strengthen the homeland character and solidarity, and to populate the land they believe is theirs.
The Israeli Defence Force and Likud also believe, that the West Bank can never be surrendered to Palestinian rule, as the control of it is essential to Israeli security.
Now this is important stuff, and it highly strategic a situation, so I wonder, where blase NZers stand on this all?!
HISTORY of revolution:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INTjCj3Ogas&feature=autoplay&list=PL1A5ED140FA0C7550&playnext=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INTjCj3Ogas&feature=autoplay&list=PL1A5ED140FA0C7550&playnext=2
Better shut up now, as I do not want to upset soft lefties with too radical info and material. I have a library full of stuff, and I suggest to everyone, study, study, study, learn, learn and learn and get real about what goes on. Sadly this country is run by idiots, sadly largely for idiots. If you want to save your country, take a damned bloody stand! That is for ALL Nzers.
Xtasy – The reason most in NZ, even those who do pay some interest, focus on local issues is because they feel there is some degree of input they can have which might one day, lead to directional change.
Sadly this is not going to happen, and there are much closer links between the ME situation, and NZ than people would like to accept. NZ is simply an extension of the powers who control “the west”, dicate wars, and control right down to the local “clubs”
NZ is rooted because the peoople have become fat, lazy, stupid and complicit!