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!
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I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
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 ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The people have spoken, in their hundreds. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton has been overwhelmingly voted the favourite New Zealand book of 2023 as nominated by ReadingRoom readers. The vote can informally be regarded as the People’s Choice award – ahead of tonight’s Ockham book awards, where Catton’s novel is competing ...
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What happens when cash is king – and then your bank leaves. A businessman in a town that hasn’t had a bank for three years says the Reserve Bank’s plans to put more cash in the hands of its people and introduce digital cash could save hours of time. John ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne For many reasons, the 2024 US presidential election will be like no other. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign is unprecedented. Never before has a former president who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrissy Severinsen, Associate Professor in Public Health, Massey University Getty Images Becoming a mother is a significant identity shift, and many new mums struggle. Up to 18% of New Zealand mothers experience depression and anxiety after giving birth. The first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Teo, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of Southern Queensland ABC Much has been written and produced about white men’s fetishisation of Asian women (crudely nicknamed “yellow fever”). The ABC’s comedy series White Fever breaks new ground by exploring an ...
The children’s minister could have been legally brought before the tribunal after all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The end of ...
Seen comments on social media about eating bugs? Byron Clark explains the short history of our latest conspiracy. “No, Bill Gates nor Klaus Schwab has not funded the research done here,” reads an August 2023 Facebook post from Otago Locusts, the first farm in Aotearoa rearing insects for human consumption. ...
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More than 160 languages are spoken in New Zealand. Week-long events celebrate the unique languages heard across the country, and this week the focus is on the Rotuman language. According to Unesco, the Rotuman language is listed as endangered along with four other Pacific languages – Tokelauan, Niuean, Cook Islands ...
China’s massive military buildup and aggressive actions in the South China Sea are creating “volatility” that the controversial Aukus pact can help counter, the UK’s top diplomat in New Zealand says. British High Commissioner Iona Thomas will deliver a speech to the NZ Institute of International Affairs on Tuesday evening, ...
Remediating Mt Ruapehu if things go pear-shaped could cost more than $80m – and the new operators aren’t on the hook for any of it The post DoC responsible for $87.5m Ruapehu remediation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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
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!