Terrorist ‘mastermind’ turns out to be Belgian, Syrian passports are fake, so maybe France should start a bombing run on Belgium. What a mess. Over 100 ppl detained, it does make you wonder WTF the spies watching our online activity do all day, too much time sniffing ppls undies drawers is my guess.
Here’s a little thought experiment: imagine that we’re in Kansas (without Toto) and a bridal party in three rented limos is heading down a highway toward a church where a wedding is about to take place. Suddenly, a small out-of-control plane plummets into those limos killing the bride, the mother of the bride, and five of the seven bridesmaids; 15 others are wounded. Bear with me here, if this particular method of wedding slaughter seems a little farfetched. After all, we don’t (yet) have drones armed with Hellfire missiles patrolling American skies that could take out such a caravan. ….
Genuinely, I have no decent thought on the middle east troubles..
They have arisen due to a confluence of human migrations out of Africa and settlements in those once fertile lands. Such were these circumstances that civilisation actually sprouted there.
These communities have existed for a very long time – in fact longer than any other on the planet currently, due to their proximity to Africa.. which has made them central to the world’s order
But the world and its demographics and migrations have now moved on very substantially from those times and that part of the world is no longer central to the world’s order (other than historic hangover and the current presence of oil – which, in a practical sense, keeps them central to order. But this is passing)
About 5,000 years of them being central to the world.
Just to put that in context, Australian aboriginal cultures have existed for 50,000 years.
On the Eurasian continent, 5,000 years happens to coincide with the general shift from egalitarian culture to dominance culture. There are various theories around that related to the development of agriculture over since 10,000 years ago, but I think that’s as much an accident of geography as anything (the right coinciding of population with fertile land).
As for the world’s order, I don’t see any of the developped world being particularly good at that. Bunch of self-serving warmongers the lot of them.
If someone was killing in the name of my god I would expect my god to act to stop them,if he/she /it didn’t act I would throw that god on the heap with other stupid beliefs I’ve had.
He came across as a legend in his own mind, actually quite a blow arse nutter. Not much of a hunter gatherer taking 5 shots to nail a couple of deer in a fenced paddock. Be an even match in the boxing ring with his mate Slater. Certainly looks like he will help Twyford win his seat with ease, $150 paid to turn Maori voters off Labour was a laugh.
And along with “a legend in his own mind” I quite like “blow arse nutter”. Sums it up really. He’s like the playground bully that grew up and is still a bully, but has no mates. Nothing but a gloating idiot.
If he appeared on the show because he was touting for business as Garner suggested, then he did a great job of shooting himself in the foot – or maybe he genuinely believes that everyone is as corrupted and vicious as he is, and that he might reach that target audience and drum up some business.
On one of the posts somewhere, over the weekend, there was a character called cowboy (I think) who talked about why he isn’t renewing his National Party membership, and how Key’s outburst in the house was the last straw that pushed him to that decision. It was an insightful read, and an honest one from a former Nat supporter.
I reckon there’s lots more like cowboy, conservative, traditional, yet principled, quietly turning away from their party. I look at how my family, a true blue one, just can’t defend Key like they used to. These can’t be the ones that Roy Morgan interviews.
Bringing Simon Lusk out for an airing was a good thing. He’ll drive those principled former Nat voters into the arms of NZ First.
” or maybe he genuinely believes that everyone is as corrupted and vicious as he is, and that he might reach that target audience and drum up some business.”
^^
This. Which also says a lot about the people who associate with him.
If there really is a cabal of recent immigrants putting money up to do a hatchet job on a democraticly elected MP ( Phil Twyford ) that’s all the reason required for the arseholes to be escorted to the border and thrown out.
Where the fuck are the Police ?
probably scared of Lusk.
@Anne – The police are being good neoliberal citizens and giving out traffic tickets of course. You have to fund and justify your own job and existence these days. (in money).
Solving crime is way down the list for police, first being errand boys for Slater and Key, second locking up people that disagree with the above, thirdly under globalism we have ‘overseas friends’ to do the above to, and fourthly gather revenue to keep the above going by issuing traffic fines. Waste your time locking up people who should not be in prison because mental health facilities are closing, homeless facilities are closing, and drug facilities are closing. If there are any resources left – you can do a bit of solving crime in your spare time.
Such old fashioned Liberalism Tracey. Refreshing but so rare these days in the political circles you tend to identify with.
Ask Colonial Viper how it works.
The first thing needed would be to ratify the Kurdish state and enrol them into Nato, this will require some diplomacy on the part of the West in regards to Turkey however its an autonamous state at the moment (more or less) so its not like creating a brand new country
Once this has happened it will be much easier for troops to get on the ground because while you can’t eradicate terrorism (and you never will) ISIS at least has a physical area to target and destroying their infrastructure won’t end them but it will certainly make it harder for them to operate overseas
It’sa good start. And pile billions into the region to establish their infrastructure, and create employment and futures. Without a future people do desperate things or become victims of those doing desperate things. If we took even half the money being used on military offensives and put it into devleopment of countries infrastructures and futures… we might just surprise ourselves.
This can be done concurrently and would certainly be my first choice (if money and political machinations were under my control) but you need the defences and troops on the ground before you build the infrastructure
I agree, would be good. Dunno about NATO though, mainly coz I dunno if the kurds would be interested, we’d have to do what they want to do.
And yeah, the Turks. But also Iran and Iraq. At the moment thngs are fairly cool between the Kurds and Baghdad, but that’s only coz of ISIS. Baghdad isn’t really that keen on letting the Kurds have Kirkuk, though there is not much they can do about it at the moment. Thos there have been incidents between Shia militia and peshmerga forces.
the problem is that our allies have competing interests and we keep ignoring those interests, which is why I think things will carry on as they are until we get reps from all communities (not nations, and I’m explicitly including the Iraqi Sunni in this, they need reps distinct from Baghdad) around a table and work out what the end game looks like.
I wonder if the current leaders of the West have the courage to be what needs to be done in this current situation
I don’t think they do
I think what will happen is some people will tweet prayfor paris, some people will add a tricolour to their facebook pics and in a couple of weeks it’ll all blow over
You’re probably right: they need to stand up to insane racist wingnuts, call an end to useless vengeance fantasies, prosecute war criminals, and stop the mass murder of innocent Muslims, but Donald Trump will say nasty things about them.
” they need to stand up to insane racist wingnuts, call an end to useless vengeance fantasies, prosecute war criminals, and stop the mass murder of innocent Muslims,”
Wow four things about which one can only say.
Every one of these is an ISIL policy.
I wouldn’t hold them responsible for the last bit where you say “but Donald Trump will say nasty things about them”. He will say nasty things about ISIL but I wouldn’t hold anyone except Trump responsible for his views.
Any lasting solution will not be the result of anglophile intervention using tools such as NATO and debt
As long as the ‘western way of life’ continues to be regarded as something other than the corporate destruction that it is, we have NO business in believing we can offer anything but the same , elsewhere
that may well be but it doesn’t change the fact that terrorist attacks are happening more frequently and its only a matter of time before it happens here
Wow, you really keep up with the news don’t you?
One happened in 1984 and the other in 1985. Thirty years ago and nothing since?
Even then no one has ever found out who carried out the first one so it is difficult to really claim it as terrorism isn’t it?
interesting idea, that terrorism is only terrorism if the perpetrators are known.
What are you trying to do – pretend that NZers have never experienced terrorism? Fuck, my local campus was deserted a few weeks back because people were expecting some nutter with a gun.
No, actually.
I am merely saying that in the Trades Hall bombing we have no real idea of why someone did it. It could have been for any reason at all.
We have had a number of cases of terrorism. One was the anarchist nut who tried to blow up the Wanganui Computer Centre in 1982.
After the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, on 10 July 1985, Prime Minister Fabius summoned journalists to his office on 22 September 1985 to read a 200-word statement in which he said: “The truth is cruel,” and acknowledged that “Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders.”…
On 17 May 2012, Laurent Fabius became Foreign Minister in the government of Jean-Marc Ayrault, appointed Prime Minister by President François Hollande.
Hopefully age and experience has brought some wisdom.
Claire Trevett has an article in the Remuera National Party Newsletter about how the Labour Party is running at a deficit and therefore can’t criticise the Government for running a deficit. Clutching at straws imho
Can’t convince an electorate to vote for him but expects the country to vote for him, can’t fund raise and run a political party but expects to be able to run an economy
Wtf are you on about? The article said that Labour had unforeseen costs over and above their normal (and budgeted) expenses, such as the leadership changes. That’s what cash reserves are for, to cover unexpected bills. When times are rosy they’ll no doubt build up the reserves again.
In Paris in 1961, Paris police killed 300 peaceful protestors
and then dumped their bodies into the River Seine.
Since the atrocities in Paris on Saturday, we have been inundated with a flood of sanctimonious words, hypocritical posturing, official lies and distortions, accompanied often by mournful assertions that “the world has changed forever”. But one of the most cynical lies repeated over the last couple of days is the contention by French politicians, assiduously reiterated by the media, that Saturday’s horror was “the deadliest violence on its soil since World War II”.
In fact, it wasn’t even close to the deadliest violence on French soil since World War II. That dubious honour belongs not to ISIS, but to the French state…..
France remembers Algerian massacre 50 years on
by KIM WILLSHER in Paris, The Guardian, Monday 17 October 2011
Politicians, historians and protesters gathered in Paris to mark the 50th anniversary of a police crackdown on Algerian anti-war demonstrators that has become one of the most shameful episodes of modern French history.
The events of 17 October 1961 are considered a massacre by many Algerians, who claim up to 300 members of their community died at the hands of the Paris police. Many are angry that the French government has never officially apologised for the bloody attack – which does not appear in school history books – and that the authorities still dispute the death toll. According to officials, less than a handful of protesters died, while historians say the number of Algerians killed – some of them beaten and thrown into the river Seine – was between 50 and 120.
On Monday, François Hollande chose to mark the tragedy as his first official engagement as the newly elected Socialist party presidential candidate. Hollande, named as the Socialists’ choice to take on Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential elections barely 12 hours earlier, on Monday threw a single red rose into the Seine from the bridge at Clichy, the suburb where many of the victims lived.
Afterwards he unveiled a plaque engraved with: “From this bridge and other bridges in the Paris region, Algerian demonstrators were thrown into the Seine on the 17 October 1961, victims of a blind repression. In their memory.” Benjamin Stora, a local resident and specialist in Algerian history, said it was a first step towards “recognising one of the biggest French tragedies”.
Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris who was born in Tunisia, another former French colony, placed a wreath at the St Michel bridge where there is a plaque marking what his office described as a “bloody repression”.
On the evening of 17 October 1961, at the height of the Franco-Algerian war, tens of thousands of Algerian protesters, including women and children, from around Paris gathered at various landmarks to demonstrate against what they considered a “racist and discriminatory” curfew imposed against them. The mobilisation had been organised by the Paris wing of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), an organisation that was fighting for Algeria’s independence from France and had been accused of carrying out attacks on Paris police that left a dozen dead.
It was intended to be a peaceful demonstration, but Maurice Papon, the Paris police chief, ordered his officers to stamp out the protests. As the Algerians gathered, the police acted swiftly and brutally, firing on protesters and arresting an estimated 11,500 who were herded on to buses and taken to makeshift detention centres where many claimed they were beaten and held for days without food.
Claims that officers had beaten protesters and dumped them into the Seine appeared to be confirmed when bodies were washed up on the banks of the river.
John Key demonstrates – predictably – cultural ignorance of the country which he represents in his glib response to question regarding the return of soldiers who died in Malaysia and Vietnam: :Kiwi soldiers will remain buried in Malaysia – John Key
It’s been one of my favourites this year. Its’ quite sinister and has some depth to it. The theme is manufactured societies and the authoritarian drive to compel citizens to conform, or else. A good steady plot with some interesting surprises. Melissa Leo’s performance (from Treme) was fantastic.
ALGARY – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government is following through on an election promise to ban crude oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia
He sounded as if he hadn’t sobered up yet from last night’s binge.
The interviewer, who usually tries very hard to make him sound as if he had at least a room temperature IQ, finally seemed to give up. Trying to make him sound sensible simply proved to be impossible.
Part of his premise seemed to be that since the Iraqi Army wasn’t currently very good we shouldn’t try and improve their performance by training them.
I wonder if he plans to do something similar here, perhaps in education?
“I’m sorry Mrs Jones. Your son Johnny isn’t able to read very well so we have decided not to try and help him. We think he should just be dumped on the educational scrapheap”.
Last week on the radio, Wellington’s “Green” Mayor defended WCC’s right to let a council venue, the TSB Arena, out for hire for the defence industry conference. She was labelled by the DJ as a hypocrite for previously referring to herself as a pacifist.
Well, I hope CeCe is paying attention now. Not only does hiring a council venue out for a warmongers conference look bad, and is morally questionable it brings avoidable tension to the city that the WCC are linked with because it’s their venue.
I agree, letting council venues to warmongers is bizarre.
Is she a Green mayor?
She is the second mayor of a major New Zealand city to be a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, after Dunedin’s Sukhi Turner, but she stood as an independent candidate.
“Green Mayor” is more a colloquial term than anything but locals are familiar with her Green Party connections. From your link, under the heading Wellington mayoral campaign 2013 is this:
“Celia Wade-Brown – The incumbent since 2010, she has served as a Southern Ward councillor. She stood for the Green Party for Parliament in 1996 (under the Alliance banner), 1999 and 2002.”
What I find odd about her personal view of it being ok to hire out a council venue to the warmongers conference (and I do mean personal as she’s not the ones taking the venue bookings) is that I have heard her anti war views during the public celebrations for 30 years of Wellington being nuclear free. She spoke with real pride about how we were the first city in NZ to go nuclear free and gave a rousing speech about the importance of communities and countries having a commitment to peace.
FWIW I sense there has been a creeping hypocrisy entering her mayoralty in this term. Just one example – I have tried and failed, to raise with her the environmental failure that is the poorly planned car centric, socially isolated, no amenities housing developments of the northern burbs. Ironically she has been championing them and even worse, is a supporter of the SHA Accord, which strips away the usual requirements for housing development under the RMA.
The only thing that is green about Celia Wade-Brown are those that think she subscribes to Green values. In reality, she is the tame pup of the Business Round Table and the property speculator class. One might say ‘corrupt’ but as yet, no-one seems to have found the brown paper bag full of high denomination notes.
Little? Zero chance. He’s shown he won’t stand up against the corporates as per the TPP. He’s shown he won’t stand up against the security state as per the spying anti terror legislation. He’s shown he won’t stand with benes as per the social welfare reform law.
I lost all confidence in Little when he caved in to the government over the Snooping bill. His speech after that, where he said that “next time” he and the opposition would not cave in like this, was one of the most abject performances I have ever seen.
How stupid are you? You do realise that AQ is still being successful in various regions, and the Taliban is still going strong? Fuck, the Israelis have tried that for years against Hezbollah, Hamas and the PLO.
But apparently using the same volunteer-producing strategy will somehow work against Daesh.
As of 3:59 p.m. EST Nov. 12, the U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 8,125 strikes (5,321 Iraq / 2,804 Syria).
[…]
As of Nov. 14, U.S. and partner nation aircraft have flown an estimated 57,301 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Syria.
[…]
As of Oct. 31, 2015, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $5 billion and the average daily cost is $11 million for 450 days of operations. A further breakdown of cost associated with the operations is here.
TV3’s Duncan Garner said last night he was told Mr Lusk was being funded by “Chinese money” to carry out a “direct mailout” that would focus on the Te Atatu MP.
Foreign money needs to be kept out of our politics and thus things like this need to be illegal.
This isn’t new but appropriate to ressurect. Explanation of why so many people are wrong for blaming Islam.
Religious scholar Reza Aslan took some serious issue on CNN Monday night with Bill Maher‘s commentary about Islamic violence and oppression. Maher ended his show last Friday by going after liberals for being silent about the violence and oppression that goes on in Muslim nations. Aslan said on CNN that Maher’s arguments are just very unsophisticated.
He said these “facile arguments” might sound good, but not all Muslim nations are the same.
I really like that dude – I’ve got one of his books at home (“How to win a cosmic war”). Dovetailing that with Ignatieff’s “Blood and belonging” results in a really interesting perspective.
Staunch might be your word for it. He’s a bully.
By pushing the interviewers round, he enabled at least one clear misrepresentation: Turkey as upholder of women’s rights.
In Turkey there’s a diminishing legacy from secularisation, and there is honour killing, child ”marriage”, and women are encouraged to reconcile with violent partners and most crucially, the trajectory is negative.
President Erdogan explicitly stated women are not equal: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30183711
Aslan makes a valid point about Saudi Arabia, but uses that country to narrow the debate and bully those who disagree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Turkey
Women aren’t equal anywhere, but in varying degrees, which I think was his point i.e. look at each individual country not one religion as a whole that spans many different countries with different practices.
I don’t see the bullying behaviour. He’s a guest on a show and he’s forthright, and yes he points out where the interviewers are wrong but he doesn’t engage in typical bullying behaviour.
Yes it is his point, and it’s a neat tactic to evade the issue.
By citing gender inequality in the West (the number of elected representatives), and the gross misogyny of Saudi Arabia, he tries to exonerate (and even hold as standard bearers) states like Turkey that are on a negative trajectory in respect of women’s rights.
It’s a dismissive non sequitur to say women ”aren’t equal anywhere”, because the point is the direction of travel.
I don’t see how it’s a neat tactic to evade the issue when he’s making a point about religion not gender. I think you mean he is factually incorrect. Your point about Turkey’s negative trajectory is valid and important, but it doesn’t negate his point, which is that you can’t condemn all of Islam based on cherry picking the worst countries. For instance if you put Turkey aside as an example, is his point still made?
I really wanted him to use Ethiopia and the US as examples of how Christianity suppresses women 😈 Imagine if the mainstream narrative about Christianity was based on Ethiopia instead of the Western Christian countries.
“It’s a dismissive non sequitur to say women ”aren’t equal anywhere”, because the point is the direction of travel.”
We can debate sometime how much of a positive trajectory NZ is on re gender.
I don’t know who’s right, but I suspect Aslan seized on division in Islam over the violent practice to misrepresent the problem.
The wiki article seems reasonable (it points out Christian woman are mutilated as well, but most of the article concerns the Muslim faith): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_female_genital_mutilation
”In Indonesia, FGM is widespread among Muslim women and considered a religious necessity.”
Indonesia was Aslan’s other standard bearer of women’s rights, wasn’t it?
According to the Observer’s review of Aslan’s book, he describes the motivation of one of the London July 7 bombers as ”love”, and his writing becomes ”overwrought” with emotion over Obama’s election.
So definitely not my kind of dude, but each to their own and all that.
Also events have overtaken Aslan’s book and its prescriptions, as many jihadists now are from prosperous societies (and have had good opportunities on an individual basis). http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/16/win-cosmic-war-reza-aslan
It’s still an interesting read – the Guardian review seems to ignore most of what I remember about the book. The review seems to lose the forest for the trees, IMO.
Is there any bag of foul wind fouler than that hypocrite Dr Phil McGraw? Dr Phil, TV3, Tuesday 17 November 2015
sanctimoniousadj. showing or marked by false piety or righteousness; hypocritically virtuous.
The TV3 programme notes on this show billed it like this: “Two young women accuse their father of physically and verbally abusing them.” #blamingdad
The dad was pretty much the model of what Bob McCoskrie would call a perfect father. He protested to Dr Phil: “I ain’t the greatest dad in the world, but I ain’t no ogre. I spanked them and I slapped them but…”
But all the protestations in the world cut no ice with Dr. Phil, that supreme moral arbiter, that exemplar of core American values, that upholder of all that decent and right in the world. Dr Phil sternly lectured him that violence and shouting had no place in his relationships with his daughters, no matter how old they were.
So what WOULD that dad have had to do to earn praise, rather than censure, by Dr. Phil? Well, he might have tried shooting hundreds of people, including women and children, in another country…
Of course he was right to upbraid him about hitting his daughters.
The point of my post was to note how odd it was for him to take that stance, in view of the fact he had, earlier this year, called a notorious mass murderer “a modern-day American hero”.
Click on the links from my first post, and it will be quite clear. But, briefly, my objection to Dr Phil pronouncing about anything is this:
Earlier this year he claimed that the notorious Chris Kyle, the American sniper who killed hundreds of men, women and children in Afghanistan (the Department of “Defense” officially confirmed he had more than 160 victims) was “a modern-day American hero”….
The life and death of Chris Kyle has captivated millions. He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
In the light of the depravity of his endorsement of Kyle, I don’t think Dr Phil is a fit and proper person to make a judgement on the character of anyone.
Sorry, still don’t know what you are on about. The first link isn’t that clear, the second two are identical and going on about an Imperial Wizard. If you want me to answer your question you’re going to have to make your point in plain English that doesn’t require 10 mins of further research to understand what you are on about.
1. Chris Kyle was a mass murderer. He was praised by Dr Phil earlier this year as “a modern-day American hero.”
2. Dr Phil, who praises mass murderers as “modern-day American heroes”, has the temerity to upbraid someone for yelling at his daughters and spanking them.
3. I don’t approve of spanking, but then I don’t approve of mass murder either. I think I am entitled to lecture someone who spanks his daughters to desist.
4. Dr Phil doesn’t approve of spanking, but he DOES approve of mass murder. I don’t think he is entitled to lecture ANYONE about anything, because he is a moral imbecile.
5. Now please read my original links, because it’s all perfectly clear.
“1. Chris Kyle was a mass murderer. He was praised by Dr Phil earlier this year as “a modern-day American hero.””
Citation for Dr Phil ‘praising’ Kyle. The link you provided implies the programme is about Kyle’s parents discussing his mental illness and that he wouldn’t have murdered people if he’s gotten the help he needed. Presumably if Phil did praise Kyle, it wasn’t for the murders. Did Phil praise Kyle for his pre-murdering life? I’m betting it wasn’t for his murdering life.
“2. Dr Phil, who praises mass murderers as “modern-day American heroes”, has the temerity to upbraid someone for yelling at his daughters and spanking them.”
Lots of people have relative morality. Myself, I think context is important.
“3. I don’t approve of spanking, but then I don’t approve of mass murder either. I think I am entitled to lecture someone who spanks his daughters to desist.”
I’m not in a position to judge you on that.
“4. Dr Phil doesn’t approve of spanking, but he DOES approve of mass murder. I don’t think he is entitled to lecture ANYONE about anything, because he is a moral imbecile.”
Citation needed that Dr Phil approves of mass murder. Pretty sure you are making shit up now.
“5. Now please read my original links, because it’s all perfectly clear.”
As mentioned, I tried and I’m not going to attempt that dog’s breakfast of a comment because I’m guessing it’s full of the same illogic as this one.
The life and death of Chris Kyle has captivated millions. He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
Now what part of that do you not understand? He is praising a U.S. Army sniper who is “credited” officially with more than 160 kills.
You can vapour on all you like about how he is praising him for his “pre-murdering” actions, but nobody will take you seriously.
I would be offended by your allegation that I am “making shit up”, but it’s quite obvious you have basic problems in comprehension, as well as a history of hostility towards me. I have humoured you this evening, but I haven’t forgotten how credulous you were a couple of years ago in swallowing all that government black propaganda about Julian Assange, and how you continued, in spite of the allegations being conclusively refuted, to defiantly traduce not only Assange but anyone who dared to support him.
You can resort to all the ad homs you like Morrisey (and more lies), but when you say “but he DOES approve of mass murder.” I believe you are making shit up. There is a large difference between being able to see someone’s contribution to their country and approving of mass murder. What’s not believable is that Phil McGraw approves of what Kyle did. You are grossly misrepresenting his position for your own argumentative gratification.
I think any reasonably intelligent person would interpret these words as endorsement: “He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
The person he is endorsing is a sniper who picked off women and children from positions of almost complete safety.
I am not going to waste any more time with you while you play your endless game of feigned incomprehension.
no, most people would understand that it’s possible to appreciate a soldier’s former life and not approve of them murdering multiple people. There is nothing in what you have posted that supports your assertion that Phil McGraw approves of mass murder (your words).
“He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
There is only one google hit for any of that quote (your comment), so I’m guessing you transcribed it from the video. Given your transcriptions are shall we say loose at the best of times I’m going to assume that you have grossly misquoted McGraw out of context. I’ll also hazard a guess the McGraw was introducing Kyle when he used those words and the implication is that he was a modern-day American hero for his work as a soldier not for his later mass murder.
I’m not surprised you are giving this no more time because you can’t answer the challenge to your argument.
The Paris attacks need to be analyzed by serious, informed commentators.
So why on earth are these fools even trying to talk about them? The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 17 November 2015
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, John Bishop, Julie Moffett
bewildermentn.1. The condition of being confused or disoriented. 2. A situation of perplexity or confusion; a tangle: a bewilderment of lies and half-truths.
PENNY ASHTON: Bombing them is probably not going to stop them.
JOHN BISHOP:[gravely] It might not, but what’s the alternative?
PENNY ASHTON:[thoughtfully] Mmmmmm.
JOHN BISHOP: The West is certainly vulnerable, in terms of soft targets…. [He carries on bloviating for several minutes then, thankfully, stops.]
Automated investment platforms are part of the ‘robo-advice’ sector in the US, though they are also being used by client-facing advisers as supplementary tools to guard against losing business to the traditional robo-advice giants, such as Betterment and Wealthfront.
Robot advice is being used in investment, the computer buy and sell on target prices etc.
This goes further. And when there is a paradigm for juding voting patterns and winning elections then?
CNN anchors berate innocent Paris Muslim because
he won’t ‘accept responsibility’ for attack
by DAVID EDWARDS, Monday 16 November 2015
Two CNN hosts berated the spokesperson for a Muslim outreach group over the weekend because he would not agree that all Muslims share responsibility for the recent attacks in Paris.
During an interview early Sunday morning, Yaser Louati of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France told CNN anchors Isha Sesay and John Vause that hate speech was being directed toward the Muslim community in response to the attacks.
“The problem is that you’re still mixing the Muslim community and somehow giving them an affiliation with these terrorists,” Louati explained. “But [French Muslims] are paying two prices. The price of being targeted by these terrorists and some of the right-wing columnists.”
“We are being asked to choose our camp,” the guest pointed out. “Our camp is the French one. Make no mistake about it.”
“If your camp is the French camp, then why is it that no one within the Muslim community there in France knew what these guys were up to?” Vause asked.
“Sir, the Muslim community has nothing to do with these guys,” Louati insisted. “Nothing. We cannot justify ourselves for the actions of someone who claims to be Muslim.”
“Why not?” Vause interrupted. “What is the responsibility within the Muslim community to identify people within their own ranks when it comes to people who are obviously training and preparing to carry out mass murder.”
“Sir, they were not from our ranks!” Louati exclaimed. “We cannot accept the idea that these people are from us, they are not. They are just byproducts of our societies exporting their wars abroad and expecting no repercussions back home.”
Co-host Isha Sesay insisted that Louati had to “accept that responsibility to prevent the bigger backlash” because the “finger of blame is pointing at the Muslim community.”
“This is a very complicated issue,” Vause said, concluding the segment. “I have yet to hear the condemnation from the Muslim community on this.”
“The point he is making is, ‘It’s not our fault,’” Sesay noted. “But the fact of the matter is when these things happen, the finger of blame is pointed at the Muslim community and so you have to be preemptive. It’s coming from the community. You’ve got to take a stand.”
“The word responsibility comes to mind,” Vause opined.
“It just comes to mind,” Sesay agreed. “You can’t shirk that.”
Tatang Koswara (1947 – 2015) was a sniper credited with at least 41 confirmed kills during the U.S.-backed Indonesian invasion of East Timor in the 1970s.
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Terrorist ‘mastermind’ turns out to be Belgian, Syrian passports are fake, so maybe France should start a bombing run on Belgium. What a mess. Over 100 ppl detained, it does make you wonder WTF the spies watching our online activity do all day, too much time sniffing ppls undies drawers is my guess.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/serbian-police-arrest-man-carrying-syrian-passport-with-exact-same-details-as-document-found-on-a6736471.html
That was only ever an excuse to breach privacy for other ends IMO with national security a large blanket thrown over everything they spy on.
Another passport that appeared.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/19/september11.iraq
http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176069/tomgram%3A_laura_gottesdiener%2C_the_angel_of_death/#more
Here’s a little thought experiment: imagine that we’re in Kansas (without Toto) and a bridal party in three rented limos is heading down a highway toward a church where a wedding is about to take place. Suddenly, a small out-of-control plane plummets into those limos killing the bride, the mother of the bride, and five of the seven bridesmaids; 15 others are wounded. Bear with me here, if this particular method of wedding slaughter seems a little farfetched. After all, we don’t (yet) have drones armed with Hellfire missiles patrolling American skies that could take out such a caravan. ….
Drone killings
41 men targeted but 1,147 people killed: US drone strikes – the facts on the ground
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/24/-sp-us-drone-strikes-kill-1147
What are you, a goddam’ Commie?
Genuinely, I have no decent thought on the middle east troubles..
They have arisen due to a confluence of human migrations out of Africa and settlements in those once fertile lands. Such were these circumstances that civilisation actually sprouted there.
These communities have existed for a very long time – in fact longer than any other on the planet currently, due to their proximity to Africa.. which has made them central to the world’s order
But the world and its demographics and migrations have now moved on very substantially from those times and that part of the world is no longer central to the world’s order (other than historic hangover and the current presence of oil – which, in a practical sense, keeps them central to order. But this is passing)
About 5,000 years of them being central to the world.
Next 5,000 years bullshit
Just to put that in context, Australian aboriginal cultures have existed for 50,000 years.
On the Eurasian continent, 5,000 years happens to coincide with the general shift from egalitarian culture to dominance culture. There are various theories around that related to the development of agriculture over since 10,000 years ago, but I think that’s as much an accident of geography as anything (the right coinciding of population with fertile land).
As for the world’s order, I don’t see any of the developped world being particularly good at that. Bunch of self-serving warmongers the lot of them.
If someone was killing in the name of my god I would expect my god to act to stop them,if he/she /it didn’t act I would throw that god on the heap with other stupid beliefs I’ve had.
Is Simon Lusk New Zealand’s angriest man?
He should stop killing things and just come out.
Who is Paul Honnor, and what’s that all about?
He came across as a legend in his own mind, actually quite a blow arse nutter. Not much of a hunter gatherer taking 5 shots to nail a couple of deer in a fenced paddock. Be an even match in the boxing ring with his mate Slater. Certainly looks like he will help Twyford win his seat with ease, $150 paid to turn Maori voters off Labour was a laugh.
“a legend in his own mind,” Thanks. That’s good. I’ll use that sometime.
And along with “a legend in his own mind” I quite like “blow arse nutter”. Sums it up really. He’s like the playground bully that grew up and is still a bully, but has no mates. Nothing but a gloating idiot.
If he appeared on the show because he was touting for business as Garner suggested, then he did a great job of shooting himself in the foot – or maybe he genuinely believes that everyone is as corrupted and vicious as he is, and that he might reach that target audience and drum up some business.
On one of the posts somewhere, over the weekend, there was a character called cowboy (I think) who talked about why he isn’t renewing his National Party membership, and how Key’s outburst in the house was the last straw that pushed him to that decision. It was an insightful read, and an honest one from a former Nat supporter.
I reckon there’s lots more like cowboy, conservative, traditional, yet principled, quietly turning away from their party. I look at how my family, a true blue one, just can’t defend Key like they used to. These can’t be the ones that Roy Morgan interviews.
Bringing Simon Lusk out for an airing was a good thing. He’ll drive those principled former Nat voters into the arms of NZ First.
” or maybe he genuinely believes that everyone is as corrupted and vicious as he is, and that he might reach that target audience and drum up some business.”
^^
This. Which also says a lot about the people who associate with him.
Blabbermouth Lusk runs his mouth too much. Sam Lotu-Iiga is the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks Blabbermouth.
Just forced myself to watch some of the video. Had to curb the vomit.
He’d have to be the antithesis of Sir Ed.
I particularly enjoyed the way he appeared to own up to criminal behaviour:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0087/latest/DLM310402.html
Depressingly, Duncan Garner didn’t appear to know that treating was an offence, despite having been a Political Editor…
If there really is a cabal of recent immigrants putting money up to do a hatchet job on a democraticly elected MP ( Phil Twyford ) that’s all the reason required for the arseholes to be escorted to the border and thrown out.
Where the fuck are the Police ?
probably scared of Lusk.
Where the fuck are the Police ?
Turning a blind eye of course.
@Anne – The police are being good neoliberal citizens and giving out traffic tickets of course. You have to fund and justify your own job and existence these days. (in money).
Solving crime is way down the list for police, first being errand boys for Slater and Key, second locking up people that disagree with the above, thirdly under globalism we have ‘overseas friends’ to do the above to, and fourthly gather revenue to keep the above going by issuing traffic fines. Waste your time locking up people who should not be in prison because mental health facilities are closing, homeless facilities are closing, and drug facilities are closing. If there are any resources left – you can do a bit of solving crime in your spare time.
Can’t and shouldn’t throw people out for what they are thinking of doing.
Such old fashioned Liberalism Tracey. Refreshing but so rare these days in the political circles you tend to identify with.
Ask Colonial Viper how it works.
To Pascals bookie following on from yesterday
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034
The first thing needed would be to ratify the Kurdish state and enrol them into Nato, this will require some diplomacy on the part of the West in regards to Turkey however its an autonamous state at the moment (more or less) so its not like creating a brand new country
Once this has happened it will be much easier for troops to get on the ground because while you can’t eradicate terrorism (and you never will) ISIS at least has a physical area to target and destroying their infrastructure won’t end them but it will certainly make it harder for them to operate overseas
It’sa good start. And pile billions into the region to establish their infrastructure, and create employment and futures. Without a future people do desperate things or become victims of those doing desperate things. If we took even half the money being used on military offensives and put it into devleopment of countries infrastructures and futures… we might just surprise ourselves.
This can be done concurrently and would certainly be my first choice (if money and political machinations were under my control) but you need the defences and troops on the ground before you build the infrastructure
I agree, would be good. Dunno about NATO though, mainly coz I dunno if the kurds would be interested, we’d have to do what they want to do.
And yeah, the Turks. But also Iran and Iraq. At the moment thngs are fairly cool between the Kurds and Baghdad, but that’s only coz of ISIS. Baghdad isn’t really that keen on letting the Kurds have Kirkuk, though there is not much they can do about it at the moment. Thos there have been incidents between Shia militia and peshmerga forces.
the problem is that our allies have competing interests and we keep ignoring those interests, which is why I think things will carry on as they are until we get reps from all communities (not nations, and I’m explicitly including the Iraqi Sunni in this, they need reps distinct from Baghdad) around a table and work out what the end game looks like.
I wonder if the current leaders of the West have the courage to be what needs to be done in this current situation
I don’t think they do
I think what will happen is some people will tweet prayfor paris, some people will add a tricolour to their facebook pics and in a couple of weeks it’ll all blow over
You’re probably right: they need to stand up to insane racist wingnuts, call an end to useless vengeance fantasies, prosecute war criminals, and stop the mass murder of innocent Muslims, but Donald Trump will say nasty things about them.
http://time.com/4113333/paris-attacks-donald-trump/
The idiot trump at his best saying that if more French carried guns less people would of died. Because it works so well in the us.
He’s got company.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/because-twitter-is-our-national-id-here-are-the-worst-conservative-reactions-to-the-paris-attacks/
” they need to stand up to insane racist wingnuts, call an end to useless vengeance fantasies, prosecute war criminals, and stop the mass murder of innocent Muslims,”
Wow four things about which one can only say.
Every one of these is an ISIL policy.
I wouldn’t hold them responsible for the last bit where you say “but Donald Trump will say nasty things about them”. He will say nasty things about ISIL but I wouldn’t hold anyone except Trump responsible for his views.
Yes, Alwyn, you’ve finally noticed how much US foreign policy and Daesh have in common. Slow clap.
Any lasting solution will not be the result of anglophile intervention using tools such as NATO and debt
As long as the ‘western way of life’ continues to be regarded as something other than the corporate destruction that it is, we have NO business in believing we can offer anything but the same , elsewhere
that may well be but it doesn’t change the fact that terrorist attacks are happening more frequently and its only a matter of time before it happens here
what, you mean like bombing a trades hall or a ship?
Wow, you really keep up with the news don’t you?
One happened in 1984 and the other in 1985. Thirty years ago and nothing since?
Even then no one has ever found out who carried out the first one so it is difficult to really claim it as terrorism isn’t it?
interesting idea, that terrorism is only terrorism if the perpetrators are known.
What are you trying to do – pretend that NZers have never experienced terrorism? Fuck, my local campus was deserted a few weeks back because people were expecting some nutter with a gun.
No, actually.
I am merely saying that in the Trades Hall bombing we have no real idea of why someone did it. It could have been for any reason at all.
We have had a number of cases of terrorism. One was the anarchist nut who tried to blow up the Wanganui Computer Centre in 1982.
Re the ship – the French Foreign Minister and using State terrorism to deal with dissent.
Hopefully age and experience has brought some wisdom.
Claire Trevett has an article in the Remuera National Party Newsletter about how the Labour Party is running at a deficit and therefore can’t criticise the Government for running a deficit. Clutching at straws imho
Can’t convince an electorate to vote for him but expects the country to vote for him, can’t fund raise and run a political party but expects to be able to run an economy
Yup
How does a political party run at a deficit and still survive?
What are you borrowing against?
Its good for a government to run a deficit but pretty shonkey for a political party to be running a deficit I’d have thought
Did you not read the article PR or are you just shitestirring?
They’re not running a deficit, they merely funded some of their (unexpected) operating expenses from cash reserves. That’s what a reserve is for.
That’s pretty disgusting ‘journalism’ from Trevett IMO.
and those reserves won’t last forever but of course people are voting with their wallets…
Bet the Greens coffers arn’t too bad at the moment
“and those reserves won’t last forever ….
Wtf are you on about? The article said that Labour had unforeseen costs over and above their normal (and budgeted) expenses, such as the leadership changes. That’s what cash reserves are for, to cover unexpected bills. When times are rosy they’ll no doubt build up the reserves again.
silly question 🙂
No doubt Trevett had a cushy position lined up for her services to Dear Leader.
Bloody minded,..Political capital mate, just as English thinks debt an asset.
👿
In Paris in 1961, Paris police killed 300 peaceful protestors
and then dumped their bodies into the River Seine.
Since the atrocities in Paris on Saturday, we have been inundated with a flood of sanctimonious words, hypocritical posturing, official lies and distortions, accompanied often by mournful assertions that “the world has changed forever”. But one of the most cynical lies repeated over the last couple of days is the contention by French politicians, assiduously reiterated by the media, that Saturday’s horror was “the deadliest violence on its soil since World War II”.
In fact, it wasn’t even close to the deadliest violence on French soil since World War II. That dubious honour belongs not to ISIS, but to the French state…..
France remembers Algerian massacre 50 years on
by KIM WILLSHER in Paris, The Guardian, Monday 17 October 2011
Politicians, historians and protesters gathered in Paris to mark the 50th anniversary of a police crackdown on Algerian anti-war demonstrators that has become one of the most shameful episodes of modern French history.
The events of 17 October 1961 are considered a massacre by many Algerians, who claim up to 300 members of their community died at the hands of the Paris police. Many are angry that the French government has never officially apologised for the bloody attack – which does not appear in school history books – and that the authorities still dispute the death toll. According to officials, less than a handful of protesters died, while historians say the number of Algerians killed – some of them beaten and thrown into the river Seine – was between 50 and 120.
On Monday, François Hollande chose to mark the tragedy as his first official engagement as the newly elected Socialist party presidential candidate. Hollande, named as the Socialists’ choice to take on Nicolas Sarkozy in next year’s presidential elections barely 12 hours earlier, on Monday threw a single red rose into the Seine from the bridge at Clichy, the suburb where many of the victims lived.
Afterwards he unveiled a plaque engraved with: “From this bridge and other bridges in the Paris region, Algerian demonstrators were thrown into the Seine on the 17 October 1961, victims of a blind repression. In their memory.” Benjamin Stora, a local resident and specialist in Algerian history, said it was a first step towards “recognising one of the biggest French tragedies”.
Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris who was born in Tunisia, another former French colony, placed a wreath at the St Michel bridge where there is a plaque marking what his office described as a “bloody repression”.
On the evening of 17 October 1961, at the height of the Franco-Algerian war, tens of thousands of Algerian protesters, including women and children, from around Paris gathered at various landmarks to demonstrate against what they considered a “racist and discriminatory” curfew imposed against them. The mobilisation had been organised by the Paris wing of the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), an organisation that was fighting for Algeria’s independence from France and had been accused of carrying out attacks on Paris police that left a dozen dead.
It was intended to be a peaceful demonstration, but Maurice Papon, the Paris police chief, ordered his officers to stamp out the protests. As the Algerians gathered, the police acted swiftly and brutally, firing on protesters and arresting an estimated 11,500 who were herded on to buses and taken to makeshift detention centres where many claimed they were beaten and held for days without food.
Claims that officers had beaten protesters and dumped them into the Seine appeared to be confirmed when bodies were washed up on the banks of the river.
Read more….
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/17/france-remembers-algerian-massacre
Thanks for the informative post.
John Oliver appears to have figured out who the terrorists are,
http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/nov/16/tv-satirist-john-oliver-responds-to-paris-attacks-with-a-moment-of-premium-cable-profanity
John Key demonstrates – predictably – cultural ignorance of the country which he represents in his glib response to question regarding the return of soldiers who died in Malaysia and Vietnam: :Kiwi soldiers will remain buried in Malaysia – John Key
I’ve missed something. What is this reference to “crickets” on TS lately, often in response to the screwy logic of RWer’s?
Any relation to “there are no crickets in Wayward Pines” ? (not on this trailer, but it’s an excellent show. You can watch on line)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsQ9Fl0VCkk
Rosie, ‘crickets’ refers to silence in the airwaves…as in nothing but the sound of crickets chirping
Search on youtube, “Awkward Silence Cricket Sound”, and you should get it 🙂
Thanks CR and maui. Now I am up with the times.
This from you tube explains it too:
“Great to use right after the comedy drum when no one talks or laughs at your stupid joke.”
Looks like a good show. Might have to watch
It’s been one of my favourites this year. Its’ quite sinister and has some depth to it. The theme is manufactured societies and the authoritarian drive to compel citizens to conform, or else. A good steady plot with some interesting surprises. Melissa Leo’s performance (from Treme) was fantastic.
ALGARY – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal government is following through on an election promise to ban crude oil tanker traffic off the coast of northern British Columbia
http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/northern-gateway-hopes-crushed-as-canada-moves-to-ban-oil-tankers-off-b-c-coast
Can anyone explain what on earth Little was saying on Morning Report today?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201779039/little-details-current-stance-on-iraq-deployment
He sounded as if he hadn’t sobered up yet from last night’s binge.
The interviewer, who usually tries very hard to make him sound as if he had at least a room temperature IQ, finally seemed to give up. Trying to make him sound sensible simply proved to be impossible.
Part of his premise seemed to be that since the Iraqi Army wasn’t currently very good we shouldn’t try and improve their performance by training them.
I wonder if he plans to do something similar here, perhaps in education?
“I’m sorry Mrs Jones. Your son Johnny isn’t able to read very well so we have decided not to try and help him. We think he should just be dumped on the educational scrapheap”.
Aww cute! You’ve got another false dichotomy. Speaking of IQ, it’s hardly surprising you failed to grasp Little’s remarks.
Schadenfreude is like sugar: I know I shouldn’t but it tastes so sweet!
Ha ha ha ha ha…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blpe_sGnnP4
Looks like a win for media works.
Replaced 11 staff with a couple of sub contractors, if I was media works I’d be stoked
Michael Laws will be choking in bile when he hears this news…
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/whanganui-district-council-gets-an-official-h
Excellent, now to change the rest of the place names that make no sense in Maori.
Last week on the radio, Wellington’s “Green” Mayor defended WCC’s right to let a council venue, the TSB Arena, out for hire for the defence industry conference. She was labelled by the DJ as a hypocrite for previously referring to herself as a pacifist.
Well, I hope CeCe is paying attention now. Not only does hiring a council venue out for a warmongers conference look bad, and is morally questionable it brings avoidable tension to the city that the WCC are linked with because it’s their venue.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/74106973/protesters-clash-with-police-at-defence-industry-forum-in-wellington
I agree, letting council venues to warmongers is bizarre.
Is she a Green mayor?
She is the second mayor of a major New Zealand city to be a member of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, after Dunedin’s Sukhi Turner, but she stood as an independent candidate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_Wade-Brown
“Green Mayor” is more a colloquial term than anything but locals are familiar with her Green Party connections. From your link, under the heading Wellington mayoral campaign 2013 is this:
“Celia Wade-Brown – The incumbent since 2010, she has served as a Southern Ward councillor. She stood for the Green Party for Parliament in 1996 (under the Alliance banner), 1999 and 2002.”
What I find odd about her personal view of it being ok to hire out a council venue to the warmongers conference (and I do mean personal as she’s not the ones taking the venue bookings) is that I have heard her anti war views during the public celebrations for 30 years of Wellington being nuclear free. She spoke with real pride about how we were the first city in NZ to go nuclear free and gave a rousing speech about the importance of communities and countries having a commitment to peace.
FWIW I sense there has been a creeping hypocrisy entering her mayoralty in this term. Just one example – I have tried and failed, to raise with her the environmental failure that is the poorly planned car centric, socially isolated, no amenities housing developments of the northern burbs. Ironically she has been championing them and even worse, is a supporter of the SHA Accord, which strips away the usual requirements for housing development under the RMA.
I could go on but won’t.
The only thing that is green about Celia Wade-Brown are those that think she subscribes to Green values. In reality, she is the tame pup of the Business Round Table and the property speculator class. One might say ‘corrupt’ but as yet, no-one seems to have found the brown paper bag full of high denomination notes.
Will New Zealand get a Labour leader with courage like Jeremy Corbyn?
Let’s hope so….
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/11/jeremy-corbyns-refusal-offer-labour-mps-free-vote-syria-shows-his-newly
Little? Zero chance. He’s shown he won’t stand up against the corporates as per the TPP. He’s shown he won’t stand up against the security state as per the spying anti terror legislation. He’s shown he won’t stand with benes as per the social welfare reform law.
I lost all confidence in Little when he caved in to the government over the Snooping bill. His speech after that, where he said that “next time” he and the opposition would not cave in like this, was one of the most abject performances I have ever seen.
How long will it take to decapitate ISIS leadership? A few bombs will reunite them with their Allah.
FFS.
How stupid are you? You do realise that AQ is still being successful in various regions, and the Taliban is still going strong? Fuck, the Israelis have tried that for years against Hezbollah, Hamas and the PLO.
But apparently using the same volunteer-producing strategy will somehow work against Daesh.
Clean Power reckons its as easy as taking out the Boss at the end of a computer game level.
Stupid with bells on I reckon.
As of 3:59 p.m. EST Nov. 12, the U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 8,125 strikes (5,321 Iraq / 2,804 Syria).
[…]
As of Nov. 14, U.S. and partner nation aircraft have flown an estimated 57,301 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Syria.
[…]
As of Oct. 31, 2015, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $5 billion and the average daily cost is $11 million for 450 days of operations. A further breakdown of cost associated with the operations is here.
http://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0814_Inherent-Resolve
Contrary to what you RWNJs believe anybody can be a leader. Due to this fact CEOs should actually be on minimum wage.
They need to bomb Washington, London, Riyadh and Ankara, which are the main supporters of ISIS.
An heroic stand against the 3-year-old orphan threat.
/
Hugh Hewitt Verified account
@hughhewitt
Because he lacks confidence in Administration’s vetting ability, @ChrisChristie says no Syrian refugees now, not even “3 year old orphan
https://twitter.com/hughhewitt/status/666362298965999616
Some of the comments on that make for disturbing reading
Bad stuff we already know via Jane Kelsey, but reproduced here in longer form for those in other countries
http://theinternationalforecaster.com/International_Forecaster_Weekly/Terrible_TPP_Clauses_Explained_in_Plain_English
Phil Twyford responds to reported smear campaign against him.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11546733
Foreign money needs to be kept out of our politics and thus things like this need to be illegal.
This isn’t new but appropriate to ressurect. Explanation of why so many people are wrong for blaming Islam.
Religious scholar Reza Aslan took some serious issue on CNN Monday night with Bill Maher‘s commentary about Islamic violence and oppression. Maher ended his show last Friday by going after liberals for being silent about the violence and oppression that goes on in Muslim nations. Aslan said on CNN that Maher’s arguments are just very unsophisticated.
He said these “facile arguments” might sound good, but not all Muslim nations are the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzusSqcotDw
I really like that dude – I’ve got one of his books at home (“How to win a cosmic war”). Dovetailing that with Ignatieff’s “Blood and belonging” results in a really interesting perspective.
It was the intelligence and ability to communicate so well (and staunchly) that I liked.
Staunch might be your word for it. He’s a bully.
By pushing the interviewers round, he enabled at least one clear misrepresentation: Turkey as upholder of women’s rights.
In Turkey there’s a diminishing legacy from secularisation, and there is honour killing, child ”marriage”, and women are encouraged to reconcile with violent partners and most crucially, the trajectory is negative.
President Erdogan explicitly stated women are not equal: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30183711
Aslan makes a valid point about Saudi Arabia, but uses that country to narrow the debate and bully those who disagree.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Turkey
Women aren’t equal anywhere, but in varying degrees, which I think was his point i.e. look at each individual country not one religion as a whole that spans many different countries with different practices.
I don’t see the bullying behaviour. He’s a guest on a show and he’s forthright, and yes he points out where the interviewers are wrong but he doesn’t engage in typical bullying behaviour.
Yes it is his point, and it’s a neat tactic to evade the issue.
By citing gender inequality in the West (the number of elected representatives), and the gross misogyny of Saudi Arabia, he tries to exonerate (and even hold as standard bearers) states like Turkey that are on a negative trajectory in respect of women’s rights.
It’s a dismissive non sequitur to say women ”aren’t equal anywhere”, because the point is the direction of travel.
I don’t see how it’s a neat tactic to evade the issue when he’s making a point about religion not gender. I think you mean he is factually incorrect. Your point about Turkey’s negative trajectory is valid and important, but it doesn’t negate his point, which is that you can’t condemn all of Islam based on cherry picking the worst countries. For instance if you put Turkey aside as an example, is his point still made?
I really wanted him to use Ethiopia and the US as examples of how Christianity suppresses women 😈 Imagine if the mainstream narrative about Christianity was based on Ethiopia instead of the Western Christian countries.
“It’s a dismissive non sequitur to say women ”aren’t equal anywhere”, because the point is the direction of travel.”
We can debate sometime how much of a positive trajectory NZ is on re gender.
Aslan’s claim about FGM and Africa has been challenged:
https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2014/10/18/guest-post-the-relationship-between-islam-and-female-genital-mutilation/
I don’t know who’s right, but I suspect Aslan seized on division in Islam over the violent practice to misrepresent the problem.
The wiki article seems reasonable (it points out Christian woman are mutilated as well, but most of the article concerns the Muslim faith):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_female_genital_mutilation
”In Indonesia, FGM is widespread among Muslim women and considered a religious necessity.”
Indonesia was Aslan’s other standard bearer of women’s rights, wasn’t it?
According to the Observer’s review of Aslan’s book, he describes the motivation of one of the London July 7 bombers as ”love”, and his writing becomes ”overwrought” with emotion over Obama’s election.
So definitely not my kind of dude, but each to their own and all that.
Also events have overtaken Aslan’s book and its prescriptions, as many jihadists now are from prosperous societies (and have had good opportunities on an individual basis).
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/aug/16/win-cosmic-war-reza-aslan
It’s still an interesting read – the Guardian review seems to ignore most of what I remember about the book. The review seems to lose the forest for the trees, IMO.
Is there any bag of foul wind fouler than that hypocrite Dr Phil McGraw?
Dr Phil, TV3, Tuesday 17 November 2015
sanctimonious adj. showing or marked by false piety or righteousness; hypocritically virtuous.
The TV3 programme notes on this show billed it like this: “Two young women accuse their father of physically and verbally abusing them.” #blamingdad
The dad was pretty much the model of what Bob McCoskrie would call a perfect father. He protested to Dr Phil: “I ain’t the greatest dad in the world, but I ain’t no ogre. I spanked them and I slapped them but…”
But all the protestations in the world cut no ice with Dr. Phil, that supreme moral arbiter, that exemplar of core American values, that upholder of all that decent and right in the world. Dr Phil sternly lectured him that violence and shouting had no place in his relationships with his daughters, no matter how old they were.
So what WOULD that dad have had to do to earn praise, rather than censure, by Dr. Phil? Well, he might have tried shooting hundreds of people, including women and children, in another country…
http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/2377
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19082015/#comment-1060544
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-19082015/#comment-1060544.
You think Phil McGraw is wrong to not support a man who hits his daughters? I don’t get the reference to shooting.
Of course he was right to upbraid him about hitting his daughters.
The point of my post was to note how odd it was for him to take that stance, in view of the fact he had, earlier this year, called a notorious mass murderer “a modern-day American hero”.
Both of those things are completely unapparent in your original comment. Still no idea what you are talking about.
Click on the links from my first post, and it will be quite clear. But, briefly, my objection to Dr Phil pronouncing about anything is this:
Earlier this year he claimed that the notorious Chris Kyle, the American sniper who killed hundreds of men, women and children in Afghanistan (the Department of “Defense” officially confirmed he had more than 160 victims) was “a modern-day American hero”….
In the light of the depravity of his endorsement of Kyle, I don’t think Dr Phil is a fit and proper person to make a judgement on the character of anyone.
Do you?
Sorry, still don’t know what you are on about. The first link isn’t that clear, the second two are identical and going on about an Imperial Wizard. If you want me to answer your question you’re going to have to make your point in plain English that doesn’t require 10 mins of further research to understand what you are on about.
1. Chris Kyle was a mass murderer. He was praised by Dr Phil earlier this year as “a modern-day American hero.”
2. Dr Phil, who praises mass murderers as “modern-day American heroes”, has the temerity to upbraid someone for yelling at his daughters and spanking them.
3. I don’t approve of spanking, but then I don’t approve of mass murder either. I think I am entitled to lecture someone who spanks his daughters to desist.
4. Dr Phil doesn’t approve of spanking, but he DOES approve of mass murder. I don’t think he is entitled to lecture ANYONE about anything, because he is a moral imbecile.
5. Now please read my original links, because it’s all perfectly clear.
Thanks for explaining.
“1. Chris Kyle was a mass murderer. He was praised by Dr Phil earlier this year as “a modern-day American hero.””
Citation for Dr Phil ‘praising’ Kyle. The link you provided implies the programme is about Kyle’s parents discussing his mental illness and that he wouldn’t have murdered people if he’s gotten the help he needed. Presumably if Phil did praise Kyle, it wasn’t for the murders. Did Phil praise Kyle for his pre-murdering life? I’m betting it wasn’t for his murdering life.
“2. Dr Phil, who praises mass murderers as “modern-day American heroes”, has the temerity to upbraid someone for yelling at his daughters and spanking them.”
Lots of people have relative morality. Myself, I think context is important.
“3. I don’t approve of spanking, but then I don’t approve of mass murder either. I think I am entitled to lecture someone who spanks his daughters to desist.”
I’m not in a position to judge you on that.
“4. Dr Phil doesn’t approve of spanking, but he DOES approve of mass murder. I don’t think he is entitled to lecture ANYONE about anything, because he is a moral imbecile.”
Citation needed that Dr Phil approves of mass murder. Pretty sure you are making shit up now.
“5. Now please read my original links, because it’s all perfectly clear.”
As mentioned, I tried and I’m not going to attempt that dog’s breakfast of a comment because I’m guessing it’s full of the same illogic as this one.
Read this quote carefully….
Now what part of that do you not understand? He is praising a U.S. Army sniper who is “credited” officially with more than 160 kills.
You can vapour on all you like about how he is praising him for his “pre-murdering” actions, but nobody will take you seriously.
I would be offended by your allegation that I am “making shit up”, but it’s quite obvious you have basic problems in comprehension, as well as a history of hostility towards me. I have humoured you this evening, but I haven’t forgotten how credulous you were a couple of years ago in swallowing all that government black propaganda about Julian Assange, and how you continued, in spite of the allegations being conclusively refuted, to defiantly traduce not only Assange but anyone who dared to support him.
It seems you have not improved at all.
You can resort to all the ad homs you like Morrisey (and more lies), but when you say “but he DOES approve of mass murder.” I believe you are making shit up. There is a large difference between being able to see someone’s contribution to their country and approving of mass murder. What’s not believable is that Phil McGraw approves of what Kyle did. You are grossly misrepresenting his position for your own argumentative gratification.
I think any reasonably intelligent person would interpret these words as endorsement: “He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
The person he is endorsing is a sniper who picked off women and children from positions of almost complete safety.
I am not going to waste any more time with you while you play your endless game of feigned incomprehension.
no, most people would understand that it’s possible to appreciate a soldier’s former life and not approve of them murdering multiple people. There is nothing in what you have posted that supports your assertion that Phil McGraw approves of mass murder (your words).
“He risked his life fighting for this country. He miraculously survived the most dangerous combat zones …. a modern-day American hero.”
There is only one google hit for any of that quote (your comment), so I’m guessing you transcribed it from the video. Given your transcriptions are shall we say loose at the best of times I’m going to assume that you have grossly misquoted McGraw out of context. I’ll also hazard a guess the McGraw was introducing Kyle when he used those words and the implication is that he was a modern-day American hero for his work as a soldier not for his later mass murder.
I’m not surprised you are giving this no more time because you can’t answer the challenge to your argument.
The Paris attacks need to be analyzed by serious, informed commentators.
So why on earth are these fools even trying to talk about them?
The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 17 November 2015
Jim Mora, Penny Ashton, John Bishop, Julie Moffett
bewilderment n. 1. The condition of being confused or disoriented. 2. A situation of perplexity or confusion; a tangle: a bewilderment of lies and half-truths.
PENNY ASHTON: Bombing them is probably not going to stop them.
JOHN BISHOP: [gravely] It might not, but what’s the alternative?
PENNY ASHTON: [thoughtfully] Mmmmmm.
JOHN BISHOP: The West is certainly vulnerable, in terms of soft targets….
[He carries on bloviating for several minutes then, thankfully, stops.]
PENNY ASHTON: Ummm, ahhh, the, y’know, uhhhh, I’m tying myself in knots here…..
et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam….
Useless mouthpieces.
The Panel is lightweight magazine drivel.
Yes I heard that – don’t have the stamina for listening to mindless drivel that you have Morrissey. Turned it off.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/289923/meatworkers-win-dispute-with-affco
Good news!
Well done to the ONLY loud and proud workers union I spotted at the Hamilton TPPA rally.
Robot advice. How long before we can’t trust our own judgment, or what’s left of it.
http://www.investmentweek.co.uk/investment-week/news/2408891/robo-advice-alert-issued-in-the-us?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=rt-rtcom
Generic economic assumptions, framed questions and de-personalised recommendations that do not properly take into account changing circumstances or investment time horizons are among the concerns identified in an alert issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Automated investment platforms are part of the ‘robo-advice’ sector in the US, though they are also being used by client-facing advisers as supplementary tools to guard against losing business to the traditional robo-advice giants, such as Betterment and Wealthfront.
Robot advice is being used in investment, the computer buy and sell on target prices etc.
This goes further. And when there is a paradigm for juding voting patterns and winning elections then?
CNN anchors berate innocent Paris Muslim because
he won’t ‘accept responsibility’ for attack
by DAVID EDWARDS, Monday 16 November 2015
Two CNN hosts berated the spokesperson for a Muslim outreach group over the weekend because he would not agree that all Muslims share responsibility for the recent attacks in Paris.
During an interview early Sunday morning, Yaser Louati of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France told CNN anchors Isha Sesay and John Vause that hate speech was being directed toward the Muslim community in response to the attacks.
“The problem is that you’re still mixing the Muslim community and somehow giving them an affiliation with these terrorists,” Louati explained. “But [French Muslims] are paying two prices. The price of being targeted by these terrorists and some of the right-wing columnists.”
“We are being asked to choose our camp,” the guest pointed out. “Our camp is the French one. Make no mistake about it.”
“If your camp is the French camp, then why is it that no one within the Muslim community there in France knew what these guys were up to?” Vause asked.
“Sir, the Muslim community has nothing to do with these guys,” Louati insisted. “Nothing. We cannot justify ourselves for the actions of someone who claims to be Muslim.”
“Why not?” Vause interrupted. “What is the responsibility within the Muslim community to identify people within their own ranks when it comes to people who are obviously training and preparing to carry out mass murder.”
“Sir, they were not from our ranks!” Louati exclaimed. “We cannot accept the idea that these people are from us, they are not. They are just byproducts of our societies exporting their wars abroad and expecting no repercussions back home.”
Co-host Isha Sesay insisted that Louati had to “accept that responsibility to prevent the bigger backlash” because the “finger of blame is pointing at the Muslim community.”
“This is a very complicated issue,” Vause said, concluding the segment. “I have yet to hear the condemnation from the Muslim community on this.”
“The point he is making is, ‘It’s not our fault,’” Sesay noted. “But the fact of the matter is when these things happen, the finger of blame is pointed at the Muslim community and so you have to be preemptive. It’s coming from the community. You’ve got to take a stand.”
“The word responsibility comes to mind,” Vause opined.
“It just comes to mind,” Sesay agreed. “You can’t shirk that.”
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/watch-cnn-anchors-berate-innocent-paris-muslim-because-he-wont-accept-responsibility-for-attack/
Great Snipers of Our Time
No. 1 TATANG KOSWARA
Tatang Koswara (1947 – 2015) was a sniper credited with at least 41 confirmed kills during the U.S.-backed Indonesian invasion of East Timor in the 1970s.
http://jakarta.coconuts.co/2015/03/04/indonesian-sniper-tatang-koswara-passes-away-68
Great Snipers of Our Time is compiled by Morrissey Breen for Daisycutter Sports Inc.
http://thehill.com/policy/international/trade/260364-obamas-trade-deal-is-in-trouble
TPPA in trouble.