To avoid confusion the National Government has announced that the disaster in the Nelson/Tasman district is to be described as State of the Nation….while tomorrow’s Speech from the Throne is to be known as a State of Emergency.
(Apologies and sympathies to the people of the N/T District)
Whoa! What may seem like jest might turn out to be closer to what could eventuate.
One of the Feng Shui Masters with whom I am in contact confirms that Key coming back in power remains strongly inauspicious for the country and Nelson is the pre-Christmas bad news that was seen in the casting done last month: http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-up-in-fairfax-poll/#comment-394178
Another lot of casting just provided shows Key’s jinx giving rise to NZ “taking a hit”, quite a significant one, in the first half of 2012. Should, within 20 months, Key continue to be in the “Emperor’s seat” (ie be in power), his jinx will overshadow not just the country but affect himself in connection with a private matter.
Casting for Stephen Joyce shows a “dagger behind the throne”. The casting done for Bill English is showing a “servant boy” and Hekia Parata’s is a “waxing moon in its first quarter”.
The casting for Shearer is yielding neutral reading.
One of the Feng Shui Masters with whom I am in contact confirms that Key coming back in power remains strongly inauspicious for the country and Nelson is the pre-Christmas bad news that was seen in the casting done last month:
OK, that’s just weird… but it seems all too likely! đ
[lprent: The anti-spam engine (the external one) decided you are spam for some reason. If you don’t have a static IP, then it may pay to turn off the router to get a new IP. ]
Whoa! What may seem like jest might turn out to be closer to what could eventuate.
One of the Feng Shui Masters with whom I am in contact confirms that Key coming back in power remains bleakly inauspicious for the country and Nelson is the pre-Christmas bad news that was seen in the casting done last month: http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-up-in-fairfax-poll/#comment-394178
Another lot of casting just provided shows Key’s jinx giving rise to NZ “taking a hit”, quite a significant one, in the first half of 2012. Should, within 20 months, Key continue to be in the “Emperor’s seat” (ie be in power), his jinx will overshadow not just the country but take root in himself in connection with a private matter.
Casting for Stephen Joyce shows a “dagger behind the throne”. The casting done for Bill English is showing a “servant boy” and Hekia Parata’s is a “waxing moon in its first quarter”.
The casting for Shearer is yielding neutral reading.
How is it that Audrey Young can state as fact who voted for who in the Labour caucus. That was supposed to be a secret caucus vote.
This is really shite and shows that the dirty tricks leaks are continuing.
Only two of Labour’s eight front benchers supported Cunliffe – the man himself and his deputy running mate, Nanaia Mahuta. Only five in the shadow cabinet voted for Cunliffe – Cunliffe himself, Mahuta, Lianne Dalziel, Charles Chauvel and Su’a William Sio.
The decision to shut out Cunliffe’s people from the shadow cabinet says either that Shearer is punishing Cunliffe’s supporters, or that Cunliffe’s supporters aren’t as clever as his, or that he had no supporters.
I had hoped that we were entering a new age for Labour and there are still people in caucus who can’t keep their efing mouths shut.
It astounds me the level of self-promotion(?), vindictiveness(?), bad faith(?), petty tribalism or whatever, that would motivate someone to betray the confidentiality of caucus, the greater good.
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Their identity should be exposed and they should be dumped, dumped, dumped!
I haven’t given up hope but I wont sit through another term of Labour shooting themselves in the foot.
“It astounds me the level of self-promotion, vindictiveness, bad faith, petty tribalism or whatever, that would motivate someone to betray the confidentiality of caucus, the greater good.”
Really, I’m never surprised to see any of these traits displayed in politicians.
Honestly, why does this ‘leaking’ matter? This only titillates the beltway and some blog commentators. It has absolutely no impact on the public at large.
So Labour have some internal factions right after a leadership battle – big surprise!
Now if this sort of thing is going on in 6-9 months time, that’s another issue.
Was surprising the leadership battle was done so publicly full-stop, as if the public were making the decision. Allowing the public to see and experience factions within a party makes it all the difficult for the party to re-group and get on with the job. Was a dumb strategy.
The “leaking” has been noticeable for some time, in particular cases (in amongst the usual RW spin slurs, and bullshit), eerily accurate. Sometimes I guess it just happens when people are impassioned and talking a lot amongst themselves. But the leaks from the shadow cabinet and caucus itself – it’s hard not to see the possibility of something underhand and deliberate.
But the leaks from the shadow cabinet and caucus itself â itâs hard not to see the possibility of something underhand and deliberate.
It was underhand and deliberate. In a way it reflects on David Shearer but I’m inclined to believe he didn’t know what was going on. It’s to be hoped he’s since given the tiny group responsible one hell of a bollocking, and there will be no more of it occurring.
The same way the entire front bench line up was known by the Herald a week ago. The Labour Party leaks like a fucking sieve.
And yes, it is obvious that Cunliffe’s supporters were in the main penalised, while Shearer supporters got a boost.
This article confirms that Shane Jones and Clare Curran joined the Shearer camp.
Final list of who voted who:
Shearer:
David Shearer, Grant Robertson, David Parker, Annette King, Maryan Street, Damien O’Connor, Phil Goff, Phil Twyford, Kris Faafoi, Darien Fenton, Clayton Cosgrove, Trevor Mallard, Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Clare Curran and Shane Jones.
Cunliffe:
David Cunliffe, Nanaia Mahuta, Moana Mackey, Charles Chauvel, Lianne Dalziel, Parekura Horomia, Louisa Wall, Rino Tirikatene, Su’a William Sio.
Unknown:
David Clark, Iain Lees-Galloway, Andrew Little, Rajen Prasad, Sue Moroney, Ross Robertson, Ruth Dyson, Megan Woods, Raymond Huo.
The fall of Ruth Dyson and Sue Moroney makes it seem likely they voted Cunliffe, and the refusal to elevate Little means he probably did too.
The fall of Ruth Dyson and Sue Moroney makes it seem likely they voted Cunliffe, and the refusal to elevate Little means he probably did too.
I believe Dyson and Moroney(possibly) voted for Cunliffe. I understand Andrew Little went Shearer’s way. I read somewhere that Carmel Sepolini, Rajen Prasad and Megan Woods voted Cunliffe. Based on my knowledge concerning some of the shenanigans beyond the caucus room, I suspect they may have been given a hard time of it these past few weeks. So, good on them for having the fortitude to stick to their guns.
So Professor Anne-Delorus-Umbridge-Tolley, having wreaked havoc at Hogwarts has now been withdrawn and gone back to the Ministry of Magic in shame. Oh, the parallels with the Order of the Phoenix. Now all we needs is for a Harry Potter to overcome the Dark Lord and his sycophantic crew and peace will be restored.
North Korea is a secretive country that covers up the truth about conditions and bad practices and enforces controls with its might. In NZ there is talk about controlling teachers and bringing them under the cloak of secrecy that the government imposes on public servants so it is illegal to reveal unpleasant truths.
Ann Tolley apparently dissed the complaint of an informed School Principal about the Ed Dept making a placement as Advisor to experienced schools, who was known to have an unsatisfactory record. Tolley noted that the Principal was affiliated to Labour, chose to regard it as a political ploy and then that excused her from actually doing some work and checking the facts to ensure that the education system was operating to a high standard. Disgraceful. And another example of the arrogance of some politicians who consider they are superior to teachers, who they treat as semi-skilled workers on an education factory line.
“And another example of the arrogance of some politicians who consider they are superior to teachers, who they treat as semi-skilled workers on an education factory line.”
Have noticed the extreme disrespect given to teachers in NZ (by adults). I am afraid I have felt it necessary to warn friends in Britain who are thinking of coming here to teach about this situation. Am surprised that this country has any teachers left.
Have found my teaching colleagues here to be of the highest standard, and horrified that they are treated with such ignorance and near contempt at times- especially by the Nact party. Disgusting.
@seeker
And the worst of it is that teachers can be deprecated and harrassed by their own management after they have worked really hard and got improvement in learning and tests but not high enough to meet arbitrary goals set at Principal level.
Very demoralising, and many will end up just going through the motions if they gave this sort of treatment, just concentrating on meeting the national standards. No use putting heart and soul into it, you wear yourself out, work long hours and then get abuse from the senior level.
A leader worth noting the passing of⊠Vaclav Havel architect of the velvet revolution.
Havel became the first first post-communist Czechoslovakian president on 29 December 1989; initially reluctant to take up the post, the playwright turned president guided his country to greater freedoms.
One might optimistically hope that these leaks are old news, from the period between the leader selection and seat allocation, as people jockeyed for influence. And that this kind of carry-on has by now been put to one side to a large degree, so as to reunify the party. After all, those who have tried to pull the party to the right (if that is indeed what they were up to) must surely by now be cognisant of the fact that they have given their opponent a moral victory and have exposed their machinations to the party membership and the unions. So while they have won in a sense, the onus is on them to re-establish the trust you need to foster if you are to prove electable. Hence they have very good reason to knuckle down, shut up and get on with it.
So Key wants to forge a long term relationship with The Greens by making a deal with them for this term to abstain on confidence and Supply. This is NOT why I gave my party vote to the Greens this election, and I will see it as a betrayal of my vote. If the Greens abstain on Confidence and Supply, that’s my support for them totally gone… never again!
And if Labour looks like becoming National lite, then that just leaves Mana for me, or… for the first time in my life, a non-vote. Will a REAL left wing party please stand up!!!?
There’s not enough REAL left wingers to support a REAL left wing party – especially when REAL left wingers have a variety of perceptions of what is REAL.
26% of the population didn’t vote. Chances are, the majority of them are the real left-wingers. The people who no longer have a party to represent them.
I suspect that if the 27% had good reason they would have voted. They might have believed in “aspiration” in which case Shonkey would have got their vote. Quite obviously they did not feel motivated to vote for whatever Nact were putting up. Equally they could not see anything in Labour or the Greens that was going to motivate them either. Personally I suspect that the 27% represent an increasing alienation from the current democratic process, they did not vote because they think it will make no difference.
Yes well it is this 27% that the Vote Them Out party hopes to capture. If someone can’t be bothered with any of the noobs on offer and would rather they weren’t there at all then that person can actively vote them out.
We would instantly be more popular than the greens.
PG’s statement above is just dribble.
“especially when REAL left wingers have a variety of perceptions of what is REAL.”
Do only left wingers have this variation in perception of REAL?
Can right wingers suffer the same condition?
Or are all right wingers exactly the same in their perception of REALity?
Is there not a huge variety in humans and their personal perception of REALity?
Maybe PG and his right wing buddies have been programmed or cloned since they are united in their perception of REAL.
Merry Xmas anyways Pete…you been getting stuck into the turkey early with your gobbledygook.
And have made a similar comment about this on the Frog Blog General Debate for today. Also will be watching the swearing in starting now, to see how Hone deals with it. Swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen is just wrong for 21st century NZ.
As someone who made a similar pledge for the grant of New Zealand citizenship earlier this year, I found it a bit odd saying that I would affirm my allegiance to a grandma in a country I have never been to. Of course I read the card (I likely would have affirmed allegiance to the noodley tentacles of the flying spaghetti monster if that what was written on the card), but the whole royal thingie seems weird to me.
My brother who is a staunch Nat voter would like to see the Greens bolstering National’s majority to protect the government in the event of a Richard Worth and Pansy Wong being uncovered this electoral term..
Of course the Nat supporters would. A poster on Frog Blog says the Green Party leaders can’t decide on a Confidence and Supply abstention – it has to go to the membership for approval.
Remember, the Greens, – “Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”
Today’s politics in New Zealand. Whilst the Greens should not do it – expediency says they will do a deal. Labour should keep note for 2014. These are the partners to form the next Government. Neither Labour nor Greens individually can win but together they will, but the tail will wag the dog.
“And if Labour looks like becoming National lite ……..”
Think Labour might be more than ‘national lite’ which is the way I initially viewed David Shearer et al.
Now I think the front bench ‘mirrors’ the govt. quite well and generation mirrors generation quite well too.My son brought home to me how this may be important; for generations each have their own perceptions and viewpoints and ‘language’ gleaned from their experiences and these can effect their communications and knowledge of .’where they are coming from’. Even body language may be different. Thus thinking about this factor I had a look at generation ‘mirroring’ as well as suitability.
Shearer and Key- similar age,very good at what they did previously -but one of them more ‘life’ worthy than the other.One far less cowardly than the other and one with much better diction than the other!
Robinson and Parker versus Brownlee and English- similar, but Robinson and Parker(I glean from witnesssing their previous actions and articulated thinking skills)would appear to have higher intelligence and integrity and I believe have better qualifications. Let us hope this intelligence works to Labour’s advantage in this arena.
Likewise Jacinda Ardern who comes to her important portfolio new, as a ‘bright young thing” as did Paula Bennett three years ago.Both fresh from Breakfast TV. Jacinda has also done much work for our youth which is really important for this portfolio. Both are young generation x so will ‘know’each other , and I’m hoping Jacinda will out ‘know’ Bennett. Again she certainly has more integrity and I believe intelligence, but Bennett’s apparent ‘streetwise’ mongrel type intelligence may be a help or hinderance.
I am just very glad David Cunliffe is there to take on Stephen ‘head of the hydra’ Joyce.
I hope that it is one of David Cs destinies to decapitate (metaphorically speaking) that ‘hydra’, before we are all turned into Joyce’s ‘hard as stone’ image, or in the case of the vulnerable, ‘starved ‘or ‘petrified’ into submission by his and his collegial craftiness. My security is restored.
Finally, my other huge relief is Nanaia getting education. Someone of her intelligence, integrity and stature is needed to take on an intelligent ‘chancer’ like Parata. I feel that Nanaia has the ability and the wit to take on this less than principled (judging by my intuition and a little of her history)
female johnkey clone, who’s main aim is social climbing, celebrity and power, albeit educated unlike Tolley. At least our school children have someone to fight for their eduction and future now, in both Maori and English.Yay.
However, i appreciate that Sue Moroney has done a fantastic job in such a short time and I hope this is recognised soon.
Think the other choices will be fine and mirror their counterparts well. Clayton Cosgrove, will,I imagine, be hungry to win after his electorate defeat when he had worked so hard and Maryan Street,who is already ‘streets ‘ ahead because she is experienced and knowledgeable,like Ryall,only without his terrible taste in shirts and ties.
Jones will do because he has good oratory skills ( so I’ve read), but I don’t like his attitude over assets. Know he’s intelligent and bi-lingual though which is all good.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Feel like I’m back on boardish with Labour. For three reasons:
1. What they are trying to do I think is more clear now that we see this fresh plan of the ‘mirroring’ of the National frontbench (unless I have it wrong.). Seems like ‘marking’ a team in sport.
2. David C’s portfolio and his brilliant and inspiring (to me anyway) answer to aTV3 reporter. When asked if he was happy with his position and what deal had he done to get position 5 (something like that any hoo).
He looked at the reporter and said, “Look we are adults and you know as well as I do the dynamics of the situation”.
Sensible and respectful answer to usual silly and disrespectful question, which put a firm end to such baiting and cynical questioning.from a lazy journalist. Wonderful.
With David C. on the front bench with an attitude and answers like that, I feel there is still hope.(Am trying to be ‘adult’ like him and ‘understand the dynamics of the situation’. It’s working,I think.)
(Note:- David C. pronounced ‘dynamic’ correctly, and used it in the more direct and less ‘convoluted’ context.)
3. Shearer’s ‘clean,green,clever’ meme and his asking all of us for ideas for the future, which made me fell that I could be included in ‘making the meme come true’.
Well, the front bench for Labour isn’t as bad as I expected. But I still am not certain where Shearer is at policy-wise and in terms of an underlying political philosophy. At the moment his approach doesn’t seem much different from the neoliberal managerial approach that has infected Labour in recent decades – an approach that ultimately favours the middleclasses, and aims to compromise with, or placate, the largely right-leaning/neoliberal dominated MSM.
I’ve never really warmed to Parker so far – another managerial type. But I’m glad Mahuta and Cunliffe are there. It will be interesting to watch Ardern’s development. Street is a solid, down-to-earth MP with committment to social inequalities. Robertson is a very smart and able MP, but I’m also not sure what his current political approach and philosophy are.
Shane Jones is a worry. Today he’s been talking about mining in rural areas.
Sprout, in terms of politics, and Labour parties in places like NZ & the UK trying to placate the neoliberal-dominated MSM, IMO the result is that such parties cater more to the interests of middleclasses than they do for people on the lower incomes. So it’s kind of like a knock-on effect that influences the policies of centre-left parties.
Sure that’s true, but in the end the middle classes get screwed by neo-liberalism too. In real terms and over time only the very wealthy benefit from neo-liberal policies
You make some good points seeker. Too busy to read it properly before…
Feel like Iâm back on boardish with Labour.
I’m half way there, but won’t commit again until I’m certain the ABC club has been tossed on the fire and burned to a cinder. It’s all very well to say “time to move on etc.” but you still have to see that justice is done. Shearer has gone some way to righting the wrongs, but more needs to be done before I’m convinced it’s genuine. Someone on this site pointed out that a few of Cunliffe’s supporters were either demoted or at least passed over for promotion. I refer in particular to Charles Chauvel who, in my view, should be on the front bench.
So here’s an interesting article – especially good reading for those who
1) Think the relationship between poverty and well-being doesn’t exist
2) Are fans of the Sensible Sentencing Trust
3) Think NZ is a crime ridden and violent society http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/19/karyn-mccluskey-glasgow-gangs
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Famine causes people to work together and build stores of food.
Elites then privatise the stores of food and store lower quality food (a cost saving).
After a while of ‘cost savings’ the taxes on the people for a store still exist yet the food has been virtualized into a world trading system.
Then the private owner of the store wants a bail out for all their hard work in running growth past the ability of the people to produce growth.
More taxes are seized, people lose their homes, and the wealth all runs into the hands of fewer and fewer.
Then one day the famine comes. And the people eat the rich while they save crops for storage.
The rich become the stores of food when they fail to keep food in the store.
Eat the rich.
Woodwork must be fun until you find out Brownlie is the woodwork teacher.
Could just see him confiscating the lunch off the naughty kids.
Had to laugh when Simon Power told how he and Brownlie went to fish & chip shop to order tea for the team (of plonkers) Gerry ordered 20 fish etc etc then turned to Power and said so what do you want?
It appears that the IAEA is biased and all too willing to help a corrupt industry that is more concerned with protecting their interests than the well being of people around the world…
Occupy Dunedin is pulling up pegs in the Octagon. I hope they have a good break, and then maybe can look at how to continue next year. Unoccupied but issues remain.
This is presumably also why in the immediate wake of great disasters – a flood, a blackout, or an economic collapse – people tend to behave the same way, reverting to a rough and ready communism, However briefly, hierarchies and markets and the like become luxuries taht no one can afford. Anyone who has lived through such a moment can speak to their peculiar qualities, the way that strangers become sisters and brothers and human society tends to be reborn. This is important, because it shows that we are not talking simply about cooperation. In fact, communism is the foundation of all human sociability.
The paragraph before that actually explains just how inefficient capitalism and the inherent hierarchies is but the interesting point is his last sentence where he tells us that capitalism cannot exist without the bedrock of communism that is inherent within all societies.
It confounds me how some people can express a common idea in a way that makes it sound more important and somehow like they have stumbled, or through unique intellectual application fallen, onto one of life’s many secrets. And this is a perfect example … “In fact, communism is the foundation of all human sociability.”. All that says is that humans need to live together. Thaqt we are all interdependent. Whoop de doo – I would imagine even the most hardened libertarianal individualistic captialismist would agree and note that that is nothing new. In fact it is as old as the hills. Acshully, older than most NZ hills even.
I don’t mean to be smart or cynical Mr Draco, it’s just a wee rant. I have a mate who does the same. And people like Brian Edwards and Chris Trotter have the same ability, or desire. I guess what they do is better explain a particularity in terms which elevate its importance to its rightful place in the Scheme of Thing.
It’s a point that I realised some time ago – cooperation is far better and more efficient than competition. I was more sticking it to the RWNJs who keep trying to tell us that competition and greed are normal when all the real social sciences (ie, not economics) tell us that they aren’t.
DTB Michael Cullen is the only MP to have a doctorate in economic history you can bet your bottom Dollar that Bills English hasn’t done past adam smith yet.
Thanks. Another very good piece of analysis from Monbiot.
The neoliberals co-opted the very popular notion of “freedom” from the youth and other related rebellions of the 60s and early 70s. For such protest movements, “freedom” meant freedom from the tyranny of the powerful, the dominant groups in society at the time.
Big call by the Prime Minister when endorsing Lockwood Smith as speaker for the new term. He likened the speaker to the outstanding referring of Joubert in the RWC final. Well Joky, this one is not one of your better calls. If you have time in your exceptionally busy schedule, you might like to watch the experts commenting on that referring job, along with the supporting video.
Looks like akismet has problems. It does the external moderation. When it fails stuff winds up moderating. Doesn’t get clear until one of us gets away from the damn Xmas parties.
WELL, he kens noo. I hope that the deceased, unbelieving English man of letters Christopher Hitchens has discovered that God is not only great but merciful too.
I had taken a self-denying ordinance over his demise at the weekend from osophageal cancer on the grounds that one should not speak ill of the recently dead and there would be nothing good to say about him considering the circumstances.
Two things forced me to shorten my purdah. The first was the way in which almost every one of the eulogies and profiles, in which I had declined to be represented on grounds of taste, nonetheless managed to attack me in the process of praising him.
The second was the sight of his friend Tony Blair, his voice catching with emotion in the “death of Diana way”, telling us what a great man he was.
This canonisation of the departed by some of the worst hypocrites operating in the English language must be halted before it slithers any further.
Hitchens was the only-known case of a butterfly changing back into a slug.
He wrote like an angel but placed himself in the service of the devils.
He was a drink-soaked former Trotskyite popinjay, the Englishman in New York who discovered there were large bundles of right-wing dollars available for apostates like him. If they were prepared to betray their friends, their principles and sell the soul he didn’t believe he had in the first place.
Easy. As Groucho Marx once put it: “These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Thus, the man who once praised Saddam Hussein in adoration and opposed the first Gulf War when the Iraqi tyrant was still occupying Kuwait, was transformed into the main literary cheerleader for the second war.
And he was still blowing the weapons of mass destruction trumpet long after its tinny notes were discredited.
The man who once championed the Palestinian cause became a little echo for Benjamin Netanyahu, denouncing the 10 Turkish dead on the ship Mavi Marmara as “Hamas-sympathisers” who got what they asked for.
Sure his ditties were witty, his parsing precise and, if you like your men drunk, slurred and slobbering, he could be charming no doubt.
But when you’re slobbering in support of the re-election of George W Bush for his catastrophic second term, or backing Bush’s handling of the clean-up operation after Hurricane Katrina (where he was the only man in the country other than Bush who thought the Federal Emergency Agency was doing a “heck of a job”) and you have written the script for the most disastrous massacre since Vietnam, I’m afraid literary pretence must be put in its proper place. Down the lavatory.
Hitchens and I shared the ring in an epic “Grapple in the Apple” back in 2005 in Manhattan.
Thousands of people queued around the block for ringside seats paying top dollar for the privilege. You can watch it on YouTube or wait for the DVD, with commentary and my updates, which I will produce shortly.
Ultimately, the real reason for the tear-stained eulogies from the British media commentariat for the late Mr Hitchens is that, by and large, the writers and editors are weeping for themselves.
They share his guilt over the Iraq War and deep inside they know it.
But all the salty tears in the world will not out that damned spot. The next reason is class.
Hitchens was a toff, a Lord. And the English-speaking world, it seems, still likes to love a Lord.
These charts show, for every year from 2001 to 2010, private sector surpluses matched by public sector deficits. This means the private sector (firms and households together) are net savers (ie net lenders), meaning they attempt fewer goods and services than their incomes entitle them to. (These private surpluses accumulate to create a “global savings glut”.) For the private sector to succeed in its attempts to run large surpluses, the public sector must comply by running large deficits. By definition, the combined surpluses of the private sector must equal the combined deficits of the world’s governments. The reality is that, in most years, households and businesses lend to governments because there are limited “investment opportunities” in the private sector.emphasis mine
So, the reason why we have governments in deficit is because of the private sector not spending enough, specifically, a few people accumulating a huge amount of cash which then requires the governments to borrow it back so that it can be re-injected back into the economy. This leads to a single conclusion – the reason for the GFC is because a few people accumulated too much money. Best way to get that money back into circulation is actually taxes.
The reason for those three is the accumulation of working capital into a few hands. Once that happens then you need a way to get money back into circulation. This is done by:-
1.) Loans: The people with the money loan it back out at interest (usually to governments as loaning money to governments carries no risk (IMO, this is one reason why this government went so far into debt so fast – they were protecting their and their rich mates accumulated wealth))
2.) Fractional Reserve Banking: As the people with the money aren’t about to release all the money they have then more money needs to be created hence the Fractional Reserve Banking system but, due to the fact that interest is charged on the printed money, this just accelerates the accumulation of money by the few
3.) As more and more capital is accumulated with nowhere to go the finance system invents more and more exotic “investment” vehicles usually advertised as having little or no risk (sub-prime loans bundled with AAA loans and given AAA rating). As with the other two these carry interest charges which again accelerates accumulation of money by the few.
Eventually you get to the point where the amount of debt cannot be carried by the economy at which point it should all fall down. Unfortunately, our governments decided that they needed to protect the wealth of the few and bailed the bastards out with our money. Not that it’ll make any difference in the medium term as the whole lot is going to collapse anyway – it’s the natural result of the selfish accumulation that is the heart of capitalism.
The accumulation of working capital into fewer and fewer hands doesn’t fully explain quite a few of the negative effects however, IMO. The separation of investment banking and saving banking (as per Glass Stegal) would have prevented the GFC, even with high levels of wealth concentration.
Another for instance: why is “more and more capital (is) accumulated with nowhere to go” The latest archdruid report is instructive.
This whole sack the staff then hire consultants has a bad smell.
Be interesting to see if theres any network of cronys associated with the companies that rake in the cash from the governments decision to use consultants. I don’t like it at all, despite the fact we are always touted as being so corruption free.
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Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that âNew Zealandâs economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerfulâ. They also believe that âNew Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerfulâ. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
âYou talking about me?âThe neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hallâs âGlide Timeâ caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund â When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayersâ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund â and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 âredesign of the welfare stateâ â which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty â various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being âWorking for Familiesâ, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing âon why Melissa is muteâ. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Leeâs ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from âserious populist discontentâ. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring âhard-working peopleâ. ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling â or non-handling â of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealandâs two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from âserious populist discontentâ. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring âhard-working peopleâ. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to âdefend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.â To achieve this, they have pledged they âwill not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes –Â The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workersâ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
Itâs a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealandâs good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National governmentâs lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for TÄmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Governmentâs democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Governmentâs proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change thatâs great for the planet and great for consumers after her memberâs bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the countryâs books after Teanau Tuionoâs membersâ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his memberâs bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Todayâs advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Governmentâs newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealandâs urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
MÄori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, MÄori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Governmentâs refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. âRecently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachersâ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.  âThe Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. âScience, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During todayâs meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. âThe Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in TaupĆ as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the TaupĆ International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. âAnticipation for the ITM TaupĆ Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. âThe coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. âThis project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sectorâs productivity,â Mr Jones says. âThe project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Governmentâs plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. âBenefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Governmentâs commitment to doubling New Zealandâs renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealandâs latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. âOur Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. âNew Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Governmentâs intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. âThe introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Todayâs announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Governmentâs plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. âInflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sectorâs role in the export-led recovery of the economy. âI am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Governmentâs support for the revitalisation the sector.  "New Zealandâs wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. âThe inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. âMy meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singaporeâs outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.  Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpartâs almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During todayâs meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. âI am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. âPets are important members of many Kiwi families. Itâs estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iranâs shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.  âThese attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.  "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand â Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.  âDame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,â says Dr Reti. âI have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Governmentâs 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. âBoosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Governmentâs plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  âOur country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,â Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.  âWe cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. âThis is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  âThe strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin itârule ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Honiara Solomon Islandsâ incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected in the East Choiseul constituency. It is the opening move in the political chess match to form the countryâs next government. Returning officer Christopher Makoni made the declaration late last night after ...
Headline: The moment of friction. – 36th Parallel Assessments In strategic studies âfrictionâ is a term that it is used to describe the moment when military action encounters adversary resistance. âFrictionâ is one of four (along with an unofficial fifth) âFâsâ in military strategy, which includes force (kinetic mass), ...
The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne iamharin/Shutterstock For many people, the term âbulk billedâ refers to a GP visit they donât have to pay ...
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To avoid confusion the National Government has announced that the disaster in the Nelson/Tasman district is to be described as State of the Nation….while tomorrow’s Speech from the Throne is to be known as a State of Emergency.
(Apologies and sympathies to the people of the N/T District)
Whoa! What may seem like jest might turn out to be closer to what could eventuate.
One of the Feng Shui Masters with whom I am in contact confirms that Key coming back in power remains strongly inauspicious for the country and Nelson is the pre-Christmas bad news that was seen in the casting done last month:
http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-up-in-fairfax-poll/#comment-394178
Another lot of casting just provided shows Key’s jinx giving rise to NZ “taking a hit”, quite a significant one, in the first half of 2012. Should, within 20 months, Key continue to be in the “Emperor’s seat” (ie be in power), his jinx will overshadow not just the country but affect himself in connection with a private matter.
Casting for Stephen Joyce shows a “dagger behind the throne”. The casting done for Bill English is showing a “servant boy” and Hekia Parata’s is a “waxing moon in its first quarter”.
The casting for Shearer is yielding neutral reading.
OK, that’s just weird… but it seems all too likely! đ
test
[lprent: The anti-spam engine (the external one) decided you are spam for some reason. If you don’t have a static IP, then it may pay to turn off the router to get a new IP. ]
Cheers, lprent. Either one of the two similar posts eg the 9:19am can be removed.
[lprent: already done. That one went through without intervention. ]
Whoa! What may seem like jest might turn out to be closer to what could eventuate.
One of the Feng Shui Masters with whom I am in contact confirms that Key coming back in power remains bleakly inauspicious for the country and Nelson is the pre-Christmas bad news that was seen in the casting done last month:
http://thestandard.org.nz/labour-up-in-fairfax-poll/#comment-394178
Another lot of casting just provided shows Key’s jinx giving rise to NZ “taking a hit”, quite a significant one, in the first half of 2012. Should, within 20 months, Key continue to be in the “Emperor’s seat” (ie be in power), his jinx will overshadow not just the country but take root in himself in connection with a private matter.
Casting for Stephen Joyce shows a “dagger behind the throne”. The casting done for Bill English is showing a “servant boy” and Hekia Parata’s is a “waxing moon in its first quarter”.
The casting for Shearer is yielding neutral reading.
OMG. The photo that will haunt your dreams
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sideswipe/news/article.cfm?c_id=702&objectid=10774202
Double yuk.
How is it that Audrey Young can state as fact who voted for who in the Labour caucus. That was supposed to be a secret caucus vote.
This is really shite and shows that the dirty tricks leaks are continuing.
Also, John Hartevelt seems to know who supported Cunliffe: e.g. Sue Moroney, who lost her portfolio (a sad loss, IMO), and Charles Chauvel.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6164303/Cunliffe-has-front-bench-spot-as-consolation
I had hoped that we were entering a new age for Labour and there are still people in caucus who can’t keep their efing mouths shut.
It astounds me the level of self-promotion(?), vindictiveness(?), bad faith(?), petty tribalism or whatever, that would motivate someone to betray the confidentiality of caucus, the greater good.
Â
Their identity should be exposed and they should be dumped, dumped, dumped!
I haven’t given up hope but I wont sit through another term of Labour shooting themselves in the foot.
“It astounds me the level of self-promotion, vindictiveness, bad faith, petty tribalism or whatever, that would motivate someone to betray the confidentiality of caucus, the greater good.”
Really, I’m never surprised to see any of these traits displayed in politicians.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZcFwzzJOkc
Honestly, why does this ‘leaking’ matter? This only titillates the beltway and some blog commentators. It has absolutely no impact on the public at large.
So Labour have some internal factions right after a leadership battle – big surprise!
Now if this sort of thing is going on in 6-9 months time, that’s another issue.
Was surprising the leadership battle was done so publicly full-stop, as if the public were making the decision. Allowing the public to see and experience factions within a party makes it all the difficult for the party to re-group and get on with the job. Was a dumb strategy.
The “leaking” has been noticeable for some time, in particular cases (in amongst the usual RW spin slurs, and bullshit), eerily accurate. Sometimes I guess it just happens when people are impassioned and talking a lot amongst themselves. But the leaks from the shadow cabinet and caucus itself – it’s hard not to see the possibility of something underhand and deliberate.
But the leaks from the shadow cabinet and caucus itself â itâs hard not to see the possibility of something underhand and deliberate.
It was underhand and deliberate. In a way it reflects on David Shearer but I’m inclined to believe he didn’t know what was going on. It’s to be hoped he’s since given the tiny group responsible one hell of a bollocking, and there will be no more of it occurring.
Yeah… well, one can live in hope. đ
The same way the entire front bench line up was known by the Herald a week ago. The Labour Party leaks like a fucking sieve.
And yes, it is obvious that Cunliffe’s supporters were in the main penalised, while Shearer supporters got a boost.
This article confirms that Shane Jones and Clare Curran joined the Shearer camp.
Final list of who voted who:
Shearer:
David Shearer, Grant Robertson, David Parker, Annette King, Maryan Street, Damien O’Connor, Phil Goff, Phil Twyford, Kris Faafoi, Darien Fenton, Clayton Cosgrove, Trevor Mallard, Jacinda Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Clare Curran and Shane Jones.
Cunliffe:
David Cunliffe, Nanaia Mahuta, Moana Mackey, Charles Chauvel, Lianne Dalziel, Parekura Horomia, Louisa Wall, Rino Tirikatene, Su’a William Sio.
Unknown:
David Clark, Iain Lees-Galloway, Andrew Little, Rajen Prasad, Sue Moroney, Ross Robertson, Ruth Dyson, Megan Woods, Raymond Huo.
The fall of Ruth Dyson and Sue Moroney makes it seem likely they voted Cunliffe, and the refusal to elevate Little means he probably did too.
The fall of Ruth Dyson and Sue Moroney makes it seem likely they voted Cunliffe, and the refusal to elevate Little means he probably did too.
I believe Dyson and Moroney(possibly) voted for Cunliffe. I understand Andrew Little went Shearer’s way. I read somewhere that Carmel Sepolini, Rajen Prasad and Megan Woods voted Cunliffe. Based on my knowledge concerning some of the shenanigans beyond the caucus room, I suspect they may have been given a hard time of it these past few weeks. So, good on them for having the fortitude to stick to their guns.
Don’t worry fullas and fullesses nobody out here is even remotely interested in it, so keep it internal and your voters won’t notice.
So Professor Anne-Delorus-Umbridge-Tolley, having wreaked havoc at Hogwarts has now been withdrawn and gone back to the Ministry of Magic in shame. Oh, the parallels with the Order of the Phoenix. Now all we needs is for a Harry Potter to overcome the Dark Lord and his sycophantic crew and peace will be restored.
LMFAO!
North Korea is a secretive country that covers up the truth about conditions and bad practices and enforces controls with its might. In NZ there is talk about controlling teachers and bringing them under the cloak of secrecy that the government imposes on public servants so it is illegal to reveal unpleasant truths.
Ann Tolley apparently dissed the complaint of an informed School Principal about the Ed Dept making a placement as Advisor to experienced schools, who was known to have an unsatisfactory record. Tolley noted that the Principal was affiliated to Labour, chose to regard it as a political ploy and then that excused her from actually doing some work and checking the facts to ensure that the education system was operating to a high standard. Disgraceful. And another example of the arrogance of some politicians who consider they are superior to teachers, who they treat as semi-skilled workers on an education factory line.
@Prism
“And another example of the arrogance of some politicians who consider they are superior to teachers, who they treat as semi-skilled workers on an education factory line.”
Have noticed the extreme disrespect given to teachers in NZ (by adults). I am afraid I have felt it necessary to warn friends in Britain who are thinking of coming here to teach about this situation. Am surprised that this country has any teachers left.
Have found my teaching colleagues here to be of the highest standard, and horrified that they are treated with such ignorance and near contempt at times- especially by the Nact party. Disgusting.
@seeker
And the worst of it is that teachers can be deprecated and harrassed by their own management after they have worked really hard and got improvement in learning and tests but not high enough to meet arbitrary goals set at Principal level.
Very demoralising, and many will end up just going through the motions if they gave this sort of treatment, just concentrating on meeting the national standards. No use putting heart and soul into it, you wear yourself out, work long hours and then get abuse from the senior level.
A leader worth noting the passing of⊠Vaclav Havel architect of the velvet revolution.
One might optimistically hope that these leaks are old news, from the period between the leader selection and seat allocation, as people jockeyed for influence. And that this kind of carry-on has by now been put to one side to a large degree, so as to reunify the party. After all, those who have tried to pull the party to the right (if that is indeed what they were up to) must surely by now be cognisant of the fact that they have given their opponent a moral victory and have exposed their machinations to the party membership and the unions. So while they have won in a sense, the onus is on them to re-establish the trust you need to foster if you are to prove electable. Hence they have very good reason to knuckle down, shut up and get on with it.
It looks like Labour is aiming to be National-Lite.
If things keep going in this direction, we’ll be back to the good old days reminiscent of Douglas, Prebble, et al. đ
So Key wants to forge a long term relationship with The Greens by making a deal with them for this term to abstain on confidence and Supply. This is NOT why I gave my party vote to the Greens this election, and I will see it as a betrayal of my vote. If the Greens abstain on Confidence and Supply, that’s my support for them totally gone… never again!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6166315/National-kicks-off-talks-with-Greens
And if Labour looks like becoming National lite, then that just leaves Mana for me, or… for the first time in my life, a non-vote. Will a REAL left wing party please stand up!!!?
There’s not enough REAL left wingers to support a REAL left wing party – especially when REAL left wingers have a variety of perceptions of what is REAL.
26% of the population didn’t vote. Chances are, the majority of them are the real left-wingers. The people who no longer have a party to represent them.
No chances are, the majority of them couldn’t be fagged..
hs – you stated the symptom, DTB stated the cause.
If you think that’s the cause for 27% of the voting population not bothering you’re as delusional as wee draco.
I suspect that if the 27% had good reason they would have voted. They might have believed in “aspiration” in which case Shonkey would have got their vote. Quite obviously they did not feel motivated to vote for whatever Nact were putting up. Equally they could not see anything in Labour or the Greens that was going to motivate them either. Personally I suspect that the 27% represent an increasing alienation from the current democratic process, they did not vote because they think it will make no difference.
Yes well it is this 27% that the Vote Them Out party hopes to capture. If someone can’t be bothered with any of the noobs on offer and would rather they weren’t there at all then that person can actively vote them out.
We would instantly be more popular than the greens.
No KFC or McDonalds on offer this year……….
Here we go again, Mr 0.6% decrying the lack of support for anyone else’s point of view.
Pompous git and you have no perception of what is real.
because you can’t make up your mind who you are.
Unbalanced
Folliesculls
0.6% and going down
Pete George- the second man in UF
PG’s statement above is just dribble.
“especially when REAL left wingers have a variety of perceptions of what is REAL.”
Do only left wingers have this variation in perception of REAL?
Can right wingers suffer the same condition?
Or are all right wingers exactly the same in their perception of REALity?
Is there not a huge variety in humans and their personal perception of REALity?
Maybe PG and his right wing buddies have been programmed or cloned since they are united in their perception of REAL.
Merry Xmas anyways Pete…you been getting stuck into the turkey early with your gobbledygook.
Carol
+1
And have made a similar comment about this on the Frog Blog General Debate for today. Also will be watching the swearing in starting now, to see how Hone deals with it. Swearing an oath of allegiance to the Queen is just wrong for 21st century NZ.
As someone who made a similar pledge for the grant of New Zealand citizenship earlier this year, I found it a bit odd saying that I would affirm my allegiance to a grandma in a country I have never been to. Of course I read the card (I likely would have affirmed allegiance to the noodley tentacles of the flying spaghetti monster if that what was written on the card), but the whole royal thingie seems weird to me.
I do think a lot of hour parliamentary rituals need updating. Wigs and gowns? Christian prayers?
Yeah. Increase the entertainment value of parliament. I’d suggest naked MP’s in body paint
Why stop there lprent… âunder benchâ cam, âPimpâ your MP, chicken wire the newly licensed complimentary Margarita pitcher, public gallery.
…chicken wire the newly licensed public gallery.
To stop the groupies?
FOAM PARTY!!!!!!!!!
That vision of Gerry Brownlie just spoiled my afternoon tea
My brother who is a staunch Nat voter would like to see the Greens bolstering National’s majority to protect the government in the event of a Richard Worth and Pansy Wong being uncovered this electoral term..
Of course the Nat supporters would. A poster on Frog Blog says the Green Party leaders can’t decide on a Confidence and Supply abstention – it has to go to the membership for approval.
Remember, the Greens, – “Power Corrupts, and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”
Today’s politics in New Zealand. Whilst the Greens should not do it – expediency says they will do a deal. Labour should keep note for 2014. These are the partners to form the next Government. Neither Labour nor Greens individually can win but together they will, but the tail will wag the dog.
This is why I didn’t give my party vote to the Greens this year, for the first time. They are not what they were… đ
@ Carol 10.35am
“And if Labour looks like becoming National lite ……..”
Think Labour might be more than ‘national lite’ which is the way I initially viewed David Shearer et al.
Now I think the front bench ‘mirrors’ the govt. quite well and generation mirrors generation quite well too.My son brought home to me how this may be important; for generations each have their own perceptions and viewpoints and ‘language’ gleaned from their experiences and these can effect their communications and knowledge of .’where they are coming from’. Even body language may be different. Thus thinking about this factor I had a look at generation ‘mirroring’ as well as suitability.
Shearer and Key- similar age,very good at what they did previously -but one of them more ‘life’ worthy than the other.One far less cowardly than the other and one with much better diction than the other!
Robinson and Parker versus Brownlee and English- similar, but Robinson and Parker(I glean from witnesssing their previous actions and articulated thinking skills)would appear to have higher intelligence and integrity and I believe have better qualifications. Let us hope this intelligence works to Labour’s advantage in this arena.
Likewise Jacinda Ardern who comes to her important portfolio new, as a ‘bright young thing” as did Paula Bennett three years ago.Both fresh from Breakfast TV. Jacinda has also done much work for our youth which is really important for this portfolio. Both are young generation x so will ‘know’each other , and I’m hoping Jacinda will out ‘know’ Bennett. Again she certainly has more integrity and I believe intelligence, but Bennett’s apparent ‘streetwise’ mongrel type intelligence may be a help or hinderance.
I am just very glad David Cunliffe is there to take on Stephen ‘head of the hydra’ Joyce.
I hope that it is one of David Cs destinies to decapitate (metaphorically speaking) that ‘hydra’, before we are all turned into Joyce’s ‘hard as stone’ image, or in the case of the vulnerable, ‘starved ‘or ‘petrified’ into submission by his and his collegial craftiness. My security is restored.
Finally, my other huge relief is Nanaia getting education. Someone of her intelligence, integrity and stature is needed to take on an intelligent ‘chancer’ like Parata. I feel that Nanaia has the ability and the wit to take on this less than principled (judging by my intuition and a little of her history)
female johnkey clone, who’s main aim is social climbing, celebrity and power, albeit educated unlike Tolley. At least our school children have someone to fight for their eduction and future now, in both Maori and English.Yay.
However, i appreciate that Sue Moroney has done a fantastic job in such a short time and I hope this is recognised soon.
Think the other choices will be fine and mirror their counterparts well. Clayton Cosgrove, will,I imagine, be hungry to win after his electorate defeat when he had worked so hard and Maryan Street,who is already ‘streets ‘ ahead because she is experienced and knowledgeable,like Ryall,only without his terrible taste in shirts and ties.
Jones will do because he has good oratory skills ( so I’ve read), but I don’t like his attitude over assets. Know he’s intelligent and bi-lingual though which is all good.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Feel like I’m back on boardish with Labour. For three reasons:
1. What they are trying to do I think is more clear now that we see this fresh plan of the ‘mirroring’ of the National frontbench (unless I have it wrong.). Seems like ‘marking’ a team in sport.
2. David C’s portfolio and his brilliant and inspiring (to me anyway) answer to aTV3 reporter. When asked if he was happy with his position and what deal had he done to get position 5 (something like that any hoo).
He looked at the reporter and said, “Look we are adults and you know as well as I do the dynamics of the situation”.
Sensible and respectful answer to usual silly and disrespectful question, which put a firm end to such baiting and cynical questioning.from a lazy journalist. Wonderful.
With David C. on the front bench with an attitude and answers like that, I feel there is still hope.(Am trying to be ‘adult’ like him and ‘understand the dynamics of the situation’. It’s working,I think.)
(Note:- David C. pronounced ‘dynamic’ correctly, and used it in the more direct and less ‘convoluted’ context.)
3. Shearer’s ‘clean,green,clever’ meme and his asking all of us for ideas for the future, which made me fell that I could be included in ‘making the meme come true’.
*And in spite of Lew.
Well, the front bench for Labour isn’t as bad as I expected. But I still am not certain where Shearer is at policy-wise and in terms of an underlying political philosophy. At the moment his approach doesn’t seem much different from the neoliberal managerial approach that has infected Labour in recent decades – an approach that ultimately favours the middleclasses, and aims to compromise with, or placate, the largely right-leaning/neoliberal dominated MSM.
I’ve never really warmed to Parker so far – another managerial type. But I’m glad Mahuta and Cunliffe are there. It will be interesting to watch Ardern’s development. Street is a solid, down-to-earth MP with committment to social inequalities. Robertson is a very smart and able MP, but I’m also not sure what his current political approach and philosophy are.
Shane Jones is a worry. Today he’s been talking about mining in rural areas.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6165525/Jones-back-and-planning-to-shake-things-up
I’m sorry some good MPs who supported Cunliffe have been demoted – eg Sue Moroney.
I’m really in wait-and-see mode.
Agree with your synopsis Carol.
Agree with all of that, except the idea that neo-liberalism benefits the middle classes
Sprout, in terms of politics, and Labour parties in places like NZ & the UK trying to placate the neoliberal-dominated MSM, IMO the result is that such parties cater more to the interests of middleclasses than they do for people on the lower incomes. So it’s kind of like a knock-on effect that influences the policies of centre-left parties.
Sure that’s true, but in the end the middle classes get screwed by neo-liberalism too. In real terms and over time only the very wealthy benefit from neo-liberal policies
You make some good points seeker. Too busy to read it properly before…
Feel like Iâm back on boardish with Labour.
I’m half way there, but won’t commit again until I’m certain the ABC club has been tossed on the fire and burned to a cinder. It’s all very well to say “time to move on etc.” but you still have to see that justice is done. Shearer has gone some way to righting the wrongs, but more needs to be done before I’m convinced it’s genuine. Someone on this site pointed out that a few of Cunliffe’s supporters were either demoted or at least passed over for promotion. I refer in particular to Charles Chauvel who, in my view, should be on the front bench.
So here’s an interesting article – especially good reading for those who
1) Think the relationship between poverty and well-being doesn’t exist
2) Are fans of the Sensible Sentencing Trust
3) Think NZ is a crime ridden and violent society
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/19/karyn-mccluskey-glasgow-gangs
Â
Famine causes people to work together and build stores of food.
Elites then privatise the stores of food and store lower quality food (a cost saving).
After a while of ‘cost savings’ the taxes on the people for a store still exist yet the food has been virtualized into a world trading system.
Then the private owner of the store wants a bail out for all their hard work in running growth past the ability of the people to produce growth.
More taxes are seized, people lose their homes, and the wealth all runs into the hands of fewer and fewer.
Then one day the famine comes. And the people eat the rich while they save crops for storage.
The rich become the stores of food when they fail to keep food in the store.
Eat the rich.
“Eat the rich”
I am still getting these unpleasant images of Gerry Brownlie.
Please desist folks
Eat a pie. Should help.
Woodwork must be fun until you find out Brownlie is the woodwork teacher.
Could just see him confiscating the lunch off the naughty kids.
Had to laugh when Simon Power told how he and Brownlie went to fish & chip shop to order tea for the team (of plonkers) Gerry ordered 20 fish etc etc then turned to Power and said so what do you want?
Tolley getting told off? (Ooh, Key giving her a spanking – another awful picture)
Â
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10774360
Fukushima highlights industry failures
It appears that the IAEA is biased and all too willing to help a corrupt industry that is more concerned with protecting their interests than the well being of people around the world…
Yep, large shareholders, industry and regulators in a far too cosy relationship.
Arnie Gunderson’s latest update on Fukushima.
Occupy Dunedin is pulling up pegs in the Octagon. I hope they have a good break, and then maybe can look at how to continue next year. Unoccupied but issues remain.
Don’t think dear leader Dunne would approve of your lip-service-support for a group challenging the 1% whose alter he worships at.
Debt: The First 5000 Years page 92.
The paragraph before that actually explains just how inefficient capitalism and the inherent hierarchies is but the interesting point is his last sentence where he tells us that capitalism cannot exist without the bedrock of communism that is inherent within all societies.
It confounds me how some people can express a common idea in a way that makes it sound more important and somehow like they have stumbled, or through unique intellectual application fallen, onto one of life’s many secrets. And this is a perfect example … “In fact, communism is the foundation of all human sociability.”. All that says is that humans need to live together. Thaqt we are all interdependent. Whoop de doo – I would imagine even the most hardened libertarianal individualistic captialismist would agree and note that that is nothing new. In fact it is as old as the hills. Acshully, older than most NZ hills even.
I don’t mean to be smart or cynical Mr Draco, it’s just a wee rant. I have a mate who does the same. And people like Brian Edwards and Chris Trotter have the same ability, or desire. I guess what they do is better explain a particularity in terms which elevate its importance to its rightful place in the Scheme of Thing.
btw, he’s right too.
It’s a point that I realised some time ago – cooperation is far better and more efficient than competition. I was more sticking it to the RWNJs who keep trying to tell us that competition and greed are normal when all the real social sciences (ie, not economics) tell us that they aren’t.
DTB Michael Cullen is the only MP to have a doctorate in economic history you can bet your bottom Dollar that Bills English hasn’t done past adam smith yet.
Very good article by Mr Monbiot on corruption of language and ideals (well, one ideal)
http://www.monbiot.com/2011/12/19/how-freedom-became-tyranny/
Thanks. Another very good piece of analysis from Monbiot.
The neoliberals co-opted the very popular notion of “freedom” from the youth and other related rebellions of the 60s and early 70s. For such protest movements, “freedom” meant freedom from the tyranny of the powerful, the dominant groups in society at the time.
I have heard it defined as the “freedom of the sociopath”
Big call by the Prime Minister when endorsing Lockwood Smith as speaker for the new term. He likened the speaker to the outstanding referring of Joubert in the RWC final. Well Joky, this one is not one of your better calls. If you have time in your exceptionally busy schedule, you might like to watch the experts commenting on that referring job, along with the supporting video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7C6bTHyC0U
I want to know why I am in moderation? I see from an email notification that someone else is also, and his post is not here! What gives?
Looks like akismet has problems. It does the external moderation. When it fails stuff winds up moderating. Doesn’t get clear until one of us gets away from the damn Xmas parties.
Let’s just hope God is merciful, Chris
by GEORGE GALLOWAY on Dec 19, 11 08:21 AM
http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/georgegalloway/2011/12/lets-just-hope-god-is-merciful-chris.html
WELL, he kens noo. I hope that the deceased, unbelieving English man of letters Christopher Hitchens has discovered that God is not only great but merciful too.
I had taken a self-denying ordinance over his demise at the weekend from osophageal cancer on the grounds that one should not speak ill of the recently dead and there would be nothing good to say about him considering the circumstances.
Two things forced me to shorten my purdah. The first was the way in which almost every one of the eulogies and profiles, in which I had declined to be represented on grounds of taste, nonetheless managed to attack me in the process of praising him.
The second was the sight of his friend Tony Blair, his voice catching with emotion in the “death of Diana way”, telling us what a great man he was.
This canonisation of the departed by some of the worst hypocrites operating in the English language must be halted before it slithers any further.
Hitchens was the only-known case of a butterfly changing back into a slug.
He wrote like an angel but placed himself in the service of the devils.
He was a drink-soaked former Trotskyite popinjay, the Englishman in New York who discovered there were large bundles of right-wing dollars available for apostates like him. If they were prepared to betray their friends, their principles and sell the soul he didn’t believe he had in the first place.
Easy. As Groucho Marx once put it: “These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Thus, the man who once praised Saddam Hussein in adoration and opposed the first Gulf War when the Iraqi tyrant was still occupying Kuwait, was transformed into the main literary cheerleader for the second war.
And he was still blowing the weapons of mass destruction trumpet long after its tinny notes were discredited.
The man who once championed the Palestinian cause became a little echo for Benjamin Netanyahu, denouncing the 10 Turkish dead on the ship Mavi Marmara as “Hamas-sympathisers” who got what they asked for.
Sure his ditties were witty, his parsing precise and, if you like your men drunk, slurred and slobbering, he could be charming no doubt.
But when you’re slobbering in support of the re-election of George W Bush for his catastrophic second term, or backing Bush’s handling of the clean-up operation after Hurricane Katrina (where he was the only man in the country other than Bush who thought the Federal Emergency Agency was doing a “heck of a job”) and you have written the script for the most disastrous massacre since Vietnam, I’m afraid literary pretence must be put in its proper place. Down the lavatory.
Hitchens and I shared the ring in an epic “Grapple in the Apple” back in 2005 in Manhattan.
Thousands of people queued around the block for ringside seats paying top dollar for the privilege. You can watch it on YouTube or wait for the DVD, with commentary and my updates, which I will produce shortly.
Ultimately, the real reason for the tear-stained eulogies from the British media commentariat for the late Mr Hitchens is that, by and large, the writers and editors are weeping for themselves.
They share his guilt over the Iraq War and deep inside they know it.
But all the salty tears in the world will not out that damned spot. The next reason is class.
Hitchens was a toff, a Lord. And the English-speaking world, it seems, still likes to love a Lord.
http://blogs.dailyrecord.co.uk/georgegalloway/2011/12/lets-just-hope-god-is-merciful-chris.html
Keith Rankin: The Global Debt Crisis
So, the reason why we have governments in deficit is because of the private sector not spending enough, specifically, a few people accumulating a huge amount of cash which then requires the governments to borrow it back so that it can be re-injected back into the economy. This leads to a single conclusion – the reason for the GFC is because a few people accumulated too much money. Best way to get that money back into circulation is actually taxes.
Richard John Seddon was the first to break up large land holdings we need to do something similar today to spread some money and oportunity around
Yep. Asset and land taxes, estate taxes. And the creation of debt free money by the sovereign power of the Crown.
I’d disagree in part. IMO the reason for the GFC was
1) A monetary system based on the creation of credit (money) through interest bearing and hence exponentially increasing debt.
2) The use of highly excessive leverage by financial institutions.
3) The use of large pools of capital to finance ponzi investment schemes which in turn generated massive amounts of toxic false assets.
The reason for those three is the accumulation of working capital into a few hands. Once that happens then you need a way to get money back into circulation. This is done by:-
1.) Loans: The people with the money loan it back out at interest (usually to governments as loaning money to governments carries no risk (IMO, this is one reason why this government went so far into debt so fast – they were protecting their and their rich mates accumulated wealth))
2.) Fractional Reserve Banking: As the people with the money aren’t about to release all the money they have then more money needs to be created hence the Fractional Reserve Banking system but, due to the fact that interest is charged on the printed money, this just accelerates the accumulation of money by the few
3.) As more and more capital is accumulated with nowhere to go the finance system invents more and more exotic “investment” vehicles usually advertised as having little or no risk (sub-prime loans bundled with AAA loans and given AAA rating). As with the other two these carry interest charges which again accelerates accumulation of money by the few.
Eventually you get to the point where the amount of debt cannot be carried by the economy at which point it should all fall down. Unfortunately, our governments decided that they needed to protect the wealth of the few and bailed the bastards out with our money. Not that it’ll make any difference in the medium term as the whole lot is going to collapse anyway – it’s the natural result of the selfish accumulation that is the heart of capitalism.
The accumulation of working capital into fewer and fewer hands doesn’t fully explain quite a few of the negative effects however, IMO. The separation of investment banking and saving banking (as per Glass Stegal) would have prevented the GFC, even with high levels of wealth concentration.
Another for instance: why is “more and more capital (is) accumulated with nowhere to go” The latest archdruid report is instructive.
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2011/12/future-cant-pay-its-bills.html
Secret statistics
WTF! $2500 a day for something Statistics NZ should be doing anyway… and for a website that’s a bloody disgrace!
It does have a system for attaining information without going through the Official Information Act 1982 though… let’s see how that’s working…
This whole sack the staff then hire consultants has a bad smell.
Be interesting to see if theres any network of cronys associated with the companies that rake in the cash from the governments decision to use consultants. I don’t like it at all, despite the fact we are always touted as being so corruption free.