So..how will the Nats reconcile their own policies with what Colin (Cray) Craig stands for:
1. wants to abolish the anti smacking law
2. wants to abolish the right to abortion
3. is against asset sales
4. wants to put higher taxes on alcohol
and some other big unknowns about CC’s policies and the people he may bring to Parliament with him?
The Opposition should start stacking up their ammunition…
I was talking to my mate, who grew up in the Herald island area and is a stalwart North Shore Tory hang-em’ high guy from way back, and he reckons that if Key tries an Epsom style deal to get Colin Craig into the new seat the locals won’t cooperate as their is no appetite for God-bother parties. If Labour has a half decent candidate they would have a real chance of winning the seat.
Not that I’m a supporter of CC but he denied his was a Christian party, which would be unlikely if they did have religion-based principles. Also said he hasn’t been to church in decades. Not much of a God-botherer if that’s the case.
My point is those who are devout are not inclined to deny their leanings. Saying its not a Christian party and he doesn’t attend church is at sending a message that a fundamentalist would not consider.
Well, weekly group prayers at businesses he owns suggests he does take it a bit far – same with the homophobia, pro-smacking and anti-abortion routine.
I totally agree with you. A fundamentalist christian would not deny their faith. Sacrilegious they will scream before they self-flagellate. Followed by a rosary bead’s worth of penance.
He is definitely a fundamentalist but of what kind I don’t know.
I know plenty of real Christians who enact in their deeds the teachings of Jesus. There are plenty of priests too who offer real moral guidance. Colon Craig simply wants doctrinal dictatorship and that’s why he shys away from real churches.
(Note: I had to edit “shys” – fucking autocorrect!)
Now thats interesting no reply button until I had logged in, and only on articles that were put up today. Now thats an excellent way to keep the Troll problem under control, well done Lynn.
Colin Craig on TV3 breakfast just running thru all the AK seats I reckon all the punters must be going “Oh hell here we go again they are going to turn us into another Epsom”
Look on the bright side,. Paula Bennett is dog tucker to whoever stands against her in the new Kelston seat. Which raises the question – who is the ideal candidate for that new seat? Carmel Sepuloni? Andrew Little?
Has to be Carmel she did such a good job last time only lost by 9 votes. Sorry but I don’t figure Little in there at all, or do Labour want to gift the seat to the Nats. Little has all the appeal of a toothache.
Absolutely vital that Labour and Greens get this right. The North Harbour seat is potentially winnable if the Greens step aside and enable National and the Conservatives to split each other off. This kind of opportunity won’t arise again for quite some time.
In return Labour could consider pulling out of the Waitakere Ranges area to enable the Greens to harvest higher party votes from the Blue-Greens up there in the forested hills. And their donations.
Similarly for specific areas like Waiheke Island which although not an electorate seat has a high Greens activist base. Labour could effectively not campaign there and leave the Party votes to the greens entirely.
In return the Greens could withdraw their candidate from Auckland Central to enable Labour an electorate win against National’s Member.
And while we are at it, be bold and put Grant Robertson on the list, and enable the Greens to get an electorate seat in Wellington. Thhis could conceivably make the whole coalition safer.
It’s not difficult. Just campaign. ‘Giving’ the Greens electorate seats they don’t need only justifies what National does.
In close seats. Labour candidates should be explicit about the fact that while they obviously want list votes as well, they are also the only electorate candidate that can beat National.
Appeal to voters, don’t do backroom deals and announce them to voters and expect them to fall into line. Left wing voters aren’t tories, they will not like you treating them like tories. Treat them like fucking citizens making choices.
And the objective is an increase in votes across the left – labour swapping votes with the Greens or Mana in various electorates (and vice versa) does absolutely nothing towards changing the government.
under mmp, there’s no such thing as a wasted vote.
edit: and the flipside for trading electorate votes of minimal value is to be seen to play voters for chumps, or divvying them up with an undeserved sense of entitlement.
and, being the astute political analyst that you have demonstrated, the proposition would be… (not avocado on toast, although, with a little cayenne and freshly-ground black pepper- Very Yummy indeed).
Nicky Wagner has admitted that the National Party has failed the east of Christchurch, which suffered by far the most and whose communities have been completely sacked and devastated by the earthquakes. Completely.
In The Press this morning she says that if the new boundaries of Christchurch Central, which she won last time by 47 votes, moves anywhere but west (towards the Ilam and Fendalton nether regions) then the seat will be unwinnable for National.
That is what she said (no link available yet).
Why is that Nicky? Why will it become unwinnable? You have just had one of NZ’s biggest ever disasters which devastated huge chunks of your electorate. That is surely an opportunity for the sitting MP to work to help the constituents through the disaster. Such help would of course be recognised at the ballot box with a return to the seat by the incumbent, namely you Nicky. But you yourself admit, unthinkingly, that that is not going to happen to you.
So why is it not going to happen to you? Why will it be impossible to win Nicky? Why? Surely, if you have helped these people then there is a chance at least you could win again? Yes?
But you aint going to are you. Because you aint done shit for the people of the east of Christchurch. They are about to tell you that aren’t they Nicky.
The people of the east and south of Christchurch are about to tell you to fuck right off because you aint done shit.
Excluding higher paid employees from personal grievances makes sense, says BusinessNZ.
A private member’s bill proposes that employees on salary packages over $150,000 should be able to contract out of the personal grievance provisions of the Employment Relations Act.
The bill, promoted by National’s Paul Goldsmith, would mean a higher paid worker would have to use the civil court to challenge a wrongful dismissal.
Going after high paid employees now. Big business must realise there isn’t a lot more they can take off the low paid.
The white collar professionals who thought that National was on “their side” have another think coming. National is the party of corporates, and the corporates don’t want any trouble from the $200K pa serf overseers that they use.
Titford to go away for a decent stretch for a nasty lot of violence against his wife and family.
I remember an article in North and South or Metro with him photographed against a beautiful background of Northland coastline. Poor little asperashunal businessman, his future projected profit of coastal development and sale of the rich, floating in the fluid around his eyeballs. He was afraid to cry in case his dreams washed away. But he hollered and moaned and complained to good effect and the government paid him out though apparently he didn’t get much out of it. Similar to the Crafar ambition of becoming very rich through land speculation.
And interesting to compare Titford and his anti-Maori rhetoric which the government had to quieten with money, and the poor farmers that the government virtually hounded off their farm. They were charged with negligence in the maintenance of a bridge on their property which collapsed resulting in the death of a beekeeper crossing it. The bridge was built by the Army but they did not warn of the likely problem that is well known with fungus-treated timber – when there is an entry through the outer seal, either from bolts, or a cut to reduce length, fungus can enter and rot it unless there is regular sealing with suitable paint. They were tried for manslaughter I think. Defended by a barrister who fought for years trying to prevent the case being brushed under the political carpet. Over that they had an enormous loss, Titford got his payout, they had to get off their farm. No consideration for them.
In the news about an art auction -Goldie painting a rare portrait, sold to a private buyer for $700,000 odd. Before photography got established, this was the equivalent of a family memorial. I hope that private buyer will now gift it to the relevant tribe if they have a safe place to house it, or allow it to be displayed there, and pay for insurance on it.
If there is a public interest in the Goldie portrait then a public institution should buy it for the public good. eg The Auckland War memorial Museum has a fine collection of Lindauers. Te Papa has a good few Lindauers and Goldies. All reverentially displayed.
Right, sorry. That did occur to me a bit later on… I didn’t hear about the case until his name was out there, I guess on its own it didn’t really rate as nationally news-worthy,
not the point, he says he is even handed in his crusades. According to his own “logic” this guy should have been outted to save the folks of the north from his abuse. Slater hasnt put thousands of his own money into anything… he has backers. Seems this guy didnt warrant outing. Just sexually assaulting women and children after all.
My avast! detected a malware infection on that site, fender.
Infection detected!
avast! Web shield has detected a threat
Infection: URL:Mal
URL: http://simplehitcounter.com/hit.php?
uid=1230609&f=16777215&b=0
It doesn’t mean a lot to me, but I’d hate to see anyone except the trolls pick up an infection.
Holy shit, now it’s philanthropy rather than his business. I’m sure the victims appreciate his generosity in spreading their personal information about the place for profit and prurience.
Hes already paid thousands and received criminal convictions in outing suppression orders
Check out the comments on this article in E-local (you might have seen it in your mailbox, it masquerades as a community newspaper, but pushes right-wing propaganda):
I see that pseudo-historian of Celtic New Zealand, Martin Doutré, is vigorously defending Titford as a political prisoner. I remember when the first book about that rubbish came out. It took me about 2 seconds to realise it was racist crap designed to delegitimise the Treaty. I wonder how long before WhaleSpew leaps on the same filthy bandwagon.
regrettably, Miss Otis had to decline the invitation to the ‘Young Nats Christmas Function’ (going as Hugh Hefner (lol) to another ‘do’ this year) just gotta rustle up a burghandi smoking jacket and a satin dressing gown before next Friday. 😉
Titford to go away for a decent stretch for a nasty lot of violence against his wife and family.
And don’t forget the nasty lot of violence against the local Tangata Whenua. You can be sure the media are studiously ignoring that, and concentrating on the family violence; we need to remind people at every chance that Titford’s rage was aimed at Maori as much as his own family.
An Auckland school, and communities, being sacrificed, sliced and diced, to make way for new motorway, east-west motoway decided on by Auckland Transport. It is a little example of the state that New Zealand is in. Education isn’t getting railroaded, but roaded, out from our prime consideration. It is expendable as roads are the priority. When I was in Naples around the 1970’s I was told that the Mafia made a lot of money building roads. They found them a good little earner, often not necessary going by the volume of users.
In NZ we have the same focussed thinking. It is now 2013 with peak oil and bad climate change developments leading to destruction of infrastructure and our past style of living. More education in the broad understanding, problem-solving, analysing skills are what is needed.
The young have to learn because it is their future that is being warped and wiped. Just as more animals and simple living entities are being lost, those are canaries warning about their possible future. It is sad for them to be raised to adulthood and reach understanding that irreversible conditions have degraded their world and future unfolding before them.
The old have got to a state where most refuse to face difficulties being caused by their present lifestyles that will compound in the future. In general the population is more likely to give active consideration to matters of sex, and personal behaviour especially it is obviously dysfunctional, than the deep structural problems that are very real but not immediately impacting them and contentious. And when the impacts become felt directly, there is surprise, shock and anguish – but still without the energy to address the problem except in band-aid and knee-jerk reaction.
and ‘waste management’ gw. We discussed the privileged response to some recent, local, young-teen “sudden deaths” today; one such response advising (deputy mayor), “having a positive future outlook”! (I am privy to an overview of the case-notes of these two tragedies, and really, they were well-fu#ked already, at such a young age; There was no ‘positive future outlook’! for them, or many others.
Indonesian/Australian bilateral relationship blowing up – Mark Textor not helping
The Indonesians are preparing to suspend all co-operation with Australia on military and immigration matters. Meanwhile, Mr Textor is looking to throw in a few bombs of his own.
In another, the opinionated Liberal insider asked: ”What sort of head of state communicates with a head of a neighbouring government by twitter FFS? SBY”.
Looks as though he forgot to counsel Mr Key re twitter…
Dear old Brian Edwards on te panel yesterday took an opportunity to jump on his bandwagon about comments from anonymous bloggers etc that are nasty and how he could not get away with it because he is known…. well go for it Brian – who do you want to be nasty to?
He really needs to get over this anonymous thing the silly fool…
He is known with his comments, and that carries some extra cred – take it and be happy.
People who are anonymous have less cred when they comment – that is fine. Their anonymity diminishes the value of their comments, at times, especially when flecked with personal nasties..
however, what the anons can do is, by stripping out all of the known and personal of the commentator, place bare facts on the table for objective evaluation, devoid of any issues and credibility around the person who made the comment. And that has additional value above Brian’s known position.
Is that what he cannot handle perhaps?
I wonder if he pokes around here under some nom de plums.
I wonder if he pokes around here under some nom de plums.
Unlikely.
a. I’d have probably have noticed. I’m hyper-aware of any IP that I have worked with, and I’ve helped him on his site from his home system a number of times.
b. Doesn’t fit his style anyway.
It is more of thing from people who haven’t been around online forums for any length of time. They tend to not understand exactly either how the law views everything (basically there is no particular difference between a name and a pseudonym) or how seriously people invest in their online personas.
Essentially the only benefits of using a real name are
1. It makes it easier to claim special knowledge by virtue of who you are.
2. It makes it easier to target people for retribution in the real world
The first is generally irrelevant because you have to demonstrate your effective breadth of knowledge anyway (there are a lot of smart people online). The second happens all of the time for many people outside of the media industry where some degree of legal protection exists which is why the vast majority of people commenting on political forums operate with psuedonyms.
Effectively BE is saying that he’d prefer that only media commentators have a public voice on politics or the media. Since that is never going to happen because of the legal position referred to above, it just becomes a rather useless club.
Yeah, Brian Edwards and Pete George like to rattle on about how personally brave they are with their pensions and lifestyle blocks, which only shows how cowardly and out of touch they really are. Those of us in the real world have bosses who trawl our comments – I’ve already had one who tried to out me.
They aren’t heroes by any definition, they only perpetuate the system that supports their privileges. There’s a golden quote by Danyl McLaughlan on Giovani Tiso’s blog (actually, it was in the replies to some Trotter bullshit about what martyrs “Willie” and “JT” are, but I’m not going to link to that):
‘we’re doomed to be hectored and talked down to by droves of reactionary bewildered old men’
That’s what Edwards has become.
I have to add, I did argue the point about employer surveillance with Edwards and he conceded, but he’s spouting the original bullshit again, which proves that he’s disingenuous at best or a lying bastard in other words.
There is a difference between anonymous and pseudonymous. After all, is Borat really anonymous? How about Woody Allen or Mel Brooks or David Bowie or Michael Caine? (Allen Koenigsberg, Melvin Kaminsky, Maurice Micklewhite and David Jones).
Or George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), for an historical precedent.
Or “lprent” for that matter?
People who use pseudonyms online build up avatar personas in which they have invested a lot of worth, and they keep using them and are willing to be held to their stated opinions at the risk of having to abandon their identities.
Edwards is disingenuously trying to blur the line between pseudonym and anonymity to pump up his own image as some sort of hero. He’s an old man, out of touch in the media in which he tries to make his money. If he doesn’t understand new media, then he’s not competent to serve his clients. I wouldn’t want to hire him if I needed someone to manage my image any more than I would want to use carrier pigeons to deliver mail.
And then we can compare people who use names that by sheer coincidence are the same as those on their birth certificates. “Matthew Hooton” for example is nothing but a brand – everything about him is as fake as Patrick Bateman.
A very workmanlike job. Nicely printed sign in clear font, appropriately sized and evenly cut, fit for its purpose. Quality zinc coated screws of modern type. 100% for meeting all requirements of test. Well done. signed Gerry Brownlee Physical Materials Trade Teacher (Woodwork).
a little over-rated, like The Road Less Travelled ; to be frank, by the time I finished the work of of maintaining the vehicles of consumption, trucks, forklifts, buses, dozers, loaders, I was interested in just riding and drinking piss!, and occasionally that which followed! 😎
I never actually read it. But I and a couple of my friends did our own (usually small) motorcycle maintenance. One or two of them liked the book. I just did the practicum.
Impressive. I have stripped down and rebuilt a bike engine or 2, but not built a whole bike. That was in the pre-digital era. I imagine they are a bit different now.
Talking of ‘personal nasties’ it is nearly beyond me to refrain after having watched the abysmal Paula Bennett on TV3’s 3rd degree last night decrying the rack-renting landlord who owns a ‘holiday park’ in Her electorate and then having the gall to call a public meeting about it,
Rack-renting landlords charging over the top for what are basically ‘slum-dwellings’ need two things to survive and thrive, a severe lack of affordable rental accommodation and the tenants effected by this and the Government that Paula Bennett is a minister of has for the past five years done everything in it’s power to provide the rack-renting landlords of Auckland with plenty of them,
Go round the ‘Holiday parks’ and boarding houses of Auckland and see just how many are trapped in slum conditions paying dearly to live in one room or a mouldering caravan and then count the number of HousingNZ properties this National Government has either knocked over and not replaced or simply flicked off because the property was valuable and the numbers look remarkably the same,
A big Cheer sis goes out to that young woman who stood up to Bennett at that public meeting first asking Her the rhetorical question of exactly where are the HousingNZ properties for the 300 tenants crammed into the slum-park and as there are none where does Bennett get off attempting to ferment trouble for them when that ‘slum’ and it’s rack-renting is all that stands between the tenants and life on the street,
A thought occurred to me this morning that perhaps ‘out on the street’ is where Bennett and National want to see these people….
Of course, such articles and other communications about the Ranui encampment expose the brutality of her social security reforms, so she is going on counter-attack. Of course, if such rack-renters are put out of business, many would just end up totally homeless.
Shameless, heartless, brutal Bennett. No wonder she prefers to move to Upper Harbour where there are little such parks to annoy her – will leave Ranui to Twyford, and other parks to other MPs.
They have no shame these Tory SCUM, in the week National passed under urgency Legislation that will see HousingNZ tenants re-applying en masse to be able to retain their homes and trumpeting the ‘fact’ that they plan to kick out 3000 tenants Bennett is doing a perfect act of ‘violin playing’,
Having cemented into place ‘rotational employment’ this National government will start playing musical chairs with the State’s housing stocks where we will have rotational housing,
As has been shown in Her Social Development portfolio there are plenty of mistakes made and in the rush to give the 3000 State tenants the kick there will be plenty more and guess where the last port of call will be for those mistakenly given the kick from their homes by the overly zealous minions of this particular Minister,
Not the rack-renting slum-lord of the slum-park that Bennett hypocritically decries by any chance…
The mealy mouthed Poorer Benefit – Social Development Minister makes out it is well in hand and anyway housing for others is everyone’s business, so get to tit and help her be the good husband to the homeless that she wants to be!
Paula Bennett says assistance is available.
“Those who are having housing and other social issues will be helped where possible,” she says.
“Rising rents in Auckland will no doubt present challenges but it is up to us as a community to come up with innovative solutions to resolve housing problems.”
The Caravan Park term got me to look for this item on closing a caravan park and dispersing needy people who needed drug and health treatment, some suitable work and income, and support and supervision. Instead they got a hell of a fright with heavy police presence and a clearing out of people who obviously had no or few options for homes and security.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm? c_id=1&objectid=10010412
Drug raid closes caravan park 10/2/2005
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone said Green Acres (Mangere) was a well-known drug supermarket and police had attended nearly everything from domestic disputes to sexual violations there in the past few years….
Just after 6.30am they
left for 142 Favona Rd in 45 police cars.
Intersections were closed to allow the huge convoy to arrive together. The police Eagle helicopter followed from above. By 7am, the caravan park – the subject of endless complaints from local residents – was raided…
Occupants – Yesterday there were about 60, some of whom were children. Manukau City Council environmental health and enforcement manager Kevin Jackson said the park had been operating since 1986 but did not have a camping ground licence. Nor did it have code of compliances or resource consent.
Mangere councillor James Papali’i said although there was an element of criminal activity there were also a lot of good people living at the park.
He said many tenants faced real hardships and his main concern was for their future if the park was permanently closed down.
Police found what could be expected –
* Hundreds of tinnies and “dealing amounts” of methamphetamine.
* Two shotguns, one sawn-off rifle and one handgun.
* 14 unregistered and two registered dogs, which were impounded.
* 12 arrests, possibly more to follow.
A lot of money was spent on this raid, and order was restored for the people around. The question is why couldn’t some of that money go into working with the good, stable people within that group, and helping to get people off drugs, etc, keeping the younger ones stable, and enabling them to stay in work. If selling drugs was not against the law, and the government didn’t choose to irrationally hate one set of drugs and embrace others, then protection from shotguns wouldn’t be thought necessary. Unregistered dogs are not usually a criminal offence and without drug illegality they would not be so important for protection.
The point is that the condition of that particular ‘slum’ had little to do with the criminal behavior of some of it’s occupants, having all been booted out of this particular ‘slum’ do the authorities or anyone else believe that such criminal behavior was curtailed for more than the time it took for the criminal element that that particular ‘slum’ housed to find new housing,
Only the brainless would draw such a conclusion,
This brings to mind the Housing Minister Nick Smith’s recent gloating song and dance over putting the bulldozers through a whole street of units in the Lower Hutt suburb of Pomare and then flicking off the land for private housing,
The street He said harbored a number of criminals, what He of course didn’t say,(nor care about obviously), was that the criminals who were housed there, if not in jail, are now housed somewhere else, i do not believe even Nick Smith is stupid enough to believe that kicking these people out of their houses and bulldozing the houses to the ground will for more than a moment have altered any criminal activity,( the point of Smith’s stupidity is of course debatable),
The effort put into kicking the ‘offensive’ tenants out of this particular street is said to have in the end cost the State at least a million dollars, the demolition of the houses and selling off of the land from where i sit looks simply like a Fascist retaliation against all State tenants by the Minister hell bent on extracting the cost of these evictions from within the portfolio He is tasked with managing…
Vto, what the fuck would you know about who is and who isn’t redeemable, well past redemption is simply right wing bullshit,
In the case of HousingNZ tenants there should be a ‘spelling out’ of the tenants resposibility surrounding their neighbour’s right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their tenancies without harrasment or standover tactics with the full knowledge of the consequences,(something HousingNZ still do not bother to do),
What or who is irredeemable??? i left Paremoremo Maximum security prison many years ago with a pre-release report which in part read, ”as the divisional Officer in charge of this individual and were it not for the fact that He is serving a finite sentence i would recommend that He never be released, He is one of the most dangerous individuals i have had custody of in 20 years of service”,
Theoretically irredeemable according to ‘an expert’, yet i have never served another term of imprisonment and have lived in this little street for 5 years without a single dispute with any neighbour and i piss on your ‘irredeemable’…
well that is a doozy and very honest of you. congrats. people like you are an asset to the community (i think? tell me). though quite how you would assume was talking of you I’m not sure.
and what would i know? that is immaterial and it would be a mistake to assume.
but rather than revert to the original point, maybe it could be moved on in order to grease-gun the nuts…. how does this happen to people? are they actually in that irredeemable position or is that the officer alone? what factors bring about the ‘redemption’ (terrible word)? some distinguishment may be of assistance.
but more importantly, what of those who must live with a ‘redemption’? Next door? While bringing in the milk….
“redemption – an act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed.”
either way redemption seems to me to allow people to move forward and I think that is the way to do it. After all, stones and glass houses and the people who throw and all that.
Vto, yes you made the mistake in the earlier comment of assuming which is the only reason i ‘outed’ myself as one previously marked as irredeemable so as to disabuse you of such a notion,
There are very few people who with the right incentives and management i would consider to be irredeemable, and a far as the neighbours go i am sure when they realized who it was living next door they might have had the odd heart stopping moment but as i say i have been here for 5 years,
i will simply finish by saying that the less chances of redemption that there are then the less of it there will be…
a little non-fiction story: My neighbour is the Sergeant-Of-Arms, notorious throughout NZ. He has been (not a little) aggressive and intimidating to a particular dog for about a month, more than a little concerning considering the implications of where I have been ‘located’. Last night, after I had retired to bed with a book, there was a knock at the door…I allowed him in, and was a little surprised that he went on to apologise for (three times), and explain his behaviour: A Modern Miracle. Really, I do not understand where some folk on TS get-off, yet I usually just put it down to ignorance. Very sad.
Indeed – there have been a number of supposedly “irredeemable” people who’ve proven their accusers wrong.
It’s a shame there’s such a change in attitude over the years.
I wonder @bad12 whether you ever had the pleasure of meeting a lady called Ana Tia.
Her lessons seem to have been lost by those running our institutions these days – and of course the politicians driving it all
It’s not just National. I noticed boarding houses and caravan parks filling up shortly after the first ACT government sat their traitorous bums on the green leather. I think the situation has only worsened since.
Is there anyone in Labour or the Greens especially interested in keeping an overview of IT in NZ especially in Government and other connected entities. It seems to me that supplying substandard programs and probably soon, hardware, has become on the great scams of the 21st century. We can see roads and get an idea of what they are doing and costing by applying to the OIA if necessary. Computers and electronics and all their complexity, languages, redundancies, paradigms, algorhithms blah blah , cables, mirroring, peer something, off the shelf programs cf to bespoke ones. Sheesh. We need to have a Ringmaster (or Mistress and no S&M intended) for this Circus.
Who would be appropriate and knowledgable for this role either in left wing Government or well connected to give balanced unbiased advice, or if biased a revealed one. There are sure to be connections within the sector so I’m thinking pragmatically here.
The government should have its own IT department. It’s large enough to require work done all the time and it also requires compatibility between departments. This being true it’s actually massively inefficient (read: Costs a hell of a lot more) to bring in private contractors who would be unlikely to work to a set of standards and won’t have the IT dependent inter-departmental knowledge needed to make compatibility between departments both secure and cost effective.
DTB
Sounds like what I’ve heard. Not that I know all that much. But who in Labour and Greens would know enough to understand what’s going on and stop the waste of money and time now happening?
There are people who can talk the talk very impressively at present, but should be walking down a plank and being pushed off. But they aren’t and don’t. They leave at a certain crucial point in time, which is before they lose the chance of getting some great reimbursement.
What I read in the news and hear is disgraceful and there needs to be someone with an overview. I have a copy of an email which talks about the happenings in his area of expertise and it seems to make valid points that would relate to numbers of programs and sites.
I wonder who is going to take responsibility for technology in Labour and Greens. Because this is a black hole which we can’t keep dropping money into and getting trouble out of. It should not be a lucky dip that we reach into hopefully, luck is what we need though at present.
SSC has generic oversight. Each ministry *does* have its own IT department… very large in the case of MSD.
Backoffice work isn’t glamorous but seeing IT purely as a cost to be minimised is a typical management error which often leads to disaster, when critical systems become neglected.
Complex real world problems are only solved with sophisticated systems, and no technology lasts forever.
True but what they don’t have what I think the government needs is their own people developing their own software. At the moment they tend to go to private providers and we end up, seemingly more often than not, with a complete balls-up that costs far more than it should have. An internal government department tasked with providing all of the software (including the OS) that the government uses would, IMO, go a long way to eliminating those fuck-ups.
ropata
I see your points. But thinking about money spent. The effectiveness and efficiency thing once new systems are up and running I would think is far from what is expected. That costs money trying to fix.
Then there is compatability of systems which could help to keep costs down but there are limits on the ability to bring complex systems together.
And as you say not having sufficient staff to maintain systems, and control new add-ons and rotate the hardware, ageing out and updated in and incorporate the new fully into the system with firewall etc and check on the back-up batteries and the generators and… There is not enough money allocated to properly maintain systems, and more needs to be spent in the right place to get the best bang for each $. That’s an interested newbie outsider’s view.
Typical, useful information gets mixed up with gynaecological warped curiosity.
Decades ago when swearing in public and bad language, abuse etc was criminally punishable it was not allowed to be repeated in public, and the written words could not be legally carried within the postal system. A difficulty in gaining the facts and information for bringing a prosecution was caused.
Worse – rape is not a sex crime but an act meant to humiliate and destroy a person, so the Roast Busters page was an extension of their rapes… and the police, for “operational” reasons knowingly allowed their crimes to continue. The police didn’t just turn a blind eye to rape, they facilitated it… because the son of one of their own was doing it.
Now what’s the difference between saying that your hands were tied and hypocritically wringing them? There’s a question for Marshall.
Ooh, let me guess, in order to score a trivial point, are you pretending to some sort of sophistication and even – dare I say it, wit? You subscribe to the myth that there is some equivalence of power. If Marshall had shown up on my doorstep wearing his shiny hat with a box of chocolates and a bunch of roses, the real message that he would be delivering would be “We know where you live, matey”.
Jesus PR, you really are dumb, and trying to be “witty” you only make that more obvious.
As an aside, why is it that the most reactionary arselickers try to name themselves as “rebels” or “jesters”?
From China Weekly
Palestinians’ first ever UN vote symbolic yet historic http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/21/c_125736111.htm
English.news.cn 2013-11-21 03:53:53
RAMALLAH, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — The Palestinians’ first ever vote at the UN General Assembly was symbolic but historic on their way toward the world’s full recognition of a Palestinian state, officials and analysts said here on Wednesday.
Almost a year after the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinian status to that of a non-member observer state, the chief Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour cast a ballot on Monday in an election of a judge for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The casting of the Palestinian ballot was accompanied with a loud applause in the 193-nation assembly, a matter that angered the Israeli envoy.
So Chris Tremain the obscure minister of Internal Affairs is worried that 414 people voted for the criminal Allen Titford when His standing as a candidate was illegal,
i would worry more that there are 414 people in Northland with the sanity,(lack of), to express a desire to have someone of Titfords ilk as their Mayor,
i would further worry about ‘birds of a feather’ and wonder what might be occurring within the families of the 414 who would choose a man,(a thing), of Titford’s ilk as their Mayor,
That small demographic of electoral support i would suggest is worthy of a serious dose of community mental health or perhaps more to the point worthy of bearing the brunt of the prying eyes of a criminal investigation…
Wouldn’t just the ‘politics of ‘it’ make you want to run a mile let alone knowing what the total amount of insanity He obviously has ensconced in His cranial cavity….
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the start of the first quantitative easing program, some are asking the thorny question about the so-called “distributional effects” of these unprecedented programs. Who really benefited since the first QE was launched? There is a great deal of debate on the topic, but here are a couple of facts. Financial asset valuations, particularly in the corporate sector have seen sharp increases. For example the S&P500 index total return (including dividends) has delivered 144% over the 5-year period. Those who had the resources to stay with stock investments were rewarded handsomely.
Instead of calling it Quantitative Easing it really should have been called Massive Stock Bubble and Gift to the already Wealthy
Oops, being a bit too honest there about your utter arseholeness, Brian. You’re supposed to be slicker than that. The same goes to everyone who’s drawing paycheques from The Herald.
Gosh, I wonder why newspapers are dying? Could it be because they’re becoming increasingly out of touch and irrelevant? Nah…
DTB 21.1 Whose rant do you mean? Brian Emerson’s I take it.
I had a look at this and came upon the Stuff Nation Assignment set-up. First time I’ve seen it.
They set some topics and if you are a dick capable of shooting your mouth off without rude words you can write a few paras and put them forward for consideration.
I had a look for Brian Emerson and the one that I came up with is someone in Gisborne who has a motor trade licence to repossess vehicles. Someone who would have strong understanding of the stresses of being short of money and not able to manage in today’s flash NZ economy! And getting flasher. Probably more work for B.E.
Brian Emerson is completely without understanding.
He says this … “The problem with New Zealand’s housing crisis is that everyone wants their own house but many did nothing in their lives to enable this to happen. ”
It doesn’t even come onto his radar that there are well established practices and beliefs in pretty much all societies throughout history that people don’t have to do anything but be born to expect a home. It is a baseline for human societal existence.
His rant there is incredibly narrow. Like looking out through a slit in the wall.
A while ago someone asked why we needed FttH. Well NASA, indirectly, answers:
Why Optical Communication?
The scientific instruments in near-Earth and deep-space missions increasingly require higher communication rates to transmit their gathered data back to Earth or to support high-data-rate applications (e.g., high-definition video streams). Optical communications (also referred to as ‘lasercomm’) is an emerging technology wherein data is modulated onto laser beams, which offers the promise of much higher data rates than what is achievable with radio-frequency (RF) transmissions.
In response to criticism from readers, the editor of “E-local” (see above) replies –
“elocal told Titfords story, one of a modern day land grab. As for your comment re conspiracy stories, I as editor don’t need to defend what we have presented. For one the authors put their names to their pieces not like you who hides like a coward under the title of anomymous. I doubt if you have half the accademic record or research under your belt to have a comment or article even to be considered to be published.”
(emphasis added)
So, just to be clear – the editor’s moral code says …
– commenting anonymously is bad
– decades of assault, rape, arson – and incidentally, cowardice – is not so bad
– and the editor isn’t responsible for his own work!
Feel free to e-mail them – I have (links in my comments above). This matters, because ‘E-local’ is not just a bigot blog, it’s a free magazine distributed throughout Auckland. You can find it in cafes, etc. It’s poison, spreading far and wide.
Thanks gobsmacked – submitted a pseudonymous comment – particularly querying the use of the pseudonym “editor” to criticise “anonymous comments.
The editor might be the female sub-editor mentioned at the top of the article, but who knows. And her name and the name of the author of the article mean nothing to me – they might as well be anonymous. Anyway the article stands and falls on its content.
Parliament is an adversarial chamber. As can be seen as the Speaker keeps taking sides against the opposition, but I think that’s not the purpose of the Speaker to sit around and listen (and laugh) with the government points. Take for example the way the speaker does not jump in to the highly political questions that National asks its own ministers, the more boring they are, the more irrelevant, the more parliamentary time they take up, the less useful parliament is. But its worse, the Speaker allows the government to spend minutes on ‘good news’ dross, statistics and governing nonsense.
Yet when the opposition put up in any way, a slight against the government the government are up on there feet giving renditions of opposition policy, and welll might they, as the Speaker has allowed government to preach its own policies off its own questions, letting the government preach wrongheaded views of opposition policies seems so justified.
Question time is a time used to hold the government to account, so the asking of patsy questions that appeal to the government is a waste of time and should be ruled out of order, I never get to hear opposition policies stated without contention from the Speaker.
Ministers have a ministry stacked with knowledge that oppositions do not have access to, so it seems quite wrong for the Speaker to argue that balance means equality. Opposition questions, without the wrap around of a minister office, or having never been in government, are likely to be politically tinged, whereas ministers have no such excuse. For the Speaker to be unbiased he needs a thicker left ear and a much more honed right ear. Where questions are not of a higher charged nature, where they do not hit home, then the Speaker has the duty to call into the questioners waste of parliamentary time (and eject government ministers who revere their own great leadership).
So the Speaker should ignore political questions where the underlying question is well purposed.
And the Speaker should eject Joyce, for his nonsense. Joyce has a problem with nuance. Greens correctly informed the market about power policy, and correctly point out that National power sell off is a failure yet Joyce does not believe those two acts of opposition can him are justifiable. That’s just nonsense, he may not understand that being principled can come across as contrary, he obviously has never done principled politics.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released a major report today on Water quality in New Zealand: Land use and nutrient pollution. The core finding? Continued dairy expansion will pollute our waterways, rendering them unusable for recreation or drinking:
And yet National and several city councils want more of this. All they see is the money and fail to see the reality behind it.
Adams obscures 😉 Anadarko Oil Spill Risk of Kaikoura http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11160823
Report: 70% probability of a ‘reportable’ incident (not just spills) at Kaikoura well within a year of exploration opening; 7 Times more probable on a deep-sea exploration drill than an in-shore one. Bridges pours more slick on.
“When was the last time I lost the plot?”
Leighton Smith snarls at critic of deep sea oil-drilling
NewstalkZB, Thursday 21 November 2013, 9:10 a.m.
“Newstalk ZB is for ignorant louts, the intellectually challenged and the modern day version of the 1930s brown shirts.”—Anne, The Standard, 9 August 2013
As I was driving the Breenmobile around the East Coast Bays this morning, I chanced on the following brief encounter involving a caller (Mike) trying, unwisely, to talk intelligently with NewstalkZB’s most notorious loon, the race-baiting supercrank and science-denier Leighton Smith. Hatin’ Leighton spent a couple of minutes reflecting on the escapades of Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford, then came down from Mt Olympus to took his first call…..
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmm, ahhhhhhhh. Ummmmmm, it’s ten minutes past nine. Ummmmmmmmmmm. Mike is on the line. CALLER MIKE: Yes, Leighton, it’s quite amazing how these politicians can get away with behavior like that. LEIGHTON SMITH: Hrrrrumph. MIKE: It’s hard to get information out of politicians. They do their best to hide it from the public. LEIGHTON SMITH: Hrrrrumph. Ahhhhmmmmmm…. MIKE: I hear that Gareth Hughes is finding it very difficult to get information about deep sea oil drilling. LEIGHTON SMITH:[suddenly hostile] What’s THAT got to do with it? MIKE: This is the biggest issue of our time. LEIGHTON SMITH: WHAT? MIKE: Deep sea oil drilling off our coasts is the biggest issue in New Zealand at this time. LEIGHTON SMITH: You wouldn’t happen to be OPPOSED to it by any chance, would you? MIKE: I’m not opposed to all oil drilling. Just to dangerous oil drilling. LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmmmm, ahhhhhhhh. You don’t think you should be concerned about your own state of mind, and possible depression? MIKE:[taken aback] I’m not depressed. You’re playing games. LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmm, ahhhhhhh. When was the last time you heard me being cranky? When was the last time I lost the plot? Thanks for your call. [Long pause.] He thought I was having a go at him, but I wasn’t. Was I? I just wanted to have a conversation with him. He’s actually put me in a good mood! Back in a minute!
……Advertisements, including this station promo: “From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed: NewstalkZB is one long conversation!” A montage of NewstalkZB voices, including Larry “Lackwit” Williams snarling, “This GARBAGE!” and Mike “Contra” Hosking ranting against state housing.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmm, ahhhhhhh. Some of you have been very UNKIND about Mike! “This guy’s off the planet,” says one text. Here’s another one: “Please kill this call because I’m losing the will to live.” Leonie, you are VERY unkind! It is ahhhhhhh, ummmmmmmm, twenty-five past nine…..
“Newstalk ZB is for ignorant louts, the intellectually challenged and the modern day version of the 1930s brown shirts.”—Anne, The Standard, 9 August 2013
I did say that too. Nary a truer word hath been spoke. 😈
Once in a blue moon, an idle twisting of the dial lands me on the Leighton Smith Show. Every time within minutes of tuning in, the brown shirt in question launches into yet another climate change denying diatribe. To say he’s obsessed with, and ignorant of, the reality of the scientific evidence is an understatement.
Yes phil ure, we do need an answer to that question.
And what difference would it make to their ‘spying’ if they told us anyway? If they said “yes, we are recording everything you punch into a key board” then so what?
..did helen clark agree to the american request for their spooks to spy on new zealanders..? … do you think the americans would have given her the green-light/tick for her u.n. job..
Actually it was revealed a couple of years or more ago that Ban Ki moon had Clark in his sights for the job immediately following the 2008 election. She was approached by him (or an intermediary on his behalf) not the other way around. That is my recollection anyway. The US has no more influence on UN decision making than any other nation.
You should read Nicky Hagar’s book “Other People’s Wars” phillip ure. It concerns Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror. The Clark government was not informed about quite a few things that happened involving NZ Defence personnel in the name of those wars. I would expect that any spying by the Americans on NZers during Labour’s tenure in office did not occur with their knowledge and blessing. Certainly there would have been formal communications concerning a handful of citizens with suspect contacts in the above countries, but wholesale spying? Not with Clark’s approval – that’s a given!
They spied on Angela Merkel and German citizens without her knowledge. Why would Helen Clark be any different?
As for the British PM… Cameron is part of a very close relationship between the two countries. The UK and the US have been a terrible twosome for years. It’s not a belief phillip ure. I know Helen. I suspect you don’t.
Dare you to read “Other People’s Wars.” You might discover quite a lot of things. Might even change your mind.
In theory being one of the Five Eyes, NZ should have a higher degree of protection
HOWEVER this latest report shows that the UK govt gave away their citizens protection to the US…and the US were about to take it away from the UK anyways.
Snowden worked for a ?private? company with the govt contract?…. ….if you want conspiracy to believe why not choose greed, the dot come market had run its course, some arab terrorists were flagged training in the US to fly planes, the markets were due for a collapse (global derivatives company went bust).
Opportunity to sit on hands and be in front to move the new apparatus up into position.
Now the US has a global model of the world economy, and can drill down into any board room on the planet. This can now not be ignored by the US’s allies.
It was about the economy. And sure, TBTF and the other corporates are grabbing everything they can asap before they have to run out the door. It is of course, an insane, sociopathic game of building up points on electronic score boards (printed $) with the unrealistic assumption that its going to be worth a damn in real life after the ecosystem collapses and our fossil fuelled global civilisation starts grinding to a halt.
So it was about the economy. Now it’s primarily about the oligarchy maintaining power and control in the face of an increasingly restive homeland. Put it another way; we are well into the transition from Huxley to Orwell.
Oh well since your being honest I guess I’ll be honest as well…
I don’t expect that what I’m about to say will have any effect on you at all but for what its worth I respect courage, I respect people who take a stand, I may not agree with what they’re saying or doing but I respect the courage behind it
You in my opinion are a coward, in fact you’re cliche, you’re the type of blogger the media loves to portray, the type thats big and tough in front of a keyboard but in reality is nothing more then a scared little boy
When I type something on here or other websites I always think to myself “would I say this to the other person in real life”
Lie to me all you like I don’t care but what I know is if you and met in real life you wouldn’t say any of the things to me that you’ve posted on here and that makes you a coward and a liar
Look at it this way “fappity”… do you understand the nature of power? The cops have power and they routinely abuse it. I’ve a lot of friends whose experiences would in themselves be automatic Godwins because they have seen up close and personal Nazism and Stalinism. If you aren’t scared by that, you’re an arselicking fool.
What are you going to say? “It can’t happen here”? That’s the usual one.
Oh I would, no doubt about that. I’m worse in real life and apologise much less.
I’ve had students say to my face that they think I’m like Hannibal Lecter, the Joker and Tony Soprano and meant – judging by their expressions and tone of voice – to compliment me.
Again: If I love you, you can hurt me. Otherwise… nah.
Yeah……nah you’re just another sad internet blowhard…. a man of your age squawking about the police and calling them pigs then having a big cry, it’d be quite funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.
Oh “fappity” is back, pulling faces and blowing raspberries. I’m sorry, but I can’t reply in depth since there’s not even the remotest semblance of syntax or intimation of meaning.
“You’re sad”
Actually I have depression and take pills for it. Next insult please.
I tell all my mates in real life that right wing trolls are wankers, same as I say here. I don’t really get the point of this real life stuff. Does it prove something? On the internet, I’ve had to learn not to spit for emphasis. Makes a mess of the screen.
I tell all my mates in real life that right wing trolls are wankers, same as I say here.
– Good
I don’t really get the point of this real life stuff. Does it prove something?
– Its quite easy to say anything you like because of the protection of distance but its meaningless you’re willing to back it up face to face
– Thats why I tend to reflect other peoples attitudes back towards them ie if people are civil to me then I’m civil back if people are arseholes to me well then I’m an arsehole back etc etc
I didn’t see a coward. I saw a person full of empathy, worried about how legal protections are disappearing, being more worried than I would have been by an unexpected phone call.
We can’t all be as tough as you, piss73. I’m too scared to even wave my walking stick at people on the internet. I wish I had a huge e-penis like you, or are you just a dick?
He sounded off against Marshall
He freely entered his contact details
He chickened out of having a conversation via phone with Marshall
He left paranoid ramblings about his misadventures
and not that its that important but he also started talking about my penis first, tried to suggest I’m homophobic and that I have rape fantasies about elderly women
So if I’m a dick I’m going to out on a limb and suggest this guys a bigger dick then I
Odd things that have stayed in my mind – I will have to watch again.
How we are being undermined by the Right. In Italy Berlusconi and his system suspended rights and went into emergency powers and that might be that they could clear parks to prevent rape. It’s a mixing of left wing thoughts, with right wing domination.
Italy, he says it is like Duck Soup Groucho Marx film, having Berlusconi in power.
The left has concentrated on people’s rights gay, etc. and left the large core of left ideas for the Right to pick up. Now we are being subverted. Very interesting.
Point of view put forward by one speaker:
If capitalism had been able to work we wouldn’t be where we are today.
It’s government interference. If capitalism had been able to work everything would have gone down, and the cleansing system of capitalism would have got everything right. Zizek says that it is not the socialists that have brought this about its capitalism out of control. You never admit the system is wrong he says. He quotes the communists in Yugoslavia coming out with the very same thought.
SZ is interesting – agree with many things he says, but not all.
He was at a conference in Auckland a few years back. One of the things that sticks in my mind is him talking about how he avoids doing “office hours” – ie those hours when a Uni lecturer or tutor is meant to be available to talk with students. he really doesn’t like Office Hours.
To get around Low Equity Mortgages banks are, from my sources. approaching real estate agents and some potential new home owners with good earning capabilities, to increase their equity by offering extremely low credit cards (interest rates around 3%)Even though credit cards are unsecured (that is why we pay 19%interest rates), that should the debt be defaulted this would still be tied to the property.
Wonder how the authorities feel about such discrepancies of interest rates and how the banks can justify charging from 3% to some and 19+% for the rest. 🙁
Given certain posts and threads of comments over the last week or so, which to me are reaching a bit into the “bizarre” territory of discussion, and having dared to question some “slogans” and “sloganised” arguments, I will try to in future stay away from The Standard, apart from perhaps commenting now and then on Open Mike.
It is my strong conviction, that “the left” that chooses to express themselves here under various names and from various groups are representing certain views and positions, that I can partly accept, but I feel that most of society will not understand and accept. That is not my worry, so I leave it up to the democratic process for that to be dealt with.
At NO TIME did I ever try to excuse or support “rape” or anything of such behaviour, and what came out of all that has disappointed me, yes shocked me, and it taught me, to stay well clear of certain commenters and bloggers here now.
As for what concerns me and some other personally, I am posting this to simply remind those that are interested, what deserves attention, analysis and resolution. I will NOT support any future party that does not address this, does not distance itself from this, and that keeps quiet on this:
I know the forum it has been posted on has received a bit of controversy re some “members”, but apart from that it was created and is being maintained for the purpose of informing persons on issues, and how they can find help, perhaps.
That is also where I and a few I know and have cooperated with are coming from, and hence we will maintain all said, written and posted, and push for this to get more public attention.
While this may disinterest certain more “politically minded” various persons here, I leave it to all others, and the many readers, to make use of and to judge or decide on.
Best wishes Standardistas, have a “happy new year” coming up!
“bad12”, with all respect, I accept that I am diagnosed as “mentally ill”, so perhaps understand some previous “songs” and “violins”. Being ill like this does not mean “insanity”, although at times I may have been close to it, but then again, it takes a genius to be bordering on insanity.
I have nothing more to say, but perhaps you may understand now, I do withdraw for my own mental health, and perhaps that of others. Besides of that, the information I provided remains to be valid, irrespective of my mental state. Good luck I appreciated always your smart thoughts, but sometimes against me. Life is a never ending journey, hopefully leading to some maturity and wisdom.
Lolz X, i thought you might take my little comment in the vein that you have, the violin overture i hint at has nothing to do with the useful information you provide and is simply a reference to your developing preference to indulge in the little ‘drama queen moments’ where you are leaving this site, restricting your comments on this site etc etc,
Having over the course of many year been diagnosed by the Doctors in charge as being afflicted with, depending upon ‘their moods’ it would seem, untreatable bouts of psychotic behavior to full on paranoid schizophrenia i will regrettably decline what i see as your open invitation to label myself a genius,(criminal madman in my case seems more appropriate),
Keep commenting X and learn that this is a little battlefield of ideas where if you believe in the content of the comments you post you fight with all and sundry without either a backward step or a moan about the comments of those who disagree with your point of view all the while realizing that all of us, even the self appointed genius, are wrong sometimes and only the bigger person is willing to admit that…
TV3 News saw The Cunliffe score an own goal with his oil hyperbole exposed for all to see again. Will he never learn. Each time he is on TV the Labour vote drops.
Will he never learn. Each time he is on TV the Labour vote drops.
Ummm I’m sure that if I wanted to make the effort of doing a search, then I could find you saying exactly the same thing in the same words about the previous two Labour party leaders. It also wouldn’t surprise me that if I looked into your IP pattern, I could find you making exactly the same observation about Helen Clark and Michael Cullen…
If I did make that effort, then I’d have to assist you to amend your behaviour. If you are going to troll, then at least do it so that I don’t get bored. Then I won’t feel like booting you off the site like a bad TV advertisement. It isn’t you opinion, it is your lamearse pisspoor excuse of a way of trolling. It is so frigging awful that neither I nor anyone else can be arsed listening to your appalling lack of originality. You are a wit that is just witless.
This is particularly the case incidentally when you jump from negative advertising to that rather horrible slavish purse-dog imitation you do whenever you mention the Great and Wonderful Leader.. You read like a Paul Goldsmith biography.
Here – try the mirror… Looks like Paula Bennetts purse..
Clear? I don’t think it will be long before I get moved to boot you off the site again.
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Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
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So..how will the Nats reconcile their own policies with what Colin (Cray) Craig stands for:
1. wants to abolish the anti smacking law
2. wants to abolish the right to abortion
3. is against asset sales
4. wants to put higher taxes on alcohol
and some other big unknowns about CC’s policies and the people he may bring to Parliament with him?
The Opposition should start stacking up their ammunition…
Why do you think there is such a rush to sell everything thats not nailed down, before they speak to him.
As a property developer with strong Christian values, I’m sure he’d settle for gutting the RMA.
That’s the most cogent analysis of Craig I’ve seen yet.
lol
I was talking to my mate, who grew up in the Herald island area and is a stalwart North Shore Tory hang-em’ high guy from way back, and he reckons that if Key tries an Epsom style deal to get Colin Craig into the new seat the locals won’t cooperate as their is no appetite for God-bother parties. If Labour has a half decent candidate they would have a real chance of winning the seat.
Not that I’m a supporter of CC but he denied his was a Christian party, which would be unlikely if they did have religion-based principles. Also said he hasn’t been to church in decades. Not much of a God-botherer if that’s the case.
http://www.tv3.co.nz/CAMPBELL-LIVE-Wednesday-November-20-2013/tabid/3692/articleID/96511/MCat/2908/Default.aspx
could be one of the crowds that holds prayer meetings in each others’ homes – even more fundie.
His policies seem pretty OT.
Or at work:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6876016/Colin-Craig-preached-shortness-a-sin-claim
My point is those who are devout are not inclined to deny their leanings. Saying its not a Christian party and he doesn’t attend church is at sending a message that a fundamentalist would not consider.
depends on how much he wants to get some power tho doesnt it
even the most fundamentalist christian would realise that they would need to project a broader appeal to win votes
If you knew anything about fundamentalists you’d know that they ain’t gonna deny their faith. Peter with his denials of knowing Jesus, an’ all that.
It suggests Craig isn’t quite the looney religious freak the left are begging him to be.
Well, weekly group prayers at businesses he owns suggests he does take it a bit far – same with the homophobia, pro-smacking and anti-abortion routine.
Is the party running a jesus freak platform?
Nah – it’s just that the main funder and candidate is a jf. Does that affect the party’s position on issues? Well, phrases like ‘public space should be “G Rated”‘ give me the willies. The unicorns wouldn’t even be permitted to fart rainbows.
informative goat trail Flockie
Kiaora Seti
I totally agree with you. A fundamentalist christian would not deny their faith. Sacrilegious they will scream before they self-flagellate. Followed by a rosary bead’s worth of penance.
He is definitely a fundamentalist but of what kind I don’t know.
the ‘wolf’ kind.
Adele, I think he’s a fundamentalist social and political conservative.
doesnt go to church doesnt mean he doesnt hold religious meetings at his home or in workplace thus avoiding the label church?
Might also be that the churches in his area are too liberal for him. That happens a lot in the states.
I know plenty of real Christians who enact in their deeds the teachings of Jesus. There are plenty of priests too who offer real moral guidance. Colon Craig simply wants doctrinal dictatorship and that’s why he shys away from real churches.
(Note: I had to edit “shys” – fucking autocorrect!)
um..!..if autocorrect was telling you ‘shies’..
..you might want to withdraw that algorithm-insult..
..eh..?
phillip ure..
lol (Ph.D in English, nonetheless)
Now thats interesting no reply button until I had logged in, and only on articles that were put up today. Now thats an excellent way to keep the Troll problem under control, well done Lynn.
Colin Craig on TV3 breakfast just running thru all the AK seats I reckon all the punters must be going “Oh hell here we go again they are going to turn us into another Epsom”
Look on the bright side,. Paula Bennett is dog tucker to whoever stands against her in the new Kelston seat. Which raises the question – who is the ideal candidate for that new seat? Carmel Sepuloni? Andrew Little?
Has to be Carmel she did such a good job last time only lost by 9 votes. Sorry but I don’t figure Little in there at all, or do Labour want to gift the seat to the Nats. Little has all the appeal of a toothache.
Waitakere BENNETT, Paula Lee National Party 13465 9 44.74% yes
http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_2011/e9/html/e9_part6.html
Absolutely vital that Labour and Greens get this right. The North Harbour seat is potentially winnable if the Greens step aside and enable National and the Conservatives to split each other off. This kind of opportunity won’t arise again for quite some time.
In return Labour could consider pulling out of the Waitakere Ranges area to enable the Greens to harvest higher party votes from the Blue-Greens up there in the forested hills. And their donations.
Similarly for specific areas like Waiheke Island which although not an electorate seat has a high Greens activist base. Labour could effectively not campaign there and leave the Party votes to the greens entirely.
In return the Greens could withdraw their candidate from Auckland Central to enable Labour an electorate win against National’s Member.
And while we are at it, be bold and put Grant Robertson on the list, and enable the Greens to get an electorate seat in Wellington. Thhis could conceivably make the whole coalition safer.
Forward thinking strategy.
Or will Labour stick with a 1980s FPP mindset: we must campaign to win in EVERY seat!
The LEFT vote will be energised by a smart, tactical, campaign.
But will it be in the same light as “cups of tea?” I suspect that’s the way the media will play it.
Of course it will, and rightly so.
It’s not difficult. Just campaign. ‘Giving’ the Greens electorate seats they don’t need only justifies what National does.
In close seats. Labour candidates should be explicit about the fact that while they obviously want list votes as well, they are also the only electorate candidate that can beat National.
Appeal to voters, don’t do backroom deals and announce them to voters and expect them to fall into line. Left wing voters aren’t tories, they will not like you treating them like tories. Treat them like fucking citizens making choices.
All of this “tactical” voting that we’re seeing is the reason why we should have preferential voting in the electorates.
In other words, you want a Labour campaign as per all previous – no consideration or quarter to be given to any potential allied parties.
It’s votes, not bullets they’re looking for.
And the objective is an increase in votes across the left – labour swapping votes with the Greens or Mana in various electorates (and vice versa) does absolutely nothing towards changing the government.
the MMP objective is not just to increase left votes, it is also to minimise wasted left votes.
That’s why the strategy needs to be refined. Just watch Key. He’s understands the subtleties of the MMP marketplace rules.
under mmp, there’s no such thing as a wasted vote.
edit: and the flipside for trading electorate votes of minimal value is to be seen to play voters for chumps, or divvying them up with an undeserved sense of entitlement.
I disagree but there you go.
and, being the astute political analyst that you have demonstrated, the proposition would be… (not avocado on toast, although, with a little cayenne and freshly-ground black pepper- Very Yummy indeed).
was thinking this very thing Pb
that is the way the people will see it and they will not like it, playing around with their vote like that, no matter how smart it is.
No sorry thats old thinking. We need to be tactical on this. As it didn’t work in 08, and it won’t work in 14.
+1..
i have this recurring nightmare of the tories getting a third term.
..just because/lab/grns/mana etc can’t get their shit together..
..on how to operate for the good of all..
..under mmp..
..how the tories must laugh..eh..?
..as the progressive parties camapign still locked into first past the post/ego-battles mentality..
..then at the end..whoever is left standing glares suspiciously at each other..
..and meanwhile the right gift craig a seat..
..and win re-election..
..the progressives return to their seperate bunkers..
..and point fingers at each other..
..f,f,s,,!
..grow up..!
..eh..?
..stop being so fucken stoopid..!
phillip ure..
And don’t forget an end run around Dunne as well, if the Lab Greens sort their shit out, Lab could take that as well.
Given the closeness of the result last time, I’m pretty certain Paula Bennet was going to lose anyway.
she will be high on the list so not gone. Gotta be Carmel.
Nicky Wagner has admitted that the National Party has failed the east of Christchurch, which suffered by far the most and whose communities have been completely sacked and devastated by the earthquakes. Completely.
In The Press this morning she says that if the new boundaries of Christchurch Central, which she won last time by 47 votes, moves anywhere but west (towards the Ilam and Fendalton nether regions) then the seat will be unwinnable for National.
That is what she said (no link available yet).
Why is that Nicky? Why will it become unwinnable? You have just had one of NZ’s biggest ever disasters which devastated huge chunks of your electorate. That is surely an opportunity for the sitting MP to work to help the constituents through the disaster. Such help would of course be recognised at the ballot box with a return to the seat by the incumbent, namely you Nicky. But you yourself admit, unthinkingly, that that is not going to happen to you.
So why is it not going to happen to you? Why will it be impossible to win Nicky? Why? Surely, if you have helped these people then there is a chance at least you could win again? Yes?
But you aint going to are you. Because you aint done shit for the people of the east of Christchurch. They are about to tell you that aren’t they Nicky.
The people of the east and south of Christchurch are about to tell you to fuck right off because you aint done shit.
Fuck off.
Now wait for English so spend some of the Asset sale money (for the 6th time) on lots of lollies to hoodwink the voters …
That’s telling her like it is vto
About time the opposition totalled up NACT’s lolly scramble promises against the actual proceeds now that AirNZ’s been sold down.
Swingers need to be woken up to the BS raining down when ever Key/Joyce/Blinglish etc open their mouths.
+1
People need to be shown that National think so little of everyone else that they make multiple promises with the same money.
Andrew Little has a private members bill proposing to limit personal grievance procedures to those earning $150k and under.
The man is a pillock.
[lprent: Incorrect – Paul Goldsmith private members bill – see here.
I’m unsure how you put Andrew Little into the frame.
But perhaps you are as much of a pillock as Goldsmith is? ]
Doesn’t sound right…are you sure of your facts? Well paid serfs can get shafted by the machine they help run as well as poorly paid ones.
I thought sounded a bit wrong as well. Turns out it’s a Paul Goldsmith private members bill
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1311/S00204/contracting-out-of-personal-grievances-sensible.htm
Going after high paid employees now. Big business must realise there isn’t a lot more they can take off the low paid.
The white collar professionals who thought that National was on “their side” have another think coming. National is the party of corporates, and the corporates don’t want any trouble from the $200K pa serf overseers that they use.
And here’s me thinking that National was the One Law for All party.
Turns out Goldsmith is the pillock, and I couldn’t agree with you more.
Obviously James Thrace is putting a lot of thought into his retraction.
😀
He’s possibly still frantically trying to work out how to delete his comment.
Should have been:
Typo, obviously.
you have given me a couple of good chuckles today sir.
Titford to go away for a decent stretch for a nasty lot of violence against his wife and family.
I remember an article in North and South or Metro with him photographed against a beautiful background of Northland coastline. Poor little asperashunal businessman, his future projected profit of coastal development and sale of the rich, floating in the fluid around his eyeballs. He was afraid to cry in case his dreams washed away. But he hollered and moaned and complained to good effect and the government paid him out though apparently he didn’t get much out of it. Similar to the Crafar ambition of becoming very rich through land speculation.
And interesting to compare Titford and his anti-Maori rhetoric which the government had to quieten with money, and the poor farmers that the government virtually hounded off their farm. They were charged with negligence in the maintenance of a bridge on their property which collapsed resulting in the death of a beekeeper crossing it. The bridge was built by the Army but they did not warn of the likely problem that is well known with fungus-treated timber – when there is an entry through the outer seal, either from bolts, or a cut to reduce length, fungus can enter and rot it unless there is regular sealing with suitable paint. They were tried for manslaughter I think. Defended by a barrister who fought for years trying to prevent the case being brushed under the political carpet. Over that they had an enormous loss, Titford got his payout, they had to get off their farm. No consideration for them.
In the news about an art auction -Goldie painting a rare portrait, sold to a private buyer for $700,000 odd. Before photography got established, this was the equivalent of a family memorial. I hope that private buyer will now gift it to the relevant tribe if they have a safe place to house it, or allow it to be displayed there, and pay for insurance on it.
If there is a public interest in the Goldie portrait then a public institution should buy it for the public good. eg The Auckland War memorial Museum has a fine collection of Lindauers. Te Papa has a good few Lindauers and Goldies. All reverentially displayed.
Did Slater breach Titford’s suppression order on his site or not?
Apparently his wife waived her own suppression, which in turn allowed his to be lifted.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9421979/Titford-sentenced-on-rape-and-arson-charges
I know, but Mr Slater claims to be even-handed in his treachery but let this guy’s name stay safe from his crusade against name suppression…
Right, sorry. That did occur to me a bit later on… I didn’t hear about the case until his name was out there, I guess on its own it didn’t really rate as nationally news-worthy,
Yup, Slater might just have been saving victims of further abuse or giving victims a chance to come forward… nothing to see here aye Mr Slater.
Hes already paid thousands in outing suppression orders, didn’t see anyone from the left willing to put their hands in their pockets
not the point, he says he is even handed in his crusades. According to his own “logic” this guy should have been outted to save the folks of the north from his abuse. Slater hasnt put thousands of his own money into anything… he has backers. Seems this guy didnt warrant outing. Just sexually assaulting women and children after all.
I’d put money towards relocating him to Anchorage so he could be with his own kind.
Farr out fender
My avast! detected a malware infection on that site, fender.
Infection detected!
avast! Web shield has detected a threat
Infection: URL:Mal
URL: http://simplehitcounter.com/hit.php?
uid=1230609&f=16777215&b=0
It doesn’t mean a lot to me, but I’d hate to see anyone except the trolls pick up an infection.
Holy shit, now it’s philanthropy rather than his business. I’m sure the victims appreciate his generosity in spreading their personal information about the place for profit and prurience.
Fixed.
Check out the comments on this article in E-local (you might have seen it in your mailbox, it masquerades as a community newspaper, but pushes right-wing propaganda):
http://www.elocal.co.nz/view_Article~id~894%20%20%20%20%20%20%20.html
The article’s not worth reading, but the comments are!
chrs for the link to that rag..
..that pro-titford/anti-maori/racist crap was published in june this year..(!)
..it was written by a ross baker ..
..(and this is an example of the high-standards @e-local..)
“..- Sub editied Lisa Williams..” (incompetent at job..as well as being racist scum..)
..and yes..will they be issuing an apology/retraction..?
..and more interestingly..
..will those maori featured/named/slandered so in this article..
..will they sue the arses off the writers/publishers of this rag..?
..and thus close it down..?
..i fucken hope so/they do..
phillip ure..
Why all the fucken swearing today, phillip?
@ swearing..linguistic-laziness probably..
..(i’ll try harder..)
..tho’ i do defend the use of a resolute ‘fuck!’ here and there..
..as an emphasis-tool..
..(and the racist race-baiting from that rightwing-rag..
..deserves a string of expletives..)
..phillip ure
In 2009 Scott at Reading the Maps wrote about the Franklin E-Local. Great article and worth a read. They are a very mixed up crew that bunch.
http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2009/11/mykeljon-picks-another-loser.html
well, that was a waste of bytes.
I see that pseudo-historian of Celtic New Zealand, Martin Doutré, is vigorously defending Titford as a political prisoner. I remember when the first book about that rubbish came out. It took me about 2 seconds to realise it was racist crap designed to delegitimise the Treaty. I wonder how long before WhaleSpew leaps on the same filthy bandwagon.
regrettably, Miss Otis had to decline the invitation to the ‘Young Nats Christmas Function’ (going as Hugh Hefner (lol) to another ‘do’ this year) just gotta rustle up a burghandi smoking jacket and a satin dressing gown before next Friday. 😉
Titford to go away for a decent stretch for a nasty lot of violence against his wife and family.
And don’t forget the nasty lot of violence against the local Tangata Whenua. You can be sure the media are studiously ignoring that, and concentrating on the family violence; we need to remind people at every chance that Titford’s rage was aimed at Maori as much as his own family.
An Auckland school, and communities, being sacrificed, sliced and diced, to make way for new motorway, east-west motoway decided on by Auckland Transport. It is a little example of the state that New Zealand is in. Education isn’t getting railroaded, but roaded, out from our prime consideration. It is expendable as roads are the priority. When I was in Naples around the 1970’s I was told that the Mafia made a lot of money building roads. They found them a good little earner, often not necessary going by the volume of users.
In NZ we have the same focussed thinking. It is now 2013 with peak oil and bad climate change developments leading to destruction of infrastructure and our past style of living. More education in the broad understanding, problem-solving, analysing skills are what is needed.
The young have to learn because it is their future that is being warped and wiped. Just as more animals and simple living entities are being lost, those are canaries warning about their possible future. It is sad for them to be raised to adulthood and reach understanding that irreversible conditions have degraded their world and future unfolding before them.
The old have got to a state where most refuse to face difficulties being caused by their present lifestyles that will compound in the future. In general the population is more likely to give active consideration to matters of sex, and personal behaviour especially it is obviously dysfunctional, than the deep structural problems that are very real but not immediately impacting them and contentious. And when the impacts become felt directly, there is surprise, shock and anguish – but still without the energy to address the problem except in band-aid and knee-jerk reaction.
and ‘waste management’ gw. We discussed the privileged response to some recent, local, young-teen “sudden deaths” today; one such response advising (deputy mayor), “having a positive future outlook”! (I am privy to an overview of the case-notes of these two tragedies, and really, they were well-fu#ked already, at such a young age; There was no ‘positive future outlook’! for them, or many others.
Good to see David Parker and Poto Williams out pounding the streets in east Chch yesterday.
It’s like seeing coppers on the streets – very very good and provides an impression and reality of standing with the people.
Indonesian/Australian bilateral relationship blowing up – Mark Textor not helping
The Indonesians are preparing to suspend all co-operation with Australia on military and immigration matters. Meanwhile, Mr Textor is looking to throw in a few bombs of his own.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/mark-textor-stokes-fire-with-indonesian-foreign-minister-porn-star-gibe-sack-him-says-malcolm-fraser-20131120-2xvy5.html
In another, the opinionated Liberal insider asked: ”What sort of head of state communicates with a head of a neighbouring government by twitter FFS? SBY”.
Looks as though he forgot to counsel Mr Key re twitter…
Dear old Brian Edwards on te panel yesterday took an opportunity to jump on his bandwagon about comments from anonymous bloggers etc that are nasty and how he could not get away with it because he is known…. well go for it Brian – who do you want to be nasty to?
He really needs to get over this anonymous thing the silly fool…
He is known with his comments, and that carries some extra cred – take it and be happy.
People who are anonymous have less cred when they comment – that is fine. Their anonymity diminishes the value of their comments, at times, especially when flecked with personal nasties..
however, what the anons can do is, by stripping out all of the known and personal of the commentator, place bare facts on the table for objective evaluation, devoid of any issues and credibility around the person who made the comment. And that has additional value above Brian’s known position.
Is that what he cannot handle perhaps?
I wonder if he pokes around here under some nom de plums.
Unlikely.
a. I’d have probably have noticed. I’m hyper-aware of any IP that I have worked with, and I’ve helped him on his site from his home system a number of times.
b. Doesn’t fit his style anyway.
It is more of thing from people who haven’t been around online forums for any length of time. They tend to not understand exactly either how the law views everything (basically there is no particular difference between a name and a pseudonym) or how seriously people invest in their online personas.
Essentially the only benefits of using a real name are
1. It makes it easier to claim special knowledge by virtue of who you are.
2. It makes it easier to target people for retribution in the real world
The first is generally irrelevant because you have to demonstrate your effective breadth of knowledge anyway (there are a lot of smart people online). The second happens all of the time for many people outside of the media industry where some degree of legal protection exists which is why the vast majority of people commenting on political forums operate with psuedonyms.
Effectively BE is saying that he’d prefer that only media commentators have a public voice on politics or the media. Since that is never going to happen because of the legal position referred to above, it just becomes a rather useless club.
Yeah, Brian Edwards and Pete George like to rattle on about how personally brave they are with their pensions and lifestyle blocks, which only shows how cowardly and out of touch they really are. Those of us in the real world have bosses who trawl our comments – I’ve already had one who tried to out me.
They aren’t heroes by any definition, they only perpetuate the system that supports their privileges. There’s a golden quote by Danyl McLaughlan on Giovani Tiso’s blog (actually, it was in the replies to some Trotter bullshit about what martyrs “Willie” and “JT” are, but I’m not going to link to that):
http://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.co.nz/2013/11/the-business-of-free-speech.html
‘we’re doomed to be hectored and talked down to by droves of reactionary bewildered old men’
That’s what Edwards has become.
I have to add, I did argue the point about employer surveillance with Edwards and he conceded, but he’s spouting the original bullshit again, which proves that he’s disingenuous at best or a lying bastard in other words.
The main thing I like about Brian Edwards is that he used to be worth listening to. But that was a long time ago.
There is a difference between anonymous and pseudonymous. After all, is Borat really anonymous? How about Woody Allen or Mel Brooks or David Bowie or Michael Caine? (Allen Koenigsberg, Melvin Kaminsky, Maurice Micklewhite and David Jones).
Or George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), for an historical precedent.
Or “lprent” for that matter?
People who use pseudonyms online build up avatar personas in which they have invested a lot of worth, and they keep using them and are willing to be held to their stated opinions at the risk of having to abandon their identities.
Edwards is disingenuously trying to blur the line between pseudonym and anonymity to pump up his own image as some sort of hero. He’s an old man, out of touch in the media in which he tries to make his money. If he doesn’t understand new media, then he’s not competent to serve his clients. I wouldn’t want to hire him if I needed someone to manage my image any more than I would want to use carrier pigeons to deliver mail.
And then we can compare people who use names that by sheer coincidence are the same as those on their birth certificates. “Matthew Hooton” for example is nothing but a brand – everything about him is as fake as Patrick Bateman.
I use my real name, does that magically mean my opinion is more valuable? Hardly.
A comment should rest upon what it says and not who said it.
“Brian Edwards” is a brand too. He’s trying to use it to lend authority to what he says, however nonsensical.
By the way, I have a PhD (Eng Lit, utterly useless), so you can call me Doctor… Who?
🙂
I see Gerry Brownlee is popular in Christchurch
Yeah. Saw that. Laughed.
BIG ups
A very workmanlike job. Nicely printed sign in clear font, appropriately sized and evenly cut, fit for its purpose. Quality zinc coated screws of modern type. 100% for meeting all requirements of test. Well done. signed Gerry Brownlee Physical Materials Trade Teacher (Woodwork).
Nice to see someone still appreciates a fine quality of work. Who does these days? (The art of maintaining motorcycles).
Ah the zen of some friends back in the day!
a little over-rated, like The Road Less Travelled ; to be frank, by the time I finished the work of of maintaining the vehicles of consumption, trucks, forklifts, buses, dozers, loaders, I was interested in just riding and drinking piss!, and occasionally that which followed! 😎
I never actually read it. But I and a couple of my friends did our own (usually small) motorcycle maintenance. One or two of them liked the book. I just did the practicum.
however, I have built, or rebuilt, a few bikes, one completely.
Impressive. I have stripped down and rebuilt a bike engine or 2, but not built a whole bike. That was in the pre-digital era. I imagine they are a bit different now.
‘pre-electronic’ era that may be; a woman after my own heart.
Love it!
would be great to see them popping up ALL over CHCHCH
Talking of ‘personal nasties’ it is nearly beyond me to refrain after having watched the abysmal Paula Bennett on TV3’s 3rd degree last night decrying the rack-renting landlord who owns a ‘holiday park’ in Her electorate and then having the gall to call a public meeting about it,
Rack-renting landlords charging over the top for what are basically ‘slum-dwellings’ need two things to survive and thrive, a severe lack of affordable rental accommodation and the tenants effected by this and the Government that Paula Bennett is a minister of has for the past five years done everything in it’s power to provide the rack-renting landlords of Auckland with plenty of them,
Go round the ‘Holiday parks’ and boarding houses of Auckland and see just how many are trapped in slum conditions paying dearly to live in one room or a mouldering caravan and then count the number of HousingNZ properties this National Government has either knocked over and not replaced or simply flicked off because the property was valuable and the numbers look remarkably the same,
A big Cheer sis goes out to that young woman who stood up to Bennett at that public meeting first asking Her the rhetorical question of exactly where are the HousingNZ properties for the 300 tenants crammed into the slum-park and as there are none where does Bennett get off attempting to ferment trouble for them when that ‘slum’ and it’s rack-renting is all that stands between the tenants and life on the street,
A thought occurred to me this morning that perhaps ‘out on the street’ is where Bennett and National want to see these people….
Ah, she’s talking about the Ranui Caravan Park.
I included stuff about it in this post.
Of course, such articles and other communications about the Ranui encampment expose the brutality of her social security reforms, so she is going on counter-attack. Of course, if such rack-renters are put out of business, many would just end up totally homeless.
Shameless, heartless, brutal Bennett. No wonder she prefers to move to Upper Harbour where there are little such parks to annoy her – will leave Ranui to Twyford, and other parks to other MPs.
They have no shame these Tory SCUM, in the week National passed under urgency Legislation that will see HousingNZ tenants re-applying en masse to be able to retain their homes and trumpeting the ‘fact’ that they plan to kick out 3000 tenants Bennett is doing a perfect act of ‘violin playing’,
Having cemented into place ‘rotational employment’ this National government will start playing musical chairs with the State’s housing stocks where we will have rotational housing,
As has been shown in Her Social Development portfolio there are plenty of mistakes made and in the rush to give the 3000 State tenants the kick there will be plenty more and guess where the last port of call will be for those mistakenly given the kick from their homes by the overly zealous minions of this particular Minister,
Not the rack-renting slum-lord of the slum-park that Bennett hypocritically decries by any chance…
The mealy mouthed Poorer Benefit – Social Development Minister makes out it is well in hand and anyway housing for others is everyone’s business, so get to tit and help her be the good husband to the homeless that she wants to be!
Paula Bennett says assistance is available.
“Those who are having housing and other social issues will be helped where possible,” she says.
“Rising rents in Auckland will no doubt present challenges but it is up to us as a community to come up with innovative solutions to resolve housing problems.”
The Caravan Park term got me to look for this item on closing a caravan park and dispersing needy people who needed drug and health treatment, some suitable work and income, and support and supervision. Instead they got a hell of a fright with heavy police presence and a clearing out of people who obviously had no or few options for homes and security.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm? c_id=1&objectid=10010412
Drug raid closes caravan park 10/2/2005
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Neil Grimstone said Green Acres (Mangere) was a well-known drug supermarket and police had attended nearly everything from domestic disputes to sexual violations there in the past few years….
Just after 6.30am they
left for 142 Favona Rd in 45 police cars.
Intersections were closed to allow the huge convoy to arrive together. The police Eagle helicopter followed from above. By 7am, the caravan park – the subject of endless complaints from local residents – was raided…
Occupants – Yesterday there were about 60, some of whom were children. Manukau City Council environmental health and enforcement manager Kevin Jackson said the park had been operating since 1986 but did not have a camping ground licence. Nor did it have code of compliances or resource consent.
Mangere councillor James Papali’i said although there was an element of criminal activity there were also a lot of good people living at the park.
He said many tenants faced real hardships and his main concern was for their future if the park was permanently closed down.
Police found what could be expected –
* Hundreds of tinnies and “dealing amounts” of methamphetamine.
* Two shotguns, one sawn-off rifle and one handgun.
* 14 unregistered and two registered dogs, which were impounded.
* 12 arrests, possibly more to follow.
A lot of money was spent on this raid, and order was restored for the people around. The question is why couldn’t some of that money go into working with the good, stable people within that group, and helping to get people off drugs, etc, keeping the younger ones stable, and enabling them to stay in work. If selling drugs was not against the law, and the government didn’t choose to irrationally hate one set of drugs and embrace others, then protection from shotguns wouldn’t be thought necessary. Unregistered dogs are not usually a criminal offence and without drug illegality they would not be so important for protection.
The way we mishandle the drug situation must be the cause of much of the poverty and criminality in low socio-economic areas in NZ.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9425456/Man-guilty-of-Rae-Portmans-murder
This item on the Portman murder case reads like an episode from the USA tv servies on drug making and dealing Breaking Bad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad
Poverty creates a context where crime and dug peddling are very likely to occur.
karol
And vice versa!
The point is that the condition of that particular ‘slum’ had little to do with the criminal behavior of some of it’s occupants, having all been booted out of this particular ‘slum’ do the authorities or anyone else believe that such criminal behavior was curtailed for more than the time it took for the criminal element that that particular ‘slum’ housed to find new housing,
Only the brainless would draw such a conclusion,
This brings to mind the Housing Minister Nick Smith’s recent gloating song and dance over putting the bulldozers through a whole street of units in the Lower Hutt suburb of Pomare and then flicking off the land for private housing,
The street He said harbored a number of criminals, what He of course didn’t say,(nor care about obviously), was that the criminals who were housed there, if not in jail, are now housed somewhere else, i do not believe even Nick Smith is stupid enough to believe that kicking these people out of their houses and bulldozing the houses to the ground will for more than a moment have altered any criminal activity,( the point of Smith’s stupidity is of course debatable),
The effort put into kicking the ‘offensive’ tenants out of this particular street is said to have in the end cost the State at least a million dollars, the demolition of the houses and selling off of the land from where i sit looks simply like a Fascist retaliation against all State tenants by the Minister hell bent on extracting the cost of these evictions from within the portfolio He is tasked with managing…
What would be done though? For those well past redemption and just causing mayhem and pain ….
The constant harassment method works for rats, maybe it would work here too.
ktthhhhhhh…
Vto, what the fuck would you know about who is and who isn’t redeemable, well past redemption is simply right wing bullshit,
In the case of HousingNZ tenants there should be a ‘spelling out’ of the tenants resposibility surrounding their neighbour’s right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of their tenancies without harrasment or standover tactics with the full knowledge of the consequences,(something HousingNZ still do not bother to do),
What or who is irredeemable??? i left Paremoremo Maximum security prison many years ago with a pre-release report which in part read, ”as the divisional Officer in charge of this individual and were it not for the fact that He is serving a finite sentence i would recommend that He never be released, He is one of the most dangerous individuals i have had custody of in 20 years of service”,
Theoretically irredeemable according to ‘an expert’, yet i have never served another term of imprisonment and have lived in this little street for 5 years without a single dispute with any neighbour and i piss on your ‘irredeemable’…
well that is a doozy and very honest of you. congrats. people like you are an asset to the community (i think? tell me). though quite how you would assume was talking of you I’m not sure.
and what would i know? that is immaterial and it would be a mistake to assume.
but rather than revert to the original point, maybe it could be moved on in order to grease-gun the nuts…. how does this happen to people? are they actually in that irredeemable position or is that the officer alone? what factors bring about the ‘redemption’ (terrible word)? some distinguishment may be of assistance.
but more importantly, what of those who must live with a ‘redemption’? Next door? While bringing in the milk….
“in order to grease-gun the nuts”
What does that mean?
“redemption – an act of redeeming or atoning for a fault or mistake, or the state of being redeemed.”
either way redemption seems to me to allow people to move forward and I think that is the way to do it. After all, stones and glass houses and the people who throw and all that.
it is not clear what point vto is making.
I meant cogs
Coming from you RT that is cryptic praise indeed….
very funny Red, are you having trouble navigating (just kidding).
@4000m I’m having trouble breathing….(work that one out)
Mt Cook 3754m in comparison…
Vto, yes you made the mistake in the earlier comment of assuming which is the only reason i ‘outed’ myself as one previously marked as irredeemable so as to disabuse you of such a notion,
There are very few people who with the right incentives and management i would consider to be irredeemable, and a far as the neighbours go i am sure when they realized who it was living next door they might have had the odd heart stopping moment but as i say i have been here for 5 years,
i will simply finish by saying that the less chances of redemption that there are then the less of it there will be…
a little non-fiction story: My neighbour is the Sergeant-Of-Arms, notorious throughout NZ. He has been (not a little) aggressive and intimidating to a particular dog for about a month, more than a little concerning considering the implications of where I have been ‘located’. Last night, after I had retired to bed with a book, there was a knock at the door…I allowed him in, and was a little surprised that he went on to apologise for (three times), and explain his behaviour: A Modern Miracle. Really, I do not understand where some folk on TS get-off, yet I usually just put it down to ignorance. Very sad.
Flesh, blood and bone
CV, I think there’s a message for you near the bottom of the Genesis discussion. Don’t know what to make of it. I’m inclined to send it to moderation.
as my (biological) father used to say… “same blood Son, runs through your veins as mine”.
Ahhh thx will take a look karol.
concentric rings
rippling Oaks
Here is The Proposition
Death, or Dishonour.
Indeed – there have been a number of supposedly “irredeemable” people who’ve proven their accusers wrong.
It’s a shame there’s such a change in attitude over the years.
I wonder @bad12 whether you ever had the pleasure of meeting a lady called Ana Tia.
Her lessons seem to have been lost by those running our institutions these days – and of course the politicians driving it all
It’s not just National. I noticed boarding houses and caravan parks filling up shortly after the first ACT government sat their traitorous bums on the green leather. I think the situation has only worsened since.
Is there anyone in Labour or the Greens especially interested in keeping an overview of IT in NZ especially in Government and other connected entities. It seems to me that supplying substandard programs and probably soon, hardware, has become on the great scams of the 21st century. We can see roads and get an idea of what they are doing and costing by applying to the OIA if necessary. Computers and electronics and all their complexity, languages, redundancies, paradigms, algorhithms blah blah , cables, mirroring, peer something, off the shelf programs cf to bespoke ones. Sheesh. We need to have a Ringmaster (or Mistress and no S&M intended) for this Circus.
Who would be appropriate and knowledgable for this role either in left wing Government or well connected to give balanced unbiased advice, or if biased a revealed one. There are sure to be connections within the sector so I’m thinking pragmatically here.
The government should have its own IT department. It’s large enough to require work done all the time and it also requires compatibility between departments. This being true it’s actually massively inefficient (read: Costs a hell of a lot more) to bring in private contractors who would be unlikely to work to a set of standards and won’t have the IT dependent inter-departmental knowledge needed to make compatibility between departments both secure and cost effective.
DTB
Sounds like what I’ve heard. Not that I know all that much. But who in Labour and Greens would know enough to understand what’s going on and stop the waste of money and time now happening?
There are people who can talk the talk very impressively at present, but should be walking down a plank and being pushed off. But they aren’t and don’t. They leave at a certain crucial point in time, which is before they lose the chance of getting some great reimbursement.
What I read in the news and hear is disgraceful and there needs to be someone with an overview. I have a copy of an email which talks about the happenings in his area of expertise and it seems to make valid points that would relate to numbers of programs and sites.
I wonder who is going to take responsibility for technology in Labour and Greens. Because this is a black hole which we can’t keep dropping money into and getting trouble out of. It should not be a lucky dip that we reach into hopefully, luck is what we need though at present.
greywarbler, Cunliffe is making IT his area. He has some background in the area of politics of ICT.
ta karol
greywarbler and DTB :
SSC has generic oversight. Each ministry *does* have its own IT department… very large in the case of MSD.
Backoffice work isn’t glamorous but seeing IT purely as a cost to be minimised is a typical management error which often leads to disaster, when critical systems become neglected.
Complex real world problems are only solved with sophisticated systems, and no technology lasts forever.
True but what they don’t have what I think the government needs is their own people developing their own software. At the moment they tend to go to private providers and we end up, seemingly more often than not, with a complete balls-up that costs far more than it should have. An internal government department tasked with providing all of the software (including the OS) that the government uses would, IMO, go a long way to eliminating those fuck-ups.
ropata
I see your points. But thinking about money spent. The effectiveness and efficiency thing once new systems are up and running I would think is far from what is expected. That costs money trying to fix.
Then there is compatability of systems which could help to keep costs down but there are limits on the ability to bring complex systems together.
And as you say not having sufficient staff to maintain systems, and control new add-ons and rotate the hardware, ageing out and updated in and incorporate the new fully into the system with firewall etc and check on the back-up batteries and the generators and… There is not enough money allocated to properly maintain systems, and more needs to be spent in the right place to get the best bang for each $. That’s an interested newbie outsider’s view.
Woman’s mastectomy photo’s taken off FaceBook overnight. RoastBusters rape boasts were on FB for 2 years.
Typical, useful information gets mixed up with gynaecological warped curiosity.
Decades ago when swearing in public and bad language, abuse etc was criminally punishable it was not allowed to be repeated in public, and the written words could not be legally carried within the postal system. A difficulty in gaining the facts and information for bringing a prosecution was caused.
*shakes head*
That’s typical Facebook behaviour. Trying to get a page on breast feeding on Facebook showing actual breast feeding was almost impossible for years.
Worse – rape is not a sex crime but an act meant to humiliate and destroy a person, so the Roast Busters page was an extension of their rapes… and the police, for “operational” reasons knowingly allowed their crimes to continue. The police didn’t just turn a blind eye to rape, they facilitated it… because the son of one of their own was doing it.
Now what’s the difference between saying that your hands were tied and hypocritically wringing them? There’s a question for Marshall.
Why don’t you ask him yourself?
Ooh, let me guess, in order to score a trivial point, are you pretending to some sort of sophistication and even – dare I say it, wit? You subscribe to the myth that there is some equivalence of power. If Marshall had shown up on my doorstep wearing his shiny hat with a box of chocolates and a bunch of roses, the real message that he would be delivering would be “We know where you live, matey”.
Jesus PR, you really are dumb, and trying to be “witty” you only make that more obvious.
As an aside, why is it that the most reactionary arselickers try to name themselves as “rebels” or “jesters”?
rather than “spectres”.
Perhaps a play on words – Ruckish Pogue. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lE-YjjZhwc
From China Weekly
Palestinians’ first ever UN vote symbolic yet historic
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/21/c_125736111.htm
English.news.cn 2013-11-21 03:53:53
RAMALLAH, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — The Palestinians’ first ever vote at the UN General Assembly was symbolic but historic on their way toward the world’s full recognition of a Palestinian state, officials and analysts said here on Wednesday.
Almost a year after the UN General Assembly upgraded the Palestinian status to that of a non-member observer state, the chief Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour cast a ballot on Monday in an election of a judge for the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.
The casting of the Palestinian ballot was accompanied with a loud applause in the 193-nation assembly, a matter that angered the Israeli envoy.
So Chris Tremain the obscure minister of Internal Affairs is worried that 414 people voted for the criminal Allen Titford when His standing as a candidate was illegal,
i would worry more that there are 414 people in Northland with the sanity,(lack of), to express a desire to have someone of Titfords ilk as their Mayor,
i would further worry about ‘birds of a feather’ and wonder what might be occurring within the families of the 414 who would choose a man,(a thing), of Titford’s ilk as their Mayor,
That small demographic of electoral support i would suggest is worthy of a serious dose of community mental health or perhaps more to the point worthy of bearing the brunt of the prying eyes of a criminal investigation…
is it possible most of them didnt know what he had done?
Wouldn’t just the ‘politics of ‘it’ make you want to run a mile let alone knowing what the total amount of insanity He obviously has ensconced in His cranial cavity….
Five years of QE and the distributional effects
Instead of calling it Quantitative Easing it really should have been called Massive Stock Bubble and Gift to the already Wealthy
Lo, the magnificent thinking of one great philosopher/arsehole Brian Emerson on Stuff re home ownership ???
Profound !!!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/how-can-we-get-more-kiwis-into-homes/9426010/Can-t-afford-a-house-Tough-luck
Wow, now that’s a sociopathic rant if ever I heard one.
Who wakes up in the morning and thinks to themselves, “I know, I’ll out myself as a complete prick in front of the whole nation!”?
Actually, I know a couple of people who might do this, mainly due to a complete lack of self-awareness.
He could have written it better
No, I think he did quite well. Clearly put with no beating about the bush.
Oops, being a bit too honest there about your utter arseholeness, Brian. You’re supposed to be slicker than that. The same goes to everyone who’s drawing paycheques from The Herald.
Gosh, I wonder why newspapers are dying? Could it be because they’re becoming increasingly out of touch and irrelevant? Nah…
DTB 21.1 Whose rant do you mean? Brian Emerson’s I take it.
I had a look at this and came upon the Stuff Nation Assignment set-up. First time I’ve seen it.
They set some topics and if you are a dick capable of shooting your mouth off without rude words you can write a few paras and put them forward for consideration.
I had a look for Brian Emerson and the one that I came up with is someone in Gisborne who has a motor trade licence to repossess vehicles. Someone who would have strong understanding of the stresses of being short of money and not able to manage in today’s flash NZ economy! And getting flasher. Probably more work for B.E.
Brian Emerson is completely without understanding.
He says this … “The problem with New Zealand’s housing crisis is that everyone wants their own house but many did nothing in their lives to enable this to happen. ”
It doesn’t even come onto his radar that there are well established practices and beliefs in pretty much all societies throughout history that people don’t have to do anything but be born to expect a home. It is a baseline for human societal existence.
His rant there is incredibly narrow. Like looking out through a slit in the wall.
regarding ‘support’ Brian, life support will inconvenience your perspective, yet we’ll be there, smiling down on your comatose frame!
The odds are that he inherited his house. It’s quite common with loud mouth fools who preach the virtues of hard work and self reliance.
A while ago someone asked why we needed FttH. Well NASA, indirectly, answers:
The crazy gets more crazy …
In response to criticism from readers, the editor of “E-local” (see above) replies –
“elocal told Titfords story, one of a modern day land grab. As for your comment re conspiracy stories, I as editor don’t need to defend what we have presented. For one the authors put their names to their pieces not like you who hides like a coward under the title of anomymous. I doubt if you have half the accademic record or research under your belt to have a comment or article even to be considered to be published.”
(emphasis added)
So, just to be clear – the editor’s moral code says …
– commenting anonymously is bad
– decades of assault, rape, arson – and incidentally, cowardice – is not so bad
– and the editor isn’t responsible for his own work!
Feel free to e-mail them – I have (links in my comments above). This matters, because ‘E-local’ is not just a bigot blog, it’s a free magazine distributed throughout Auckland. You can find it in cafes, etc. It’s poison, spreading far and wide.
Thanks gobsmacked – submitted a pseudonymous comment – particularly querying the use of the pseudonym “editor” to criticise “anonymous comments.
The editor might be the female sub-editor mentioned at the top of the article, but who knows. And her name and the name of the author of the article mean nothing to me – they might as well be anonymous. Anyway the article stands and falls on its content.
Parliament is an adversarial chamber. As can be seen as the Speaker keeps taking sides against the opposition, but I think that’s not the purpose of the Speaker to sit around and listen (and laugh) with the government points. Take for example the way the speaker does not jump in to the highly political questions that National asks its own ministers, the more boring they are, the more irrelevant, the more parliamentary time they take up, the less useful parliament is. But its worse, the Speaker allows the government to spend minutes on ‘good news’ dross, statistics and governing nonsense.
Yet when the opposition put up in any way, a slight against the government the government are up on there feet giving renditions of opposition policy, and welll might they, as the Speaker has allowed government to preach its own policies off its own questions, letting the government preach wrongheaded views of opposition policies seems so justified.
Question time is a time used to hold the government to account, so the asking of patsy questions that appeal to the government is a waste of time and should be ruled out of order, I never get to hear opposition policies stated without contention from the Speaker.
Ministers have a ministry stacked with knowledge that oppositions do not have access to, so it seems quite wrong for the Speaker to argue that balance means equality. Opposition questions, without the wrap around of a minister office, or having never been in government, are likely to be politically tinged, whereas ministers have no such excuse. For the Speaker to be unbiased he needs a thicker left ear and a much more honed right ear. Where questions are not of a higher charged nature, where they do not hit home, then the Speaker has the duty to call into the questioners waste of parliamentary time (and eject government ministers who revere their own great leadership).
So the Speaker should ignore political questions where the underlying question is well purposed.
And the Speaker should eject Joyce, for his nonsense. Joyce has a problem with nuance. Greens correctly informed the market about power policy, and correctly point out that National power sell off is a failure yet Joyce does not believe those two acts of opposition can him are justifiable. That’s just nonsense, he may not understand that being principled can come across as contrary, he obviously has never done principled politics.
Yeah. I’m getting thoroughly bored with Question Time. it’s a farce and has little to do with democracy.
Dairy will destroy our waterways
And yet National and several city councils want more of this. All they see is the money and fail to see the reality behind it.
oops *snap*
Can’t reply on mobile. Cant imagine why I put in Andrew Little… stil Paul Goldsmith is a pillock. No one should be excluded from taking a pg case.
fair enough. Everyone makes mistakes. Take Mr and Mrs Goldsmith for instance 😉
that is extremely funny Tracey
Fair cop. Is Paul Goldsmith good for anything other than a little pulling-down-signs hilarity?
No. Not even employees of less than 90 days’ standing.
Another right wing hack on Mora’s show.
Josie Pagani.
I don’t mean to be mean but there were a few different planets spinning on that te panel with nary a near miss
Adams obscures 😉 Anadarko Oil Spill Risk of Kaikoura
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11160823
Report: 70% probability of a ‘reportable’ incident (not just spills) at Kaikoura well within a year of exploration opening; 7 Times more probable on a deep-sea exploration drill than an in-shore one. Bridges pours more slick on.
-He’s a Bright’on that David Cunliffe 😀
And the petrolobbyists reckon “reportable incident” includes a cut finger.
Why would you be seven times more likely to cut a finger 100km in the new spots rather than off Taranaki?
long way to sail band-aids.
Depends how rough the sea is.
it did come to mind, but do the trawlers and cargo ships suddenly get a sevenfold increase in injuries if they 70km farther out?
Almost an OSH issue.
…and that’s the effect of dairying; a zero-sum dirty game
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11160833
if only we all took the long view
Longview
“When was the last time I lost the plot?”
Leighton Smith snarls at critic of deep sea oil-drilling
NewstalkZB, Thursday 21 November 2013, 9:10 a.m.
“Newstalk ZB is for ignorant louts, the intellectually challenged and the modern day version of the 1930s brown shirts.”—Anne, The Standard, 9 August 2013
As I was driving the Breenmobile around the East Coast Bays this morning, I chanced on the following brief encounter involving a caller (Mike) trying, unwisely, to talk intelligently with NewstalkZB’s most notorious loon, the race-baiting supercrank and science-denier Leighton Smith. Hatin’ Leighton spent a couple of minutes reflecting on the escapades of Toronto’s crack-smoking mayor Rob Ford, then came down from Mt Olympus to took his first call…..
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmm, ahhhhhhhh. Ummmmmm, it’s ten minutes past nine. Ummmmmmmmmmm. Mike is on the line.
CALLER MIKE: Yes, Leighton, it’s quite amazing how these politicians can get away with behavior like that.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Hrrrrumph.
MIKE: It’s hard to get information out of politicians. They do their best to hide it from the public.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Hrrrrumph. Ahhhhmmmmmm….
MIKE: I hear that Gareth Hughes is finding it very difficult to get information about deep sea oil drilling.
LEIGHTON SMITH: [suddenly hostile] What’s THAT got to do with it?
MIKE: This is the biggest issue of our time.
LEIGHTON SMITH: WHAT?
MIKE: Deep sea oil drilling off our coasts is the biggest issue in New Zealand at this time.
LEIGHTON SMITH: You wouldn’t happen to be OPPOSED to it by any chance, would you?
MIKE: I’m not opposed to all oil drilling. Just to dangerous oil drilling.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmmmm, ahhhhhhhh. You don’t think you should be concerned about your own state of mind, and possible depression?
MIKE: [taken aback] I’m not depressed. You’re playing games.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmm, ahhhhhhh. When was the last time you heard me being cranky? When was the last time I lost the plot? Thanks for your call. [Long pause.] He thought I was having a go at him, but I wasn’t. Was I? I just wanted to have a conversation with him. He’s actually put me in a good mood! Back in a minute!
……Advertisements, including this station promo: “From the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed: NewstalkZB is one long conversation!” A montage of NewstalkZB voices, including Larry “Lackwit” Williams snarling, “This GARBAGE!” and Mike “Contra” Hosking ranting against state housing.
LEIGHTON SMITH: Ummmmm, ahhhhhhh. Some of you have been very UNKIND about Mike! “This guy’s off the planet,” says one text. Here’s another one: “Please kill this call because I’m losing the will to live.” Leonie, you are VERY unkind! It is ahhhhhhh, ummmmmmmm, twenty-five past nine…..
More Leighton Smith nonsense….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-20122012/#comment-565047
I did say that too. Nary a truer word hath been spoke. 😈
Once in a blue moon, an idle twisting of the dial lands me on the Leighton Smith Show. Every time within minutes of tuning in, the brown shirt in question launches into yet another climate change denying diatribe. To say he’s obsessed with, and ignorant of, the reality of the scientific evidence is an understatement.
so..did helen clark agree to the american request for their spooks to spy on new zealanders..?
..when they asked..?
..and if she had disagreed/said ‘no’..
..do you think the americans would have given her the green-light/tick for her u.n. job..
..’cos make no mistake..had they said ‘no’..clark would not today be in new york..
..so it would appear to have been ‘yes!’es all around..
..eh..?
..whoar..!
.eh..?
..and has john key just allowed that spying on us to continue/expand..?
..i think we all know the answer to that one..
..eh..?
phillip ure..
Yes phil ure, we do need an answer to that question.
And what difference would it make to their ‘spying’ if they told us anyway? If they said “yes, we are recording everything you punch into a key board” then so what?
don’t make no difference
don’t make no difference
except for what gets punched into a key board
Actually it was revealed a couple of years or more ago that Ban Ki moon had Clark in his sights for the job immediately following the 2008 election. She was approached by him (or an intermediary on his behalf) not the other way around. That is my recollection anyway. The US has no more influence on UN decision making than any other nation.
You should read Nicky Hagar’s book “Other People’s Wars” phillip ure. It concerns Afghanistan, Iraq and the war on terror. The Clark government was not informed about quite a few things that happened involving NZ Defence personnel in the name of those wars. I would expect that any spying by the Americans on NZers during Labour’s tenure in office did not occur with their knowledge and blessing. Certainly there would have been formal communications concerning a handful of citizens with suspect contacts in the above countries, but wholesale spying? Not with Clark’s approval – that’s a given!
and that’s a matter of faith on yr part..anne..not a ‘given’..
..the facts are that according to the latest snowden leaks..the americans spied on their five eyes partners..
..and in the case of britain..the prime minister was asked and gave permission..
..why would/should that be any different here..?
..to me..that is both the ‘given’..
..and the question that needs answering..
..i’m afraid i don’t share yr belief..anne..
..phillip ure..
They spied on Angela Merkel and German citizens without her knowledge. Why would Helen Clark be any different?
As for the British PM… Cameron is part of a very close relationship between the two countries. The UK and the US have been a terrible twosome for years. It’s not a belief phillip ure. I know Helen. I suspect you don’t.
Dare you to read “Other People’s Wars.” You might discover quite a lot of things. Might even change your mind.
anne..just because you ‘know helen’..
..does not mean she would necessarily share information such as that with you..?
..surely..?
..and do you believe key is letting the americans spook all over us..?
..and if so..
..do you think that spooking started with him..
..and not under clark..?
..phillip ure..
In theory being one of the Five Eyes, NZ should have a higher degree of protection
HOWEVER this latest report shows that the UK govt gave away their citizens protection to the US…and the US were about to take it away from the UK anyways.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/20/us-uk-secret-deal-surveillance-personal-data
Snowden worked for a ?private? company with the govt contract?…. ….if you want conspiracy to believe why not choose greed, the dot come market had run its course, some arab terrorists were flagged training in the US to fly planes, the markets were due for a collapse (global derivatives company went bust).
Opportunity to sit on hands and be in front to move the new apparatus up into position.
Now the US has a global model of the world economy, and can drill down into any board room on the planet. This can now not be ignored by the US’s allies.
Its the economy stupid.
Wrong.
It was about the economy. And sure, TBTF and the other corporates are grabbing everything they can asap before they have to run out the door. It is of course, an insane, sociopathic game of building up points on electronic score boards (printed $) with the unrealistic assumption that its going to be worth a damn in real life after the ecosystem collapses and our fossil fuelled global civilisation starts grinding to a halt.
So it was about the economy. Now it’s primarily about the oligarchy maintaining power and control in the face of an increasingly restive homeland. Put it another way; we are well into the transition from Huxley to Orwell.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11160823
– Is someone in Labour trying to trip up Cunliffe?
Hi chris73, been flashing your willy at any octogenarians lately (since you’ve said that was your favourite fantasy)?
Hi rhinocrates, I’d take your comments more seriously if you hadn’t outed yourself as a coward in real life
Why should you take me seriously? I don’t. And you talking about “courage”? Oh dear…
Yep, I’m a coward, I’m fat, I’m balding – I have all sorts of faults.
So tell us all about your enormous dick since you’re so proud of it.
Why?
You’re a big shiny red button and I just can’t resist pushing it. Go ahead please.
Oh well since your being honest I guess I’ll be honest as well…
I don’t expect that what I’m about to say will have any effect on you at all but for what its worth I respect courage, I respect people who take a stand, I may not agree with what they’re saying or doing but I respect the courage behind it
You in my opinion are a coward, in fact you’re cliche, you’re the type of blogger the media loves to portray, the type thats big and tough in front of a keyboard but in reality is nothing more then a scared little boy
When I type something on here or other websites I always think to myself “would I say this to the other person in real life”
Do you?
Push the button and he lights up…
OK, you’re missing the point, chew toy. Stop flexing your biceps and just go down to the beach and kick sand in your own face.
I would say what I say here to anyone in real life, and they’d get the joke.
The only people who can hurt me are those I love – go ahead and make me love you if you like.
… and anyway, I’m not a pervert who fantasises about sex with elderly women.
Lie to me all you like I don’t care but what I know is if you and met in real life you wouldn’t say any of the things to me that you’ve posted on here and that makes you a coward and a liar
Wow, a complete syntax breakdown – we might even be seeing a full scale tantrum here!
God I’m cruel. Sorry everyone.
Rhino might not, but i certainly fucking would…
No this is a full scale tantrum.
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10112013/#comment-725131
Look at it this way “fappity”… do you understand the nature of power? The cops have power and they routinely abuse it. I’ve a lot of friends whose experiences would in themselves be automatic Godwins because they have seen up close and personal Nazism and Stalinism. If you aren’t scared by that, you’re an arselicking fool.
What are you going to say? “It can’t happen here”? That’s the usual one.
bad12
Oh I would, no doubt about that. I’m worse in real life and apologise much less.
I’ve had students say to my face that they think I’m like Hannibal Lecter, the Joker and Tony Soprano and meant – judging by their expressions and tone of voice – to compliment me.
Again: If I love you, you can hurt me. Otherwise… nah.
Yeah……nah you’re just another sad internet blowhard…. a man of your age squawking about the police and calling them pigs then having a big cry, it’d be quite funny if it wasn’t so pathetic.
Oh “fappity” is back, pulling faces and blowing raspberries. I’m sorry, but I can’t reply in depth since there’s not even the remotest semblance of syntax or intimation of meaning.
“You’re sad”
Actually I have depression and take pills for it. Next insult please.
Make me love you and then you can hurt me.
I tell all my mates in real life that right wing trolls are wankers, same as I say here. I don’t really get the point of this real life stuff. Does it prove something? On the internet, I’ve had to learn not to spit for emphasis. Makes a mess of the screen.
I tell all my mates in real life that right wing trolls are wankers, same as I say here.
– Good
I don’t really get the point of this real life stuff. Does it prove something?
– Its quite easy to say anything you like because of the protection of distance but its meaningless you’re willing to back it up face to face
– Thats why I tend to reflect other peoples attitudes back towards them ie if people are civil to me then I’m civil back if people are arseholes to me well then I’m an arsehole back etc etc
No doubt any face to face you engaged in would include your firearm for added emphasis eh Rambo/Shambo.
I didn’t see a coward. I saw a person full of empathy, worried about how legal protections are disappearing, being more worried than I would have been by an unexpected phone call.
We can’t all be as tough as you, piss73. I’m too scared to even wave my walking stick at people on the internet. I wish I had a huge e-penis like you, or are you just a dick?
He sounded off against Marshall
He freely entered his contact details
He chickened out of having a conversation via phone with Marshall
He left paranoid ramblings about his misadventures
and not that its that important but he also started talking about my penis first, tried to suggest I’m homophobic and that I have rape fantasies about elderly women
So if I’m a dick I’m going to out on a limb and suggest this guys a bigger dick then I
“He sounded off against Marshall”
Apparently disrespect for an incompetent police officer is a crime? Good to see your essential authoritarianism so plain.
“He freely entered his contact details”
In good faith, expecting due process, not intimidation.
“He chickened out of having a conversation via phone with Marshall”
I know too many eastern european and german friends who’ve had unwelcome knocks at the door not to be freaked by that.
You are the one who claimed to have raped my mother, scum.
Stop rolling about on the floor pretending to be a victim.
Slavoj Zizek – Listen to this terrific guy, if you can’t watch him, turn away or just listen to the audio.
http://www.reddit.com/r/lectures/comments/1r3vcu/living_in_the_end_times_according_to_slavoj_zizek/
Odd things that have stayed in my mind – I will have to watch again.
How we are being undermined by the Right. In Italy Berlusconi and his system suspended rights and went into emergency powers and that might be that they could clear parks to prevent rape. It’s a mixing of left wing thoughts, with right wing domination.
Italy, he says it is like Duck Soup Groucho Marx film, having Berlusconi in power.
The left has concentrated on people’s rights gay, etc. and left the large core of left ideas for the Right to pick up. Now we are being subverted. Very interesting.
Point of view put forward by one speaker:
If capitalism had been able to work we wouldn’t be where we are today.
It’s government interference. If capitalism had been able to work everything would have gone down, and the cleansing system of capitalism would have got everything right. Zizek says that it is not the socialists that have brought this about its capitalism out of control. You never admit the system is wrong he says. He quotes the communists in Yugoslavia coming out with the very same thought.
Thanks GW, always interested in SZ.
SZ is interesting – agree with many things he says, but not all.
He was at a conference in Auckland a few years back. One of the things that sticks in my mind is him talking about how he avoids doing “office hours” – ie those hours when a Uni lecturer or tutor is meant to be available to talk with students. he really doesn’t like Office Hours.
To get around Low Equity Mortgages banks are, from my sources. approaching real estate agents and some potential new home owners with good earning capabilities, to increase their equity by offering extremely low credit cards (interest rates around 3%)Even though credit cards are unsecured (that is why we pay 19%interest rates), that should the debt be defaulted this would still be tied to the property.
Wonder how the authorities feel about such discrepancies of interest rates and how the banks can justify charging from 3% to some and 19+% for the rest. 🙁
Wow, a complete syntax breakdown – we might even be seeing a full scale tantrum here!
God I’m cruel. Sorry everyone.
– Yes that is exactly what is happening here, you got me. I’ll say one thing for you and thats you don’t lack self-belief
Given certain posts and threads of comments over the last week or so, which to me are reaching a bit into the “bizarre” territory of discussion, and having dared to question some “slogans” and “sloganised” arguments, I will try to in future stay away from The Standard, apart from perhaps commenting now and then on Open Mike.
It is my strong conviction, that “the left” that chooses to express themselves here under various names and from various groups are representing certain views and positions, that I can partly accept, but I feel that most of society will not understand and accept. That is not my worry, so I leave it up to the democratic process for that to be dealt with.
At NO TIME did I ever try to excuse or support “rape” or anything of such behaviour, and what came out of all that has disappointed me, yes shocked me, and it taught me, to stay well clear of certain commenters and bloggers here now.
As for what concerns me and some other personally, I am posting this to simply remind those that are interested, what deserves attention, analysis and resolution. I will NOT support any future party that does not address this, does not distance itself from this, and that keeps quiet on this:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/15264-welfare-reform-the-health-and-disability-panel-msd-the-truth-behind-the-agenda/
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/15463-designated-doctors-%e2%80%93-used-by-work-and-income-some-also-used-by-acc/
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/15188-medical-and-work-capability-assessments-based-on-the-bps-model-aimed-at-disentiteling-affected-from-welfare-benefits-and-acc-compo/
Also of interest should be:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/14923-health-and-disability-commissioner/
AND:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/13301-what-to-do-if-you-are-required-to-see-a-winz-designated-doctor/
I know the forum it has been posted on has received a bit of controversy re some “members”, but apart from that it was created and is being maintained for the purpose of informing persons on issues, and how they can find help, perhaps.
That is also where I and a few I know and have cooperated with are coming from, and hence we will maintain all said, written and posted, and push for this to get more public attention.
While this may disinterest certain more “politically minded” various persons here, I leave it to all others, and the many readers, to make use of and to judge or decide on.
Best wishes Standardistas, have a “happy new year” coming up!
“Best Wishes” to you xtasy.
i think your violin need a tune up X, it seems to play this same song over and over again…
are you pluckin’ their strings.
“bad12”, with all respect, I accept that I am diagnosed as “mentally ill”, so perhaps understand some previous “songs” and “violins”. Being ill like this does not mean “insanity”, although at times I may have been close to it, but then again, it takes a genius to be bordering on insanity.
I have nothing more to say, but perhaps you may understand now, I do withdraw for my own mental health, and perhaps that of others. Besides of that, the information I provided remains to be valid, irrespective of my mental state. Good luck I appreciated always your smart thoughts, but sometimes against me. Life is a never ending journey, hopefully leading to some maturity and wisdom.
Illegitimi non carborundum, xtasy
Lolz X, i thought you might take my little comment in the vein that you have, the violin overture i hint at has nothing to do with the useful information you provide and is simply a reference to your developing preference to indulge in the little ‘drama queen moments’ where you are leaving this site, restricting your comments on this site etc etc,
Having over the course of many year been diagnosed by the Doctors in charge as being afflicted with, depending upon ‘their moods’ it would seem, untreatable bouts of psychotic behavior to full on paranoid schizophrenia i will regrettably decline what i see as your open invitation to label myself a genius,(criminal madman in my case seems more appropriate),
Keep commenting X and learn that this is a little battlefield of ideas where if you believe in the content of the comments you post you fight with all and sundry without either a backward step or a moan about the comments of those who disagree with your point of view all the while realizing that all of us, even the self appointed genius, are wrong sometimes and only the bigger person is willing to admit that…
TV3 News saw The Cunliffe score an own goal with his oil hyperbole exposed for all to see again. Will he never learn. Each time he is on TV the Labour vote drops.
Ummm I’m sure that if I wanted to make the effort of doing a search, then I could find you saying exactly the same thing in the same words about the previous two Labour party leaders. It also wouldn’t surprise me that if I looked into your IP pattern, I could find you making exactly the same observation about Helen Clark and Michael Cullen…
If I did make that effort, then I’d have to assist you to amend your behaviour. If you are going to troll, then at least do it so that I don’t get bored. Then I won’t feel like booting you off the site like a bad TV advertisement. It isn’t you opinion, it is your lamearse pisspoor excuse of a way of trolling. It is so frigging awful that neither I nor anyone else can be arsed listening to your appalling lack of originality. You are a wit that is just witless.
This is particularly the case incidentally when you jump from negative advertising to that rather horrible slavish purse-dog imitation you do whenever you mention the Great and Wonderful Leader.. You read like a Paul Goldsmith biography.
Here – try the mirror… Looks like Paula Bennetts purse..
Clear? I don’t think it will be long before I get moved to boot you off the site again.