They publish Pap because many people enjoy it Paul.
If it ain’t for you, just don’t read it?
And stop bothering us with it. I don’t think many here are interested in it.
“And stop bothering us with it. I don’t think many here are interested in it.”
I am interested in his comments the same as I am interested in yours.
I am glad he bothers us with it as it reinforces something we are aware of already and that is, the continuation of the dumbing down shit the right wing media wants us all to see. Nothing controversial, nothing that can rock the cosy right wing fucking boat, unless it is about the opposition to the right..
Don’t read that pathetic excuse for shit house paper, but there are several international things on the go at the moment that can and will affect NZ. Have not seen one item mentioned on our Television. The likes of Christy and that simpering blond he has as a side kick are more interesting showing some guy (suppose to be funny ha ha ) taking to another’s throat with a chainsaw, minus chain of course. Very funny and mind stretching ha ha not.
You’ve run way off track there OAB.
Force is my ‘benchmark’, because of course the media can’t force you to read or watch material you don’t freely choose to take in.
And even if you do freely choose to take it in, neither the media or anyone else can force you to think about it in any specific manner.
So when HC makes yet another variation on the theme you can read here everyday, i.e. ‘The media are brainwashing people for RW purposes’, I can tell you that is bullshit because it there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.
Many people freely choose to watch and read pap, because they enjoy doing so, and as a believer in personal freedoms, I’m all for it.
there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.
HC didn’t say “brainwashing”, they said “dumbing down” – and that of the media content, not the audience.
As for what you think is a possibility and what isn’t, the notion that public opinion cannot be influenced by the media will be of great relief to anyone concerned by the cost of advertising.
As Orwell said “Propaganda only works when it coincides with what the people were inclined towards anyway”.
So, no, you do not have to worry that a brilliant ad might influence you to purchase anything against your free will.
Nor do you have to shake with fear as you read a RW Political columnist, because you cannot be influenced by them unless you find their argument convincing and so choose to be.
And you don’t have to be concerned that watching the Kardashians will force you to be dumber than you have already chosen to be of your own free will.
So called ‘RW Media’ influence is a nonsense.
It is merely a bullshit mechanism by which some particularly deluded Lefties rationalise away the unacceptable reality that a great number of intelligent and rational people simply not agree with many LW theories.
That assumes that individuals aren’t a milieu of conflicting impulses, ls.
Hey, part of me wants to be a selfish prick and keep my money rather than helping others with it. A tory ad appeals to that side. Part of me wants to be mellow and just drift along rather than doing something. Pap clickbait of do-nothing “celebrities” appeals to that side of me.
When other parts of me want to help folk, create something, write something, or thoroughly consider a subject like the nature of our society, there is little to no encouragement of that in the MSM.
This is “force” in the sense of a current, constantly pushing a boat in a right-wing direction. It takes energy to fight that power, simply to remain on a centre line.
When other parts of me want to help folk, create something, write something, or thoroughly consider a subject like the nature of our society, there is little to no encouragement of that in the MSM.
Citation needed?
In among all the other areas the MSM covers, I see plenty of such material?
This is “force” in the sense of a current, constantly pushing a boat in a right-wing direction. It takes energy to fight that power, simply to remain on a centre line.
Citation needed?
What evidence is there that such a force in RW direction exists?
This topic has been discussed many times here, and I have never seen any solid conclusion to that effect reached.
re: your first citation request: lol. Do you want me to cite something that I just said has “little to no” existence?
Tell you what: for every article that you can cite from the last week of NZ media (free to air channels, radio, the major broadsheets or their websites) that encourages creativity or complex thought, I can provide ten celebrity pap or conflict-driven drivel items.
As for the second request: description here, in Kicking the tyres : the New Zealand general election and electoral referendum of 2011
Jon Johansson 1961-; Stephen I. Levine; Corin Higgs
Wellington, N.Z. : Victoria University Press 2012
You see ads every day, whether it’s on a web page, before a movie, or in the middle of a TV show, and it’s easy to say “they’re just ads” because, at worst, they feel like a nuisance or interruption. A lot of people have difficulty accepting the idea that ads are manipulative because we want to believe we’re in complete control of our choices. While the concept of advertising isn’t inherently problematic, we’ve moved on from the “Eat at Joe’s” sign to far more complex and sometimes even moving, cinematic messages that are designed to create significant memories of a product. These memories are created because an ad succeeds at making us feel something—whether it’s good or bad—and that emotional response can have a profound effect on how we think and the choices we make.
Businesses wouldn’t spend billions every year if advertising didn’t manipulate people.
Nor do you have to shake with fear as you read a RW Political columnist, because you cannot be influenced by them unless you find their argument convincing and so choose to be.
Bollocks. RWNJ columnists do exactly the same as the advertisers – us overly emotion laden language to hide the facts and get a positive or negative response.
You’re obviously of the group of people who have difficulty accepting the idea that ads are manipulative because we want to believe we’re in complete control of our choices. Because of that you’re probably more manipulated than those of us who realise that the purpose of the MSM is to manipulate people.
”Tell you what: for every article that you can cite from the last week of NZ media (free to air channels, radio, the major broadsheets or their websites) that encourages creativity or complex thought, I can provide ten celebrity pap or conflict-driven drivel items.”
Wow that sounds like a somewhat Reithian appeal for the values underpinning decent public broadcasting, McFlock. Good to see you’ve come around.
Well, we have very little public broadcasting (the vandals are even in RadioNZ now) in this country – that’s the point.
I don’t know why you insist on conflating a presumably commercially viable drama (which screened on Sky) you disliked with the entire concept of public broadcasting.
“So when HC makes yet another variation on the theme you can read here everyday, i.e. ‘The media are brainwashing people for RW purposes’, I can tell you that is bullshit because it there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.”
Hey mate what you have just written is fucking bullshit I have just seen this crap by you I never said the media is “brainwashing” for right wing purposes see my reply to you earlier response .
“So tell me, how do the media force people to read the pap? ”
Nowhere did I imply that they were forced to read it.
I make the point that all the media sing from the same right wing vested interest song sheet. Apart from the papers we have Hoskins, Henry, Christy, Garner, Alfred E Neuman (Gower) just to name a few giving the same right wing shit. There is no opposing views (apart from John Campbell and we all know what happened to his programme when the right started to feel “uncomfortable” with his subject matter) to create a robust debate so the general public can form a well informed opinion.
In other words, Paul, feeble trash ‘Facetious’ (Fatuous is a far better description) doesn’t like what you’re saying and would like you to stop saying it.
Feel free to discus the actual issue. The shallowness of the msm in NZ.
But if all you’ve got is insults, then I guess there isn’t an actual point or argument.
And if that’s the case, then you are simply a troll.
He may believe he’s socially conscious, unfortunately he’s so mind numbingly boring and repetitive he makes people unconscious. You can literally feel the joy leaving the room and the inevitability of his daily criticism of that rag The Herald. Yet he still reads it.
I think Paul’s comments are really great. IMO he is one of a number of commenters that I value highly.
And Open Mike is open mike………….we are free on this thread to post what we like as long as it isn’t offensive.
Just one thing though. I am not sure this is completely mindless pap that doesn’t deserve some attention. Dom from the Edge social media comment was offensive and degrading of Crystal (I think that is her name, I don’t watch pap like Dw t S).
I think he and his show embodies a lot of what is wrong on the airwaves. Offensive and exploitative. And remember the tee-shirt picture with “I am not sorry to be a man” taken with John Key…………….So I think it is worth reporting that many people objected to his comment and found it wasnt
funny, but sickening really. His wife says he’s concerned when he hurts people? Then what is he going to do about his sexualizing of this woman???? The show might be pap, but its not porn.
The Edge.
How the right wing turn young citizens into dumbed down mindless consumers.
Key realises the value of this propaganda outlet.
As for the hosts, it would appear their values are in total sync with the me me me world Thatcher, Reagan and Douglas ushered in.
Best doco ever ‘the Century of Self’ by Adam Curtis.
Highly recommended for pr and other Rand cult believers.
Agree entirely about the Edge…………….So I do think it is good if people are challenging the host Dom and saying what he posted wasn’t acceptable. Scum Dj imo.
I do really appreciate all you posts and even though on this occasion I saw it differently, I have no problem with that. I wil try and watch the Curtis doco…..
paul this story is about sexual harassment and objectification of women and the response to it. Learn to read the bigger story and then comment please – the minigun approach doesn’t work imo.
Front page is what I saw – this has been top for a couple of days and the responses from each party have been very interesting imo – a microscope showing some germs indeed.
I was pleased to see the Clayton’s apology called out for what it was, as well as the ‘shock jock’ modus operandi on display. I hadn’t seen the front page. I note they’re calling it the “DWTS feud”, as opposed to “Idiot makes a mess, refuses to clean up.”
What this torrent of hostility has proved is that women’s bodies are still being treated differently. This difference is the reason Simon Barnett can wheel out his nips on ’80s night a mesh vest, yet when I go to recreate his iconic costume I make myself wear a singlet underneath for modesty. It’s the reason Dom Harvey himself can pointedly rip off his pants and shake his jockeys down the camera lens, and yet Chrystal is hounded on Facebook for being a “slut”, after exposing her underpants for a fraction of a second as a consequence of jaw-droppingly difficult routine. It’s like how Si’s shirtless ‘Dad bod’ has probably got a gold shrine in Hagley Park by now, and yet Chrystal is the one coming under fire for wearing a short sparkly dress in a dancing competition.
OAB to the rescue (again). Paul’s post simply reinforces the fact that he is intolerant of other people’s opinions and viewing habits.
Whether he likes it or not, the JJ saga is one of the 5 most viewed pages on The Hearld – why would they stop pushing the story when it is so popular? Guess what Paul..? There are other people out there that are younger, less bitter and more outgoing than you, and they actually enjoy that stuff. Not me, but I certainly don’t complain about it, and don’t click on it.
Paul makes no such comments. His alleged intolerance is your inference. To me it looks like he’s castigating The Herald, and several wingnuts want him to shut up.
Intolerance of other people’s views is on display alright. Just not from Paul.
The wringers like the bad boys, and Dom is just one of the so called brat pack, along with Hoskings and Henry. As well as bad boys it seems they just like bad newspapers to go along side.
Clearly critiquing the news is not acceptable for some. I certainly hit a nerve by commenting on their propaganda machine.
If the Herald were only outlet out of many and it was foisting this celebrity sensationalism on us, then I’d probably defer from commenting so regularly on it. But the Herald is the only newspaper in the Auckland region.
And Fairfax’s garbage is probably worse. Their stable of papers pump out pretty much the same level of trivia posing as news.
TV news has degenerated into the pap led by Hosking, Henry, Christie and others. Unbiased high level news it certainly isn’t.
If you turn on the radio airwaves, there are the odd oases, but here they are still dominated by the shrill voices on ZB and Radio Live.
So you see in NZ there are only a small minority of voices now that don’t subscribe to the neo-liberal propaganda machine. And this has seen a gradual and deliberate dumbing down of the population, so that many citizens are able to dicsuss the All Blacks, Reality TV shows and celebrity gossip in great detail, yet are ignorant about the issues that really affect their lives, like the TPP, Climate Change, the neoliberal experiment and foreign affairs, to name but a few.
I think that this is the reason the shills for the elite who attend this site don’t like my critique of the Herald.
Can I encourage everyone, including those attacking me with their usual ad hominems, to watch this film. It’s about the Amercian media and in many ways our own media is more owned and controlled than theirs?
it is that time of the year when the absence of the rich in our neighbourhoods is noticed.
they are all in the islands or northern hemisphere, hiding from the cold and dark winter…. they do it every year …….
and do you know what? It highlights their lack of use in society. We all carry on, doing the necessary work to keep our communities going, smiling with the gods of life..
.. while they are absent. The rich are unnecessary and this time of life when they all abandon our lands proves it.
Clean-power that is a useless statement / knee jerk response. But nonetheless…… how is such proved? How is it that the rich being out of the country and the poor being in the country prove that the poor are of no use?
It doesn’t.
And unless you can come up with something quickly then you are an idiot. And a waste of space – you wouldn’t happen to be rich per chance would you?
No, I do not hate the poor (but you seem to hate the rich).
I was using the analogy to ridicule your absurd and nonsensical statement “The rich are of no use. Proved.”
And there is nothing absurd or nonsensical about my statement that the rich are of no use. I made the statement and then provided some evidence to prove it, namely that the country carries on regardless when the rich are out of the country, therefore the rich are useless.
What evidence have you got for your baseless statement that the poor are useless? Anything? You have nothing so far – nothing. You’ve got nothing clean-power. You are useless too. Put up or shut up.
I notice you use words I would not have used, in ways I would not consider. Possibly you are not me, which would explain a lot. I say this to expose the nonsensical absurdity of you not being me.
Shanghai Pengxin spokeswoman confirmed that there was no intention on the part of the company to sell the farms but it was going through the procedure because it had to follow the law.
If there is an obligation to put the farms up for sale then there is clearly an obligation to sell….
will be interesting to see an offer come in
will be interesting to see them turn down the offer
will be interesting to see a high court judge consider their refusal to accept offer and make them sell
this should be most definitely be played out through the courts, especially in light of the fact that the company has stated it has no intention of genuinely offering for sale, contrary to the legislation ………
Nick Smith will be heading to Aussie in October to talk to some of their social housing non-profits. So the intent to offload state housing at all costs will continue.
Would have had more credibility if this kind of investigation had taken place before the decision to offload had been made. But even then – it has nothing to do with outcomes, just ideology.
“We’re white. That’s the problem. We’re white.”
The spirit of Sir Paul Holmes raises its ugly head in Taupo
A Māori woman and a Pākehā male are refused entry into a Taupo bar because of inebriation issues. The Pākehā male glares in outraged faux-wonderment at the bouncer, who is Māori, and rants at the bouncer in a wheedling tone….
(I’ve edited out the drunken contributions by his female companion, and also the good-natured, professional restraint of the bouncer.)
“That’s why your bar’s shit. You don’t let the right people in. We wanna come in here and pay money. … [some indistinct mumbling]…. We’re WHITE. That’s the problem. We’re white, that’s the problem. Intoxicated? You don’t even know what intoxicated means. That’s CRAZY! I can’t believe you would say that. I’ve just WATCHED who you’ve let in. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Racist, that’s what it is. Racist shit. F***ing n***ers! No that’s what it is, racist shit. That’s what it is.”
If this fool is fired, as he should be, no doubt he would fit in perfectly to a job at NewstalkZB.
No, it’s National that’s the racist party. Certainly, Labour has come out of the Chinese names fiasco looking incredibly inept, and many people were disturbed by the Clark government’s brutal persecution of Ahmed Zaoui, which involved a considerable element of racism.
So Labour is by no means perfect, as we have seen recently. But it is National that still bears the shame of the overtly racist 1975 campaign—they were targeting Pacific Islanders back then—and, more recently, the shame of Don Brash’s anti-Māori campaign, and employed the maliciously racist John Ansell to design the infamous “Iwi/Kiwi” billboards.
“With gusto”? That’s a very diplomatic way of portraying a campaign of overwhelming force against people who National voters at that time sneeringly called “the Coconuts”. People like Sam Lotu-Liga seem to be unaware of that, but most Pasifika people are not.
Still don’t know why who they’re employed by was an issue.
Actually, it’s crucial. That Mike Hosking/Paul Holmes soundalike ranting about “f***ing ni**ers” is a senior manager at Work and Income New Zealand. Surely that is one organisation that demands a minimal standard of decency and decorum. Well, at least since Christine Spankin’ Rankin left.
That’s true, but they hold positions of public responsibility in a small town, and to behave with such a flagrant disregard of public decency—unleashing that obscenity-larded racist tirade—surely disqualifies him from holding that position from now on.
His female companion’s behaviour was foolish, and she was drunk in a public place—but the really offensive behaviour was all on the part of the male.
That might all be true, and given he got himself filmed in public I hope his employers do look at the incident and consider how this might impact on his ability to do his job. But it still is not a matter for the media or public unless he was on work time.
Sean Plunkett has just ripped corrections minister to shreds on radio live. He managed to get confirmation the victim was injured at Mount Eden prior to the transfer…
Gosh all day it has been like the immaculate conception just like a bolt out of the blue sometime after arrival at Ngawha.
And my racist feelings are getting the better of me. If I’m going to hear some johnny talking down the grim Serco reality why can’t it be a Kiwi, nawt a Scotsman.
Wow it was really nice of Plunket to install that new asshole for the minister. He may have been able to be a bit more gentle but it sounds like it is really big.
The Corrections Minister will be sacked after that interview with Sean Plunket for his inability to lie and obfuscate with ease, and for his not bailing out of the interview once he started getting the rough handling.
“Can I suggest to you Minister that you get better prepared because it’s very hard to interview you when you are not prepared.” (paraphrased)
This however was the same minister who had no problem with accusing Labour’s first speaker, Kelvin Davis, in the urgent debate on Serco and Mt Eden of bringing a dead man into the argument.
In essence what the Minister was saying was that he won’t speak until he has all the facts, and hopefully that won’t be until the media has moved onto the next important issue such as crotch-displays and drunken drummers.
The Minister has not answered why reports many months old were not acted upon by persons responsible in Serco and the Department which spoke of staged fights, harm including broken jaws, broken legs and ruptured lungs.
Also not answered is why Serco did not know about what inmates were up to without supervision when congregated together. No staff member around? No body to hear the sounds of fighting? No officer to check the damage done to bodies?
The Speaker was right in his introduction to allow the urgent debate. This is an important matter. Kelvin Davis was also right to point out that the State has the right to incarcerate and also the obligation to care for those it incarcerates.
Not only are prisoners poorly supervised and being harmed by other inmates but prisoners are not getting the help which inmates need to help address their problems.
A society is judged on its treatment of its most vulnerable and powerless. Inmates, especially on remand and awaiting trial, are at the mercy of the quality and amount of protection offered by their jailers, acting on the government’s, and our, behalf.
the ability to take away a persons freedom is amongst the most coercive powers of the Crown – therefore it must not be contracted out and the Crown must fully discharge all responsibilities associated with the exercise of that coercive power.
The Nacts would be inclined to allocate this unpleasant Corrections portfolio to one of their brown group, or one of the women, but more likely to be a man. It would not be high on the pecking order I should think.
Social Welf is an interesting one, suitable for a woman but also with a very large budget so having managed that successfully, if that is a suitable word, Poorer Benefit has proved herself.
Corrections, should be a doddle according to the theory of Private Enterprise Proficiency or PEP – just made that up – but theory and reality being long divorced poor Corrections guy better take his suits in, as he’s going to lose weight.
from ‘The Big Short’-Michael Lewis-‘we have a simple thesis…said Eisman.There is going to be a calamity,and whenever there is a calamity,Merrill is there.Merrill Lynch was the little fat kid assigned the least pleasant roles,just happy to be part of things’.Interesting read in light of Wall St bankers comments that ‘no one saw it coming(GFC)’.The complicity and duplicity of the ratings agencies and financial institutions and the amorality and incompetence is mind blowing.And what has changed?Aren’t we lucky to have an ex Merrill manager as P.M….THE ‘BEST’ IS YET TO COME.:(
1. Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he received on the performance of the New Zealand economy and the Government’s management of its finances?
2. ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his justification for the $26 million process to consider changing the flag that “It’s just sheer confusion with Australia. Even at APEC they tried to take me to Abbott’s seat”?
3. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?
4. Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Minister for Building and Housing: What are the costs and benefits of the recently announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will require homes to be insulated and to have smoke alarms?
5. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: When did he first become aware that there was an international glut of dairy products and does he stand by his reported comments that he has no plans to take active steps to diversify the economy in response to falling dairy prices?
6. JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his answers to Oral Question No. 4 yesterday?
7. RICHARD PROSSER to the Minister of Finance: Is he still sceptical about how effective a register of foreign property buyers would be; if so, why?
8. Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has he received on the effectiveness of the child immunisation programme?
9. PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement about whether inequality was a problem in the Auckland housing market, “We’ve been concerned about that for some time, that there’s part of Auckland where there’s been really no new supply of lower value houses that low and middle-income families can afford”?
10. JONO NAYLOR to the Minister of Justice: What announcements has she made about improving the oversight and supervision for offenders deported to New Zealand?
11. METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “You certainly wouldn’t want to say to a low-income family they can never own a home, because I believe that they can own a home.”?
12. KELVIN DAVIS to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his statement in regards to the July 2014 report on fight clubs in Mt Eden Corrections Facility, that he “became aware of the report’s existence only late last week”?
QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS
1. MAHESH BINDRA to the Member in charge of the New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill: What is the intention of the New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill?
2. CLAYTON MITCHELL to the Member in charge of the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill: What is the intention of the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill?
Heard Kelvin Davis on radionz this morning and he fronted up to media confidently, clearly and with thoughtful approach so he wasn’t caught out in any traps.
greywarshark +100…Kelvin Davis seems to be doing quite well…he would make a good Labour list MP….thereby leaving TTT to Mana/Int and Hone ( Mana/Int had some great prospective MPs….)
…thereby creating a valuable flaxroots/grassroots Left Maori Party coalition partner for Labour ( similar to the supportive role Act plays for Nactional)…
Heard Kelvin Davis on radionz this morning and he fronted up to media confidently, clearly and with thoughtful approach so he wasn’t caught out in any traps.
I presume by your positive comment that he did better than he did when attacked by Paul Henry on TV3 just after 7 o’clock. Davis was clearly rattled by Henry’s aggressive, disrespectful tone, and became practically incoherent. I’m going to put up a transcript of the débâcle on Open Mike tomorrow morning.
Yes Radio this a.m. I don’t watch tv at present. I feel disinclined to watch anything put on by sleaze running television now except for Maori which I hope is managing to not get sucked into the vortex. Trying to hold onto thoughts while being needled by death heads like Henry sounds would rattle anyone. Perhaps all pollies should go to boot camps conducted by trained Army, police personnel or callous courtroom lawyers trained in intensive questioning.
Paul Gibson has been so consistently staunch in his government paid role as the advocate for disabled people that I constantly fear for his continued employment.
1890
by Warwick Johnston
DESCRIPTION:
It is election night, 5 December 1890. Willis Street in Wellington is a sea of people all jostling for a vantage point in front of the massive illuminated results board. This night is the culmination of an extraordinary year in our brief history. It heralds the dawn of socialism, unionism, and inevitably, the New Zealand Labour Party. In 1890 we see the events leading up to the election through the eyes of two fledgling union activists, Marty and Tui, in a fresh and insightful perspective of one of our most turbulent and significant eras.
Good-bye to all that by Robert Graves
Description:
There was no patriotism in the trenches. It was too remote a sentiment, and rejected as fit only for civilians. A new arrival who talked patriotism would soon be told to cut it out. As Blighty, Great Britain was a quiet, easy place to get back to out of the present foreign misery, but as a nation it was nothing. This is the original version of Robert Graves’ intense memoir of the First World War, restoring this raw, emotionally truthful, darkly comic work to the way it was first written, by a young man still reeling from the trenches.
We see the dark heart of the book even more clearly, and hear it beating even more loudly, in this original edition than we do in the comparatively careful and considered terms of the later one’ Andrew Motion ‘One of the most candid self-portraits, warts and all, ever painted. (TLS). Robert Graves was born in 1895 in Wimbledon. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Somme. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, in 1929, and it was soon established as a modern classic. He died on 7 December 1985 in Majorca, his home since 1929.
Andrew Motion’s most recent collection of poetry is The Cinder Path. He was poet laureate from 1999 to 2009 and is now Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Fran Brearton is Professor of Modern Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast and author of The Great War in Irish Poetry.
Thanks for that greywarshark, I am always on the outlook for good new reading material especially when someone can give a good appraisal.
I have just finished Thomas Pakenham’s Boar War. If you have not read it I can highly recommend it.
A large book but extremely comprehensive Without giving too much detail about it all I can say is that History has a nasty habit of repeating itself and fucking politicians of all colours never learn.
For Blair and Bush with the weapons of mass destruction to get at the oil in Iraq, read Rhodes and Milner and the poor Uitlanders to get at the Rand gold.
The British generals would have been the biggest bunch of incompetents the world has seen with some of them going on to create mayhem in the first world war like Butcher Haig, Hamilton, and the biggest prat of them all who set up the concentration camps in South Africa, Kitchener.
I will try and get 1890 on my e reader.
Another good book, once again if you have not read it is “It’s Not Rocket Science” by Ben Miller
Never heard of him but he’s a comedian in the uk
This is what the preamble says about the book.
Black holes. DNA. The Large Hadron Collider. Ever had that sneaking feeling that you are missing out on some truly spectacular science?
You do? Well, fear not, for help is at hand.
Ben Miller was working on his Physics PhD at Cambridge when he accidentally became a comedian. But first love runs deep, and he has returned to his roots to share with you all his favourite bits of science. This is the stuff you really need to know, not only because it matters but because it will quite simply amaze and delight you.
‘Let me show you another, perhaps less familiar side of Science; her beauty, her seductiveness and her passion. And let’s do it quickly, while Maths isn’t looking’
Great half crown. Thanks for heads up.
Talking about science I was trying an aphorism out in my head so will try it out on you. Don’t worry telling me if you don’t like it!
On spending $100 mill (or pounds) looking for signs of intelligent life in space,
I think this goes from blue sky research to black hole. And if it’s good science then we might find pi in the sky.
And I consider comparing the venture to James Cook setting out into unknown waters, is like the simplistic comparing of the nation’s economic transactions with a citizen’s household budget.
If they wanted to do some blue sky research on earth, they could scan the brains of all politicians and armed forces heads and advisors? Probably nearly all aliens if we only knew.
Ha I like it.
I have thought for ages that a lot of politicians are Aliens. There is a lot of Si Fi fiction about Aliens amongst us I am not sure that it is fiction, it is for real.
Apart from the politicians The likes of Gower and Hoskins are definitely not from this world.
It has been said the only thing that has made Prof Hawkins survive all these years with that terrible Motor Neuron disease is his determination of solving his theories on black Holes.
Is the singularity a potential big bang into another dimension?
Apart from doing some blue sky research, he can resolve and prove his theorem by coming to NZ, as I suspect our John Key and his government are definitely from another dimension.
Think of all the money they will save, as it will only cost them the air fare and accommodation and I don’t think they will need to stay longer than half hour.
On a more serious note , many on here have suggested good books to read.
So please keep us informed of any good books you have read. I do look at Good Reads but I find books suggested by other people are always good as the y tend to give a unbiased opinion.
That Boar War was suggested to me by a South African, he also suggested Pakenham’s “Scramble for Africa” The little bits I have read, it appears to be another good book.
Hi Chooky
Can try. Here is the guff about it. Perhaps you can phone or email and ask – quote number etc.
This is from online Southern Skies that has it for about $13.60 approx. There are numerous copies from different suppliers on line, and each seems to have a different number. I guess this is for different editions. Prices differ and not all of them mention other poets and writers like Motion.
Product Details:
ISBN: 9781909621053
Format: Hardback
Pages: 480
Dims (mm): 93 x 150
Pub Date: 01-09-13
Pub Country: United Kingdom
Condition: NEW
I read somewhere but lost the link that the SNP have nicked the opposition front benches from Labour after the UKLabs abstained on the tory welfare cuts. SNP decided that the Opposition needs to actually oppose in order to deserve the title 🙂
The Scottish National party defied convention to occupy the Opposition benches in the House of Commons, shortly after party leaders claimed they were the only “real opposition” to the Conservative government.
That’s some pretty good thinking right there – shame Labour into acting by openly taking their place.
John Key is killing it in The House today. Andrew Little leading with questions about the ‘flag’! John Key totally made Mr Little look like an out-of-touch fool!
National are now asking themselves the ‘big topic’ questions. Labour have yet again missed an opportunity – opportunities are just hanging on the vine for Labour, yet they wont pick them.
pretty sobering!…last summer was unbearable at times….and some farmers still have not received rain…desperate alright…especially if you are a dairy farmer
I am puzzled however about the talk of a new small ‘ice age’ coming in the next 15 years…personally i hope so…although it may not do much to stop global warming
‘There Probably Won’t Be A “Mini Ice Age” In 15 Years’
Zharkova ” commented on how the changes in the Sun are likely to affect the Earth’s environment. “During the minimum, the intensity of solar radiation will be reduced dramatically. So we will have less heat coming into the atmosphere, which will reduce the temperature.”
However, Zharkova ends with a word of warning: not about the cold but about humanity’s attitude toward the environment during the minimum. We must not ignore the effects of global warming and assume that it isn’t happening. “The Sun buys us time to stop these carbon emissions,” Zharkova says. The next minimum might give the Earth a chance to reduce adverse effects from global warming.
I wouldn’t hold out much hope for that Chooky. The physics regarding the solar minimum is fine – yes that is likely to happen around then, but the drop in solar energy received will be about equivalent to the current energy imbalance of the Earth now (approx 3 w /sq m) that drop would only last for a few years at most and would only lead to a slowdown in global warming – not an “ice age”. That is never going to happen in the short to medium term – there is already too much carbon in the atmosphere. The mathematics/physic prof should have consulted a climate scientist before shooting her mouth off about a “mini-ice-age”. Valentina Zharkova would have been quickly informed that such was not the case. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/jul/16/no-the-sun-isnt-going-to-save-us-from-global-warming
yes I see belatedly that you are probably right…sigh….I am going to load up with baked beans , matches and head for the nearest ravine when it gets too hot…will take cats and have invited friends …family thinks it is funny …but I say you have to have a plan and be prepared ….but even being prepared will probably only delay the inevitable…death by frying
🙂 I will not see it or least ways I’ll be a very old man by then. But I fear for my children and grandchildren. They will bear the brunt of it.
Was out planting trees today. We have a very active group here lead by Ken (90! ) replanting wetlands by the new Kopu Bridge. You can see the Ngaio raising their heads above the old man mangroves as you pass over the bridge now. The pohutakawa are doing well – some flowered last summer – and the ariel roots are making an appearance. Just 400 meters from our home is the oldest arboretum in the country and I spend some time in there as well tending tracks and weeding etc.
Being a baby boomer do you carry guilt for the state the the world is.
Yes I do. In my younger days I was quite a petrol head. Owned my first car at age 15. I still have my motorcycle (1957 R50 BMW), a classic car, and 2 others. There is no public transport here. But my petrol usage has dropped substantially having moved from the country into town. 5 mins gets me almost everywhere I need to go these days.
In the 1950’s and 60’s the concept of Global warming was little known – and indeed wasn’t really fully understood until the 80’s. I had the fortune to travel to Welliington each day in the late 70’s early 80’s with one of NZ’s foremost Climate Scientists who was at that time just completing his Doctorate on the NZ temperature record. As I was an educator in mathematics and science he and I had long and interesting discussions as to the nature of Global warming – so I became interested in climate science then and have followed it closely ever since. I have also been actively involved for a number of years working to bring awareness to as many as I can.
@Macro…….many brownie points for educating on climate change….I have found it hard to understand …or havent been bothered to try…however I recognise it is THE major problem facing humanity and the planet and ecosystems and animals…
recently I have been reading a book given to me by a friend ‘This Changes Everything’ by Naomi Klein on the issues around climate change….am finding it surprisingly compelling and easy to read….
Yes that is a very good book. She is a great communicator – I bought it for my daughter who is also very active in this area. Her “Shock Doctrine” is also a must read as is “War without end” – to which she is a contributing author.
@ BM…moi?…well I still have a wood fire…a luxury I guess ( but we grow trees too)…I have only had two children and admire those who don’t have any( the rest of my immediate family and my partner’s have not replaced themselves)…i do drive a car approx.twice a week ( dont speed)…i dont use planes often …in fact rarely ( but that is only because I cant afford airfares)…i like to travel by train and tram and bus…we cook most of our meals…( rarely eat out)…have a vege garden( not a good one)…try to eat locally…like op shops for clothes best!…. visit the hair dresser infrequently….when I die I want to be buried in a sheet and dug in ….and have tree planted on top ( so no cremation smoke /funeral/ embalming burial costs or ghastly speeches…they can pass the whiskey bottle around )..support Green Peace and environmental groups
…most of all I am proud that I live in an environmentally aware culture and dont live in an overpopulated culture…to me overpopulation is the biggest curse …and humankind’s biggest irresponsibility…those countries which have cultural overpopulation ( generally coexist with patriarchal sexism) and environmental problems should sort them out…and not spread their overpopulation and problems to other countries
so no i dont feel overburdened with guilt about global warming
It is both astonishing and sad that the philosopher has focused on a very narrow view and hasn’t really thought things through properly. Most of the readers commenting on the article seem to have understood the matter much better.
you mean ACT is now under foreign control ?…financially …and ideologically speaking?
Charter Schools model I know comes from USA….and is not successful….but the corporates want their hands on state money for education ie to make profits out of education even although the privatisation model does not work
…what other “external inputs” are there on ACT?….and who is creaming it in New Zealand?
KDC was made a scapegoat, again by the Left and Right.
Hone’s true failure was not getting 750 more votes in his electorate, which would have got both him and Laila into Parliament – a massive win for Internet Mana.
With all good will and desire for democracy and liberty, how can we fight these forces, well equipped by endless numbers of volunteers and mercenaries, from poverty, readily radicalised, to take up arms?
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 ...
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Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
The Herald is a dreadful rag, filling its pages with pap they garnered from social media about D grade ‘celebrities.’
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11484464
They publish Pap because many people enjoy it Paul.
If it ain’t for you, just don’t read it?
And stop bothering us with it. I don’t think many here are interested in it.
+100
“And stop bothering us with it. I don’t think many here are interested in it.”
I am interested in his comments the same as I am interested in yours.
I am glad he bothers us with it as it reinforces something we are aware of already and that is, the continuation of the dumbing down shit the right wing media wants us all to see. Nothing controversial, nothing that can rock the cosy right wing fucking boat, unless it is about the opposition to the right..
Don’t read that pathetic excuse for shit house paper, but there are several international things on the go at the moment that can and will affect NZ. Have not seen one item mentioned on our Television. The likes of Christy and that simpering blond he has as a side kick are more interesting showing some guy (suppose to be funny ha ha ) taking to another’s throat with a chainsaw, minus chain of course. Very funny and mind stretching ha ha not.
So tell me, how do the media force people to read the pap?
By conflating it with several gross and disrespectful acts.
How would that force anyone to read it if they weren’t interested in it?
Why is force your benchmark? The subeditor will attack me unless I at least glance at the headline?
What if I’m interested in the blatant monetisation of deliberate offence – let’s call it ‘bullying for money’ – and The Herald’s role in that?
Can I read it then? Perhaps I should only read things I already agree with, eh Sheep.
You’ve run way off track there OAB.
Force is my ‘benchmark’, because of course the media can’t force you to read or watch material you don’t freely choose to take in.
And even if you do freely choose to take it in, neither the media or anyone else can force you to think about it in any specific manner.
So when HC makes yet another variation on the theme you can read here everyday, i.e. ‘The media are brainwashing people for RW purposes’, I can tell you that is bullshit because it there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.
Many people freely choose to watch and read pap, because they enjoy doing so, and as a believer in personal freedoms, I’m all for it.
there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.
HC didn’t say “brainwashing”, they said “dumbing down” – and that of the media content, not the audience.
As for what you think is a possibility and what isn’t, the notion that public opinion cannot be influenced by the media will be of great relief to anyone concerned by the cost of advertising.
As Orwell said “Propaganda only works when it coincides with what the people were inclined towards anyway”.
So, no, you do not have to worry that a brilliant ad might influence you to purchase anything against your free will.
Nor do you have to shake with fear as you read a RW Political columnist, because you cannot be influenced by them unless you find their argument convincing and so choose to be.
And you don’t have to be concerned that watching the Kardashians will force you to be dumber than you have already chosen to be of your own free will.
So called ‘RW Media’ influence is a nonsense.
It is merely a bullshit mechanism by which some particularly deluded Lefties rationalise away the unacceptable reality that a great number of intelligent and rational people simply not agree with many LW theories.
That assumes that individuals aren’t a milieu of conflicting impulses, ls.
Hey, part of me wants to be a selfish prick and keep my money rather than helping others with it. A tory ad appeals to that side. Part of me wants to be mellow and just drift along rather than doing something. Pap clickbait of do-nothing “celebrities” appeals to that side of me.
When other parts of me want to help folk, create something, write something, or thoroughly consider a subject like the nature of our society, there is little to no encouragement of that in the MSM.
This is “force” in the sense of a current, constantly pushing a boat in a right-wing direction. It takes energy to fight that power, simply to remain on a centre line.
When other parts of me want to help folk, create something, write something, or thoroughly consider a subject like the nature of our society, there is little to no encouragement of that in the MSM.
Citation needed?
In among all the other areas the MSM covers, I see plenty of such material?
This is “force” in the sense of a current, constantly pushing a boat in a right-wing direction. It takes energy to fight that power, simply to remain on a centre line.
Citation needed?
What evidence is there that such a force in RW direction exists?
This topic has been discussed many times here, and I have never seen any solid conclusion to that effect reached.
re: your first citation request: lol. Do you want me to cite something that I just said has “little to no” existence?
Tell you what: for every article that you can cite from the last week of NZ media (free to air channels, radio, the major broadsheets or their websites) that encourages creativity or complex thought, I can provide ten celebrity pap or conflict-driven drivel items.
As for the second request: description here, in Kicking the tyres : the New Zealand general election and electoral referendum of 2011
Jon Johansson 1961-; Stephen I. Levine; Corin Higgs
Wellington, N.Z. : Victoria University Press 2012
Except that it does:
The Influence of Advertising
How Advertising Manipulates Your Choices and Spending Habits (and What to Do About It)
Businesses wouldn’t spend billions every year if advertising didn’t manipulate people.
Bollocks. RWNJ columnists do exactly the same as the advertisers – us overly emotion laden language to hide the facts and get a positive or negative response.
You’re obviously of the group of people who have difficulty accepting the idea that ads are manipulative because we want to believe we’re in complete control of our choices. Because of that you’re probably more manipulated than those of us who realise that the purpose of the MSM is to manipulate people.
”Tell you what: for every article that you can cite from the last week of NZ media (free to air channels, radio, the major broadsheets or their websites) that encourages creativity or complex thought, I can provide ten celebrity pap or conflict-driven drivel items.”
Wow that sounds like a somewhat Reithian appeal for the values underpinning decent public broadcasting, McFlock. Good to see you’ve come around.
Nope, it was an unashamedly subjective opinion of all media, not just public broadcasting.
And I still think that the critically-acclaimed Top of the Lake was shit.
Well, we have very little public broadcasting (the vandals are even in RadioNZ now) in this country – that’s the point.
I don’t know why you insist on conflating a presumably commercially viable drama (which screened on Sky) you disliked with the entire concept of public broadcasting.
“So when HC makes yet another variation on the theme you can read here everyday, i.e. ‘The media are brainwashing people for RW purposes’, I can tell you that is bullshit because it there is no possibility of successful brainwashing occurring.”
Hey mate what you have just written is fucking bullshit I have just seen this crap by you I never said the media is “brainwashing” for right wing purposes see my reply to you earlier response .
“So tell me, how do the media force people to read the pap? ”
Nowhere did I imply that they were forced to read it.
I make the point that all the media sing from the same right wing vested interest song sheet. Apart from the papers we have Hoskins, Henry, Christy, Garner, Alfred E Neuman (Gower) just to name a few giving the same right wing shit. There is no opposing views (apart from John Campbell and we all know what happened to his programme when the right started to feel “uncomfortable” with his subject matter) to create a robust debate so the general public can form a well informed opinion.
Stop whining and get on with life.
In other words, Paul, feeble trash ‘Facetious’ (Fatuous is a far better description) doesn’t like what you’re saying and would like you to stop saying it.
“Stop whining and get on with life.” Pot meet kettle.
Stop whining about other people whining and not getting on with their lives and get on your life without whining.
Must be the first thing you’ve said I agree with
This might help dealing with “Paul”.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lCis1U1nFR0
Pauls a troll but he is right that the herald is a dreadful rag
Feel free to discus the actual issue. The shallowness of the msm in NZ.
But if all you’ve got is insults, then I guess there isn’t an actual point or argument.
And if that’s the case, then you are simply a troll.
You’re a troll Paul.
I’m convinced Paul is a bot.
Paul is socially conscious. No wonder he is alien to those on the right.
He may believe he’s socially conscious, unfortunately he’s so mind numbingly boring and repetitive he makes people unconscious. You can literally feel the joy leaving the room and the inevitability of his daily criticism of that rag The Herald. Yet he still reads it.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lCis1U1nFR0
I shan’t open your youtube clip because it’s bound to be another example of online bullying.
No he’s s troll
I think Paul’s comments are really great. IMO he is one of a number of commenters that I value highly.
And Open Mike is open mike………….we are free on this thread to post what we like as long as it isn’t offensive.
Just one thing though. I am not sure this is completely mindless pap that doesn’t deserve some attention. Dom from the Edge social media comment was offensive and degrading of Crystal (I think that is her name, I don’t watch pap like Dw t S).
I think he and his show embodies a lot of what is wrong on the airwaves. Offensive and exploitative. And remember the tee-shirt picture with “I am not sorry to be a man” taken with John Key…………….So I think it is worth reporting that many people objected to his comment and found it wasnt
funny, but sickening really. His wife says he’s concerned when he hurts people? Then what is he going to do about his sexualizing of this woman???? The show might be pap, but its not porn.
The Edge.
How the right wing turn young citizens into dumbed down mindless consumers.
Key realises the value of this propaganda outlet.
As for the hosts, it would appear their values are in total sync with the me me me world Thatcher, Reagan and Douglas ushered in.
Best doco ever ‘the Century of Self’ by Adam Curtis.
Highly recommended for pr and other Rand cult believers.
Hi Paul,
Agree entirely about the Edge…………….So I do think it is good if people are challenging the host Dom and saying what he posted wasn’t acceptable. Scum Dj imo.
I do really appreciate all you posts and even though on this occasion I saw it differently, I have no problem with that. I wil try and watch the Curtis doco…..
Cheers and keep posting.
ps most of the Herald is pap or spin or both.
You don’t like The Edge? Don’t listen to it.
paul this story is about sexual harassment and objectification of women and the response to it. Learn to read the bigger story and then comment please – the minigun approach doesn’t work imo.
True, and so The Herald put it in the “entertainment” pages…
Front page is what I saw – this has been top for a couple of days and the responses from each party have been very interesting imo – a microscope showing some germs indeed.
I’m going from the url – Paul’s link.
I was pleased to see the Clayton’s apology called out for what it was, as well as the ‘shock jock’ modus operandi on display. I hadn’t seen the front page. I note they’re calling it the “DWTS feud”, as opposed to “Idiot makes a mess, refuses to clean up.”
Maybe the tone and quality will improve when they hire that racist Taupo WINZ manager as a columnist?
I hear hes standing for Labour at the next election 🙂
He’s a National supporter if ever there was one. That, or ACT.
In Defence of Chrystal Chenery
So don’t read it. Every day you complain about the bloody Herald, be a grown up and make a grown up decision. Don’t read it.
😆
What’s with the trashy wingnut tag-team attention Paul’s getting this morning. Paul must be doing something right.
OAB to the rescue (again). Paul’s post simply reinforces the fact that he is intolerant of other people’s opinions and viewing habits.
Whether he likes it or not, the JJ saga is one of the 5 most viewed pages on The Hearld – why would they stop pushing the story when it is so popular? Guess what Paul..? There are other people out there that are younger, less bitter and more outgoing than you, and they actually enjoy that stuff. Not me, but I certainly don’t complain about it, and don’t click on it.
Paul makes no such comments. His alleged intolerance is your inference. To me it looks like he’s castigating The Herald, and several wingnuts want him to shut up.
Intolerance of other people’s views is on display alright. Just not from Paul.
All Paul does is whinge. Much like yourself. I guess that’s why you come to his aid all the time.
😆
You are a nasty hostile lot this morning, aren’t you. What’s the matter, did floods go under your bridges or something?
The wringers like the bad boys, and Dom is just one of the so called brat pack, along with Hoskings and Henry. As well as bad boys it seems they just like bad newspapers to go along side.
“brat pack”?
Makes them sound like endearing wee scamps.
More like fuck-ruck.
Clearly critiquing the news is not acceptable for some. I certainly hit a nerve by commenting on their propaganda machine.
If the Herald were only outlet out of many and it was foisting this celebrity sensationalism on us, then I’d probably defer from commenting so regularly on it. But the Herald is the only newspaper in the Auckland region.
And Fairfax’s garbage is probably worse. Their stable of papers pump out pretty much the same level of trivia posing as news.
TV news has degenerated into the pap led by Hosking, Henry, Christie and others. Unbiased high level news it certainly isn’t.
If you turn on the radio airwaves, there are the odd oases, but here they are still dominated by the shrill voices on ZB and Radio Live.
So you see in NZ there are only a small minority of voices now that don’t subscribe to the neo-liberal propaganda machine. And this has seen a gradual and deliberate dumbing down of the population, so that many citizens are able to dicsuss the All Blacks, Reality TV shows and celebrity gossip in great detail, yet are ignorant about the issues that really affect their lives, like the TPP, Climate Change, the neoliberal experiment and foreign affairs, to name but a few.
I think that this is the reason the shills for the elite who attend this site don’t like my critique of the Herald.
Can I encourage everyone, including those attacking me with their usual ad hominems, to watch this film. It’s about the Amercian media and in many ways our own media is more owned and controlled than theirs?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SAUborWbPw
Actually you are right RB. Scoop, Guardian, RadioNZ, RT, Aljazeera are all a LOT more interesting. The local rags really are just a bad habit.
RT makes foxnews look good.
Spoken like a true Foxnews devote.
You kind of feel sorry for people who have called for Fox News.
Kind of.
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/27/i_lost_my_dad_to_fox_news_how_a_generation_was_captured_by_thrashing_hysteria/
RT makes foxnews look good.
I think that this comment by something called “infused” is the single most foolish thing to be posted on this site in 2015.
Any other contenders?
Paul makes Peter Dunne look interesting and engaging.
“Every day you complain about the bloody Herald, be a grown up and make a grown up decision. Don’t read it.”
The irony is thick here…… could also tell the lurking media types to stop reading The Standard if they don’t like what they read.
Not surprisingly ‘the good ole boys network’ running Auckland Super City. Asian and Pacific Islander’s well under represented.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11484680&ref=NZH
House price rise increases inequality – English. No shit Bill! What have you been doing about that?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/279353/house-price-rise-increases-inequality-english
Making sure it continues as that what their backers want.
Blinglish is good at faking concern which comes from a lifetime in the beltway never working outside the bubble of treasury/national party MP.
“We’re keen to get the cost of housing down”.
That’s the plan: aspirational.
One way house prices can come down is when the bubble goes pop and people are left with negative equity. I wonder if Double Dipton has heard of that.
Probably counting on it as it makes it easier to shift more people into private rentals so that the rentiers can become bigger bludgers.
it is that time of the year when the absence of the rich in our neighbourhoods is noticed.
they are all in the islands or northern hemisphere, hiding from the cold and dark winter…. they do it every year …….
and do you know what? It highlights their lack of use in society. We all carry on, doing the necessary work to keep our communities going, smiling with the gods of life..
.. while they are absent. The rich are unnecessary and this time of life when they all abandon our lands proves it.
The rich are of no use. Proved.
How do you know they are not saying exactly the same about you while wherever they are enjoying their holidays? The poor are of no use. Proved.
It cuts both ways.
That must be why general strikes are illegal. No, wait…
So you hate the poor Clean_power?
Well that explains a lot about why you come across as having no empathy – and very little in the way of ethics.
Millsy?
Clean-power that is a useless statement / knee jerk response. But nonetheless…… how is such proved? How is it that the rich being out of the country and the poor being in the country prove that the poor are of no use?
It doesn’t.
And unless you can come up with something quickly then you are an idiot. And a waste of space – you wouldn’t happen to be rich per chance would you?
No, I do not hate the poor (but you seem to hate the rich).
I was using the analogy to ridicule your absurd and nonsensical statement “The rich are of no use. Proved.”
I didn’t ask if you hate the poor.
And there is nothing absurd or nonsensical about my statement that the rich are of no use. I made the statement and then provided some evidence to prove it, namely that the country carries on regardless when the rich are out of the country, therefore the rich are useless.
What evidence have you got for your baseless statement that the poor are useless? Anything? You have nothing so far – nothing. You’ve got nothing clean-power. You are useless too. Put up or shut up.
I notice you use words I would not have used, in ways I would not consider. Possibly you are not me, which would explain a lot. I say this to expose the nonsensical absurdity of you not being me.
Oh, I’m sure they have interchangable poor people where they holiday. To make the cocktails and clean the shower.
http://www.angryflower.com/atlass.gif
So, no, it doesn’t cut both ways. We can do without the rich. In fact, we can’t afford them and we should stop paying for them.
A very telling statement.
The ultimate Claytons dairy farm sale
Shanghai Pengxin spokeswoman confirmed that there was no intention on the part of the company to sell the farms but it was going through the procedure because it had to follow the law.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/70429467/shanghai-pengxin-puts-all-its-farms-up-for-sale
Ponder this:
If one can openly tout they are merely going through the process, what’s the point of such toothless legislation?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/70429467/shanghai-pengxin-puts-all-its-farms-up-for-sale
If there is an obligation to put the farms up for sale then there is clearly an obligation to sell….
will be interesting to see an offer come in
will be interesting to see them turn down the offer
will be interesting to see a high court judge consider their refusal to accept offer and make them sell
this should be most definitely be played out through the courts, especially in light of the fact that the company has stated it has no intention of genuinely offering for sale, contrary to the legislation ………
One for philure if he is still visiting….
The Yes Men: Skip Showers for Beef campaign.
Nick Smith will be heading to Aussie in October to talk to some of their social housing non-profits. So the intent to offload state housing at all costs will continue.
Would have had more credibility if this kind of investigation had taken place before the decision to offload had been made. But even then – it has nothing to do with outcomes, just ideology.
“We’re white. That’s the problem. We’re white.”
The spirit of Sir Paul Holmes raises its ugly head in Taupo
A Māori woman and a Pākehā male are refused entry into a Taupo bar because of inebriation issues. The Pākehā male glares in outraged faux-wonderment at the bouncer, who is Māori, and rants at the bouncer in a wheedling tone….
(I’ve edited out the drunken contributions by his female companion, and also the good-natured, professional restraint of the bouncer.)
“That’s why your bar’s shit. You don’t let the right people in. We wanna come in here and pay money. … [some indistinct mumbling]…. We’re WHITE. That’s the problem. We’re white, that’s the problem. Intoxicated? You don’t even know what intoxicated means. That’s CRAZY! I can’t believe you would say that. I’ve just WATCHED who you’ve let in. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Racist, that’s what it is. Racist shit. F***ing n***ers! No that’s what it is, racist shit. That’s what it is.”
If this fool is fired, as he should be, no doubt he would fit in perfectly to a job at NewstalkZB.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11484044
His sense of entitlement and playing of the race card suggests he should stand for Labour at the next election
No, it’s National that’s the racist party. Certainly, Labour has come out of the Chinese names fiasco looking incredibly inept, and many people were disturbed by the Clark government’s brutal persecution of Ahmed Zaoui, which involved a considerable element of racism.
So Labour is by no means perfect, as we have seen recently. But it is National that still bears the shame of the overtly racist 1975 campaign—they were targeting Pacific Islanders back then—and, more recently, the shame of Don Brash’s anti-Māori campaign, and employed the maliciously racist John Ansell to design the infamous “Iwi/Kiwi” billboards.
Of course the dawn raids were started by Labour in 1973 but yes National did continue them with gusto
“With gusto”? That’s a very diplomatic way of portraying a campaign of overwhelming force against people who National voters at that time sneeringly called “the Coconuts”. People like Sam Lotu-Liga seem to be unaware of that, but most Pasifika people are not.
I’m sure there more than a few union memebers that were anti “the Coconuts” taking “their” jobs at the time as well
I’m sure there more than a few union memebers that were anti “the Coconuts” taking “their” jobs at the time as well
There were racist workers, of course. They voted for Muldoon.
Still don’t know why who they’re employed by was an issue.
Still don’t know why who they’re employed by was an issue.
Actually, it’s crucial. That Mike Hosking/Paul Holmes soundalike ranting about “f***ing ni**ers” is a senior manager at Work and Income New Zealand. Surely that is one organisation that demands a minimal standard of decency and decorum. Well, at least since Christine Spankin’ Rankin left.
Yes, the dept should look at that. But it’s not part of the news story unless they were on work time.
That’s true, but they hold positions of public responsibility in a small town, and to behave with such a flagrant disregard of public decency—unleashing that obscenity-larded racist tirade—surely disqualifies him from holding that position from now on.
His female companion’s behaviour was foolish, and she was drunk in a public place—but the really offensive behaviour was all on the part of the male.
That might all be true, and given he got himself filmed in public I hope his employers do look at the incident and consider how this might impact on his ability to do his job. But it still is not a matter for the media or public unless he was on work time.
Swamp kauri?
http://www.nzblokes.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/oUnMTCB.jpg
My two cents on Max and Instagram and why I think we should be discussing children. Everybody’s children. period!
Politician’s Children Should Be Left Alone…. Should They?
+1
like!
Sean Plunkett has just ripped corrections minister to shreds on radio live. He managed to get confirmation the victim was injured at Mount Eden prior to the transfer…
This really is fucking disgusting.
I really hope some prisoners manage to sue the crap out of Serco and corrections.
Gosh all day it has been like the immaculate conception just like a bolt out of the blue sometime after arrival at Ngawha.
And my racist feelings are getting the better of me. If I’m going to hear some johnny talking down the grim Serco reality why can’t it be a Kiwi, nawt a Scotsman.
Sam Lotu Iinga, Corrections Minister answers (?) Sean Plunket’s simple questions on Radio Live:
Listen and get enlightened.
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Corrections-Minister-fronts-over-prison-death/tabid/506/articleID/91909/Default.aspx
Wow it was really nice of Plunket to install that new asshole for the minister. He may have been able to be a bit more gentle but it sounds like it is really big.
The Corrections Minister will be sacked after that interview with Sean Plunket for his inability to lie and obfuscate with ease, and for his not bailing out of the interview once he started getting the rough handling.
“Can I suggest to you Minister that you get better prepared because it’s very hard to interview you when you are not prepared.” (paraphrased)
This however was the same minister who had no problem with accusing Labour’s first speaker, Kelvin Davis, in the urgent debate on Serco and Mt Eden of bringing a dead man into the argument.
In essence what the Minister was saying was that he won’t speak until he has all the facts, and hopefully that won’t be until the media has moved onto the next important issue such as crotch-displays and drunken drummers.
The Minister has not answered why reports many months old were not acted upon by persons responsible in Serco and the Department which spoke of staged fights, harm including broken jaws, broken legs and ruptured lungs.
Also not answered is why Serco did not know about what inmates were up to without supervision when congregated together. No staff member around? No body to hear the sounds of fighting? No officer to check the damage done to bodies?
The Speaker was right in his introduction to allow the urgent debate. This is an important matter. Kelvin Davis was also right to point out that the State has the right to incarcerate and also the obligation to care for those it incarcerates.
Not only are prisoners poorly supervised and being harmed by other inmates but prisoners are not getting the help which inmates need to help address their problems.
A society is judged on its treatment of its most vulnerable and powerless. Inmates, especially on remand and awaiting trial, are at the mercy of the quality and amount of protection offered by their jailers, acting on the government’s, and our, behalf.
+100
the ability to take away a persons freedom is amongst the most coercive powers of the Crown – therefore it must not be contracted out and the Crown must fully discharge all responsibilities associated with the exercise of that coercive power.
The Nacts would be inclined to allocate this unpleasant Corrections portfolio to one of their brown group, or one of the women, but more likely to be a man. It would not be high on the pecking order I should think.
Social Welf is an interesting one, suitable for a woman but also with a very large budget so having managed that successfully, if that is a suitable word, Poorer Benefit has proved herself.
Corrections, should be a doddle according to the theory of Private Enterprise Proficiency or PEP – just made that up – but theory and reality being long divorced poor Corrections guy better take his suits in, as he’s going to lose weight.
from ‘The Big Short’-Michael Lewis-‘we have a simple thesis…said Eisman.There is going to be a calamity,and whenever there is a calamity,Merrill is there.Merrill Lynch was the little fat kid assigned the least pleasant roles,just happy to be part of things’.Interesting read in light of Wall St bankers comments that ‘no one saw it coming(GFC)’.The complicity and duplicity of the ratings agencies and financial institutions and the amorality and incompetence is mind blowing.And what has changed?Aren’t we lucky to have an ex Merrill manager as P.M….THE ‘BEST’ IS YET TO COME.:(
Sharon Murdoch nails Key again as Hawaiian Joy Germ Hits New Zealand,
https://twitter.com/domesticanimal/status/623579412869419008
QUESTIONS TO MINISTERS
1. Dr JIAN YANG to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he received on the performance of the New Zealand economy and the Government’s management of its finances?
2. ANDREW LITTLE to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his justification for the $26 million process to consider changing the flag that “It’s just sheer confusion with Australia. Even at APEC they tried to take me to Abbott’s seat”?
3. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?
4. Dr PARMJEET PARMAR to the Minister for Building and Housing: What are the costs and benefits of the recently announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 that will require homes to be insulated and to have smoke alarms?
5. GRANT ROBERTSON to the Minister of Finance: When did he first become aware that there was an international glut of dairy products and does he stand by his reported comments that he has no plans to take active steps to diversify the economy in response to falling dairy prices?
6. JAMES SHAW to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his answers to Oral Question No. 4 yesterday?
7. RICHARD PROSSER to the Minister of Finance: Is he still sceptical about how effective a register of foreign property buyers would be; if so, why?
8. Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has he received on the effectiveness of the child immunisation programme?
9. PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement about whether inequality was a problem in the Auckland housing market, “We’ve been concerned about that for some time, that there’s part of Auckland where there’s been really no new supply of lower value houses that low and middle-income families can afford”?
10. JONO NAYLOR to the Minister of Justice: What announcements has she made about improving the oversight and supervision for offenders deported to New Zealand?
11. METIRIA TUREI to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “You certainly wouldn’t want to say to a low-income family they can never own a home, because I believe that they can own a home.”?
12. KELVIN DAVIS to the Minister of Corrections: Does he stand by his statement in regards to the July 2014 report on fight clubs in Mt Eden Corrections Facility, that he “became aware of the report’s existence only late last week”?
QUESTIONS TO MEMBERS
1. MAHESH BINDRA to the Member in charge of the New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill: What is the intention of the New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill?
2. CLAYTON MITCHELL to the Member in charge of the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill: What is the intention of the Fighting Foreign Corporate Control Bill?
ENDS
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1507/S00346.htm
Heard Kelvin Davis on radionz this morning and he fronted up to media confidently, clearly and with thoughtful approach so he wasn’t caught out in any traps.
To think Labour (and more than a few people on here as well) wanted him to throw in the towel and let Hone win
Yep; we would have been better off with having both Hone and Laila in the House. Davis could have come in on the list.
+1
greywarshark +100…Kelvin Davis seems to be doing quite well…he would make a good Labour list MP….thereby leaving TTT to Mana/Int and Hone ( Mana/Int had some great prospective MPs….)
…thereby creating a valuable flaxroots/grassroots Left Maori Party coalition partner for Labour ( similar to the supportive role Act plays for Nactional)…
Heard Kelvin Davis on radionz this morning and he fronted up to media confidently, clearly and with thoughtful approach so he wasn’t caught out in any traps.
I presume by your positive comment that he did better than he did when attacked by Paul Henry on TV3 just after 7 o’clock. Davis was clearly rattled by Henry’s aggressive, disrespectful tone, and became practically incoherent. I’m going to put up a transcript of the débâcle on Open Mike tomorrow morning.
Yes Radio this a.m. I don’t watch tv at present. I feel disinclined to watch anything put on by sleaze running television now except for Maori which I hope is managing to not get sucked into the vortex. Trying to hold onto thoughts while being needled by death heads like Henry sounds would rattle anyone. Perhaps all pollies should go to boot camps conducted by trained Army, police personnel or callous courtroom lawyers trained in intensive questioning.
Tory wrecking ball set to wreck everything that’s good about informing, educating and entertaining.
http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/bbc/36237/the-bbc-funding-and-why-its-worth-fighting-for
And in the “Government employee actually does his job” category…
Paul Gibson addresses the Health Select Committee…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/279402/call-for-inquiry-into-family-caregiver-pay
Paul Gibson has been so consistently staunch in his government paid role as the advocate for disabled people that I constantly fear for his continued employment.
A book that all Labour fans may not have read.
1890
by Warwick Johnston
DESCRIPTION:
It is election night, 5 December 1890. Willis Street in Wellington is a sea of people all jostling for a vantage point in front of the massive illuminated results board. This night is the culmination of an extraordinary year in our brief history. It heralds the dawn of socialism, unionism, and inevitably, the New Zealand Labour Party. In 1890 we see the events leading up to the election through the eyes of two fledgling union activists, Marty and Tui, in a fresh and insightful perspective of one of our most turbulent and significant eras.
Available Trademe $22 Buy Now Free shipping
Book – WW1
Trme $23 post $3 (comes from Oz)
Good-bye to all that by Robert Graves
Description:
There was no patriotism in the trenches. It was too remote a sentiment, and rejected as fit only for civilians. A new arrival who talked patriotism would soon be told to cut it out. As Blighty, Great Britain was a quiet, easy place to get back to out of the present foreign misery, but as a nation it was nothing. This is the original version of Robert Graves’ intense memoir of the First World War, restoring this raw, emotionally truthful, darkly comic work to the way it was first written, by a young man still reeling from the trenches.
We see the dark heart of the book even more clearly, and hear it beating even more loudly, in this original edition than we do in the comparatively careful and considered terms of the later one’ Andrew Motion ‘One of the most candid self-portraits, warts and all, ever painted. (TLS). Robert Graves was born in 1895 in Wimbledon. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Somme. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, in 1929, and it was soon established as a modern classic. He died on 7 December 1985 in Majorca, his home since 1929.
Andrew Motion’s most recent collection of poetry is The Cinder Path. He was poet laureate from 1999 to 2009 and is now Professor of Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London. Fran Brearton is Professor of Modern Poetry at Queen’s University Belfast and author of The Great War in Irish Poetry.
+100..great book!
Thanks for that greywarshark, I am always on the outlook for good new reading material especially when someone can give a good appraisal.
I have just finished Thomas Pakenham’s Boar War. If you have not read it I can highly recommend it.
A large book but extremely comprehensive Without giving too much detail about it all I can say is that History has a nasty habit of repeating itself and fucking politicians of all colours never learn.
For Blair and Bush with the weapons of mass destruction to get at the oil in Iraq, read Rhodes and Milner and the poor Uitlanders to get at the Rand gold.
The British generals would have been the biggest bunch of incompetents the world has seen with some of them going on to create mayhem in the first world war like Butcher Haig, Hamilton, and the biggest prat of them all who set up the concentration camps in South Africa, Kitchener.
I will try and get 1890 on my e reader.
Another good book, once again if you have not read it is “It’s Not Rocket Science” by Ben Miller
Never heard of him but he’s a comedian in the uk
This is what the preamble says about the book.
Black holes. DNA. The Large Hadron Collider. Ever had that sneaking feeling that you are missing out on some truly spectacular science?
You do? Well, fear not, for help is at hand.
Ben Miller was working on his Physics PhD at Cambridge when he accidentally became a comedian. But first love runs deep, and he has returned to his roots to share with you all his favourite bits of science. This is the stuff you really need to know, not only because it matters but because it will quite simply amaze and delight you.
‘Let me show you another, perhaps less familiar side of Science; her beauty, her seductiveness and her passion. And let’s do it quickly, while Maths isn’t looking’
Great half crown. Thanks for heads up.
Talking about science I was trying an aphorism out in my head so will try it out on you. Don’t worry telling me if you don’t like it!
On spending $100 mill (or pounds) looking for signs of intelligent life in space,
I think this goes from blue sky research to black hole. And if it’s good science then we might find pi in the sky.
And I consider comparing the venture to James Cook setting out into unknown waters, is like the simplistic comparing of the nation’s economic transactions with a citizen’s household budget.
If they wanted to do some blue sky research on earth, they could scan the brains of all politicians and armed forces heads and advisors? Probably nearly all aliens if we only knew.
Ha I like it.
I have thought for ages that a lot of politicians are Aliens. There is a lot of Si Fi fiction about Aliens amongst us I am not sure that it is fiction, it is for real.
Apart from the politicians The likes of Gower and Hoskins are definitely not from this world.
It has been said the only thing that has made Prof Hawkins survive all these years with that terrible Motor Neuron disease is his determination of solving his theories on black Holes.
Is the singularity a potential big bang into another dimension?
Apart from doing some blue sky research, he can resolve and prove his theorem by coming to NZ, as I suspect our John Key and his government are definitely from another dimension.
Think of all the money they will save, as it will only cost them the air fare and accommodation and I don’t think they will need to stay longer than half hour.
On a more serious note , many on here have suggested good books to read.
So please keep us informed of any good books you have read. I do look at Good Reads but I find books suggested by other people are always good as the y tend to give a unbiased opinion.
That Boar War was suggested to me by a South African, he also suggested Pakenham’s “Scramble for Africa” The little bits I have read, it appears to be another good book.
thanks..is this a new book ie can I get it at Whitcoulls?
Hi Chooky
Can try. Here is the guff about it. Perhaps you can phone or email and ask – quote number etc.
This is from online Southern Skies that has it for about $13.60 approx. There are numerous copies from different suppliers on line, and each seems to have a different number. I guess this is for different editions. Prices differ and not all of them mention other poets and writers like Motion.
Product Details:
ISBN: 9781909621053
Format: Hardback
Pages: 480
Dims (mm): 93 x 150
Pub Date: 01-09-13
Pub Country: United Kingdom
Condition: NEW
I read somewhere but lost the link that the SNP have nicked the opposition front benches from Labour after the UKLabs abstained on the tory welfare cuts. SNP decided that the Opposition needs to actually oppose in order to deserve the title 🙂
Bryan Gould has a very interesting a saddened look at the matter here:
http://www.bryangould.com/labours-failure/
I read that last night. It does kind of outline the issue.
I was going to hunt down anything that UK Labour were saying about it when I next had some reading time and atablet to hand.
Their support for austerity doesn’t exactly look to be working for them. Jeremy Corbyn is now ahead in the leadership polls, and Tony Blair has been wheeled out to advise against him:
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/07/jeremy-corbyn-takes-lead-new-poll
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33619645
Here we are.
That’s some pretty good thinking right there – shame Labour into acting by openly taking their place.
Great move by the SNP.
Marvelous.
John Key is killing it in The House today. Andrew Little leading with questions about the ‘flag’! John Key totally made Mr Little look like an out-of-touch fool!
National are now asking themselves the ‘big topic’ questions. Labour have yet again missed an opportunity – opportunities are just hanging on the vine for Labour, yet they wont pick them.
Labour seems like a hopeless case. #ShiftingCamps
Hold Up… …Here comes Grant Robertson on Dairy…
2:25pm
El Nino brings hottest 6th month global temperatures in 136 years of records – and still developing. So much for an “hiatus”! Look for a hum dinger of a drought here this summer folks. Thank goodness I’m not a dairy farmer.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/el-nino-fuels-hottest-june-and-hottest-six-months-on-record-us-agency-noaa-20150721-gigqju
pretty sobering!…last summer was unbearable at times….and some farmers still have not received rain…desperate alright…especially if you are a dairy farmer
I am puzzled however about the talk of a new small ‘ice age’ coming in the next 15 years…personally i hope so…although it may not do much to stop global warming
http://www.sciencealert.com/a-mini-ice-age-is-coming-in-the-next-15-years
http://www.livescience.com/51597-maunder-minimum-mini-ice-age.html
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s4277443.htm
Looks like the ‘ice age’ will only buy time from the relentless global warming:
http://www.iflscience.com/environment/mini-ice-age-not-reason-ignore-global-warming
‘There Probably Won’t Be A “Mini Ice Age” In 15 Years’
Zharkova ” commented on how the changes in the Sun are likely to affect the Earth’s environment. “During the minimum, the intensity of solar radiation will be reduced dramatically. So we will have less heat coming into the atmosphere, which will reduce the temperature.”
However, Zharkova ends with a word of warning: not about the cold but about humanity’s attitude toward the environment during the minimum. We must not ignore the effects of global warming and assume that it isn’t happening. “The Sun buys us time to stop these carbon emissions,” Zharkova says. The next minimum might give the Earth a chance to reduce adverse effects from global warming.
I wouldn’t hold out much hope for that Chooky. The physics regarding the solar minimum is fine – yes that is likely to happen around then, but the drop in solar energy received will be about equivalent to the current energy imbalance of the Earth now (approx 3 w /sq m) that drop would only last for a few years at most and would only lead to a slowdown in global warming – not an “ice age”. That is never going to happen in the short to medium term – there is already too much carbon in the atmosphere. The mathematics/physic prof should have consulted a climate scientist before shooting her mouth off about a “mini-ice-age”. Valentina Zharkova would have been quickly informed that such was not the case.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/jul/16/no-the-sun-isnt-going-to-save-us-from-global-warming
yes I see belatedly that you are probably right…sigh….I am going to load up with baked beans , matches and head for the nearest ravine when it gets too hot…will take cats and have invited friends …family thinks it is funny …but I say you have to have a plan and be prepared ….but even being prepared will probably only delay the inevitable…death by frying
…in the meantime plant more trees!
🙂 I will not see it or least ways I’ll be a very old man by then. But I fear for my children and grandchildren. They will bear the brunt of it.
Was out planting trees today. We have a very active group here lead by Ken (90! ) replanting wetlands by the new Kopu Bridge. You can see the Ngaio raising their heads above the old man mangroves as you pass over the bridge now. The pohutakawa are doing well – some flowered last summer – and the ariel roots are making an appearance. Just 400 meters from our home is the oldest arboretum in the country and I spend some time in there as well tending tracks and weeding etc.
great!..there is great satisfaction in planting trees
Being a baby boomer do you carry guilt for the state that the world is.
Do you believe that you are some how responsible and need to make amends before you pass on?
Yes I do. In my younger days I was quite a petrol head. Owned my first car at age 15. I still have my motorcycle (1957 R50 BMW), a classic car, and 2 others. There is no public transport here. But my petrol usage has dropped substantially having moved from the country into town. 5 mins gets me almost everywhere I need to go these days.
In the 1950’s and 60’s the concept of Global warming was little known – and indeed wasn’t really fully understood until the 80’s. I had the fortune to travel to Welliington each day in the late 70’s early 80’s with one of NZ’s foremost Climate Scientists who was at that time just completing his Doctorate on the NZ temperature record. As I was an educator in mathematics and science he and I had long and interesting discussions as to the nature of Global warming – so I became interested in climate science then and have followed it closely ever since. I have also been actively involved for a number of years working to bring awareness to as many as I can.
@Macro…….many brownie points for educating on climate change….I have found it hard to understand …or havent been bothered to try…however I recognise it is THE major problem facing humanity and the planet and ecosystems and animals…
recently I have been reading a book given to me by a friend ‘This Changes Everything’ by Naomi Klein on the issues around climate change….am finding it surprisingly compelling and easy to read….
Yes that is a very good book. She is a great communicator – I bought it for my daughter who is also very active in this area. Her “Shock Doctrine” is also a must read as is “War without end” – to which she is a contributing author.
@ BM…moi?…well I still have a wood fire…a luxury I guess ( but we grow trees too)…I have only had two children and admire those who don’t have any( the rest of my immediate family and my partner’s have not replaced themselves)…i do drive a car approx.twice a week ( dont speed)…i dont use planes often …in fact rarely ( but that is only because I cant afford airfares)…i like to travel by train and tram and bus…we cook most of our meals…( rarely eat out)…have a vege garden( not a good one)…try to eat locally…like op shops for clothes best!…. visit the hair dresser infrequently….when I die I want to be buried in a sheet and dug in ….and have tree planted on top ( so no cremation smoke /funeral/ embalming burial costs or ghastly speeches…they can pass the whiskey bottle around )..support Green Peace and environmental groups
…most of all I am proud that I live in an environmentally aware culture and dont live in an overpopulated culture…to me overpopulation is the biggest curse …and humankind’s biggest irresponsibility…those countries which have cultural overpopulation ( generally coexist with patriarchal sexism) and environmental problems should sort them out…and not spread their overpopulation and problems to other countries
so no i dont feel overburdened with guilt about global warming
ps – I’m a fan of the furry friends too 🙂 our HRH the princess shinky-paws lollabout, is now cat napping after 3 helpings of dinner on the sofa.
Good man! I do a bit of that too, tree planting that is.
The ACT Party propose the continued fire sale of our country to speculators from Beijing, Berlin, Birmingham and Boston.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11485101
It is both astonishing and sad that the philosopher has focused on a very narrow view and hasn’t really thought things through properly. Most of the readers commenting on the article seem to have understood the matter much better.
ACT is a mad dog …and mad dogs should be ….
and mad dogs should be …. Prebbled
lol…proves the point…. lately Prebble has supported nationalising rail again….and Hide has had his problems with being surveilled and spied upon
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/17/richard-prebble-argueing-to-save-rail-is-the-4th-hypocrisy-of-the-apocalypse/
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/07/19/and-then-they-came-for-rodney-hide/
Act died years ago.
It’s only still breathing because of external inputs.
you mean ACT is now under foreign control ?…financially …and ideologically speaking?
Charter Schools model I know comes from USA….and is not successful….but the corporates want their hands on state money for education ie to make profits out of education even although the privatisation model does not work
…what other “external inputs” are there on ACT?….and who is creaming it in New Zealand?
Without National, Act dies.
Same for United Future.
And yet they are alive. where as Mana …..
Yep, stabbed in the back by a coalition of left and right
Or their own folly, CV. KDC was entirely their choice.
KDC was made a scapegoat, again by the Left and Right.
Hone’s true failure was not getting 750 more votes in his electorate, which would have got both him and Laila into Parliament – a massive win for Internet Mana.
…transmogrification? …whatever the nature of the beast ….it is still keeping jonkey nact alive
With all good will and desire for democracy and liberty, how can we fight these forces, well equipped by endless numbers of volunteers and mercenaries, from poverty, readily radicalised, to take up arms?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7BEAKrb-bI
I despair about the future and lack of answers.