Open mike 23/08/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:56 am, August 23rd, 2014 - 143 comments
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openmikeOpen mike is your post.

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Step up to the mike …

143 comments on “Open mike 23/08/2014 ”

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  1. Tom Jackson 1
    23 August 2014 at 7:23 am

    I see the conservative press are telling us that it’s time to stop talking about dirty politics because we should be talking about policy and nobody really cares anyway. We peons should be grateful for such sage advice.

    • phillip ure 1.1
      23 August 2014 at 7:43 am

      yep..!..they are all lined up..and singing from the same songsheet..

      this line from armstrong was particularly gag-inducing..

      “..A clear majority of committed voters still seem to prefer Key’s and Bill English’s brand of moderate and largely painless conservatism…”

      ‘moderate and largely painless’..eh..?

      ..of course the stats/facts on pollution/poverty etc/et al make a total lie of armstrongs’ ‘moderate and largely painless’ claim/bullshit.

      ..i guess that’s one way of looking at how 30 yrs of national/labour neo-lib has driven us as far up shit creek as we currently are…

      ..to ask/advocate for even more of the same..

        • Tigger 1.1.1.1
          23 August 2014 at 8:09 am

          Democracy under attack!!! The sky is falling!!!!! Oh noes, people are seeing behind the curtain!

          • Tom Jackson 1.1.1.1.1
            23 August 2014 at 8:17 am

            They must have decided that yesterday was getting too dangerous, with Key caught out on video contradicting himself.

            I see that Duncan Garner recovered from his fit of pique at being targeted by Slater and once more has his nose firmly clamped between Key’s buttocks.

            I still think National will win the election, which will leave us in the strange position of having an openly corrupt government by public consent.

            • Olwyn 1.1.1.1.1.1
              23 August 2014 at 9:03 am

              I still think National will win the election, which will leave us in the strange position of having an openly corrupt government by public consent.

              That is the thought that horrifies me, especially since such consent would come from a little over half of the voting population. Given the deepening inequality in this country, it would effectively be a vote for the powerful to dominate the powerless, and for constitutional safeguards to be treated as PR measures, and nothing more.

              • Tom Jackson …
                23 August 2014 at 9:12 am

                In that case withdraw civic co-operation.

              • Kevin Welsh …
                23 August 2014 at 9:16 am

                And just think how brazen people like Slater will be if that happens. They will think they are untouchable.

                • Tom Jackson …
                  23 August 2014 at 9:23 am

                  Well, they will be. By legal means, at least.

                  The nadir will be the courts declaring him a journalist after all this.

                  • yeshe …
                    23 August 2014 at 11:34 am

                    have you read this Tom ? fine analysis and questioning if new materials can be placed before the Court in current proceedings … by Steven Price

                    http://www.medialawjournal.co.nz/

                    • Tom Jackson …
                      23 August 2014 at 12:19 pm

                      Interesting, but it’s odd that there’s little emphasis on journalistic ethics. You would think that adhering to the four basic principles, or at least attempting to, would be required for someone to be classed as a journalist.

                      Slater hasn’t minimised harm, acted independently or been accountable. Not only has he not been these things, he has actively worked against such standards – the Len Brown case alone is enough to damn him.

                      I honestly would not be surprised if none of this matters to our tedious, tory judiciary.

                • Cancerman …
                  23 August 2014 at 12:15 pm

                  If National wins you will see them release all the information they have on the Left. Not just the bits that has been leaked so far.

                • kenny …
                  23 August 2014 at 2:48 pm

                  Over the past week they have come to see that they are not untouchable.

                  I suspect this is the beginning of the end for this bunch of criminals (for that is what they are).

                  What price WhaleOil now? Who is going to go anywhere near him now?

              • David H …
                23 August 2014 at 10:58 am

                If TricKey and co get in then the Megalomania will run rampant, and they will literally sell our country out from under us to their mates.

                • Olwyn …
                  23 August 2014 at 11:38 am

                  The thought is just horrifying, and our best chance is, as Chooky says, to urge all those who would vote left to vote. I don’t think that upper middle class NZ fully appreciates the need for democratic safeguards. National’s TV ad all but dog-whistles to this indifference, featuring white, triumphalist rowers proudly defeating the enemy within. Such hubris encourages the idea that safeguards are for losers, and that winners are unnecessarily hampered by them. We desperately need a strong showing from the left in this election, for democracy’s sake.

            • Chooky 1.1.1.1.1.2
              23 August 2014 at 9:51 am

              @ Tom Jackson(1.1.1.1.1) ….Disagree!…It was very close last time when many Labour people did not vote . ( people were still angry with Phil Goff being leader and leading the charge against asset sales when he once supported them under Labour/Roger Douglas…it was too much to swallow)

              This time people will vote! Cunliffe is a good and compassionate leader for Labour. He is well able to stand up against Key!

              ( There are many ‘undecided’ who do not want to declare to the pollsters…I myself refuse to talk to pollsters …there are others who lie…and others who will not disclose ( the ‘undecideds’)…after all we live in a surveillance society under John Key’s NACT…people are paranoid)

              Bugger the POLLSTERS! ( they are too often wrong as Jim Bolger found out!)

              We have to FOCUS on winning!!!… and calling the media to ACCOUNT

              ……we want the TRUTH! This election must be about HONESTY and NOT SPIN!….

              ….we must FIGHT for this Labour /Left coalition WIN!.

              • The Al1en …
                23 August 2014 at 9:57 am

                “we must FIGHT for this Labour /Left coalition WIN!.”

                Yes Chooky, not fight and smear against it like some are intent on doing until polling day. +1.5

        • phillip ure 1.1.1.2
          23 August 2014 at 8:13 am

          roughan is particularly happy/clappy about the outcomes from that national/labour rightwing/neo-lib/fuck-the-poor! ‘consensus’ of the last 30 yrs..

          ..culminating in the current asset-stripping bunch of bastards..

          “..New Zealand has enjoyed a healthy economic consensus for 30 years..”

          ..’healthy’ for roughan and his ilk…

          ..’sick’ for so many others/the environment..

          • Tom Jackson 1.1.1.2.1
            23 August 2014 at 8:18 am

            The guy is, like most of these right wing morons, an economic illiterate. Actual economics is much more reasonable and cautious than these clowns think.

          • Paul 1.1.1.2.2
            23 August 2014 at 8:26 am

            Remember Roughan was such a poor journalist that his biography of Key mentioned nothing at all about the links with Slater.

          • The Al1en 1.1.1.2.3
            23 August 2014 at 8:49 am

            “that national/labour rightwing/neo-lib/fuck-the-poor! ‘consensus’”

            “yrs of national/labour neo-lib”

            What a shame you didn’t have the testicles to use that slogan/anti labour smear and front it to DC when he was on here answering questions.
            Shame you bottled it and went, dear mr Cunliffe instead.

            You’re worse than the right wing nuggets that come on here. Shame on you.

            • Chooky 1.1.1.2.3.1
              23 August 2014 at 10:03 am

              +100…have to agree The Allen

              • The Al1en …
                23 August 2014 at 10:05 am

                On the christmas card list you are 😉

                • Chooky …
                  23 August 2014 at 10:11 am

                  lol…It will be a MERRY CHRISTMAS!….. under a Cunliffe Labour/ Left coalition !

                  Merry Christmas in advance!

              • phillip ure …
                23 August 2014 at 10:29 am

                factcheck 4 u..chooky..

                ..when cunnliffe appeared on here it was made clear to all by the moderator..that such-worded questions would not pass muster..

                ..and as it was..a politely-worded question on poverty…was not answered by cunnliffe..

                ..tho’ he answered the four before it..and the one following..

                ..so..really..you and that idiot can just take yr fake-argument..

                ..and blow it out yr butts…eh..?

                ..every neo-lib-consensus word i said is true/accurate/historical-fact…

                ..and that you and the idiot are in agreement..going on both yr past analytical-records here..

                ..signifies very little..eh..?

        • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.3
          23 August 2014 at 8:36 am

          Oh, you should try Garner’s BS:

          That won’t be easy. Key is punching at shadows – he can’t see his enemy and he doesn’t know what might come next.

          But he has to get on with it. Key’s line this week that the ‘‘cowardly hacker has stolen your election’’ is a good start, but National needs much more than that. Key has looked unsure on television all week – he’s looked unconvincing. The nice guy has gone.

          So, for Key, it all starts tomorrow with the official National campaign launch. He needs a big-bang policy to get people talking.

          These National fanbois in the MSM really seem to have NFI just how much damage that National have done to our democracy and need to be removed to prevent further damage. To them it’s all about winning – no matter the cost to our society.

          • Paul 1.1.1.3.1
            23 August 2014 at 8:44 am

            You’ve got to wonder if Slater and his crew have stuff on some journalists.
            Or is it simply that the media is owned by large foreign corporates?

            • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.3.1.1
              23 August 2014 at 8:48 am

              Both?

              • Once Was Tim …
                23 August 2014 at 12:23 pm

                Both! Considering that journalists have dirt on each other and play all that stupid ‘what plays in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ game. I’d be bloody surprised if he didn’t.

          • David H 1.1.1.3.2
            23 August 2014 at 11:25 am

            “So, for Key, it all starts tomorrow with the official National campaign launch. He needs a big-bang policy to get people talking.”

            His and Collins resignations Now that would get the country talking. Asking who of the toxic’s that are left would be the next ‘Dear Leader’?

            • yeshe 1.1.1.3.2.1
              23 August 2014 at 11:39 am

              the horror sub-plot running, according to Gower on The Nation this morning, is the emergence of Paula Bennett as next leader …

              • Tom Jackson …
                23 August 2014 at 3:26 pm

                Well, she does come across now as one of the less pugnacious and authoritarian National MPs, even if that’s not saying much.

              • Hami Shearlie …
                23 August 2014 at 3:50 pm

                I was waiting for everyone to GUFFAW – and they DIDN’T – This world is becoming just too strange to live in!!!

          • Poission 1.1.1.3.3
            23 August 2014 at 11:31 am

            Key has looked unsure on television all week – he’s looked unconvincing. The nice guy has gone.

            The day of the Jekyll

    • Awww 1.3
      23 August 2014 at 8:23 am

      Herald reveals WO commentor.

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&obj
      ectid=11313039

      • Colonial Viper 1.3.1
        23 August 2014 at 8:31 am

        And in that same article Slater threatens the reporter, David Fisher:

        “Slater did not return calls. He did send an email saying: “Time for all your emails to come out Fish.”

        Looks like dickheads like Slater are unable to learn.

        • yeshe 1.3.1.1
          23 August 2014 at 10:56 am

          Fisher seemed almost self-muzzled on The Nation this morning, as a commentator. Either he is protecting what HOS will publish tomorrow from the person with the docs who is not whaledump, or he is scared. Was very odd to me.

  2. disturbed 2
    23 August 2014 at 7:25 am

    Steven Joyce is continuing has black op’s dirty politics regimen even though his leader has said the opposition can’t win on policy and that’s why they continue the dirty political attacks on John Key, Ha Ha,

    On Whaleoil 20th the attack from Joyce was made against Labour candidate and grandson of Sir Walter Nash, the highly successful Stuart Nash.

    On Whaleoil Cameron Slater openly rejects any issue of dirt is being placed against Stuart Nash, with a statement ” he is a good guy” which shows that Joyce is behind much of this dirty Politics campaign all along.

    National contuse their dirty politics and says they are not! Lies, Lies, Lies.

    by Cameron Slater on August 20, 2014 at 9:30am

    Steven Joyce has made allegations that Whaleoil is going to release information about Stuart Nash. Joyce says it is to balance things up. This should be called out for what it is.

    It is an out and out lie.

    Steven Joyce is a disgrace for suggesting this because he has lied to protect his own interests.

    Nash wrote two articles for the Truth and I talk to him occasionally like I do with many on the left. I know nothing at all about Stuart Nash doing anything other than he is a bloody good politician who scares National. Nash is winning a National seat because he is a far better politician that Steven Joyce ever will be, and Joyce is having a sook because he will never be as popular as Nash.

    Steven Joyce should be far more worried about people like Bill English trying to claim the moral high ground when everyone knows what lengths he, Boag and McCully have gone to in political battles over the years. That coming out would be truly damaging.

    Given the last time I spoke to Steven Joyce was several years ago when I sledged him out about Twitter at a National party conference in Auckland it is highly unlikely he’d know what I was up to.

    Doodlehead
    was that on ZB with Hosking ? I thought he said Whaleblog(or whatever it’s called) was going to release it
    Ed for clarity

    Soleman
    That was my understanding as well

    http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/ Keeping Stock
    Yep; that was what was said. Whaledump would be releasing something about Nash to show how balanced the hackers are; as if…

    Mark
    Ouch!

    Rem
    Whaledump I heard

    kiwibattler
    Yes – I think Cam has jumped the gun on this (unless someone can find a link showing Joyce mentioning it is whaleoil).

    Ross15
    You are both right. I heard the interview and they were talking about whaledump and Joyce said he expected there to be continued releases up until the election. He said he’d heard today there would be a “balance up” with a release concerning Stuart Nash.
    I think Cam needs to do a retraction on what he has said above about Joyce.

    izhoui
    Nah. Game playing.

    Fat Sally
    Nash is a good bloke. He will win Napier comfortably. Well ahead in the polls.

    http://www.shipmodels.co.nz/ Graeme
    I thought he said Whaledump. Now we are all confused!

    THE APE
    thats what i thought to – well according to ZB anyway

    Goldie
    But I thought that Cam Slater was a puppet of the evil Tories? And according to Nicky Hagar, Cam Slater is a tool of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy?
    And here he is publicly bagging Steven Joyce…

    tjb
    And so it goes on, every day until Sept 19 we are going to have this junk news drip fed

    so_ruggef
    Jumped the gun Cam, zb reporting whale dump to release info. But when you say you have nothing on Nash didnt you used to call him a serial rooter back in the day?

    Sir Brucey
    Isnt Joyce also one of those scum list MPs? Why doesnt he test his popularity and support in an electorate battle !!!

    LesleyNZ
    Not in my book. Steven Joyce and Bill English are OK with me.

    Snoop
    Easy to just pull this post … 🙂
    Stuff like this makes me hate Dot.Com even more …
    Becos his “WhaleDump-Dump” is now getting confused with the real Whale …

    Bruce from taihape
    Get your facts right Slater. Paranoia setting in?

    Coffee Connoisseur
    “Get your facts right Slater. Paranoia setting in?”

    • phillip ure 2.1
      23 August 2014 at 7:56 am

      you have to remember that along with the ‘dirty politics’ shitstorm going on..

      ..national is also wracked by internicene-warfare..

      ..over the current/future control of the party..

      ..with joyce leading one faction..and collins the other..

      ..(and with slater/lusk etc firmly in the collins camp..)

      ..and believe it or not..joyce is deemed to be ‘the moderate’ of the two..

      ..i dunno about that claim..to me the shadings seem remarkably similar..

      ..it always pays to keep this in mind when evaluating any statements from one faction about the other..(and any slater musings..)

      ..that there is all this really really ‘dirty politics’ on an ongoing basis..within national..

      ..and that any statement may well be all about that..more than anything else..

      ..’game of thrones’..indeed..!

      ..are we nearing the ‘thrones’ bloodbath-scene within national..?

      • Bearded Git 2.1.1
        23 August 2014 at 8:12 am

        Joyce sees the word profit, and nothing else.

      • TE 2.1.2
        23 August 2014 at 10:58 am

        The only relevant Slater is KELLY surfing in Tahiti https://www.facebook.com/KellySlater

        Collins backside is all burnt and Joyce cannot contain his glee.
        Key looks really ill, I bet he can’t wait till he and Bronie are lying back sipping pina colada in Hawaii and dirty politics is just a memory.
        We will remember these liars and soothsayers at voting time

    • karol 2.2
      23 August 2014 at 8:11 am

      Your comment is quite hard to follow, disturbed. You don’t clearly differentiate between quotes from others and your comments.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.3
      23 August 2014 at 8:56 am

      Please read this.

  3. swordfish 3
    23 August 2014 at 7:27 am

    From Whaledump

    Cameron Slater (24/2/2011)

    [On National Party delegates]

    “dodgy, lying cheating cunts…firstly at the branch level, secondly at the region and thirdly with Goodfellow”

    Sounds like a fair appraisal to me.

  4. Awww 4
    23 August 2014 at 7:34 am

    Stephen Price (Media Law Journal) has some great commentary around Dirty Politics. They are a bit long but it would be great to see them broken into parts and made feature posts here on TS.

    http://www.medialawjournal.co.nz/

  5. Paul 5
    23 August 2014 at 7:36 am

    Further unministerial behaviour by Collins.

    ‘Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater got a response to an Official Information Act request from Justice Minister Judith Collins in just 37 minutes.’

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313041

    • Tangled_up 5.1
      23 August 2014 at 7:44 am

      It’s ok. It wasn’t her, it was her office. /sarc

    • Tom Jackson 5.2
      23 August 2014 at 8:29 am

      Now look here, the only reasons that justify baying for a politician’s resignation is if they don’t know their Shakespeare, or they are accused of buying a bottle of wine that they didn’t actually buy, or they are named “David Cunliffe”.

      Pull yourself together.

    • disturbed 5.3
      23 August 2014 at 8:41 am

      Paul,

      Our NGO placed our IOA at the office of the Prime Minister two days ago for a confirmation list of all the last four years of emails we sent the Prime Minister( all 54) of them. (No response for replies and assistance were ever received from the P.M.)

      Of course we don’t expect our IOA to be received back before a week or two perhaps, (ha ha)

      Thinking back maybe we should also send the request also now to Judith Collins to see if we get them quicker eh?

      What do you reckon?

  6. karol 6
    23 August 2014 at 7:58 am

    And a Brownlee staffer named as having commented on WO blog under a pseudonym:

    The press secretary of Cabinet minister Gerry Brownlee has admitted posting anonymously to the Whale Oil blog as the impact of Dirty Politics continues to hit the election campaign.

    Nick Bryant was named in Dirty Politics as the person who had used the pseudonym “Former Hack” to post anonymous comments encouraging blogger Cameron Slater’s campaign against a public servant which resulted in death threats.

    The Herald was able to confirm the use of Mr Bryant’s ministerial computer through details obtained from an individual other than the hacker who also accessed information from Whale Oil during the Denial of Service attack.
    […]
    Mr Hager’s book links Mr Bryant to another anonymous name – but the Herald has found the email account linked to messages from the person is actually registered in the name of yet another ministerial staff member.

    • mickysavage 6.1
      23 August 2014 at 8:04 am

      Shesh they were all at it. I bet there are a whole lot of Nat staffers feeling very nervous right now …

      • Kevin Welsh 6.1.1
        23 August 2014 at 9:24 am

        Look at the encouragement coming from the top.

      • Te Reo Putake 6.1.2
        23 August 2014 at 9:47 am

        This might be why we haven’t much from the usual suspects in recent days. Crawled back under their rocks till the storm passes?

      • Ad 6.1.3
        23 August 2014 at 10:32 am

        Mickey there needs to be a good conversation with LPrent about protocols for engaging with a Labour-Green government.

        The schadenfreude and hypocrisy-charges will be significant for upholding the reputation of The Standard.

      • David H 6.1.4
        23 August 2014 at 6:29 pm

        “Shesh they were all at it. I bet there are a whole lot of Nat staffers feeling very nervous right now”

        And if they all get the Boot Paula will be pissed, as it will screwup her ‘Unemployment is dropping” meme.

  7. Bearded Git 7
    23 August 2014 at 8:10 am

    I think Armstrong in the Herald today is right:

    “…Nicky Wagner, who was already facing a real struggle holding her Christchurch Central seat for National. She may as well not even bother campaigning now that citizens of the earthquake-stricken city know they rate as “scum” in the mind of Slater. She will not be the only one cursing Slater. Christchurch was National’s success story in 2011. National’s strong party vote in the city was a tribute to John Key’s unique ability to draw votes from across the political spectrum.

    But Christchurch is gone. It would be rich irony if the city became National’s graveyard in 2014.”

    It’s here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11313037

    Christchurch has gone, and so has Dunedin after Cunliffe’s fine policy announcements yesterday, raptuously received on yesterday’s front page of the ODT

    • Pasupial 7.1
      23 August 2014 at 9:22 am

      BG

      There were two articles about the Labour policies for Dunedin in the ODT yesterday, the frontpage was indeed very enthusiastic, while the “election 2014” one consisted mainly of Woodhouse/ Joyce quotes.

      http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/313305/labour-promises-reopen-hillside

      Woodhouse, being the Private Health Industry’s representative in Parliament, was particularly dismissive of the plan to upgrade Dunedin Hospital:

      Dunedin list MP and former chief executive of Dunedin’s Mercy Hospital Michael Woodhouse, was also scathing of Labour’s promise to fast-track the Dunedin Hospital rebuild, calling it ”irresponsible”… ”If there was any neglect it was by the [last] Labour government[“]… ”I’ve run hospitals. I know how hard it is to master-plan for a new facility and I don’t believe it’s appropriate for anyone … to make bold but irresponsible claims about timing.”

      http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/313352/policies-damaging-joyce-says

    • Kevin Welsh 7.2
      23 August 2014 at 9:26 am

      Napier is also gone for National and word on the street is Foss is behind in Tukituki

    • veutoviper 8.1
      23 August 2014 at 8:30 am

      Well said, Jessica.

      I have not yet read Hager’s book, but have read the Whaledump posts to date, and your blog sums up my feelings far better than I could have.

      I recommend others read your blog post.

      PS – I also skimmed your other recent on your blog, and will be back to read them more thoroughly.

    • veutoviper 8.2
      23 August 2014 at 8:30 am

      Oops, edited and ended up with two versions.

      Edit was to PS to read
      PS – I also skimmed your other recent posts on your blog, and will be back to read them more thoroughly.

    • Tigger 8.3
      23 August 2014 at 12:05 pm

      Nice post, Jessica. Totally agree.

  9. disturbed 9
    23 August 2014 at 8:53 am

    Yep Micky

    The staffer’s must have been coached by someone though.

    Maybe Ede, & Lusk?

    Maybe some others too, inside MSM.

    Who were actually steering the dirty politics black op’s and spin doctoring?

    Joyce at the helm like Key no doubt, but cleverly keeping themselves detached as to not be connected, but all coming out now.

    They always looked so smug we instinctively knew they were up to something but had no proof.

    Thank you Nicky Hager Nat’s on longer have the protective secrecy any more, while they are now flying blind into a Kim.com storm cloud, with an on going investigation up their arse opps!

    • Rich 9.1
      23 August 2014 at 10:01 am

      I’m just going to make an association. If any of you are familiar with the Jeff Gannon stuff from GWBs days you will recognise the tactics and strategy here. This is a corporate designed strategy to defeat democracy.

    • dv 10.1
      23 August 2014 at 10:02 am

      That is a very disturbing read.

    • UglyTruth 10.2
      23 August 2014 at 10:07 am

      Excellent article, thank you.

    • Pasupial 10.3
      23 August 2014 at 1:21 pm

      That is too much grist for my mind mill – I can quite feel my cogs and spindles seizing up as I read. It would take one more familiar with international moneylaundering techniques than myself, to follow all the slippery twists and turns. Difficult to argue with the conclusion though:

      Anyhow, there must, of course, be some reasonably innocent explanation for these very unfortunate recurring Odgers associations with major international white collar crime, other than that Odgers is a crook. Coming up with something else that’s plausible stumps me, I must admit. For instance, Odgers doesn’t appear to be an idiot; not, at any rate, in the formal sense of having a very low IQ. Whatever the explanation is, it will have to be something more complicated than that.

      So, worst case: Odgers is a crook, directly involved in Russian mafia moneylaundering, a $1Billion US Ponzi scheme, and the largest pension fraud in Australian history. If that’s how it is, then Key, via Whale Oil, looks a little too close to her.

      Best case: Odgers is a monumentally oblivious idiot, with an astonishing knack for working with, or for, large-scale fraudsters, again and again.

  11. Sanctuary 11
    23 August 2014 at 9:51 am

    Hmmm, Slater seems to have decided to declare war on the media and is trying to blackmail, browbeat and bully them with sinister threats of blackmail.

    What an idiot. Making personal enemies with people who can ask Key questions about Slater from here until September 20th is really, really dumb. Key must now be be furious at how close he personally and his party generally has allowed itself to come to Slater, who is out of control. Slater seems to think he represents some kind of new order in the media, and he and his Brownshirts can use the tactics of street thugs to subvert and supplant the traditional media. Paul Buchanan is right – Slater and his band of thugs represent a existential threat to democracy. Slater and his thugs don’t want contingent consent in a democratic structure – they want to humiliate, delegitimise and smash all opposition to their point of view. Simply, he has to be stopped at all costs.

    There is also now a clear schism within the media itself. The hard right broadcasters like Plunkett, Hoskings, Henry etc etc have clearly cast in their lot with Slater and abandoned any pretense of being journalists. They should be sen for what they are – hard-right propagandists who despise democracy and would welcome a one party state of the right..

    • Ant 11.1
      23 August 2014 at 3:02 pm

      Yeah #DirtyPolitics has literally driven some of these guys over the edge, Plunkett trying to incoherently accuse Paddy Gower of something (no-one has really figured it out yet…) over the phone was just cringe-worthy.

  12. kenny 12
    23 August 2014 at 9:52 am

    Anybody who has read Dirty Politics knows why John Key will not sack Judith Collins.

    She knows where the bodies are buried.

    Through her close friend Cameron Slater, she knows exactly how much John Key is involved in dirty politics.

    If she goes, he goes.

    Both of them are a spent force now; there is no coming back from this one.

    • Once Was Tim 12.1
      23 August 2014 at 12:41 pm

      …. and if things go wrong at this election, he’s gone anyway – or even if things are so tight we have a Natzi government unable to do anything because the margins are so thin. (I actually didn;t think this gubbamint was going to last this long – it’s been sailing along with Blind Faith)

      Collins is inherently retributive – a nouveau riche, self-entitled, very ugly, holier-than-thou person. She won’t be able to resist. I heard this morning (The Nation I think – with the sage Peddy Gear) that the beneficiary of all this will be Pulla Bent. Let’s hope so, because a competent Cunliffe or even a jack-Russell should be able to put that beast down without too much trouble.

  13. Penny Bright 13
    23 August 2014 at 9:58 am

    Check THIS out!

    ‘Naked Capitalism’ blog outs Cathy Odgers ‘Cactus Cate’.

    ‘Chop chop Cathy ……

    Penny Bright

  14. Reddelusion 14
    23 August 2014 at 10:04 am

    I am new to this site, but an observation, there is a propensity for many of the contributors to use extreme hyperbole and blame the government, the MSM or any body else for everything There is also a gross use of the “collective we”. Not everybody is unhappy, a great majority of kiwis left or right are just getting on with life, celebrating their good fortune ( not necessarily material) and facing up to the challenges that come their way . Here however many, (not all ) seem to use this site as a medium for their unchallengeable ideology, spew hate or seek to externalise their own failures or jealousy and further seek comfort in this by rationalising that every one else thinks the same and if not god help them. This is not all bad though,such sites be it whaleoiil, the standard, daily blog are entertaining while also acting as a pressure valve for the more extremes in our society, as does democracy I guess, so keep on keeping on

    • Ad 14.1
      23 August 2014 at 10:28 am

      Dear Red Delusion,

      If you are an honest and mildly intelligent discussant, you will learn to be discerning in who you engage with, who are worth the time. So focus your judgement.

      If you had read the site policy, you will note that people who make sweeping statements about this site tend to get scorched out. Moderation here isn’t like Kiwiblog or Whaleoil as you will soon discover.

      You will also get to recognize that the commenters are diverse, at least as diverse as those within Labour, and more. Don’t presume any specific politic. Learn the spectrum of those you want to deal with.

      And finally, no one is going to waste time with the drivel you ended with. Stand up, sharpen up, package your facts, and bring your best stuff every day. This is a sport to be played well.

      Ad

    • swordfish 14.2
      23 August 2014 at 10:34 am

      If you want to play the concern tr*ll – or whatever the neutral-observer-with-objective-critique equivalent is – , then it might have been an idea to employ a different pseudonym. Rather gives the game away.

  15. adam 15
    23 August 2014 at 10:12 am

    Sorry about being reactive but, John Keys office said this today.

    Fewer Kiwis leaving for Australia, more coming home.

    In the year to July, fewer people left for Australia than any time since 1995 – and more Kiwis are voting with their feet and coming home.

    So when the Australian economy and political society turns to shit, National will take credit for it. Wow, what will this guy take credit for next? Higher temperatures mean NZ can grow more tropical crops – A national party initiative?

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1
      23 August 2014 at 11:23 am

      So when the Australian economy and political society turns to shit, National will take credit for it.

      National will take credit for anything if they think that they can make them look good. Anything else they’ll blame on Labour.

  16. phillip ure 16
    23 August 2014 at 10:15 am

    one of gowers’ worst efforts..to date..(nation interview of robertson/norman..)

    ..all about playing wedge-politics..

    ..and all about trying to show what a clever dick he is..

    ..a fail..on all levels..

  17. tricledrown 17
    23 August 2014 at 10:25 am

    Key and Cronies should be in the Dock!
    Collins Slater Lusk Ede Joyce Odgers no doubt others!

  18. Rich 18
    23 August 2014 at 11:00 am

    Hawaii. How much time does Key spend there each year and how much time does he spend in NZ. Anybody know?

    • aerobubble 18.1
      23 August 2014 at 11:39 am

      He has to spend time aboard, on holiday, else how would his Office get anything done.

      • Rich 18.1.1
        23 August 2014 at 1:02 pm

        True enough.

        And the media has a go at Cunliffe for taking 3 days off, where a quick look at Key’s schedule over the past 12 months would have probably shown 3 months off.

  19. Reddelusion 19
    23 August 2014 at 11:46 am

    Dear Ad

    Fair points, I would argue site is left however agree it is not purely labour

    I also hear your point on the sport aspect of site, that’s why site is so entertaining

    Would argue however that views are well argued, little synthesis goes on, even the more scholarly of contributors simply start with a conclusion, then reference articles that support their line of thought or ideology

    No different on the right, my point is poles would indicate many people don’t think this way, hence views on these type of sites tend to be more extreme and satisfy the needs of contributors, provide entertainment but little else

    Dont get worked up over pseudronym, could easily be blue delusion

    • yeshe 19.1
      23 August 2014 at 11:51 am

      why have your brought Poland into your argument ?

      • Rich 19.1.1
        23 August 2014 at 12:36 pm

        Easy mistake for a person who does not have English as their first language, yeshe. ;~)

        • yeshe 19.1.1.1
          23 August 2014 at 12:49 pm

          thought maybe it was a right wing thing I didn’t understand … 🙂

        • greywarbler 19.1.1.2
          23 August 2014 at 2:32 pm

          @Rich 12.36
          The Delusion comment talks about finding entertainment on these sites and talks about poles. I’m so shallow I immediately thought of pole dancing. 😉 I am so glad this person dropped in to put us right in our place.

          By the way I like your face construction, I am going to add it to my group of home-made ones. :>)

  20. Colonial Viper 20
    23 August 2014 at 12:54 pm

    Labour to “axe secondary tax”

    Well done!!!

    • Rodel 20.1
      23 August 2014 at 1:44 pm

      Yes Big relief to casual workers with multijobs.
      Casualisation of the workforce is big with National’s unemployment figures.
      During Labour’s government NZ had the lowest rate of unemployment in the OECD, lower even than South Korea.
      What is it now under English & co.?

    • RedBaronCV 20.2
      23 August 2014 at 4:10 pm

      They’ll need to careful otherwise a lot of people will arrange a primary job that pays sod all and a very lucrative untaxed secondary job. Either that or they are raising unrealistic expectations for some.

    • Murray Olsen 20.3
      24 August 2014 at 3:25 am

      Agreed. Axing secondary tax is the first Labour policy I really like. The way it works is a really good initiative to not try different things. They should look at the obscene Key tax on paperboys (paperkids?) as well.

  21. greywarbler 21
    23 August 2014 at 2:14 pm

    I heard this quote on This Way Up, obviously Churchill, and thought that its warning sounded very appropriate for now. I have taken out some wording to make it more generally applicable. It was given I think on 18 June 1940.

    But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.
    Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the [human world and its environment] last for a [further] thousand years, [all people] will still say, This was their finest hour.

    The speech was delivered to the Commons at 3:49 pm,[6] and lasted 36 minutes. Churchill – as was his habit – made revisions to his 23-page typescript right up to and during the speech. The final passage of his typescript was laid out in blank verse format, which Churchill scholars consider reflective of the influence of Old Testament psalms on his oratory style.

    A long speech, so people with a short attention span would have difficulty grasping the precepts. Perhaps we with our short span might have difficulty meeting the challenges Britain did, the first being finding the time and concentration to think about it all.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_was_their_finest_hour
    edited

  22. crocodill 22
    23 August 2014 at 2:20 pm

    Those Lusk – Slater emails are a little bit interesting – reveals the minds of the men. Parts are almost homo-erotic in their shared effusive enjoyment of guns and money, pushing one or the other on the other. Not that homo’s shouldn’t be homos or effusive, it’s the kind of faux developmental homo you might find in male relationships of an adolescent kind. Kids with guns, might be accurate. I gotta be honest, I don’t know any males like those two. Is it common for guys of that age to be talking like that to each other, and if it isn’t, is it just the political industry that attracts that type? I don’t suppose anyone will confirm. It’d be like asking how often one masturbates. I just though I’d ask in case anyone asks me to a political rally and when politely refusing I can say I have to stay home and wash my hair and not seem odd to them.

    Also the glaringly flippin obvious:

    Covert operations 101 rule 1#
    When discussing evil plans, don’t put it in writing and definitely don’t use electronic medium to send messages. If you can’t manage that, don’t reply to replies of email discussion, start new mail for each reply, so fragmenting the paper trail.

    Even John Key knows that rule. To get that rule wrong shows that a person would have to be under the spell of their own hype and when that happens it doesn’t even matter if you spell it out, they can’t comprehend it.

    • Murray Olsen 22.1
      24 August 2014 at 3:33 am

      I am absolutely amazed at their incompetence. They left a trail a dog with a skunk sitting on its nose could follow. I can’t believe their arrogance. They are nasty, incompetent, well resourced amateurs. This is what will save us from them in the end.

  23. Scott1 23
    23 August 2014 at 2:30 pm

    A key factor that causes disadvantage to the opposition parties is that the economy is “good” in terms of the numbers we hear in the media.

    So why is it good? Because Christchurch had an earth quake and so National got to do the rather dodgy accounting of writing off some assets, then borrowing some money, and building them back again – then taxing the increased activity and then calling the result a GDP increase and a surplus.

    As long as National keeps control of that narrative it is still in a strong position.
    If one of the other parties was to really take them to task on it (exactly how that would be done would depend on the party) things could start to look different.

    I have heard little bits of this sort of argument (around debt going up) but they don’t seem to be framed quite right.

    The good news is I think that the guys actually made this point in the whaledump, so one could highlight that.

  24. Kiwiri 24
    23 August 2014 at 3:00 pm

    Quick question and please excuse me for yet to come up-to-date:

    Are the Leaders’ Debates taking place and, if so, when?

    If Prime Minister John Key doesn’t want to turn up, please organise for an article to be sent from the Prime Minister’s Office so that David Cunliffe can debate with the said item.

  25. ianmac 25
    23 August 2014 at 4:31 pm

    Remember that the huge gap in the funding of EQC happened because the Government with held the money.
    Result 1:EQC have had to drastically reduce settlement of claims.
    Result 2: Government can hide the debt so that there appears to be a surplus to crow about. Bill gets away with the fraud. MSM does not touch the issue.

  26. freedom 26
    23 August 2014 at 5:45 pm

    Not sure Key can keep saying no-one is interested, Blighty seems to be.
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/23/-sp-new-zealand-election-john-key-alleged-dirty-politics

  27. Morrissey 27
    23 August 2014 at 6:10 pm

    Stephen Franks continues to run amok on The Panel
    
Radio NZ National, Friday 22 August 2014

    Jim Mora, Stephen Franks, Bernard Hickey, Julie Moffett

    Long-time sufferers of the light, not so bright, chat show The Panel will be all too aware of its grim line-up of commentators from the far right. It’s a long list, and extremely depressing to anyone who cares about the quality of our public broadcasting. Those commentators include: Nevil “Breivik” Gibson, Jordan Williams, Chris Wikaira, Barry Corbett, Michael Bassett, Neil Miller, John Bishop, Jock Anderson, John Barnett, and the superficially jolly but deeply nasty Whale Oil lackey David Farrar. They rarely contribute anything insightful or witty; the exceptions are John Bishop, who can string together an intelligent argument occasionally, and Jock Anderson, who has a disarming bonhomie and sharp sense of humor. The rest of them, though, make for a grim and often gruesome listening experience. Jordan Williams is allowed free rein to push his cynical “Taxpayers Union” stunts whenever he is on, and—this is still possibly the single most absurd moment in the history of the program—Michael Bassett croaked with Stygian malice that Nicky Hager was a Holocaust-denier, with not a word of demur uttered by host Jim Mora, producer Susan Baldacci or anyone else in the studio.

    Today, once again, another on this seemingly endless roster of extreme right wing ideologues was allowed the run of the Radio NZ studios for an hour or more. Yes, the great legal scholar and moral philosopher and Sensible Sentencing Trust supporter Stephen Franks was on again, and he did not disappoint. Indeed, he delivered several of his trademark deranged, wandery lectures and topped it off with a blackly humorous paean to the destruction Vietnam—one of the most hilarious, monstrously hypocritical moral homilies I have ever heard, anywhere, and made all the more hilarious by his contention that the Vietnamese think the Americans weren’t hard enough on them.

    Only at the end of the program did anyone—Bernard Hickey, actually—do anything to counter the phenomenal amount of bilge Franks was spouting.

    Franks’s dismal performance began during the pre-show, when host Jim Mora read a letter from a listener expressing concern about how the loss of confidence and trust in politicians is leading to a loss of trust in public institutions in general….

    JIM MORA: Do you think honestly—I know this is a Panelly type situation and we’re getting serious before 4 o’clock—but do you think there is something in this?
    BERNARD HICKEY: I’m a little bit skeptical. People say they don’t respect politicians, but in my experience they do respect them whenever they meet them face to face.
    STEPHEN FRANKS: This is the result of a long stream of very cynical books. It’s very rare to see a politician portrayed as noble. This cynicism seeps into public attitudes. I think most politicians have good motives and there is very little corruption in New Zealand. ….[He continues pretentiously and inanely for a while longer. For a short time after he is finished, there is an uneasy silence….]

    Both Jim Mora and Bernard Hickey were too polite to give voice to what must have immediately occurred to them, i.e., that most non-National Party politicians do indeed have good motives and are not corrupt—with the glaring exception of David (“Grave Robber”) Garrett, Rodney (“The Perk-Taker”) Hide and John (“I donnnnnn’t remember”) Banks, i.e., politicians who made up the grotesque ACT party shambles that Franks represented in parliament.

    But Mora and Hickey said nothing, and Franks got away with another few minutes of pompous drivel, unchallenged.

    After the 4 o’clock news, on The Panel proper, Mora apologetically announced that he was going to talk about Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics again. Mora’s attitude was interesting; I have no doubt that Franks had said something unpleasant and admonitory to him off air about that, which led to Mora’s clear nervousness in broaching the subject….

    JIM MORA: Stephen, um, to what extent do you think the landscape is changing?
    STEPHEN FRANKS: I have genuinely tried to avoid reading it. I defended the News of the World phone hacks, but there’s a good reason why much of this is illegal, and I want to see the law enforced…. [He continues on with a confused, rambling Jamie Whyte-style free-ranging rumination.]

    In his “Soapbox” segment, Franks spoke about some university students he recently met, and expressed his grave concern about their failure to see the merits of America’s destruction of Vietnam. (No, you did not read that wrongly; Franks really IS that deranged)…..

    STEPHEN FRANKS: I’d rather hoped that they might rebel against the ghastly consensus that war can only be spoken about in hushed tones as if it’s all terribly shameful, and there’s a defeatism and a pacifism in our intelligentsia that means our commemorations usually talk about war as failure on all sides. …[Here he pauses to underline that he is thinking seriously]…But, uh, I think we’re in a world where we might need some of the martial values. We look at a man who was beheaded by a culture that sees sacrifice of innocence as just a routine tactic. Ahhhhmmm, if you were a Kurd, or a Yaziri, or a Christian in Iran, or a North Korean, or in the last century a Czech or a Pole or an Ethiopian or anyone who’s been invaded and dominated, ahhhhmmm, you might think that you need to celebrate courage and self-sacrifice and the virtues, ahhhhhmmmm….

    BERNARD HICKEY: But there’s a cynicism about that now because the initial response was to jump in in a martial way. It seemed to make it a lot worse.

    STEPHEN FRANKS: [irate tone] Well, I don’t think that that’s established at all. I mean, one of the things that was interesting in this debate was that the young people all universally condemned the Vietnam War, but I doubt that ANY of them have talked to any of the Vietnamese refugees who have settled here, in fact it sticks in my head that, at the height of the Vietnam War there were 400,000 or 350,000 refugees overseas out of Vietnam, two years later there were FOUR MILLION that had fled, a million probably or no one knows how many PERISHED, and if you spend a bit of time in Vietnam and probe enough because they don’t want to talk about the war, you’ll find plenty of people who will say the only thing wrong about the Vietnam War was that the wrong side was allowed to win. So you know, I think there’s a cultural overlay in New Zealand that just doesn’t WANT to examine the possibility that we’ve had a hundred years reaction to a ghastly First World War like All Quiet on the Western Front, and we don’t celebrate the virtues of Just War.

    MORA: Putting the Vietnam War aside, because, well, we probably don’t have time to talk about it although you’ve raised an interesting point, ahhh, doesn’t increased attendances in recent years at Anzac Day services suggest that we still do appreciate valor, actually?

    STEPHEN FRANKS: Uh, I think it does. I think ordinary people don’t have that kind of syrupy, maudlin regret. I think they ARE wanting to honor some the things that humans have traditionally honored, like courage and self-sacrifice.

    MORA: All right. Stephen Franks, thank you. Bernard Hickey on the Panel, a quarter to five. Miley Cyrus’s forthcoming show in Auckland: pornography and the promotion of substance abuse dressed up as pop music, says Family First. We’ll ask Dita Di Boni about that, but first of all, your opinions please. Does it bother you, the subject matter?

    STEPHEN FRANKS: It seems tawdry to me and I applaud Bob McCroskery for having the courage to be unfashionable and say parents ought to be a bit disgusted.

    BERNARD HICKEY: I’m deeply uncomfortable with it. It just seems like something from another planet.

    MORA: More and more youngsters don’t have the moral framework to condemn it, they don’t have the religion which used to condemn it. So is this a kind of moral degradation or not?

    (Jim Mora, remember, is a man who chuckles at the plight of political dissidents.)

    DITA DI BONI: Well, a lot of people sheet it home to Madonna. But there’s really no comparison. It’s a completely different ball game. She wasn’t marketed to children and she expressed female sexuality to women, which Miley Cyrus says she is doing, but that’s nonsense. She is a product of a marketing system, of an industry, whereas Madonna really tried to make her own way but, I don’t know about you guys, but every straight man I’ve ever talked to does not find Madonna sexy. She’s scary, because it’s a different idea of sexuality. Miley Cyrus is very cynically marketed to very young girls, it’s a nonsense message….

    STEPHEN FRANKS: [speaking very quietly, to convey deep moral seriousness] It’s a very strange thing to have reached this stage. It was so easy to scoff at the slippery slope and ummmm, and the anti-Patricia Bartlett position was just universal.

    DITA DI BONI: Yes.

    STEPHEN FRANKS: But it IS very difficult for a society to cope with this kind of attack on values. Of course this is exactly the dilemma that isn’t a dilemma for Islamic countries…..[continues pompously for another minute or so]

    Just before the end of the program, Jim Mora brought up the subject of Labour’s plan to revive the Dunedin Railway Workshops. The Ayn Rand worshipper’s response was one of instant, dogmatic dismissal: Government has no business investing in any industry, he growled. Bernard Hickey, for once, stirred himself to respond to Franks’s nonsense instead of just ignoring him and hoping he’d stop….

    BERNARD HICKEY: Yet we’ve got $400 million to spend on irrigation problems.
    STEPHEN FRANKS: [snorting] Railway is a sunset industry.
    BERNARD HICKEY: Oooooh, I’m not so sure about that….

    Sadly, the music swelled up and saved Franks from an on-air keelhauling. Maybe next time the comparatively sensible guest, whoever it is, will act sooner….

    I sent the ever jovial Mein Host of the program the following email….

    Why did you not challenge Stephen Franks’ brutal and ignorant raving?

    Dear Jim, 

    During his confused and highly selective broadside against “cultures that sacrifice innocence”, Stephen Franks forgot to mention the Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Maybe he was too busy skiing to take note of the latest onslaught—or does he support their daily oppression and killing?

    I am sure many listeners were also flabbergasted and disgusted by his equally ignorant comments about the “wrong side being allowed to win in Vietnam”.

    Yours sincerely,

    Morrissey Breen
    Northcote Point

    • phillip ure 27.1
      23 August 2014 at 8:20 pm

      you left that student army guy off yr rightie-list..and boag..and ‘neo-liberalism?..y’know yr soaking in it!’ edwards-the-elder..and the guy who lost his his legs on the mountain..

      ..and mccormick is lurching right at some kinda warp-speed…

      ..and there are some new ones..

      ..the other day a hideous rightwing pr-trout smarmed her way thru her first appearance.

      ..she was ghastly in the extreme…

      ..i find increasingly i choose to take the dogs to the park..

      ..rather than endure the likes of franks/the above..

      ..and you are right..mora never challenges him/them..

      ..no matter what hysterical rightwing drivel/outright/easily-disproved lies/propaganda they may spout/spew out..

      ..mora never says boo!..

      • Morrissey 27.1.1
        24 August 2014 at 10:42 am

        you left that student army guy off yr rightie-list..and boag..and ‘neo-liberalism?..y’know yr soaking in it!’

        Thanks, Phillip. I would have put them on that list if I’d remembered. I did it off the top of my head. There are several more of them as well.

        edwards-the-elder..and the guy who lost his his legs on the mountain..
        Brian Edwards and Mark Inglis are conservative, but I don’t think they are as blindly ideological or as brutal as extremists like Franks, Bassett, Williams and Farrar.

        ..and mccormick is lurching right at some kinda warp-speed…

        He is, but he’s a right wing Labour supporter more than he is a hard right nutcase like Stephen Franks. In fact, whenever the producers have been careless enough to pair McCormick with one of those cranks, McCormick has forcefully contested his (or her) narrative—much to the consternation of the dithering host.

  28. Dont worry. Be happy 28
    23 August 2014 at 7:28 pm

    If this corrupt and frightening government gets back in because Kelvin Davis knocks Hone Harawira out of the race I, for one, will never forgive the Labour Party. Never. Anyone else feel like this?

    • Murray Olsen 28.1
      24 August 2014 at 4:00 am

      Very much, but I don’t think it’s likely. We need Mana in parliament, and we need Greens, both because of their policies and the fact that they will pull Labour to the left. We need Labour because of their numbers and not a lot else. I’ll never forget 1984, which has culminated in the crooked rubbish that tries to pass itself off as governance today.

  29. monty 29
    23 August 2014 at 7:31 pm

    Actually Morrissey your ignorance re Vietnam is incredible. You’ve obviously never been there. Any number of private conversations with the locals will convince anyone with an open mind that the wrong side won. But why let your blind ideological animus be contradicted by real people. Much more comfortable to cling to your stupid leftie groupthink.

    • mickysavage 29.1
      23 August 2014 at 8:21 pm

      Really Monty? I have been there. The locals have forgiven the carnage that the US has caused to their country but they are still in their own unique way in control of their country.

    • Morrissey 29.2
      24 August 2014 at 10:36 am

      Something called “monty” seems a tad bewildered….

      Any number of private conversations with the locals will convince anyone with an open mind that the wrong side won.

      No doubt you also think the wrong side won in South Africa in 1994. And the wrong side won in the American Civil War.

      How many million more Vietnamese do you think the U.S. should have slaughtered? Perhaps you don’t have a limit worked out?

      ….blind ideological animus…. stupid leftie groupthink…

      Quick! Somebody get this inarticulate fool a spittoon!

  30. Ad 30
    23 August 2014 at 8:09 pm

    Labour broadcast totally pantsed National’s talking head.

  31. monty 31
    23 August 2014 at 9:37 pm

    Really Micky you should be ashamed of yourself -talk about a useful idiot. The way their country is controlled isn’t unique -it’s called a communist dictatorship you dick. Can you think of any more examples? Get back to me if you can’t.

  32. Xtasy 32
    23 August 2014 at 10:57 pm

    Hallo All, it has been a while, and I took a break, while my mate kept posting a few bits here now and then.

    I admit I deserved a break, which Lprent defined correctly as a “ban”, to sort my mind and soul out a bit, as I got a bit worked up, more than I should have, on Israel, Palestine and the rest of the drama that still goes on.

    But I have been keeping onto things, and one topic is DR BRATT, there will be more on Dr Bratt, a Bratt Attack of sorts, coming soon, that questionable MSD and WINZ Principal Health Advisor they use, to kick sick, injured and disabled off benefits and to urge them into whatever work there may be.

    We are short shifted, shafted, that is us with serious illness, disability and injury, and they add to insult, most the parties, I am ANGRY.

    So I will not blow my top, just hope that lprent will not throw me out too soon again, and I will work on some comments soon, that will inform more about the shit that goes on in welfare, which is rather “warfare”. What many do not realise is, that Paula Bennett is afraid of the election result and her job, so she has instructed her departments to keep calm, not make too harsh decisions, and to keep most lulled into indifference or a false sense of security. Should the Nats get a third term, get a warm jumper, all on benefits, you will get the worst that has happened in this country since Ruthanasia (look that up on Wiki, please).

  33. Xtasy 33
    24 August 2014 at 1:33 am

    Apologies, but these are the “fighters” that I respect and will die for, they are the soul of revolution and ground breaking change. You will hate me for past comments and over the top reactions. I apologise, but forget not the purpose of us being here, also the reason of revolution. Who still stands for that cause?

    I stand for that and more, so take your choice and stand please, we will continue to fight on:

    One good piece worth counting and citing:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fayYhdAeYwQ

    I will deliver MORE soon!

  34. Xtasy 34
    24 August 2014 at 1:59 am

    Excuse me, please, I post this for the future of the people that CARE, that actually understand history and that is for Europe, UK and South America and also South Africa. We all need to learn and improve, we can all work together and be one, and so, learn and understand, please, this is not a message of division and hatred, it is an attempt to reconnect and be ONE:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWlkWPXfvXc

    Much more there comes from!

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    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    9 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    12 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    20 hours ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    21 hours ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    21 hours ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    22 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    22 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    22 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    22 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    22 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    23 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    24 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 day ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    35 mins ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
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  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
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  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
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  • Taupō takes pole position
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
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  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
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  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
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  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
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  • Joint US and NZ declaration
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