Modern industrial soy is a blight on the planet. Look it up.
“..how much more proof do you need..?”
Yeah, nah.
Animal Products Linked to Cancer
December 27, 2013
Consumption of meat and other animal products is strongly linked to several types of cancer, according to an article published in the journal Nutrients. The author analyzed data on 21 different cancers in 157 countries and found that certain factors, especially diet, were associated with risk for developing specific cancers. Specifically, the association between animal product consumption and cancer was as strong as that linking tobacco and cancer. Possible mechanisms for risk include animal products’ promotion of growth and high iron and fat content. The author notes that while detection and treatment are important, animal product consumption has been recognized as a cancer risk for more than a century and needs to be addressed in order to prevent the deadly disease.
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it. Can’t comment futher on that research until I see whether they controlled for things like refined carb intake, lifestyle, modern pollutants etc which tend to go hand in hand with meat consumption. Would also want to know if they differentiated between grass-fed meat vs feed-lot, pumped full of chemicals meat.
I said that because there is lots of dodgy research being done in the world and I’d want to see a better analysis of the reasearch than was on the page you linked to before I commented further.
to equate to proof, without any fact checking or analysis at all. Don’t worry, I see meat eaters making the same kinds of mistakes.
Do you understand how things like overall diet, lifestyle, environment could affect the outcome of research into on the health effects of a specific food? I suspect you don’t. I know I’ve asked you these kinds of questions before that you just ignore. It’s the worst kind of intellectual argument (quoting a useless source and then refusing to back it up) and I’m surprised that its tolerated by the general commentariat here. If you were making a more conventional political statement people would be all over you.
“..that has been written up in a scientific-journal..called ‘nutrition’..(with all the checks and balances that entails..)..”
Alot of medical research is done poorly and/or has been co-opted by various special interest groups. This is a well known phenomenon and is acknowleged within science and medicine.
I don’t know the Nutrition journal so am in no position to judge the value of its peer review (assuming it did peer review the research). I haven’t seen the research published. That’s all I said – that there wasn’t enough information to judge the value of it. You are quite welcome to trust it, but if you post it in a public forum then expect some analysis.
So, it’s not strawman argument. It’s based on experience and understanding. I note that yet again you fail to answer my questions and just call them horseshit, and so have just reinforced my opinion of you that you don’t really understand how scientific research works and how to evaluate it.
correction:..the scientific journal is called ‘nutrients’..
..and is described in wikipedia as thus:
“..Nutrients is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing reviews, regular research papers, and short communications on all aspects of nutrition..”
..(hope that helps..)
..and once again i have to return to the fact you seem unable to grasp..
..this is a meta-study..looking at 151 other scientific-studies..over 21 countries..
..so yr paranoias detailed in yr second paragraph ..do not/cannot apply to that..
..it is a different discipline…mainly number/stat-crunching..
..no actual on lab-table research/study..
..get that..?
..and if you can’t ‘trust’ a study/evidence of such magnitude/scope..
..and if you think that ‘vested-interests’..(who..?..the all-powerful vegan-lobby?..) have twisted this research somehow..
..best you go and stand over there with the tobacco-doesn’t-cause-cancer/the-moon-landings-didn’t-happen crew..eh..?
..and you still haven’t answered that simple straightforward question:
..do you receive/derive yr monies from the animal-flesh-trade industries..?
..and what questions of yours do you feel i have not answered..?
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it. Can’t comment futher on that research until I see whether they controlled for things like refined carb intake, lifestyle, modern pollutants etc which tend to go hand in hand with meat consumption. Would also want to know if they differentiated between grass-fed meat vs feed-lot, pumped full of chemicals meat.
“..eating cheese/milk/meat will likely give you cancer/premature-death..”
Citation needed. And what’s with the ‘likely’ bit?
You still haven’t responded to my substantive points (not really surprised, you strike me as very dogmatic on this, so why bother with reality).
I was vegetarian for a long time (a very nutritionally well-informed vegetarian), and part of that time I was virtually vegan. My health improved substantially when I started eating meat again. I know many other people that this is true for. I also know people that do well on vege diets. One size doesn’t fit all.
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it.
Paleo. Been holding my body together now 3 years. No sugar, no fructose, no hydrogenated oils, minimal wheat and dairy.
Lots of vegetable carbs, fermented foods, protein and saturated fats. Recent cardio test was perfect.
The big problem I’m not properly managing in my life at the moment is correct exercise, stress and inflammation.
Nice one RL. I know other people who paleo works very well for too. There are other traditional diets that have good health outcomes too. I don’t even object to people being vegan, it just irks when some claim that their way is best and that everyone else would be better off doing what they do (demonstrably false), and anyone who doesn’t is somehow bad or wrong. Veganism, as practiced by most in the West, is also pretty high in terms of environmental damage, so pah to their moral high ground.
“..do you derive your income from the income generated by the animal-flesh-trade..?”
No, I have nothing to do with the meat industry.
“..and the rage/irrationality/tone/timbre of yr responses on this subject..”
Ha, ha, I’m actually not eating meat at all at the moment. There is nothing wrong with appropriately placed anger (ts is full of it, as is the vegan movement). But by all means point out some specific examples of where I am being irrational. Things you merely don’t like don’t count.
RL I got the idea you were on a mountain somewhere. So either you are overdoing the exercise or setting a very demanding schedule. And stress, I think that a bit of meditation in a quiet safe place rests all the body, even a change, another page in the book you have chosen to read. Also a lie down where you start relaxing your whole body from your toes up. We are holding ourselves in readiness for action all the time and don’t realise it till we deliberately shed it.
Don’t the Nats have a major trust through which their campaign funds are filtered?
Yes, the Waitemata Trust. Been going for years and in that time millions of anonymous dollars have been transferred through it and used in successive election campaigns. Add to that the other ‘private’ trusts where money is deposited for special purposes, and it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that the NZ Herald is party to a dirty tricks campaign aimed at destroying public profile figures associated with Labour and/or the Greens. All of it designed to peak just before the general election which might only be six months away.
Add to that the latest delay in the Dotcom extradition case from March to July (and if things don’t go according to plan no doubt the FBI will be willing to have it further delayed) then it will likely mean the ‘dirt and filth’ will hit their targets at the right time, leading to another election win for the Nats.
Well-put. Election anouncement shortly after a wildly-optimistic Budget sounds about right – before rising interest rates start clobbering voters with mortgages later in the year. Opposition needs to be forcefully and continually joining those dots for people and offering a credible alternative.
I am also of the opinion that the general election will be called early, Anne – probably in mid-winter from about early July (with hopes of a low voter turnout due to weather).
In terms of timelines next year:
Early April 3014- Royal visit with lots of photo-ops for Key, and warm afterglow
14 April 2014 – current scheduled date for the start of the Dotcom extradition hearing forecast to take several weeks: but expected to be further delayed again until at least July 2014 *
* Anne, I note you suggest “Add to that the latest delay in the Dotcom extradition case from March to July” . I checked Google, and the current date is 14 April 2014, and there does not appear to have been an formal decision as yet to delay until July although speculation is that this will happen.
May 2014 – Banks court case
Mid to late May 2014 – Budget.
IIRC, an election can be called on as little as six weeks’ notice, so my thinking is that Key will go for an announcement either just after the royal visit, or around Budget day to get the best PR from these two events – and to overshadow the Banks trial and any Dotcom ongoing court hearings on release of property taken (eg electronic records etc), compensation etc; and to get the election over before the Dotcom extradition hearing itself.
I don’t believe that Key will hold out for a November election for the above reasons and also because IIRC there are one or two big international conferences/events in Nov 2014 that Key would want to attend which he couldn’t go to if the election was in Nov. I recall some discussion in the media a few months ago about these events – but cannot remember what they are. It is now bugging me, so will do some research.
@ veutoviper
Yes. I was aware the the FBI have only requested a delay until July, but they’re likely to get what they want. Then, if it suits Key and co., they will go for a further delay so that Dotcom’s info. on Key doesn’t hit the air-waves until after the election. I’m sure the FBI operatives on the Dotcom case don’t want to see a change in government!
For the reasons you mention above – and others – the situation is fluid, so Key could end up out of luck. Fingers firmly crossed…
Funding is a crucial issue. Look at the mess of the USA where money literally enables the rich to buy laws. I’ve seen suggestions on this site in the past of how to fix this issue but until the general public understand what a problem it is nothing will be done. It’s not a vote getter and, in fact, as the electoral finance mess showed, it can be spun as a vote loser.
“what a corrupt little third world pacific island nation we really are..eh..?”
A sad, but true analysis. We sure have become leaner and meaner. The quick and the dead. Welcome to the future.
+1
There’s a simple measurement I usually apply – the simple and uncomplicated is usually the best
IF we wish to be included in 1st world status, but can only do so by paying slave wages; minimising long fought-for benefits in order to remain viable
THEN we aren’t and we’re only fooling ourselves. (see the other post on America)
Problem is though that the race to the bottom for the many in order for a scared few to maintain their lifestyles is not necessary – it’s only their ideologically-driven and egotistical bullshit that makes it so.
And if because of their short term view, they feel an increasing need to live behind PIN-only accessible gated communities, then more fool them.
The tragedy is that the longer it’s all propped up on a firm foundation of solid bullshit and jellybeams, the more violent the outcome is likely to be.
As the 70% or so versus the 30% moves more and more towards the 99.9 versus the 0.01% – I know where I’m putting my fiat currency. (Some smart smarmy cnut is probably already inventing some derivative in order to have a bob each way!!)
….. probably also why there are a few in the Labour Party who are desperately trying to delay the inevitable (i.e. kicking cans down roadways).
…… my suggestion to them is to just double up on your security, engage another risk management consultant, pay ’em a bundle, see a touchy feely, drop a prozac or two (up the dose if necessary), and life will remain just peachy keen,
I’ve never actually seen a time (in my lifetime) where the neo-liberal driven ideology means that the masses are ‘comfortable’ with ever-increasing disparity.
BUT just imagine how angry they’ll be when the inevitable shit hits the fan, mortgagee sales become a reality, offspring have gone all feral, and they’re all looking for someone to blame.
(There are some natural targets, and you can be sure they’ll be in that ‘economic minority’ of a 1 or possible 0.1%)
Snot Rok Soince is it?
In São Paulo, the rich live in gated condominiums with armed guards. True to form, they pay their guards a pittance so that when a building is attacked by criminals, the guards put up minimal resistance. The crims then get up to 20 filthy rich households to empty out, all at once. They usually drive off with trucks full of expensive possessions. This seems to be what the stupidly rich want for this part of the world as well.
Yesterday I drove on the brand new highway between Taupiri to central Hamilton. why was this highway built? It must have cost well over a billion dollars (at a guess).
How does the National government get so much credit for its economic management when it has built these roads at a huge cost, all of it increasing our huge debt burden…I don’t see our MSM attacking National for its inept economic management on this. The huge expenditure on roads in the Waikato and BOP I reckon will in the long term actually reduce GDP (but will improve the profit of some large trucking companies and Fonterra), I challenge any economist/anyone to prove otherwise.
National have done a tremendous job, just goes to show what can be achieved when we get some decent people at the helm, people with skill and talent.
Only a complete idiot would want labour in power, you’d struggle to find a bigger pile of know nothing, pie in the sky numpties than the current labour line up.
Skill and Talent? Really? Are you sure? Who are we talking about? Mr Brownlee, whose “political clout” has prevented countless people in Christchurch to have a roof over their heads after 3 (!) years? This is by the way inexcusable and one wonders whether we see in the run up to the election a sudden increase in Insurance payouts. Just do be clear, commercial law is passed in parliament and not by Insurance companies – or is it?
Or is it Mrs Bennett who had the benefit of the social system when it was available and used it to the full extent only to deny it everybody else since she has the portfolio? Has she found in her heart that all of her “success” is wrong?
Or lets go to Mr Bridges, who supports deep see drilling and fracking. Interesting though, I was not aware that a lawyer has such extended education to understand the issues of engineering and biology so to be able to make such decisions. Furthermore, being able to override any sovereign interest amid many documented disadvantages and just unilateral make the call?
Yes, lets keep some hope alive. I will vote green as this hopefully gives the next generation a voice.
“National have done a tremendous job, just goes to show what can be achieved when we get some decent people at the helm, people with skill and talent.”
Having lived in the Far North for years I am always in awe of Waikato roads when travelling there, even the secondary routes beautifully sealed and cambered. People who travel the South Island regularly tell a similar story of great roads in a sparsely populated landscape.
according to the Northland Regional Council…
“Of the 6,530 kilometres of road in Northland, 753 kilometres are State Highway with the remaining being local roads. Approximately 65% of these local roads are unsealed, compared to the national average of 40%. The proportion of unsealed roads, many of which have poor foundation conditions and alignments, is one of the highest in the country”.
One could make a case for Waikato and South Island as major tory voters getting special ‘two lane blacktop’ treatment. So what about the Far North? also consistent tory electorate voters (though when you add in the Te Tai Tokerau and the non national general electorate vote the numbers don’t look so good for the torys)–just the land that time forgot? The North has high suicide rates and lots of car crashes and little economic development for decades.
One could make a case for Waikato and South Island as major tory voters getting special ‘two lane blacktop’ treatment.
Not so sure about that. I live in the Waitaki electorate and our road is so bad it’s a favourite with rally car drivers. We’ve had the Rally of Otago blatt past on numerous occasions, except only from one direction. It’s too dangerous going the other. Too many cars went over banks. Bloody good job. The environment bit back.
TM, quite a few people I know in the North don’t want the sort of roads they have in the Waikato. They see one great benefit of gravel roads – they scare the Jafas into keeping their Remuera tractors south of Wellsford. On the other hand, quite a few of them would like to see decent train and bus services.
Don’t forget the North Shore tractors MO. Arrogant drivers who think they own the road and it’s the women who are the worst. One of them screamed abuse at me once for driving up to an intersection on the inside of her. Plenty of room for me to turn left and she to the right. Told her after the screaming match subsided that she was a stupid bitch. She then tried to ram me but I was too quick for her. Contemplated carrying a bag of stones in my glove box in case it happened again. A smashed rear window would have been a satisfactory outcome but decided it was too risky. It would be my luck to have a cop car come ambling past at the moment of impact.
I was out fishing with a mate once and some stupid yuppie in his 15m gin palace managed to catch a few snapper. He promptly filleted them and threw the remains overboard, which every snapper fisher knows is just not on. It puts the rest right off the bite. My mate started throwing sinkers at him, which worried me a bit, since my tinny was only 4.4m. Luckily the idiot wasn’t the aggressive type and left rather than run us over.
“just who it is who ‘owns’/’bought’ influence”. Perfectly said PU.
Without legislation along the lines you suggest we facilitate the availability of massive corruption to the often mutually inclusive wealthy and the holders of power, derived from democratic process, ironically.
Start with strict liability from the top dog down in both the donor and donee camps. Make glib lies like “the law is unclear” and “I’m a busy person I relied on assurances from my trusted minions” and “Oh I forgot” unavailable to the wealthy and the holders of power.
Deploy demonstrably heavy penalties directed according to statutory presumption in favour of imprisonment topped off with additional truly massive financial penalties for donor and donee and permanent disqualification for both from the electoral process at any level.
In cases of political and electoral corruption let judges’ sentencing notes contain stern denunciation of offending which “sheets to the core of justice and democracy”. As presently occurs in obviously far less-reaching cases of attempting to/perverting the course of justice where some fool engages falsehood given on oath to protect a family member or mate charged with an offence.
Acknowledging that for the sake of brevity I overlook Brown, why please did Mediaworks pay for the witheringly castigating holier-than-thou Cameron Brewer’s holiday on the Gold Coast ? If the motivation were truly impeccable there would be more bang-for-the-buck in widely vaunted donation to The Auckland City Mission.
That’s a risibly inadequate response/rationalisation BM.
How possibly can you distinguish between favours given after the event and favours given before the event ? The ‘distinction’ is facile and meaningless especially in the context of a course of conduct dynamic.
You’re a supporter of corruption clearly. It’s what makes the world of the wealthy and the powerful go round what ? Such a democrat you BM.
Thinking about the traditional story of Christmas and all, my pick for the Three Wise Men:
the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Pope Francis. I’m sure they’d have a lot of fun riding across the desert together on camels.
‘What Cunliffe will be seeking this year is to capitalise on the sense rolling through the country that the National-led administration is arrogant and indifferent to the beliefs and needs of ordinary New Zealanders. But what he and the rest of us need to keep front of mind is the plight of those who cannot even aspire to ordinariness.
The Child Poverty Monitor report, released three weeks ago by Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills, shows that a quarter of our children are living in poverty, some of it severe and persistent. Poverty-related illness, such as asthma and bronchitis, reached record highs.
With every passing year, it becomes harder to be proud of a country that was once a world-leading social democracy. The small Scandinavian countries we used to rub shoulders with at the top of the league tables have maintained their positions as we have plummeted.
It is not about resources, but about political will. It’s something that politicians and voters should devote thought to as another year dawns.’
Ark! That is so annoying. Looking at the feed and considering why the Feeds (now with the bulk feeders TDB and Scoop politics separated so the smaller blogs get front billing) are duplicating.
Obvious. There are 3 web servers running (two front and one backup) all looking at the same database and set of files. It has the same problem as sphinx search had – they’re ALL updating the feed database. When they happen to coincide, I get up to three copies of the same RSS record.
Should be fixable by checking for duplicates when updating the database like the duplicate comment fix. But a better idea will be to do that update from a single server.
Will anyone in greens or labour begin to respond to this economic “good” news with
for whom. How long will ordinary nzers continue to believe and vote for the myth begun in the 80s by douglas’ mythical good news. The richardsons mother of all bad news… and so on until today. There is no evidence that this type of good news is actually good for anyone but those trumpetting the good news. The banks. The stock market. The reps of big business and politicians.
theres a reason simon power went from justice minister to westpac millionaire and it has nothing to do with wealth trickling down.
Simon Power
Realised his chance to become leader PM was gone so what’s the point of hanging round doing long hours for a relative pittance when you can get millions instead of thousands.
More liars….
No. 38 Jeremy Hansen: “I read a great column by Paul Thomas in the Herald….”
No. 37 Alan Seay: “You know, we respect the rights of people to protest….”
No. 36 Paul Dykzeul: “No we won’t be changing the Listener; it’s got a terrific editor….”
No. 35 Mark Jennings: “I think Paul’s a bright guy and he will be able to bring a discipline to his performance….”
No. 34 Willie Jackson: “I thought we’d been sensitive with her yesterday….”
No. 33 Supt. Bill Searle: “I think what’s happened here is the police officers have done their very best….”
No. 32 Sonny-Bill Williams: “It’s good to get the win over Papua-New Guinea, a strong Papua-New Guinea side, aahhhh….”
No. 31 John Palino: “Suggestions that I am somehow orchestrating some grand right-wing conspiracy to unseat Len after the election are so wrong…”
No. 30 Alan Dershowitz: “I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
No. 28 John Kerry: “…we are especially sensitive, Chuck and I, to never again asking any member of Congress to take a vote on faulty intelligence.”
No. 27 Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
No. 26 Sam Wallace: “So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No. 24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!”
No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No. 13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
and the best way to ensure this would be to never ever sign something without reading it first.
No. I am saying if he truly wanted to never ever make a false return he would fucking read everything before he signed otherwise he is displaying wilful ignorance which is not the same as honest mistake.
No. I am saying if he truly wanted to never ever make a false return he would fucking read everything before he signed otherwise he is displaying wilful ignorance which is not the same as honest mistake.
Fair comment.
is english gour [sic] second language Morrisey
I accept your point, Tracey.
TRACEY: Is english your second language Morrisey?
MORRISSEY: [conciliatorily] I accept your point, Tracey.
TRACEY: [earnestly It was a genuine question morrisey. Not sarcastic. Didn’t know how else to ask. McFLOCK:[sardonically] I suspect that this universe is his second reality.
……Long pause. Silence, then a mocking slow clap can be heard……
MORRISSEY: Oh dear. Looks like we’ve just unearthed another one of the Melody Rules scriptwriters.
The WAR on WELFARE will continue in 2014, but like she did for those parents or grand-parents looking after a child (other than a foster child), Paula Bennett will try to manipulate the media and the wider public, into believing that actually “more” is being done to “support” those in need. The truth is kept from the wider public, while a nasty agenda, all based on nothing but “cost saving” and “cutting back” of services, is followed.
What does a few hundred dollars a year achieve and change, I ask? Yes, every bit of help should be appreciated, I agree. But this is “help” that patches up gaps and cracks in the income situation of many, that have been caused in another places, where households face pressures.
“Sip It Sweetie”, that is her motto now. Thank you Paula, we know it was all about YOURSELF after all.
As for the “help” for sick and disabled on benefits, we will watch with great concern how the new outsourced work capability testing will be implemented from February 2014.
For all those, that actually care to learn a bit more about all this stuff, and what is behind the “welfare reforms”, that are now affecting thousands in a very bad way, have a study of information that can be found on this small website:
That site is still a bit new and under (experiemental) construction, but accessing and using the many resources and links offered there should assist many to see, assess and understand what is really going on under this hideous government, with nothing but contempt for those at the bottom of the heap! Putting pressures, fears and expectations on sick and disabled to compete for work, and dressing this up as “caring for” and “assisting” them, that is worse than being mean spirited. It is disgustingly dishonest and criminal.
For instance mental health funding has been capped or cut for many services here in Auckland. So where is the extra “help” and “treatment” coming from? It will be GPs prescribing generic and non generic psychiatric drugs, and others sent to self help “coping groups”, to live with pain and impairments. Most extra funding has gone straight to MSD and WINZ, for more case management, none else.
Best wishes for 2014, keep up the FIGHT for JUSTICE!
I thought that Bill English has been announcing the end of the following year return to higher interest rates (as a result of his governments disinterested neglect of the economy) ever since 2009? He has built it into every budget up until 2012 when he finally became aware after the election that making a foolish prophecy wasn’t the same as making it happen.
Or have you forgotten?
I suspect there will be a slight interest rate rise next year, which will immediately stall the retail economy again. It will then stagnate for another year or so. I think that the same thing will happen offshore.
Having a jobless ‘recovery’ is a completely fragile and essentially useless recovery. Thought people would have realised this over the last couple of hundred years.
I suspect there will be a slight interest rate rise next year, which will immediately stall the retail economy again.
Which is, of course, exactly what it’s supposed to do. Raising interest rates is done to cool down an over-heating economy but, for some strange reason, it only ever seems to initiate housing bubbles as the hot money from other countries floods in fueling the money creation process by local banks.
Having a jobless ‘recovery’ is a completely fragile and essentially useless recovery. Thought people would have realised this over the last couple of hundred years.
I think you’ll find that economists and RWNJs really like jobless recoveries because it indicates an increase in profit while wages are kept down thus preventing a wage/price inflation spiral.
Yeah, causes short-term profit taking. The problem is that they run out of steam, fall back to a lower level, then repeat as a lower amplitude.
Ask the Japanese. They have had them for nearly two decades now. I’m also pretty sure that Europe would be in that state as well if they hadn’t kept expanding the size of the EU.
Yeah. Been meaning to separate the larger feed suppliers from the smaller (and often more interesting) blogs. Took the opportunity to do some upgrades to the other tabbed dialog as well – and it allowed me to dispose of some old residual jquery.
edit: opps – meant to have been a reply to weka at 21.1..
17 April. Shots of the cabinet and the ex-cabinet at Lady Thatcher’s funeral in St Paul’s just emphasise how consistently cowardly most of them were, the only time they dared to stand up to her when eventually they kicked her out. What also galls is the notion that Tory MPs throw in almost as an afterthought, namely that her lack of a sense of humour was just a minor failing, of no more significance than being colourblind, say, or mildly short-sighted. In fact to have no sense of humour is to be a seriously flawed human being. It’s not a minor shortcoming; it shuts you off from humanity. Mrs Thatcher was a mirthless bully and should have been buried, as once upon a time monarchs used to be, in the depths of the night.
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TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
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proof of meat/dairy-bye-product consumption having as strong a link to cancer..
..as tobacco..
(the results of this new research was just released on december 27th..
“..Consumption of meat and other animal products is strongly linked to several types of cancer –
– according to an article published in the journal Nutrients.
The author analyzed data on 21 different cancers in 157 countries –
– and found that certain factors – especially diet –
– were associated with risk for developing specific cancers.
Specifically – the association between animal product consumption and cancer –
– was as strong as that linking tobacco and cancer..”
(cont..)
..ed:..and funny story!!
..those types of cancers linked to meat/dairy consumption are cancers of which we in new zealand.have some of the highest rates in the world..
..and of course that fits in tidily with our world-beating rates of consumption of that meat/dairy..eh..?
..it’s kinda like join-the-dots..but at a pre-school level..eh..?
http://www.pcrm.org/health/medNews/
..now..how can that not be a wake-up all..?
..how much more proof do you need..?
..when you are told the risks of cancer/premature-death are as high as from smoking tobacco..
..whoar..!..eh..?
‘waiter..!..hold that bacon ‘n cheese sarnie..!..i’ll have the porridge instead..!..’
eh..?
phillip ure..
Doesn’t porridge have milk with it? As I recall it’s the reason I could never stomach porridge as a child.
@ karol..good point..
..but soy/rice/almond etc.- milk is the answer..
..vanilla-flavoured soy goes particularly well with a fruit-packed-porridge..(mmm!!!..)
..(and of course those big/fat wholemeal porridge whole-flakes..
..not that powdered muck..that just turns into wallpaper-paste..
..and if you pack enough fruit into it..(raisins/banana/apple/pear..a good porridge is just as edible sans milk…)
..i also recommend a layer of frozen/fresh-berries in the bottom of the bowl..
..a ‘surprise’…that lifts the porridge-experience to a whole new level..
..and leaves you sneering in disdain at yr bog-standard fat-soaked/greasy/slimy bacon ‘n cheese sarnie..that just leaves you feeling ‘blagh!’…
..eh..?
phillip ure..
Modern industrial soy is a blight on the planet. Look it up.
“..how much more proof do you need..?”
Yeah, nah.
Animal Products Linked to Cancer
December 27, 2013
Consumption of meat and other animal products is strongly linked to several types of cancer, according to an article published in the journal Nutrients. The author analyzed data on 21 different cancers in 157 countries and found that certain factors, especially diet, were associated with risk for developing specific cancers. Specifically, the association between animal product consumption and cancer was as strong as that linking tobacco and cancer. Possible mechanisms for risk include animal products’ promotion of growth and high iron and fat content. The author notes that while detection and treatment are important, animal product consumption has been recognized as a cancer risk for more than a century and needs to be addressed in order to prevent the deadly disease.
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it. Can’t comment futher on that research until I see whether they controlled for things like refined carb intake, lifestyle, modern pollutants etc which tend to go hand in hand with meat consumption. Would also want to know if they differentiated between grass-fed meat vs feed-lot, pumped full of chemicals meat.
@ weka..
did you not even read what you posted..?
“..The author analyzed data on 21 different cancers in 157 countries..”
..if you claim you did..then why did you say:
“..Can’t comment futher on that research until I see whether they controlled for things like refined carb intake, lifestyle, modern pollutants etc..”
just obfuscating-bullshit on yr part..eh..?..really..
..phillip ure..
I said that because there is lots of dodgy research being done in the world and I’d want to see a better analysis of the reasearch than was on the page you linked to before I commented further.
What concerns me is that you consider this
http://www.pcrm.org/health/medNews/
to equate to proof, without any fact checking or analysis at all. Don’t worry, I see meat eaters making the same kinds of mistakes.
Do you understand how things like overall diet, lifestyle, environment could affect the outcome of research into on the health effects of a specific food? I suspect you don’t. I know I’ve asked you these kinds of questions before that you just ignore. It’s the worst kind of intellectual argument (quoting a useless source and then refusing to back it up) and I’m surprised that its tolerated by the general commentariat here. If you were making a more conventional political statement people would be all over you.
@ weka..
“..the page you linked to ..”
the page i linked to..(that you sneer at/use to dismiss the whole argument).. is a report from a physicians-group….
..alerting readers to a new/groundbreaking study..
..that has been written up in a scientific-journal..called ‘nutrition’..(with all the checks and balances that entails..)..
..so no..weka..it isn’t an article in fucken usa-today..eh..?
..it is the results of meta-research of 151 other studies..comparing cancers in 21 different countries..
..so yr..’i need more details!’..
..is just strawman-argument bullshit..eh..?
..and as for yr final paragraph..
..once again..utter horseshit..
..of course there are variables in every study..
..but once again..a strawman-argument from you..
..as this is a study of other studies..
..what are you finding so hard to grasp about that simple fact..?
..phillip ure..
“..that has been written up in a scientific-journal..called ‘nutrition’..(with all the checks and balances that entails..)..”
Alot of medical research is done poorly and/or has been co-opted by various special interest groups. This is a well known phenomenon and is acknowleged within science and medicine.
I don’t know the Nutrition journal so am in no position to judge the value of its peer review (assuming it did peer review the research). I haven’t seen the research published. That’s all I said – that there wasn’t enough information to judge the value of it. You are quite welcome to trust it, but if you post it in a public forum then expect some analysis.
So, it’s not strawman argument. It’s based on experience and understanding. I note that yet again you fail to answer my questions and just call them horseshit, and so have just reinforced my opinion of you that you don’t really understand how scientific research works and how to evaluate it.
correction:..the scientific journal is called ‘nutrients’..
..and is described in wikipedia as thus:
“..Nutrients is an open access peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing reviews, regular research papers, and short communications on all aspects of nutrition..”
..(hope that helps..)
..and once again i have to return to the fact you seem unable to grasp..
..this is a meta-study..looking at 151 other scientific-studies..over 21 countries..
..so yr paranoias detailed in yr second paragraph ..do not/cannot apply to that..
..it is a different discipline…mainly number/stat-crunching..
..no actual on lab-table research/study..
..get that..?
..and if you can’t ‘trust’ a study/evidence of such magnitude/scope..
..and if you think that ‘vested-interests’..(who..?..the all-powerful vegan-lobby?..) have twisted this research somehow..
..best you go and stand over there with the tobacco-doesn’t-cause-cancer/the-moon-landings-didn’t-happen crew..eh..?
..and you still haven’t answered that simple straightforward question:
..do you receive/derive yr monies from the animal-flesh-trade industries..?
..and what questions of yours do you feel i have not answered..?
..phillip ure..
But none of that was in the original link was it.
Here’s the full article. How about you read it and then respond to the points I raised in my first comment.
http://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/6/1/163
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it. Can’t comment futher on that research until I see whether they controlled for things like refined carb intake, lifestyle, modern pollutants etc which tend to go hand in hand with meat consumption. Would also want to know if they differentiated between grass-fed meat vs feed-lot, pumped full of chemicals meat.
i think i’ll just leave you to dance on the head of yr pin there..weka..
..but the basic message still stands..
..eating cheese/milk/meat will likely give you cancer/premature-death..
..and..as with the ciggy-smokers of yore.. it’s over to you now..
..what you (and other readers) do with that new information/knowledge/awareness..eh..?
..you have two choices..(as did the ciggy-smokers when they first got the news..)
..denial..and continuing to consume/feed yr children this proven carcinogen..
..or acceptance of the science/facts..
..and a lifestyle adjustment to take that new information into account..
..as i said..it’s up/over to you..
..i’ve delivered the message..
..that’s all i can do..
phillip ure
and as a p.s..
..all the info/recipies etc. you will need to shed the carcinogenic-diet can be found here..
http://whoar.co.nz/category/vegan-stuff/
and as an aside..there is a ‘high’ to be had from being vegan..
..a ongoing ‘high’ that not even vegetarians are aware of/experience..
..tho’ vegetarians have had a taste of it from dropping the meat..
..but the high-payoff from going vegan is much more pronounced than if dairy is still consumed..
..(i was vegetarian for 15 yrs..(and thought vegans were ‘a bit weird’..wot…?..no cheese..?..geddouttahere..!..)
..)and have been vegan for 15 yrs..
..and i mean it most sincerely when i tell you that you will feel much better..
..when you stop eating animals..
..and things processed from them..
..(and did i mention ‘the cancer’..?..)
..there is both a (high) carrot..and a (cancer) stick..
..with this one..
..phillip ure..
“..eating cheese/milk/meat will likely give you cancer/premature-death..”
Citation needed. And what’s with the ‘likely’ bit?
You still haven’t responded to my substantive points (not really surprised, you strike me as very dogmatic on this, so why bother with reality).
I was vegetarian for a long time (a very nutritionally well-informed vegetarian), and part of that time I was virtually vegan. My health improved substantially when I started eating meat again. I know many other people that this is true for. I also know people that do well on vege diets. One size doesn’t fit all.
you are attempting to complicate what is simple..
..the message is as ‘simple’ and straightforward as the ‘tobacco causes cancer’ one..
..and all the twisting/twirling in the world from you won’t change that..
..and yes..this may be called heralding a seachange in global dietary-patterns..
..and yes..it also heralds a seachange for the new zealand economy..
..we had all better crack on and copy james cameron..
..he is converting the large dairy-holdings he pruchased in the wairarapa..
..back into producing real food/crops..
..he is just being a pioneer in what the rest of the country will have to do..
..eventually..
..(and as a comparison/example of other cancer-causing info radically changing society..
..how long ago was it that everyone smoked cigarettes..?..)
..i remember that/those times..
..and how the smokers scoffed when the scientists first started going:..’um..!..hang on..!..cancer..?’..
..it may seem hard for many to grasp here/now/today..
..but the cheese-block is due to go the way of the packet of ciggies..
..it will no longer be an essential of our daily life..
..and will assume the odium of the full-ashtray..
..phillip ure..
How come non-Western cultures with high meat protein diets don’t have high rates of cancer (quite the opposite)? It’s not meat eating per se, it’s how we do it.
Paleo. Been holding my body together now 3 years. No sugar, no fructose, no hydrogenated oils, minimal wheat and dairy.
Lots of vegetable carbs, fermented foods, protein and saturated fats. Recent cardio test was perfect.
The big problem I’m not properly managing in my life at the moment is correct exercise, stress and inflammation.
Nice one RL. I know other people who paleo works very well for too. There are other traditional diets that have good health outcomes too. I don’t even object to people being vegan, it just irks when some claim that their way is best and that everyone else would be better off doing what they do (demonstrably false), and anyone who doesn’t is somehow bad or wrong. Veganism, as practiced by most in the West, is also pretty high in terms of environmental damage, so pah to their moral high ground.
sheesh weka..i’m just the messanger..eh..?
..and ..could you plse answer the question..
..do you derive your income from the income generated by the animal-flesh-trade..?
..what else to explain yr choleric-tone..?
..you aren’t eating too much meat..are you..?
..i’ve heard it’s not good for ya..eh..?
..and the rage/irrationality/tone/timbre of yr responses on this subject..likely echo the responses to those first reports of cigs causing cancer..
..for smokers..amongst smokers..eh..?
..phillip ure..
“..do you derive your income from the income generated by the animal-flesh-trade..?”
No, I have nothing to do with the meat industry.
“..and the rage/irrationality/tone/timbre of yr responses on this subject..”
Ha, ha, I’m actually not eating meat at all at the moment. There is nothing wrong with appropriately placed anger (ts is full of it, as is the vegan movement). But by all means point out some specific examples of where I am being irrational. Things you merely don’t like don’t count.
RL I got the idea you were on a mountain somewhere. So either you are overdoing the exercise or setting a very demanding schedule. And stress, I think that a bit of meditation in a quiet safe place rests all the body, even a change, another page in the book you have chosen to read. Also a lie down where you start relaxing your whole body from your toes up. We are holding ourselves in readiness for action all the time and don’t realise it till we deliberately shed it.
I know, phillip.
My breakfast is usually some fruit, nuts, seeds – blender & almond milk + a bit of plain unsweetened yogurt.
My childhood, wretching experiences of porridge have put me off it for life.
Easily edible without any milk whatsoever
It’s the morning staple in my household where no-one is able to have milk
eat it without milk… doesn’t need it.
.. oh my god …
…saw this terrifying study….
..might be a wake up call!!!..
…100% of vegans will eventually die…
..just like everyone else…
eh?..
that’s all you’ve got there as rebuttal..?..qot..?
..that’s it..?
..so we can take the info/report as q.e.d..?..then..?
..phillip ure..
But did you know….
and that’s all you’ve got there..?..joe..?..a butchers’ blackboard..?
once again..the facts of the matter are clearly q.e.d…eh..?
..now its’ just a matter of ‘your call’..eh..?
phillip ure..
Without citing previous work on the same topic, QOT, what you have published above qualifies as plagiarism.
eh?..[1]
[1] phillip ure, various.
heh..!
phillip ure..
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11178968
The Herald’s hypocrisy over Brown is breathtaking.
“Many believe he will not see out his term at the helm of the Super City.”
Rather ironic since it’s this newspaper leading the campaign to have him resign.
Don’t the Nats have a major trust through which their campaign funds are filtered?
My thoughts also, K.
Yes. I reckon it’s time to put a cap on all campaign spending – the whole system of funding campaigns corrupts democracy.
And it’s why there’s no truly left wing viable candidate for mayor of Auckland. It all aid the interests of the wealthy ad the powerful corporates.
they all do..it is an area screaming for urgent-reform..
..when 446 grand of the seven hundred something grand brown spent on his campaign..
..came from that donor-secret slush-fund..it is clear something stinks..
..and going on browns’ actions to date..i think we all really need to know just who it is who ‘owns’/’bought’ influence with him..
..(and how that buying dictates his actions/inactions in office..)
..all political donations above a miserly small figure must be made public..
..not hidden in secret slush-funds..
..(oh..!..how the top end of town must laugh..eh..?..having all the politicians..labour..national..and the mayor of nzs’ biggest city..
..in their pockets..)
..what a corrupt little third world pacific island nation we really are..eh..?
..and i haven’t even gone near our role as a money-laundering destination/favourite..eh..?..)
phillip ure..
and i loved the rejoinder from browns’ campaign-manager..
..and that response couldn’t be a clearer clarion call for reform..
..he whined a twofer-response/excuse..
..that:..’it’s legal’..and ‘everyone else does it’…
..not really/quite enough of a reason/excuse…eh..?
phillip ure..
until we get real campaign-finance reform..this corruption/subversion of the democratic process..at all levels…will continue..
..with the interests of the people..
..continuing to be at the end of a very long queue..
..it’s as simple as that..really..
..eh..?
..we need to ‘own’ our politicians…
..at all levels..
..not have them in thrall to that top end of town..
..as is the case now..
..doing their ‘business’..for them..
phillip ure..
Yes, the Waitemata Trust. Been going for years and in that time millions of anonymous dollars have been transferred through it and used in successive election campaigns. Add to that the other ‘private’ trusts where money is deposited for special purposes, and it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that the NZ Herald is party to a dirty tricks campaign aimed at destroying public profile figures associated with Labour and/or the Greens. All of it designed to peak just before the general election which might only be six months away.
Add to that the latest delay in the Dotcom extradition case from March to July (and if things don’t go according to plan no doubt the FBI will be willing to have it further delayed) then it will likely mean the ‘dirt and filth’ will hit their targets at the right time, leading to another election win for the Nats.
May not be bang on, but a plausible theory…
Well-put. Election anouncement shortly after a wildly-optimistic Budget sounds about right – before rising interest rates start clobbering voters with mortgages later in the year. Opposition needs to be forcefully and continually joining those dots for people and offering a credible alternative.
to give credit where credit is due..the herald on sunday today has a powerful clarion-call of its’ very own..
..(that will have national/the top end of town sweating..and should empower the labour party policy-makers/leadership..you’d think..?)
..they present a powerful/pungent call for meaningful political/policy-action to end child-poverty..
..lamenting how we are no longer like those scandanavian nations we used to be neck and neck with..
..in the ‘good-country’-stakes/rankings..
..and unequivocal in their call for us to get back there..again..
..so..a tip of the hat to them..for that..
..and let’s hope labour (finally?) realise they really have nothing to be scared of…eh..?
..that the ‘time’ for real and meaningful change…
..is now..
..phillip ure..
The HOS has a different editorial team to the weekly Herald.
I am also of the opinion that the general election will be called early, Anne – probably in mid-winter from about early July (with hopes of a low voter turnout due to weather).
In terms of timelines next year:
Early April 3014- Royal visit with lots of photo-ops for Key, and warm afterglow
14 April 2014 – current scheduled date for the start of the Dotcom extradition hearing forecast to take several weeks: but expected to be further delayed again until at least July 2014 *
* Anne, I note you suggest “Add to that the latest delay in the Dotcom extradition case from March to July” . I checked Google, and the current date is 14 April 2014, and there does not appear to have been an formal decision as yet to delay until July although speculation is that this will happen.
May 2014 – Banks court case
Mid to late May 2014 – Budget.
IIRC, an election can be called on as little as six weeks’ notice, so my thinking is that Key will go for an announcement either just after the royal visit, or around Budget day to get the best PR from these two events – and to overshadow the Banks trial and any Dotcom ongoing court hearings on release of property taken (eg electronic records etc), compensation etc; and to get the election over before the Dotcom extradition hearing itself.
I don’t believe that Key will hold out for a November election for the above reasons and also because IIRC there are one or two big international conferences/events in Nov 2014 that Key would want to attend which he couldn’t go to if the election was in Nov. I recall some discussion in the media a few months ago about these events – but cannot remember what they are. It is now bugging me, so will do some research.
@ veutoviper
Yes. I was aware the the FBI have only requested a delay until July, but they’re likely to get what they want. Then, if it suits Key and co., they will go for a further delay so that Dotcom’s info. on Key doesn’t hit the air-waves until after the election. I’m sure the FBI operatives on the Dotcom case don’t want to see a change in government!
For the reasons you mention above – and others – the situation is fluid, so Key could end up out of luck. Fingers firmly crossed…
Funding is a crucial issue. Look at the mess of the USA where money literally enables the rich to buy laws. I’ve seen suggestions on this site in the past of how to fix this issue but until the general public understand what a problem it is nothing will be done. It’s not a vote getter and, in fact, as the electoral finance mess showed, it can be spun as a vote loser.
“what a corrupt little third world pacific island nation we really are..eh..?”
A sad, but true analysis. We sure have become leaner and meaner. The quick and the dead. Welcome to the future.
+1
There’s a simple measurement I usually apply – the simple and uncomplicated is usually the best
IF we wish to be included in 1st world status, but can only do so by paying slave wages; minimising long fought-for benefits in order to remain viable
THEN we aren’t and we’re only fooling ourselves. (see the other post on America)
Problem is though that the race to the bottom for the many in order for a scared few to maintain their lifestyles is not necessary – it’s only their ideologically-driven and egotistical bullshit that makes it so.
And if because of their short term view, they feel an increasing need to live behind PIN-only accessible gated communities, then more fool them.
The tragedy is that the longer it’s all propped up on a firm foundation of solid bullshit and jellybeams, the more violent the outcome is likely to be.
As the 70% or so versus the 30% moves more and more towards the 99.9 versus the 0.01% – I know where I’m putting my fiat currency. (Some smart smarmy cnut is probably already inventing some derivative in order to have a bob each way!!)
….. probably also why there are a few in the Labour Party who are desperately trying to delay the inevitable (i.e. kicking cans down roadways).
…… my suggestion to them is to just double up on your security, engage another risk management consultant, pay ’em a bundle, see a touchy feely, drop a prozac or two (up the dose if necessary), and life will remain just peachy keen,
I’ve never actually seen a time (in my lifetime) where the neo-liberal driven ideology means that the masses are ‘comfortable’ with ever-increasing disparity.
BUT just imagine how angry they’ll be when the inevitable shit hits the fan, mortgagee sales become a reality, offspring have gone all feral, and they’re all looking for someone to blame.
(There are some natural targets, and you can be sure they’ll be in that ‘economic minority’ of a 1 or possible 0.1%)
Snot Rok Soince is it?
In São Paulo, the rich live in gated condominiums with armed guards. True to form, they pay their guards a pittance so that when a building is attacked by criminals, the guards put up minimal resistance. The crims then get up to 20 filthy rich households to empty out, all at once. They usually drive off with trucks full of expensive possessions. This seems to be what the stupidly rich want for this part of the world as well.
The land of the free.
//
http://philebersole.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/one-in-four-us-workers-are-guard-labor/
Yesterday I drove on the brand new highway between Taupiri to central Hamilton. why was this highway built? It must have cost well over a billion dollars (at a guess).
How does the National government get so much credit for its economic management when it has built these roads at a huge cost, all of it increasing our huge debt burden…I don’t see our MSM attacking National for its inept economic management on this. The huge expenditure on roads in the Waikato and BOP I reckon will in the long term actually reduce GDP (but will improve the profit of some large trucking companies and Fonterra), I challenge any economist/anyone to prove otherwise.
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/network/projects/project.html?ID=63
All this new roading development is brilliant.
For me it one of the best things National has done.
Spending billions on roads when we are so deeply in debt is NOT good economic management…clearly this proves that you are a fuckwit BM.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9560760/Welcome-to-the-boom-of-2014
National have done a tremendous job, just goes to show what can be achieved when we get some decent people at the helm, people with skill and talent.
Only a complete idiot would want labour in power, you’d struggle to find a bigger pile of know nothing, pie in the sky numpties than the current labour line up.
Compete dross.
“Compete” dross BM ? You’re doing fabulously well BM.
I guess you add a bit of colour BM…but you are as thick as pig shit (or is that Bat Shit).
Skill and Talent? Really? Are you sure? Who are we talking about? Mr Brownlee, whose “political clout” has prevented countless people in Christchurch to have a roof over their heads after 3 (!) years? This is by the way inexcusable and one wonders whether we see in the run up to the election a sudden increase in Insurance payouts. Just do be clear, commercial law is passed in parliament and not by Insurance companies – or is it?
Or is it Mrs Bennett who had the benefit of the social system when it was available and used it to the full extent only to deny it everybody else since she has the portfolio? Has she found in her heart that all of her “success” is wrong?
Or lets go to Mr Bridges, who supports deep see drilling and fracking. Interesting though, I was not aware that a lawyer has such extended education to understand the issues of engineering and biology so to be able to make such decisions. Furthermore, being able to override any sovereign interest amid many documented disadvantages and just unilateral make the call?
Yes, lets keep some hope alive. I will vote green as this hopefully gives the next generation a voice.
I suspect that boom will last until the prediction wears off – sometime in January.
“National have done a tremendous job, just goes to show what can be achieved when we get some decent people at the helm, people with skill and talent.”
Stop taking the piss BM
And here in Hawke Bay, we all love the new Rail Line to Gisborne.
Or is that Gisbin (TV weather).
YEAH RITE.
Having lived in the Far North for years I am always in awe of Waikato roads when travelling there, even the secondary routes beautifully sealed and cambered. People who travel the South Island regularly tell a similar story of great roads in a sparsely populated landscape.
according to the Northland Regional Council…
“Of the 6,530 kilometres of road in Northland, 753 kilometres are State Highway with the remaining being local roads. Approximately 65% of these local roads are unsealed, compared to the national average of 40%. The proportion of unsealed roads, many of which have poor foundation conditions and alignments, is one of the highest in the country”.
One could make a case for Waikato and South Island as major tory voters getting special ‘two lane blacktop’ treatment. So what about the Far North? also consistent tory electorate voters (though when you add in the Te Tai Tokerau and the non national general electorate vote the numbers don’t look so good for the torys)–just the land that time forgot? The North has high suicide rates and lots of car crashes and little economic development for decades.
How about the puhoi-wellsford route
http://www.nzta.govt.nz/consultation/puhoi-wellsford-2/index.html
That’s got to help speed things up.
That would be another loss making Road of National(s) Significance.
You might also find this interesting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11096356
With the Norwegians currently looking for oil off the Northland coast, could be boom times ahead for those up North.
One could make a case for Waikato and South Island as major tory voters getting special ‘two lane blacktop’ treatment.
Not so sure about that. I live in the Waitaki electorate and our road is so bad it’s a favourite with rally car drivers. We’ve had the Rally of Otago blatt past on numerous occasions, except only from one direction. It’s too dangerous going the other. Too many cars went over banks. Bloody good job. The environment bit back.
On a positive note its a awesome part of the country to live in
TM, quite a few people I know in the North don’t want the sort of roads they have in the Waikato. They see one great benefit of gravel roads – they scare the Jafas into keeping their Remuera tractors south of Wellsford. On the other hand, quite a few of them would like to see decent train and bus services.
Don’t forget the North Shore tractors MO. Arrogant drivers who think they own the road and it’s the women who are the worst. One of them screamed abuse at me once for driving up to an intersection on the inside of her. Plenty of room for me to turn left and she to the right. Told her after the screaming match subsided that she was a stupid bitch. She then tried to ram me but I was too quick for her. Contemplated carrying a bag of stones in my glove box in case it happened again. A smashed rear window would have been a satisfactory outcome but decided it was too risky. It would be my luck to have a cop car come ambling past at the moment of impact.
I was out fishing with a mate once and some stupid yuppie in his 15m gin palace managed to catch a few snapper. He promptly filleted them and threw the remains overboard, which every snapper fisher knows is just not on. It puts the rest right off the bite. My mate started throwing sinkers at him, which worried me a bit, since my tinny was only 4.4m. Luckily the idiot wasn’t the aggressive type and left rather than run us over.
Same.
“just who it is who ‘owns’/’bought’ influence”. Perfectly said PU.
Without legislation along the lines you suggest we facilitate the availability of massive corruption to the often mutually inclusive wealthy and the holders of power, derived from democratic process, ironically.
Start with strict liability from the top dog down in both the donor and donee camps. Make glib lies like “the law is unclear” and “I’m a busy person I relied on assurances from my trusted minions” and “Oh I forgot” unavailable to the wealthy and the holders of power.
Deploy demonstrably heavy penalties directed according to statutory presumption in favour of imprisonment topped off with additional truly massive financial penalties for donor and donee and permanent disqualification for both from the electoral process at any level.
In cases of political and electoral corruption let judges’ sentencing notes contain stern denunciation of offending which “sheets to the core of justice and democracy”. As presently occurs in obviously far less-reaching cases of attempting to/perverting the course of justice where some fool engages falsehood given on oath to protect a family member or mate charged with an offence.
Acknowledging that for the sake of brevity I overlook Brown, why please did Mediaworks pay for the witheringly castigating holier-than-thou Cameron Brewer’s holiday on the Gold Coast ? If the motivation were truly impeccable there would be more bang-for-the-buck in widely vaunted donation to The Auckland City Mission.
He was chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association for a long time.
The trip was probably a thanks from media works for Brewer pushing work their way.
That’s a risibly inadequate response/rationalisation BM.
How possibly can you distinguish between favours given after the event and favours given before the event ? The ‘distinction’ is facile and meaningless especially in the context of a course of conduct dynamic.
You’re a supporter of corruption clearly. It’s what makes the world of the wealthy and the powerful go round what ? Such a democrat you BM.
No…….piss off with your moral bankruptcy.
++ @ North
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/9560760/Welcome-to-the-boom-of-2014
– Well thats a positive headline from the Herald for a change
isn’t that great..!..chris 73..!
..no more excuses now not to declare war on poverty..eh..?
..no more ‘but we can’t afford it’-whines/excuses..eh..?
..that is ‘positive’..
..those ‘boom-times’..and a financial-transaction-tax on the banksters..
..should just about get it sorted..eh..?
..no more poverty..no more third world diseases..eh..?
..gee..!..chris 73..and maybe we can start to bay back some of the $60+ billio nthis bunch of tory/clowns/fuckwits have run up..eh..?
..with their borrow and givre to the rich policies/..
phillip ure..
Its positive from the point of re-electing the National government
Ah…thought you might care about the increasing inequality.
But you don’t.
It’s all just a game to C73.
He doesn’t give a shit about people.
Kickbacks from Nactionals slush fund.
pay back to National party for bailout or was it to organize the bailout.
Mc Cready will sort it out.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/9560681/Banks-nemesis-looks-for-others-to-put-in-dock
– Hes gotta pay his bills somehow I guess
Thinking about the traditional story of Christmas and all, my pick for the Three Wise Men:
the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Pope Francis. I’m sure they’d have a lot of fun riding across the desert together on camels.
Mildly surprised by a NZ Herald editorial today:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11178946
‘What Cunliffe will be seeking this year is to capitalise on the sense rolling through the country that the National-led administration is arrogant and indifferent to the beliefs and needs of ordinary New Zealanders. But what he and the rest of us need to keep front of mind is the plight of those who cannot even aspire to ordinariness.
The Child Poverty Monitor report, released three weeks ago by Children’s Commissioner Russell Wills, shows that a quarter of our children are living in poverty, some of it severe and persistent. Poverty-related illness, such as asthma and bronchitis, reached record highs.
With every passing year, it becomes harder to be proud of a country that was once a world-leading social democracy. The small Scandinavian countries we used to rub shoulders with at the top of the league tables have maintained their positions as we have plummeted.
It is not about resources, but about political will. It’s something that politicians and voters should devote thought to as another year dawns.’
For once, they got it right.
Boringly Myopic.
No rest for the wicked.
I thought you’d be off to HawaiiKey or pukett slinking down cool drinks with Cactus Kate.
Ark! That is so annoying. Looking at the feed and considering why the Feeds (now with the bulk feeders TDB and Scoop politics separated so the smaller blogs get front billing) are duplicating.
Obvious. There are 3 web servers running (two front and one backup) all looking at the same database and set of files. It has the same problem as sphinx search had – they’re ALL updating the feed database. When they happen to coincide, I get up to three copies of the same RSS record.
Should be fixable by checking for duplicates when updating the database like the duplicate comment fix. But a better idea will be to do that update from a single server.
Will anyone in greens or labour begin to respond to this economic “good” news with
for whom. How long will ordinary nzers continue to believe and vote for the myth begun in the 80s by douglas’ mythical good news. The richardsons mother of all bad news… and so on until today. There is no evidence that this type of good news is actually good for anyone but those trumpetting the good news. The banks. The stock market. The reps of big business and politicians.
theres a reason simon power went from justice minister to westpac millionaire and it has nothing to do with wealth trickling down.
Simon Power
Realised his chance to become leader PM was gone so what’s the point of hanging round doing long hours for a relative pittance when you can get millions instead of thousands.
LIARS OF OUR TIME
No. 39: George W. Bush
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“We will be standing with the people of Afghanistan and Iraq until their hopes for freedom and liberty are fulfilled.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—President George W. Bush, 21 September 2004
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38139-2004Sep21_2.html
More liars….
No. 38 Jeremy Hansen: “I read a great column by Paul Thomas in the Herald….”
No. 37 Alan Seay: “You know, we respect the rights of people to protest….”
No. 36 Paul Dykzeul: “No we won’t be changing the Listener; it’s got a terrific editor….”
No. 35 Mark Jennings: “I think Paul’s a bright guy and he will be able to bring a discipline to his performance….”
No. 34 Willie Jackson: “I thought we’d been sensitive with her yesterday….”
No. 33 Supt. Bill Searle: “I think what’s happened here is the police officers have done their very best….”
No. 32 Sonny-Bill Williams: “It’s good to get the win over Papua-New Guinea, a strong Papua-New Guinea side, aahhhh….”
No. 31 John Palino: “Suggestions that I am somehow orchestrating some grand right-wing conspiracy to unseat Len after the election are so wrong…”
No. 30 Alan Dershowitz: “I will give $10,000 to the PLO if you can find a historical fact in my book that you can prove to be false.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
No. 28 John Kerry: “…we are especially sensitive, Chuck and I, to never again asking any member of Congress to take a vote on faulty intelligence.”
No. 27 Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
No. 26 Sam Wallace: “So here we are—Otahuhu. It’s just a great place to be, really.”
No. 25 Margaret Thatcher: “…no British government involvement of any kind…with Khmer Rouge…”
No. 24 John Key: “…at the end of the day I, like most New Zealanders, value the role of the fourth estate…”
No. 23 Jay Carney: “…expel Mr Snowden back to the U.S. to face justice…”
No. 22 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton had integrity beyond reproach.”
No. 21 Tim Groser: “I think the relationship is genuinely in outstanding form.”
No. 20 John Key: “But if the question is do we use the United States or one of our other partners to circumvent New Zealand law then the answer is categorically no.”
No. 19 Matthew Hooton: “It is ridiculous to say that unions deliver higher wages! They DON’T!”
No. 18 Ant Strachan: “The All Blacks won the RWC 2011 because of outstanding defence!”
No. 17 Stephen Franks: “Peter has been such a level-headed, safe pair of hands.”
No. 16 Phil Kafcaloudes: “Tony Abbott…hasn’t made any mistakes over the past eighteen months.”
No. 15 Donald Rumsfeld: “I did not lie… Colin Powell did not lie.”
No. 14 Colin Powell: “a post-9/11 nexus between Iraq and terrorist organizations…connections are now emerging…”
No. 13 Barack Obama: “Simply put, these strikes have saved lives.”
No. 12 U.K. Ministry of Defence: “Protecting the Afghan civilian population is one of ISAF and the UK’s top priorities.”
No. 11 Brendan O’Connor: “Australia’s approach to refugees is compassionate and generous.”
No. 10 Boris Johnson: “Londoners have… the best police in the world to look after us and keep us safe.”
No. 9 NewstalkZB PR dept: “News you NEED! Fast, fair, accurate!”
No. 8 Simon Bridges: “I don’t mean to duck the question….”
No. 7 Nigel Morrison: “Quite frankly, they’ve been VERY tough.”
No. 6 Herald PR dept: “Congratulations—you’re reading New Zealand’s best newspaper.”
No. 5 Rawdon Christie: “…a FORMIDABLE replacement, it seems, is Claudette Hauiti.”
No. 4 Willie and J.T.: “The X-Factor. Nah, nah, there’s some GREAT talent there!”
No. 3 John Key: “Yeah we hold MPs to a higher standard.”
No. 2 Colin Craig: “Oh, I have a GREAT sense of humour.”
No. 1 Barack Obama: “Margaret Thatcher was one of the great champions of freedom and liberty.”
No. 29 John Banks: “I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. And never, ever would I ever knowingly sign a false electoral return. Never ever would I ever.”
and the best way to ensure this would be to never ever sign something without reading it first.
…and the best way to ensure this would be to never ever sign something without reading it first.
Are you trying to suggest that Banks made an honest mistake?
No. I am saying if he truly wanted to never ever make a false return he would fucking read everything before he signed otherwise he is displaying wilful ignorance which is not the same as honest mistake.
is english gour second language Morrisey
No. I am saying if he truly wanted to never ever make a false return he would fucking read everything before he signed otherwise he is displaying wilful ignorance which is not the same as honest mistake.
Fair comment.
is english gour [sic] second language Morrisey
I accept your point, Tracey.
It was a genuine question morrisey. Not sarcastic. Didnt know how else to ask
I suspect that this universe is his second reality.
TRACEY: Is english your second language Morrisey?
MORRISSEY: [conciliatorily] I accept your point, Tracey.
TRACEY: [earnestly It was a genuine question morrisey. Not sarcastic. Didn’t know how else to ask.
McFLOCK: [sardonically] I suspect that this universe is his second reality.
……Long pause. Silence, then a mocking slow clap can be heard……
MORRISSEY: Oh dear. Looks like we’ve just unearthed another one of the Melody Rules scriptwriters.
🙄
Thanks, buddy. I hope you’re having a good Christmas break.
The WAR on WELFARE will continue in 2014, but like she did for those parents or grand-parents looking after a child (other than a foster child), Paula Bennett will try to manipulate the media and the wider public, into believing that actually “more” is being done to “support” those in need. The truth is kept from the wider public, while a nasty agenda, all based on nothing but “cost saving” and “cutting back” of services, is followed.
See this pre-Christmas sweetener Bennett released smartly just over a week before the holidays:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11172923
What does a few hundred dollars a year achieve and change, I ask? Yes, every bit of help should be appreciated, I agree. But this is “help” that patches up gaps and cracks in the income situation of many, that have been caused in another places, where households face pressures.
And then it comes from one with this bizarre sense of opportunism mixed with “humour”:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11176800
“Sip It Sweetie”, that is her motto now. Thank you Paula, we know it was all about YOURSELF after all.
As for the “help” for sick and disabled on benefits, we will watch with great concern how the new outsourced work capability testing will be implemented from February 2014.
Remember this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9356043/Contractors-to-assess-sick-and-disabled-for-work
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/278489/tests-disabled-flawed-model
For all those, that actually care to learn a bit more about all this stuff, and what is behind the “welfare reforms”, that are now affecting thousands in a very bad way, have a study of information that can be found on this small website:
http://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2013/12/28/designated-doctors-used-by-work-and-income-some-also-used-by-acc-the-truth-about-them/
http://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2013/09/07/the-health-and-disability-panel-and-its-hand-picked-members/
http://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/medical-and-work-capability-assessments-based-on-the-controversial-bio-psycho-social-model/
That site is still a bit new and under (experiemental) construction, but accessing and using the many resources and links offered there should assist many to see, assess and understand what is really going on under this hideous government, with nothing but contempt for those at the bottom of the heap! Putting pressures, fears and expectations on sick and disabled to compete for work, and dressing this up as “caring for” and “assisting” them, that is worse than being mean spirited. It is disgustingly dishonest and criminal.
For instance mental health funding has been capped or cut for many services here in Auckland. So where is the extra “help” and “treatment” coming from? It will be GPs prescribing generic and non generic psychiatric drugs, and others sent to self help “coping groups”, to live with pain and impairments. Most extra funding has gone straight to MSD and WINZ, for more case management, none else.
Best wishes for 2014, keep up the FIGHT for JUSTICE!
chrs 4 keeping on top of all that..xtasy..
..regular updates thru the year will be appreciated..
..phillip ure..
I see parallels happening in New Zealand.
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/dec/28/mortgage-rise-homeowners-perilous-debt
Too bad that hasn’t been announced for the last two years… oh wait…
I thought that Bill English has been announcing the end of the following year return to higher interest rates (as a result of his governments disinterested neglect of the economy) ever since 2009? He has built it into every budget up until 2012 when he finally became aware after the election that making a foolish prophecy wasn’t the same as making it happen.
Or have you forgotten?
I suspect there will be a slight interest rate rise next year, which will immediately stall the retail economy again. It will then stagnate for another year or so. I think that the same thing will happen offshore.
Having a jobless ‘recovery’ is a completely fragile and essentially useless recovery. Thought people would have realised this over the last couple of hundred years.
Which is, of course, exactly what it’s supposed to do. Raising interest rates is done to cool down an over-heating economy but, for some strange reason, it only ever seems to initiate housing bubbles as the hot money from other countries floods in fueling the money creation process by local banks.
I think you’ll find that economists and RWNJs really like jobless recoveries because it indicates an increase in profit while wages are kept down thus preventing a wage/price inflation spiral.
Yeah, causes short-term profit taking. The problem is that they run out of steam, fall back to a lower level, then repeat as a lower amplitude.
Ask the Japanese. They have had them for nearly two decades now. I’m also pretty sure that Europe would be in that state as well if they hadn’t kept expanding the size of the EU.
Damn – sorry about that. Some code didn’t copy over properly.
nice upgrade though. Looks good now.
Yeah. Been meaning to separate the larger feed suppliers from the smaller (and often more interesting) blogs. Took the opportunity to do some upgrades to the other tabbed dialog as well – and it allowed me to dispose of some old residual jquery.
edit: opps – meant to have been a reply to weka at 21.1..
heh
17 April. Shots of the cabinet and the ex-cabinet at Lady Thatcher’s funeral in St Paul’s just emphasise how consistently cowardly most of them were, the only time they dared to stand up to her when eventually they kicked her out. What also galls is the notion that Tory MPs throw in almost as an afterthought, namely that her lack of a sense of humour was just a minor failing, of no more significance than being colourblind, say, or mildly short-sighted. In fact to have no sense of humour is to be a seriously flawed human being. It’s not a minor shortcoming; it shuts you off from humanity. Mrs Thatcher was a mirthless bully and should have been buried, as once upon a time monarchs used to be, in the depths of the night.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n01/alan-bennett/diary