Thanks Draco for making this brilliant speech available to us. What other current politician could match such well constructed and inspiring words? Shearer will try, but come nowhere close. Imagine someone like Key attempting to deliver a speech of this quality! Laughable! Here is a way ahead, full of promise and policy. How is it that a man of such exceedingly high intelligence is not leading the Labour opposition?
I guess the media will not notice this event of today!
“Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that greed is good, that we’re all locked in an economic life-and-death-struggle with each other. Neo-Liberalism says that compassion is for suckers. Neo-Liberalism says that if the world is going to the dogs, it might as well be the top dogs. Indeed, to borrow from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, not only is greed good, “it’s legal.”
Nah mate I think your judgement is too harsh. NZ politics hasn’t seen this kind of identification and analysis of neoliberal failures for a long time.
Does it suggest the brand new paradigms that we need? Nope it does fall short there. Mimicking a strategy that scandanavian countries successfully used during a massive resource, financial and energy boom is not necessarily going to work for us, in this time.
And that’s where the likes of us come in to push and educate so that the citizens force the pollies to take heed. And to realise also that the pollies are never going to accomplish that much of the change required.
I look forward to the posts on Kiwiblog and Whaleoil condemning Aussie talkback host Alan Jones’s latest vicious attack on Julia Gillard. Won’t be long now …
After months of being massacred from the sky, rebel forces are encroaching on the borders of at least one government controlled airfield.
This has created a conundrum for the rebel fighters. Being close to the airfield allows them to shoot at these aircraft when they are the most vulnerable to light weapons, either on the ground, or at taking off and landing.
The rebels say they will overun the base eventually. But what should they do with the aircraft?
Destroy them?
Or use them against the regime?
And what would the Western Powers do if the revolutionary forces get hold of jet aircraft?
Already Western Powers have threatened to intervene if Assad’s gas weapons threaten to fall into rebel hands.
Western leaders have also expressed fears that if effective anti-aircraft weapons, particularly any potent shoulder fired anti aircraft heat seeking missiles, got into the hands of the rebel fighters that this could change the balance of power in the Middle East.
Because of these fears the West have been content to let Assad bomb and strafe defenceless Syrian suburbs and towns without mercy.
The huge civilian casualties doesn’t stir them but the thought of powerful anti aircraft weapons in the hands of the “Arab Street” sends a chill down their spine. The threat being that such a change in the balance of power could spiral beyond their control ending the long standing Western Imperium in the Middle East, toppleing all the well armed despotic puppet states that are the bolster to that power.
Jenny you were doing so well there for a while too, focussing on the local issues like PoAL.
Perhaps keep focus on what you understand clearly, and on which will have greater impact here in NZ.
I’m sure all the innocent Syrians executed by the FSA Death Squads (Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi, US/UK/French sponsored), would not miss your inability to comprehend what is nearer to the actual situtation in Syria, which pretty much means you condone their deaths!
I find it fascinating that Jenny is trying to position the Western military powers as being at least tacit backers of Assad. When all the arms and funding going to the foreign fighters who have infiltrated the “Free Syria Army” is coming through countries who have close military and financial ties with the US and UK.
As you state muzza, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and also Turkey.
Yep. Iran and Syria have very close ties. If the US and Israel is to increase their military and financial leverage over Iran, taking Syria down will be very helpful.
Suicide bombing against Syrian military HQ caught on camera
Notice how the van carrying the explosives is still being driven as it is detonated. Suicide bombings like this mark an ugly turning point in this conflict, and demonstrate the influence that foreign jihadi and islamist fighters are having on the tactics of the Free Syrian Army.
Poor bastards, Thanks Netenyahu, ya set another one off.
It’s his bloody words they would’ve been “programmed” by society too watch for.
In a moment of loss they spoke to the Taliban, and what would they be saying?
Suicide bombings like this mark an ugly turning point in this conflict, and demonstrate the influence that foreign jihadi and islamist fighters are having on the tactics of the Free Syrian Army.
Colonial Viper
More racist and Islamaphobic bullshit from you CV.
CV, where is your evidence of all the weapons and support you lyingly claim that the rebels are getting from the West? If the Syrian rebels were getting all the support and weapons you claim, they wouldn’t need suicide bombers.
In an asymmetric conflict between two heavily unequal forces, on one hand a powerful conventional modern army and on the other a poorly armed insurgent force – in desperation, the much weaker military force finding themselves at a serious military disadvantage in munitions and equipment, have resorted to suicide attacks. Examples of this can be cited in almost every major military conflict. In the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 2006 suicide attacks have been cited as the main factor in the Israeli conventional army’s defeat at the hands of the paramilitary forces of Hezbollah. Hezbollah found through bitter experience that, in that heavily asymmetric conflict, if they sent ten fighters against a similar number of IDF, that they would lose 9 out of 10 Lebanese volunteers for 1 Israeli soldier, (if that). With the use of suicide bomber volunteers, that statistic could be reversed. These attacks were so effective, it was said that a column of modern Merkava tanks could be halted at the sound of an approaching dirt-bike.
Most of Israel’s casualties in that war were Merkava tank crews.
As a result in Lebanon these desperate suicide attacks against the Israeli invaders became known as “the poor man’s nuclear bomb“.
The reason this asymetric tactic was called the poor man’s nuclear weapon, is because while a professional army can afford to pay soldiers to kill for them. Professional armies can’t afford to pay soldiers enough to die for them.
Despite the racist depiction of this phenomenon as the result of fanatic religious fundamentalism unique to Islamists. In extremis it has also been practiced by largely secular forces as well. The mainly secular insurgents of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka relied heavily on this tactic.
In Syrian history, Jules Jammal a Christian Syrian naval officer who grew up near Homs was a defender in the invasion of the Sinai Peninsula by the combined Western forces of Israel, Britain and France. In 1956 Jules Jammal volunteered to become a suicide bomber, to sink a french war ship.
Jammal is considered a hero in both Syria and Egypt, receiving official military honours from both governments on his sacrifice.
For his actions Jamal was also awarded the medal of St Peter and St Paul from the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
Streets in Syria and Egypt are still named after this Arab Christian hero.
Unfortunately due to the sheer inhuman military brutality of the Assad regime and it’s reliance on it’s fully modernly equipped army and airforce to suppress the rebellion, pitted against the woeful lack of powerful weapons by the insurgents, this desperate tactic may become more common in Syria.
Sadly true, which is why society has to speek Life Positive messages.
War and Destruction will only amplify the situation.
They’d be better off building a “Homeless” muslim compund and trying to help these people.
But who’d trust them?
Not me at this point that’d be 4 sure.
The Christian ethic of Universal Understanding and acceptance has a lot of merit for the middle east in general.
I’d love to see some links to what you’re saying re suicide attacks against tanks by Hezbollah. especially the motorcycle thing. I’m not saying it’s not true, but it does seem unlikely. usually you’d use shaped charges or ambush with rpgs against tanks, neither of which things Hezbollah are short of.
Hezbollah are a serious outfit of course. The fear is that they will be getting involved in Syria soon, deeply uncomfortable with the rise of wahhibist organisation like AQ in the insurgency.
CV, where is your evidence of all the weapons and support you lyingly claim that the rebels are getting from the West? If the Syrian rebels were getting all the support and weapons you claim, they wouldn’t need suicide bombers.
Keep pushing for and glamourising your war.
But what is happening in Syria is a proxy war and a foreign invasion, not a popular uprising. Unless its a popular uprising which isn’t that popular because the bloody thing has been going on for well over a full year now.
As for evidence of where the FSA is getting support from, I have posted multiple links previously, which you have patiently ignored. The conflict in Syria is essentially a power struggle and proxy war driven on by foreign powers and foreign fighters. That’s what you’re supporting Jenny.
Let’s try this now:
Syria’s Secular and Islamist Rebels: Who Are the Saudis and the Qataris Arming?
What is remarkable is that this substantial strip of “free” Syria has been patched together in the past 18 months by military defectors, students, tradesmen, farmers and pharmacists who have not only withstood the Syrian army’s withering fire but in some instances repelled it using a hodgepodge of limited, light weaponry. The feat is even more amazing when one considers the disarray among the outside powers supplying arms to the loosely allied band of rebels.
Thanks for this CV.
Finally, you are starting to supply links to more than outright propaganda and lies, or half baked Washington beltway gossip and ignorant and bigoted smears. Maybe you are beginning to get an inkling into the real nature of this people’s revolt. Here’s hoping anyway.
Private Saudi and Qatari backers with some assistance from within the Turkish state, are trying to buy influence among the revolutionaries. Playing favourites, giving support to some and not others. Trying to influence the out come of the revolution.
There is no surprise here.
They realise that the rebels are on the right side of history, but they want to influence the rebels eventual victory, to retrieve the most gain for themselves. However their jockeying for position could be doing more harm than good to the resistance, and rather than end the war, prolong it.
…..as TIME reported in June, a secretive group operates something like a command center in Istanbul, directing the distribution of vital military supplies believed to be provided by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and transported with the help of Turkish intelligence to the Syrian border and then to the rebels. Further reporting has revealed more details of the operation, the politics and favoritism that undermine the task of creating a unified rebel force out of the wide array of groups trying to topple the Assad regime.
My emphasis
Apart from the disorganising effect of the “control room”, in supplying weapons to some and not others. Even the support they have given to their favourites is parsimonious at best.
“We felt that the sides giving us support weren’t on the same page,” says the control-room member from eastern Syria. “They started having side meetings with some groups.” Still, he says, “what is most important is that the guys receive weapons. Whether that is via an operations room or directly, we don’t care. Nobody knows the truth from the talk,” he says. “We have been lied to [by the international community], and we have lied to the guys inside, saying weapons would arrive in a week, in 10 days, and months have passed and some areas haven’t received supplies. So unless I see it, and see it distributed, even I don’t believe it.”
In the town of Bdeeta in Idlib province — which happens to be the hometown of Riad al-As’aad — rebel fighters complain bitterly about the lack of assistance. “We are licking our plates. We beg for salt,” says Abu Mar’iye, who heads the Martyrs of Ibditha group in the tiny town, home to some 2,000 people. “It’s not enough. Even the weapons that arrive, it’s like a drop, just enough so the fighting continues, so we can kill each other but not win.”
(The FSA is nominally headed by Riad al-As’aad, who is based in Turkey. Neither As’aad nor his chief FSA rival General Mustafa Sheikh are party to the Istanbul control room that supplies and arms rebels who operate under the FSA banner. The two men each have their own sources of funding and are independently distributing money and weapons to selected FSA units.)
WIMP -WALLOPING: Two Jackals tear apart David Shearer
Beleaguered Labour Party leader David Shearer made another dreadful, stuttering, bumbling, wandery appearance on TV3’s The Nation yesterday. In the face of a couple of aggressive young right wing journalists, Shearer was unconvincing and hesitant throughout. He often seemed confused and, fatally, seemed to be woolly-minded about economic policy and currency questions. This weakness only fed the aggression of his interrogators.
At one point, Shearer said, quite rightly, that the National Standards for primary and intermediate schools were not credible data.
“It’s just the UNIONS that say that!” scoffed the Fairfax journalist John Hartevelt.
Now, this was a perfect opening for a strong and confident politician to tear Hartevelt a new one; he could have pointed out that the group that Hartevelt sniffingly dismissed as “the unions” is actually comprised of virtually all of the nation’s teachers and educational theorists. In other words, “the unions” are people who, unlike John Hartevelt, are serious, informed and credible when it comes to talking about education.
But Shearer’s response was a lame, “That’s not true,” not followed up by any argument at all.
On Radio New Zealand National’s Mediawatch programme this morning, Hartevelt is currently getting a grilling by Colin Peacock over his shoddy release of the ropey National Standards figures. When he is contradicted and challenged, Hartevelt is anything but authoritative. What a pity the Labour Party lacks a leader prepared or able to do the same thing.
He didn’t even need to defend the unions, he just needed to say “Look, John, you yourself have stated that the data doesn’t reflect quality, isn’t moderated, and can’t be used to draw meaningful conclusions between different schools. So obviously that’s incorrect.”
But that would involve being quick off the mark and bolshy enough to defend your viewpoints.
And he should have defended the unions at the same time: “let’s not forget that our teacher unions were amongst the first experts to correctly point out the glaring flaws in National Standards, well before many other commentators caught up with the facts.”
Looking forward to hearing Shearer defending himself when his speechwriter gets on to it in that fantastic newsletter called “Shearer Stays”, oops, “Shearer Says”.
I’m calling “this week we held the government to account on National Standards data, and continued to champion the rights of parents and teachers and communities to do what’s best for their children and their children’s children.”
I wonder if he’s figured out why the sickness bene on the roof story was a gift to right wing nut jobs yet.
OK, so he stood around and looked the other way while Hartevelt put the boot into working people, but at least he managed not to spit in anyone’s face this time.
Yes I too watched in numb horror, Has no-one in the Labour party worked it out yet??? Or maybe they have. BUT when we have a pull apart after the 2014 debacle that will be the election where the NZ Labour Party comes a woeful 3rd with fuck all seats behind a confident Green Party and A thieving NACT party in for the final round of theft and incompetence.
We will be able to point the finger at OLD and PAST IT politicians clinging on with their fingertips. Pushing their own private agendas, just so they can suck at the public teat for another 3 years where they will have to do fuck all to get the money they are supposed to EARN!
Now we all know who these old and past it ones are, so a little nudging in to the retirement rather than defeat.camp would be good.
And will someone please please point out to shearer and his backers (Robertson) included is that he is not, and never will be, Prime Minister material, and neither are they, simply by the damage they have let happen to NZ, and it’s economy. By their self interest.
Again, refer to today’s speech by the enlightened Cunliffe – compare and contrast with Shearer and you will wonder what the hell has gone wrong with the Labour Party!
I think the “Delegation” style of leadership has definite merit
While David Shearer hasn’t hit his straps yet, the example they set for NZ is a formidable one.
Anyone of 5 different people should be able to step into his shoes without any qualms by the end of this year.
Which five do you have in mind? I can think of two with enough profile, skill and experience for the job but not five. I can’t even get as far as three.
Shearer has to carry the discussion regarding the exchange rate. I throw my hands up there has been an identified issue yet all the solutions are to give the responsibility to the RB for the solutions. If they have some ides how to correct the issue them come out and inform us. I think either that they have no idea of a solution or the consequences are as bad as the what they are trying to solve.
So by expecting the RB to fix the problem who directs them, especially as DS does not want “politicians to run the exchange rate.” !!! “Good grief” as Charlie Brown would say. After the GCSB being unrestricted in their actions now DS wants another govt. dept. in the RB to also be unrestricted.
US military documents categorise Assange and Wikileaks as “enemies of the United States”
THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States – the same legal category as the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban insurgency.
Declassified US Air Force counter-intelligence documents, released under US freedom-of-information laws, reveal that military personnel who contact WikiLeaks or WikiLeaks supporters may be at risk of being charged with “communicating with the enemy”, a military crime that carries a maximum sentence of death.
CV 7
On radionz this morning a report on food sharing and political discussion in the USA has presented an interesting picture of USA repressive attitudes. The group has a slogan food not bombs and this is making authorities extremely sensitive, saying that they can approve food distribution but there must be no banners with political messages. In fact one political commentator said they were a subversive influence that was undermining the USAs ability to get citizens to respond to possible attacks on the country from its enemies.
They started off giving out food, vegetarian and vegan only, in the park where the Occupy groups began their protest. Free speech and free food are at the least embarrassing, particularly to very liberal politicians who are quite negative because it draws attention to their inadequacies, and at the most regarded as highly dangerous by the fear and war exponents in the USA who want to occupy the hearts and minds of their people.
It’s a serious problem. 21st century NZ is going to have to walk a fine line between the interests and politics of two great Pacific powers. China and the USA. I’ve got little faith that our current crew can get it right for our magnificent, but very small, country.
Maybe. The unexpected is usually what happens though, and in retrospect it is seen as inevitable. Like the rise of Prussia – or England or Japan for that matter. Somewhere out there !
THE US military has designated Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as enemies of the United States – the same legal category as the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban insurgency.
Oh my giddy aunt. Nutmegs! Seriously, Assange has reason to be worried…
His short answer is that he believes that the four boxes needed can be ticked and that there will be a case to answer.
Will take a long time but interesting.
have a listen to Cat (Yusaf Islam) Stevens’ ‘The Very Best Of ‘…i can’t keep it in…no …i can’t keep it in…gotta let it out…oh..i gotta let it out…(sans grass, regretably, yet THIS TOO MUST PASS)
Murray McCully stands up in the UN and criticises lack of action to aid the Syrian people and refers to the veto which has been utilised by China and Russia. Wonder if we will ever hear a criticism of USA policies from him? Not now we are the dingy dinghy again.
Janice 9.1
McCully probably was better than Jokey as he might start a world war with some inappropriate remark. McCully I am sure, knows more about the issues than Jokey Hen who also doesn’t want to mess up his fine financial fund mind with annoying matters better left to other people. The responsibility on a NZ PM is sooo wide, heavy and stressful. You just wouldn’t have a clue!
I see that Murry McCully spoke on the importance of Israel and Palestine leaders talking again. They actually live very close to each other. Sounds a bit Sarah Palinish. Does that mean that I was wrong that he was a waste of time really because of biasing his speech on USA concerns. No, here is some background to the USA relationship and aid to Israel. Mostly google headings that offer the information I was looking for. The links don’t come up live.
First a Wikipedia summary of a book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy on whether the USA lobby for Israel is mainly wealthy Jewish people. (There are likely to be some biased blogs on this subject so I think that a researched book would give a reliable view.) The book is by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_Lobby_and_U.S._Foreign_Policy
On military aid USA Israel –
**Israel–United States relations – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel–United_States_relations
Almost all U.S. aid to Israel is now in the form of military assistance, while in the past it … Strong congressional support for Israel has resulted in Israel’s receiving …
**US Aid to Israel and the Palestinians
ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html
The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.2 million each day* in military aid and … Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing the amounts …
**Tempering Iron Dome: US may spend $680 million on Israeli missile …
rt.com/news/us-israel-military-aid-iron-dome-637/
21 Apr 2012 – The US could fork out $680 million on strengthening the Israeli Iron Dome rocket shield. …
(Obama and Israel)
**U.S., Israel Build Military Cooperation – WSJ.com
online.wsj.com/…/SB1000142405274870332100457542727255005…
14 Aug 2010 – U.S. military aid to Israel has increased markedly this year. … Obama felt the increased military support is necessary to assure Israel’s security …
(Jewish extensive reference to it) –
**http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/foreign_aid.html
Here’s an interesting item on how the USA paranoia about attacks has caused it to look for guidance from the paranoic Israelis.
**http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/31/opinion/la-oe-blackwill-israel-20111031
This one has moving pics on the topics and an academic opinion that the UN structure assists USA to act in Israel’s interests
**http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/29/264033/dozens-of-insurgents-killed-in-aleppo/
This one has interesting points
**http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/15/the_politically_incorrect_guide_to_us_interests_in_the_middle_east
I was reasonably pleased with McCully’s response on Syria and Israel/Palestine. I don’t think the latter was Sarah Palinish at all – perhaps a little flat-footed in a plain-spoken way, but not actually idiotic a la Palin.
Thanks Dv – good blog from Local Bodies. This quote from Dv link at 11.1
In the days when the Education Ministry was a Department, and had less political interference, it was managed by some astute and forward thinking individuals. Clarence Beeby and Bill Renwick were hugely instrumental in shaping the philosophies and pedagogical approach that led us to being one of the top education systems in the world.
That has all changed. We now have imports that haven’t the excuse of being cheap – Lesley Longstone recently in the news because of the shakeup of our school system is said to be receiving $600,000 p.a. You can’t help thinking that we have a cringe factor alive and well in NZ that we can’t find suitable candidates for such positions. And those working their way up in a Department with consequent institutional knowledge are likely to be elbowed out during some internecine change and so we lose our experienced people who care about NZ and get these moving generic managers who make us bow and scrape to their supposedly superior knowledge. (Must be, they’re from overseas you know.)
Here is some info on Ms Longstone. If you want source get it yourself, I’m tired.
“Lesley Longstone has 25 years’ experience in the education and employment sectors in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, and she understands the economic importance of education and its contribution to the broader skills agenda.
Ms Longstone has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sheffield.
Ed Milliband, UK Labour Leader: Either the banking sector makes sweeping changes or we will force bank break ups
Frakkin’A. This is what we are talking about people. However, the City of London financial centre holds such vast political power and influence in the UK, I hope Milliband can stay the course.
By the way, it is no co-incidence that the Lehman collapse, Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion dollar ponzi scheme, the massive theft from MF Global account holders, near infinite leverage/shadow rehypothecation collateral rorts and many more frauds originated in City of London financial operating centres.
Ed Miliband will make his boldest, most controversial policy commitment since becoming Labour leader on Sunday when he pledges to force the break-up of Britain’s biggest banks unless they agree to revolutionise their operations and put ordinary customers first.
In an interview with the Observer, the Labour leader says he will confront the City of London with what is seen as the nuclear option for reform if the banks fail to separate their “casino” investment operations from services to account-holders, savers and businesses.
It’s not daylight savings this weekend is it? The clock on my computer has gone forward an hour but it uses an international clock and I’m not sure they’ve been right since the govt changed the date of DST and didn’t tell the rest of the world.
I suppose it’s a chance to reset all the clocks to the same time. I use five digital clocks and they all end up out of sync within 2 or 3 weeks. The computer is the only true one because it resets when I go online. Did time used to be this odd when we had analog clocks?
I’m perturbed that you’re finding that with your digital clocks. There is absolutely no reason for even a cheap digital clock to gain or lose more than 1 minute a month, and that is being generous.
I’d blame sloppy cheap electronics design or componentry. A good quality quartz mechanical watch will often perform to +/- 2 minutes per year.
Grant Wormald didn’t just give evidence that was inconsistent; he clearly perjured himself in a court of law. He said to his knowledge there was no other agencies involved in the surveillance of Mr Dotcom, knowing full well that the GCSB was involved. In fact he attended a meeting on December 14 with GCSB operatives. For him to say he wasn’t aware of their involvement is an obvious lie, made under oath, and the Detective Inspector should be held to account…
So now its the weekend and still no earthshaking distractions for Shonky to hide behind, He has got to working with Bennet on something, as Parata is now a liability.
About the best thing they could start with would be a “Closed Door” meeting with the captain of those men, and yeah I mean you bud.
If they know the ground you were walking they can direct their efforts properly.
Otherwise they can’t target the people in question.
(Understandably reticent I’d imagine ur response too be, but think about it, it may help
From the sound of things the two Geoffs from Labour and Cunliffe would be the men to talk too)
The problem is obviously at the top, and the only way to find the top is to start at the bottom.
(No Offense Brother)
Nothing has changed in 35 years when it comes to cops committing perjury in court as the police have not been made accountable even after Chief Justice Elias from the Supreme Court has become involved. An effing joke.
The Nuremberg defence has substantive problems both for Wormald and his boss.
If he invokes the ND he (Knowing it was incorrect) he still could have made a moral judgement, hence it only limits the remedies.The other part is it transfers accountability up the food chain (it increases the value of remedies to his superiors)
Fastest code in the West babe 🙂
Machine code ‘C’ if ya lookin for name.
Use a var to trigger the Daemon break…
if( brkVar ) break;
}
Remember 0 it true
All you Aucklanders enjoying the almost exclusively chemical skies today…go on, step outside, take a look up, and ponder the marvel that is the “clouds” up there today…Notice the textures and the shapes, really not quite right are they…
Oh, and yes I took the footage of the plane dumping over AKL again today at midday, heading south, right over the middle of the city…
Thats three times I have seen it, and twice I have filmed it. Someone on this island knows WTF is going on!
Yes I saw a narrow elongated ‘cloud’ over the North Shore – must have been around 2.30 -3.00pm. Took it to be the ragged remains of a contrail probably at around 20,000 ft.
I know an Air NZ flight captain (the partner of a family member) and was tempted to contact him for a bit of a razz… you’ve been dumping fuel have you?
Hey Marty, the only “theory” I subscribe to about it, is that somethings going on, we are not being told “in public” at least. I prefer to take the most obvious about a situation, which is, there is something being sprayed in our skies, only complete idiots would contest that now. The what and why, become the obvious next questions, and there is lots of stuff which can assist with that. Ive not done any lab tests etc so wont speculate on those….
I have filmed the planes 2 times now, and that is not any commercial arline route on a sunday. Just checked the official commercial routes again and times of arrivals and departures at Wellington and Christchurch today that might mean a flight heading southerly direction at such height could return on, and nothing would match, again this time either!
If you could see the sky up here today, even the hardest skeptic , would be doing well to explain the state of AKL’s skies!
I struggle with this one mainly because of explanations that are based on someone/group doing it to us for their sinister ends – but those ends, that I have heard, don’t make sense. Maybe I’m just not mad enough to comprehend their madness 🙂
Marty it need not be sinister in nature, but whatever they are doing, the results/expectations, may or may not be understood. They are spraying shit into the sky, and if you could see Auckland today you would know exactly what I am talking about, and if you saw what I saw, its likely the only way people can understand. I was not skeptical, but before I saw the planes, wondered if there was a simpple explantion, now having seen them so many times, and filmed it, there is not a shred of doubt they are spraying.
I hope you never see them down your way dude!
See my comment about the 320pm return srpay leg, and I have taken film and pics all afternoon from my area of AKL. The sky is an absolute mess of chemical shit today, grrrrr.
EDIT @ Weka – I’m not going to upload them, as have no facility that I would want to use. The May 6 footage I took, I gave to someone to pass on, who posted it online.
All good muzza, many have noted the same thing down here which is why I’ve heard a bit about it, and I’ve seen a few videos and seen them here and in Auckland. I’m not saying they aren’t true and I hope you crack it wide open – I just can’t work out any type of ‘why’ that makes sense to me. I spose I put it to one side really and concentrate on stuff like the proposed open cast mine on the Denniston Plateau, it feels like I might be able to work with others and stop that atrocity – not sure I can say the same about the spraying. Kia kaha.
Hey Marty, good on you with the mines and things, locally we all definitely can get “hands on” so to speak, and hands on, is whats required, not just at the keyboard either 😉
Sorry muzza, but it’s not good enough. Fair enough that you have concerns, but without accessible evidence it’s all just another conspiracy theory. I have no interest in watching 2 minutes of the Auckland sky without any context or explanation. Someone needs to put together some credible information and present it in ways that people can read and understand. Not saying that has to be you, but I don’t really see the point in speculating about phenomena without any useful analysis that is backed up by evidence. Or at least not scarey phenomena. It just makes people worry but gives them nowhere to go.
No need to apologise for yourself Weka., I can understand your position, as I too would also like to know why planes are spraying, because the question has gone past, perhaps thats whats going on.
Why do you & others keep saying that someone should put together, and there is no evidence, there is plenty out there from all around the world Weka, what would you consider evidence or a well put togther case, over an above what is already being done…
Certainly I would agree that without seeing the planes for oneself, seeing what is coming from the planes are obvioulsy NOT vapour (con) trails, then seeing the clear blue day that was AKL yesterday, and on May 6, turning into a mesh of god knows what, followed by the predictable shit weather.
Perhaps there is nothing in it Weka, I can’t say either way, all I am saying is that I know what I saw, and have seen, and what it did to our days on May 6 and yesterday.
If what I post panics you, then don’t read it, and if you are not up to doing some reading etc about geo-enginerring, then youre not in any position to say there is no evidence or that someone should put some together!
The problem muzza is that most information presented about chemtrails is done so by either whackjobs or people who have almost zero critical thinking skills. I have an appreciation for whackjobs in society but they’re not people I go to for facts. People with very poor critical thinking skills bother me more, because they use the internet to push their ill formed ideas in ways that don’t help much and probably do some damage.
I don’t consider you to be either of those two things, and have been interested in your story of what you see in the skies (have read previous threads), but until you present some evidence it’s just an interesting story.
I’m not panicked by the chemtrail stuff, just pissed off at how it gets debated. We have enough stressful shit to deal with on the planet at the moment without adding to the load with information that is designed to alarm but has no back up.
“if you are not up to doing some reading etc about geo-enginerring, then youre not in any position to say there is no evidence or that someone should put some together!”
I disagree. Part of critical thinking is learning who to trust and why. I don’t have to understand every phenomena on the planet to such detail because I have the skills to read people who do have that detail and I can sift out the wheat from the chaff. That’s on both sides of an argument (I can point you to poor thinking on both sides of the Ken Ring debate for instance).
I also tend to not trust people who only reference youtube. Video is a good way of getting a message across, but it’s generally a crap way of providing verifiable evidence (not least because it can’t reference easily).
And I definitely have low opinion of websites that use obvious propoganda tecniques. This site, which pops up number one in google for ‘chemtrail’ is classic
It’s designed to appeal to people who think of themselves as woken up (the big banner), and to hook in other people by using emotive fearmongering. I’m much less likely to take something seriously that feels the need to SHOUT AT ME how stupid I am if I don’t believe what it says.
It’s also hard to take anything seriously that purports that human-made CC has been ‘exposed as a hoax’. Whatever one thinks about CC, ‘exposed as a hoax’ ain’t what’s been happening, and that phrase suggests that the website people don’t have a very good understanding of science or the politics of science.
That website also considers that a high number of google hits = proof of theory. That’s just stupid.
If the chemtrail crowd want to be taken seriously, how hard would it be to put up a website that explains the issues in a clear, rational way that lay people can understand?
I also tend to not trust people who only reference youtube.
Weka, which way to you want it? – Asking me if I am going to post the video online but don’t trust people who post on YT. I would be happy to send you the raw footage if you like, but again its still my video with no context for you, because you were not here, and not see what was happening with your own eyes.
I do tend to agree with you, that seeing video gives little context, which is why I DONT post what I have, because its very easy for people to blow it off, as you have been doing. My contention is not to state what is going on, I can’t do that, because I don’t know for sure what they are spraying, only that I have seen, and filmed the spraying multiple times now, that I fly planes, and have spent most of my life looking at the sky, and that our skies have changed in a way that I can’t believe people in AKL do not notice!
You’re not in AKL either obviously, as otherwise you would have some more specific comments on my posts, and I notice that there was no response from anyone in AKL, (not that it means anything in hard terms, it would be good to hear other locals thoughts – If they saw it).
Out of interst, how do you develop your sense of who/what you can trust? – Here is a tip, if you think you can develop it as a skill, you don’t have it naturally, which has its limitations. Sure you will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, the critical thinking and general intelligence will assist there, but instinctively there will always be a gap.
Muzza, I said I tend not to trust people who only reference youtube. And gave valid reasons why. This doesn’t mean video isn’t useful, just that it’s not usually in and of itself proof in situations like this.
I’m not in Auckland, hence my original question about posting your footage online. I really don’t know what you are talking about and the visuals would be interesting if you can post a comparison with what you think are not chemtrails.
My contention is not to state what is going on, I can’t do that, because I don’t know for sure what they are spraying, only that I have seen, and filmed the spraying multiple times now, that I fly planes, and have spent most of my life looking at the sky, and that our skies have changed in a way that I can’t believe people in AKL do not notice!
Yes, I’m aware that you are trying to just describe what you see, rather than post theory about what is going on and why. It’s one of the reasons I read what you write on this.
But if you keep doing that repeatedly without any further support people will get bored or annoyed and switch off. How will that help?
“(not that it means anything in hard terms, it would be good to hear other locals thoughts – If they saw it).”
You could for instance get methodical. Open a wordpress blog, without all the conspiracy dramatics, and post your observations and photos/stills. Ask Aucklanders to join you, and post what they are seeing. Give them times and directions of where to look. Moderate heavily to keep out the conspiracy theory stuff. Write short, easily accessible pieces about why you think x plane is doing y activity, and what is unusual about it. Likewise, post about the differences you are seeing the sky compared to 5 years ago, 10, 20 etc.
I have never (and that means never EVER) seen any quantified evidence that would demonstrate that any CONTRAIL that appears in the sky is anything more than a normally over-expanded jet exhaust operating in an atmospheric area where the water density is already high (almost saturated), and the passing of the jet engine through that atmospheric condition has caused the high water density to be condensed into visible exhaust plumes.
That would be atmosphere that resembles Auckland’s most of the friggen time.
A “broad church”: we’ll make room for both Right Wing voters and Left Wing voters inside Labour
Great that’s been finally cleared up.
Mr Shearer said the party was doing well. “But will we have some changes later on? Quite possibly” he said. He wouldn’t say whether that would be before the end of the year. He said he disagreed with the claim earlier this year by Economic Development spokesman, David Cunliffe that voters who deserted Labour did so because they party’s policies as not very different to National’s.
However he said there was room for Mr Cunliffe inside Labour because it was “a broad church”.
“There are many people who vote Labour from what you might call left and to the right as well.
“It’s a broad church and what we’re looking for is to be a party for all New Zealanders, not just one of the other.”
Since the present lowering of crime rates can be connected to better social services and education provided to today’s teenagers over the period of the last Labour government, I am unfortunately confident in predicting rising crime levels in about five years or so as the rejected primary school children of today hit their teenage years under the punitive benefit and education policies of our wonderful present government. One can only hope the crime will hurt those presently benefiting from the low tax rates for the rich introduced by the same government, but crime always hurts the poor before it hurts those with big walls and money to hire security guards.
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
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Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
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Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
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Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
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Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
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With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
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 ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
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Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
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Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
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The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
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David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
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Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
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Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
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This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
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Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A former Tuvalu prime minister says while the New Zealand government’s oil and gas plans show it is concerned about its economy, he is more concerned about the livelihoods and survival of the Tuvalu people. Enele Sopoaga — who still serves as an MP ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Many people who follow federal budgets know about the magnificent “budget tree” in a parliamentary courtyard, which turns a glorious red in time for the May event. This week Treasurer Jim Chalmers posed by ...
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RNZ Pacific Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year in prison, Fiji media are reporting. Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva today for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police ...
Acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo says, “Addressing violence and abuse remains New Zealand’s most significant human rights issue affecting women. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Symons, Macquarie School of Social Sciences, Macquarie University Michael Schiffer / Unsplash Life has transformed our world over billions of years, turning a dead rock into the lush, fertile planet we know today. But human activity is currently transforming Earth ...
One woman’s quest to watch Challengers without ruining her body clock. Every Saturday morning, I wake up with a screaming demon inside my head urging me to “Do. Something. This. Weekend.” I run through the possibilities in my head in a defensive mental crouch, reminiscent of that one time I ...
David Cunliffe is putting out a new speech today.
Hopefully something that starts to show what Labour-Green economic management might look like.
Cool. Where?
Laingholm Community Hall 2:30 pm.
Thanks, Micky. Pity I’ll be working then.
If someone going along would be kind enough to give us the after-action report 🙂
It’s here.
Thanks Draco for making this brilliant speech available to us. What other current politician could match such well constructed and inspiring words? Shearer will try, but come nowhere close. Imagine someone like Key attempting to deliver a speech of this quality! Laughable! Here is a way ahead, full of promise and policy. How is it that a man of such exceedingly high intelligence is not leading the Labour opposition?
I guess the media will not notice this event of today!
I enjoyed David’s comments about neo-liberalism.
“Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that greed is good, that we’re all locked in an economic life-and-death-struggle with each other. Neo-Liberalism says that compassion is for suckers. Neo-Liberalism says that if the world is going to the dogs, it might as well be the top dogs. Indeed, to borrow from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, not only is greed good, “it’s legal.”
No it’s not. It’s just more BaU and we know, or we should anyway, that BaU doesn’t work as the increasing poverty in this country proves.
Nah mate I think your judgement is too harsh. NZ politics hasn’t seen this kind of identification and analysis of neoliberal failures for a long time.
Does it suggest the brand new paradigms that we need? Nope it does fall short there. Mimicking a strategy that scandanavian countries successfully used during a massive resource, financial and energy boom is not necessarily going to work for us, in this time.
And that’s where the likes of us come in to push and educate so that the citizens force the pollies to take heed. And to realise also that the pollies are never going to accomplish that much of the change required.
Go David Cunliffe !
It’s probably the first truly definitive attack on neo-liberalism world wide.
The problem with labels in general is they detract from the core thinking that derived them.
Add a couple of years and it becomes the label that drives them, when that happens it’s time to whatch out for the “Evil Ones”.
interest politics? minority politics? particular politics? singular politics? classification politics?
equation politics
-Excalibur (like the palm of our hands)
oops, forgot the categorical imperative in hurry-Kant
(work in progress)
now, Soren Kierkegaard; there is a thoughtful man.
I look forward to the posts on Kiwiblog and Whaleoil condemning Aussie talkback host Alan Jones’s latest vicious attack on Julia Gillard. Won’t be long now …
You hate Alan Jones too? Then you might like to watch him getting publicly humiliated on television by Chopper Read….
NOT!
Syria
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/rebels-make-gains-in-blunting-syrian-air-attacks/
After months of being massacred from the sky, rebel forces are encroaching on the borders of at least one government controlled airfield.
This has created a conundrum for the rebel fighters. Being close to the airfield allows them to shoot at these aircraft when they are the most vulnerable to light weapons, either on the ground, or at taking off and landing.
The rebels say they will overun the base eventually. But what should they do with the aircraft?
Destroy them?
Or use them against the regime?
And what would the Western Powers do if the revolutionary forces get hold of jet aircraft?
Already Western Powers have threatened to intervene if Assad’s gas weapons threaten to fall into rebel hands.
Western leaders have also expressed fears that if effective anti-aircraft weapons, particularly any potent shoulder fired anti aircraft heat seeking missiles, got into the hands of the rebel fighters that this could change the balance of power in the Middle East.
Because of these fears the West have been content to let Assad bomb and strafe defenceless Syrian suburbs and towns without mercy.
The huge civilian casualties doesn’t stir them but the thought of powerful anti aircraft weapons in the hands of the “Arab Street” sends a chill down their spine. The threat being that such a change in the balance of power could spiral beyond their control ending the long standing Western Imperium in the Middle East, toppleing all the well armed despotic puppet states that are the bolster to that power.
The consequences could be far reaching
Trouble is, Jenny, they do nothing about Israel’s continual bombing of Gaza; it’s a bit much to expect them to do anything about Syria.
Sad, but true, Morrissey.
Jenny you were doing so well there for a while too, focussing on the local issues like PoAL.
Perhaps keep focus on what you understand clearly, and on which will have greater impact here in NZ.
I’m sure all the innocent Syrians executed by the FSA Death Squads (Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi, US/UK/French sponsored), would not miss your inability to comprehend what is nearer to the actual situtation in Syria, which pretty much means you condone their deaths!
I find it fascinating that Jenny is trying to position the Western military powers as being at least tacit backers of Assad. When all the arms and funding going to the foreign fighters who have infiltrated the “Free Syria Army” is coming through countries who have close military and financial ties with the US and UK.
As you state muzza, including Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and also Turkey.
You forgot Iran.
Yep. Iran and Syria have very close ties. If the US and Israel is to increase their military and financial leverage over Iran, taking Syria down will be very helpful.
Suicide bombing against Syrian military HQ caught on camera
Notice how the van carrying the explosives is still being driven as it is detonated. Suicide bombings like this mark an ugly turning point in this conflict, and demonstrate the influence that foreign jihadi and islamist fighters are having on the tactics of the Free Syrian Army.
I’d say that was accidental. That was definitely not the place anyone would want to set off a bomb.
Poor bastards, Thanks Netenyahu, ya set another one off.
It’s his bloody words they would’ve been “programmed” by society too watch for.
In a moment of loss they spoke to the Taliban, and what would they be saying?
More racist and Islamaphobic bullshit from you CV.
CV, where is your evidence of all the weapons and support you lyingly claim that the rebels are getting from the West? If the Syrian rebels were getting all the support and weapons you claim, they wouldn’t need suicide bombers.
In an asymmetric conflict between two heavily unequal forces, on one hand a powerful conventional modern army and on the other a poorly armed insurgent force – in desperation, the much weaker military force finding themselves at a serious military disadvantage in munitions and equipment, have resorted to suicide attacks. Examples of this can be cited in almost every major military conflict. In the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 2006 suicide attacks have been cited as the main factor in the Israeli conventional army’s defeat at the hands of the paramilitary forces of Hezbollah. Hezbollah found through bitter experience that, in that heavily asymmetric conflict, if they sent ten fighters against a similar number of IDF, that they would lose 9 out of 10 Lebanese volunteers for 1 Israeli soldier, (if that). With the use of suicide bomber volunteers, that statistic could be reversed. These attacks were so effective, it was said that a column of modern Merkava tanks could be halted at the sound of an approaching dirt-bike.
Most of Israel’s casualties in that war were Merkava tank crews.
As a result in Lebanon these desperate suicide attacks against the Israeli invaders became known as “the poor man’s nuclear bomb“.
The reason this asymetric tactic was called the poor man’s nuclear weapon, is because while a professional army can afford to pay soldiers to kill for them. Professional armies can’t afford to pay soldiers enough to die for them.
Despite the racist depiction of this phenomenon as the result of fanatic religious fundamentalism unique to Islamists. In extremis it has also been practiced by largely secular forces as well. The mainly secular insurgents of Tamil Eelam of Sri Lanka relied heavily on this tactic.
In Syrian history, Jules Jammal a Christian Syrian naval officer who grew up near Homs was a defender in the invasion of the Sinai Peninsula by the combined Western forces of Israel, Britain and France. In 1956 Jules Jammal volunteered to become a suicide bomber, to sink a french war ship.
Jammal is considered a hero in both Syria and Egypt, receiving official military honours from both governments on his sacrifice.
For his actions Jamal was also awarded the medal of St Peter and St Paul from the Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
Streets in Syria and Egypt are still named after this Arab Christian hero.
Unfortunately due to the sheer inhuman military brutality of the Assad regime and it’s reliance on it’s fully modernly equipped army and airforce to suppress the rebellion, pitted against the woeful lack of powerful weapons by the insurgents, this desperate tactic may become more common in Syria.
Sadly true, which is why society has to speek Life Positive messages.
War and Destruction will only amplify the situation.
They’d be better off building a “Homeless” muslim compund and trying to help these people.
But who’d trust them?
Not me at this point that’d be 4 sure.
The Christian ethic of Universal Understanding and acceptance has a lot of merit for the middle east in general.
I’d love to see some links to what you’re saying re suicide attacks against tanks by Hezbollah. especially the motorcycle thing. I’m not saying it’s not true, but it does seem unlikely. usually you’d use shaped charges or ambush with rpgs against tanks, neither of which things Hezbollah are short of.
Hezbollah are a serious outfit of course. The fear is that they will be getting involved in Syria soon, deeply uncomfortable with the rise of wahhibist organisation like AQ in the insurgency.
They disable the track with hand grenades, and they are charging a tank, one way trip usually.
And then shoot the rpgs’s etc
🙂 the ‘tide is turning’
Jenny said:
Keep pushing for and glamourising your war.
But what is happening in Syria is a proxy war and a foreign invasion, not a popular uprising. Unless its a popular uprising which isn’t that popular because the bloody thing has been going on for well over a full year now.
As for evidence of where the FSA is getting support from, I have posted multiple links previously, which you have patiently ignored. The conflict in Syria is essentially a power struggle and proxy war driven on by foreign powers and foreign fighters. That’s what you’re supporting Jenny.
Let’s try this now:
Read more: http://world.time.com/2012/09/18/syrias-secular-and-islamist-rebels-who-are-the-saudis-and-the-qataris-arming/#ixzz27vx9txpb
Still no effective anti-aircraft weapons
Thanks for this CV.
Finally, you are starting to supply links to more than outright propaganda and lies, or half baked Washington beltway gossip and ignorant and bigoted smears. Maybe you are beginning to get an inkling into the real nature of this people’s revolt. Here’s hoping anyway.
Private Saudi and Qatari backers with some assistance from within the Turkish state, are trying to buy influence among the revolutionaries. Playing favourites, giving support to some and not others. Trying to influence the out come of the revolution.
There is no surprise here.
They realise that the rebels are on the right side of history, but they want to influence the rebels eventual victory, to retrieve the most gain for themselves. However their jockeying for position could be doing more harm than good to the resistance, and rather than end the war, prolong it.
Apart from the disorganising effect of the “control room”, in supplying weapons to some and not others. Even the support they have given to their favourites is parsimonious at best.
(The FSA is nominally headed by Riad al-As’aad, who is based in Turkey. Neither As’aad nor his chief FSA rival General Mustafa Sheikh are party to the Istanbul control room that supplies and arms rebels who operate under the FSA banner. The two men each have their own sources of funding and are independently distributing money and weapons to selected FSA units.)
WIMP -WALLOPING: Two Jackals tear apart David Shearer
Beleaguered Labour Party leader David Shearer made another dreadful, stuttering, bumbling, wandery appearance on TV3’s The Nation yesterday. In the face of a couple of aggressive young right wing journalists, Shearer was unconvincing and hesitant throughout. He often seemed confused and, fatally, seemed to be woolly-minded about economic policy and currency questions. This weakness only fed the aggression of his interrogators.
At one point, Shearer said, quite rightly, that the National Standards for primary and intermediate schools were not credible data.
“It’s just the UNIONS that say that!” scoffed the Fairfax journalist John Hartevelt.
Now, this was a perfect opening for a strong and confident politician to tear Hartevelt a new one; he could have pointed out that the group that Hartevelt sniffingly dismissed as “the unions” is actually comprised of virtually all of the nation’s teachers and educational theorists. In other words, “the unions” are people who, unlike John Hartevelt, are serious, informed and credible when it comes to talking about education.
But Shearer’s response was a lame, “That’s not true,” not followed up by any argument at all.
On Radio New Zealand National’s Mediawatch programme this morning, Hartevelt is currently getting a grilling by Colin Peacock over his shoddy release of the ropey National Standards figures. When he is contradicted and challenged, Hartevelt is anything but authoritative. What a pity the Labour Party lacks a leader prepared or able to do the same thing.
god, that’s depressing.
He didn’t even need to defend the unions, he just needed to say “Look, John, you yourself have stated that the data doesn’t reflect quality, isn’t moderated, and can’t be used to draw meaningful conclusions between different schools. So obviously that’s incorrect.”
But that would involve being quick off the mark and bolshy enough to defend your viewpoints.
And he should have defended the unions at the same time: “let’s not forget that our teacher unions were amongst the first experts to correctly point out the glaring flaws in National Standards, well before many other commentators caught up with the facts.”
Looking forward to hearing Shearer defending himself when his speechwriter gets on to it in that fantastic newsletter called “Shearer Stays”, oops, “Shearer Says”.
I’m calling “this week we held the government to account on National Standards data, and continued to champion the rights of parents and teachers and communities to do what’s best for their children and their children’s children.”
I wonder if he’s figured out why the sickness bene on the roof story was a gift to right wing nut jobs yet.
OK, so he stood around and looked the other way while Hartevelt put the boot into working people, but at least he managed not to spit in anyone’s face this time.
Yes I too watched in numb horror, Has no-one in the Labour party worked it out yet??? Or maybe they have. BUT when we have a pull apart after the 2014 debacle that will be the election where the NZ Labour Party comes a woeful 3rd with fuck all seats behind a confident Green Party and A thieving NACT party in for the final round of theft and incompetence.
We will be able to point the finger at OLD and PAST IT politicians clinging on with their fingertips. Pushing their own private agendas, just so they can suck at the public teat for another 3 years where they will have to do fuck all to get the money they are supposed to EARN!
Now we all know who these old and past it ones are, so a little nudging in to the retirement rather than defeat.camp would be good.
And will someone please please point out to shearer and his backers (Robertson) included is that he is not, and never will be, Prime Minister material, and neither are they, simply by the damage they have let happen to NZ, and it’s economy. By their self interest.
Again, refer to today’s speech by the enlightened Cunliffe – compare and contrast with Shearer and you will wonder what the hell has gone wrong with the Labour Party!
I think the “Delegation” style of leadership has definite merit
While David Shearer hasn’t hit his straps yet, the example they set for NZ is a formidable one.
Anyone of 5 different people should be able to step into his shoes without any qualms by the end of this year.
Which five do you have in mind? I can think of two with enough profile, skill and experience for the job but not five. I can’t even get as far as three.
Realistically I guess it’ll be all the major portfolios or shadow portfolios.
Shearer has to carry the discussion regarding the exchange rate. I throw my hands up there has been an identified issue yet all the solutions are to give the responsibility to the RB for the solutions. If they have some ides how to correct the issue them come out and inform us. I think either that they have no idea of a solution or the consequences are as bad as the what they are trying to solve.
So by expecting the RB to fix the problem who directs them, especially as DS does not want “politicians to run the exchange rate.” !!! “Good grief” as Charlie Brown would say. After the GCSB being unrestricted in their actions now DS wants another govt. dept. in the RB to also be unrestricted.
True, it comes back to that bleedin “Open Market” crap, needs to rethink that one pronto
US military documents categorise Assange and Wikileaks as “enemies of the United States”
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/us-calls-assange-enemy-of-state-20120927-26m7s.html#ixzz27cjH9qSk
CV 7
On radionz this morning a report on food sharing and political discussion in the USA has presented an interesting picture of USA repressive attitudes. The group has a slogan food not bombs and this is making authorities extremely sensitive, saying that they can approve food distribution but there must be no banners with political messages. In fact one political commentator said they were a subversive influence that was undermining the USAs ability to get citizens to respond to possible attacks on the country from its enemies.
They started off giving out food, vegetarian and vegan only, in the park where the Occupy groups began their protest. Free speech and free food are at the least embarrassing, particularly to very liberal politicians who are quite negative because it draws attention to their inadequacies, and at the most regarded as highly dangerous by the fear and war exponents in the USA who want to occupy the hearts and minds of their people.
It’s a serious problem. 21st century NZ is going to have to walk a fine line between the interests and politics of two great Pacific powers. China and the USA. I’ve got little faith that our current crew can get it right for our magnificent, but very small, country.
Maybe. The unexpected is usually what happens though, and in retrospect it is seen as inevitable. Like the rise of Prussia – or England or Japan for that matter. Somewhere out there !
yes, and no. nothing new under the sun
Oh my giddy aunt. Nutmegs! Seriously, Assange has reason to be worried…
Graeme Edgler on Public Address has an intriguing dissection of the charge brought to the Police over the “spying” on Kim Dotcom compared to the investigation of teapot tapes.
http://publicaddress.net/legalbeagle/kim-dotcom-vs-the-teapot-tapes/
His short answer is that he believes that the four boxes needed can be ticked and that there will be a case to answer.
Will take a long time but interesting.
now, here is an empathetic point of entry..:)
SCHOPENHAUER ROCKS
just in case one is hard of hearing,
SCHOPENHAUER ROCKS
so do Led Zeppelin and Patti Smith.
have a listen to Cat (Yusaf Islam) Stevens’ ‘The Very Best Of ‘…i can’t keep it in…no …i can’t keep it in…gotta let it out…oh..i gotta let it out…(sans grass, regretably, yet THIS TOO MUST PASS)
Murray McCully stands up in the UN and criticises lack of action to aid the Syrian people and refers to the veto which has been utilised by China and Russia. Wonder if we will ever hear a criticism of USA policies from him? Not now we are the dingy dinghy again.
Other countries had their head of state speaking, but I guess as there wasn’t a suitable baseball game Key sent the poisonous dwarf.
Janice 9.1
McCully probably was better than Jokey as he might start a world war with some inappropriate remark. McCully I am sure, knows more about the issues than Jokey Hen who also doesn’t want to mess up his fine financial fund mind with annoying matters better left to other people. The responsibility on a NZ PM is sooo wide, heavy and stressful. You just wouldn’t have a clue!
I see that Murry McCully spoke on the importance of Israel and Palestine leaders talking again. They actually live very close to each other. Sounds a bit Sarah Palinish. Does that mean that I was wrong that he was a waste of time really because of biasing his speech on USA concerns. No, here is some background to the USA relationship and aid to Israel. Mostly google headings that offer the information I was looking for. The links don’t come up live.
First a Wikipedia summary of a book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy on whether the USA lobby for Israel is mainly wealthy Jewish people. (There are likely to be some biased blogs on this subject so I think that a researched book would give a reliable view.) The book is by John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Israel_Lobby_and_U.S._Foreign_Policy
On military aid USA Israel –
**Israel–United States relations – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel–United_States_relations
Almost all U.S. aid to Israel is now in the form of military assistance, while in the past it … Strong congressional support for Israel has resulted in Israel’s receiving …
**US Aid to Israel and the Palestinians
ifamericansknew.org/stats/usaid.html
The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.2 million each day* in military aid and … Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing the amounts …
**Tempering Iron Dome: US may spend $680 million on Israeli missile …
rt.com/news/us-israel-military-aid-iron-dome-637/
21 Apr 2012 – The US could fork out $680 million on strengthening the Israeli Iron Dome rocket shield. …
(Obama and Israel)
**U.S., Israel Build Military Cooperation – WSJ.com
online.wsj.com/…/SB1000142405274870332100457542727255005…
14 Aug 2010 – U.S. military aid to Israel has increased markedly this year. … Obama felt the increased military support is necessary to assure Israel’s security …
(Jewish extensive reference to it) –
**http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/foreign_aid.html
Here’s an interesting item on how the USA paranoia about attacks has caused it to look for guidance from the paranoic Israelis.
**http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/31/opinion/la-oe-blackwill-israel-20111031
This one has moving pics on the topics and an academic opinion that the UN structure assists USA to act in Israel’s interests
**http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/09/29/264033/dozens-of-insurgents-killed-in-aleppo/
This one has interesting points
**http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/15/the_politically_incorrect_guide_to_us_interests_in_the_middle_east
I was reasonably pleased with McCully’s response on Syria and Israel/Palestine. I don’t think the latter was Sarah Palinish at all – perhaps a little flat-footed in a plain-spoken way, but not actually idiotic a la Palin.
Perhaps they needed to get McCully out of the country so Trev could have an uninterupted couple of days with Murray’s ex girlfriend?
😎
Murray McCully is a non-entity
I DO NOT accept Keys apology about the govt behavior in the dot come fiasco.
Dy – the point is that Key DID NOT apologise for himself, he generously apologised for his own minions!
Her Tui Billboards are surrounded by neon lights!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/hekia-parata-is-listeningyeah-right.html
This is an earlier blog by Dave that is worth reading as well about the way the ministry treated Moera school in the north over ‘poor’ NCEA result.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/lesley-longstone-management-style.html
DV 11.1 (By the way its Moerewa spell it right.)
Thanks Dv – good blog from Local Bodies. This quote from Dv link at 11.1
That has all changed. We now have imports that haven’t the excuse of being cheap – Lesley Longstone recently in the news because of the shakeup of our school system is said to be receiving $600,000 p.a. You can’t help thinking that we have a cringe factor alive and well in NZ that we can’t find suitable candidates for such positions. And those working their way up in a Department with consequent institutional knowledge are likely to be elbowed out during some internecine change and so we lose our experienced people who care about NZ and get these moving generic managers who make us bow and scrape to their supposedly superior knowledge. (Must be, they’re from overseas you know.)
Here is some info on Ms Longstone. If you want source get it yourself, I’m tired.
“Lesley Longstone has 25 years’ experience in the education and employment sectors in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, and she understands the economic importance of education and its contribution to the broader skills agenda.
Ms Longstone has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sheffield.
Good Work P.; freakin Philistines!
Ed Milliband, UK Labour Leader: Either the banking sector makes sweeping changes or we will force bank break ups
Frakkin’A. This is what we are talking about people. However, the City of London financial centre holds such vast political power and influence in the UK, I hope Milliband can stay the course.
By the way, it is no co-incidence that the Lehman collapse, Bernie Madoff’s multi-billion dollar ponzi scheme, the massive theft from MF Global account holders, near infinite leverage/shadow rehypothecation collateral rorts and many more frauds originated in City of London financial operating centres.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/29/ed-miliband-british-banks
What they really need to so is to stop the banks creating money. Do that and they’ll collapse all by themselves.
Excellent Viper
It’s not daylight savings this weekend is it? The clock on my computer has gone forward an hour but it uses an international clock and I’m not sure they’ve been right since the govt changed the date of DST and didn’t tell the rest of the world.
Yep it is, clocks moved forward at 2am.
Thanks. Are they tying that to the last weekend in Sept?
I suppose it’s a chance to reset all the clocks to the same time. I use five digital clocks and they all end up out of sync within 2 or 3 weeks. The computer is the only true one because it resets when I go online. Did time used to be this odd when we had analog clocks?
I’m perturbed that you’re finding that with your digital clocks. There is absolutely no reason for even a cheap digital clock to gain or lose more than 1 minute a month, and that is being generous.
I’d blame sloppy cheap electronics design or componentry. A good quality quartz mechanical watch will often perform to +/- 2 minutes per year.
yeah I find it weird myself. One is a cheapo clock but there is a cell phone and car stereo both of a decent enough quality to keep time properly.
personally, i do not wear a watch. Time 🙂
and Being (emancipate ourselves)
No excuse for police perjury
Grant Wormald didn’t just give evidence that was inconsistent; he clearly perjured himself in a court of law. He said to his knowledge there was no other agencies involved in the surveillance of Mr Dotcom, knowing full well that the GCSB was involved. In fact he attended a meeting on December 14 with GCSB operatives. For him to say he wasn’t aware of their involvement is an obvious lie, made under oath, and the Detective Inspector should be held to account…
…and if he was ordered to lie, then that is a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Ouch! Duck and fucking cover John Key.
Ouch indeed. Big blast zone on this one.
So now its the weekend and still no earthshaking distractions for Shonky to hide behind, He has got to working with Bennet on something, as Parata is now a liability.
At this point I’d be inclined to bring an Army General in to arbitrate it all.
There’s too much confusion about the command structure and what can and can’t be said.
If these men are indeed playing “Board Room” games, then as u say we have a very serious problem.
About the best thing they could start with would be a “Closed Door” meeting with the captain of those men, and yeah I mean you bud.
If they know the ground you were walking they can direct their efforts properly.
Otherwise they can’t target the people in question.
(Understandably reticent I’d imagine ur response too be, but think about it, it may help
From the sound of things the two Geoffs from Labour and Cunliffe would be the men to talk too)
The problem is obviously at the top, and the only way to find the top is to start at the bottom.
(No Offense Brother)
Nothing has changed in 35 years when it comes to cops committing perjury in court as the police have not been made accountable even after Chief Justice Elias from the Supreme Court has become involved. An effing joke.
The Nuremberg defence has substantive problems both for Wormald and his boss.
If he invokes the ND he (Knowing it was incorrect) he still could have made a moral judgement, hence it only limits the remedies.The other part is it transfers accountability up the food chain (it increases the value of remedies to his superiors)
Exaclty, the buck stops with Key if he uses that defence.
More code snipets I remembered for LPRent …
While( true ) {
for( *var=*inVar; *var!=’ ‘; var++){ … } /*simple word finder */
}
switch( true ) {
case( *var=='<' && (*var+1=='a' ||*var+1=='A') : /*A Tag*/
{ … }
default: /* Anything else */
{ … }
}
Fastest code in the West babe 🙂
Machine code ‘C’ if ya lookin for name.
Use a var to trigger the Daemon break…
if( brkVar ) break;
}
Remember 0 it true
Which means if( var==0 ) {} runs faster than if( var==1 ) {}
1 = voltage = heat = slower cylcles in cpu/memory
And if you don’t have “True” use 1 i.e while(1) {}
All you Aucklanders enjoying the almost exclusively chemical skies today…go on, step outside, take a look up, and ponder the marvel that is the “clouds” up there today…Notice the textures and the shapes, really not quite right are they…
Oh, and yes I took the footage of the plane dumping over AKL again today at midday, heading south, right over the middle of the city…
Thats three times I have seen it, and twice I have filmed it. Someone on this island knows WTF is going on!
And at 320pm, just seen and filmed the return leg of the spray plane, was out over the Waitemata Harbour heading north.
I can’t have been the only Aucklander on here to have seen this today, its that bloody obvious…
Yes I saw a narrow elongated ‘cloud’ over the North Shore – must have been around 2.30 -3.00pm. Took it to be the ragged remains of a contrail probably at around 20,000 ft.
I know an Air NZ flight captain (the partner of a family member) and was tempted to contact him for a bit of a razz… you’ve been dumping fuel have you?
Hey muzza which theory do you subscribe to
to dumb down
to reduce libido
other
Hey Marty, the only “theory” I subscribe to about it, is that somethings going on, we are not being told “in public” at least. I prefer to take the most obvious about a situation, which is, there is something being sprayed in our skies, only complete idiots would contest that now. The what and why, become the obvious next questions, and there is lots of stuff which can assist with that. Ive not done any lab tests etc so wont speculate on those….
I have filmed the planes 2 times now, and that is not any commercial arline route on a sunday. Just checked the official commercial routes again and times of arrivals and departures at Wellington and Christchurch today that might mean a flight heading southerly direction at such height could return on, and nothing would match, again this time either!
If you could see the sky up here today, even the hardest skeptic , would be doing well to explain the state of AKL’s skies!
I struggle with this one mainly because of explanations that are based on someone/group doing it to us for their sinister ends – but those ends, that I have heard, don’t make sense. Maybe I’m just not mad enough to comprehend their madness 🙂
Marty it need not be sinister in nature, but whatever they are doing, the results/expectations, may or may not be understood. They are spraying shit into the sky, and if you could see Auckland today you would know exactly what I am talking about, and if you saw what I saw, its likely the only way people can understand. I was not skeptical, but before I saw the planes, wondered if there was a simpple explantion, now having seen them so many times, and filmed it, there is not a shred of doubt they are spraying.
I hope you never see them down your way dude!
See my comment about the 320pm return srpay leg, and I have taken film and pics all afternoon from my area of AKL. The sky is an absolute mess of chemical shit today, grrrrr.
EDIT @ Weka – I’m not going to upload them, as have no facility that I would want to use. The May 6 footage I took, I gave to someone to pass on, who posted it online.
All good muzza, many have noted the same thing down here which is why I’ve heard a bit about it, and I’ve seen a few videos and seen them here and in Auckland. I’m not saying they aren’t true and I hope you crack it wide open – I just can’t work out any type of ‘why’ that makes sense to me. I spose I put it to one side really and concentrate on stuff like the proposed open cast mine on the Denniston Plateau, it feels like I might be able to work with others and stop that atrocity – not sure I can say the same about the spraying. Kia kaha.
Hey Marty, good on you with the mines and things, locally we all definitely can get “hands on” so to speak, and hands on, is whats required, not just at the keyboard either 😉
Kia kaha to you too bro
muzza, I don’t understand your reason for not uploading these pictures.
Can you explain the problem? I’m sure someone here will help.
Hi Felix, I didn’t give a reason – Ill most likely forward todays stuff on again for posting, same as I did with the May 6 footage.
I wont have been the only person in AKL who saw it today, from your posts your not in AKL??
No not in AKL but have seen some interesting stuff in the sky here too. Is the May 6 footage still online somewhere we can see it?
Edit: Just google or youtube search Auckland chemtrails, you will find some stuff
ta
Sorry muzza, but it’s not good enough. Fair enough that you have concerns, but without accessible evidence it’s all just another conspiracy theory. I have no interest in watching 2 minutes of the Auckland sky without any context or explanation. Someone needs to put together some credible information and present it in ways that people can read and understand. Not saying that has to be you, but I don’t really see the point in speculating about phenomena without any useful analysis that is backed up by evidence. Or at least not scarey phenomena. It just makes people worry but gives them nowhere to go.
No need to apologise for yourself Weka., I can understand your position, as I too would also like to know why planes are spraying, because the question has gone past, perhaps thats whats going on.
Why do you & others keep saying that someone should put together, and there is no evidence, there is plenty out there from all around the world Weka, what would you consider evidence or a well put togther case, over an above what is already being done…
Certainly I would agree that without seeing the planes for oneself, seeing what is coming from the planes are obvioulsy NOT vapour (con) trails, then seeing the clear blue day that was AKL yesterday, and on May 6, turning into a mesh of god knows what, followed by the predictable shit weather.
Perhaps there is nothing in it Weka, I can’t say either way, all I am saying is that I know what I saw, and have seen, and what it did to our days on May 6 and yesterday.
If what I post panics you, then don’t read it, and if you are not up to doing some reading etc about geo-enginerring, then youre not in any position to say there is no evidence or that someone should put some together!
Kia kaha
The problem muzza is that most information presented about chemtrails is done so by either whackjobs or people who have almost zero critical thinking skills. I have an appreciation for whackjobs in society but they’re not people I go to for facts. People with very poor critical thinking skills bother me more, because they use the internet to push their ill formed ideas in ways that don’t help much and probably do some damage.
I don’t consider you to be either of those two things, and have been interested in your story of what you see in the skies (have read previous threads), but until you present some evidence it’s just an interesting story.
I’m not panicked by the chemtrail stuff, just pissed off at how it gets debated. We have enough stressful shit to deal with on the planet at the moment without adding to the load with information that is designed to alarm but has no back up.
“if you are not up to doing some reading etc about geo-enginerring, then youre not in any position to say there is no evidence or that someone should put some together!”
I disagree. Part of critical thinking is learning who to trust and why. I don’t have to understand every phenomena on the planet to such detail because I have the skills to read people who do have that detail and I can sift out the wheat from the chaff. That’s on both sides of an argument (I can point you to poor thinking on both sides of the Ken Ring debate for instance).
I also tend to not trust people who only reference youtube. Video is a good way of getting a message across, but it’s generally a crap way of providing verifiable evidence (not least because it can’t reference easily).
And I definitely have low opinion of websites that use obvious propoganda tecniques. This site, which pops up number one in google for ‘chemtrail’ is classic
http://chemtrailsnorthnz.wordpress.com/opinions-regarding-the-functions-of-chemtrailsstratospheric-aerosol-geoengineering/
It’s designed to appeal to people who think of themselves as woken up (the big banner), and to hook in other people by using emotive fearmongering. I’m much less likely to take something seriously that feels the need to SHOUT AT ME how stupid I am if I don’t believe what it says.
It’s also hard to take anything seriously that purports that human-made CC has been ‘exposed as a hoax’. Whatever one thinks about CC, ‘exposed as a hoax’ ain’t what’s been happening, and that phrase suggests that the website people don’t have a very good understanding of science or the politics of science.
That website also considers that a high number of google hits = proof of theory. That’s just stupid.
If the chemtrail crowd want to be taken seriously, how hard would it be to put up a website that explains the issues in a clear, rational way that lay people can understand?
Are you going to put the video and details up online?
Weka, which way to you want it? – Asking me if I am going to post the video online but don’t trust people who post on YT. I would be happy to send you the raw footage if you like, but again its still my video with no context for you, because you were not here, and not see what was happening with your own eyes.
I do tend to agree with you, that seeing video gives little context, which is why I DONT post what I have, because its very easy for people to blow it off, as you have been doing. My contention is not to state what is going on, I can’t do that, because I don’t know for sure what they are spraying, only that I have seen, and filmed the spraying multiple times now, that I fly planes, and have spent most of my life looking at the sky, and that our skies have changed in a way that I can’t believe people in AKL do not notice!
You’re not in AKL either obviously, as otherwise you would have some more specific comments on my posts, and I notice that there was no response from anyone in AKL, (not that it means anything in hard terms, it would be good to hear other locals thoughts – If they saw it).
Out of interst, how do you develop your sense of who/what you can trust? – Here is a tip, if you think you can develop it as a skill, you don’t have it naturally, which has its limitations. Sure you will be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, the critical thinking and general intelligence will assist there, but instinctively there will always be a gap.
I’ll check the website out, i’ve not heard of it.
Muzza, I said I tend not to trust people who only reference youtube. And gave valid reasons why. This doesn’t mean video isn’t useful, just that it’s not usually in and of itself proof in situations like this.
I’m not in Auckland, hence my original question about posting your footage online. I really don’t know what you are talking about and the visuals would be interesting if you can post a comparison with what you think are not chemtrails.
My contention is not to state what is going on, I can’t do that, because I don’t know for sure what they are spraying, only that I have seen, and filmed the spraying multiple times now, that I fly planes, and have spent most of my life looking at the sky, and that our skies have changed in a way that I can’t believe people in AKL do not notice!
But if you keep doing that repeatedly without any further support people will get bored or annoyed and switch off. How will that help?
“(not that it means anything in hard terms, it would be good to hear other locals thoughts – If they saw it).”
You could for instance get methodical. Open a wordpress blog, without all the conspiracy dramatics, and post your observations and photos/stills. Ask Aucklanders to join you, and post what they are seeing. Give them times and directions of where to look. Moderate heavily to keep out the conspiracy theory stuff. Write short, easily accessible pieces about why you think x plane is doing y activity, and what is unusual about it. Likewise, post about the differences you are seeing the sky compared to 5 years ago, 10, 20 etc.
Or you could just with basic physics:
That would be atmosphere that resembles Auckland’s most of the friggen time.
A “broad church”: we’ll make room for both Right Wing voters and Left Wing voters inside Labour
Great that’s been finally cleared up.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/shearer-hints-front-bench-shake-ck-129842
Very Sad.
” I’ll publish right or wrong: Fools are my theme, let satire be my song.”
-Byron
“What all the wise men have promised, has not happened, and what all the damn fools said would happen has come to pass”
-Lamb (ironically enough)
“Thus hath the candle singed the moth. Oh, these deliberate fools!”
-The Merchant of Venice
“And all our yesterdays have lighted fools”
-Measure for Measure
“oh this ship of fools”
-Bob Seger
Since the present lowering of crime rates can be connected to better social services and education provided to today’s teenagers over the period of the last Labour government, I am unfortunately confident in predicting rising crime levels in about five years or so as the rejected primary school children of today hit their teenage years under the punitive benefit and education policies of our wonderful present government. One can only hope the crime will hurt those presently benefiting from the low tax rates for the rich introduced by the same government, but crime always hurts the poor before it hurts those with big walls and money to hire security guards.