Yesterday the government agreed to commit $1.7 billion tax dollars in a 50-50 share of a fully electric urban rail extension in Auckland.
On the same day, government-owned Kiwirail signaled that it’s likely it will retire its 35-year old electric trains and go back to diesel, with only the promise that it will keep the electric wires operational.
Now of course, Kiwirail is a ridiculously subsidized tax money sinkhole, and has made one bad decision after another in its procurement. So it’s pretty hard to have any sympathy for them.
I would simply prefer a government that had a transport policy that made sense.
What’s incoherent is investing in commuter electric rail on the one hand, and preparing to disinvest in electric rail on the other.
Yep, it’s kinda ridiculous. I suspect it has to do with our delusional money system that makes it appear cheaper to destroy resources (burn diesel) than not use them at all (use renewable electricity).
Underfund and run down the rail, and government supports the trucks. 35 yr old trains need upgrade. The majority of the juggernaut trucks look spanking new. It’s a bit like comparing the starving poor and the obese rich.
Easy to electrify the whole main trunk and get new rail stock (could even be built here), then could even have more commuter rail eg Wellington – Palmerston North, Hamilton- Auckland etc. Would be a lot cheaper than all the current monster road building (even without the shonky steel which will have to be replaced soon), and also much more accessible to the whole population including those who don’t drive or can’t afford cars. Could fix up Wellington- Gisborne line as well. Only takes a bit of government commitment and confronting the power of the road lobby and the traditional hatred of rail by the National Party.
Electrifying the entire main trunk line is not easy.
You would have to electrify the whole of the south island tracks. That would be a Think Big scale project.
I’m not suggesting this government walk away from cars entirely and make commuter rail the preferred choice across the entire country. They are committed to the private vehicle – with some promotion of electric cars – and I guess good luck to them.
And I know I am being slightly unfair comparing urban commuter public transport investment with freight investment.
But with a few hundred million and some new electric trains, Auckland’s rail could be electrified to Hamilton and Tauranga. That would take more than half of New Zealand’s freight onto an electric system.
It would make a whole bunch of sense for at least the North Island rail network to be run on one mode.
You would have to electrify the whole of the south island tracks. That would be a Think Big scale project.
And your problem with that would be?
The only problem with Think Big was how it was financed which was by borrowing offshore. Muldoon should have created the money and then we wouldn’t have been in the dire straights that we were in when the 4th Labour government set about totally destroying our economy.
My only problem is political reality. We have a state with far, far fewer of the executive instruments than in Muldoon’s day. I don’t live in the world of ideals any more.
I live in the world of what is able to be done in any one term.
I know you don’t, and you’re perfectly entitled to that.
It’s not usually possible to build anything big in infrastructure in the course of any three year term. Mostly because it takes too long to get the money together.
Housing, however – there I think an alternative government has a good shot at making a visible difference. If I were part of an alternative government, I’d give every member a toolbelt and put them to work. Would do them good.
It would be nice if Labour still put practical minded blue collar workers, tradies and miners in as MPs but those days are long gone. Lawyers and pol sci grads are the order of the day.
Hey CV, you forgot, school teachers that get into PR, cant bear too say the whole word sorry. 🙂
And about Labour having time to deal with shite Nat,s policy, they seemed happy to leave a few of Ruthanasia in place, and no doubt the next chance they get at Gov’t, eg: 90 day,victimising beneficiaries partners etc.
Theirs many more but it does my head in.
Third way Labour can go to…
A while, I think. It’s the National government’s policy to normalise these events as some sort of unavoidable consequence of economic growth. Rightwing people have no moral compass and perversely to them it’s a good problem to have because it shows NZ is successful.
We have been incredibly fortuitous as a country to have the China market growing so fast throughout the GFC that hit Europe and the US, and through the mining collapse in Australia. So yeah, agree.
Would still prefer to see no “unprocessed logs” leaving the country let alone to China. But that’s for a different kind of government, possibly a different kind of country.
I know right, he really should just go tell these countries what they’re doing wrong and how it should be done because it never turns out bad when the leader of first world, predominantly white, English speaking country does that
By that logic you’d be happy for a full and immediate withdrawal by western states from the middle east. You must also be against peoples’ struggle for democratic rights and representation the world over wherever that might be.
Puckish – Keys wants us to join China’s political landscape – more corruption, more censorship, more spying, less human rights, more rights for those that know/donate to the ‘right political parties’, control of the media and public servants… list goes on and on. He just wants to ‘be at the table’ with the US too so a bit of a clusterfuck there with that approach, but logic never a strong suit.
It’s not going to end well for the National supporters too when you a tenant on planet Key.
Key will go eventually but the damage to our country and economy might be irreversible.
Tell that to the homeless, middle class and working poor, Ad.
The only reason Kiwis are doing ok is because of immigration which was great boost to NZ at the time of the GFC, but now becoming a big problem. Bit like taking out a lovely loan and feeling great because you are still getting by, but then you have to pay it back with interest in social services – housing, medical, superannuation, transport… You then borrow more and more to fund it, now it’s a ponzi scheme.
Of course if the government had targeted migrants in the new economy that set up businesses that were non polluting and employed Kiwis at good rates, different story. Nope the government did not target those migrants..
Students, Fruit pickers, Chefs, drivers, property and farm investor migrants…
On September 15th 1916, at 6.20am in the morning, men of the New Zealand Division’s 2nd brigade climbed from their trenches near Caterpillar Valley and advanced up the slope to seize the German switch line. Then at 7.02am, the follow up brigades attacked down the other side of the slope and into the valley to capture the villages of Flers and Courcelette as well.
If like me you’ve been lucky enough to visit the site of this attack, and walk from Caterpillar valley to Flers via the NZ Memorial, you’ll see what an an extraordinary victory it was in the context of the Great War. This is a doubly important date in the history of the 20th century as the New Zealanders used a new weapon that day for the first time ever in history – tanks. There wereFour Mk.I tanks with the NZers that day, and they were from D Tank Company, D8, D10, D11 and D12.
670 New Zealanders were killed and 1200 wounded in the attack.
I’ve been to the NZ Memorial and also saw the newly erected Irish memorial close by- a round tower with beautiful verse-inscripted stones. The tower had been built by youth from both sides of the Protestant/Catholic divide, in cooperation. The Memorial is known as a Peace Park.
The NZ memorial had its power with, of course, its national associations and the simple message “From the uttermost corners of the earth” attesting to the universality of our human race and the need to help others beyond our borders- that, at least, is something that can be taken from four years of insanity.
The ground around the memorials was a slope which I envisaged the divisions attacking uphill, into machine-gun and shell fire. One of the German pill boxes remained down the slope.
At Gallipoli I was extremely moved by the inscription on the Turkish memorial at Anzac Cove- such generosity, and simple forgiveness- repeated on our Wellington coast.
As a long term pacifist, battlefields still hold a strange fascination for me which I cannot explain. History, sacrifice, (in)humanity?
Agriculture is undermining many ecosystem services
Just last week the Committee on Climate Change released a major report on the impact that different categories of land use provide for energy, food, biodiversity, etc. But again, agriculture – here, arable and horticulture – undermines many of the services we rely on the natural environment to provide.
So, farming isn’t just a problem in NZ.
This is really a simple fact that we need to recognise and do something about. NZ is in a good position about farming in that we can easily reduce the amount of land in agriculture significantly and still produce enough to feed ourselves. The people thus freed up from farming could then be utilised in more important areas such as health and/or R&D.
It’s time we started doing economics rather than finance because the finance is killing us.
Kiwi journalist and activist Suzie Dawson has been extensively targeted by Western intelligence agencies and their contractors. In the wake of several overt attempts on her life, she had to leave her home in New Zealand to live in exile in Europe. In her unique new documentary “Diary Of A Person Of Interest” Suzie details in a clear, concise and credible way what it is really like to be a target of the Five Eyes; why she was targeted, who she was targeted by, how they targeted her, what their end game is and how to try to counter it.
Yes well that’s what I thought too, the name ‘The Standard’ being the first clue.
The second clue are the types of stories presented, in The Standard today…
“Right-wing mayor candidates try to kneecap themselves”
“Labour Organizing”
“Beware, creepy men of the right: Rawshark returns (briefly)”
“Optimism, determination and, above all, unity” (about UK Labour)
“India’s general strike”
The third clue being their own description of themselves…
“The Standard newspaper – from where our masthead comes – was founded by labour movement activists in the 1930s. They used it as a vehicle to share their views with a broader audience – a perspective they felt the mainstream media was representing poorly. We think the same is true today.
What’s your political ‘angle’?
We come from a variety of backgrounds and our political views don’t always match up but it’d be fair to say that all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement and we hope that perspective will come through strongly as you read the blog.”
Yet Siobhan, yesterday was insulted verbally and kicked off for two weeks for this comment on the story “India’s general strike”….
“Then again, here we are on a so-called left wing site…and its taken 2 days to get 6 comments. That says something not very good about our attitudes towards the value of different groups struggles don’t you think??”
She was called a nutter, a moron, a gormless idiot, lazy and stupid by the moderator, I mean, what the hell is gong on here? doesn’t anyone care that this abuse is coming from the actual moderator? or is everyone scared of being kicked off themselves, so won’t say anything? or are people here fine with this type of abuse? maybe a bit of stockholm syndrome going on here?
I think lprent is totally out of control, co opting the name The Standard from our rich Labour heritage, and then abusing people like this, all under the cover of that proud banner of the Labour movement is absolutely outrageous.
This abuse has got to stop.
[lprent: Agreed. Trying to attack the site has to stop. Only a idiot would attack a site that they were freely commenting on when they provide absolutely now work or effort to maintain it. In short – a freeloader. ]
I read the story about India general strike. But felt did not know enough to comment on it. I was going to say +1 because I thought it was a nice post. So just because a post does not get huge comments does not mean it is not read or important. In fact when people agree with the post I think it gets less comments than when the left disagree.
It’s the left disagreement that gets the most comments!!!
As for the rant against Siobhan, I think that was totally over the top!!! Maybe a bad day????
If it was only one bad day, I wouldn’t have brought it up. this abuse is the modus operandi of lprent, and it has got to stop.
People on this site have got to stand up to this type of abusive behavior.
Firstly it is not the rules I am talking about it it is the unfettered verbal abuse that is being disgustingly spread about by the moderator.
Secondly I am also saying the The Standard by their own words have co opted the name The Standard from our Labour history, so can’t now claim that this site is not tied to the Left ( and by that definition Labour) in the public’s perception.
This being the case, there needs to be better moderation of the moderators behavior, or are you quite happy at being yourself, or seeing other people being abused in this manner?
Are you are also fine with the Lefts most well known New Zealand internet presence be known as a place where this type of abusive behavior is tolerated by it’s members?
Just to return the judgement. I’d point out that there are a lot of people who really don’t bother pulling their head out of their own self-referential arse. You appear to be one of them. Try reading the about and the policy and then thinking how your critic stupidity looks from the side of the workers actually maintaining this site.
Banned for a weeks to give you time to open the dictionary in your attempt to understand it. But frankly I suspect that you are way too rigid to bend your mind far enough to understand someone being productive. ]
I vote right because I have certain views and one of them is whoever owns something gets to decide (within the framework of NZ law of course) what and how they run it
The bosses of TV3 decided they couldn’t sustain the dwindling audience of John Campbell so he was fired because they decide what is shown on their channel and I’m ok with that
The moderators of this blog decided how they moderate and they decide what can and can’t be posted because its their blog and I’m ok with that
If you’re not ok with it go start your own blog, its really that simple
The more dwindling audience of Paul Henry National cheerleader TV3 bosses could stand of course. And of course the corporate welfare…
from wiki
“In 2011, MediaWorks received a $43 million loan guarantee for the Government to renew its licenses until 2030.[2] The deal went against official advice, and then Communications Minister Steven Joyce was accused of having a conflict of interest as the past managing director of the company’s RadioWorks division[3] The loan was described by AUT’s Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy as a form of corporate welfare,[4] and was criticised by blogger Sarah Miles as a case of Government interference in the media.[5] Radio Bay of Plenty secured commercial loans, The Radio Network covered its own costs, and Rhema Broadcasting Group covered the cost with no interest loans.[6]”
MediaWorks’ subsidiary RadioWorks has repaid the $32.28 million outstanding on a ‘loan’ signed off by former Communications Minister Steven Joyce that allowed the media group to defer payments to the Crown for radio spectrum licences.
The balance of $32.28 million of principal plus interest was paid yesterday – almost two years ahead of schedule, current minister Amy Adams said in a statement.
@Puckish Rogue, You see I can understand someone on the right like you defending this abusive behavior, of course you do, that goes with out saying…it’s part of your political ideology. True to form I like it.
It is when people on the Left defend this, that is when I get uptight.
Ive raised this a few times [TRP came back to me on it] – some of the comments have gotten down right disgusting. Including telling people to go hang themselves.
In the end – I came to the conclusion that it reflected on the poster more than the blog, but in time people will come here and read stuff – they will come to their own views – but honestly, it is getting worse – in the end the blog will be the worse for it.
@Puckish Rogue, defending privilege, yes of course you do, like I have said already, you are operating true to form, but you can’t help that, it is a core part your ideology after all.
Therefore he does rather control the whip hand and tends to use it often, so getting the occasional lashing is part and parcel of posting on the standard.
If that bothers you either go else where or learn to avoid raising topics that bring out the whip.
Very sad to see that you all find this outrageous behavior so funny, no wonder that the Left is so dysfunctional in New Zealand when we see no problems with abusive of power in own own ranks.
Adrian as you can probably tell from the response to your observation, there is lack of care factor or a fear factor..possibly both
I’ve taken a look at the response to Siobhan and compared it to some other mod comments, the form is largely the same
Looking through archives the moderating has had a clear impact on the tone of threads which is essentially censorship, and could be handled more thoughtfully in some instances. Certainly the name calling and abuse is unnecessary, especially where moderating in involved
On one hand the Rules state “What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others.”
On the other hand we have lprent calling Siobhan “a liar, a nutter, an authoritarian moron, a gormless idiot, frigging lazy, stupid liar (again)”, and then banning her for two weeks, for having the temerity to suggest that TS is a “left-wing site”, when according to the About “all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement “.
I think you’re onto something Adrian!
[lprent: Tell me – does it say anywhere in the policy that moderators are subject to those limits? Doesn’t the policy rather explicitly state that moderators are expressing their limits to the types of things that are described. But doesn’t state anything else including that we are have any limits except what is in the policy?
Banned for a week for trying to redefine our rules – something that is explicitly against our policy. I’d ban you for a another week for being a stupid lawyer. However I suspect you can’t help that level of incompetence – it is probably genetic. ]
Thanks, I thought I fighting a solo rear guard action here, thank goodness there are a few sane people left.
I mean how can these people really be defending abusive behavior? and more importantly why would they want want to?
It is all quite sad, disappointing and baffling to me.
Here I was thinking that we were part of a progressive movement, helping with the evolution of humans, unfortunately this type of behavior only drags us backward as far as I can see.
Agree with you Adrian, it’s not right. I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that nothing in life is perfect either no matter how much you want it to be.
Yes of course the World isn’t perfect, but to accept something that is in our sphere that is plainly wrong and do nothing, that is the point, do something, anything, say something, anything, but whatever you do, don’t do nothing.
That all these commenters come on here to defend this abusive behavior is incredible to me.
It’s like that case with the Crusaders and the stripper, you know there where other people in that garden bar who watched that woman get abused by those thugs, but none of them said a mumbling word to defend her…why, because those rugby players have a perceived place and power in our society, the stripper who’s she?
That is where these attitudes ultimately lead to, where else can this type of thinking take you in the end? In my opinion, It is really this simple.
And I also think that anyone who can’t put this simple piece of logic together themselves…. well they probably need to take a long hard look at themselves.
A word that hasn’t been used to describe the behaviour is bullying.
I regard this as a left leaning site and as such some of the left save their vitriol for others on the left because … well I just don’t know.
I am truly grateful for this site, the posts, and comments however I find some of the langauge from some moderators to be excessively abbrassive and antagonistic.
Yes I really do appreciate this site too.
I know that it could reach out to so many more people, especially Woman and young people, if they could only say enough is enough… but no, here they all are defending this behavior….why?
[lprent: The moderating behaviour is to allow the maintenance of robust debate on the site when we have the potential to be overwhelmed with unthinking yobbos acting as trolls. Have a look back in the archive to early 2008 to see what that means. Since strong obnoxious moderation was put in to deal with the unthinking fuckwits of the net, the percentage of female readers has grown from less than 10% to just under 30%. The number of female writers has increased markedly as well.
Similarly the age range has shifted from overwhelmingly being in the 25-35 age group to being wide across the whole age demographic.
You really don’t think things through do you? Why do you think we have moderation? It is to increase the diversity on the site. ]
I could almost understand your reply if this were a radical right wing site. However to think you or anyone would defend this type of abusive behavior on a left site is beyond disappointing.
Look I absolutely respect the amount of work, time and effort that must go into this site, but that does not in any way give anyone one the right to abuse another person, or do you think it does?
Because if you do, then you just start to extrapolate that logic and see what path it takes you down very quickly.
Is this a left wing forum, news site?
I am interested to know peoples view on this question.
It’s a blog, and it serves whatever purpose the people putting the time and money into running it want it to serve. If you find that it doesn’t serve the purpose you, an idle reader and commenter like me, would like to see served, you’re free to go and start your own one and run it as you see fit. No-one running The Standard is accountable to you for anything.
Firstly, as I am sure you are aware, this site is now more than a private blog, it is, rightly or wrongly regarded, and is without doubt the main New Zealand left news site/forum.
I also assume that by using the name The Standard, and stating in their own preamble…
“The Standard newspaper – from where our masthead comes – was founded by labour movement activists in the 1930s. They used it as a vehicle to share their views with a broader audience – a perspective they felt the mainstream media was representing poorly. We think the same is true today.”
…that the resulting public perception of this site was not unintentional.
I believe people are accountable for their actions, and when those actions take the form of abuse, all while under the banner of an organization with it’s roots firmly planted in the New Zealand Labour party’s story and history, even more so.
Finally I find it ironic that you are using the Crass logo on your avatar, and would defend open verbal abuse of people who are respectfully expressing their progressive view’s on a left forum.
Crass, you know that band that was perhaps one of the staunchest and most uncompromising defenders of freedom of expression that cut a side of vinyl, not a band that defended unquestioned power…if I remember rightly.
Irony? If you’d turned up and told Crass how they were doing it wrong and you felt they needed to be accountable to you and make appropriate changes to the way the band worked, you’d have got an earful that would make Lprent look mild-mannered. That was one of the things I liked about them so much – they were excellent at telling people fuck.
Yes well as I am pretty sure that Crass would never have co opted an important piece of UK Labour phraseology and historical reference as a banner in which to organize under, I don’t think that would have ever been an issue, do you?
So that logic doesn’t work in this debate, sorry.
Just take a concrete pill and harden up, you choose to be offended To argue it’s all love and roses on the left is delusional Sibonan obviously hit a sore point with LPrent who is not my cup a tea but he gave her a spray, so what, move on, I’m sure he has and at least she now not in two minds about his view
nah, it’s still a private blog run by volunteers and funded by a trust.
As to how “left” you think the people who contribute are, that description is problematic because some contributors might be staunch proponents of the labour movement but not regard themselves as “left”. Some because they might think that label today involves issues beyond just labour and capital issues, others because “left” and “right” are just extremes on an obsolete continuum.
Some contributors here support free trade agreements with greater or lesser equivocation, while supporting improved powers for workers. Others are more keynesian, while others still recycle Social Credit in various guises and with differing extremes.
As to your comment about a mod’s abrasiveness, well – each to their own. Maybe they argue about it on the backend, maybe the consensus of authos/mods is that it’s just good to have an angry dog in reserve every so often, because kind words don’t always work.
It’s called the standard, there is a red flag displayed as the icon, and the main disagreement with Adrian seems to be along private property lines, man that is sad.
Maybe lprent could trademark that flag might be worth a fortune.
And hey yeah, let’s every one on the left just start our own blog, we can have an audience of 1 and talk to ourselves.
I agree with Adrian, and notice that all arguments against his position never mention the history or symbolism appropriated by this “private” site.
Well how about this perspective then: those who created the trust, worked to develop the website and established the process for its content creation, who maintain the servers, write the content and spend time moderating the worst of the internet out of the comments, how about those workers have control over the means and fruits of production?
How about this perspective, those people who founded our Labour party, that built a Labour Party of Men and Woman, who pushed and battled with their bodies and split blood to gain all the rights and privileges that we are fighting to maintain now, they would be appalled to see their own comrades bullied and verbally abused under the name one of their proud banners, The Standard.
I will say this one more time, The Standards own preamble links it directly to the Labour movement, the name The Standard links it irrevocably to the labour movement, that is just a fact.
Because this site has chosen to be linked so closely with our Labour movement, it has therefore surly obliged itself to operate at a level of normal public decency, is that to much to ask?
To spell it out for you, no, many of the founders and stalwarts of the labour movement would have considered the moderation here to be pretty tame stuff.
I gave you one easily googleable case in point above.
No, not “labour did it too”. A specific refutation that our predecessors in the labour movement were anything other than normal people, with normal behaviours. Some of the Fabians and Quakers were courteous and nice to all, no doubt. But we’ve always had our share of fighters and belligerents, too. There’s always been sectional, political and personal conflict in the labour movement. That’s what gives me hope – that they were regular people who made those achievements, not lionised saints.
The polite ones who used manners and doilies were often the ones who owned the sweatshops.
McFlock, interesting point. The great Michael Joseph Savage understood the rather conservative mindset of New Zealanders, even when he and his party won the 1935 general election in a landslide victory, he still had to assure New Zealanders that having a Labour government was nothing for them to be afraid of. Labour then, like now, has always had to be cautious, and I think that’s what some people, like the vehemently critical John A Lee, and others today, failed to understand.
Yeah, rereading about the ructions within Lab1 (just to make sure I had the gist of it right) it reminded me that the more things change, the more they stay the same…
How about this perspective, those people who founded our Labour party, that built a Labour Party of Men and Woman, who pushed and battled with their bodies and split blood to gain all the rights and privileges that we are fighting to maintain now, they would be appalled to see their own comrades bullied and verbally abused under the name one of their proud banners, The Standard.
It’s a matter of opinion. Personally, I think they’d be appalled to see members of a worker’s cooperative berated by someone who’d contributed no time or effort to it but wants to tell the cooperative how they should run things, effectively on the basis of a claim to superior left-wingedness. Because it is appalling.
@McFlock & Psycho, all I can say is, well done boys, in passionately defending your right to bully and abuse people, nice work.
I have learned a couple of things in this sad exchange, the main one being, this has helped in taking the guess work out of wondering who the guards would be.
You have some answers to the questions you posed. Unsettling isn’t it?
In some ways the comments section on the Standard has always reminded me of Fight Club. On the mezzanine floor above the ring are the moderators who keep redefining the rules of engagement, which keeps things interesting.
The first rule of fight club is, you don’t talk about fight club:
Bottom line, the playing field is deliberately designed to be uneven and this is an argument you can’t win.
We are strongly independent of any organisation because it allows us to argue how we want to. These days we don’t even run advertising because we neither need to (peoples occasional donations pay our minimal operating costs), nor do we have the time to organize it.
We strongly favour moderators and authors – because they are the people who keep the site running with starter content and effort.
What do you think? That we should favour people who freeload on the comments section? Some of them we will and do listen to. But they tend to be the people who invest effort and intelligence in their comments. Not something that I have noticed with Siobhan or Adrian.
@ Adrian
Careful. It’s a well known tactic of bullies to cry foul and accuse others of doing the bullying. Good example: Cameron Slater. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to acquire a similar reputation to him.
lprent has a tactic too – born out of experience. Come down hard on trolls and derailers in the hope they will cease their bad habits. It usually works and for those who choose to ignore… it’s the sin bin for a while or a permanent ban. Take it or leave it Adrian. If you don’t like the way TS is run I suggest you run away and start your own blog.
Edit: I see others have already suggested it so off you go and do let us know what it is called…
PM, no-ones telling anyone how to run things, they’re asking for a reasonable “standard” of discourse free of personal abuse, a la the “Policy”. Question, Psycho Milt, do you think calling a commenter “a liar, a nutter, an authoritarian moron, a gormless idiot, frigging lazy” for an innocuous (imo) comment meets that test?
[lprent: It wasn’t an innocuous comment.
In the last 9 years, it is exactly the type of comment that has prefaced about half of the attacks on this site from the right, the left, and the nutters.
I always ban fools who use it because it is completely stupid and idiotic to abuse people on their own site.
If you want to set the rules for a site – then start your own. If you want to continue in this vein, then I will give you ample time to do it without the distractions of commenting here. ]
I think it’s not up to me or any other outsiders to tell moderators how to moderate their own blog, unless they ask me. Especially not when there’s a comments policy specifically warning against doing that.
In my personal opinion, it must be extremely annoying for the people who do the work involved in running this blog to have commenters implying some moral failing on their part, based on what hasn’t been written about, or insufficiently written about in the commenter’s opinion. If I were to imply moral failing on the part of participants here, it may be that it seemed innocuous to me, but it also may be that the moderator’s seen a great many of these sanctimonious, passive-aggressive attacks over the years and has no interest in dealing with them politely. I find that not implying moral failings on the part of moderators helps avoid such incidents.
To Psycho Milt @ 10.49 a.m. (no reply button) – what you say is correct, and would be relevant if we were talking about moderation, but we’re talking about abuse. Moderation good (great!), abuse bad.
Have you actually read Siobhan’s OP? There’s no way you can find an “implication of moral failing” or a “sanctimonious passive aggressive attack” in that.
Then again, here we are on a so-called left wing site…and its taken 2 days to get 6 comments. That says something not very good about our attitudes towards the value of different groups struggles don’t you think??
Seems pretty sanctimonious to me. Shades of the old “you don’t care as much or as broadly as I care, so you’re not really ‘left wing'” bs.
That’s fine, in your opinion it wasn’t an innocuous comment, I accept that. Whether you were “abused”, arguable.
That you descended to personal abuse in contravention of the Policy (“pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others), that’s indisputable.
My opinion when I am moderating is the only one that counts.
I have already pointed out further up how you should read the policy. It limits moderation techniques, but does not constrain them. In my case I tend to find that people remember moderation against themselves when they are accompanied with some personal observations. This reduces my future work load.
My opinion when I am moderating is the only one that counts. I’d listen to authors, but seldom with commentators. After all it is our site
I have already pointed out further up how you should read the policy. It limits moderation techniques, but does not constrain them. In my case I tend to find that people remember moderation against themselves when they are accompanied with some personal observations. This reduces my future work load.
…”Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was not satisfied with the two redacted documents, demanding full access to the investigation from Herring.
“We decide what’s relevant – not the Department of Justice, not the FBI,” Chaffetz said during Monday’s hearing. “It’s unclear to me how the FBI can prevent a member of Congress from seeing what we’re already allowed to see by law, yet here they have done so.”
“That’s the way a banana republic acts, not the way the United States of America acts,” Chaffetz added.
“I don’t expect to have to issue a subpoena to see unclassified information.”…
Although the US has historically been instrumental in the setting up and maintenance of Banana Republics…which sometimes literally grew bananas for US based corporations
…and now this …money talks you into becoming an Ambassador for USA (irony)…where are the career highly trained ambassadors?…they are obviously being sidelined in this ‘democracy’….which IS looking more and more like a banana republic
‘How much for ambassador? Hacked DNC files reveal plum posts for big donors’
“Hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ has offered support for allegations that Democrats rewarded big donors and fund-raisers with plum diplomatic posts, by releasing a donor list from November 2008, when current VP candidate Tim Kaine chaired the DNC.
Among the 500 megabytes of data released Tuesday was the document titled “11-26-08 NFC Members Raised,” listing the names and addresses of some 100,000 Democratic National Committee donors. Cross-referencing the top donors’ names revealed that they were later appointed to ambassador posts and other government jobs…
…The documents cover a period between 2009 and 2011, when the DNC was chaired by Tim Kaine, currently Hillary Clinton’s running mate on the presidential ticket….
No wonder people can’t get work. You just pay now to get a role. Qualifications are irrelevant just the size of your donation and knowing the right people.
New Zealand is joining the United States and 11 other countries in negotiating with the World Trade Organisation to ban harmful fishery subsidies, particularly those that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity in the sector or are linked to illegal fishing, they said today.
Although I agree with the action is the government doing anything to end the unsustainable practices that occur here in NZ?
Good God! They really are a pack of wet willies these Nats. NZ is rapidly becoming a police state and the soon they are gone and the oppression removed the better.
“Key emerges from this whole episode with very little honour. Such craven compromising is a very long way from the extraordinarily bold behaviour of the John Key who took up the Opposition leader’s role in 2007. That John Key would have weighed the Greens’ 13 percent of the Party Vote against the Maori Party’s 2 percent and adjusted his strategy accordingly.”
People are making less real wages than 18 years ago, Trump says in Ohio. "Me, I’m working harder also so I don’t feel sorry for any of you."— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 14, 2016
A new poll showing Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by 4 points in Ohio set the media buzzing, but a look at the polling data reveals that CNN under polled younger voters.
[…]
Update: It turns out that CNN did poll voters under 50, but the reason why their crosstabs showed no data was because they polled too few younger voters. Younger voters have made up 44%-51% of those who voted in the last three election cycles. CNN’s sample was made of 18% younger voters. In essence, CNN cut the number of younger voters in Ohio in half.
Donald Trump will definitely win Ohio if no one under the age of 50 comes out to vote, but that is not going to happen. It may just be an error, but if CNN shaped their numbers to get a newsworthy headline, it would serve as a perfect example how news networks use their polling to make the news instead of reporting on it.
Its like the last election where it got to the point where you almost started to feel sorry for Labour, like watching the All Blacks play Scotland, you know Scotland are going to lose and you know they’re trying their best but you know theirs a hiding coming up soon…
I’ve said it before but in the same way that plucky Scotland will never beat the All Blacks it now seems obvious that Labour will never be the government again. Despite MMP making it hard to obtain a majority it seems obvious that as long as John Key is the leader then National are unbeatable. 2017,2020 and 2023 are all probable National wins. The wealth of talent that entered Parliament in 2014 will be promoted soon. My pick for Premier at 2026 is Chris Bishop who has scared Trevor Mallard from even standing next time.
Your wish for collapse is not shared by the 67,000 people who have flocked to live in New Zealand in the last 12 months unlike the many thousands who were leaving during the dark ages of the last ever Labour government.
Does anyone else think the Spinoff has become a type of Sky magazine with sponsored articles? I first thought is was going to be Herald for younger audience, but it’s kinda of worse than that in terms of shallowness.
While I would normally congratulate anyone trying to push a new media platform in NZ away from MSM, but the Spinoff is all that is bad about the media under a new and less improved and even less informed news (is that even possible, yes with Spinoff) click bait tactic.
Had just started looking at it for the Dotcom coverage. But really… I mean meaningless, content free, awful and trivialising is an understatement. If this is an example of journalism covering a man’s freedom here and a test case for extradition – it’s written like The bachelor but from someone who sends the 10 year olds out to court to cover the case for a school project.
If Spinoff is an example of the future of journalism in NZ, I really hope not!!
extract Dotcom case…
Friday September 9: Day 10 of the hearing, Day 8 of the livestream
Hm.
Thursday September 8: Day 9 of the hearing, Day 7 of the livestream
Yeah.
Mockery , injustice and shallowness made into entertainment – seems more like The Hunger Games.
The numerical value published of 66bn may be of interest to certain folk
Mergers are an undersized life raft at best for the companies involed
Chemical poisons/toxins and the companies/industry that peddle them are on the way out, its over for these entities now and this merger signals as much
This is the final through of the dice for both companies
Too many are aware of what is going on and the momentum can’t be stopped on the march towards good health through natural nutrition and healing
Chiropractors don’t treat diabetes lol. Also, remind me what the scientific intellectual west’s track record with diabetes has been over the last 50 years? Incidence going sky high right? More cases and more early deaths than ever, right?
You rational materialists are no where as clever as you are narrow minded.
In the 1950s, about one in five people died within 20 years after a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. One in three people died within 25 years of diagnosis.
About one in four people developed kidney failure within 25 years of a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Doctors could not detect early kidney disease and had no tools for slowing its progression to kidney failure. Survival after kidney failure was poor, with one of 10 patients dying each year.
About 90 percent of people with type 1 diabetes developed diabetic retinopathy within 25 years of diagnosis. Blindness from diabetic retinopathy was responsible for about 12 percent of new cases of blindness between the ages of 45 and 74.
Studies had not proven the value of laser surgery in reducing blindness.
Major birth defects in the offspring of mothers with type 1 diabetes were three times higher than in the general population.
Patients relied on injections of animal-derived insulin. The insulin pump would soon be introduced but would not become widely used for years.
Studies had not yet shown the need for intensive glucose control to delay or prevent the debilitating eye, nerve, kidney, heart, and blood vessel complications of diabetes. Also, the importance of blood pressure control in preventing complications had not been established yet.
Patients monitored their glucose levels with urine tests, which recognized high but not dangerously low glucose levels and reflected past, not current, glucose levels. More reliable methods for testing glucose levels in the blood had not been developed yet.
Researchers had just discovered autoimmunity as the underlying cause of type 1 diabetes. However, they couldn’t assess an individual’s level of risk for developing type 1 diabetes, and they didn’t know enough to even consider ways to prevent type 1 diabetes.
TODAY
The long-term survival of those with type 1 diabetes has dramatically improved in the last 30 years. For people born between 1975 and 1980, about 3.5 percent die within 20 years of diagnosis, and 7 percent die within 25 years of diagnosis. These death rates are much lower than those of patients born in the 1950s, but are still significantly increased compared to the general population.
After 20 years of annual increases from 5 to 10 percent, rates for new kidney failure cases have leveled off. The most encouraging trend is in diabetes, where rates for new cases in whites under age 40 are the lowest in 20 years. Improved control of glucose and blood pressure and the use of specific antihypertensive drugs prevent or delay the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.
Annual eye exams are recommended because, with timely laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, people with advanced diabetic retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 90 percent. A new study shows that vision loss that is often associated with laser therapy can be reduced when the drug ranibizumab is used in combination with laser.
For expectant mothers with type 1 diabetes, tight control of glucose that begins before conception lowers the risk of birth defects, miscarriage, and newborn death to a range that is close to that of the general population.
Patients use genetically engineered human insulin in a variety of formulations, e.g., rapid-acting, intermediate acting, and long-acting insulin, to control their blood glucose. Insulin pumps are widely used.
A major clinical trial, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT; http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/control), showed that intensive glucose control dramatically delays or prevents the eye, nerve, and kidney complications of type 1 diabetes. A paradigm shift in the way type 1 diabetes is controlled was based on this finding. As researchers continued to follow study participants, they found that tight glucose control also reduces cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack and stroke. This research has contributed to greatly improved health outcomes for patients.
Patients can regularly monitor their blood glucose with precise, less painful methods, including a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Technology pairing a CGM with an insulin pump is also available and was found to help patients achieve better blood glucose control with fewer episodes of dangerously low blood glucose compared to standard insulin injection therapy.
The widely used HbA1c test shows average blood glucose over the past 3 months. The HbA1c Standardization Program enabled the translation of tight blood glucose control into common practice.
Scientists have identified a key gene region that contributes nearly half the increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes, and have also learned a great deal about the underlying biology of autoimmune diabetes. They have used this knowledge to develop accurate genetic and antibody tests to predict who is at high, moderate, and low risk for developing type 1 diabetes. This knowledge and recent advances in immunology have enabled researchers to design and conduct studies that seek to prevent type 1 diabetes and to preserve insulin production in newly diagnosed patients. This new understanding has prevented life-threatening complications in clinical trial participants at risk for developing diabetes.
Scientists have identified nearly 50 genes or gene regions associated with type 1 diabetes.
Many people who received islet transplants for poorly controlled type 1 diabetes are free of the need for insulin administration a year later, and episodes of dangerously low blood glucose are greatly reduced for as long as 5 years after transplant. But, the function of transplanted islets is lost over time, and patients have side effects from immunosuppressive drugs.
The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (www.searchfordiabetes.org/) provided the first national data on prevalence of diabetes in youth: 1 of every 523 youth had physician diagnosed diabetes in 2001 (this number included both type 1 and type 2 diabetes). SEARCH also found that about 15,000 youth are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
lol…well more on the medical theme…did you know Big Pharma killed Prince! ? ( its all here and why Big Pharma doesnt like marijuana…its free competition…which kills their profits as well as people)
‘New McCarthyism & the Marijuana Manifesto w/ Jesse Ventura (E316)’
“On this episode of “Watching the Hawks,” Tyrel Ventura & Tabetha Wallace sit down with Jesse Ventura to talk about the latest spate of red-baiting politics in America, as well as his new book, the Marijuana Manifesto.
Also, Nick Schou joins Tyrel for a discussion about the CIA’s nefarious links to Hollywood and journalists, and Tabetha and Tyrel are joined by John F. O’Donnell of Redacted Tonight to preview this week’s newest episode!”
well if Prince had been taking medicinal cannabis for pain he wouldnt have been overdosing on Big Pharma’s fentanyl
…this is former Governor of Minnesota and congressman Jesse Ventura’s argument…that BIG PHARMA killed Prince…because Big Pharma does not want to see a medicinal cannabis legalised for pain relief because it is in competition with Big Pharma profits
There’s a subliminal preference for those we identify with. This results in Maori/Polynesian/down-and-out-whites being given XXX and the rich white boys being given X for no other reason obviously than they’re rich white boys. In front a rich white boy/girl.
I gotta chuckle when I hear QCs saying no problem, quite normal. One lawyer from Dunedin shrieking that it was “outrageous” that anyone should comment. Normal my arse. We all know it’s not FFS. This unlucky female officer’s prior attacker got 30 months so I’m told today by a sergeant of police. Brown boy up there in court for this ? Forget about checking the Home D address bro’……
It’s not normal that at least four aggravating factors, in a nasty combination, with significant physical and medical consequence, will result in a sentence three pegs below a generous starting point of imprisonment for 18 months. What factors mitigated the offending so as to wipe out prison, and Home D, and Community Detention, and wipe out 100 hours of the maximum of 400 hours Community Work available to the court – only 300 hours were ordered. How do we get to the 4th point down the heirarchy of sentencing ?
I hope the Police appeal. And the High Court registers a severe slap to this classist, subliminally racist, nonsense of a sentencing.
…not to mention “sexist”…he whacked a female probably smaller than himself….bet the gutless bully wonder would not have whacked a BIG POLYNESIAN COP! ( or he would have been flattened)
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...
Dr Brian Easton writes: It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. Here is my guess at some ...
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...
In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...
The Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
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An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
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Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Earlier this week Point of Order carried a post by Geoffrey Miller on how Japan under a new security blueprint is doubling its defence spending. The plans see Japan buying up advanced weaponry – including long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US – and spending more on ...
Anyone else suffering back-to-work-blues? We’re battling, but still upright. Haere tonu! Today’s cover image is of sunset over Tirohanga Whānui Bridge, sourced from Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Jolisa pondered the fate of AT’s ‘Statements of Imagination’. Tuesday’s post was a guest post by Grady ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
The resignation of Jacinda Ardern has already made more global headlines than you might expect for that of the PM of a small commonwealth nation like say Sierra Leone (population 6.5 million) or Singapore (population 5.5 million). But international observers might not be too surprised by Ardern’s announcement that ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hard on the heels of our Buzz from the Beehive earlier today, the PM has made two announcements – the 2023 general election will be held on Saturday 14 October and she will not be campaigning to win a third term as Prime Minister. She will ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a minister and Andrew Little’s noble resignation ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...
RNZ News Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has acknowledged the way Aucklanders have come together and opened their homes to those in need, with the New Zealand government focused on providing the resources needed to get the city back up and running. The new prime minister — just four days into ...
RNZ News Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty has asked for communication on support after the severe thunderstorm in Auckland to be stepped up. It comes after a Civil Defence warning text failed to be sent out, and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown told RNZ they will be reviewing the response, ...
RNZ News Three people are dead and at least one person is missing following the flooding overnight in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. About 1000 people were still stranded today after Auckland Airport was closed last night because of flooding of the arrival and departure foyers. Flights were cancelled for ...
Wayne Brown has doubled down on his decision last night to shun the media until close to midnight and only order a state of emergency at 9.30pm. In a defensive display to the media this afternoon, the Auckland mayor was questioned on comments other councillors made last night, including some ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed there are three deaths linked to the extreme weather event in Auckland over the past 24 hours. There is also at least one person missing. Speaking at a press conference in Auckland, Hipkins said the priority was to make sure Aucklanders were safe, housed ...
*This story was first published on The Conversation and is republished with permission*Until New Zealand's stormwater drain system adapts to our rising climate, it will never be able to cope with the level of flooding seen in Auckland on Friday night, writes James Renwick The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced ...
Chris Hipkins has experienced his first major event as prime minister, just days into his tenure. He’s spent the day in Auckland alongside emergency services, surveying the damage and assessing next steps. He’s due to speak at 3.15pm alongside Auckland mayor Wayne Brown. Thanks to Stuff, here is a livestream. ...
Due to the “unprecedented weather event” in Auckland, organisers have confirmed the “heartbreaking decision” to cancel this year’s Laneway Festival. “We were so excited to deliver this show to our biggest crowd ever in New Zealand, our team has been working around the clock to do everything they can to ...
With the rain easing for a moment, many will be beginning the arduous task of cleaning out their flooded property. Auckland council has release advice for cleaning up after a flood. Cleaning up after a flood It is important to clean and dry your house and everything in it. Floodwater ...
Air New Zealand Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the airline’s domestic flights in and out of Auckland resumed from 12pm today as Auckland Airport re-opens. But he said with a backlog of flights and customers, the priority is those who need to travel urgently. “Those ...
Festival-goers holding on hope for Laneway, set to take place at Western Springs on Monday, will have to wait a bit longer for an official update. A brief post on Facebook this afternoon stated: “Safety is Laneway Festival’s number one priority. With the large weather event Auckland is currently experiencing, ...
Wayne Brown has defended the timing of a declaration of a state of emergency last night following record rainfall in Auckland. “The state of emergency is a prescribed process, it’s quite formal, and I had to wait until I had the official request from the emergency management centre. The moment ...
After the 11th hour cancellation last night, Elton John has cancelled the second concert of his farewell tour at Mt Smart, which had been scheduled for this evening. In a statement, John said: “Following the instruction of the emergency services, we have no option but to cancel tonight’s show in ...
The member of parliament for Mt Albert, Jacinda Ardern, has posted a message on Facebook following the flooding in Auckland. “I’m very conscious that it’s been a while since I posted, and there have been a few big things happening. But today the most important thing is everyone’s wellbeing and ...
Flooding of the runway, the check-in and arrivals areas on the ground floor and surrounding roads has disrupted operations at Auckland International, halting all departures until at least 5pm today, with no arrivals before 4:30am tomorrow. “People are asked not to come to the International Terminal at this time for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Renwick, Professor, Physical Geography (climate science), Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Victoria Park near the Auckland CBD on January 27.Getty Images The extraordinary flood event Auckland experienced on the night of January 27, the eve of the ...
New Zealand’s largest insurance group, IAG, says it is on track to receive more than 1,100 claims from Aucklanders by lunchtime after the city was deluged in the wettest day on record. Those claims, said the group which includes AMI, State and NZI Insurance, span property damage to homes and ...
The rampant flooding in Auckland didn’t just detonate its provincial public holiday weekend – it coincided with the biggest weekend of the year to date for live events. A pair of Elton John concerts at Mt Smart stadium had a combined capacity of over 80,000, while both Laneway at Western ...
Auckland is beginning a clean-up after its wettest day since records began. “Auckland was clobbered on Friday,” said emergency management duty controller Andrew Clark. “We won’t start to get a good idea of numbers affected until later today and, even then, this will take time, with information still coming in ...
The prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is travelling to Auckland after devastating floods hit the city overnight. With the airport out of operation until at least midday, he is landing at Whenuapai air base on a New Zealand Defence Force Hercules aircraft from Wellington. ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has arrived in Auckland for a daylong visit to the city following its catastrophic flood on Friday night. Flying in an Air Force Hercules to Whenuapai, Hipkins will spend roughly three hours on the ground assessing flood damage in the city before returning. He will receive ...
A quirk of timing left all Auckland’s institutions on the back foot. But social media, particularly TikTok, graphically showed just how bad the situation was. Late afternoon on a Friday is known as time to quietly drop bad news. You have the plausible deniability of it happening during work hours, ...
It’s a common sight during summer. It’s also a recipe for disaster.I recently drove with my family from New Plymouth to Tāmaki Makaurau and, just like how I lost count of how many cows I saw on the way, I lost count of how many cars had a passenger ...
Opinion - Election year has begun with a bang, and already the punditry and speculation are ramping up, but Grant Duncan warns not to treat polls as gospel. ...
New Zealand’s new prime minister, Chris Hipkins, is formally facing down an emergency just a few days after being sworn in, summoning the National Crisis Management Centre to the Beehive. The Beehive Bunker is being stood up to help with coordination of the emergency response in Auckland. I’ve asked ...
Analysis - Jacinda Ardern is one of New Zealand's most historically significant leaders. But she did not achieve the grand vision for Aotearoa her outsized rhetoric promised. ...
Brits abroad can be an asset to Aotearoa - but only if we make an effort to engage with te ao Māori, writes Scottish expat Fran Barclay Earlier this week, the UK High Commissioner signalled a promising intention to address the barriers facing young Māori and Pasifika who aspire to ...
"They want the Māoris out": provincial life in NZShe hadn’t learned to shut her mouth. Howard was tired of Councillor Kemp harping on and on and on. He pushed himself deeper into the boardroom chair and leaned back as far as he could force it. This woman had ranted ...
Positive affirmation quotes often aren’t helpful for tāngata whai ora. But taking the piss out of them can be. Early in January, on the first day of what would be a week of staying in bed with the curtains pulled, I put a disappointingaffirmations Instagram post up on my stories. ...
Ellen Rykers visits Mahakirau Forest Estate, ‘a crown jewel in the Coromandel Range’, where pest control is serious business.This is an excerpt from our weekly environment newsletter Future Proof – sign up here. The Mahakirau Forest Estate is not your average subdivision. Enter through its tall ...
As Auckland tackles severe floods and the city’s airport emerges from a deluge on both the runway and in terminals, Air New Zealand has confirmed that no flights will leave or arrive before noon on Saturday at the earliest. In a statement, the airline said anyone booked for a flight ...
RNZ News Mayor Wayne Brown has shut down criticism that he was too slow in declaring a state of emergency after severe flooding in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city. In a media stand-up late on Friday evening, Brown said he was following advice from experts and as soon as they ...
The Prime Minister has gone down to the Beehive bunker to help coordinate the emergency response, as the Insurance Council warns some Aucklanders whose homes and business are flooded face very hard times ahead. Jonathan Milne reports.Comment: Standing by the south-western motorway, I watched in dismay as hundreds of cars ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland as severe weather causes major flooding across much of the city. It’s expected the rain will continue into the morning. This post will be updated as more information is shared.What does a state of emergency mean? A state of emergency ...
Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown said he declared an emergency in Auckland as soon as he possibly could – and he made the decision without listening to the “clamour” of the public. There has been some criticism of the mayor for his relative silence today throughout the deadly flooding that’s hit ...
Welcome to a special late night edition of The Spinoff’s live updates as Auckland enters a state of emergency. Stewart Sowman-Lund is on deck, with help from our news team.The top linesAuckland is in a state of emergency. It will remain in place for seven ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins is pleased the call was made to declare a state of emergency in Auckland. All government agencies were working “flat out” to help in what was an “extraordinary set of circumstances”, Hipkins said in a tweet. “The emergency response is underway and the government is ready ...
Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown has released a statement following the decision to declare a state of emergency in Auckland. Brown has faced criticism this evening for his relative silence throughout today’s major flooding, with the first public pronouncement of the state of emergency coming from his deputy. Brown said the ...
Christopher Luxon has criticised the time it took for the state of emergency in Auckland to be declared. The National Party leader is currently in Southland, but told Today FM he intends to get back to Auckland as soon as possible. Earlier in the night, Luxon sent a tweet “urging” ...
Here is, verbatim, that latest information we have from Civil Defence on tonight’s state of emergency in Auckland: Auckland Emergency Management has opened a Civil Defence Centre to assist those that have been displaced or need assistance following today’s severe weather. The centre is open now and is based at ...
Severe flooding has ravaged Auckland today but the mayor of the city is barely visible. As I write, the airport has flooded, check-in areas looking like a public pool. Motorways are overflowing and cars have been seen floating down streets like a river. A person has died in floodwaters in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has laid out an economic blueprint for pursuing “values-based capitalism”, involving public-private co-investment and collaboration and the renovation of key economic institutions and markets. In a 6000-word essay in The Monthly ...
This is live coverage of the developing situation in Auckland. We will continue to update this with photos and information as it comes to hand. After a day of torrential rain, and new reports of at least one death in the flood water, a state of emergency has been declared ...
Fans are describing Auckland Transport's plans to help them get to and from Elton John's concerts in the supercity this weekend as a fiasco with tonight's concert now cancelled due to the weather. Two concerts were due at Mt Smart Stadium before tonight's concert was called off in the face ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Auckland due to severe flooding that has caused people to evacuate their homes. It was officially declared at 9.54pm. Meanwhile, Auckland Airport has closed its international terminal check-in due to flooding inside the building. The airport says it is sincerely sorry to ...
RNZ News Residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland are being asked to prepare to evacuate as bad weather causes power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of Aotearoa New Zealand. Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Ward, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Queensland Five years ago, bulldozers with chains cleared forests and woodlands almost triple the size of the Australian Capital Territory in a single year. Brazil? Indonesia? No – much closer: Queensland. In 2018-19, ...
Auckland Transport has apologised for confusing messaging that suggested attendees of tonight’s Elton John concert should drive. In a post on Facebook last night, AT said “driving to the concert is recommended” – a suggestion that prompted backlash due to the lack of parking options near the stadium. The announcement ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University Asteroid 20223 BU’s path in red, with green showing the orbit of geosynchronous satellites.NASA/JPL-Caltech There are hundreds of millions of asteroids in our Solar System, which means new asteroids are discovered ...
In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed he attended the future King and Queen of England’s wedding with a frostbitten penis. A veteran of Antarctic expeditions says it’s not an issue that crops up often, if at all.Now that the avalanche of coverage about the Duke of Sussex’s memoir ...
A new poem by Wellington poet and publisher Ash Davida Jane. objects in the mirror are closer than they appear if a dog digs in the right spot and unearths a rib what do I care if a woman grows from that bone take her in and tend to her ...
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.AUCKLAND1Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press, $25) Everyone’s chowing down on fiction ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hazel, Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide schankz/Shutterstock Have you ever worried if the play between your cats was getting too rough? A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting ...
More water than anything else, the cucumber is the perfect counter to intense and fiery flavours. Cucumber is without a doubt the most refreshing vegetable*, the antidote to hot summer days. At 95% water, a cucumber is basically an edible, crunchy, waste-free water bottle. Beside water, the cucumber has almost ...
REVIEW:By Rowan Callick Radio Australia was conceived at the beginning of the Second World War out of Canberra’s desire to counter Japanese propaganda in the Pacific. More than 70 years later its rebirth is being driven by a similarly urgent need to counter propaganda, this time from China. Set ...
The yellow brick road to Mt Smart stadium looks to be packed this weekend as thousands travel to dual Elton John concerts In the words of pop royal Elton John, “I think it’s going to be a long, long time” - in this case for the 40,000 odd concert-goers driving ...
The decision by Sport Northland to deny 'Stop Co-Governance', a community group, use of their Whangarei venue to hold a public meeting is illegal and defies the rights given to all Kiwis to voice their political opinions. This case, yet again, illustrates ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rolf Gerritsen, Professorial Research Fellow, Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University The supposed dimensions of the “crisis” in Alice Springs have been exhaustively portrayed in the media, both nationally and in the Northern Territory. The stories abound: shopfront windows repeatedly broken, groups of ...
Children’s Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers: "Myself and previous Commissioners have been clear that the use of motels at all is deplorable, and a symptom of a system that is failing children. "Concerns around the practice have been raised repeatedly ...
Everything you need to know to get through the chaotic commute to to the Elton John concert in Tāmaki Mākaurau this weekend. Fans heading to Elton John’s concerts at Mt Smart Stadium this weekend have been advised to drive or walk thereby Auckland Transport (AT). In a Facebook post ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Andrews, Professor and Academic Director (Indigenous Research), La Trobe University ShutterstockAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people. Many people do not know about the early activism undertaken ...
Finance minister Grant Robertson has opted to go list-only for the upcoming election, meaning he will not seek to be re-elected as MP for Wellington Central. It opens up the door for a swift exit from politics should Labour lose the election; without an electorate, no byelection would be triggered ...
Tory Whanau told The Spinoff’s When The Facts Change podcast that National’s transport spokesperson would push Wellington ‘backwards’ if he becomes transport minister.Wellington’s left-leaning mayor is worried her plans for the city could be scuppered by a new National-led government – and specifically by the party’s most likely candidate ...
Thousands of people are expected to flock to Auckland’s Western Springs on Monday for the triumphant return of the Laneway Festival. But with severe weather warnings in place, is it going to be reduced to a Splendour in the Grass-style “hellscape”? According to the organisers, no. In an email sent ...
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The Hauraki Gulf Alliance, a group of diverse organisations representing more than 1 million people, has rubbished proposals to continue trawling and dredging in New Zealand’s first marine park, the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park. The Hauraki Gulf Fisheries ...
Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission has shared experiences of children and young people in emergency housing ahead of New Zealand’s review under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Geneva this week. “The government ...
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Let me know when this sounds ironic.
Yesterday the government agreed to commit $1.7 billion tax dollars in a 50-50 share of a fully electric urban rail extension in Auckland.
On the same day, government-owned Kiwirail signaled that it’s likely it will retire its 35-year old electric trains and go back to diesel, with only the promise that it will keep the electric wires operational.
Now of course, Kiwirail is a ridiculously subsidized tax money sinkhole, and has made one bad decision after another in its procurement. So it’s pretty hard to have any sympathy for them.
I would simply prefer a government that had a transport policy that made sense.
Makes sense if you’re beholden to the road lobby.
Strangely this one isn’t about government spending on motorways instead of roads. They are certainly doing both.
What’s incoherent is investing in commuter electric rail on the one hand, and preparing to disinvest in electric rail on the other.
Yep, it’s kinda ridiculous. I suspect it has to do with our delusional money system that makes it appear cheaper to destroy resources (burn diesel) than not use them at all (use renewable electricity).
If we had a proper climate change policy, this type of nonsense would cease.
If we had a proper economic system then this type of nonsense would stop. A proper climate change policy would be part of that of course.
Link?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/313372/kiwirail-may-shunt-electric-for-diesel-on-ni-main-trunk-line
Underfund and run down the rail, and government supports the trucks. 35 yr old trains need upgrade. The majority of the juggernaut trucks look spanking new. It’s a bit like comparing the starving poor and the obese rich.
+10
Garrett talking for sensible sentencing trust in tv – I feel sick and need a wash after seeing and hearing the shit spilling from that bullshitter.
Easy to electrify the whole main trunk and get new rail stock (could even be built here), then could even have more commuter rail eg Wellington – Palmerston North, Hamilton- Auckland etc. Would be a lot cheaper than all the current monster road building (even without the shonky steel which will have to be replaced soon), and also much more accessible to the whole population including those who don’t drive or can’t afford cars. Could fix up Wellington- Gisborne line as well. Only takes a bit of government commitment and confronting the power of the road lobby and the traditional hatred of rail by the National Party.
Electrifying the entire main trunk line is not easy.
You would have to electrify the whole of the south island tracks. That would be a Think Big scale project.
I’m not suggesting this government walk away from cars entirely and make commuter rail the preferred choice across the entire country. They are committed to the private vehicle – with some promotion of electric cars – and I guess good luck to them.
And I know I am being slightly unfair comparing urban commuter public transport investment with freight investment.
But with a few hundred million and some new electric trains, Auckland’s rail could be electrified to Hamilton and Tauranga. That would take more than half of New Zealand’s freight onto an electric system.
It would make a whole bunch of sense for at least the North Island rail network to be run on one mode.
And your problem with that would be?
The only problem with Think Big was how it was financed which was by borrowing offshore. Muldoon should have created the money and then we wouldn’t have been in the dire straights that we were in when the 4th Labour government set about totally destroying our economy.
My only problem is political reality. We have a state with far, far fewer of the executive instruments than in Muldoon’s day. I don’t live in the world of ideals any more.
I live in the world of what is able to be done in any one term.
I know you don’t, and you’re perfectly entitled to that.
I want to change the system from one where we whinge that it can’t be done to one where we get stuck in and do it.
You can’t do anything in a single Labour term. You can try, but it can always be killed within the first 3 months of the next Tory term.
It’s not usually possible to build anything big in infrastructure in the course of any three year term. Mostly because it takes too long to get the money together.
Housing, however – there I think an alternative government has a good shot at making a visible difference. If I were part of an alternative government, I’d give every member a toolbelt and put them to work. Would do them good.
It would be nice if Labour still put practical minded blue collar workers, tradies and miners in as MPs but those days are long gone. Lawyers and pol sci grads are the order of the day.
Hey CV, you forgot, school teachers that get into PR, cant bear too say the whole word sorry. 🙂
And about Labour having time to deal with shite Nat,s policy, they seemed happy to leave a few of Ruthanasia in place, and no doubt the next chance they get at Gov’t, eg: 90 day,victimising beneficiaries partners etc.
Theirs many more but it does my head in.
Third way Labour can go to…
CV 12.01 pm, one term?, have you have lost your faith?, if so join the club. No membership fee, supply your own hankies.
Well, I think zero terms are more likely, myself
Yet another example of government sanctioned corruption…they are truly fucking this country
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201816217/migrant-workers-found-to-have-been-scammed-thousands
John Key’s brighter future is generating some headlines. A lot around previously denied but now documented increases in crime and homelessness.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11710082
Perhaps this poor guy was on the cusp of something special?
So this year we’ve had homeless people die in parks, recycling depots and now this. I wonder how long middle nz will keep ignoring it for.
A while, I think. It’s the National government’s policy to normalise these events as some sort of unavoidable consequence of economic growth. Rightwing people have no moral compass and perversely to them it’s a good problem to have because it shows NZ is successful.
As long as their property values keep rising, ignorance will be bliss.
Well done to Labour for starting this and well done National for continuing it
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/industry_sectors/imports_and_exports/trade-china-tripled-decade.aspx
We have been incredibly fortuitous as a country to have the China market growing so fast throughout the GFC that hit Europe and the US, and through the mining collapse in Australia. So yeah, agree.
Would still prefer to see no “unprocessed logs” leaving the country let alone to China. But that’s for a different kind of government, possibly a different kind of country.
Political and labour reform in China would also be good. This would level the playing field for NZ industry unable to compete with cheap labour.
As big a fan of John Key as I am I don’t think even he could overhaul Chinas political landscape
China would be a stretch – he’s too scared even to stand up to Frank Bainimarama.
I know right, he really should just go tell these countries what they’re doing wrong and how it should be done because it never turns out bad when the leader of first world, predominantly white, English speaking country does that
By that logic you’d be happy for a full and immediate withdrawal by western states from the middle east. You must also be against peoples’ struggle for democratic rights and representation the world over wherever that might be.
🙂 Nice one but no you can’t compare the two
How convenient for you.
Puckish – Keys wants us to join China’s political landscape – more corruption, more censorship, more spying, less human rights, more rights for those that know/donate to the ‘right political parties’, control of the media and public servants… list goes on and on. He just wants to ‘be at the table’ with the US too so a bit of a clusterfuck there with that approach, but logic never a strong suit.
It’s not going to end well for the National supporters too when you a tenant on planet Key.
Key will go eventually but the damage to our country and economy might be irreversible.
That’s nice dear
gawd not you too
Yeah sorry about that, at least I didn’t use lol or +1 or something
+100 save nz…jonkey will go where the money is…just follow the money…and corruption..it leaves a comet tail
+10
I just think that when you look at the choices the USA are facing and you look at the options NZ have then it puts it all into perspective
I mean in NZ we have better options then Trump v Clinton, in case anyone was wondering 🙂
Tell that to the homeless, middle class and working poor, Ad.
The only reason Kiwis are doing ok is because of immigration which was great boost to NZ at the time of the GFC, but now becoming a big problem. Bit like taking out a lovely loan and feeling great because you are still getting by, but then you have to pay it back with interest in social services – housing, medical, superannuation, transport… You then borrow more and more to fund it, now it’s a ponzi scheme.
Of course if the government had targeted migrants in the new economy that set up businesses that were non polluting and employed Kiwis at good rates, different story. Nope the government did not target those migrants..
Students, Fruit pickers, Chefs, drivers, property and farm investor migrants…
…and brothel owners…come restaurateurs
Yes both Labour and National would cheer at our free trade results with China. Now about those Auckland house purchases…
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/312/563/05d.jpg
New Zealand values are not all about money…surprising as it may seem to some
Labour’s been presenting itself as a gift to National for over 30 years now. And still going strong.
https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2016/sep/14/lessons-from-finland-helping-homeless-housing-model-homes?CMP=fb_gu
An article from The Guardian about how Finland cares for its homeless. First, house them. Then deal with any underlying causes.
“That just makes good sense” says Mrs Mac1.
+1
So true Mac. Should be the same here.
@ mac1 (8) .. yes that’s what a caring, civilized nation does, takes care of its less fortunate and vulnerable. Meanwhile in NZ …
On September 15th 1916, at 6.20am in the morning, men of the New Zealand Division’s 2nd brigade climbed from their trenches near Caterpillar Valley and advanced up the slope to seize the German switch line. Then at 7.02am, the follow up brigades attacked down the other side of the slope and into the valley to capture the villages of Flers and Courcelette as well.
If like me you’ve been lucky enough to visit the site of this attack, and walk from Caterpillar valley to Flers via the NZ Memorial, you’ll see what an an extraordinary victory it was in the context of the Great War. This is a doubly important date in the history of the 20th century as the New Zealanders used a new weapon that day for the first time ever in history – tanks. There wereFour Mk.I tanks with the NZers that day, and they were from D Tank Company, D8, D10, D11 and D12.
670 New Zealanders were killed and 1200 wounded in the attack.
I’ve been to the NZ Memorial and also saw the newly erected Irish memorial close by- a round tower with beautiful verse-inscripted stones. The tower had been built by youth from both sides of the Protestant/Catholic divide, in cooperation. The Memorial is known as a Peace Park.
The NZ memorial had its power with, of course, its national associations and the simple message “From the uttermost corners of the earth” attesting to the universality of our human race and the need to help others beyond our borders- that, at least, is something that can be taken from four years of insanity.
The ground around the memorials was a slope which I envisaged the divisions attacking uphill, into machine-gun and shell fire. One of the German pill boxes remained down the slope.
At Gallipoli I was extremely moved by the inscription on the Turkish memorial at Anzac Cove- such generosity, and simple forgiveness- repeated on our Wellington coast.
As a long term pacifist, battlefields still hold a strange fascination for me which I cannot explain. History, sacrifice, (in)humanity?
The common culprit behind so many environmental problems
So, farming isn’t just a problem in NZ.
This is really a simple fact that we need to recognise and do something about. NZ is in a good position about farming in that we can easily reduce the amount of land in agriculture significantly and still produce enough to feed ourselves. The people thus freed up from farming could then be utilised in more important areas such as health and/or R&D.
It’s time we started doing economics rather than finance because the finance is killing us.
Diary of a Person of Interest – by Kiwi journalist Suzie Dawson
DTB +100 … that is explosive …Wow what a brave young journalist…!!!
Every Labour Party supporter and voter should watch this!
… as well as every Maori Party supporter!
…and all activists and ALL New Zealanders who value their democracy and human rights should watch this!
….reasons NOT to collude with jonkey Nactional on the Spy Bill
….LEGITIMISING foreigners and foreign countries to SPY on New Zealanders
….hence violating OUR democracy , OUR democratic rights , OUR sovereignty and OUR HUMAN RIGHTS !
..i see there a a lot irrelevant diversions below from this very important Suzie Dawson article on spying on activists
Is this a left wing forum, news site?
I am interested to know peoples view on this question.
@Adrian – in my view it is, because the ‘left’ voice is pretty diverse.
Yes well that’s what I thought too, the name ‘The Standard’ being the first clue.
The second clue are the types of stories presented, in The Standard today…
“Right-wing mayor candidates try to kneecap themselves”
“Labour Organizing”
“Beware, creepy men of the right: Rawshark returns (briefly)”
“Optimism, determination and, above all, unity” (about UK Labour)
“India’s general strike”
The third clue being their own description of themselves…
“The Standard newspaper – from where our masthead comes – was founded by labour movement activists in the 1930s. They used it as a vehicle to share their views with a broader audience – a perspective they felt the mainstream media was representing poorly. We think the same is true today.
What’s your political ‘angle’?
We come from a variety of backgrounds and our political views don’t always match up but it’d be fair to say that all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement and we hope that perspective will come through strongly as you read the blog.”
Yet Siobhan, yesterday was insulted verbally and kicked off for two weeks for this comment on the story “India’s general strike”….
“Then again, here we are on a so-called left wing site…and its taken 2 days to get 6 comments. That says something not very good about our attitudes towards the value of different groups struggles don’t you think??”
She was called a nutter, a moron, a gormless idiot, lazy and stupid by the moderator, I mean, what the hell is gong on here? doesn’t anyone care that this abuse is coming from the actual moderator? or is everyone scared of being kicked off themselves, so won’t say anything? or are people here fine with this type of abuse? maybe a bit of stockholm syndrome going on here?
I think lprent is totally out of control, co opting the name The Standard from our rich Labour heritage, and then abusing people like this, all under the cover of that proud banner of the Labour movement is absolutely outrageous.
This abuse has got to stop.
[lprent: Agreed. Trying to attack the site has to stop. Only a idiot would attack a site that they were freely commenting on when they provide absolutely now work or effort to maintain it. In short – a freeloader. ]
I read the story about India general strike. But felt did not know enough to comment on it. I was going to say +1 because I thought it was a nice post. So just because a post does not get huge comments does not mean it is not read or important. In fact when people agree with the post I think it gets less comments than when the left disagree.
It’s the left disagreement that gets the most comments!!!
As for the rant against Siobhan, I think that was totally over the top!!! Maybe a bad day????
If it was only one bad day, I wouldn’t have brought it up. this abuse is the modus operandi of lprent, and it has got to stop.
People on this site have got to stand up to this type of abusive behavior.
A someone that gets banned periodically I have to say that if you don’t like the rules then start your own blog with your own rules
Firstly it is not the rules I am talking about it it is the unfettered verbal abuse that is being disgustingly spread about by the moderator.
Secondly I am also saying the The Standard by their own words have co opted the name The Standard from our Labour history, so can’t now claim that this site is not tied to the Left ( and by that definition Labour) in the public’s perception.
This being the case, there needs to be better moderation of the moderators behavior, or are you quite happy at being yourself, or seeing other people being abused in this manner?
Are you are also fine with the Lefts most well known New Zealand internet presence be known as a place where this type of abusive behavior is tolerated by it’s members?
[lprent: Read the last section of the about.
Just to return the judgement. I’d point out that there are a lot of people who really don’t bother pulling their head out of their own self-referential arse. You appear to be one of them. Try reading the about and the policy and then thinking how your critic stupidity looks from the side of the workers actually maintaining this site.
Banned for a weeks to give you time to open the dictionary in your attempt to understand it. But frankly I suspect that you are way too rigid to bend your mind far enough to understand someone being productive. ]
Bold font coming in 5,4, 3…………………………….
I’m surprised the hammer hasn’t come down already, the moderators must be getting soft 😉
I vote right because I have certain views and one of them is whoever owns something gets to decide (within the framework of NZ law of course) what and how they run it
The bosses of TV3 decided they couldn’t sustain the dwindling audience of John Campbell so he was fired because they decide what is shown on their channel and I’m ok with that
The moderators of this blog decided how they moderate and they decide what can and can’t be posted because its their blog and I’m ok with that
If you’re not ok with it go start your own blog, its really that simple
The more dwindling audience of Paul Henry National cheerleader TV3 bosses could stand of course. And of course the corporate welfare…
from wiki
“In 2011, MediaWorks received a $43 million loan guarantee for the Government to renew its licenses until 2030.[2] The deal went against official advice, and then Communications Minister Steven Joyce was accused of having a conflict of interest as the past managing director of the company’s RadioWorks division[3] The loan was described by AUT’s Centre for Journalism, Media and Democracy as a form of corporate welfare,[4] and was criticised by blogger Sarah Miles as a case of Government interference in the media.[5] Radio Bay of Plenty secured commercial loans, The Radio Network covered its own costs, and Rhema Broadcasting Group covered the cost with no interest loans.[6]”
MediaWorks’ subsidiary RadioWorks has repaid the $32.28 million outstanding on a ‘loan’ signed off by former Communications Minister Steven Joyce that allowed the media group to defer payments to the Crown for radio spectrum licences.
The balance of $32.28 million of principal plus interest was paid yesterday – almost two years ahead of schedule, current minister Amy Adams said in a statement.
@Puckish Rogue, You see I can understand someone on the right like you defending this abusive behavior, of course you do, that goes with out saying…it’s part of your political ideology. True to form I like it.
It is when people on the Left defend this, that is when I get uptight.
I think you might have something mixed up, its a privilege to post on here not a right
I have to say i thought the goat comments of yesterday were lowering ‘the standard ‘ by a long way.
Ive raised this a few times [TRP came back to me on it] – some of the comments have gotten down right disgusting. Including telling people to go hang themselves.
In the end – I came to the conclusion that it reflected on the poster more than the blog, but in time people will come here and read stuff – they will come to their own views – but honestly, it is getting worse – in the end the blog will be the worse for it.
@Puckish Rogue, defending privilege, yes of course you do, like I have said already, you are operating true to form, but you can’t help that, it is a core part your ideology after all.
Without lprent there is no The Standard.
Therefore he does rather control the whip hand and tends to use it often, so getting the occasional lashing is part and parcel of posting on the standard.
If that bothers you either go else where or learn to avoid raising topics that bring out the whip.
Some people pay extra for that:
JEEZ
I agree with both BM and PR!!!
Don’t worry, its always hardest the first time but after that it becomes easier 🙂
lol
Lol, that was a good show.
Very sad to see that you all find this outrageous behavior so funny, no wonder that the Left is so dysfunctional in New Zealand when we see no problems with abusive of power in own own ranks.
Adrian as you can probably tell from the response to your observation, there is lack of care factor or a fear factor..possibly both
I’ve taken a look at the response to Siobhan and compared it to some other mod comments, the form is largely the same
Looking through archives the moderating has had a clear impact on the tone of threads which is essentially censorship, and could be handled more thoughtfully in some instances. Certainly the name calling and abuse is unnecessary, especially where moderating in involved
I think your observation is sound
Adrian as you can probably tell from the response to your observation, there is lack of care factor or a fear factor..possibly both
No, it’s about adapting to the current environment.
Something lefties tend to struggle with enormously.
On one hand the Rules state “What we’re not prepared to accept are pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others.”
On the other hand we have lprent calling Siobhan “a liar, a nutter, an authoritarian moron, a gormless idiot, frigging lazy, stupid liar (again)”, and then banning her for two weeks, for having the temerity to suggest that TS is a “left-wing site”, when according to the About “all of us share a commitment to the values and principles that underpin the broad labour movement “.
I think you’re onto something Adrian!
[lprent: Tell me – does it say anywhere in the policy that moderators are subject to those limits? Doesn’t the policy rather explicitly state that moderators are expressing their limits to the types of things that are described. But doesn’t state anything else including that we are have any limits except what is in the policy?
Banned for a week for trying to redefine our rules – something that is explicitly against our policy. I’d ban you for a another week for being a stupid lawyer. However I suspect you can’t help that level of incompetence – it is probably genetic. ]
Thanks, I thought I fighting a solo rear guard action here, thank goodness there are a few sane people left.
I mean how can these people really be defending abusive behavior? and more importantly why would they want want to?
It is all quite sad, disappointing and baffling to me.
Here I was thinking that we were part of a progressive movement, helping with the evolution of humans, unfortunately this type of behavior only drags us backward as far as I can see.
In order to remove any uncertainty perhaps it should be renamed the Double Standard?
Agree with you Adrian, it’s not right. I’m gradually coming to the conclusion that nothing in life is perfect either no matter how much you want it to be.
Yes of course the World isn’t perfect, but to accept something that is in our sphere that is plainly wrong and do nothing, that is the point, do something, anything, say something, anything, but whatever you do, don’t do nothing.
That all these commenters come on here to defend this abusive behavior is incredible to me.
It’s like that case with the Crusaders and the stripper, you know there where other people in that garden bar who watched that woman get abused by those thugs, but none of them said a mumbling word to defend her…why, because those rugby players have a perceived place and power in our society, the stripper who’s she?
That is where these attitudes ultimately lead to, where else can this type of thinking take you in the end? In my opinion, It is really this simple.
And I also think that anyone who can’t put this simple piece of logic together themselves…. well they probably need to take a long hard look at themselves.
Hi adrian, gotten say I agree with yr stance.
A word that hasn’t been used to describe the behaviour is bullying.
I regard this as a left leaning site and as such some of the left save their vitriol for others on the left because … well I just don’t know.
I am truly grateful for this site, the posts, and comments however I find some of the langauge from some moderators to be excessively abbrassive and antagonistic.
Well done in starting this conversation.
I’ll stick my head up” doing a full 360%” All clear, largely agree gsays.
Yes I really do appreciate this site too.
I know that it could reach out to so many more people, especially Woman and young people, if they could only say enough is enough… but no, here they all are defending this behavior….why?
[lprent: The moderating behaviour is to allow the maintenance of robust debate on the site when we have the potential to be overwhelmed with unthinking yobbos acting as trolls. Have a look back in the archive to early 2008 to see what that means. Since strong obnoxious moderation was put in to deal with the unthinking fuckwits of the net, the percentage of female readers has grown from less than 10% to just under 30%. The number of female writers has increased markedly as well.
Similarly the age range has shifted from overwhelmingly being in the 25-35 age group to being wide across the whole age demographic.
You really don’t think things through do you? Why do you think we have moderation? It is to increase the diversity on the site. ]
+1 gsays
I could almost understand your reply if this were a radical right wing site. However to think you or anyone would defend this type of abusive behavior on a left site is beyond disappointing.
Look I absolutely respect the amount of work, time and effort that must go into this site, but that does not in any way give anyone one the right to abuse another person, or do you think it does?
Because if you do, then you just start to extrapolate that logic and see what path it takes you down very quickly.
Is this a left wing forum, news site?
I am interested to know peoples view on this question.
It’s a blog, and it serves whatever purpose the people putting the time and money into running it want it to serve. If you find that it doesn’t serve the purpose you, an idle reader and commenter like me, would like to see served, you’re free to go and start your own one and run it as you see fit. No-one running The Standard is accountable to you for anything.
Firstly, as I am sure you are aware, this site is now more than a private blog, it is, rightly or wrongly regarded, and is without doubt the main New Zealand left news site/forum.
I also assume that by using the name The Standard, and stating in their own preamble…
“The Standard newspaper – from where our masthead comes – was founded by labour movement activists in the 1930s. They used it as a vehicle to share their views with a broader audience – a perspective they felt the mainstream media was representing poorly. We think the same is true today.”
…that the resulting public perception of this site was not unintentional.
I believe people are accountable for their actions, and when those actions take the form of abuse, all while under the banner of an organization with it’s roots firmly planted in the New Zealand Labour party’s story and history, even more so.
Finally I find it ironic that you are using the Crass logo on your avatar, and would defend open verbal abuse of people who are respectfully expressing their progressive view’s on a left forum.
Crass, you know that band that was perhaps one of the staunchest and most uncompromising defenders of freedom of expression that cut a side of vinyl, not a band that defended unquestioned power…if I remember rightly.
Irony? If you’d turned up and told Crass how they were doing it wrong and you felt they needed to be accountable to you and make appropriate changes to the way the band worked, you’d have got an earful that would make Lprent look mild-mannered. That was one of the things I liked about them so much – they were excellent at telling people fuck.
Yes well as I am pretty sure that Crass would never have co opted an important piece of UK Labour phraseology and historical reference as a banner in which to organize under, I don’t think that would have ever been an issue, do you?
So that logic doesn’t work in this debate, sorry.
Just take a concrete pill and harden up, you choose to be offended To argue it’s all love and roses on the left is delusional Sibonan obviously hit a sore point with LPrent who is not my cup a tea but he gave her a spray, so what, move on, I’m sure he has and at least she now not in two minds about his view
Don’t you worry pal I am hard enough, of that you can be sure.
nah, it’s still a private blog run by volunteers and funded by a trust.
As to how “left” you think the people who contribute are, that description is problematic because some contributors might be staunch proponents of the labour movement but not regard themselves as “left”. Some because they might think that label today involves issues beyond just labour and capital issues, others because “left” and “right” are just extremes on an obsolete continuum.
Some contributors here support free trade agreements with greater or lesser equivocation, while supporting improved powers for workers. Others are more keynesian, while others still recycle Social Credit in various guises and with differing extremes.
As to your comment about a mod’s abrasiveness, well – each to their own. Maybe they argue about it on the backend, maybe the consensus of authos/mods is that it’s just good to have an angry dog in reserve every so often, because kind words don’t always work.
It’s called the standard, there is a red flag displayed as the icon, and the main disagreement with Adrian seems to be along private property lines, man that is sad.
Maybe lprent could trademark that flag might be worth a fortune.
And hey yeah, let’s every one on the left just start our own blog, we can have an audience of 1 and talk to ourselves.
I agree with Adrian, and notice that all arguments against his position never mention the history or symbolism appropriated by this “private” site.
Well how about this perspective then: those who created the trust, worked to develop the website and established the process for its content creation, who maintain the servers, write the content and spend time moderating the worst of the internet out of the comments, how about those workers have control over the means and fruits of production?
Seems fair to me.
How about this perspective, those people who founded our Labour party, that built a Labour Party of Men and Woman, who pushed and battled with their bodies and split blood to gain all the rights and privileges that we are fighting to maintain now, they would be appalled to see their own comrades bullied and verbally abused under the name one of their proud banners, The Standard.
I will say this one more time, The Standards own preamble links it directly to the Labour movement, the name The Standard links it irrevocably to the labour movement, that is just a fact.
Because this site has chosen to be linked so closely with our Labour movement, it has therefore surly obliged itself to operate at a level of normal public decency, is that to much to ask?
Seems very fair to me.
Lol
john a lee. When mjs was on his deathbed. How’s that for decent behaviour.
*Mic drop*
How about you pick up that mic and answer the question properly.
No no you must be correct. The stalwarts of the labour movement were all moonbeams and unicorn farts. /sarc
Like I said, how about you answer the question properly?
To spell it out for you, no, many of the founders and stalwarts of the labour movement would have considered the moderation here to be pretty tame stuff.
I gave you one easily googleable case in point above.
Hi mcflock, so…labour did it too?
I am not interested in a race to the bottom be it economically or behaviourly.
Too often it seems people get all worked up at their keyboards and type themselves into a corner. Usually over a pedantic point of order.
No, not “labour did it too”. A specific refutation that our predecessors in the labour movement were anything other than normal people, with normal behaviours. Some of the Fabians and Quakers were courteous and nice to all, no doubt. But we’ve always had our share of fighters and belligerents, too. There’s always been sectional, political and personal conflict in the labour movement. That’s what gives me hope – that they were regular people who made those achievements, not lionised saints.
The polite ones who used manners and doilies were often the ones who owned the sweatshops.
McFlock, interesting point. The great Michael Joseph Savage understood the rather conservative mindset of New Zealanders, even when he and his party won the 1935 general election in a landslide victory, he still had to assure New Zealanders that having a Labour government was nothing for them to be afraid of. Labour then, like now, has always had to be cautious, and I think that’s what some people, like the vehemently critical John A Lee, and others today, failed to understand.
Yeah, rereading about the ructions within Lab1 (just to make sure I had the gist of it right) it reminded me that the more things change, the more they stay the same…
+1 McFlock.
How about this perspective, those people who founded our Labour party, that built a Labour Party of Men and Woman, who pushed and battled with their bodies and split blood to gain all the rights and privileges that we are fighting to maintain now, they would be appalled to see their own comrades bullied and verbally abused under the name one of their proud banners, The Standard.
It’s a matter of opinion. Personally, I think they’d be appalled to see members of a worker’s cooperative berated by someone who’d contributed no time or effort to it but wants to tell the cooperative how they should run things, effectively on the basis of a claim to superior left-wingedness. Because it is appalling.
@McFlock & Psycho, all I can say is, well done boys, in passionately defending your right to bully and abuse people, nice work.
I have learned a couple of things in this sad exchange, the main one being, this has helped in taking the guess work out of wondering who the guards would be.
Well done Adrian for going where few dare to go.
You have some answers to the questions you posed. Unsettling isn’t it?
In some ways the comments section on the Standard has always reminded me of Fight Club. On the mezzanine floor above the ring are the moderators who keep redefining the rules of engagement, which keeps things interesting.
The first rule of fight club is, you don’t talk about fight club:
Bottom line, the playing field is deliberately designed to be uneven and this is an argument you can’t win.
Bottom line, the playing field is deliberately designed to be uneven and this is an argument you can’t win.
The about and policy makes that perfectly clear.
We are strongly independent of any organisation because it allows us to argue how we want to. These days we don’t even run advertising because we neither need to (peoples occasional donations pay our minimal operating costs), nor do we have the time to organize it.
We strongly favour moderators and authors – because they are the people who keep the site running with starter content and effort.
What do you think? That we should favour people who freeload on the comments section? Some of them we will and do listen to. But they tend to be the people who invest effort and intelligence in their comments. Not something that I have noticed with Siobhan or Adrian.
You and I don’t get to dictate how the site is run. The people who run it do.
I have no more power to comment than you do, which hardly makes me an effective “guard”.
@ Adrian
Careful. It’s a well known tactic of bullies to cry foul and accuse others of doing the bullying. Good example: Cameron Slater. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to acquire a similar reputation to him.
lprent has a tactic too – born out of experience. Come down hard on trolls and derailers in the hope they will cease their bad habits. It usually works and for those who choose to ignore… it’s the sin bin for a while or a permanent ban. Take it or leave it Adrian. If you don’t like the way TS is run I suggest you run away and start your own blog.
Edit: I see others have already suggested it so off you go and do let us know what it is called…
PM, no-ones telling anyone how to run things, they’re asking for a reasonable “standard” of discourse free of personal abuse, a la the “Policy”. Question, Psycho Milt, do you think calling a commenter “a liar, a nutter, an authoritarian moron, a gormless idiot, frigging lazy” for an innocuous (imo) comment meets that test?
[lprent: It wasn’t an innocuous comment.
In the last 9 years, it is exactly the type of comment that has prefaced about half of the attacks on this site from the right, the left, and the nutters.
I always ban fools who use it because it is completely stupid and idiotic to abuse people on their own site.
If you want to set the rules for a site – then start your own. If you want to continue in this vein, then I will give you ample time to do it without the distractions of commenting here. ]
I think it’s not up to me or any other outsiders to tell moderators how to moderate their own blog, unless they ask me. Especially not when there’s a comments policy specifically warning against doing that.
In my personal opinion, it must be extremely annoying for the people who do the work involved in running this blog to have commenters implying some moral failing on their part, based on what hasn’t been written about, or insufficiently written about in the commenter’s opinion. If I were to imply moral failing on the part of participants here, it may be that it seemed innocuous to me, but it also may be that the moderator’s seen a great many of these sanctimonious, passive-aggressive attacks over the years and has no interest in dealing with them politely. I find that not implying moral failings on the part of moderators helps avoid such incidents.
To Psycho Milt @ 10.49 a.m. (no reply button) – what you say is correct, and would be relevant if we were talking about moderation, but we’re talking about abuse. Moderation good (great!), abuse bad.
Have you actually read Siobhan’s OP? There’s no way you can find an “implication of moral failing” or a “sanctimonious passive aggressive attack” in that.
Seems pretty sanctimonious to me. Shades of the old “you don’t care as much or as broadly as I care, so you’re not really ‘left wing'” bs.
That’s fine, in your opinion it wasn’t an innocuous comment, I accept that. Whether you were “abused”, arguable.
That you descended to personal abuse in contravention of the Policy (“pointless personal attacks, or tone or language that has the effect of excluding others), that’s indisputable.
My opinion when I am moderating is the only one that counts.
I have already pointed out further up how you should read the policy. It limits moderation techniques, but does not constrain them. In my case I tend to find that people remember moderation against themselves when they are accompanied with some personal observations. This reduces my future work load.
My opinion when I am moderating is the only one that counts. I’d listen to authors, but seldom with commentators. After all it is our site
I have already pointed out further up how you should read the policy. It limits moderation techniques, but does not constrain them. In my case I tend to find that people remember moderation against themselves when they are accompanied with some personal observations. This reduces my future work load.
Other problems for Hillary Clinton:
‘FBI calls Clinton email probe ‘different’ as key witness ditches House hearing’
https://www.rt.com/usa/359229-congress-fbi-clinton-emails/
…”Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) was not satisfied with the two redacted documents, demanding full access to the investigation from Herring.
“We decide what’s relevant – not the Department of Justice, not the FBI,” Chaffetz said during Monday’s hearing. “It’s unclear to me how the FBI can prevent a member of Congress from seeing what we’re already allowed to see by law, yet here they have done so.”
“That’s the way a banana republic acts, not the way the United States of America acts,” Chaffetz added.
“I don’t expect to have to issue a subpoena to see unclassified information.”…
Although the US has historically been instrumental in the setting up and maintenance of Banana Republics…which sometimes literally grew bananas for US based corporations
…and now this …money talks you into becoming an Ambassador for USA (irony)…where are the career highly trained ambassadors?…they are obviously being sidelined in this ‘democracy’….which IS looking more and more like a banana republic
‘How much for ambassador? Hacked DNC files reveal plum posts for big donors’
https://www.rt.com/usa/359338-hacked-dnc-docs-ambassadors/
“Hacker ‘Guccifer 2.0’ has offered support for allegations that Democrats rewarded big donors and fund-raisers with plum diplomatic posts, by releasing a donor list from November 2008, when current VP candidate Tim Kaine chaired the DNC.
Among the 500 megabytes of data released Tuesday was the document titled “11-26-08 NFC Members Raised,” listing the names and addresses of some 100,000 Democratic National Committee donors. Cross-referencing the top donors’ names revealed that they were later appointed to ambassador posts and other government jobs…
…The documents cover a period between 2009 and 2011, when the DNC was chaired by Tim Kaine, currently Hillary Clinton’s running mate on the presidential ticket….
+1 Chooky.
No wonder people can’t get work. You just pay now to get a role. Qualifications are irrelevant just the size of your donation and knowing the right people.
…yet more problems with Hillary Clinton
Why Hillary Clinton must not become president
‘EXCLUSIVE: SECRET SERVICE UNLEASHES 80 MINUTES OF SCATHING TRUTH THAT WILL SHRED HILLARY CLINTON’
Y’all Queda’s Gary “fema camps” Franchi, really?.
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2010/meet-patriots
New Zealand begins WTO bid to ban harmful fishery subsidies
Although I agree with the action is the government doing anything to end the unsustainable practices that occur here in NZ?
Or are they, as per usual, still in denial?
Couldn’t decide on “respect mah authoritah!” or “protest is terrorism” as a comment but anyway…
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/312885/protesters-at-sea-will-be-treated-as-terrorists,-mps-told
Good God! They really are a pack of wet willies these Nats. NZ is rapidly becoming a police state and the soon they are gone and the oppression removed the better.
Chris Trotter is superb today.
http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/so-long-and-thanks-for-all-fish.html
Agree.
Check it out.
superb; ? he must be fucking delusional if he thinks Hone would ever go with national.
@ b wag Your considered opinion is gratefully received (sarc)
Of course Hone will never go with National, he has far too much sense. But that is a tiny side issue to the main theme of the article.
just helping you get some clicks my bearded friend
@ Bearded Git…yes liked this
“Key emerges from this whole episode with very little honour. Such craven compromising is a very long way from the extraordinarily bold behaviour of the John Key who took up the Opposition leader’s role in 2007. That John Key would have weighed the Greens’ 13 percent of the Party Vote against the Maori Party’s 2 percent and adjusted his strategy accordingly.”
The Obama legacy: teens in impoverished inner cities selling their bodies in exchange for food.
This is happening in inner city areas with high proportions of Black and Latino households.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-09-14/desperately-poor-teens-americas-impoverished-inner-cities-are-trading-sex-food
There’s that empathy, again…..
/
He’s now up 5 points in Ohio, so they get what he is saying in that state even if you don’t.
Polls, huh.
A new poll showing Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by 4 points in Ohio set the media buzzing, but a look at the polling data reveals that CNN under polled younger voters.
[…]
Update: It turns out that CNN did poll voters under 50, but the reason why their crosstabs showed no data was because they polled too few younger voters. Younger voters have made up 44%-51% of those who voted in the last three election cycles. CNN’s sample was made of 18% younger voters. In essence, CNN cut the number of younger voters in Ohio in half.
Donald Trump will definitely win Ohio if no one under the age of 50 comes out to vote, but that is not going to happen. It may just be an error, but if CNN shaped their numbers to get a newsworthy headline, it would serve as a perfect example how news networks use their polling to make the news instead of reporting on it.
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/09/14/cnn-trump-lead-ohio-polling-50-years.html
heh
Gotta love sample bias…
http://cdn.ebaumsworld.com/mediaFiles/picture/2165492/83582279.jpg
Nice
Question time 1 Growth 3.6% 3rd highest in oecd
population increase 3.7%
🙂
Probably bogus growth 🙂
167,000 more National voters
have you polled them?…or did you just ask who they vote for?
Question 2 Turei quotes wrong document
Question 3 Robertson trying and failing to understand that increasing the denominator is a good thing.
Question 4 $209M for multiplicity of science research projects
Question 5 Hipkins flailing and failing -this is embarrassing.
Its like the last election where it got to the point where you almost started to feel sorry for Labour, like watching the All Blacks play Scotland, you know Scotland are going to lose and you know they’re trying their best but you know theirs a hiding coming up soon…
Almost
I’ve said it before but in the same way that plucky Scotland will never beat the All Blacks it now seems obvious that Labour will never be the government again. Despite MMP making it hard to obtain a majority it seems obvious that as long as John Key is the leader then National are unbeatable. 2017,2020 and 2023 are all probable National wins. The wealth of talent that entered Parliament in 2014 will be promoted soon. My pick for Premier at 2026 is Chris Bishop who has scared Trevor Mallard from even standing next time.
It’s not great comfort, but at least nazianal will get to own the collapse.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/population_clock.aspx
Your wish for collapse is not shared by the 67,000 people who have flocked to live in New Zealand in the last 12 months unlike the many thousands who were leaving during the dark ages of the last ever Labour government.
Does anyone else think the Spinoff has become a type of Sky magazine with sponsored articles? I first thought is was going to be Herald for younger audience, but it’s kinda of worse than that in terms of shallowness.
While I would normally congratulate anyone trying to push a new media platform in NZ away from MSM, but the Spinoff is all that is bad about the media under a new and less improved and even less informed news (is that even possible, yes with Spinoff) click bait tactic.
Had just started looking at it for the Dotcom coverage. But really… I mean meaningless, content free, awful and trivialising is an understatement. If this is an example of journalism covering a man’s freedom here and a test case for extradition – it’s written like The bachelor but from someone who sends the 10 year olds out to court to cover the case for a school project.
If Spinoff is an example of the future of journalism in NZ, I really hope not!!
extract Dotcom case…
Friday September 9: Day 10 of the hearing, Day 8 of the livestream
Hm.
Thursday September 8: Day 9 of the hearing, Day 7 of the livestream
Yeah.
Mockery , injustice and shallowness made into entertainment – seems more like The Hunger Games.
Thanks Spinoff (sarc).
Tightening the noose.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/84296780/bayer-monsanto-in-us66b-deal-that-could-reshape-the-worlds-food-supply
Monsanto and its gmo crops are a sunset industry.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/behind-the-monsanto-deal-doubts-about-the-gmo-revolution-1473880429
The numerical value published of 66bn may be of interest to certain folk
Mergers are an undersized life raft at best for the companies involed
Chemical poisons/toxins and the companies/industry that peddle them are on the way out, its over for these entities now and this merger signals as much
This is the final through of the dice for both companies
Too many are aware of what is going on and the momentum can’t be stopped on the march towards good health through natural nutrition and healing
Another brick from the wall
“Too many are aware of what is going on and the momentum can’t be stopped on the march towards good health through natural nutrition and healing”
Damn those medicines and vaccines, can I have a double serving of woo.
Nah, you can go wreck your kidneys and your liver with your toxic pharma drugs, the gift of WOO is not for rational materialists like you.
I need some chiropractic for my diabetes.
Chiropractors don’t treat diabetes lol. Also, remind me what the scientific intellectual west’s track record with diabetes has been over the last 50 years? Incidence going sky high right? More cases and more early deaths than ever, right?
You rational materialists are no where as clever as you are narrow minded.
Diabetes, Type 1
YESTERDAY
In the 1950s, about one in five people died within 20 years after a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. One in three people died within 25 years of diagnosis.
About one in four people developed kidney failure within 25 years of a type 1 diabetes diagnosis. Doctors could not detect early kidney disease and had no tools for slowing its progression to kidney failure. Survival after kidney failure was poor, with one of 10 patients dying each year.
About 90 percent of people with type 1 diabetes developed diabetic retinopathy within 25 years of diagnosis. Blindness from diabetic retinopathy was responsible for about 12 percent of new cases of blindness between the ages of 45 and 74.
Studies had not proven the value of laser surgery in reducing blindness.
Major birth defects in the offspring of mothers with type 1 diabetes were three times higher than in the general population.
Patients relied on injections of animal-derived insulin. The insulin pump would soon be introduced but would not become widely used for years.
Studies had not yet shown the need for intensive glucose control to delay or prevent the debilitating eye, nerve, kidney, heart, and blood vessel complications of diabetes. Also, the importance of blood pressure control in preventing complications had not been established yet.
Patients monitored their glucose levels with urine tests, which recognized high but not dangerously low glucose levels and reflected past, not current, glucose levels. More reliable methods for testing glucose levels in the blood had not been developed yet.
Researchers had just discovered autoimmunity as the underlying cause of type 1 diabetes. However, they couldn’t assess an individual’s level of risk for developing type 1 diabetes, and they didn’t know enough to even consider ways to prevent type 1 diabetes.
TODAY
The long-term survival of those with type 1 diabetes has dramatically improved in the last 30 years. For people born between 1975 and 1980, about 3.5 percent die within 20 years of diagnosis, and 7 percent die within 25 years of diagnosis. These death rates are much lower than those of patients born in the 1950s, but are still significantly increased compared to the general population.
After 20 years of annual increases from 5 to 10 percent, rates for new kidney failure cases have leveled off. The most encouraging trend is in diabetes, where rates for new cases in whites under age 40 are the lowest in 20 years. Improved control of glucose and blood pressure and the use of specific antihypertensive drugs prevent or delay the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.
Annual eye exams are recommended because, with timely laser surgery and appropriate follow-up care, people with advanced diabetic retinopathy can reduce their risk of blindness by 90 percent. A new study shows that vision loss that is often associated with laser therapy can be reduced when the drug ranibizumab is used in combination with laser.
For expectant mothers with type 1 diabetes, tight control of glucose that begins before conception lowers the risk of birth defects, miscarriage, and newborn death to a range that is close to that of the general population.
Patients use genetically engineered human insulin in a variety of formulations, e.g., rapid-acting, intermediate acting, and long-acting insulin, to control their blood glucose. Insulin pumps are widely used.
A major clinical trial, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT; http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/control), showed that intensive glucose control dramatically delays or prevents the eye, nerve, and kidney complications of type 1 diabetes. A paradigm shift in the way type 1 diabetes is controlled was based on this finding. As researchers continued to follow study participants, they found that tight glucose control also reduces cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack and stroke. This research has contributed to greatly improved health outcomes for patients.
Patients can regularly monitor their blood glucose with precise, less painful methods, including a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). Technology pairing a CGM with an insulin pump is also available and was found to help patients achieve better blood glucose control with fewer episodes of dangerously low blood glucose compared to standard insulin injection therapy.
The widely used HbA1c test shows average blood glucose over the past 3 months. The HbA1c Standardization Program enabled the translation of tight blood glucose control into common practice.
Scientists have identified a key gene region that contributes nearly half the increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes, and have also learned a great deal about the underlying biology of autoimmune diabetes. They have used this knowledge to develop accurate genetic and antibody tests to predict who is at high, moderate, and low risk for developing type 1 diabetes. This knowledge and recent advances in immunology have enabled researchers to design and conduct studies that seek to prevent type 1 diabetes and to preserve insulin production in newly diagnosed patients. This new understanding has prevented life-threatening complications in clinical trial participants at risk for developing diabetes.
Scientists have identified nearly 50 genes or gene regions associated with type 1 diabetes.
Many people who received islet transplants for poorly controlled type 1 diabetes are free of the need for insulin administration a year later, and episodes of dangerously low blood glucose are greatly reduced for as long as 5 years after transplant. But, the function of transplanted islets is lost over time, and patients have side effects from immunosuppressive drugs.
The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study (www.searchfordiabetes.org/) provided the first national data on prevalence of diabetes in youth: 1 of every 523 youth had physician diagnosed diabetes in 2001 (this number included both type 1 and type 2 diabetes). SEARCH also found that about 15,000 youth are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year.
https://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/viewfactsheet.aspx?csid=120
And the stats for Type II Diabetes, brain box?
lol…well more on the medical theme…did you know Big Pharma killed Prince! ? ( its all here and why Big Pharma doesnt like marijuana…its free competition…which kills their profits as well as people)
‘New McCarthyism & the Marijuana Manifesto w/ Jesse Ventura (E316)’
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/358884-politics-america-marijuana-manifesto/
“On this episode of “Watching the Hawks,” Tyrel Ventura & Tabetha Wallace sit down with Jesse Ventura to talk about the latest spate of red-baiting politics in America, as well as his new book, the Marijuana Manifesto.
Also, Nick Schou joins Tyrel for a discussion about the CIA’s nefarious links to Hollywood and journalists, and Tabetha and Tyrel are joined by John F. O’Donnell of Redacted Tonight to preview this week’s newest episode!”
🙄
Really, and there was me thinking he was a garden junkie who gobbed too much fentanyl, as garden variety junkies often do.
//
well if Prince had been taking medicinal cannabis for pain he wouldnt have been overdosing on Big Pharma’s fentanyl
…this is former Governor of Minnesota and congressman Jesse Ventura’s argument…that BIG PHARMA killed Prince…because Big Pharma does not want to see a medicinal cannabis legalised for pain relief because it is in competition with Big Pharma profits
https://www.rt.com/shows/watching-the-hawks/358884-politics-america-marijuana-manifesto/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/09/if-pot-is-legal-we-dont-need-these-absurd-restrictions-commentary.html
Here you go Mr Lazy…
…
https://report.nih.gov/nihfactsheets/ViewFactSheet.aspx?csid=121&key=D#D
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11710644
There’s a subliminal preference for those we identify with. This results in Maori/Polynesian/down-and-out-whites being given XXX and the rich white boys being given X for no other reason obviously than they’re rich white boys. In front a rich white boy/girl.
I gotta chuckle when I hear QCs saying no problem, quite normal. One lawyer from Dunedin shrieking that it was “outrageous” that anyone should comment. Normal my arse. We all know it’s not FFS. This unlucky female officer’s prior attacker got 30 months so I’m told today by a sergeant of police. Brown boy up there in court for this ? Forget about checking the Home D address bro’……
It’s not normal that at least four aggravating factors, in a nasty combination, with significant physical and medical consequence, will result in a sentence three pegs below a generous starting point of imprisonment for 18 months. What factors mitigated the offending so as to wipe out prison, and Home D, and Community Detention, and wipe out 100 hours of the maximum of 400 hours Community Work available to the court – only 300 hours were ordered. How do we get to the 4th point down the heirarchy of sentencing ?
I hope the Police appeal. And the High Court registers a severe slap to this classist, subliminally racist, nonsense of a sentencing.
…not to mention “sexist”…he whacked a female probably smaller than himself….bet the gutless bully wonder would not have whacked a BIG POLYNESIAN COP! ( or he would have been flattened)