I see now where you got your story about Getty buying up big on the day after the crash. As I showed a few weeks ago that would have been a very good way of losing around 80% of your money.
I also have my doubts on relying on the memory of an 80 year old Gloria Swanson remembering back 50 years to her days of stardom.
The basic premise that seems to be pushed is that people who are "cashed up" can make enormous amounts of money by buying up all the low priced shares, That sounds fine provided you accept that they have to get the timing right. It isn't going to work for Musk of course. How can he possibly get to the cashed up state, given that most of his wealth isn't liquid? He owns about 20% of Tesla, 42% of SpaceX and almost all of X (Twitter) I believe. Stakes that large cannot be considered to be liquid. If he tried to cash up the companies' value would crash. It isn't like you or I selling our few thousand FPH and WBC shares where we can get rid of them in about 2 minutes.
I will still stick to my belief that Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless. Hedge funds bet against the market, so any such bet only ever seems a good idea when most players are clinging to a delusion (as in the gfc). Since T is more delusional than most top capitalists, he's unlikely to spot the opportunity & profit by a bet on it.
Come the mid-term, his policies may not have made America great again. Loss of confidence in the dream could create a market slide ominous enough to seem close to a crash. The system requires mass confidence to work properly…
This debate started, back on the 5th January with the comment
"It's hard to escape the conclusion that Trump intends to crash the US economy (and, as the saying goes, when the US sneezes, the world catches cold) and the world economy, for selfish reasons of his and his billionaire backers!".
You are suggesting something a bit different to that when you say "Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless.".
I quite agree with you on that. I think Trump is crazy and what you say might happen. It won't be because he intended to do it though and that was what the original claim, which I was disputing, proposed.
Yes I agree re lack of intent. His agenda is a blend of personal stuff & social niche context which I only have a vague idea about despite reading all the best books on it, yet his narcissism will inevitably steer the outcome, primarily via legacy. His self-image has been doing quite a shift since he won again – you can tell by his eyes & body language. I suspect he's now got a focus on making a splash on history. A bunch of quirky geopolitical re-configurations that seems like a circus play for the media is just the start. There's a significant character test in the pipeline (first crisis)…
Have you read anything by John Perkins, the US govt operative doing liaison with foreign states back in the '70s/'80s? Blew the whistle when he retired, went into the jungle & learnt shamanic practices. His book about shapeshifting nicely balanced empirical discovery with self-transformation of outlook. Too adventurous for most conservatives, of course, but he's sensible & clever enough to present it with aesthetic finesse in respect of blending ethos & realpolitik. Didn't like the CIA eliminating foreign leaders after he'd negotiated a good deal with them. Didn't seem right. So he started a business instead (consultancy) which grew & became very successful.
Trump doesn't need hotshot negotiators working for him until he gets out of his depth. The interesting part is his team, and how fast they go until reaching use-by date, like sky-rockets…
Netanyahu makes a speech advocating to get back to the genocide.
Our media play along, screaming headlines proclaim Hamas breaching the ceasefire agreement by not releasing the name of one of the captured woman soldier being released, as evidence of a breach of the ceasefire agreement and justification for returning to war..
Meanwhile Israeli shooting and killing of civilians in Gaza, in breach of the ceasefire agreement (even one of their own civilians) completely ignored by Western media.
Five-year-old among two killed in Israeli attacks amid Gaza ceasefire
Israeli forces continue ceasefire violations as thousands of Palestinians try to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
….Five-year-old Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi was killed and three people were wounded after the Israeli army shelled a horse cart late on Monday in al-Jisr, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, the Wafa news agency reported.
The Israeli army said in a statement an aircraft “fired to repel suspicious vehicles” in central Gaza that were moving north in an area that is “not approved for passage according to the agreement”. The statement added that Israeli forces also fired on a Palestinian man in north Gaza who “posed a threat to them”.
No, they have no right to fire any kind of shot in Gaza. The same applies for the Occupied Territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
Palestinian Support Network Aotearoa, PSNA, have launched a public campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers enjoying their leave here.
Politicians and media outlets have expressed outrage, accusing PSNA of encouraging vigilantism.
It is the government that is encouraging PSNA's action, with their lack of action.
Vigilantism is encouraged when governments don't uphold the law.
As signatories to the genocide convention, our government are bound to uphold international law on the prevention of genocide.
The government know who these serving soldiers are.
The very least they could do is question them as to their involvement in war crimes, as Australia has does.
The other criticism of the PSNA campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers holidaying here, "How does PSNA or their supporters know if they are IDF or not?"
The answer to that one is simple, If you have ever come across Israeli hikers or holiday makers, as I have done, they will proudly tell you, in the belief that New Zealand supports Israel's dispossession and mass murder of Palestinians. (And on the surface of it, they are not mistaken).
If I had a hotline then I would have rung it.
PSNA Press release:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters, the Chief Human Rights Commissioner Stephen Rainbow and the New Zealand Jewish Council have lined up to protect Israeli soldiers in New Zealand on “rest and recreation” from the industrial-scale killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
“We are not surprised to see such a predictable lineup of apologists for Israel and its genocide in Gaza from lining up to attack a PSNA campaign with false smears of anti-semitism”, says PSNA National Chair John Minto.
“Why is concern for the sensitivities of soldiers from a genocidal Israeli campaign more important than condemning the genocide itself?”
"The government know who these serving soldiers are.
The very least they could do is question them as to their involvement in war crimes, as Australia has does….." Jenny @4
Well how about that.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Breaking News:
The PSNA campaign to identify serving IDF soldiers coming here and confront them about their involvement in committing atrocities has already borne fruit.
The far right American think tank, the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, FDD reports that the New Zealand government has just slapped a questionaire on all visiting IDF soldiers.
Soldiers Required to Reveal Sensitive Information: New Zealand has begun requiring Israelis who apply for entry visas to report details of their military service by filling out two separate questionnaires. Questions posed ask for sensitive details, including the locations of military bases, military ID numbers, and whether prospective Israeli visitors have “committed or been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights abuses.” New Zealand’s new policy follows the. ordeal of two Israeli siblings who attempted to visit their great-grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, in Austrialia last December and were asked whether they had engaged in “war crimes” or “genocide.”
Pro-Hamas Creates IDF Soldier Hotline: A New Zealand-based pro-Hamas group, the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA), recently caused outrage by calling on New Zealanders to call a hotline if they spotted any Israeli soldiers or reservists vacationing in the country. “We need your help to track them down so we can let them know they are not welcome here,” the group stated.
Hezbollah Affiliated Group’s Lawfare Against Israelis: Elsewhere, pro-Hamas organizations such as the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) have identified Israeli soldiers or officials through social media and have sought to bar them from traveling abroad. Last month, HRF submitted a complaint to a court in Brazil against an Israeli soldier vacationing there. Complaints against Israeli soldiers and reservists have also been filed in South Africa, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Belgium, France and other countries.
Although I agreed with Minto's moral stance, the viability of his campaign depends on discovery of genocide doers when they come here. Privacy law is designed to prevent such accountability ever happening – which is why the left & right continue to support it, presumably. We don't know if those 4% rejects are doers or not.
Is that breaking "news" or breaking "misinformation?" I've seen the claim in a couple of places and both link to that Times of Israel report. The NZ Immigration web site says Israelis fill in an ETA visa waiver form the same as tourists from other visa waiver countries. That form may well ask about military service.
Is that breaking "news" or breaking "misinformation?" I've seen the claim in a couple of places and both link to that Times of Israel report…..
I first saw it reported on an American Right Wing think tank, and only saw it on Times of Israel page later.
From the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy FDD website;
New Zealand has begun requiring Israelis who apply for entry visas to report details of their military service by filling out two separate questionnaires. Questions posed ask for sensitive details, including the locations of military bases, military ID numbers, and whether prospective Israeli visitors have “committed or been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights abuses.”
Seems pretty solid to me.
As to this "news" being "misinformation". Does this misinformation include the account given to the Times Of Israel by an Israeli soldier, who claimed he was turned back at the border under this new policy?
From the Times Of Israel report on this "new" policy:
…..At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza……
Absolutely, vigilantism thrives when the authorities don't act on their legal responsibilities.
Luckily our government seem to have woken up to this fact, and are taking action.
From the 'Times of Israel':
New Zealand requires Israelis to disclose IDF service details as condition for entry
Israelis applying for a tourist visa are being asked about the dates of their service, the locations of their bases, and whether they have ‘been involved in war crimes’…
…..New Zealand requires Israelis to disclose IDF service details as condition for entry.
Israelis applying for a tourist visa are being asked about the dates of their service, the locations of their bases, and whether they have ‘been involved in war crimes’…
…..At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza……
Jenny, you along with Mr Minto seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s hardly likely that there are any war criminals here in New Zealand. Although I’m sure some would wish it to be so, if only to give themselves something to be upset about.
Hardly likely, but not impossible. AI methods like the Lavender system were used by the IDF to sign off on human targets, for bombing or sniper attacks, including the most low-level of Hamas members, estimated at ~100k. Various levels of Hamas members were assigned 'acceptable' collateral damage scores, from 100+, to 5-15 at the lowest level.
'…the Israeli program "Where's Daddy?" tracked suspected militants until they returned home, at which point "the IDF bombed them in homes without hesitation, as a first option. It's much easier to bomb a family's home." '.
'a United Nations special rapporteur, stated that if reports about Israel's use of AI were true, then "many Israeli strikes in Gaza would constitute the war crimes of launching disproportionate attacks". ‘
So anyone along this AI decision chain bears some responsibilty for disproportionate response.
…It’s hardly likely that there are any war criminals here in New Zealand.
Hi Dave, maybe, but we can be pretty certain that thanks to the immigration department, that there is at least one less.
The immigration department must have had very good grounds to doubt the word of the this Israeli soldier, when according to TOI he told them, "he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza,",
Governments through their Intelligence and security services are far better resourced than you or I or Mr Minto to determine that. And that is as it should be. Maybe to get the government to accept their legal duty to screen these soldiers was the purpose of Mr Minto's campaign.
The fact that Minto and his pals don't like Israelis doesn't give them carte blanche to harass Israeli tourists. How would he like it if right-wingers set up a phone hotline asking people to dob him in whereever he goes so that local right-wingers can let him know what they think of him?
How would he like it if right-wingers set up a phone hotline asking people to dob him in whereever he goes so that local right-wingers can let him know what they think of him?
As far as I am aware, that is still the case, as it has been the case for decades. Along with photos of his house, address, and anything else they can dredge up. Just trying to remember the name of the nutbar (last name begins with a ‘A’) who actively ran a site with exactly that purpose that actively targeted my niece about animal rights activism, and me about running this site. It wasn’t particularly secure. Minto was on that as well
And of course the police and SIS have exactly that in place, and there appears to have always been considerable leakage.
Where to begin. Now this so-called 'Terror Watch Agency', says it is monitoring, tracking and exposing what it calls terrorist supporters' hateful acts. And anti-Semitism worldwide.
Claiming to use artificial intelligence to identify activists who try to protect their identities with masks and scarves, and so on.
In response to Betar's post about getting attendees, at a vigil for a murdered 5-year-old girl deported, they tweeted in Hebrew, 'Blessed Are You O Lord our God, king of the universe who has given us life and established us and brought us to this time'.
Betar offered their own poster, labeled a counter-protest. And in big letters;
'Stand Against the People Who Use Hind as a Human Shield In Order To Fake a Genocide'
In my opinion the policing of war criminals should be left up to the proper authorities.
With their action, the PSNA has brought attention to the fact that IDF war criminals may be entering the country, leading to the authorities to take action to vet them..
I expect he's quite used to it actually. But it's worth noting that cyberstalking for the purposes of harassing people is against the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, and that applies to Minto and his haters.
Altho no one in NZ has ever been prosecuted or charged under this part. I presume that the organisation's aim is not to threaten, but to politely approach these visitors and ask them to justify Israel's war. Or even breeze past wearing clothing or badges to show support for Palestinians.
According to his ad, the aim is to "let them know they're not welcome in New Zealand," with it left up to the individuals harassing the Jew to decide what form that should take.
You're doing this combining of Israeli and Jew which is a very handy strategy for hardliners who wish to have their actions protected by the suffering of millions in occupied Europe.
I can't say that I've seen many of Minto's stalwart following observing the nicety of that particular distinction. Nor was Minto ever especially quick to correct them.
The crime of Apartheid is internationally recognised as a crime against humanity, a crime that the International Court of Justice has just ruled that Israel is guilty of.
John Minto has been a life long campaigner against racism and apartheid.
To accuse John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is in my opinion, almost as bizarre as Netanyahu accusing the United Nations General Assembly of being anti-Semitic for voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. Or accusing both the ICC and the ICJ of being anti-Semitic for merely holding hearings on the evidence of genocide in Gaza.
Accusing life long anti-racist campaigner John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is almost as bizarre as accusing Jewish Israeli Holocaust scholar, Omer Bartov of being a self hating Jew.
Holocaust scholar says Israel has committed genocide in Gaza
November 22, 2024
Holocaust and genocide scholar Omer Bartov has changed his mind about the war in Gaza. He now believes Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians.
Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd speaks with him during a week that the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and a top-ranking member of Hamas…..
Have you ever considered Populux, that this "one thing", is the "ONE THING' that you don't want raised, or argued?
P.S. If you look back over my comment history you will see that I have commented on many more than just, 'One Thing'. For instance my last comment here, before this one, was about AI
Yet he is merely providing what the system of democracy was created for. Competitive posturing is normal politics. Shane is a proud nationalist & doesn't want to be "frog marched to the altar of climate cultism."
After hearing Jones' latest comments, Menéndez March said the prime minister's silence and lack of condemnation spoke volumes.
Lux could issue a statement along these lines: "Shane & Ricardo are doing competitive posturing in a Mexican stand-off. They are keeping boredom at bay, and thereby performing a vital social function." The PMs silence probably indicates that his political advisor hasn't yet figured out this framing…
I'm so glad you're neither an MP nor a staffer or advisor.
You appear to be shitposting for the hell of it. Or maybe you do really believe what you say. In which case, I agree, too much macho, let's put women in charge.
Meanwhile, what Jones and Peters are actually doing is actively and intentionally fomenting racism as a form of promoting populism. At this point in history, that's a precursor to fascism. They are powermongers misusing parliament to gain power.
You are intelligent enough to understand the dynamics at play, which begs the question of why you are shitposting instead of addressing them.
Absolute shame on the Speaker and any other party in parliament that doesn't speak out against this. I don't feel this way often, but I am ashamed of NZ today.
Well, I'm with you on the emotional intelligence side of things. Problem is, democracy didn't incorporate that into its design. I dunno the lingo you are using so can't comment on that really but if it implies satire I can see the point of it.
So I was commenting on the basis of how the system conditions the behaviour of the participants. It is essentially Green: it is a view of ecosystemic relations.
Re Luxon & Speaker, its feasible they are mulling the matter over. If they perceive a relevance for moral stances in parliamentary process, then they have the option of leading on that basis. They both lead in their political roles. If they head down that road, we get guidance and may adjust our views accordingly.
Until then, I can't see how Ricardo can claim to be representing a Green political position on an ethical basis, since he's pretending to complain about racism whilst not providing any evidence for such behaviour in parliament. I prefer that our politicians get it right when they accuse each other of racism & xenophobia, which means acting in accord with standard definitions of those terms. Still, if you were to write an essay quoting those to prove Ricardo was right, I would read it with considerable interest. I do have an open mind…
I definitely don't think all men are idiots, not even most
My comment about putting women in charge was a satirical poke at Dennis' comment.
But I do also believe that underneath neoliberal capitalism and colonialism is the patriarchy. That doesn't mean that all men are bad/idiots, but men are afforded more privilege under that system than women, children and the rest of life.
Unfortunately at this time, the threat from that system is existential to all of life. One of the biggest barriers we face is men's unwillingness to give up power.
I also believe that women and men are not only socialised differently, but some of our cultural evolution arises from biology. Hence women, generally, will take care of others more readily, because they are not only used to doing this through pregnancy, birth and childrearing, but it is hardwired into women's bodies to do so.
Again, this doesn't make men bad/wrong. I think the patriarchy has done quite the number on men, taking them out of their inherent abilities and functions as well. The problem is how to restore human societies to something sane. One way would be to cede power to women for a period of time. Women, collectively, will share power, so I'm not talking about a role reversal where women subjugate men.
There is historical evidence for this in indigenous societies, including in NZ. The patriarchy isn't how we've done things for most of human history, it's not inevitable, and we're reaching the end of its tenure. Either we change to egalitarian or we die.
lots of liberals are of the idea that men and women are equal and thus we should no longer talk about difference (imo, this is a neoliberalisation of the feminist struggle for liberation). What I'm saying is we are different and we should take advantage of those differences for the sake of us all.
The X-word is now the new R-word: NZ is xenophobic as fuck. Even though NZ is a nation of migrants, paradoxically.
It’s in the Science System Advisory Group report, chaired by NZ’s foremost ‘honest broker’ and eminent ‘knowledge broker’ who advocates for evidence-based policy-making. So, it must be true.
Who is confident that Brown cares about the pressures on the Health system? Well we should worry about the actions he took to increase risks from transport.
New minister's track record doesn't bode well for our health
By Kirsty Wild & Alistair Woodward
IMO Brown's a hatchet man for the plans Levy and Reti would've been involved in.
The razor gangs appeared to have done plenty of work already culling contracts, nurses funding etc so the stage is set for him and his award winning personality.
He'll wear any criticism as a badge of honour as he blame others as he's already shown he's ace at that.
liberal democracy, far from enacting the will of the people, is dedicated instead to enacting the will of the right sort of people. The populist impulse, which Trump embodies, arises when the wrong sort of people are finally convinced that their urgent concerns and fundamental interests form no part of the liberal-democratic agenda – and never will.
Establishment elites serve the control system, not the people. Leftists, when I was an angry young man, used the slogan `power to the people'. Then they got into govt & betrayed the people. Trump has discovered that the groundswell of resentment caused by that betrayal is a useful political resource.
the successful populist movement seeks to infuse its collective strength into the sinews of an irresistible political Leviathan, point him in the direction of its foes – and let him go to work.
The gfc's takedown of the American middle class made enough people into losers that the Republican pretence of caring seemed better than the Democrat lack of remorse. That lack is not due to causal guilt – merely guilt by association. Obama's failure to punish Wall St was deemed a signal of collusion…
Trotter's main dissatisfaction with the political elite of the left is that it won't let him in, hence his pivot to the Free Speech Union, an Atlas-adjacent group that mostly advocates for the economic elite of the right.
Wasn't it Anderton who said "I didn't leave Labour, they left me." Same applies to CT I suspect. I agree it makes the user seem a boomer narcissist tho.
I confess to being puzzled that the the economic elite of the right feel the need for so many think-tanks all the time. Surely with the left propping them up for half a century they ought to be able to stand on their own two feet! It's not as if the left is gonna suddenly oppose capitalism, right?
Yes, I find it deliciously ironic when Minto is described as a 'professional renta-crowd'. I imagine he has barely scratched a living from his activism; when one of our many rw think tanks, the NZ Initiative, has 9 paid staff. Paid out of the deep pockets of the rich to market their desires for NZ.
Trotter is not champion of radical action in favour of the poor, he opposed a CGT (and presumably estate tax etc) on the grounds his boomer property owning generation would not like it.
Trump provides a vehicle for illiberal impulses, as populist champion of the reactionary and nationalist chauvinism both. All while his actions serve the oligarchy and business class more than any other.
Trotter himself is one here feeding this with his concern about Maori as a threat to democracy, and silence on the issue of the governments reformist radicalism. Hardly in the left wing tradition I would have thought.
Barbara Edmonds discusses the issues around the Digital Services Tax, which was to be introduced from 1 Jan this year, but which was deferred by Willis. At BHN from 30min.
and at 1 hour talks about what Labour would do to stimulate growth.
Why does the media allow this particular minister to get away with claiming innocence? Chour here reverses the funding cuts she herself ordered OT to make, and then blames them for the distress and disruption.
Chhour is one of the many beauticians in the Coalition who carefully manicures and pulls out the selected eye-lash here & there to show off cosmetic prowess and to create an optical illusion in the smoky mirrors that she knows what she’s doing. None of this superficial tinkering can hide the fact that they want to cut & grow and cut & grow and cut & grow, which used to be a hairdresser’s motto in the 70s.
Soon they can shift all the blame on AI, as there won’t be many public servants left to put up with these shambles, or technology infrastructure & support.
"A great day for New Zealand", said the National MP, Chris Bishop.
Was he describing National's pledges to lower the cost of living, reduce child poverty, increase access to public health or reduce the crime rate?
No he was referring to increasing the speed limit on a stretch of road in the Wairarapa where even his officials have told him will save a whole THREE MINUTES of travelling time.
Three minutes!
Think of all the economic development, productivity gains and confidence that this three minutes saving will bring! – they were all gushing whilst clad in their spotless unused visibility jackets especially brought out for the occasion.
60kms over the Whangamoa hill out of Nelson now 100km. Its ridiculous. Every corner will now need a safe speed warning. All the 80 and 90 km between Nelson and Blenheim now 100km with the resulting competition to pass trucks and renewal of the blood bath of fatalies and serious injury.
I once worked out that a truck travelling from Blenheim to Nelson, a 114 km route, at these higher speeds would save about 16 minutes, but no truck can travel roads at their 90 km/h open road speeds, especially over the Whangamoa saddle, so the time for the trip takes longer.and the consequent time savings are less. There is an appreciable time difference between speed limit times when factors like gradient, cornering and traffic flow are included.
SH2 Featherstone to Masterson is 52km. At 80 km/h will take 39 mins, at 100 km/h will take 31.2 mins and trucks at 90 km/h will take 34.6 mins. The figure of three minutes saved from the Ministry looks sound.
Travelling 50 kms at 90 versus 80 will cost more fuel. The truckers themselves estimate a 10% fuel saving for every 10 km/h drop in speed.
There is also the factor of safety where increased speeds mean more serious injuries sustained in accidents.
The speed reduction on that particular piece of road was truthfully rather stupid because there is only one proper bend on it (at the Tauherenikau Race Course) and it wasn't a particularly dangerous stretch of road as far as accidents go. What was needed was a speed reduction on that short stretch by the racecourse entrance on the corner across the bridge down to 70 km/hr and the rest left at 100 km/hr but somehow nobody thought of that.
But what gets me is how the CoC acts like Peter Pan trumpeting how clever they are for increasing a few speed limits when there are so many more pressing matters they should be tackling, like unemployment, the cost of living, etc…
But I suppose these are rather dullsville for a government that is only interested in how well the rich are faring and the speed fantasies of Ford Ranger drivers.
Locals are ropeable about the stupidity and waste of money resulting from increasing the speed limit from 80 back to 100 on the very windy road to Milford Sound.
Police are "suggesting" some sort of conspiracy "above" the perpetrators
What we know about Tammie Farrugia and Scott Marshall, the pair allegedly linked to the Dural caravan explosives
By investigative reporter Amy Greenbank and Ethan Rix13h ago
…..with police suggesting those involved do not appear to hold a "specific ideology" and that there was a level of 'coordination above those perpetrating the offences'.
“This is happening in Australia – the far right is showing it's hand.”
tWig @11.1
“Probably not the far-right, I hate to say, but pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel state.”
According to police and Prime Minister Albanese, not far right, or pro-Palestinian left, but paid criminals with no ideological ax to grind.
Who is their paymaster, we may never know. It could be the far right it could be the far left, it could be a false flag. We just don't know.
‘Paid actors’ could be behind some antisemitic attacks, Albanese says
AFP investigating if ‘criminals for hire’ have been behind at least some recent incidents across the nation
Dan Jervis-Hardy, Josh Butler and Rafoa Touma
Wed 22 Jan 2025 03.37 GMT
Anthony Albanese says it appears some of the perpetrators behind a spate of antisemitic attacks in New South Wales and Victoria could have been paid actors rather than ideologically motivated offenders, seemingly confirming the target of police investigations……
……“Part of our inquiries include who is paying those criminals. Where those people are, whether they are in Australia or offshore, and what their motivation is.”
Albanese would not disclose further details about the AFP investigation, or speculate on which country the foreign actors potentially behind the attacks might be from.
But he did confirm that paid actors, rather than people motivated by anti-Jewish ideology, were believed to be behind the attacks.
“….as the AFP commissioner said yesterday, that some of these are being perpetrated by people who don’t have a particular issue, aren’t motivated by an ideology, but are paid actors.”
….the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, asked why Albanese had not previously discussed the AFP’s investigation publicly.
“When did the prime minister find out that there were foreign players? Are these state actors or organised crime groups? Or are they antisemitic groups? What did the prime minister know?” he said.
On ABC’s RN Breakfast earlier in the morning, the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, also said the suggestion of potential overseas involvement was a “gravely serious claim” that warranted urgent clarification from the prime minister.
“This either means, if it is true, if it is confirmed, that a transnational terrorist organisation is sponsoring attacks in Australia or potentially that a foreign government is engaging in state-sponsored terror targeting the Jewish community,” he said.
Albanese said after the meeting that 36 people had been charged with “antisemitic related offences” in NSW and 70 arrests had been made in Victoria.
Burke said “there will be more” arrests and charges levelled against those allegedly behind such incidents.
This MO doesn't fit either the ideologically driven far right, or the ideologically far left who both tend to relish committing their own acts of terror. it is pretty unheard of for either of them to pay someone else to do it on their behalf.
The good news is that it appears that these attacks on Australian synagogues are not home grown. This would be a relief to a lot of Australians.
So who could these 'foreign actors' be?
Having 106 Aussie crims on your payroll takes a bit of dosh.
The list of possible state actors with this much dosh to splash around Down Under and with an interest in doing so, is quite small, it could be Iran, it could be Israel. Israel does have an image problem at the moment and have been trying hard to conflate anti-Zionism, with anti-Semitism. These attacks would play to that narrative.
Or Iran. Swedish authorites said last year that 'the Iranian government had been using criminal networks within Sweden to carry out violent acts against other states, groups and individuals.'
And who may be behind the execution in the last week of a Swedish ex-Iraqi anti-islam campaigner who burnt a Koran.
Or Iran. Swedish authorites said last year that 'the Iranian government had been using criminal networks within Sweden to carry out violent acts against other states, groups and individuals.'…..
I suppose it could be Iran, but what could their motive be?
Have any Australians been publicly burning the Koran?
Have there been any attacks on mosques in Australia?
Brenton Tarrant was an Australian.
Maybe the Iranians confused Australia with New Zealand?
Maybe the Iranians couldn't find enough NZ crims prepared to take their money?
False Flag, or Iranian terrorists. We may never find out.
The main thing is we must not let these attacks divide us.
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New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
The reality is that we have no obligation to tolerate the intolerant. They are using violence to shut down and silence others. The result of tolerating intolerant views is the loss of everyone’s freedom of speech except for the one who most effectively ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Davis, Associate Professor in Conservation, Edith Cowan University Adwo/Shutterstock Humans have been poisoning rodents for centuries. But fast-breeding rats and mice have evolved resistance to earlier poisons. In response, manufacturers have produced second generation anticoagulant rodenticides such as bromadiolone, widely ...
Alex Casey unearths Simon Court’s full sales pitch for how menstrual cups could end poverty. On Friday last week, Act MP Simon Court was accused of “mansplaining” during a parliamentary committee hearing about benefit sanctions. After submitter Rachel Dibble shared her concerns about period poverty and the impact that sanctions ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato It’s an unfortunate fact that bad people sometimes want guns. And while laws are designed to prevent guns falling into the wrong hands, the determined criminal can be highly resourceful. There are three main ...
Asia Pacific Report Two independent Jewish Voices groups in Aotearoa New Zealand have written an open letter to the government condemning the Zionist “colonisation” project leading to genocide and criticising the role of the NZ Jewish Council for its “unelected” and “uncritical support” for Israel. The groups, Alternative Jewish Voices ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Newspoll, conducted February 10–14 from a sample of 1,244, gave the Coalition a 51–49 lead, unchanged from the previous Newspoll, ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you enjoy whip-smart satire: The White Lotus (Neon, February 17) HBO’s award-winning The White Lotus is back for what critics are calling “an absolutely exquisite third ...
NZPF called for a slowdown of the curriculum change, asking for one subject at a time, so that teachers and principals could be fully trained and feel confident and competent to implement the changes, New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF) President ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Indonesia’s TVOne launched an AI news presenter in 2023.T.J. Thomson Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has taken off at lightning speed in the past couple of years, creating disruption in ...
Many of the young vapers interviewed by a team of public health researchers said they felt unable to resist the pro-vaping environment that surrounded them. New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms. The smokefree ...
Analysis: While most Wellingtonians enjoyed a rare but unbeatable sunny day on Saturday, some New Zealand diplomats will have been briefly shocked by a screenshot making the rounds on social media showing US President Donald Trump calling us a “third world country”.The image, it appears, was a fake – certainly a ...
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A few days ago, Alwyn got all breathless and agitated when I suggested the rich would benefit from a crash in the USA/World economy.
Thom Hartman outlines three reasons/methods why and how the billionaires will do well out of a market in freefall!
7.45 mins long.
Hold on to your hats, we’re in for a wild ride!
You may want to link to Alwyn’s alleged comment and also de-risk that you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
FYI, I take a dim view of commenters who take a swipe at other commenters to
scoremake a point.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-05-01-2025/#comment-2020614
But perhaps I'm maligning alywn a bit!!!
Thank you. In this way, your comment can be seen as a continuation of that discussion thread – clarity helps.
I see now where you got your story about Getty buying up big on the day after the crash. As I showed a few weeks ago that would have been a very good way of losing around 80% of your money.
I also have my doubts on relying on the memory of an 80 year old Gloria Swanson remembering back 50 years to her days of stardom.
The basic premise that seems to be pushed is that people who are "cashed up" can make enormous amounts of money by buying up all the low priced shares, That sounds fine provided you accept that they have to get the timing right. It isn't going to work for Musk of course. How can he possibly get to the cashed up state, given that most of his wealth isn't liquid? He owns about 20% of Tesla, 42% of SpaceX and almost all of X (Twitter) I believe. Stakes that large cannot be considered to be liquid. If he tried to cash up the companies' value would crash. It isn't like you or I selling our few thousand FPH and WBC shares where we can get rid of them in about 2 minutes.
I will still stick to my belief that Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless. Hedge funds bet against the market, so any such bet only ever seems a good idea when most players are clinging to a delusion (as in the gfc). Since T is more delusional than most top capitalists, he's unlikely to spot the opportunity & profit by a bet on it.
Come the mid-term, his policies may not have made America great again. Loss of confidence in the dream could create a market slide ominous enough to seem close to a crash. The system requires mass confidence to work properly…
This debate started, back on the 5th January with the comment
"It's hard to escape the conclusion that Trump intends to crash the US economy (and, as the saying goes, when the US sneezes, the world catches cold) and the world economy, for selfish reasons of his and his billionaire backers!".
You are suggesting something a bit different to that when you say "Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless.".
I quite agree with you on that. I think Trump is crazy and what you say might happen. It won't be because he intended to do it though and that was what the original claim, which I was disputing, proposed.
Yes I agree re lack of intent. His agenda is a blend of personal stuff & social niche context which I only have a vague idea about despite reading all the best books on it, yet his narcissism will inevitably steer the outcome, primarily via legacy. His self-image has been doing quite a shift since he won again – you can tell by his eyes & body language. I suspect he's now got a focus on making a splash on history. A bunch of quirky geopolitical re-configurations that seems like a circus play for the media is just the start. There's a significant character test in the pipeline (first crisis)…
Have you read anything by John Perkins, the US govt operative doing liaison with foreign states back in the '70s/'80s? Blew the whistle when he retired, went into the jungle & learnt shamanic practices. His book about shapeshifting nicely balanced empirical discovery with self-transformation of outlook. Too adventurous for most conservatives, of course, but he's sensible & clever enough to present it with aesthetic finesse in respect of blending ethos & realpolitik. Didn't like the CIA eliminating foreign leaders after he'd negotiated a good deal with them. Didn't seem right. So he started a business instead (consultancy) which grew & became very successful.
Trump doesn't need hotshot negotiators working for him until he gets out of his depth. The interesting part is his team, and how fast they go until reaching use-by date, like sky-rockets…
Netanyahu makes a speech advocating to get back to the genocide.
Our media play along, screaming headlines proclaim Hamas breaching the ceasefire agreement by not releasing the name of one of the captured woman soldier being released, as evidence of a breach of the ceasefire agreement and justification for returning to war..
Meanwhile Israeli shooting and killing of civilians in Gaza, in breach of the ceasefire agreement (even one of their own civilians) completely ignored by Western media.
Yeah, but Hamas got a name wrong on some list.
There is a cartoon floating around on social media showing the IDF walking out of the door to Gaza and through the door to the occupied West Bank.
Look out for flimsy pretexts to massacre West Bank Palestinians. (Not Jewish so-called "settlers" of course.)
It appears that the first foreign leader to visit Trump will be a war criminal wanted by the ICC.
https://www.dw.com/en/israel-netanyahu-first-visit-trump/a-71441398
The second to visit will be Starmer according to the Guardian.
Fitting really.
From the linked article:
Surely a couple of warning shots over their heads would have sufficed?
No, they have no right to fire any kind of shot in Gaza. The same applies for the Occupied Territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
There's something seriously wrong with this man. His evasion of acknowledging what seems obvious conflict of interest seems typical these days.
Palestinian Support Network Aotearoa, PSNA, have launched a public campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers enjoying their leave here.
Politicians and media outlets have expressed outrage, accusing PSNA of encouraging vigilantism.
It is the government that is encouraging PSNA's action, with their lack of action.
Vigilantism is encouraged when governments don't uphold the law.
As signatories to the genocide convention, our government are bound to uphold international law on the prevention of genocide.
The government know who these serving soldiers are.
The very least they could do is question them as to their involvement in war crimes, as Australia has does.
The other criticism of the PSNA campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers holidaying here, "How does PSNA or their supporters know if they are IDF or not?"
The answer to that one is simple, If you have ever come across Israeli hikers or holiday makers, as I have done, they will proudly tell you, in the belief that New Zealand supports Israel's dispossession and mass murder of Palestinians. (And on the surface of it, they are not mistaken).
If I had a hotline then I would have rung it.
PSNA Press release:
'
Well how about that.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Breaking News:
The PSNA campaign to identify serving IDF soldiers coming here and confront them about their involvement in committing atrocities has already borne fruit.
The far right American think tank, the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, FDD reports that the New Zealand government has just slapped a questionaire on all visiting IDF soldiers.
Our bureaucrats seem to be getting it right:
Although I agreed with Minto's moral stance, the viability of his campaign depends on discovery of genocide doers when they come here. Privacy law is designed to prevent such accountability ever happening – which is why the left & right continue to support it, presumably. We don't know if those 4% rejects are doers or not.
Is that breaking "news" or breaking "misinformation?" I've seen the claim in a couple of places and both link to that Times of Israel report. The NZ Immigration web site says Israelis fill in an ETA visa waiver form the same as tourists from other visa waiver countries. That form may well ask about military service.
I first saw it reported on an American Right Wing think tank, and only saw it on Times of Israel page later.
From the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy FDD website;
New Zealand has begun requiring Israelis who apply for entry visas to report details of their military service by filling out two separate questionnaires. Questions posed ask for sensitive details, including the locations of military bases, military ID numbers, and whether prospective Israeli visitors have “committed or been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights abuses.”
Seems pretty solid to me.
As to this "news" being "misinformation". Does this misinformation include the account given to the Times Of Israel by an Israeli soldier, who claimed he was turned back at the border under this new policy?
From the Times Of Israel report on this "new" policy:
…..At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza……
https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-zealand-requires-israelis-to-disclose-idf-service-details-as-condition-for-entry/
Jenny vigilantism should never be encouraged. It will only lead to violence, and I doubt that you would want to have it directed towards yourself.
Holding war criminals to account is the opposite of vigilantism. Its what properly functoning democracies do.
That’s what the police and our courts are for.
I very much doubt that there are any war criminals in New Zealand. There are however many child killers and abusers wandering our streets.
Absolutely, vigilantism thrives when the authorities don't act on their legal responsibilities.
Luckily our government seem to have woken up to this fact, and are taking action.
From the 'Times of Israel':
"…he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza," But was still denied entry?
[I can only guess that providing misleading or false information on this questionnaire, must also be grounds for denying entry]
And justice is served.
No need for NZ citizens to out this war criminal.
Jenny, you along with Mr Minto seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s hardly likely that there are any war criminals here in New Zealand. Although I’m sure some would wish it to be so, if only to give themselves something to be upset about.
Hardly likely, but not impossible. AI methods like the Lavender system were used by the IDF to sign off on human targets, for bombing or sniper attacks, including the most low-level of Hamas members, estimated at ~100k. Various levels of Hamas members were assigned 'acceptable' collateral damage scores, from 100+, to 5-15 at the lowest level.
'…the Israeli program "Where's Daddy?" tracked suspected militants until they returned home, at which point "the IDF bombed them in homes without hesitation, as a first option. It's much easier to bomb a family's home." '.
'a United Nations special rapporteur, stated that if reports about Israel's use of AI were true, then "many Israeli strikes in Gaza would constitute the war crimes of launching disproportionate attacks". ‘
So anyone along this AI decision chain bears some responsibilty for disproportionate response.
Hi Dave, maybe, but we can be pretty certain that thanks to the immigration department, that there is at least one less.
The immigration department must have had very good grounds to doubt the word of the this Israeli soldier, when according to TOI he told them, "he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza,",
Governments through their Intelligence and security services are far better resourced than you or I or Mr Minto to determine that. And that is as it should be. Maybe to get the government to accept their legal duty to screen these soldiers was the purpose of Mr Minto's campaign.
The fact that Minto and his pals don't like Israelis doesn't give them carte blanche to harass Israeli tourists. How would he like it if right-wingers set up a phone hotline asking people to dob him in whereever he goes so that local right-wingers can let him know what they think of him?
As far as I am aware, that is still the case, as it has been the case for decades. Along with photos of his house, address, and anything else they can dredge up. Just trying to remember the name of the nutbar (last name begins with a ‘A’) who actively ran a site with exactly that purpose that actively targeted my niece about animal rights activism, and me about running this site. It wasn’t particularly secure. Minto was on that as well
And of course the police and SIS have exactly that in place, and there appears to have always been considerable leakage.
The PSNA campaign to identify war criminals holidaying in this country pales behind the Right's campaigns against peace activists and progressives.
In the same vein as 'A' but worse, is Betar US
Owen Jones Beginning @2:24 minutes:
In my opinion the policing of war criminals should be left up to the proper authorities.
With their action, the PSNA has brought attention to the fact that IDF war criminals may be entering the country, leading to the authorities to take action to vet them..
I expect he's quite used to it actually. But it's worth noting that cyberstalking for the purposes of harassing people is against the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, and that applies to Minto and his haters.
Altho no one in NZ has ever been prosecuted or charged under this part. I presume that the organisation's aim is not to threaten, but to politely approach these visitors and ask them to justify Israel's war. Or even breeze past wearing clothing or badges to show support for Palestinians.
According to his ad, the aim is to "let them know they're not welcome in New Zealand," with it left up to the individuals harassing the Jew to decide what form that should take.
You're doing this combining of Israeli and Jew which is a very handy strategy for hardliners who wish to have their actions protected by the suffering of millions in occupied Europe.
Stop it.
I can't say that I've seen many of Minto's stalwart following observing the nicety of that particular distinction. Nor was Minto ever especially quick to correct them.
The crime of Apartheid is internationally recognised as a crime against humanity, a crime that the International Court of Justice has just ruled that Israel is guilty of.
John Minto has been a life long campaigner against racism and apartheid.
To accuse John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is in my opinion, almost as bizarre as Netanyahu accusing the United Nations General Assembly of being anti-Semitic for voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. Or accusing both the ICC and the ICJ of being anti-Semitic for merely holding hearings on the evidence of genocide in Gaza.
Accusing life long anti-racist campaigner John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is almost as bizarre as accusing Jewish Israeli Holocaust scholar, Omer Bartov of being a self hating Jew.
I make it a policy never to argue with monomaniacs.
I make it a policy never to argue with monomaniacs.
Translation: I got nuthin'.
Have you ever considered Populux, that this "one thing", is the "ONE THING' that you don't want raised, or argued?
P.S. If you look back over my comment history you will see that I have commented on many more than just, 'One Thing'. For instance my last comment here, before this one, was about AI
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31-01-2025/#comment-2022991
Therefore, I conclude that lacking any rebuttal your accusation, that I am a "monomaniac', strays into ad hominem territory.
What a disgusting individual!
Jones's attitude on morning report this morning was absolutely appalling. Link above
I'm beginning to find Jones' photos even more repellent than tRump's.
Same here.![🤮](https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/svg/1f92e.svg)
Yet he is merely providing what the system of democracy was created for. Competitive posturing is normal politics. Shane is a proud nationalist & doesn't want to be "frog marched to the altar of climate cultism."
Lux could issue a statement along these lines: "Shane & Ricardo are doing competitive posturing in a Mexican stand-off. They are keeping boredom at bay, and thereby performing a vital social function." The PMs silence probably indicates that his political advisor hasn't yet figured out this framing…
I'm so glad you're neither an MP nor a staffer or advisor.
You appear to be shitposting for the hell of it. Or maybe you do really believe what you say. In which case, I agree, too much macho, let's put women in charge.
Meanwhile, what Jones and Peters are actually doing is actively and intentionally fomenting racism as a form of promoting populism. At this point in history, that's a precursor to fascism. They are powermongers misusing parliament to gain power.
You are intelligent enough to understand the dynamics at play, which begs the question of why you are shitposting instead of addressing them.
Absolute shame on the Speaker and any other party in parliament that doesn't speak out against this. I don't feel this way often, but I am ashamed of NZ today.
Well, I'm with you on the emotional intelligence side of things. Problem is, democracy didn't incorporate that into its design. I dunno the lingo you are using so can't comment on that really but if it implies satire I can see the point of it.
So I was commenting on the basis of how the system conditions the behaviour of the participants. It is essentially Green: it is a view of ecosystemic relations.
Re Luxon & Speaker, its feasible they are mulling the matter over. If they perceive a relevance for moral stances in parliamentary process, then they have the option of leading on that basis. They both lead in their political roles. If they head down that road, we get guidance and may adjust our views accordingly.
Until then, I can't see how Ricardo can claim to be representing a Green political position on an ethical basis, since he's pretending to complain about racism whilst not providing any evidence for such behaviour in parliament. I prefer that our politicians get it right when they accuse each other of racism & xenophobia, which means acting in accord with standard definitions of those terms. Still, if you were to write an essay quoting those to prove Ricardo was right, I would read it with considerable interest. I do have an open mind…
Agree totally weka about your comments re the post.
But the logic that one man makes an idiotic post means all men are idiots is even dafter. Please don't tar us all with the same brush.
I definitely don't think all men are idiots, not even most
My comment about putting women in charge was a satirical poke at Dennis' comment.
But I do also believe that underneath neoliberal capitalism and colonialism is the patriarchy. That doesn't mean that all men are bad/idiots, but men are afforded more privilege under that system than women, children and the rest of life.
Unfortunately at this time, the threat from that system is existential to all of life. One of the biggest barriers we face is men's unwillingness to give up power.
I also believe that women and men are not only socialised differently, but some of our cultural evolution arises from biology. Hence women, generally, will take care of others more readily, because they are not only used to doing this through pregnancy, birth and childrearing, but it is hardwired into women's bodies to do so.
Again, this doesn't make men bad/wrong. I think the patriarchy has done quite the number on men, taking them out of their inherent abilities and functions as well. The problem is how to restore human societies to something sane. One way would be to cede power to women for a period of time. Women, collectively, will share power, so I'm not talking about a role reversal where women subjugate men.
There is historical evidence for this in indigenous societies, including in NZ. The patriarchy isn't how we've done things for most of human history, it's not inevitable, and we're reaching the end of its tenure. Either we change to egalitarian or we die.
lots of liberals are of the idea that men and women are equal and thus we should no longer talk about difference (imo, this is a neoliberalisation of the feminist struggle for liberation). What I'm saying is we are different and we should take advantage of those differences for the sake of us all.
The X-word is now the new R-word: NZ is xenophobic as fuck. Even though NZ is a nation of migrants, paradoxically.
It’s in the Science System Advisory Group report, chaired by NZ’s foremost ‘honest broker’ and eminent ‘knowledge broker’ who advocates for evidence-based policy-making. So, it must be true.
Who is confident that Brown cares about the pressures on the Health system? Well we should worry about the actions he took to increase risks from transport.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/01/30/new-ministers-feeble-track-record-doesnt-bode-well-for-our-health/?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=26d65c1cec-Daily_Briefing+30.01.2025&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-26d65c1cec-95522477&mc_cid=26d65c1cec&mc_eid=88a3081e75
IMO Brown's a hatchet man for the plans Levy and Reti would've been involved in.
The razor gangs appeared to have done plenty of work already culling contracts, nurses funding etc so the stage is set for him and his award winning personality.
He'll wear any criticism as a badge of honour as he blame others as he's already shown he's ace at that.
Simeon Brown might be the perfect man for the job. He can go from fixing potholes to fixing waterpipes.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018972724/leak-causes-water-outage-at-auckland-hospital
Chris Trotter's critique of Sir Geoffrey Palmer's stance on democracy gets to the point.
Establishment elites serve the control system, not the people. Leftists, when I was an angry young man, used the slogan `power to the people'. Then they got into govt & betrayed the people. Trump has discovered that the groundswell of resentment caused by that betrayal is a useful political resource.
The gfc's takedown of the American middle class made enough people into losers that the Republican pretence of caring seemed better than the Democrat lack of remorse. That lack is not due to causal guilt – merely guilt by association. Obama's failure to punish Wall St was deemed a signal of collusion…
Trotter's main dissatisfaction with the political elite of the left is that it won't let him in, hence his pivot to the Free Speech Union, an Atlas-adjacent group that mostly advocates for the economic elite of the right.
Wasn't it Anderton who said "I didn't leave Labour, they left me." Same applies to CT I suspect. I agree it makes the user seem a boomer narcissist tho.
I confess to being puzzled that the the economic elite of the right feel the need for so many think-tanks all the time. Surely with the left propping them up for half a century they ought to be able to stand on their own two feet! It's not as if the left is gonna suddenly oppose capitalism, right?
Wonder no more: https://www.psa.org.nz/our-voice/understanding-atlas-how-a-right-wing-network-is-building-global-influence/
Interesting how the awareness of Atlas and its soft approach to influencing policy is becoming more apparent to a wider audience here.
Not before time!
Especially after that shameful patsy interview Whena Owen did with the head of Atlas for Q+A
Yes, I find it deliciously ironic when Minto is described as a 'professional renta-crowd'. I imagine he has barely scratched a living from his activism; when one of our many rw think tanks, the NZ Initiative, has 9 paid staff. Paid out of the deep pockets of the rich to market their desires for NZ.
I always get the impression that Trotter thinks so highly of himself that he keeps pushing too hard.
https://store.gocomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/midvale-color-product-image-scaled.jpg
Trotter is not champion of radical action in favour of the poor, he opposed a CGT (and presumably estate tax etc) on the grounds his boomer property owning generation would not like it.
Trump provides a vehicle for illiberal impulses, as populist champion of the reactionary and nationalist chauvinism both. All while his actions serve the oligarchy and business class more than any other.
Trotter himself is one here feeding this with his concern about Maori as a threat to democracy, and silence on the issue of the governments reformist radicalism. Hardly in the left wing tradition I would have thought.
Trotter also hates the Greens with a vengeance.
Barbara Edmonds discusses the issues around the Digital Services Tax, which was to be introduced from 1 Jan this year, but which was deferred by Willis. At BHN from 30min.
and at 1 hour talks about what Labour would do to stimulate growth.
Thanks will check out while driving home
Why does the media allow this particular minister to get away with claiming innocence? Chour here reverses the funding cuts she herself ordered OT to make, and then blames them for the distress and disruption.
Do your job, journalists!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/540373/minister-overrides-oranga-tamariki-decision-to-pull-funding-from-barnardos-helpline
Chhour is one of the many beauticians in the Coalition who carefully manicures and pulls out the selected eye-lash here & there to show off cosmetic prowess and to create an optical illusion in the smoky mirrors that she knows what she’s doing. None of this superficial tinkering can hide the fact that they want to cut & grow and cut & grow and cut & grow, which used to be a hairdresser’s motto in the 70s.
Soon they can shift all the blame on AI, as there won’t be many public servants left to put up with these shambles, or technology infrastructure & support.
Not so easy to set up AI to replace wetware in the public sector, as the UK has found, dropping AI initiatives previously touted by Starmer.
"A great day for New Zealand", said the National MP, Chris Bishop.
Was he describing National's pledges to lower the cost of living, reduce child poverty, increase access to public health or reduce the crime rate?
No he was referring to increasing the speed limit on a stretch of road in the Wairarapa where even his officials have told him will save a whole THREE MINUTES of travelling time.
Three minutes!
Think of all the economic development, productivity gains and confidence that this three minutes saving will bring! – they were all gushing whilst clad in their spotless unused visibility jackets especially brought out for the occasion.
This really is a government that aims low.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/540233/speed-limits-start-going-back-up-full-list-of-roads-announced
Labour did it so we're going to reverse it.
60kms over the Whangamoa hill out of Nelson now 100km. Its ridiculous. Every corner will now need a safe speed warning. All the 80 and 90 km between Nelson and Blenheim now 100km with the resulting competition to pass trucks and renewal of the blood bath of fatalies and serious injury.
I once worked out that a truck travelling from Blenheim to Nelson, a 114 km route, at these higher speeds would save about 16 minutes, but no truck can travel roads at their 90 km/h open road speeds, especially over the Whangamoa saddle, so the time for the trip takes longer.and the consequent time savings are less. There is an appreciable time difference between speed limit times when factors like gradient, cornering and traffic flow are included.
SH2 Featherstone to Masterson is 52km. At 80 km/h will take 39 mins, at 100 km/h will take 31.2 mins and trucks at 90 km/h will take 34.6 mins. The figure of three minutes saved from the Ministry looks sound.
Travelling 50 kms at 90 versus 80 will cost more fuel. The truckers themselves estimate a 10% fuel saving for every 10 km/h drop in speed.
There is also the factor of safety where increased speeds mean more serious injuries sustained in accidents.
The speed reduction on that particular piece of road was truthfully rather stupid because there is only one proper bend on it (at the Tauherenikau Race Course) and it wasn't a particularly dangerous stretch of road as far as accidents go. What was needed was a speed reduction on that short stretch by the racecourse entrance on the corner across the bridge down to 70 km/hr and the rest left at 100 km/hr but somehow nobody thought of that.
But what gets me is how the CoC acts like Peter Pan trumpeting how clever they are for increasing a few speed limits when there are so many more pressing matters they should be tackling, like unemployment, the cost of living, etc…
But I suppose these are rather dullsville for a government that is only interested in how well the rich are faring and the speed fantasies of Ford Ranger drivers.
Locals are ropeable about the stupidity and waste of money resulting from increasing the speed limit from 80 back to 100 on the very windy road to Milford Sound.
This is happening in Australia – the far right is showing it's hand.
Probably not the far-right, I hate to say, but pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel state.
Police are "suggesting" some sort of conspiracy "above" the perpetrators
adam @11
“This is happening in Australia – the far right is showing it's hand.”
tWig @11.1
“Probably not the far-right, I hate to say, but pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel state.”
According to police and Prime Minister Albanese, not far right, or pro-Palestinian left, but paid criminals with no ideological ax to grind.
Who is their paymaster, we may never know. It could be the far right it could be the far left, it could be a false flag. We just don't know.
This MO doesn't fit either the ideologically driven far right, or the ideologically far left who both tend to relish committing their own acts of terror. it is pretty unheard of for either of them to pay someone else to do it on their behalf.
The good news is that it appears that these attacks on Australian synagogues are not home grown. This would be a relief to a lot of Australians.
So who could these 'foreign actors' be?
Having 106 Aussie crims on your payroll takes a bit of dosh.
The list of possible state actors with this much dosh to splash around Down Under and with an interest in doing so, is quite small, it could be Iran, it could be Israel. Israel does have an image problem at the moment and have been trying hard to conflate anti-Zionism, with anti-Semitism. These attacks would play to that narrative.
Or Iran. Swedish authorites said last year that 'the Iranian government had been using criminal networks within Sweden to carry out violent acts against other states, groups and individuals.'
And who may be behind the execution in the last week of a Swedish ex-Iraqi anti-islam campaigner who burnt a Koran.
I suppose it could be Iran, but what could their motive be?
Have any Australians been publicly burning the Koran?
Have there been any attacks on mosques in Australia?
Brenton Tarrant was an Australian.
Maybe the Iranians confused Australia with New Zealand?
Maybe the Iranians couldn't find enough NZ crims prepared to take their money?
False Flag, or Iranian terrorists. We may never find out.
The main thing is we must not let these attacks divide us.