Daily review 04/12/2019
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5:30 pm, December 4th, 2019 - 47 comments
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Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...15 hours ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
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The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...2 days ago - Bernard’s last Saturday Soliloquy for 2024
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...2 days ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Saturday, December 21
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AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...5 days ago - Minimum wage ‘increase’ is an effective cut
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- Thank You
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...1 week ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50
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Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...1 week ago - Chris Penk’s Hate Parade
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All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...1 week ago
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...2 days ago
- Release: National buries 1019 planned homes
It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
- Release: Rule-Czar bill a right-wing power grab
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...3 days ago
- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...3 days ago
- Govt’s ‘free speech’ legislation stokes fear, not freedom
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...3 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...4 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...5 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...5 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...5 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...5 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...5 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...5 days ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...5 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...6 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...7 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
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The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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Shane Jones in trouble (again)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/404837/new-details-revealed-over-nz-first-linked-company-and-shane-jones-office
Shaking my head, but not particularly surprised. What does surprise me is how they get away with it politically.
how indeed…however how will the PM deal with the certain pressure to act? …the chances of an early election have just increased IMO
Don't forget the media, together with the Nats, are hell bent on destroying NZ First. I call it;
doing a Cunliffe.
Mind you, Peter's asked for it. His continuing rudeness towards individual journalists has created a lot of enemies for him.
Yes there are a lot who are after NZFirst's scalp but they knew that from day one and if they had any brains they would have acted as to be squeaky clean and beyond reproach….sadly that appears to have been too difficult for them
True. But since I dislike more journos than I like I don't really care how rude Winnie is to them.
The word that comes to mind when pollies commit misdemeanours is:
ARROGANCE.
Rudeness however isnt the issue…..placing the PM in a position where it is difficult to continue to express confidence in her Minister is ….arrogance in pollies tends to go with the territory unfortunately
the thing that bothers me is the pretense of values and ethics, and then operating as close to the edge of the law or rules as possible.
What is it with power and lying.
Something to do with Faust, apparently 😉
Shane, and his Boss Winston don't give a damn. They know they can do anything at all because the PM has absolutely no control over their actions.
She doesn't dare offer the slightest objection because she knows that Winston will publicly slap her down. She really should have paid more attention to the Classics' classes when she was at school as she is now learning the eternal story of what happened to Faust.
Tough.
there is always a point when the cost/risk becomes too high…we may well be nearing it
Don't forget the media, together with the Nats, are hell bent on destroying NZ First.
Why should we keep it in mind if the party's own MPs won't? It shouldn't be any great mystery to Jones that he has political opponents on the lookout for ammunition to use against him, and yet he keeps personally hand-delivering them pallet-loads of it. Someone of such consistently and clearly demonstrated poor judgement and venal character is a magnet for both oppo research and investigative journalism, so NZF have absolutely no-one to blame but themselves for the bad press they're getting. Jones wasn't exactly an unknown quantity when they took him on.
Is this comment apropos of anything in particular you could link to? Or just generically valid, like "those nuts in the middle east are shooting at each other (again)"?
I suspect your inability to see any relevance will not be shared by the overwhelming majority of the electorate
You could have put the link in your first comment, rather than waiting ten minutes to make it another comment. Y'know, simple courtesy.
I could have if it the edit function hadnt timed out
It has 10 minutes for the edit?
I know…was interupted and was just counting out when I got back
You mean it was you that timed out. 🙂
lol…technically not, I wasnt on a timer
Am yet to catch up on the news…. is that paula with half an ounce in Parliament? Wonder where she got it from?
OMG !!!! It was oregano.
FYI…… 14g of dried oregano is at least twice the volume of 14g of cannabis buds.
Paula peddling her own brand of fake news.
Personally I think she has a point – we should just make it legal. Period.
did she say that?
she gonna run for legalising weed in the end. you wait n see,…..would not put that behind her.
oh, gimme popcorn
A, Isn't paula against legalisation?
Riffer, I agree with your comment 100%
Oregano does deserve to be legal, yes. Though not sure about dealer-size bags like hers.
Is that really a dealer sized bag? Perhaps it is for pot but it wouldn't be for the spices which she is holding. It certainly wouldn't be if they sold the stuff in a place like the shop in Petone where I get my spices.
They sell things like dried chillies in bags that go up to about 600mm by 400mm.
I think they hold 2 kg. I guess there are some Asian Restaurants that us those sort of quantities. Can any Mary Jane users tell me how big a bag would be used in a month?
fu
Really Alwyn?
It does take a while to smoke a joint especially if it's being shared with friends. The smoking circle often stops for conversation way before the joint is finished. Or for the solo smoker, you don't keep on going like a cigarette, often you only have a few puffs then put it down and maybe relight it after 20 minutes or so.
14g depends on how much one consumes. For some it would last around 10 days, but you'd have to smoke often and have the time to do so, like when one is relaxing on holiday.
It's not like booze where a person will knock back a shot in seconds, then another and another and another.
Compared with the modest packets I've seen, Pullya is definitely pushing that herb.
Me, I'm wondering when they are all going to bring in a law that says you can't buy any more than 1 bottle of wine at a time. After all, if you bought three bottles of wine that's potentially enough to give you lethal ethanol poisoning.
And don't get me started on bottles of spirits. A lethal dose in a single bottle!
Seriously, though, this conflation of the maximum amount for possession with people consuming it all in one day is the stinkiest red herring I've heard in ages.
Notable how eagerly the media have jumped on it.
Wait, that's the rationale? That people will smoke more than half an oz in a day? I had assume they just wanted to control supply so there wasn't heaps around for consumption eg kids having easy access, or people selling on the black market.
Yup, it seems to be the narrative they are spinning. It would be impossible to smoke 14g in a day.
14g is conservative by overseas standards for a personal limit. Many countries allow a person to carry twice that.
Who's Smirky McSpeccy sitting behind Pulla?
Looks like Jonathan Young to me.
Don't expect rationality from the Conservative Drug-banners and Gang-bangers. (Whoops)
Above reply was intended for Weka at 8.47pm, but Reply button malfunctioned and I was told that something was spam so my comment was rejected; I tried a second time, and was told that I was making a duplicate comment.
Hmmm..
Bring a plate. I’ll bring a salad and you bring the fish.
https://thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/David-Shearer-fish.jpg
Just picturing that photo if it was a few years ago. Quite the transformation from Westie leopard print to coiffed eastern suburbs matron wearing a couch fabric.
I reckon the troll-doll hairdo would still go quite well with the leopard-print, if she ever breaks that out again. Hadn't quite pictured that silvery stuff on couches, tho. Looks more like pretentious gift-wrapping paper to me.
True. Tis the season.
Couch, ouch!
Interesting article on Stuff, in which the author tries to peddle this whopper:
National received the most in foreign donations, $20,080, which included $17,180 in 2017
We know of course that many donations will have been laundered through the Gnat's trusts or foundations – nevertheless, Jamie-Lee Ross is on the record recording a single donation of $150k, and it seems it was by no means unique.
Journalists really shouldn't lie to the public like this, in fact they should be out there gathering information that would give a truer and more complete picture of this kind of political corruption.
Efforts just now starting to trace the insidious activities of foreign states will bring this to light eventually anyway.
It also completely ignores foreign donations laundered through NZ registered companies. Inner Mongolia Rider Horse Industry (NZ) Ltd is just the first that comes to mind.