If you can’t stop your fucking bitching about Hillary Clinton for one goddamn second because she hurt your precious fucking feelings you’re not a progressive fighting for a better tomorrow, you’re a fucking spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum because you didn’t get an iPhone for Christmas. You, yes you, are part of the problem and you’re making things worse by falling for this transparent garbage.
If I said it, I’d probably add a few more fucks, fucking, morons, narcissists, millennial brats, emos and then a few more fucks.
A very dear friend of mine is now posting regularly about suicide because she’s one (she falls into a number of categories, actually) of the minorities targeted by Trump, so I don’t fucking care about your “Ooh, Hillary is the Devil! Pizzas!”
But what the hell, you’re in a co-op and you might have a man bun and all that matters to you is scraping up some spurious vindication based on spiteful misrepresentation by someone who’s been proven to be a liar. That’s going to change the world.
I’d add “privileged idiot living in their bubble” too. So EVERYTHING is a cover-up? It must be, right, because then you’d have to face the fact that in the real world where flawed people might accomplish more good that blithely letting truly evil people have their way.
Yeah, the people who are really suffering and literally fearing for their lives are “nothing to see” for the likes of you.
A lot of people have expressed their disgust with you, and it’s well deserved.
Please look at yourself, I didn’t launch into a personal attack. If you can’t face the fact that the system is stacked against working people – then you need to take a cold hard look at yourself.
Just pointing out name calling starts flame wars – as I could responded by calling you a low brow thinker who can’t find his moral center in the name of political expediency – then where would we be?
That just gets boring.
Just stop for two seconds and think.
h.r.c was a loser, the democratic party are going down the losers path and we are left with the real possibility with Pence ending up as president. If that does not give you nightmares I not sure what does.
Fewer nightmares than nuclear war. Unlike you, I remember the 80s, and some here probably remember the Cuban missile crisis.
I don’t care if you’re bored or not. I might add that I have a hopelessly unfashionable hairstyle and my friends are uncool too. In the end, my personal moral centre means shit – as does yours. What matters is what happens to real people now.
You’re still pouting. I’m not mummy and I won’t give you that iPhone.
Poor poppet – making things up to feel better. The lies from you this evening rhinocrates are outstanding, have to learn how to lie like you then I might be an acceptable here by your clique on the standard.
Took offense by my pointing out you have no morals did we.
You seem to think you are the arbitrage of political left – just another wet who uses abuse to win the day.
How about this for popcorn. If the parties of the left, actually represented the issues and interest of the working class then we should support them. Rather than play this game we been playing since the 80’s – or as you call it, compromise till we get a nazi in the white house. Your real politics has led us here. Not mine, I’m sick to death of the abuse and lies people like you spray to make socialism the enemy. Just so you can give more pathos and go it could be worse.
Well it is worse, its get guns out worse, and people like you are the reason we are at this point. Drop the name calling, drop the hiding behind being a smug wanker, and face the reality your world view is why we in the shit, not mine.
Took offense by my pointing out you have no morals did we.
As I said, morals are worthless if they’re not practiced with consciousness of theirs effects, which matter immeasurably more than purity of intention. Fuck morals. Look at effects now.
till we get a nazi in the white house
Well, I’m sorry to break this to you, but that’s what happened, or at least someone who thinks that Nazis are “very fine people.”
Morals do matter, and that is where you and I differ. You have none, and that is your choice. I have a moral centre which I keep to. That’s why I make choices, which are trying to make people’s lives better, not compromising in the name of real politics.
So rhinocrates done any direct action lately? Or are you just all blow, and another keyboard warrior?
Sanders was never going to win. Although his polling was high among alt. democrats, the Republicans had a dirt file on him two feet thick. The Republicans hadn’t run one single attack ad against him when he was polled. Now most of it would hardly be “dirt” to liberals, but it would be political poison to the midwesterners who swung to Trump. His support for left wing governments in South American in particular would have been presented as treason. If you think that every American is going to vote like a Californian or a New Yorker, then, well…
In addition, Sanders’ actually record in getting legislation passed in congress is pitiful. He was simply not a successful politician. He could not make alliances to get the votes he wanted, instead he alienated the people who would have been his allies. Brand is not substance.
Then there’s this talk by him about how his “German blood” makes him a “winner.” I’ve got Jewish family old enough to remember where that led and I can’t brush that aside.
Really shitty example, Rik.
The swing states would never have gone to Sanders. Most likely they would have swung farther right. Now if Nader hadn’t run against Gore, we wouldn’t have had a war in Iraq and if Berniebrats and Greens hadn’t been too so morally pure, then that 3 million popular vote advantage Clinton already had over Trump might have swung the electoral college.
That’s leaving aside the gerrymandering and voter suppression, let alone any other interference.
But I’ve got to remind myself – I can’t relitigate as you want to. The question is, where are we now? What do we have present before us ? Not what we want, not angels, but real people here and now who aren’t morally pure but who vote?
Oh that’s right, you don’t vote. That’s too “vulgar.”
You know, I do teaching and counselling work with refugees. For some years now I’ve worked with a man who’s fled a brutal military dictatorship. Last month I helped him enrol and vote for the first time in his life. All terribly “vulgar” I’m afraid.
Wow the old Nader conspiracy theory – sheesh. And you have the gall to run around name calling. Fluffy bunny.
And who could have stood up to voter suppression by the republicans, oh wait that would be the democrats – wouldn’t it be?
And who voted for the wars – that would be h.r.c would it not?
Oh poor poppet, can’t get your head around the idea people don’t worship at the pot of liberalism like you. Some of us actually like democracy, not the shades of one, but yeah too pure for wanting a system where by people feel they are part of it, rather than a pawn for people like you.
How about you show some compassion for the almost million kiwis who did not vote, rather than make stuff up to attack me with.
So saying morals don’t matter then attack me for being “vulgar” a moral point. Odd your thinking, but real politics does that, makes people lie to justify any old bull.
“Nader conspiracy”? Hardly. No planning, no secret messages. Just stupidity.
I’ve a thick skin, so I’m afraid your homophobic labels aren’t working. Still, it’s nice to see you drop your mask and be honest about what sort of person you are.
Apart from suggesting that I’m effeminate, “vulgar” is your favourite insult, remember? I was being sarcastic. Surely you must’ve noticed since I’ve been very sarcastic tonight.
I hardly “made up” the fact that you refuse to vote.
I don’t waste my compassion on people who refuse to vote and then whinge. I do know that people who’ve never had the right to vote before know the value of their vote when they get it.
If I were gay (well, I am a little bit), I wouldn’t be embarrassed about it, by the way, but the fact that you want to insinuate that someone might be as if it were shameful is something a number of people will note.
You say you have a thick skin, then make stuff up to get offended by. You call me names, then twist like a right wing nut job to make my throw away comment fit into some sort of label so you can feel indignant, smug and superior.
You constantly misrepresent my position, by lying. I voted, but just not how you wanted me to.
You have no compassion, but you want people to worship your worldview, and will abuse anyone who questions it.
So to you 1 million kiwis don’t count, and this is a system they must be part of, because that is what you think. One step away from full blown authoritarianism you are, one step. Stalin would be proud.
What about if Clinton had won? Because I’m sensing in NZ a bit of conflict already between those that want to run with Jacindamania and those that have a sinking feeling already, not to mention a much deeper sense of anger.
Bet I’ve got more fucks to say than you if someone calls me a hipster to dismiss my politics too 😉
I don’t have any love for Clinton, let alone neoliberalism, but I sure as hell know that Trump is worse. People I love are in trouble who wouldn’t have been otherwise, so I’m not going to construct some jerkoff fantasy about my personal moral superiority and pronounce from the peaks of Olympus that “the lesser evil is still evil.”
I am sick to death of people saying “there’s no difference”. Sure, there’s no difference if you’re
White
NOT LGBTQI
NOT Mexican
NOT Muslim
NOT Jewish
NOT black
NOT poor
NOT sick
NOT a woman
NOT seeking birth control or an abortion
NOT corrupt as fuck
Actually very very rich and probably a stockholder in Lockheed Martin, Blackwater etc.
Oh, and if you’re a Nazi, you might do well. “Very fine people,” the orange one tells us. Once upon a time America had Werner von Braun to get them to the Moon, now they have Bannon, Gorka and Spencer. They even need better Nazis.
True, and I think the “there’s no difference” argument is fundamentally dishonest (same as when it gets used here). But I think Adam ticks some of those boxes of the NOT list, as do many people who are in that lesser of evil debate. My point was more about if we condemn those people (not just their arguments), what happens when we get the eventual Clinton or Ardern in power? Of the people who previously argued that lesser of evils was valid, how many are now going to criticise the shitty and unacceptable things that Clinton or Ardern are doing.
I’m a lesser of two evils person myself. But I understand that some of the people saying Trump isn’t worse have some solid politics behind them that can’t be written off as hipster rhetoric.
Basically I’m asking what’s going to happen in NZ now we have a neoliberal-lite govt if lefties like you and adam are so antagonistic to each other’s politics? Because this is close to the scenario that was being argued as the opposing one in the US. It’s not theoretical anymore. Clinton won.
Politics is always about unfortunate compromises, and we just have to keep pushing. I believe in fighting from a hard position to force a government as far left as possible, but not in throwing childish tantrums and sulking because mummy didn’t give me an iPhone.
I hate the far right – and the people doing the work of the far right.
Of the people who previously argued that lesser of evils was valid, how many are now going to criticise the shitty and unacceptable things that Clinton or Ardern are doing.
Rik from The Young Ones, sorry I mean Adam’s problem is that he thinks in binaries, of essences without scale or degree. I problem I had with a lot of parliamentary Labour supporters over the last nine years was that they supported the hollow brand of Labour while it took positions – especially under those shitheads Goff and Shearer – that were contrary to Labour principles.
How many will criticise? I don’t know. Probably less than there should be. However, The Standard is not a Labour Party site, as has been made abundantly clear in many, many posts and as is written into the policy. It owes the parliamentary Labour Party nothing. I don’t think that it’s going to acquiesce – I sense a battle coming over TPPA.
Focus on the policies at hand, not the personalities, be they Clinton or Ardern. Keep the pressure on, always on policy. We should not do the right’s work for them by blithering about pizzas and lizard people and then congratulating ourselves on how pure we are.
“How many will criticise? I don’t know. Probably less than there should be. However, The Standard is not a Labour Party site, as has been made abundantly clear in many, many posts and as is written into the policy. It owes the parliamentary Labour Party nothing. I don’t think that it’s going to acquiesce – I sense a battle coming over TPPA.”
Yes and no. We’re talking about the community (authors and commenters). The site has no editorial position, authors write what they want, so do commenters. But, there’s been many more pro-Labour posts this year than pro-Green or pro-left of Labour ones (if we are talking parliamentary politics). And there is a solid contingent of people who are wanting to support Labour with a good start, something I have quite a bit of sympathy for.
I’m not concerned about there not being any Labour critique, lol, like that would ever happen. What I’m pointing to is that now we’re not in this constant state of pushing back against National, what’s going to happen? Bill has been talking about this for some time. I’m trying to get my head around the shifting landscape.
For me the issue is how to now push back against neoliberalism in this new landscape. We don’t get a break for 3 or 9 years and leave that until National are in again.
I get the problems with the left who go down the lizard theory path, but here’s the thing. If us lot here can’t find common ground, if people like adam are routinely ridiculed then they will leave. Adam, thankfully, will most likely stick around, but others will go. And that will leave use with the place becoming more dominated by the centre left crowd. I could make up some witty ridicules about them if I weren’t so tired atm, but what is the point?
I guess what I’m getting to here is that now that we’re not in perpetual attack mode, perhaps we don’t have to be quite so hostile to each other?
now we’re not in this constant state of pushing back against National, what’s going to happen?
That’s a very good question and something we should deal with. It’s going to have to be thrashed out, probably painfully, over quite a while. Indeed, it’s quite fundamental. Here’s a good topic then, Where to from here?
perhaps we don’t have to be quite so hostile to each other?
“Can’t we all just get along?”
Well, at the risk of saying, “But he did it first!”, the left proved itself to be its own worst enemy once again in 2016. The fact is, our problem is the purists who are fighting Waterloo all over again. If our objective is to move forward, then we have to move forward. Childish point scoring over conspiracy theories is going to continue to sabotage progress.
Speaking of Waterloo, historians argue that while Napoleon was a supreme chessplayer, Wellington’s ultimate advantage was his ability to improvise on the fly with his tactics, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each regiment individually. That is, Napoleon fought as if he had an ideal army, but Wellington knew that he was fighting with “the scum of the earth” – and that is why he won.
Where are we now? What do we do next that will have an effect in the real world?
@ weka … 6 November 2017 at 9:26 pm [reply buttons ran out]
You said:
For me the issue is how to now push back against neoliberalism in this new landscape. We don’t get a break for 3 or 9 years and leave that until National are in again.
That’s a good point to raise but we should not forget that there is increasing pushback against neoliberalism in many places across the world. It is easy to do when you watch them bicker in the House or constantly get bombarded with the binary and polarising narrative from NZ MSM but it is not about Labour vs. National; just like climate change or shifting of tectonic plates it is a global current.
Sorry. I tried to say that what’s happening here in NZ is a reflection of what’s happening elsewhere in the world too (i.e. pushback against neoliberalism). We should not ‘navel-gaze’ too much but look up & around and take our cues from others when/where possible. Of course, we’re already doing this but I thought it was a good moment to say it out loud.
IMHO we tend to get a little parochial here in NZ and too focused on the little local dramas between a couple of individual politicians. The picture is much bigger than that.
Well, that depends on whether the “shitty” things that are being done are a step forwards of a step back.
Because 4 more weeks paid parental leave is fine, but it’s shitty if it’s as far as it goes for the rest of the government. But rather than bitching that it’s not a universal allowance to every parent, the two questions are “is it a move forward” and “is it realistic as a move forward in the current environment?”
I’m glad they flagged another increase by the next election. The immediate hundred days increase is nothing spectacular. It is, however, moving forwards.
Pike River looks like it might be a serious recovery effort.
I’m cautious that the tpp will be a fizzle, but I suspect that it will be to the letter of what they offered, not the desire of some to just walk away.
Big things to look out for will be employment legislation, I guess. But so far they’re still moving into their offices.
Labour (and co) will do many good and useful things.
Choosing to keep the ETS but giving Shaw the CC Ministerial post, is a compromise but moving in the right direction. Because it shifts the culture and maybe next time we will have even more Greens in govt.
Shitty would be signing the TPPA with an altered ISDS clause in it. Don’t really care whether that fits with Labour’s previous statements (from my pov it’s very hard right now to make sense of Labour’s ongoing position apart from the idea that we should trust them because), it’s still shitty.
But I guess that answers part of it. The left who want more change than you are going to have to argue with you about that as well as critique Labour.
See, now to me “critique”, because it’s more posh, implies an even-handed, intellectual, dispassionate approach that identifies areas for improvement but also recognises and encourages those positive areas that should be sustained or even congratulated.
It’s often in the posts, but if I see it in the comments more than generalised whining that the revolution hasn’t happened yet, I’ll be bloody gobsmacked.
“implies an even-handed, intellectual, dispassionate approach that identifies areas for improvement but also recognises and encourages those positive areas that should be sustained or even congratulated.”
Yes, that’s how I see it too, and honestly, it’s how I prefer to write both posts and comments. Which begs the question of why I’m feeling the need to be actively critical. All I’m saying is that there is something important going on here and I hope that the more centre left people don’t just write all that off because it’s not presented in the best way.
Not sure if you just called my commenting whiney btw 🙂
You’re one of the least whiney people here, lol. It’s just the tendency of the commentariat.
frankly I think the jacindamania thing is more of a media hype than anything else. Most people here have been bitten so many times by potential heroes that we know better than to expect a thousand years of light to gush forth, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be many times better than the last nine years.
And a few weeks into it, a little optimism wouldn’t go astray. especially as I reckon Labour would have difficulty getting anything but the most open and banal ISDS past NZ1 or the Greens.
Clintion winning would have been Obama take 2 – a reasonable, sane and competent leader handling the geopolitical situation they’d been dealt, making some solid advances but still never getting an inch of credit from the american left and being pilloried and lied about from the american right.
And then the deranged left and the deplorable right ll sharing the same memes and lies.
So you’re calling Descendant Of Sssmith part of the deranged left because they’re being negative at the wrong time? I mean, I can see the problem with the framing and the timing but the point they are making seems quite valid to me.
Actually, I quite like a lot of DoSsss comments. But that one is a convenient NZ example of what we will see: Labour do something progressive, someone will post that it’s not good enough and probably tack on that labour are a bunch of neoliberal bastards. Meanwhile, the tories will regard the slightest progressive act as communism run amok in the Beehive.
Best thing Labour can do is ignore most of the blog comments, read the posts for interesting ideas and topics of the day, and do their own thing if it seems reasonable.
Most internet commenters couldn’t govern food into their mouths without a fucking disaster happening.
Clintion winning would have been Obama take 2 – a reasonable, sane and competent leader handling the geopolitical situation they’d been dealt, making some solid advances but still never getting an inch of credit from the american left and being pilloried and lied about from the american right.
There was a lot of difference in policy between Obama and Clinton.
She was pro-fracking, even more pro-war than Obama (her criticisms of his not using enough military force), really foolish when it came to foreign policy (again, a ‘might makes right’ fixation on using force), opposed relaxing disastrous drug laws, opposed raising the minimum wage, happily stuffed her pockets with cash from any corporate benefactors…
Recall that Obama pointed out these same flaws when he defeated her in the 2008 primary.
So her campaign used a compliant DNC to cheat, assisting her take the primary from Sanders. The corporate media had already lined up behind Clinton, and did their best to minimise Sanders’ exposure and lie about his appeal — because, you can’t let the people know that ‘socialism’ is popular — while also giving Trump’s every brain-fart maximum exposure.
It is this stupidity, rather than the Republican Party’s eventual repugnant candidate, that set the ground for the electoral outcome.
Hillary Clinton is even worse than her husband, who at least got distracted somewhat from the neo-liberal agenda through his obsessive chasing of women. Trump is her fault, and the fault of the other corrupt, cheating, lying, weasels splashing about in the cesspool in Washington DC.
It isn’t between jacindamania – that is just a cheap shot. Some of us can read people and their politics and we are genuinely impressed win Jacinda – not under any illusions about pragmagtism and the realities of running the country. But on this forum it appears we get put into the mania category.
I don’t think Jacindamania is a pejorative. I like her and am impressed by her. That’s not incompatible with critique. I just shorthanded the dynamic above. Maybe it’s the Jacindamania crew vs the doom and gloom crew. There, I’ve balanced the stereotyping a bit.
I was pointing more to the dynamic that the people with the sinking feeling, or the anger, are experiencing. There is this tension between those that want a positive response to Labour and those that are stressed by what is happening. I think that’s worth looking at.
I’m guessing you’re not feeling that sinking feeling stuff, and not angry with Labour or the potential for glossing over problems?
I have dedicated a lot of my energy over the years in fighting inequality and exploitation. I am prepared to give Jacinda time to continue to do things. I don’t begrudge others having different or even opposite views – for me I can’t judge yet. It is too early imo to say Jacinda is this or that – parliament hasn’t even started yet.
I’m not actually talking about judging Jacinda, other than what she is already doing. ie. I don’t like her approach on the TPPA.
I agree both her and Labour need time. Unfortunately for them the TPPA signing is this week. Not much any of us can do about that, but Labour do have choices in their actions. What is happening now is happening now, already on TS too.
been part of a process that’s reduced the issues to the ISDS. Been willing to sign us into a deal that’s going to compromise NZ. Been increasingly unclear on what Labour’s position is.
“If you can’t stop your fucking bitching about Hillary Clinton for one goddamn second because she hurt your precious fucking feelings you’re not a progressive fighting for a better tomorrow, you’re a fucking spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum because you didn’t get an iPhone for Christmas. You, yes you, are part of the problem and you’re making things worse by falling for this transparent garbage.”
It isn’t mysogynistic to point out the failings of a politician who happens to be a woman.
Not facing up to the truth — Clinton was a particularly terrible candidate, as evidence for which we have that repugnant monster in the Oval Office — is foolish. You won’t get improvements from the political establishment by ignoring their reprehensible behaviour.
The word is used to denote weakness by misogynists – such as Adam. I don’t have to be a misogynist to note that it exists or call out its use. You may as well say that if I call out someone for shoplifting, I must be a shoplifter.
Really, what did I make up? You used “wet” as a pejorative” and that word is used as a word of contempt for women or “effeminate” men. Even Boggis, in their confused way, admits that.
You typed it, I didn’t make it up.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a few hundred thousand Kulaks to deport to the Gulag.
No. In fact, I was pointing out that your assumption that it was a pejorative indicative of ‘feminine’ traits made your incorrect assertion odd. Indicative of a misogynistic mindset, possibly.
And if folk like yourself and Brazile continue to do the right’s work for them by parroting their spin and willfully misrepresenting positions, compromises and concessions that you don’t agree with, the left will never win.
Bullocks and you know it, h.r.c was a bust and people like you and others jumped on anyone who pointed that out at the time. Now information is coming to hand that it was as dirty as we thought, and saying that make me the enemy.
Sheesh this is some time to be alive, when you have a position that says yes to having working class control their lives, some so called leftist attack you as the enemy. Truly fubar. Mind you with the liberalism in control – up is down, right is wrong, and being morally bankrupt is the new normal.
‘The left’ can’t win anything by putting neo-liberal maniacs like Clinton in office.
‘Less disastrous than Trump’ isn’t a good enough qualification, clearly. Maybe if Sanders had been given a fair chance the world would be much better off right now: which is the real point behind this.
“So Brazile herself, though she obviously disapproves of the JFA, says the primaries weren’t rigged and there was no internal corruption at the DNC that favored Clinton. In something that suprises me not at all, it appears that even though Clinton had substantial authority and could have rigged things, she instead used this authority to raise lots of money; make sure the DNC hired competent people; and try to get the party apparatus working again.
In the end, then, this strikes me as almost classic Hillary: she did nothing wrong, but practically went out of her way to make it look like she was doing something slippery. I have never seen another human being do this so frequently. But, in fact, it looks like she really didn’t do anything seriously unscrupulous here, and nearly everyone agrees that, in the end, the primaries weren’t rigged in any serious way.²”
Goodness, does that article also say Clinton runs through fields with the sound of music. And the party leadership compulsively blurting out “rigged” while she’s doing it is just white noise.
So wikipedia is politics new fact checker now? When the two major headings of his whole biography are “General madness” and “Conspiracy theories” you have to wonder where the balance starts to comes in…
edit – lol, infact his entire biography comes under those 2 headings.
If someone has been regularly shown to be full of shit in a subject area, it’s worth knowing that before wasting a lot of time on them. Would you expect to waste time unpacking BP pronouncements about the benefits of fossil fuels over and over again?
Well boggis the cat they keep saying I support trump. Which is the corporate left’s favourite attack line these days. Along with purist, whinger, whining, and other personal abuse. You get that when you point out that liberalism is fundamentally flawed, just have to roll with the punches.
People they don’t need drones to spy on you they use your phone . They can drive past a house scan and pick up any phone signal that’s being used and listen and watch you
They can use your lap top any computer all my computer’s have tape on the mic and Camera P.S they won’t even get a warrant because we have to prove what they are doing you can tell if your phone starts draining your battier and your data use spikes Good topics The project
To my Maori cultured People here in Aotearoa and in Australia Kiora.
I get time travel its all about the speed one travels from the object that one has to use to measure the time one travels forward into time. My wish is that I travel forward into time 40 years and see that all my Maori Cultured People have got Mana we had seized the moment and 40 years ago we all came together as one IWI People we did not use violence to get OUR Mana back we all voted for the political people that could see that we were at a disadvantage to the other people of NZ .
So they/ we set things up to level out the ladders of life for my People we wiped away the Hinu on every ones top rungs on there ladders of life. Maori people were all displaying our culture non were ashamed of our culture .The most famous sports person in NZ was a maori cultured Lady she played ______________ .
I watched a lot of good movies about Maori and the Settlers in the 1800 to up to the present date. There are Maori comedies on every Chanel giving us a sore face 1/2 of all our sports teams are Maori no one talks about crime or war as there is minimal and no movies are aloud to be made about war or crime .We have the lowest jail population in the OECD . 90% of all people have there own house there are no health waiting lists. Maori have there fair share of all the resources in NZ and so does every one else.
We are 100% carbon free and have a pristine environment everything is Kia pai.
But if we don’t come together as one IWI 40% of us will end up on those reservation for Maori jail and the other 59.9 present will be paddling hard out just to keep there Waka were it is at that time not forward and many are slipping behind. In my view this will be a fact . The present goverment is good to Maori but I have a good view on reality and I say now is the time to act Kia Kaha.
Have just read Bryce Edward’s editoral in the Herald online and I agree with him, Jacinda Adhern has not done enough on the Manus Island tragedy unfolding before us. This will come back to haunt her as the one thing she could have done and that’s stepped up to the plate and told the Australian Government to do the humanitarian deed and release the refugees or at the very least put the power, medicines, water and food supplies back in the compound for them.
What does this do to our country when the world sees her flying back home having done nothing but accept the word that the US might in the future be taking some of these refugees into the states. Australia may be our biggest trading partner but that still doesn’t excuse us not standing firm with them. It wouldn’t matter if we insulted them and displayed some leadership, they will always want to trade with us, just like some countries trade with dispicable countries, anything for the dollar (us for example with the Saudi Arabia). Autralia’s governments are pretty dispicable themselves and an insult or two is hardly going to stop them trading with us.
Jacinda, sorry but you have gone down in my estimation but then I never did think you were a true progressive, just a Labour-lite more of the same.
And, for that matter – where is Winston?? He should be over there sorting the Australian Government out, he is the Foreign Minister for god sake. He hasn’t been seen since the election. He has a big portfolio and so does his mate Shane – so I hope the two of them are out there in the ether somewhere pulling finger and actually doing something constructive.
Given the glacial pace of the US response, and the urgency of the humanitarian crisis on Manus, there is no justification for not proceeding with an approach to PNG right now.
…
Globally, the care of refugees continues to fall on poor countries like Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.
Sooner rather than later, New Zealand has to stand up to Australia over its refugee policy. Otherwise, our silence and inaction will be taken as tacit acceptance, and we will be seen (accurately) as enabling Canberra’s systematically inhuman treatment of hundreds of the world’s most vulnerable people, and their families.
On the other hand, I am happy with the paid parental leave policy, and with Andrew Little’s approach to Pike River Mine.
This is what happens when you shift huge amounts of wealth from the poorer classes to the wealthy. Lots of money seeking an easy return on investment, and plenty of brokerage firms bidding up the ‘value’ of stocks.
The 2007 ‘correction’ didn’t result in any fix to the system, because it was viable to simply force the poorer classes to foot the bill.
The Australian Financial Review has linked the Paradise Papers to John Key’s lawyer, Kenneth Whitney, saying the documents show he in 2007 set up a trust for a New York investment banker, Neil Winward, who used to work for Dresdner Kleinwort.
The AFR also reports:
The files raise questions about the loose oversight role that New Zealand’s government holds over the Cook Islands, a year after the Panama Papers forced changes in how New Zealand foreign trusts operate.
Former Allens Arthur Robinson lawyer James McConvill reported after a 2010 marketing trip for Appleby to Auckland and Wellington that law firms told him that then Prime Minister John Key was leading measures to promote New Zealand as an offshore hub through foreign trusts, which pay no tax on earnings outside New Zealand.
“Apparently the New Zealand Prime Minister is personally pushing the proposal, and it is expected to come into effect in 2011,” Mr McConvill reported. “In numerous meetings I was told that this proposal, if implemented, could lead to a lot of work for Appleby and other offshore firms.”
Cooks Island residents also hold New Zealand citizenship, but Rarotonga runs its own foreign policy.
The Cook Islands was the first country to enact an asset protection law in 1989, under which foreign creditors are barred from challenging the assets of a trust after a waiting period of one to two years.
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
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So h.r.c rigged the primaries. Not so much of a conspiracy theorists now those on the left who said it looked suspect.
Fake news.
https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/927177726334603264
Why am I not surprised …
And:
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/11/04/top-clinton-staffers-hit-back-at-brazile-244554
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/07/tweetstorm-bernie-sanders-former-press-secretary-amazing/
https://thedailybanter.com/2017/11/nbc-just-exposed-donna-braziles-rigged-claim-as-a-total-lie/
With a very appropriate quote:
If you can’t stop your fucking bitching about Hillary Clinton for one goddamn second because she hurt your precious fucking feelings you’re not a progressive fighting for a better tomorrow, you’re a fucking spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum because you didn’t get an iPhone for Christmas. You, yes you, are part of the problem and you’re making things worse by falling for this transparent garbage.
If I said it, I’d probably add a few more fucks, fucking, morons, narcissists, millennial brats, emos and then a few more fucks.
A very dear friend of mine is now posting regularly about suicide because she’s one (she falls into a number of categories, actually) of the minorities targeted by Trump, so I don’t fucking care about your “Ooh, Hillary is the Devil! Pizzas!”
But what the hell, you’re in a co-op and you might have a man bun and all that matters to you is scraping up some spurious vindication based on spiteful misrepresentation by someone who’s been proven to be a liar. That’s going to change the world.
Nothing to see here , move along
“Nothing to see here, move along” “narrative.”
I’d add “privileged idiot living in their bubble” too. So EVERYTHING is a cover-up? It must be, right, because then you’d have to face the fact that in the real world where flawed people might accomplish more good that blithely letting truly evil people have their way.
Yeah, the people who are really suffering and literally fearing for their lives are “nothing to see” for the likes of you.
A lot of people have expressed their disgust with you, and it’s well deserved.
Grow the hell up.
Please look at yourself, I didn’t launch into a personal attack. If you can’t face the fact that the system is stacked against working people – then you need to take a cold hard look at yourself.
Of course the system is stacked against working people. You’re not the only person who knows that.
Try not speaking in cliches.
Also, I do not care about your precious feelings.
I’m not offended.
Just pointing out name calling starts flame wars – as I could responded by calling you a low brow thinker who can’t find his moral center in the name of political expediency – then where would we be?
That just gets boring.
Just stop for two seconds and think.
h.r.c was a loser, the democratic party are going down the losers path and we are left with the real possibility with Pence ending up as president. If that does not give you nightmares I not sure what does.
Fewer nightmares than nuclear war. Unlike you, I remember the 80s, and some here probably remember the Cuban missile crisis.
I don’t care if you’re bored or not. I might add that I have a hopelessly unfashionable hairstyle and my friends are uncool too. In the end, my personal moral centre means shit – as does yours. What matters is what happens to real people now.
You’re still pouting. I’m not mummy and I won’t give you that iPhone.
Poor poppet – making things up to feel better. The lies from you this evening rhinocrates are outstanding, have to learn how to lie like you then I might be an acceptable here by your clique on the standard.
Took offense by my pointing out you have no morals did we.
You seem to think you are the arbitrage of political left – just another wet who uses abuse to win the day.
How about this for popcorn. If the parties of the left, actually represented the issues and interest of the working class then we should support them. Rather than play this game we been playing since the 80’s – or as you call it, compromise till we get a nazi in the white house. Your real politics has led us here. Not mine, I’m sick to death of the abuse and lies people like you spray to make socialism the enemy. Just so you can give more pathos and go it could be worse.
Well it is worse, its get guns out worse, and people like you are the reason we are at this point. Drop the name calling, drop the hiding behind being a smug wanker, and face the reality your world view is why we in the shit, not mine.
Took offense by my pointing out you have no morals did we.
As I said, morals are worthless if they’re not practiced with consciousness of theirs effects, which matter immeasurably more than purity of intention. Fuck morals. Look at effects now.
till we get a nazi in the white house
Well, I’m sorry to break this to you, but that’s what happened, or at least someone who thinks that Nazis are “very fine people.”
Pence is a real nazi, a christian nazi.
Morals do matter, and that is where you and I differ. You have none, and that is your choice. I have a moral centre which I keep to. That’s why I make choices, which are trying to make people’s lives better, not compromising in the name of real politics.
So rhinocrates done any direct action lately? Or are you just all blow, and another keyboard warrior?
Sanders was never going to win. Although his polling was high among alt. democrats, the Republicans had a dirt file on him two feet thick. The Republicans hadn’t run one single attack ad against him when he was polled. Now most of it would hardly be “dirt” to liberals, but it would be political poison to the midwesterners who swung to Trump. His support for left wing governments in South American in particular would have been presented as treason. If you think that every American is going to vote like a Californian or a New Yorker, then, well…
In addition, Sanders’ actually record in getting legislation passed in congress is pitiful. He was simply not a successful politician. He could not make alliances to get the votes he wanted, instead he alienated the people who would have been his allies. Brand is not substance.
And yet the democrats lost. The put up someone deeply flawed, and gifted the swing states to the republicans.
Sheesh your real politics gets caught out in it’s own lies quickly.
Then there’s this talk by him about how his “German blood” makes him a “winner.” I’ve got Jewish family old enough to remember where that led and I can’t brush that aside.
Really shitty example, Rik.
The swing states would never have gone to Sanders. Most likely they would have swung farther right. Now if Nader hadn’t run against Gore, we wouldn’t have had a war in Iraq and if Berniebrats and Greens hadn’t been too so morally pure, then that 3 million popular vote advantage Clinton already had over Trump might have swung the electoral college.
That’s leaving aside the gerrymandering and voter suppression, let alone any other interference.
But I’ve got to remind myself – I can’t relitigate as you want to. The question is, where are we now? What do we have present before us ? Not what we want, not angels, but real people here and now who aren’t morally pure but who vote?
Oh that’s right, you don’t vote. That’s too “vulgar.”
You know, I do teaching and counselling work with refugees. For some years now I’ve worked with a man who’s fled a brutal military dictatorship. Last month I helped him enrol and vote for the first time in his life. All terribly “vulgar” I’m afraid.
Wow the old Nader conspiracy theory – sheesh. And you have the gall to run around name calling. Fluffy bunny.
And who could have stood up to voter suppression by the republicans, oh wait that would be the democrats – wouldn’t it be?
And who voted for the wars – that would be h.r.c would it not?
Oh poor poppet, can’t get your head around the idea people don’t worship at the pot of liberalism like you. Some of us actually like democracy, not the shades of one, but yeah too pure for wanting a system where by people feel they are part of it, rather than a pawn for people like you.
How about you show some compassion for the almost million kiwis who did not vote, rather than make stuff up to attack me with.
So saying morals don’t matter then attack me for being “vulgar” a moral point. Odd your thinking, but real politics does that, makes people lie to justify any old bull.
“Nader conspiracy”? Hardly. No planning, no secret messages. Just stupidity.
I’ve a thick skin, so I’m afraid your homophobic labels aren’t working. Still, it’s nice to see you drop your mask and be honest about what sort of person you are.
Apart from suggesting that I’m effeminate, “vulgar” is your favourite insult, remember? I was being sarcastic. Surely you must’ve noticed since I’ve been very sarcastic tonight.
I hardly “made up” the fact that you refuse to vote.
I don’t waste my compassion on people who refuse to vote and then whinge. I do know that people who’ve never had the right to vote before know the value of their vote when they get it.
You seem rather confused.
If I were gay (well, I am a little bit), I wouldn’t be embarrassed about it, by the way, but the fact that you want to insinuate that someone might be as if it were shameful is something a number of people will note.
You say you have a thick skin, then make stuff up to get offended by. You call me names, then twist like a right wing nut job to make my throw away comment fit into some sort of label so you can feel indignant, smug and superior.
You constantly misrepresent my position, by lying. I voted, but just not how you wanted me to.
You have no compassion, but you want people to worship your worldview, and will abuse anyone who questions it.
So to you 1 million kiwis don’t count, and this is a system they must be part of, because that is what you think. One step away from full blown authoritarianism you are, one step. Stalin would be proud.
“throw away comment”
Casual homophobia and misogyny is still homophobia and misogyny.
“Stalin”
Okay… we all know the Godwin rule, don’t we?
Yeah, because working people really need more fake conspiracies to distract them from the facts.
Nothing to see here, move along.
What about if Clinton had won? Because I’m sensing in NZ a bit of conflict already between those that want to run with Jacindamania and those that have a sinking feeling already, not to mention a much deeper sense of anger.
Bet I’ve got more fucks to say than you if someone calls me a hipster to dismiss my politics too 😉
I don’t have any love for Clinton, let alone neoliberalism, but I sure as hell know that Trump is worse. People I love are in trouble who wouldn’t have been otherwise, so I’m not going to construct some jerkoff fantasy about my personal moral superiority and pronounce from the peaks of Olympus that “the lesser evil is still evil.”
I am sick to death of people saying “there’s no difference”. Sure, there’s no difference if you’re
White
NOT LGBTQI
NOT Mexican
NOT Muslim
NOT Jewish
NOT black
NOT poor
NOT sick
NOT a woman
NOT seeking birth control or an abortion
NOT corrupt as fuck
Actually very very rich and probably a stockholder in Lockheed Martin, Blackwater etc.
No, no difference at all /sarc
Oh, and if you’re a Nazi, you might do well. “Very fine people,” the orange one tells us. Once upon a time America had Werner von Braun to get them to the Moon, now they have Bannon, Gorka and Spencer. They even need better Nazis.
True, and I think the “there’s no difference” argument is fundamentally dishonest (same as when it gets used here). But I think Adam ticks some of those boxes of the NOT list, as do many people who are in that lesser of evil debate. My point was more about if we condemn those people (not just their arguments), what happens when we get the eventual Clinton or Ardern in power? Of the people who previously argued that lesser of evils was valid, how many are now going to criticise the shitty and unacceptable things that Clinton or Ardern are doing.
I’m a lesser of two evils person myself. But I understand that some of the people saying Trump isn’t worse have some solid politics behind them that can’t be written off as hipster rhetoric.
Basically I’m asking what’s going to happen in NZ now we have a neoliberal-lite govt if lefties like you and adam are so antagonistic to each other’s politics? Because this is close to the scenario that was being argued as the opposing one in the US. It’s not theoretical anymore. Clinton won.
Politics is always about unfortunate compromises, and we just have to keep pushing. I believe in fighting from a hard position to force a government as far left as possible, but not in throwing childish tantrums and sulking because mummy didn’t give me an iPhone.
I hate the far right – and the people doing the work of the far right.
Yes. That doesn’t address what I raised though.
Right, I know that you’re arguing in good faith.
Of the people who previously argued that lesser of evils was valid, how many are now going to criticise the shitty and unacceptable things that Clinton or Ardern are doing.
Rik from The Young Ones, sorry I mean Adam’s problem is that he thinks in binaries, of essences without scale or degree. I problem I had with a lot of parliamentary Labour supporters over the last nine years was that they supported the hollow brand of Labour while it took positions – especially under those shitheads Goff and Shearer – that were contrary to Labour principles.
How many will criticise? I don’t know. Probably less than there should be. However, The Standard is not a Labour Party site, as has been made abundantly clear in many, many posts and as is written into the policy. It owes the parliamentary Labour Party nothing. I don’t think that it’s going to acquiesce – I sense a battle coming over TPPA.
Focus on the policies at hand, not the personalities, be they Clinton or Ardern. Keep the pressure on, always on policy. We should not do the right’s work for them by blithering about pizzas and lizard people and then congratulating ourselves on how pure we are.
Love this series of comments Rhino. Thanks.
“How many will criticise? I don’t know. Probably less than there should be. However, The Standard is not a Labour Party site, as has been made abundantly clear in many, many posts and as is written into the policy. It owes the parliamentary Labour Party nothing. I don’t think that it’s going to acquiesce – I sense a battle coming over TPPA.”
Yes and no. We’re talking about the community (authors and commenters). The site has no editorial position, authors write what they want, so do commenters. But, there’s been many more pro-Labour posts this year than pro-Green or pro-left of Labour ones (if we are talking parliamentary politics). And there is a solid contingent of people who are wanting to support Labour with a good start, something I have quite a bit of sympathy for.
I’m not concerned about there not being any Labour critique, lol, like that would ever happen. What I’m pointing to is that now we’re not in this constant state of pushing back against National, what’s going to happen? Bill has been talking about this for some time. I’m trying to get my head around the shifting landscape.
For me the issue is how to now push back against neoliberalism in this new landscape. We don’t get a break for 3 or 9 years and leave that until National are in again.
I get the problems with the left who go down the lizard theory path, but here’s the thing. If us lot here can’t find common ground, if people like adam are routinely ridiculed then they will leave. Adam, thankfully, will most likely stick around, but others will go. And that will leave use with the place becoming more dominated by the centre left crowd. I could make up some witty ridicules about them if I weren’t so tired atm, but what is the point?
I guess what I’m getting to here is that now that we’re not in perpetual attack mode, perhaps we don’t have to be quite so hostile to each other?
OAB, thanks.
Weka.
now we’re not in this constant state of pushing back against National, what’s going to happen?
That’s a very good question and something we should deal with. It’s going to have to be thrashed out, probably painfully, over quite a while. Indeed, it’s quite fundamental. Here’s a good topic then, Where to from here?
perhaps we don’t have to be quite so hostile to each other?
“Can’t we all just get along?”
Well, at the risk of saying, “But he did it first!”, the left proved itself to be its own worst enemy once again in 2016. The fact is, our problem is the purists who are fighting Waterloo all over again. If our objective is to move forward, then we have to move forward. Childish point scoring over conspiracy theories is going to continue to sabotage progress.
Speaking of Waterloo, historians argue that while Napoleon was a supreme chessplayer, Wellington’s ultimate advantage was his ability to improvise on the fly with his tactics, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each regiment individually. That is, Napoleon fought as if he had an ideal army, but Wellington knew that he was fighting with “the scum of the earth” – and that is why he won.
Where are we now? What do we do next that will have an effect in the real world?
@ weka … 6 November 2017 at 9:26 pm [reply buttons ran out]
You said:
That’s a good point to raise but we should not forget that there is increasing pushback against neoliberalism in many places across the world. It is easy to do when you watch them bicker in the House or constantly get bombarded with the binary and polarising narrative from NZ MSM but it is not about Labour vs. National; just like climate change or shifting of tectonic plates it is a global current.
Not quite getting that Incog. Do you mean understanding what is happening internationally will help us in that here?
@ weka … 6 November 2017 at 10:49 pm
Sorry. I tried to say that what’s happening here in NZ is a reflection of what’s happening elsewhere in the world too (i.e. pushback against neoliberalism). We should not ‘navel-gaze’ too much but look up & around and take our cues from others when/where possible. Of course, we’re already doing this but I thought it was a good moment to say it out loud.
IMHO we tend to get a little parochial here in NZ and too focused on the little local dramas between a couple of individual politicians. The picture is much bigger than that.
Yes, I think that would help us here.
ah, a topic for a Guest Post perhaps? 🙂
Well, that depends on whether the “shitty” things that are being done are a step forwards of a step back.
Because 4 more weeks paid parental leave is fine, but it’s shitty if it’s as far as it goes for the rest of the government. But rather than bitching that it’s not a universal allowance to every parent, the two questions are “is it a move forward” and “is it realistic as a move forward in the current environment?”
I’m glad they flagged another increase by the next election. The immediate hundred days increase is nothing spectacular. It is, however, moving forwards.
Pike River looks like it might be a serious recovery effort.
I’m cautious that the tpp will be a fizzle, but I suspect that it will be to the letter of what they offered, not the desire of some to just walk away.
Big things to look out for will be employment legislation, I guess. But so far they’re still moving into their offices.
Labour (and co) will do many good and useful things.
Choosing to keep the ETS but giving Shaw the CC Ministerial post, is a compromise but moving in the right direction. Because it shifts the culture and maybe next time we will have even more Greens in govt.
Shitty would be signing the TPPA with an altered ISDS clause in it. Don’t really care whether that fits with Labour’s previous statements (from my pov it’s very hard right now to make sense of Labour’s ongoing position apart from the idea that we should trust them because), it’s still shitty.
But I guess that answers part of it. The left who want more change than you are going to have to argue with you about that as well as critique Labour.
🙄
See, now to me “critique”, because it’s more posh, implies an even-handed, intellectual, dispassionate approach that identifies areas for improvement but also recognises and encourages those positive areas that should be sustained or even congratulated.
It’s often in the posts, but if I see it in the comments more than generalised whining that the revolution hasn’t happened yet, I’ll be bloody gobsmacked.
As for ISDS, I’ll call it if I see it.
“implies an even-handed, intellectual, dispassionate approach that identifies areas for improvement but also recognises and encourages those positive areas that should be sustained or even congratulated.”
Yes, that’s how I see it too, and honestly, it’s how I prefer to write both posts and comments. Which begs the question of why I’m feeling the need to be actively critical. All I’m saying is that there is something important going on here and I hope that the more centre left people don’t just write all that off because it’s not presented in the best way.
Not sure if you just called my commenting whiney btw 🙂
You’re one of the least whiney people here, lol. It’s just the tendency of the commentariat.
frankly I think the jacindamania thing is more of a media hype than anything else. Most people here have been bitten so many times by potential heroes that we know better than to expect a thousand years of light to gush forth, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be many times better than the last nine years.
And a few weeks into it, a little optimism wouldn’t go astray. especially as I reckon Labour would have difficulty getting anything but the most open and banal ISDS past NZ1 or the Greens.
Clintion winning would have been Obama take 2 – a reasonable, sane and competent leader handling the geopolitical situation they’d been dealt, making some solid advances but still never getting an inch of credit from the american left and being pilloried and lied about from the american right.
And then the deranged left and the deplorable right ll sharing the same memes and lies.
But maybe with one or two policy victories.
Can you please translate that into a NZ example?
Sure. Ardern announced an increase in paid parental leave, the positive is ignored in favour of a moan.
Three, six or nine years of this will follow.
So you’re calling Descendant Of Sssmith part of the deranged left because they’re being negative at the wrong time? I mean, I can see the problem with the framing and the timing but the point they are making seems quite valid to me.
Actually, I quite like a lot of DoSsss comments. But that one is a convenient NZ example of what we will see: Labour do something progressive, someone will post that it’s not good enough and probably tack on that labour are a bunch of neoliberal bastards. Meanwhile, the tories will regard the slightest progressive act as communism run amok in the Beehive.
Best thing Labour can do is ignore most of the blog comments, read the posts for interesting ideas and topics of the day, and do their own thing if it seems reasonable.
Most internet commenters couldn’t govern food into their mouths without a fucking disaster happening.
There was a lot of difference in policy between Obama and Clinton.
She was pro-fracking, even more pro-war than Obama (her criticisms of his not using enough military force), really foolish when it came to foreign policy (again, a ‘might makes right’ fixation on using force), opposed relaxing disastrous drug laws, opposed raising the minimum wage, happily stuffed her pockets with cash from any corporate benefactors…
Recall that Obama pointed out these same flaws when he defeated her in the 2008 primary.
So her campaign used a compliant DNC to cheat, assisting her take the primary from Sanders. The corporate media had already lined up behind Clinton, and did their best to minimise Sanders’ exposure and lie about his appeal — because, you can’t let the people know that ‘socialism’ is popular — while also giving Trump’s every brain-fart maximum exposure.
It is this stupidity, rather than the Republican Party’s eventual repugnant candidate, that set the ground for the electoral outcome.
Hillary Clinton is even worse than her husband, who at least got distracted somewhat from the neo-liberal agenda through his obsessive chasing of women. Trump is her fault, and the fault of the other corrupt, cheating, lying, weasels splashing about in the cesspool in Washington DC.
🙄
It isn’t between jacindamania – that is just a cheap shot. Some of us can read people and their politics and we are genuinely impressed win Jacinda – not under any illusions about pragmagtism and the realities of running the country. But on this forum it appears we get put into the mania category.
I don’t think Jacindamania is a pejorative. I like her and am impressed by her. That’s not incompatible with critique. I just shorthanded the dynamic above. Maybe it’s the Jacindamania crew vs the doom and gloom crew. There, I’ve balanced the stereotyping a bit.
I was pointing more to the dynamic that the people with the sinking feeling, or the anger, are experiencing. There is this tension between those that want a positive response to Labour and those that are stressed by what is happening. I think that’s worth looking at.
I’m guessing you’re not feeling that sinking feeling stuff, and not angry with Labour or the potential for glossing over problems?
I like her and am impressed by her. That’s not incompatible with critique.
Exactly.
you’re not feeling that sinking feeling
Nope, (a) I’m a cynic who started with low expectations and (b) I have fluoxetine.
I have dedicated a lot of my energy over the years in fighting inequality and exploitation. I am prepared to give Jacinda time to continue to do things. I don’t begrudge others having different or even opposite views – for me I can’t judge yet. It is too early imo to say Jacinda is this or that – parliament hasn’t even started yet.
I’m not actually talking about judging Jacinda, other than what she is already doing. ie. I don’t like her approach on the TPPA.
I agree both her and Labour need time. Unfortunately for them the TPPA signing is this week. Not much any of us can do about that, but Labour do have choices in their actions. What is happening now is happening now, already on TS too.
What has she actually done on the tppa?
been part of a process that’s reduced the issues to the ISDS. Been willing to sign us into a deal that’s going to compromise NZ. Been increasingly unclear on what Labour’s position is.
“If you can’t stop your fucking bitching about Hillary Clinton for one goddamn second because she hurt your precious fucking feelings you’re not a progressive fighting for a better tomorrow, you’re a fucking spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum because you didn’t get an iPhone for Christmas. You, yes you, are part of the problem and you’re making things worse by falling for this transparent garbage.”
Exactly how I view Adam
Oh look, another wet having a go without entering the debate.
Oh, “wet”. We should be “hard”? You seem to have a problem with assumed feminine qualities.
Adam, if you want to talk about your superior moral stance, do it without misogyny or homophobia. You do yourself no favours.
It isn’t mysogynistic to point out the failings of a politician who happens to be a woman.
Not facing up to the truth — Clinton was a particularly terrible candidate, as evidence for which we have that repugnant monster in the Oval Office — is foolish. You won’t get improvements from the political establishment by ignoring their reprehensible behaviour.
“Wet” as a pejorative is misogynistic.
Assuming it is misogynistic seems misogynistic.
The usual informal meaning is ‘weak’ or ‘ineffectual’. So are you saying that you consider women to be weak and/or ineffectual?
The word is used to denote weakness by misogynists – such as Adam. I don’t have to be a misogynist to note that it exists or call out its use. You may as well say that if I call out someone for shoplifting, I must be a shoplifter.
rhinocrates the fact you think women are weak and feeble because of their gender, says more about you than any word I may use.
Have to say, I find the term wet as a pejorative in political debate to be problematic in terms of sexism.
But you’re all intent on being mean to each other so it’s a difficult situation to have that conversation in.
Just making stuff up again rhinocrates – will you ever stop with your lies?
Actually it was you that put the fake news up. Look in the mirror.
Really, what did I make up? You used “wet” as a pejorative” and that word is used as a word of contempt for women or “effeminate” men. Even Boggis, in their confused way, admits that.
You typed it, I didn’t make it up.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a few hundred thousand Kulaks to deport to the Gulag.
No. In fact, I was pointing out that your assumption that it was a pejorative indicative of ‘feminine’ traits made your incorrect assertion odd. Indicative of a misogynistic mindset, possibly.
This is why the left can’t win, when the cheaters control the narrative
And if folk like yourself and Brazile continue to do the right’s work for them by parroting their spin and willfully misrepresenting positions, compromises and concessions that you don’t agree with, the left will never win.
Bullocks and you know it, h.r.c was a bust and people like you and others jumped on anyone who pointed that out at the time. Now information is coming to hand that it was as dirty as we thought, and saying that make me the enemy.
Sheesh this is some time to be alive, when you have a position that says yes to having working class control their lives, some so called leftist attack you as the enemy. Truly fubar. Mind you with the liberalism in control – up is down, right is wrong, and being morally bankrupt is the new normal.
‘The left’ can’t win anything by putting neo-liberal maniacs like Clinton in office.
‘Less disastrous than Trump’ isn’t a good enough qualification, clearly. Maybe if Sanders had been given a fair chance the world would be much better off right now: which is the real point behind this.
The best summary I’ve seen…
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/11/donna-brazile-and-the-latest-great-hillary-scandal/
“So Brazile herself, though she obviously disapproves of the JFA, says the primaries weren’t rigged and there was no internal corruption at the DNC that favored Clinton. In something that suprises me not at all, it appears that even though Clinton had substantial authority and could have rigged things, she instead used this authority to raise lots of money; make sure the DNC hired competent people; and try to get the party apparatus working again.
In the end, then, this strikes me as almost classic Hillary: she did nothing wrong, but practically went out of her way to make it look like she was doing something slippery. I have never seen another human being do this so frequently. But, in fact, it looks like she really didn’t do anything seriously unscrupulous here, and nearly everyone agrees that, in the end, the primaries weren’t rigged in any serious way.²”
Goodness, does that article also say Clinton runs through fields with the sound of music. And the party leadership compulsively blurting out “rigged” while she’s doing it is just white noise.
Jimmy Dore, huh?
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Jimmy_Dore
So wikipedia is politics new fact checker now? When the two major headings of his whole biography are “General madness” and “Conspiracy theories” you have to wonder where the balance starts to comes in…
edit – lol, infact his entire biography comes under those 2 headings.
Wikipedia has had a lot of very heavy editing of content taking place.
A lot of money being spent.
If the narrative is inconvenient and difficult to address, then alter the ‘facts’.
That guy reads like a sack of shit. Sad anyone quoting him.
How about taking people on what they say on something from topic to topic, rather than judge them by one or two actions?
Or is it much simple to make a box?
If someone has been regularly shown to be full of shit in a subject area, it’s worth knowing that before wasting a lot of time on them. Would you expect to waste time unpacking BP pronouncements about the benefits of fossil fuels over and over again?
Grow up Adam ffs you whinge – your guy was and is a sack of shit – end of.
So simpler to put in box then. Thanks for the clarification marty mars.
Are you also vaguely disappointed that you haven’t been accused of being a ‘Bernie bro’?
😉
Well boggis the cat they keep saying I support trump. Which is the corporate left’s favourite attack line these days. Along with purist, whinger, whining, and other personal abuse. You get that when you point out that liberalism is fundamentally flawed, just have to roll with the punches.
Brian Edward Cox he’s the man
People they don’t need drones to spy on you they use your phone . They can drive past a house scan and pick up any phone signal that’s being used and listen and watch you
They can use your lap top any computer all my computer’s have tape on the mic and Camera P.S they won’t even get a warrant because we have to prove what they are doing you can tell if your phone starts draining your battier and your data use spikes Good topics The project
” Barnaby Bennett @mrbarnabyb 45m45 minutes ago
FACT: The current parliament has a smaller opposition than the last one.”
https://twitter.com/mrbarnabyb/status/927431312540975105
To my Maori cultured People here in Aotearoa and in Australia Kiora.
I get time travel its all about the speed one travels from the object that one has to use to measure the time one travels forward into time. My wish is that I travel forward into time 40 years and see that all my Maori Cultured People have got Mana we had seized the moment and 40 years ago we all came together as one IWI People we did not use violence to get OUR Mana back we all voted for the political people that could see that we were at a disadvantage to the other people of NZ .
So they/ we set things up to level out the ladders of life for my People we wiped away the Hinu on every ones top rungs on there ladders of life. Maori people were all displaying our culture non were ashamed of our culture .The most famous sports person in NZ was a maori cultured Lady she played ______________ .
I watched a lot of good movies about Maori and the Settlers in the 1800 to up to the present date. There are Maori comedies on every Chanel giving us a sore face 1/2 of all our sports teams are Maori no one talks about crime or war as there is minimal and no movies are aloud to be made about war or crime .We have the lowest jail population in the OECD . 90% of all people have there own house there are no health waiting lists. Maori have there fair share of all the resources in NZ and so does every one else.
We are 100% carbon free and have a pristine environment everything is Kia pai.
But if we don’t come together as one IWI 40% of us will end up on those reservation for Maori jail and the other 59.9 present will be paddling hard out just to keep there Waka were it is at that time not forward and many are slipping behind. In my view this will be a fact . The present goverment is good to Maori but I have a good view on reality and I say now is the time to act Kia Kaha.
Have just read Bryce Edward’s editoral in the Herald online and I agree with him, Jacinda Adhern has not done enough on the Manus Island tragedy unfolding before us. This will come back to haunt her as the one thing she could have done and that’s stepped up to the plate and told the Australian Government to do the humanitarian deed and release the refugees or at the very least put the power, medicines, water and food supplies back in the compound for them.
What does this do to our country when the world sees her flying back home having done nothing but accept the word that the US might in the future be taking some of these refugees into the states. Australia may be our biggest trading partner but that still doesn’t excuse us not standing firm with them. It wouldn’t matter if we insulted them and displayed some leadership, they will always want to trade with us, just like some countries trade with dispicable countries, anything for the dollar (us for example with the Saudi Arabia). Autralia’s governments are pretty dispicable themselves and an insult or two is hardly going to stop them trading with us.
Jacinda, sorry but you have gone down in my estimation but then I never did think you were a true progressive, just a Labour-lite more of the same.
And, for that matter – where is Winston?? He should be over there sorting the Australian Government out, he is the Foreign Minister for god sake. He hasn’t been seen since the election. He has a big portfolio and so does his mate Shane – so I hope the two of them are out there in the ether somewhere pulling finger and actually doing something constructive.
I often don’t agree with Bryce Edwards. I most often agree with Gordon Campbell, and do agree with his response to Ardern in Australia:
On the other hand, I am happy with the paid parental leave policy, and with Andrew Little’s approach to Pike River Mine.
I haven’t seen transcripts of everything that was said about Manus Island between Ardern and Turnbull and any officials involved.
Has anyone?
No. And you won’t see transcripts of such PM to PM discussions. These are never public discussions and transcripts are not released.
> What does this do to our country when the world sees her flying back home having done nothing
Not much. NZ is a small country and not very powerful, we are not expected to get everything we ask for
A.
Crash coming.
Rare to see it mentioned in the msm.
Must be getting close.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11941160
This is what happens when you shift huge amounts of wealth from the poorer classes to the wealthy. Lots of money seeking an easy return on investment, and plenty of brokerage firms bidding up the ‘value’ of stocks.
The 2007 ‘correction’ didn’t result in any fix to the system, because it was viable to simply force the poorer classes to foot the bill.
Of course there’s a connection.
New Zealand links
The Australian Financial Review has linked the Paradise Papers to John Key’s lawyer, Kenneth Whitney, saying the documents show he in 2007 set up a trust for a New York investment banker, Neil Winward, who used to work for Dresdner Kleinwort.
The AFR also reports:
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/90746/ird-gets-involved-paradise-papers-probe-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-seek-more
https://web.archive.org/web/20171106004852/http://www.afr.com/news/policy/tax/paradise-papers-link-to-firm-that-sued-murdered-malta-journalist-daphne-caruana-galizia-20171105-gzf1v0
What do people think about this Kelvin Davis quote?
“Davis said some innovative thinking could be used to rehabilitate women prisoners, whose needs and motives are different to men.
‘Men normally do things because we’re a bit stupid. Women normally commit crime to protect others, their families, their children.'”
A.
Please put a link if you are quoting. It’s the polite thing to do, but it also gives people a context for the words.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11940296 (sorry)
Stockholm syndrome
That such generalisations are really bloody stupid and sexist.