Daily Review 18/04/2017
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5:30 pm, April 18th, 2017 - 35 comments
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Well, I've been there, sitting in that same chairWhispering that same prayer half a million timesIt's a lie, though buried in disciplesOne page of the Bible isn't worth a lifeThere's nothing wrong with youIt's true, it's trueThere's something wrong with the villageWith the villageSomething wrong with the villageSongwriters: Andrew Jackson ...18 hours ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
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The Natural Choice: As a starter for ten percent of the Party Vote, “saving the planet” is a very respectable objective. Young voters, in particular, raised on the dire (if unheeded) warnings of climate scientists, and the irrefutable evidence of devastating weather events linked to global warming, vote Green. After ...2 days ago - Bernard’s last Saturday Soliloquy for 2024
The Government cancelled 60% of Kāinga Ora’s new builds next year, even though the land for them was already bought, the consents were consented and there are builders unemployed all over the place. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political ...2 days ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Saturday, December 21
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Sparse offerings outside a Te Kauwhata church. Meanwhile, the Government is cutting spending in ways that make thousands of hungry children even hungrier, while also cutting funding for the charities that help them. It’s also doing that while winding back new building of affordable housing that would allow parents to ...4 days ago
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Remember those silent movies where the heroine is tied to the railway tracks or going over the waterfall in a barrel? Finance Minister Nicola Willis seems intent on portraying herself as that damsel in distress. According to Willis, this country’s current economic problems have all been caused by the spending ...4 days ago - Dragging our way towards the finish line, the end of this year can’t come soon enough for many…
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At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...6 days ago
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AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...6 days ago - Minimum wage ‘increase’ is an effective cut
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Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...6 days ago - How much should you worry about a collapse of the Atlantic conveyor belt?
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson In this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...6 days ago
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And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...7 days ago - A Lipstick Government
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Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...7 days ago
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- Thank You
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...1 week ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #50
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Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...1 week ago - Chris Penk’s Hate Parade
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All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...1 week ago
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...3 days ago
- Release: National buries 1019 planned homes
It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
- Release: Rule-Czar bill a right-wing power grab
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...3 days ago
- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...4 days ago
- Govt’s ‘free speech’ legislation stokes fear, not freedom
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...4 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...5 days ago
- ECE no place to cut corners
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...5 days ago
- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...5 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...5 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...6 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...6 days ago
- Warning to Fast-Track Applicants – ‘Exploit the Whenua, Face the Consequences’
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...7 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...7 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
- Bill to sanction unlawful occupation of Palestine
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour fully supports greyhound racing ban
The Government has done the right thing in moving to ban greyhound racing. ...2 weeks ago
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The pro-life mob loses one.
People like the screen grab? I was involved in a twitter argument with CV who thought that the woman (leftie) was attacking the guy (nazi) and the assault was somehow justified. The juxtaposition of the jersey in the back was exquisite …
And even Slater has come out and said that the guy was in the wrong and the subsequent doxing of the woman was uncalled for. He said:
“I may not agree with her politics or ANTIFA but there is no justification for what was done to her. Not only was she assaulted but afterwards her private life was unpacked and used to bully her on social media as victim blaming reached peak crazy.”
Strange times …
Got a link to the vid?
Here.
https://twitter.com/CitizenSlant/status/853399997240320000
edit: thug’s twitter
https://twitter.com/NathanDamigo
reminds me of footage from the 1920s and 30s
Yep it is really scary. Elements of the right are clearly emboldened by Trump’s election.
Oh look, doxxed.
http://linkis.com/blackblogs.org/HSqAs
Those low life scum who say she was throwing a punch are sick in the head. Mind you I suppose this is what we can expect from elements of the right now. Violence, more violence and to top it off, violence.
Just another example of why the only way to deal with them is with non-violence. Don’t use violent language, don’t fight back, just stand in their way.
Good pic. Got a link to the twitter stoush?
Punching Nazis is fine by me. Wreckers of liberal democracy that generations died to defend.
As for the jacket, wtf!…
Outstanding juxtaposition …
Come on ropata, myself and other Christians have been talking about the Christian fascists in the USA for a while. They just took over the whitehouse, in case you missed it.
Back in the day there was a whole strand of evangelical Christian liberals …….
(Sigh)
Ain’t no going back now.
Yeah, Christians have always been such a kind, loving and forgiving lot.
Religion is the sigh of the oppressed,
The American state religion is a grotesque mishmash of nationalism, militarism, consumerism, xenophobia,… that has some trappings of Christianity but none of its heart (love)
No man should be pleased to see a woman get hit
So Slater is straight up admitting that he agrees with fascism? At least he’s honest.
The nz Initiative (Super – rich “thunk tank”) spouts mindless praise of the really bad news that nz has a really low tax regime, in common with Chile. I’ve spent time in Chile and you can tell it has a long neoliberal economic history, toll roads every where, every person for themselves and bugger all services. Give me high-tax Germany or Scandinavia any day!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/328952/nzers-among-the-lowest-taxed-in-oecd
I am concerned about this opinion piece of Danylmc’s. He is urging us “don’t read the comments”.
If we had an effective press, which was out in the community canvassing opinion, checking facts, and working on many in-depth social justice stories; there was a working IOA system; and the government was not using the security agencies to smear and intimidate people and cover up crimes by economic actors, there would be less need for pressure valves and public forums, including comments sections. But we don’t. The situation is dire. The public are not being listened too, and those trying to sound alarms feel pressure or worse from the state as the state covers up crimes. Many journalists, like Morrah, are doing their jobs. But they are exceptions. Of course, others will follow. But it takes a lot of people to bang on doors and shout these days for a courageous journalist like Morrah to act and especially for others to follow. There is a lack of working public forums and forums for input and debate.
I’m sorry if that debate is not always polite. But politeness can be used to censure, just as can calls for “balance” and so forth. Whiskey can be neat, people rarely are. Now weare heading headfirst towards a hell of our own making – don’t tell others to cover up their ankles. Keep your ears open and by all means shout.
Maybe the Greens are guilty of some ugly politics. Who knows why Danyl is arguing for censure.
*OIA, obviously
Everyone should always read the comments!
Always some great comments on the property fluff pieces or Hoskings latest brainfart…
The comments can be harmful to people if there is direct bigotry at them all the time.
Can you please provide a link?
This one I think,
http://thespinoff.co.nz/media/17-04-2017/seeking-shelter-from-the-information-monsoon/
Sassy Trump professes…
This is another indication of the National government’s anti-family, anti-community, all parents work till they drop approach to society.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/91657268/teachers-and-parents-too-busy-to-help-coach-secondary-school-sports-teams
Don’t be mistaken, this is a major shift in community spirit and parent involvement in their kids’ school life.
Perhaps the National government and their market force hangers-on might suggest we get Chinese and Indian students to coach our kids’ school sports while we work for low wages into the winter nights, removed from our own children…
It goes back to Labour at least, Labour having made a push for both parents to be in the work force.
According to the article theres also an element of teachers having too much to do and hence unavailable to coach.
UK media is abuzz right now. Theresa May is about to make a “major announcement” at 11:15 UK time (i.e. in 5 minutes or so from this comment)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-announcement-live-updates-latest-general-election-resign-syria-military-health-uk-prime-a7688361.html
UK general election in June.
The UK-ites will be so pissed off. With an election, then the Scottish referendum and then the Brexit referendum, they’ll be so fed up with politicians. It’ll make for an interesting (and quick) election.
Elections in France, UK and Germany in the next 5 months. Going to be fun.
What Brexit referendum? There’s no current indications that there’ll be a second referendum are there?
Last I saw on it was that the Lords had voted down an amendment calling for one after the Brexit deal was finalised: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/mar/07/lords-vote-against-second-brexit-referendum
(Of course, by any reasonable definition of democracy leaving the EU is a fundamental constitutional change that should be endorsed in its specifics by another referendum vote, I agree, I just didn’t think there was a likelihood that they’d actually get one)
News article here: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/18/theresa-may-uk-general-election-8-june
Looks like it’ll be a contest between soft-brexit from Labour, the Lib Dems, (and maybe the SNP and the Greens…) and a hard-brexit from the Conservatives. Current polling suggests the conservatives will win as the realities of a hard Brexit haven’t yet hit the populace, so it’s probably very good political tactics, although of course that could change.
So, Brexit is an absolute given? It cannot be challenged anymore?
A post up about this now.