Have you never watched the TYT channel?
That is not the first time they have suggested that about Trump.
They are one of the few Independent News organizations left in the US not controlled by corporate money. A lot of the others are slowly being purged of most centrist and left-wing commentators.
Cenk Uygur the owner of TYT is actually Turkish/American born in Istanbul, Turkey and is not a very big fan of what the Turkish government has done to his birth country either. For some time now he has been trying to pull Republicans and Democrats togeather to get the money out of Politics in the US. He is a champion of wolf-pac.com who are slowly gathering a number of states together to get an amendment to the US constitution to do just that.
A Turkish state news agency acknowledged that guards for Erdogan, who had earlier met with President Trump at the White House, had targeted demonstrators. Many of the aggressors seen on video were wearing dark suits and ties, and several had guns. At least two of the guns were seen on video being dropped and then picked up during skirmishes.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Turkish Embassy called the demonstration “unpermitted” and “provocative.” Officials alleged in the statement that the protesters were affiliated with the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. A protest leader denied that any of the participants were involved with the PKK or sympathized with the group.
“The demonstrators began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens” who had gathered to greet Erdogan, the statement said. “The Turkish-Americans responded in self defense and one of them was seriously injured.”
2nd edit. I guess the reaction will be much the same too 😉 Fatih Oke, a spokesperson for the Turkish embassy in Washington, said he arrived at the event after the alleged incidents. “I can’t comment on what I didn’t see,” he said. “The meeting was wonderful.”
That might be so but the real purpose of Treveeits article was to promote invented discord in the Labour Green MOU and to paint opposition parties as hysterical left wingers overly obsessed with Trump and bitter that he won. She was obviously disappointed Labour and Greens weren’t on the same page on this. Disappointed that the Greens brought up Hitler but she couldn’t get Labour to do the same.
I notice Farrar is all over it too, asking for Shaw to apologise. To who for fuck’s sake? Trump?
Fair enough a bit naive, but he did reference that Backbenchers is a TV show filmed in a pub and pub talk is the whole point. Y’know, robust comedy, etc.
It’s not naive like menacingly threatening NGOs with funding cuts at a major party conference…
probably doesn’t hurt for the two parties to be seen to disagree and then keep working well together.
Plus, Tr*mp probably is the most dangerous person since Hitler. And no, Andrew, you don’t lose the argument by mentioning Hitler when it’s an actual historical reference.
Hitler had a whole set of institutional enthusiasm behind him…and an international tendency to feed from – fascism being in the ascendancy and supported by a failing and flailing liberal establishment (Spanish Revolution knee capped by supposed liberal “non- involvement” – fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc)…
Trump’s got none of that. Trump’s not dangerous. He’s an unpleasant and damaging flash in the pan is all.
What comes after Trump is what we should be looking to. That’s where the danger lies.
Well you and I will have to disagree on that. Both my own perception and the politicos I am following in the US see Tr*mp as legitimising a whole range of latent fascism in the US and the longer that goes on the harder it will be to roll back. There is also the issue of how fascism comes about and the process of normalising things that were even recently not considered normal. There’s plenty of commentary on that coming out of the US. ‘He’s not really fascist’ is part of how fascism comes about 😉
And he is not on his own. Not only does he have his team of seriously fucked in the head powermongers and deathmongers, but there are other dangerous Republicans who will be perceived as less extreme than Tr*mp but only because he’s set a new standard. So there is the institutional enthusiasm.
He has the nuclear launch codes, so that can’t be compared to Hitler’s time, but it’s one of the things that makes him so dangerous.
“fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc”
I didn’t take Shaw as comparing Tr*mp with Hitler, or their respective milieu, but instead saying that Tr*mp is the most dangerous person since Hitler, including in terms of potential impact globally. I’d be interested to hear examples of other individuals that fit that bill better.
So okay, a president – any president of the USA is influential on the world stage…if they have institutional backing. Trump doesn’t have that. Both the Republican establishment and the Democratic establishment – with all their media and intelligence community networks, are working to bring him down.
You want “normalisation” of fascism? Then look to how liberal msm report on the likes of UKIP or Le Pen.
Are you saying there is no normalising of fascism going on in the US?
Hopefully Tr*mp will be brought down, because he is actually that dangerous. I don’t think those forces are working against him because he’s an unpleasant flash in the pan.
As I said elsewhere…I commented in the run-up to the US election that if Trump won, the opportunity would be there for the left to organise and mobilise, and that the danger to that would be coming from the wound licking democrats and their fellow travelers seeking to rehabilitate themselves.
Seems that danger’s risen up now – eg, vacuous ‘Russia meddling’ reports, bullshit CW reports, endless stream of baseless accusations feeding into general jagged finger pointing…and no-one’s calling it.
Which is potentially going to leave us with a ‘nice’ situation in the US whereby the forces of “anything but Trump” (the ‘establishment’ as personified by Cain/Clinton et al) are aligned against the “anything but the status quo” (swathes of the electorate) and “the left” will be nowhere to be seen.
There is complete over reaction to trump, if he would just shut his stupid mouth, close down his twitter account, act like a president it would simply be business as usual re US presidents
Their rich in particular ….. have literally supported Nazis to the extent of helping exteriminate the jews and profiting from slave labour in the concentration camps …. not to mention supplying vital war material to the Nazis during the war.
Firms like IBM helped keep on top of the huge organisation which goes into killing millions and millions …..
I suspect they also made money from operation phoenix in vietnam ….
And operation Condor in south America…. when the generals ( with u.s.a backing ), had taken over Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and a few other countries …… In Nazi/facist style they killed unionist, intellectuals, land and human rights advocates etc .
u.s.a supplied the computers to keep track of all the unionists and those marked for death ….. no matter where they ran.
IBM computers probably,… as there were not to many computing companies in the early and mid 1970’s …..
Tax Havens are another thing with a strong Nazi association …. so most corporations ( IBM of course ), use them
And at the end of this video …. we get a look at our new Allies ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkuonQCw_jg ….. we are supporting nazis ….. just like Nato and the U.s.a
The stories of dairy hold-ups now come daily and it is bad news for the National Party which cut police services, increased inequality, removed surety of work hours, and treated the unemployed like criminals.
There are a shitload of votes here for Labour which should be discussing loudly how they are going to reduce the crime and violence which has increased under National.
How about this, people know that robbing is wrong. If people didn’t think about robbing people, you wouldn’t need so much police as everyone behave harmoniously. But no, let’s make this a political issue, because a government doesn’t have enough police, that’s why there are so many robberies. Are you suggesting we need more police because people can’t help themselves? Instead of more police, let store keepers arm themselves. Then we’ll see how many people think about robbing someone else.
I agree McFlock, solutions need to be formed with the understanding that violence begets violence.
Any solution that doesn’t drill down to the core of the problem is a Band Aid, the infection rages. Young people choosing to stick a knife in someone’s face is fixed by giving them something better to do.
When one of our young people is sticking a knife in someone’s face, it’s our society, we created it, some of the buck stops with us. We’ve done a crap job of directing all that energy and adrenaline, geez it could be winning the Warriors games.
If I was PM I’d be creating a Department of ‘Sorry you got such crap parents, pull on this wetsuit, pick up that spear-gun and follow me.’
There will always be those people when you push policies that create poverty and hopelessness. Neo-liberalism has pushed us a long way down the path of creating a hell-hole of a society, and here you are putting up feeble, unrealistic arguments. Get real.
It was a hell-hole of a society way back when Charles Dickens was writing. None of the fundamentals have changed – just some of the elastoplasts that had been applied have been stripped off these past decades.
The answer now is no different to what it was then…
Well, yes. What Mayhew describes is a situation that occurred in the absence of any welfare state.
But the economic rules that gave rise to that situation are the same rules our economy operates by today.
btw – ever been homeless without access to welfare, and tried hawking or peddling? You get lifted. Which offers an interesting twist in a situation where we’d dispensed with social welfare provisions – in some ways survival would be harder now than it was then, thanks to specific ‘regulations’ and ‘laws’…
Rather than employing more police, it would be a lot cheaper (and better in so many other ways) to reduce income inequality, and you don’t want to do that either, assuming you are capable, which I don’t.
Why if Myrtle Rust has been randomly “wind blown” from Australia to the Kermadecs and the NZ mainland is it being detected only (I think) in plant nurseries? Surely with NZ’s westerlys it would be showing up in Western NZ native bush and feijoa orchards yet the only references I see is to plant nurseries.
With the severity of the violence with dairy owners and cigarettes. As nicotine is an addicting substance why doesn’t the Government place all cigarettes and tobacco into the same category as methadone, the heroin substitute and have dedicated places where people can go and buy their fags in a controlled and secure area. I remember years ago hearing from the guy who rang Kingseat Hospital that nicotine was as difficult as heroin to withdraw from – why on earth isn’t it a controlled substance?
I realise that supermarkets and dairies will loose a lot of income but surely with ingenuity they could come up with other ideas and products to get customers through the door. While I am on this I cannot see why booze can’t be also separated off from general food products in the supermarket like Australia does. To be honest – there could be a valid reason to separate off completely alcohol into secure areas like methadone and nicotine as well to do away with the numerous booze outlets.
I am not a whowser – I enjoy my wine, but if push came to shove I would be prepared to purchase my alcohol in a secure environment and maybe that would stop all this terrible violence occurring to shop owners.
Don’t think it will solve the dairy robberies, they’re stealing for shit to sell to make money, and they’re amped up on the violence as far as I can tell. Take away the tobacco and they’ll steal something else.
I have no problem with alcohol being restricted to licensed premises.
heh – I do believe that was before the advent of vapourising 🙂 (Nicotine habit satisfied for about $2 per week)
I should edit. Edit. Vapourising paraphernalia should be available on script. It’s presently illegal to sell or supply nicotine in solution in NZ, meaning…all the government subsidies goes to pharma selling bullshit patches, gums, and pills.
Medical examiner determines Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell killed himself by hanging in Detroit. https://t.co/NxurFdtTzT— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2017
The plan to arm the Kurdish fighters had been seven months in the making when it was presented to Flynn.
“Don’t approve it,” Flynn said, according to an account in The Washington Post that was included in a timeline prepared by the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “We’ll make the decision.”
The sad truth is that no-one wants to see the autonomous regions’ experiment with substantive forms of democratic governance persist…
not the Turkish government.
nor the US government
nor the EU
nor the Syrian government
nor the traditional Arab structures of power in the region
nor the government of Iraqi Kurdistan…
Trump has finally agreed to supply light arms – oh, underwhelmed whoop. I think I may be right in saying that heavier weaponry will be supplied on a tightly monitored basis (ie – it gets ‘rented out’ for specific operations and then returned)
This shit is like the Spanish revolution gone horribly wrong if you can imagine such a thing 🙁
Just in case Steven Joyce is thinking of running with ‘Strong and Stable’ this year. The end part on here has so many elements which are ours; and his.
Was torturing myself trying to remember who else it was I’d seen punting on the “Strong and Stable” meme, then I remembered it was the “Brighter Future” meme being peddled by the UK’s Lib Dems …Go Teh Guardian! 😉
Water is still a huge issue. Damien Oconnor spoke well on backbenchers the other night – except on water where he was worse than weak. Greens were good, NZ first lady mostly looked proud of herself for showing up, Chester Borrows a pillock.
Everyone bar the greens patting themselves and fed farmers on the back about fencing watreways noone addressing the real issue of Nitrate leaching.
And today the Nats go for the half billion with irrigation subsidies by throwing another 90 million in there http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/92742733/government-90m-boost-for-irrigation-to-produce-economic-and-environment-gains
Incredibly this is spun as having environmental benefit by replenishing the aquifer!
” “At the same time these schemes can deliver real environmental benefits by maintaining river flows and recharging groundwater aquifers.””
Really?
Although his writing is a little academic/intellectual in style I like his thinking: Max Harris on the unavoidable centrality of environmental politics
But punting it’ll be making the obvious point that all these house building proposals from the Libuorish Party and the Narsty Party are just so much bullshit riding alongside all their other inadequate and “reality defying” bullshit, yes?
Over 30 000 houses are under water according to Jan Wright’s (Commissioner for the Environment) report from 2015. Only 1000 odd of those fucked dwellings are in Auckland, yet the bulk of any party’s building programme is Auckland based.
These fucking clowns (the politicians) might as well don a Donald wig as far as I’m concerned.
Depends on whether you want to go with IPCC reports or not. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is running on prelim figures they gleaned from research on Antarctica just prior to the US elections that point to a possible 1.5m by as soon as 2050. Regardless of whether that pans out, “no-one” takes the IPCC suggestion of 1m by 2100 seriously any more.
New Zealand assumes houses have to be around for 50 years.
Jan Wright’s figures that I added up to be over 30 000 were based on a 1.5m sea level rise.
edit. In the absence of serious measures being taken in other places that are ‘going under’, then the pressure in Auckland will be seriously exacerbated by what we might come to term as internal refugees.
Sure, and Labour and the Greens are looking at the housing crisis in NZ not just Ak, but I think everyone is very focussed on the people who are homeless this year.
Still not sure what your point is. Is it that no-one is taking CC seriously enough? (agreed). Is it that people are still building in stupid places (agreed, and Dunedin is at least making moves on this). Is it that Ak is too low lying?
The housing policies are nowhere near ambitious enough because they do not seem to be taking into account the huge and inevitable loss in housing stock that’s going to result from sea level rise.
We’re not looking at some distant tomorrow on that front and it’s going to be on-going. It’s a consideration that should be a part and parcel of any current housing policy.
edit – and a 10 year build as Labour proposes isn’t really doing much for those homeless today or this year.
I’m less worried about the actual number of houses re CC, because NZ has shit loads of empty houses. Stats NZ has occupancy rates for most places, all cities have empty houses.
“There are 46,590 occupied dwellings and 3,915 unoccupied dwellings in Dunedin City.
…
There are 186 dwellings under construction in Dunedin City, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
“There are 11,508 occupied dwellings and 4,467 unoccupied dwellings in Queenstown-Lakes District.
…
There are 237 dwellings under construction in Queenstown-Lakes District, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
I’d put Dunedin at average and QLDC as high relative to NZ but normal relative to other tourist towns.
Lots of houses are under occupied too. And there will be a fair number of houses that can be moved. Which isn’t to say you aren’t right about political parties not designing policy around this properly (they’re not), just that I consider sea level rise to be one of NZ’s lesser problems (plenty of technical solutions for us and we have the wealth to do them, our problem is political and social).
Read it. Reaching for the puke bucket. Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served them well.
[Max Harris is] Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served [him] well
Is that what you’re saying Bill? Because that’s what I think you’re saying but often I cannot tell …
I do honestly think that Max Harris is genuinely trying to come up with solutions just like many others but of course this doesn’t mean he or anybody else will have (all) the answers let alone answers that’ll please or satisfy everyone. He’s not a policy-maker; he’s trying to stimulate debate in an open, honest and brave way and I think he should be applauded for this even, or perhaps especially (!), when you don’t agree with him or his thinking & ideas.
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Yesterday, the government released its draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill, which will be put to a non-binding referendum at the next election. I'm not a drug policy expert, but Russell Brown is, and he thinks its pretty good. And pretty obviously, it will be a massive improvement on the ...
As you're probably aware, the draft bill outlining the proposed legal cannabis regime to be put to a referendum late next year was published yesterday, and has already attracted a flurry of comment. It's notable that a good deal of the comment is about proposals that aren't actually new.A minimum ...
One of the big problems in New Zealand climate change policy is the government working at cross-purposes with itself. It wants to reduce fossil fuel use, but encourages oil and gas exploration. It wants to reduce transport emissions, but then builds enormous new roads. The problem could be avoided if ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzAccording to the United Nations, food shortages are a threat ...
Last year, the government announced it was ending offshore oil exploration by no longer issuing new permits. The idea was that the industry would then die off as permits expired. Except almost immediately the government revealed its bad faith, by saying they would extend permits and alter conditions to keep ...
The government introduced the Education and Training Bill to Parliament yesterday. Its a massive bill, which replaces both existing Education Acts, as well as various other bits of legislation (including some which are still proceeding through the House). I'll leave the serious analysis to teachers and people who actually know ...
Amelia SharmanThere’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to micro-credentials, those bits of bite-sized learning that can help workers stay on top of technological change. What’s a micro-credential? While definitions vary, micro-credentials can be understood as short courses that allow people to learn new skills or have an existing competency recognised. ...
All Smiles Now: Claire Szabo is taking up her presidential role after serving as the CEO of Habitat For Humanity. Which is absolutely perfect! After KiwiBuild was so comprehensively mismanaged by Phil Twyford, the party has not only elected a new president from a thoroughly respectable not-for-profit, but one who ...
While much of the NZ left has transitioned to postmodern and identity politics in relation to transgender ideology, there are some very good articles about that deploy Marxist methodology in relation to this subject. The one below is from the British marxist group Counterfire and appeared on their site here ...
by Daphna Whitmore At Golden Oaks, a luxurious country retreat in the Hudson Valley, pregnant women have the best care money can buy. From the organic food, personalised exercise programmes, private yoga instruction and daily massages Golden Oaks looks like a country lodge for the upper class. Set some time ...
When Labour was running for election in 2017, it felt it needed to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and signed itself up to masochistic "budget responsibility rules". It was a fool's errand: the sorts of voters who demand fiscal responsibility are also the sorts of voters who believe that labour can never ...
Writing in Stuff, Joel MacManus looks at what we need to do to meet the Zero Carbon Act's targets. The core of it:1. Convert 85 per cent of vehicles on the road to electric. 2. Eliminate fossil fuels from all industrial heating up to 300 degrees Celsius. 3. Double our ...
Professors Janet Hoek and Richard Edwards, Emeritus Professor Phil Gendall, Jude Ball, Dr Judith McCool, Anaru Waa, Dr Becky FreemanRecent media reports have presented conflicting evidence on youth vaping in NZ. While some NZ school principals report concerns about increasing vaping on school grounds and confiscating vapes, ASH Year ...
“America the Beautiful!”, staunch defender of democracy, freedom and… a whole lot of despotic tyrants that play nice with what is called “the Washington Consensus.” America is indeed capable of immense good, but like any Nation, and most assuredly any aspirant to the mantle of Empire, great, immense evil. All ...
Image credit:The beginner’s guide to blogging I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. If your blog is ...
1080 is used to control pests in NZ. Its use is contested by a noisy few. A new report claims high levels of 1080 in rats washed up on a beach. Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa (F&F) won’t name the laboratory that did their testing. It has sparked a hunt ...
What Kind Of Empire? The thing for Kiwis to decide is what kind of empire they want to belong to. The kind that, while offering its own citizens democratic rights, demands absolute obedience from its “friends”? Or, the kind that, while authoritarian at home, takes a relaxed attitude to the ...
It hasn't been a good week for the Conservatives, pollwise. All major recent polls are showing their lead shrinking.Comparing each pollster's current (between 29/11 and 22/11) and previous most recent poll.Com Res - Conservative lead down 3 points.You Gov - Conservative lead down 1 point.Kantar - Conservative lead down 4 ...
Paramedics have reiterated their support for New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball's bill to impose mandatory prison sentences on those who assault our first responders and prison officers. There are more than 50 cases of abuse and assault against New Zealand paramedics each week. The figure has remained largely unchanged ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has revealed the Party’s stance on a proposed single public broadcaster. He said it had been the NZ First policy to support and strengthen public sector media. "For this reason, we welcome the initiative of Minister Faafoi to progress work in this area. Both ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Introduction Good morning, and thank you for your attendance here today. Let us start by acknowledging the work of all the media outlets and reporters, particularly the regional reporters, who have been covering this week’s tragedy at Whakaari White Island. It ...
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball’s bill introducing a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders has passed its first reading in Parliament. Mr Ball said the new offence of "injuring a first responder or prison officer with intent" would target people who attacked paramedics, police, firefighters, and corrections ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters gave his final interview for 2019 on The Country to tell farmers they have never had it better under the current coalition Government. “Here you've got these record returns [for farmers]. These returns would be nothing like a record if the currency under the ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said that New Zealand's Cook Islands High Commissioner, Tessa Temata, has died over the weekend. Ms Temata, 52, died in Palmerston North and had returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. She was the first New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands of Cook Island ...
A new defence report has mapped out how New Zealand's soldiers will navigate rising seas, and a year after the Defence Force announced its need to prepare for climate change. In the “Responding to the Climate Crisis” report, the Force restates its operational plan and sets goals to tackle climate ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
We're rebuilding New Zealand - our transport network, our hospitals, our schools and more... After nine years of neglect there's a lot to fix - but we're getting on with the job. ...
Mark Patterson, Spokesperson for Primary Industries New Zealand First spokesperson for Primary Industries, Mark Patterson, has called for awareness to be raised and more stringent biosecurity checks to be put in place for African Swine Fever (ASF), a widespread virus that is uncontrolled in most of Asia and a serious ...
Jenny Marcroft MP, Spokesperson for Human Rights A critical step has been taken to end gender based violence against women and girls in Parliament this evening. New Zealand First Spokesperson for Human Rights Jenny Marcroft MP has welcomed the passing of the first reading of the Crimes (Definition of Female ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says it's time to recognise market forces haven't led to the expected reduction in Māori smoking rates and try a new approach. The Party had recently invoked the agree to disagree clause in their Coalition Agreement with the Labour Party, and will not support ...
Live from the Whanganui Opera House, on the final day of the 2019 Labour Party Conference, Jacinda Ardern announced the largest investment in school property in 25 years. ...
The Coalition Government will be banning foreign donations to political parties and candidates, ahead of next year’s general elections. Legislation will be introduced to Parliament and passed under urgency – emphasising the need for such restrictions to safeguard our democracy. The bill introduces a new requirement that party secretaries and ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones opened Taipā's $19 million bridge recently, improving transport infrastructure in the Northland region. The two-lane bridge is 107m long with a 2.5m-wide shared walking and cycling path, and will reduce the congestion that the old one-lane bridge was notorious for. The project had also included ...
The Overseas Investment Office have rejected the application of Mercury Agriculture LP, which is 92 per cent controlled by Canadian interests, to purchase more than 2000 hectares of South Canterbury and Otago land. Mercury wanted to buy 2000ha at Rangitata, 1494ha near Ashburton, 816ha near Cromwell and 212ha near Temuka. ...
This weekend was Labour's 103rd Party Conference! We welcomed over 500 of our Labour whānau in red to Whanganui, where we reflected on the last two years in Government, and looked ahead to 2020 and beyond. We know the long-term challenges facing New Zealand won't be tackled overnight, but we're making ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced that the Provincial Growth Fund will invest $9.6 million to seal the final unsealed section of State Highway 43 from Stratford to Taumarunui. The Minister said sealing the 12-kilometre gravel section of the highway – also called the “Forgotten World Highway” - through ...
Former Finance Minister and former chair of the Tax Working Group, Sir Michael Cullen, has voiced his support for New Zealand First’s decision to oppose the planned increase in tobacco excise tax. In an interview with The Weekend Collective, he said that increasing the price was no longer effective in ...
Māori are natural storytellers. On the marae we use stories to tell our history, to teach the next generation life lessons and to let people know, in our most creative of ways, who we are and where we have come from. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First has invoked the ‘Agree to Disagree’ provisions of the Coalition Agreement because it cannot support the announced 11.46 percent increase in the tobacco excise from 1 January 2020. “Studies show that the automatic tobacco excise increases are having less effect ...
Taupō-based company Geo40 has made a breakthrough in extracting near battery-grade lithium from geothermal fluid which its says could be a gamechanger. Its chief executive John Worth said the earth mineral was highly prized, with battery-grade lithium selling for US$10,000 (NZ$15,600) a tonne. Geo40 was founded in 2010 to find ...
Crown research institute AgResearch Ltd, as part of its Future Footprint plan, had intended to relocate top scientists and support staff — particularly those focused on sheep genetics and genomics — from Invermay to Lincoln. However, those plans seem to have been shelved at the request of the Coalition Government. ...
Ten engineering firms in Southland are receiving a total of $2.13 million in Provincial Growth Fund funding to lift productivity and create new jobs. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced in Invercargill that the 10 engineering and manufacturing firms would receive funding to assist them with buying equipment that ...
The number of new residents to New Zealand is the lowest it has been in nearly two decades and it has earned the ire of the immigration industry. The industry alleges that 'Trump-style extreme vetting' is being put in place aimed at keeping a lid on immigration numbers. June Ranson, ...
The Royal New Zealand Air Force is one step closer to modernising its fleet after the United States State Department recently approved the sale of five new C-130J Hercules aircraft to New Zealand. Arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, in Fort Worth, Texas, will provide the aircraft, but as a "foreign military ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development A $261,000 loan from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has helped a family-run business in Manawatū to scale up manufacturing capacity, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced at its opening today. Ashhurst-based skin-care business The Herb Farm is on track to ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Regional Freight Hub near Palmerston North has taken a step forward with the completion of the master plan, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones said. Shane Jones unveiled the high-level design of the new Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) backed rail-road hub ...
Hon Ron Mark, Minister of DefenceTērā te haeata takiri ana mai i runga o Pukaha!Ara tai uru, whai uru, whai uru!Ara whai ato, whai ato, whai ato!Ara rā tini, ara rā tini, ara ri!The rays of the morning sun strike a new dawn upon Pukaha ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is investing $772,000 in opportunities for growth in Manawatū-Whanganui, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.NZ Bio-Forestry Limited will receive a $380,000 boost for game-changing research which could unlock significant growth in the wood processing sector, ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced today the appointment of diplomat Sarah Lee as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to South Africa. She will be the first female Head of Mission to represent New Zealand in Africa. “New Zealand’s relationship with South ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones wants to create a log barging facility at Hicks Bay and turn the area into a Special Economic Zone. The move would be part of protecting New Zealand's forests from being depleted by India and China, he said. It follows his announcement last week to strengthen ...
New Zealand First supports the changes recommended by the Winter Grazing Taskforce to improve animal welfare outcomes through the winter months, and the establishment of a pan-sector action group to implement them. New Zealand First Primary Industries Spokesperson Mark Patterson says the report highlights areas of concern about the animal ...
Former prime ministers Helen Clark and Sir John Key, formerly from the Labour and National parties respectively, have joined forces in support of New Zealand First’s plan to relocate Auckland's port to Whangārei. While Ms Clark and Sir John spent their political careers on opposite sides of the political divide, ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is in Japan for the Foreign Ministers' meeting of the G20 grouping of countries as one of nine "invited" countries. He has used the opportunity to cast a spotlight on the plight of Pacific countries, calling out countries which still offered subsidies or Government assistance to ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on his election victory. “New Zealand and the United Kingdom are close friends and despite our distance we are strongly connected by our history and people,” Jacinda Ardern said. “I look forward to continuing to work with Prime ...
The Government has released its long term vision for a sustainable 21st Century rail network that gets our cities moving, connects our regions and gets more freight off the roads. Deputy Prime Minister and State Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters said the Government is committed to rebuilding New Zealand’s ...
I want to start by acknowledging the families who have experienced such grief and such loss since the extraordinary tragedy on Monday. Today was all about reuniting them with their loved ones. We've just come from the airport where many of them were gathered and in amongst what you can ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further support for Samoa’s longer term needs as it continues to respond to a devastating measles epidemic. “Samoa’s health system has experienced massive strain in the wake of the measles epidemic. The volume of patients needing care during this outbreak, and the number of ...
Discounted electric bikes will be offered up to public sector staff across the country as part of the Government’s work to reduce transport emissions and support healthier transport options. Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter officially launched the new initiative at Wellington Hospital today. “The Government has negotiated bulk-purchase ...
The Australian and New Zealand Governments today launch an historic joint bid to bring the FIFA Women’s World Cup to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Australian Minister for Youth and Sport, Richard Colbeck and New Zealand Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson will announce the bold campaign, ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) has approved a $15 million loan to help re-establish a gold mining operation at Blackwater Gold Mine, near Reefton, Rural Communities Minister and local MP Damien O’Connor announced at an event on the West Coast today. “This is great news for the Coast that could ...
Papakāinga model inspires whānau well-being A housing project by Kohupātiki whānau in Hastings is an outstanding example of a Māori-led housing initiative that can reduce financial pressure and reconnect whānau to their whakapapa says the Minister for Māori Development Hon Nanaia Mahuta. Minister Mahuta officially opened the Aroha Te Rangi ...
Restoration efforts for a significant wetland in the Hawke’s Bay are getting more support announced Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. “Wetlands are vital to healthy landscapes and ecosystems. They function as nature’s ‘kidneys’, filtering and protecting water quality, acting as nature’s sponges after rain and are home to ...
Nelson has today seen the launch of Housing First Nelson Tasman. Today’s launch marks the expansion of the Government’s homelessness programme, Housing First, to the top of the South Island. “Housing First is a proven programme that puts people who are experiencing homelessness and multiple, high and complex needs into ...
New Government funding announced today will help communities make a difference in tackling environmental issues Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage announced in Hawkes Bay today. The Ministry for the Environment’s Community Environment Fund is dedicating $243,101 to growing the capacity and capability of the Environment Hubs Aotearoa’s (EHA) ...
The days of vulnerable consumers falling victim to loan sharks, truck shops and other predatory lenders are numbered, following the Credit Contracts Legislation Amendment Bill passing its third reading tonight. “Too many Kiwis are being given loans that are unaffordable and unsuitable, trapping them in debt and leaving their families ...
A Bill that prevents terrorism and supports the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas has passed its third reading, Justice Minister Andrew Little says. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill is a carefully targeted response to manage the risk posed by a small number of New Zealanders who have ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will travel to Samoa on Friday, where New Zealand medical teams are helping Samoa respond to an outbreak of measles. “New Zealand has been working closely with the Government of Samoa and offering our assistance from the ...
The Government has changed the law to improve student safety and welfare in university halls of residence and other student accommodation. The Education (Pastoral Care) Amendment Bill passed its third reading this afternoon and details of an interim Code of Practice setting out the Government’s expectations of tertiary providers have also been released. ...
A new tool to help councils fund and finance infrastructure could mean some housing developments happen a decade earlier than currently planned, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said today. “This new tool, developed by the Government in partnership with industry and high-growth councils, will allow councils to access private debt ...
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has welcomed the release of a bold new vision for the country’s vital food and fibre sector. “I’m delighted that New Zealand’s major farmer and grower organisations are today supporting the Primary Sector Council’s vision – Fit for a Better World,” he said. “The international consumers ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has congratulated the Government of Papua New Guinea and the Autonomous Bougainville Government for completing a well-conducted referendum on the future political status of Bougainville. “New Zealand supported the referendum process by providing technical advice through the New Zealand Electoral Commission and leading a Regional Police ...
In light of Cabinet’s position that freight operations on prime land in downtown Auckland are no longer viable, the Government will now embark on a short work programme to enable decision-making in the first half of next year, Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones says. Minister Jones is today releasing the ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter has received the report back from a surgical mesh restorative justice process undertaken by Victoria University. The process heard stories, either in person or online submission, from more than 600 people affected by surgical mesh. “The report made for heart-breaking and confronting reading,” says ...
The Water Services Regulator Bill – Taumata Arowai , introduced to Parliament today, is a milestone for drinking water safety in New Zealand and will help improve environmental outcomes for urban waterways, rivers and lakes. “This is a breakthrough for New Zealanders in terms of providing safe drinking water throughout ...
Kia ora koutouE ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā matā wakaTēnā koutou katoaHaere ngā, moe maiKoutou ma ngā Rangatira Ko Anaru ahauKo au te Minita mo ngā TureHe Honore tino nui kei roto I ahau No reira tena koutou katoa Today, we are releasing two reports that are the ...
The Government is looking to turn around the long-term challenges of criminal justice by taking a new approach to break the cycle of offending to ensure there are fewer victims of crime. Justice Minister Andrew Little released two reports today, Turuki! Turuki! from Te Uepū Hāpai I te Ora, and ...
New Zealand firms expanding beyond the start-up phase are set for more support after today’s passage of the Venture Capital Fund Bill, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said. The Bill, which establishes a $300 million Venture Capital Fund, puts in place a key initiative of the Wellbeing Budget’s economic package. ...
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, e ngā rau rangatira mā. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Señora Presidenta, Excellencies, Delegates. International action A common thread that runs through the Paris Agreement is the commitment we have made to each other to do what we can to ...
The Government is lifting capital investment to the highest level in more than 20 years as it takes the next step to future-proof New Zealand. Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced $12 billion of new investment, with $8 billion for specific capital projects and $4 billion to be added to ...
The Government is forecast to run $12 billion worth of surpluses across the four years to 2023/24 as the economy continues to grow. The surpluses will help fund day-to-day capital requirements each year. These include fixing leaky hospitals, building new classrooms to cover population growth and take pressure off class ...
Budget 2020 will continue the Coalition Government’s focus on tackling the long-term challenges facing New Zealand while also investing to future-proof the economy. When the Government took office in 2017 it was left with crumbling infrastructure, severe underinvestment in public services, degraded rivers and lakes, a housing crisis and rising ...
The Minister responsible for the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (te Takutai Moana Act 2011), Andrew Little has welcomed the launch of an online geospatial tool that provides data-rich, dynamic coastline maps that will significantly boost research and evidence-gathering under the Act. Te Kete Kōrero a Te ...
The Chief Victims Advisor to Government Dr Kim McGregor, QSO, has been reappointed in her role for a further two years. Dr McGregor has held the role since it was established in November 2015. She provides independent advice to government on how to improve the criminal justice system for victims. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Civil Defence Minister Peeni Henare have today announced the deployment of a network of DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami) buoys. “New Zealand and the Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. It is vital we have adequate warning systems in place,” ...
DART Buoys Announcement Aotea Wharf, 9.30am 11 December 2019 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements to Minister for Civil Defence Hon Peeni Henare also here today. White Island It is with regret that this event shadows the tragic natural disaster two days ago. The volcanic eruptions on White Island have claimed 5 lives, ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has welcomed the first reading of the Racing Industry Bill in parliament today. This is the second of two Bills that have been introduced this year to revitalise New Zealand’s racing industry. “Our domestic racing industry has been in serious decline. The Government is committed to ...
Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni, is pleased to announce that $291,321 is to be awarded to national and local community initiatives to maintain and promote the use of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). “New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world where Sign Language is an ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced today the Coalition Government’s initial response to work completed by the independent statutory body, the Veterans’ Advisory Board. “When Professor Ron Paterson completed his review of the Veterans’ Support Act in 2018, he made a number of recommendations, including one which I referred ...
The Government will fund the bulk of the cost of a rural water supply for the Ohakea community affected by PFAS contamination, Environment Minister David Parker announced today at a meeting of local residents. This new water scheme will provide a reliable and clean source of drinking water to the ...
I have had the opportunity to be briefed on the details of the volcanic eruption of Whakaari/White Island, off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty. The eruption happened at 2.11pm today. It continues to be an evolving situation. We know that there were a number of tourists ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister of Civil Defence Peeni Henare have today confirmed initial Government support of $100,000 for communities affected by the severe weather that swept across the South Island and lower North Island over the weekend. The contribution will be made to Mayoral relief funds across the ...
New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Tessa Temata, died in Palmerston North over the weekend, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said today. Ms Temata, 52, had recently returned to New Zealand for medical treatment. "On behalf of the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we extend ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today announced construction is underway on Wellington commuter rail upgrades which will mean more frequent services and fewer breakdowns. The upgrades include converting the Trentham to Upper Hutt single track section to a double track, with a new signalling system, upgraded stations and level crossings, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison has rejected or sidelined a number of recommendations from the long-awaited Thodey review of the public service that might have constrained his and his government’s power. Not surprisingly, a proposal to ensure changes ...
Analysis - The "do nothing" government announces a big spend-up on infrastructure, moving the Port of Auckland, and Winston Peters throws his weight behind NZME's bid to buy Stuff. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]For their last video for the year, University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan look backwards to the big issues which have shaped political discourse. They discuss the surprise election results, and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has acknowledged Ngāti Awa for their role as tangata whenua (people of the land) in leading and caring for affected whānau (family members), following the Whakaari / White Island eruption and recovery operation earlier today. ...
The Environment Committee has opened for public submissions on the Urban Development Bill. The bill follows on from the Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities bill, which disestablished Housing New Zealand and set up a Crown entity in the same name. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William Loader, Emeritus Professor of New Testament at Murdoch University, Murdoch University This article is part of our Gender and Christianity series. To understand contemporary Christian ideas about gender, and specifically masculinity, we need to go all the way back to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Gissing, General Manager, Risk Frontiers, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University Calls are growing for a national bushfire plan, including from former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who says they are an issue of national security and the federal government must provide hands-on leadership. ...
Pro-democracy lobby group Democracy Action welcome New Zealand First’s commitment to hold firm rejecting the Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene’s bill to entrench the Māori seats. The Bill, which would require any changes to the seats to require the ...
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s.Sometimes you are just doing a podcast as usual and then Colin Mathura-Jeffree gives you a call and throws your world off its axis. In a very special edition of Colin’s Cranny: Live, ...
We get a handle on the artists and artworks that shaped this decade in Aotearoa.As 2019 draws to a close, the four nominees for this year’s Turner Prize subverted the competition – they asked to receive the award as a collective. Meanwhile, at Art Basel Miami Beach, a banana taped ...
The second and final report of Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora, the Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group, contains nothing we didn’t know 30 years ago. Yet generations of politicians have ignored the same advice, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.Between the 1950s and 1990s, New Zealand experienced seismic social, economic ...
Fuel company Z Energy has cut its earnings forecast for the year by 10 percent because of tougher competition and falling margins, and is forecasting a big cut in dividends. ...
Liquidators of the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have travelled to the United States, to retrieve customers' information and certain crypto-assets. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology Popular commentary on dating apps often associates their use with “risky” sex, harassment and poor mental health. But anyone who has used a dating app ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Grimmer, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania Australian shoppers are set to spend $52.7 billion this Christmas. In the words of the retail industry, we are “stampeding” to empty our wallets, both online and ...
NZ Herald and many other media outlets ran a story on a man whose farts could repel mosquitos, despite the story coming from a satire news site and not being verified in any way, writes Dan Satherly for Newshub.“Man’s farts so deadly he kills mosquitoes in a 6m radius” is ...
Timing right to borrow our way to a stronger economy in 2020 The Government’s announcement of its intent to invest significantly in the county’s infrastructure could turbo charge an economic recovery that was already showing positive signs for ...
A poem by writer, journalist, and former Manus Island refugee Behrouz Boochani.Forgive me my loveTranslated by Moones Mansoubi, Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, 2018 Forgive me my bird as I am not able to embrace you.But here,in this corner,I know some migrating birds that I smile to at dawn.I embrace them ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Powles, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies, Massey University The Autonomous Region of Bougainville, a chain of islands that lie 959 kilometres northwest of Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, has voted unequivocally for independence. The referendum saw 85% voter turnout during ...
Fisheries New Zealand starts consultation today on proposed changes to catch settings for rock lobster and scallops for the new fishing year beginning 1 April 2020. ...
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. This was the declaration of the pigs who control the government in George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm– a tart comment on the hypocrisy of governments that proclaim the absolute equality of their citizens but gives power and privileges ...
SPCA has been working flat out to desex more than 80 animals a day over the last year, which is the most desexing SPCA has done since recording the figures. ...
“The fact so many families are struggling to pay the rent and put food on the table must be addressed urgently if we’re to provide the foundations for a good life for the next generation of New Zealanders,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Hamish Hamilton, $40)Winner of the 2019 Booker Prize.2The Body: ...
This holiday season Te Tari Taiwhenua, Department of Internal Affairs wants to offer parents and caregivers some advice on how to help keep your family safe online. ...
A report released by the Chief Victims advisor Kim McGregor advising there needs to be an Independent Victims body is being welcomed by Victim Rights lobby group Sensible Sentencing Trust. National spokesperson Jess McVicar says the trust have ...
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in.9.30am: So, with polls about 90 minutes away from closing, the top line is this – we’ve got ...
Winston Peters will back an NZME proposal to buy Stuff with a 'Kiwishare' guarantee the merged news company will keep regional news and separate websites for at least two years. ...
The Executive Director of Dapaanz (Addiction Practitioners’ Association Aotearoa New Zealand), Sue Paton says the announcement that Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment court would become permanent immediately, following successful pilots in Auckland ...
Online marketplace Sidekicker is taking advantage of people who have little choice but to juggle multiple low-paying jobs to make ends meet, writes artist and freelancer Ben Markley.After graduating early this year with one of the least vocational degrees, I didn’t expect the largest array of job prospects. Nevertheless, I ...
National is vowing to bring back and expand health sector targets dropped by the current Government and mulling whether to scrap elected District Health Boards. ...
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition launched a week ago, calling for better support and funding for community midwives. The 10k figure was reached after the first four days. Chief executive of the College of Midwives, Alison Eddy, said last ...
Information obtained by animal rights organisation SAFE has revealed rodeo organisers are refusing to halt calf-roping events in rodeo, despite the Government’s animal welfare advisors’ recommendation that they do so. ...
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If the Productivity Commission's report on local government funding, released yesterday, had been relied on by NASA as the basis for getting astronauts to the moon, its greatest achievement by now would have been launching a $2 skyrocket 40 feet into the air ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Mayne, Molecular biologist and bioinformatician, CSIRO Humans have a “natural” lifespan of around 38 years, according to a new method we have developed for estimating the lifespans of different species by analysing their DNA. Extrapolating from genetic studies of species with ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Holden, Professor of Economics, UNSW On Monday the Australian government will release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO). This will – as required by the Charter of Budget Honesty – provide an update on the key assumptions made in this ...
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Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Andrew Little indicates justice system changes after reports, Auckland buses back on the road, and National release health proposals. Two significant reports for the justice sector were released yesterday. The first was Turuki! Turuki! Transforming our Criminal Justice System from the Chester Borrows-led Safe and ...
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Andy Ruiz Jr pulled of a massive shock by KO’ing Anthony Joshua in New York. And then delivered another stunning moment when he stepped onto the scales in Saudi Arabia. ...
What happens when your work is the victim of attempted sabotage by a group of slow-moving middle-aged men? Author and journalist Michelle Duff reveals all.Initially, it was kind of unclear what I was looking at. The disembodied hand loomed from the shaky first-person footage, flipping the cover of the book ...
The National Party leader sits down with Alex Braae to talk political rhetoric, misinformation, and whether he’ll have any dance partners after next year’s election.How cynical is Simon Bridges? It’s a question that has dogged National’s leader over the past year.Being an opposition leader is, of course, a difficult job ...
Sharon Brettkelly calls home to the Bay of Plenty to give us an insight into what Whakatane locals are thinking in the wake of Whakaari-White Island's eruption ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Scott Morrison is picking up that Australia’s devastating, prolonged fires are producing a soured, anti-government mood among many in the community. It may not be entirely rational for people to turn on politicians in such ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katharine Kemp, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, UNSW, and Co-Leader, ‘Data as a Source of Market Power’ Research Stream of The Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation, UNSW Today, the federal government responded to the recommendations of the Australian Competition and ...
Winston Peters hopes mergers of NZME and Stuff and RNZ and TVNZ will save local journalism. Bernard Hickey argues they are more likely to again prove costly diversions. ...
The foreign affairs minister Winston Peters will be travelling to Samoa tomorrow to visit hospitals and medical teams dealing with the ongoing measles outbreak. ...
Andrew Little says the justice system is “taking wrecked lives and wrecking them just a little bit more”, but will the Govt cough up with what's needed for transformative change? ...
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Winston Peters is bemoaning how long a decision on Northport is taking, saying if you're faced with inevitability, you should act. But Cabinet ministers have put off making a call until next year. ...
Daily Review 18/05/2017 
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So it’s now this, Turkish Goons beat up US citizens in the USA.
Holy shit, that was in America! I like the way the host suggested Trump would be taking notes from Erdogan on how to become more authoritarian.
Have you never watched the TYT channel?
That is not the first time they have suggested that about Trump.
They are one of the few Independent News organizations left in the US not controlled by corporate money. A lot of the others are slowly being purged of most centrist and left-wing commentators.
Cenk Uygur the owner of TYT is actually Turkish/American born in Istanbul, Turkey and is not a very big fan of what the Turkish government has done to his birth country either. For some time now he has been trying to pull Republicans and Democrats togeather to get the money out of Politics in the US. He is a champion of wolf-pac.com who are slowly gathering a number of states together to get an amendment to the US constitution to do just that.
A couple of arrests.
.
A Turkish state news agency acknowledged that guards for Erdogan, who had earlier met with President Trump at the White House, had targeted demonstrators. Many of the aggressors seen on video were wearing dark suits and ties, and several had guns. At least two of the guns were seen on video being dropped and then picked up during skirmishes.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Turkish Embassy called the demonstration “unpermitted” and “provocative.” Officials alleged in the statement that the protesters were affiliated with the separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. A protest leader denied that any of the participants were involved with the PKK or sympathized with the group.
“The demonstrators began aggressively provoking Turkish-American citizens” who had gathered to greet Erdogan, the statement said. “The Turkish-Americans responded in self defense and one of them was seriously injured.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/turkeys-presidential-guards-violently-clash-with-protesters-outside-embassy/2017/05/17/8420942a-3b05-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html
‘Nice’ to see that American cops understand the concept of never pulling up the guy in the suit. 👿
Pretty sure similar happened during his 2016 visit to the US. Not new.
edit – link
2nd edit. I guess the reaction will be much the same too 😉 Fatih Oke, a spokesperson for the Turkish embassy in Washington, said he arrived at the event after the alleged incidents. “I can’t comment on what I didn’t see,” he said. “The meeting was wonderful.”
they are using north korea as a boogie man to get tpp over the line now, wtf ,please explain
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11858289
Mr Little is starting to sound like a leader
That might be so but the real purpose of Treveeits article was to promote invented discord in the Labour Green MOU and to paint opposition parties as hysterical left wingers overly obsessed with Trump and bitter that he won. She was obviously disappointed Labour and Greens weren’t on the same page on this. Disappointed that the Greens brought up Hitler but she couldn’t get Labour to do the same.
I notice Farrar is all over it too, asking for Shaw to apologise. To who for fuck’s sake? Trump?
well Shaw needs to leave the mad talk for us fringe ranters , so a good lesson for him to.
Fair enough a bit naive, but he did reference that Backbenchers is a TV show filmed in a pub and pub talk is the whole point. Y’know, robust comedy, etc.
It’s not naive like menacingly threatening NGOs with funding cuts at a major party conference…
probably doesn’t hurt for the two parties to be seen to disagree and then keep working well together.
Plus, Tr*mp probably is the most dangerous person since Hitler. And no, Andrew, you don’t lose the argument by mentioning Hitler when it’s an actual historical reference.
Hitler had a whole set of institutional enthusiasm behind him…and an international tendency to feed from – fascism being in the ascendancy and supported by a failing and flailing liberal establishment (Spanish Revolution knee capped by supposed liberal “non- involvement” – fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc)…
Trump’s got none of that. Trump’s not dangerous. He’s an unpleasant and damaging flash in the pan is all.
What comes after Trump is what we should be looking to. That’s where the danger lies.
Well you and I will have to disagree on that. Both my own perception and the politicos I am following in the US see Tr*mp as legitimising a whole range of latent fascism in the US and the longer that goes on the harder it will be to roll back. There is also the issue of how fascism comes about and the process of normalising things that were even recently not considered normal. There’s plenty of commentary on that coming out of the US. ‘He’s not really fascist’ is part of how fascism comes about 😉
And he is not on his own. Not only does he have his team of seriously fucked in the head powermongers and deathmongers, but there are other dangerous Republicans who will be perceived as less extreme than Tr*mp but only because he’s set a new standard. So there is the institutional enthusiasm.
He has the nuclear launch codes, so that can’t be compared to Hitler’s time, but it’s one of the things that makes him so dangerous.
“fascist leaders receiving Times “man of the year” endorsements etc”
Tr*mp was Time’s ‘Person of Year’ last year.
http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/
I didn’t take Shaw as comparing Tr*mp with Hitler, or their respective milieu, but instead saying that Tr*mp is the most dangerous person since Hitler, including in terms of potential impact globally. I’d be interested to hear examples of other individuals that fit that bill better.
So okay, a president – any president of the USA is influential on the world stage…if they have institutional backing. Trump doesn’t have that. Both the Republican establishment and the Democratic establishment – with all their media and intelligence community networks, are working to bring him down.
You want “normalisation” of fascism? Then look to how liberal msm report on the likes of UKIP or Le Pen.
Are you saying there is no normalising of fascism going on in the US?
Hopefully Tr*mp will be brought down, because he is actually that dangerous. I don’t think those forces are working against him because he’s an unpleasant flash in the pan.
As I said elsewhere…I commented in the run-up to the US election that if Trump won, the opportunity would be there for the left to organise and mobilise, and that the danger to that would be coming from the wound licking democrats and their fellow travelers seeking to rehabilitate themselves.
Seems that danger’s risen up now – eg, vacuous ‘Russia meddling’ reports, bullshit CW reports, endless stream of baseless accusations feeding into general jagged finger pointing…and no-one’s calling it.
Which is potentially going to leave us with a ‘nice’ situation in the US whereby the forces of “anything but Trump” (the ‘establishment’ as personified by Cain/Clinton et al) are aligned against the “anything but the status quo” (swathes of the electorate) and “the left” will be nowhere to be seen.
yes, and that’s not incompatible with Tr*mp being extremely dangerous.
There is complete over reaction to trump, if he would just shut his stupid mouth, close down his twitter account, act like a president it would simply be business as usual re US presidents
Except for the fascist bits.
The u.s.a has a long and brutal history of genocide, slavery and disregard of human rights towards those they consider untermensch ….
Their savagery is beyond normal http://withoutsanctuary.org/pics_38.html
Their rich in particular ….. have literally supported Nazis to the extent of helping exteriminate the jews and profiting from slave labour in the concentration camps …. not to mention supplying vital war material to the Nazis during the war.
Firms like IBM helped keep on top of the huge organisation which goes into killing millions and millions …..
I suspect they also made money from operation phoenix in vietnam ….
And operation Condor in south America…. when the generals ( with u.s.a backing ), had taken over Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and a few other countries …… In Nazi/facist style they killed unionist, intellectuals, land and human rights advocates etc .
u.s.a supplied the computers to keep track of all the unionists and those marked for death ….. no matter where they ran.
IBM computers probably,… as there were not to many computing companies in the early and mid 1970’s …..
Tax Havens are another thing with a strong Nazi association …. so most corporations ( IBM of course ), use them
The Nazis beat communisim/socialisim http://100photos.time.com/photos/kevin-carter-starving-child-vulture
This is what Victory looks like http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/world/82862438/banana-republic-the-ugly-story-behind-new-zealands-most-popular-fruit
http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/
And at the end of this video …. we get a look at our new Allies ….. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkuonQCw_jg ….. we are supporting nazis ….. just like Nato and the U.s.a
Trump is made in the u.s.a …..
The stories of dairy hold-ups now come daily and it is bad news for the National Party which cut police services, increased inequality, removed surety of work hours, and treated the unemployed like criminals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11858552
There are a shitload of votes here for Labour which should be discussing loudly how they are going to reduce the crime and violence which has increased under National.
How about this, people know that robbing is wrong. If people didn’t think about robbing people, you wouldn’t need so much police as everyone behave harmoniously. But no, let’s make this a political issue, because a government doesn’t have enough police, that’s why there are so many robberies. Are you suggesting we need more police because people can’t help themselves? Instead of more police, let store keepers arm themselves. Then we’ll see how many people think about robbing someone else.
yeah, because places where storekeepers arm themselves are crime free. Totally works every time.
I agree McFlock, solutions need to be formed with the understanding that violence begets violence.
Any solution that doesn’t drill down to the core of the problem is a Band Aid, the infection rages. Young people choosing to stick a knife in someone’s face is fixed by giving them something better to do.
When one of our young people is sticking a knife in someone’s face, it’s our society, we created it, some of the buck stops with us. We’ve done a crap job of directing all that energy and adrenaline, geez it could be winning the Warriors games.
If I was PM I’d be creating a Department of ‘Sorry you got such crap parents, pull on this wetsuit, pick up that spear-gun and follow me.’
There will always be those people when you push policies that create poverty and hopelessness. Neo-liberalism has pushed us a long way down the path of creating a hell-hole of a society, and here you are putting up feeble, unrealistic arguments. Get real.
The answer lies in the —Budget.
It was a hell-hole of a society way back when Charles Dickens was writing. None of the fundamentals have changed – just some of the elastoplasts that had been applied have been stripped off these past decades.
The answer now is no different to what it was then…
“..none of the fundamentals have changed since dickensian times..”
I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in that perhaps your definition of “the fundamentals” is quite narrow.
Market driven economy – capitalism. You think the rules have changed?
I’d suggest what Mayhew describes went a bit further than we’re used to.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/oct/16/rereading-henry-mayhew-london-poor
Not for want of Gnats trying, or other parties failing to overturn their rorts mind.
Well, yes. What Mayhew describes is a situation that occurred in the absence of any welfare state.
But the economic rules that gave rise to that situation are the same rules our economy operates by today.
btw – ever been homeless without access to welfare, and tried hawking or peddling? You get lifted. Which offers an interesting twist in a situation where we’d dispensed with social welfare provisions – in some ways survival would be harder now than it was then, thanks to specific ‘regulations’ and ‘laws’…
How very basic of you.
Rather than employing more police, it would be a lot cheaper (and better in so many other ways) to reduce income inequality, and you don’t want to do that either, assuming you are capable, which I don’t.
And in shock breaking news, it seems the NZ Labour Party may have been paying attention to the SNP afterall!!!
http://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild 🙂
Why if Myrtle Rust has been randomly “wind blown” from Australia to the Kermadecs and the NZ mainland is it being detected only (I think) in plant nurseries? Surely with NZ’s westerlys it would be showing up in Western NZ native bush and feijoa orchards yet the only references I see is to plant nurseries.
Nurseries are probably good nurseries for MR if you get what I mean (i.e. ideal conditions).
With the severity of the violence with dairy owners and cigarettes. As nicotine is an addicting substance why doesn’t the Government place all cigarettes and tobacco into the same category as methadone, the heroin substitute and have dedicated places where people can go and buy their fags in a controlled and secure area. I remember years ago hearing from the guy who rang Kingseat Hospital that nicotine was as difficult as heroin to withdraw from – why on earth isn’t it a controlled substance?
I realise that supermarkets and dairies will loose a lot of income but surely with ingenuity they could come up with other ideas and products to get customers through the door. While I am on this I cannot see why booze can’t be also separated off from general food products in the supermarket like Australia does. To be honest – there could be a valid reason to separate off completely alcohol into secure areas like methadone and nicotine as well to do away with the numerous booze outlets.
I am not a whowser – I enjoy my wine, but if push came to shove I would be prepared to purchase my alcohol in a secure environment and maybe that would stop all this terrible violence occurring to shop owners.
Pigs might fly too.
Bill wrote a post about that once (nicotine addicts being able to register and have access to supply).
Don’t think it will solve the dairy robberies, they’re stealing for shit to sell to make money, and they’re amped up on the violence as far as I can tell. Take away the tobacco and they’ll steal something else.
I have no problem with alcohol being restricted to licensed premises.
heh – I do believe that was before the advent of vapourising 🙂 (Nicotine habit satisfied for about $2 per week)
I should edit. Edit. Vapourising paraphernalia should be available on script. It’s presently illegal to sell or supply nicotine in solution in NZ, meaning…all the government subsidies goes to pharma selling bullshit patches, gums, and pills.
RIP Chris Cornell. For the rockers out there:
Fell on black days
Erdogan’s man in the White House succeeded.
The plan to arm the Kurdish fighters had been seven months in the making when it was presented to Flynn.
“Don’t approve it,” Flynn said, according to an account in The Washington Post that was included in a timeline prepared by the office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. “We’ll make the decision.”
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article151149702.html
No, he didn’t succeed.
The sad truth is that no-one wants to see the autonomous regions’ experiment with substantive forms of democratic governance persist…
not the Turkish government.
nor the US government
nor the EU
nor the Syrian government
nor the traditional Arab structures of power in the region
nor the government of Iraqi Kurdistan…
Trump has finally agreed to supply light arms – oh, underwhelmed whoop. I think I may be right in saying that heavier weaponry will be supplied on a tightly monitored basis (ie – it gets ‘rented out’ for specific operations and then returned)
This shit is like the Spanish revolution gone horribly wrong if you can imagine such a thing 🙁
Just in case Steven Joyce is thinking of running with ‘Strong and Stable’ this year. The end part on here has so many elements which are ours; and his.
Was torturing myself trying to remember who else it was I’d seen punting on the “Strong and Stable” meme, then I remembered it was the “Brighter Future” meme being peddled by the UK’s Lib Dems …Go Teh Guardian! 😉
Water is still a huge issue. Damien Oconnor spoke well on backbenchers the other night – except on water where he was worse than weak. Greens were good, NZ first lady mostly looked proud of herself for showing up, Chester Borrows a pillock.
Everyone bar the greens patting themselves and fed farmers on the back about fencing watreways noone addressing the real issue of Nitrate leaching.
And today the Nats go for the half billion with irrigation subsidies by throwing another 90 million in there
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/agribusiness/92742733/government-90m-boost-for-irrigation-to-produce-economic-and-environment-gains
Incredibly this is spun as having environmental benefit by replenishing the aquifer!
” “At the same time these schemes can deliver real environmental benefits by maintaining river flows and recharging groundwater aquifers.””
Really?
Although his writing is a little academic/intellectual in style I like his thinking: Max Harris on the unavoidable centrality of environmental politics
https://impolitikal.com/2017/05/15/extract-max-harris-on-the-unavoidable-centrality-of-environmental-politics/
That’s very good.
Only about to read it.
But punting it’ll be making the obvious point that all these house building proposals from the Libuorish Party and the Narsty Party are just so much bullshit riding alongside all their other inadequate and “reality defying” bullshit, yes?
building housing is bullshit because of the environment?
Over 30 000 houses are under water according to Jan Wright’s (Commissioner for the Environment) report from 2015. Only 1000 odd of those fucked dwellings are in Auckland, yet the bulk of any party’s building programme is Auckland based.
These fucking clowns (the politicians) might as well don a Donald wig as far as I’m concerned.
Ah, CC. I’d gone down another track re housing and the environment.
30,000, but not for a while right? Not sure what you are saying. The reason they’re focussing on Ak is because so much pressure is there right now.
Depends on whether you want to go with IPCC reports or not. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is running on prelim figures they gleaned from research on Antarctica just prior to the US elections that point to a possible 1.5m by as soon as 2050. Regardless of whether that pans out, “no-one” takes the IPCC suggestion of 1m by 2100 seriously any more.
New Zealand assumes houses have to be around for 50 years.
Jan Wright’s figures that I added up to be over 30 000 were based on a 1.5m sea level rise.
edit. In the absence of serious measures being taken in other places that are ‘going under’, then the pressure in Auckland will be seriously exacerbated by what we might come to term as internal refugees.
Sure, and Labour and the Greens are looking at the housing crisis in NZ not just Ak, but I think everyone is very focussed on the people who are homeless this year.
Still not sure what your point is. Is it that no-one is taking CC seriously enough? (agreed). Is it that people are still building in stupid places (agreed, and Dunedin is at least making moves on this). Is it that Ak is too low lying?
The housing policies are nowhere near ambitious enough because they do not seem to be taking into account the huge and inevitable loss in housing stock that’s going to result from sea level rise.
We’re not looking at some distant tomorrow on that front and it’s going to be on-going. It’s a consideration that should be a part and parcel of any current housing policy.
edit – and a 10 year build as Labour proposes isn’t really doing much for those homeless today or this year.
That’s why I’m voting Green 😉
I’m less worried about the actual number of houses re CC, because NZ has shit loads of empty houses. Stats NZ has occupancy rates for most places, all cities have empty houses.
“There are 46,590 occupied dwellings and 3,915 unoccupied dwellings in Dunedin City.
…
There are 186 dwellings under construction in Dunedin City, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
“There are 11,508 occupied dwellings and 4,467 unoccupied dwellings in Queenstown-Lakes District.
…
There are 237 dwellings under construction in Queenstown-Lakes District, and 9,756 under construction in New Zealand.”
I’d put Dunedin at average and QLDC as high relative to NZ but normal relative to other tourist towns.
Lots of houses are under occupied too. And there will be a fair number of houses that can be moved. Which isn’t to say you aren’t right about political parties not designing policy around this properly (they’re not), just that I consider sea level rise to be one of NZ’s lesser problems (plenty of technical solutions for us and we have the wealth to do them, our problem is political and social).
Read it. Reaching for the puke bucket. Just another fluffy and clueless liberal seeking preservation through the variation of a theme that’s served them well.
Is that what you’re saying Bill? Because that’s what I think you’re saying but often I cannot tell …
I do honestly think that Max Harris is genuinely trying to come up with solutions just like many others but of course this doesn’t mean he or anybody else will have (all) the answers let alone answers that’ll please or satisfy everyone. He’s not a policy-maker; he’s trying to stimulate debate in an open, honest and brave way and I think he should be applauded for this even, or perhaps especially (!), when you don’t agree with him or his thinking & ideas.
Yeah – that was a rubbish and unfair comment. Retracted, withdrawn etc, etc.