Daily Review 19/06/2018
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5:30 pm, June 19th, 2018 - 49 comments
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- The 1 Good Thing Left In Journalism
Hi,It’s almost Christmas Day which means it is almost my birthday, where you will find me whimpering in the corner clutching a warm bottle of Baileys.If you’re out of ideas for presents (and truly desperate) then it is possible to gift a full Webworm subscription to a friend (or enemy) ...2 hours ago - Bernard’s Picks ‘n’ Mixes for Monday, December 23
This morning’s six standouts for me at 6.30am include:Rachel Helyer Donaldson’s scoop via RNZ last night of cuts to maternity jobs in the health system;Maddy Croad’s scoop via The Press-$ this morning on funding cuts for Christchurch’s biggest food rescue charity;Benedict Collins’ scoop last night via 1News on a last-minute ...3 hours ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #51
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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 ...23 hours ago - Government Forces Universities to Enforce “Free Speech” While Limiting Universities̵...
ACT would like to dictate what universities can and can’t say. We knew it was coming. It was outlined in the coalition agreement and has become part of Seymour’s strategy of “emphasising public funding” to prevent people from opposing him and his views—something he also uses to try and de-platform ...23 hours ago - Fact brief – Are we heading into an ‘ice age’?
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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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In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...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
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...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
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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
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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. ...6 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. ...6 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. ...7 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
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Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.” Captain G. M. Gilbert, the Army psychologist , Nuremberg trails
Trump lacks empathy.
So did Obama’s drones and this country’s far right wing extremists when it comes to child poverty and homelessness.
yes dear.
No yes dear about it.
It’s been repeated many times here before – and obviously it still needs repeating. whataboutism is not a valid form of argument
Saying Obama “this”, and neoliberalism “that” does not make the atrocity that is currently happening on the US border with Mexico any less evil.
Thank you.
So whataboutism is now an excuses to give Obama a free pass. Joy.
It’s bad what happening on the Mexico border, but it’s the extension of previous policies. This is not a radical departure from previous policy of Obama, nor Bush. It’s implementation has a whole callous aspect to it, but that the thing with liberalism, it has a callousness to it which many on the left just chose to ignore.
It is NOT and extension of previous policy, and you saying it is doesn’t make that true.
You might like to read a little around this matter before you go making such slanderous and untruthful statements.
+ 1 yep it seems any goduseless reason to not concentrate on the children suffering now is good enough for some. Sad.
Who is doing what you saying marty mars, or is this more of your just making up shit, approach to a topic?
So aggressive you are – better watch your blood pressure their bub. Figure it out Einstein.
All I’ve been able to figure out is you making up shit again. I see you going to avoid the issue, how very Gosman of you.
What about the children and families adam – when are you going to talk about them? I think it is shocking and Trump and his lowly supporters should be ashamed. I also think that those who want to talk about other shit should start a thread – geddit now? Or do you want to fixate on some thing other than the suffering children and families forcibly being seperated.
Maybe you missed it, what is happening at the Mexico border is bad. And yes, children being seperated from parents is pure evil, I didn’t say I supported it, like you want to say I did. Your ‘making shit up’ argument rolls into town again.
What I did say, is Obama, and Bush were running with some bloody anti-human being immigration policy, and this is just more of the same, with a callous face. Funny none of that does miss the point, indeed it helps inform people how we got here.
But if you wanna go down the road, Oh it’s bad now trump did it, I can’t be bothered, either you face up to the fact the ruling elites hate working people and the poor, or not. Personally I want to see more humanity all round. But probably asking to much from liberalisms sycophants though.
Yeah well your ‘continuation’ line has as much cred as right wing claims, re ‘child crisis actor’s lines, to me – as in none.
Well maybe you might want to get your head out of the sand, and do some reading on US immigration policy for the last 20-50 years.
Try here for a start, it gets worse when you look at the amendments to the core act.
https://www.diazshafer.com/how-immigration-has-change-last-20-years
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/immigration-reform-obama-reagan-mccain-rubio-2013-2?r=US&IR=T
The US and many so called democracies have been turning into right nasty buggers when it comes to immigration. But if you want to bury your head in the sand about this issue and not want to have a look at the bigger picture, then feel free to run with what even line it is you think is better. It seems to me, you have your mind already made up, and lies and bs accusations is all you have.
Yeah anything to NOT talk about the children and families – just Obama bashing – spose it’s better than the Clinton litany. I think you are just a bully. Fundamentally a bully you are imo.
You got nothing, so it’s name calling and personal attacks.
Calling this attack on children callous is not enough for you. Trying to find out how we got here to this evil situation, is bullying
So unless I’m goose stepping to your take on issue, I’m fundamentally a bully. If i’m not worshipping the right leader, I’m fundamentally a bully. If I think we need to look at issue in contect, I’m fundamentally a bully.
Let me know when your not channeling your inner 2 year old, and we will have a discussion about this heinous situation, how we got here as a society, and how we can get out of it.
In the meantime, see you next tuesday.
Cheers – thanks for proving my point adam.
cheers – thanks for proving my point adam.
There comes a point when the excuses made by the alt.left for the alt.right become effectively identical to the excuses used by the alt.right for themselves and serve the same result.
One of the reasons why I can’t be arsed with The Standard much these days. That and the persistent misogyny – see A’s use of feminine identity as an insult, as per his usual habit.
yep rhino I agree
it really saddens me to see the infiltration of bogus bullshitters but I spose that is the way it works – and we can chose to participate or not – for me I’ve taken 6 months off and really see hardly any point in making the effort anymore especially with weka gone.
but there are some good, even great, people here and I really cannot tolerate bullys so we’ll see how it all goes.
Adam. Trying to wash reason over the shores of faith? It’s not a happening thing.
Trump and his policies came and come from nowhere. They are not based on anything or built from anything.
And looking beyond the borders of the US, dead people washing up on the shores of Europe, or refugee camps being burned to the ground in western Europe…these things, though they happen, don’t and didn’t really happen (oh, there was some acceptably fashionable wringing of hands for a few weeks after photographs of Alan Kurdi were circulated) but no-one really gives a toss beyond a head shake and a tut for what happens to “them” in general.
But give us a Trump – provide permission and a figure to hate. Then the victims become visible, if but for a moment in the peripheries of that lens.
Obama, like Kennedy, will be somewhat mythologised by latter day liberal zealots, and Trump’s role in that (Trump the aberration, Trump the non-continuity) is merely as the foil to contrast the mythological goodness of what came before.
0
Really, me thinks you should read the policy under Bush and Co. Did you miss the 2006 Secure Fence Act?
Yeah Trump is the problem, not liberalism as a fubar ideology.
Macro, it is an extension of previous policy
https://twitter.com/ImmCivilRights/status/1008902662828511232
and you saying it is not doesn’t make that true.
You might like to read a little around this matter etc etc etc
Do you still have your notes from when you were a student of logic and philosophy and all the things?
I’d go back and read them.
No it is not!
Here is a simple explanation for you:
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/19/17475326/family-separation-border-patrol-visual-explainer
No where in the previous policy were children separated from their parents.
Railing against Obama helps now how exactly addy?
Because these things don’t happen in a vacuum, no matter how much people spin.
Also I don’t worship leaders, even if the nominally on the left.
But it may demonstrate selectivity.
Up to you , … just my thoughts on some of the inconsistencies around. And we also do not want an echo chamber /one way train of thought either.
True , the situation needs to be handled a lot better , but I wonder if there is a disconnect by those on the ground and those implementing policy , which tragically , translates to a not so very nice situation such as the one mentioned.
And that really is my point.
The situation is that people escaping from violence in countries such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, and elsewhere are seeking asylum in the US which is one of the main signatories of the UNHCR.
http://www.unhcr.org/en-au/news/press/2018/6/5b27fea84/unhcr-urges-family-unity-southern-border.html
At present there are reports that up to 11,500 children have been separated in recent times from their parents in an unconscionable manner.
https://www.vox.com/2018/6/18/17475292/family-separation-border-immigration-policy-trump
This is purely the result of a deliberate policy by Trump and his cohorts to to for the Democrats into giving financial consent to build his stupid border wall.
And I happen to think that those people should stand up for themselves rather than expect other people to give them a good life. If they banded together it really wouldn’t take much to stop the shit happening.
You forgot the sarc tag Draco.
Persons from Honduras make up the majority of those seeking asylum (ie Refugees) in the US.
https://www.hrw.org/americas/honduras
No I didn’t. If those people want a better life then they should stand up for themselves, band together and make it happen where they are and not give in to the corrupt.
That sounds like a RWN and “taking personal responsibility” type of argument to me. Do you not think that some have already tried that?
It’s heart breaking to hear the stories of those who flee.
Here is the story of a nurse who was forced to flee from Honduras There are thousands of stories like this, and they are heard by immigration and refugee authorities daily around the world. My daughter worked at the Mangere Refugee centre and in Immigration assessing the stories of Asylum seekers who arrived in NZ. It was a traumatising job. But each one of these stories is carefully checked for accuracy before any decision is made on granting Refugee status.
It’s even more heartbreaking to hear that those travelling with children are being separated from them on entering the US because Trump wants to build a stupid wall. As a deterrent this inhumane policy has had no effect whatsoever. The number of arrivals has increased by 5% since its implementation.
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/18/politics/family-separation-deterrence-dhs/index.html
You really do sound like Hosking or Trump, Draco. Next you’ll be suggesting refugees be trained, armed and returned from whence they came.
People flee to preserve their lives and the lives of their families. “Not give in to the corrupt” is easy to type when you’re not in the clutches of the corrupt. Not so much when you have a child to feed and a gun to your head.
There’s a reason people resisting the nazis or other gangsters are called heroes. It’s because many of them are dead.
Of course it’s a ‘valid form of argument’…
only to a fool.
A fool believes they decide what constitutes validity of ‘debate/argument’…
No matter how many senior managers parrot the ‘whataboutism’ line changes nothing…
ALL arguments are valid…that you don’t like it or disagree is nothing other than your inability to grasp a simple concept…
Senior Manager
Thank you for proving my case so convincingly
Macro, we’ve had these conversations before…
Again it seems you falter with elementary level understandings…
Just because you or anyone else disagrees with a tabled argument or debate angle….does not invalidate that argument or debate angle…
All are valid…think it through senior manager…
Edit: Example…Your arguments are lacking in basic logic for the most part…but your arguments are as valid as any other…
I’m sorry One Two but it seems you wouldn’t know what a valid argument was if you fell over one.
There are such things as logical fallacies. You might like to read about them sometime.
Failing to argue in a logical manner can often lead to an unsound conclusion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallacy
“Whataboutism” is a type of logical fallacy that falls under the category of Tu quoque, or the appeal to hypocrisy. It is an informal fallacy in that it intends to discredit a position or circumstance by asserting the opponent’s failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusion(s).
I majored in logic, philosophy, and mathematics, and have taught logic for baccalaureate.
To be clear, is this the same as the well-known Labour-did-it-too ‘argument’?
Yeah you’ve made the claim about your credentials previously, and again they don’t stack up against the comments you’re making here…
Claiming ‘whaboutism’ is a form of censorship and dismissive of the VALID argument Adam made…
Certainly there are topics in which you are strong on, however there are some gaping holes in your self proclaimed ‘areas of expertise’…
Spruiking yourself tells me you lack belief in your own position…appealing to ‘self authority’ is weak…
All arguments are valid, macro…the same way all human beings and their opinions are valid…
Nobody is above that!
I think Katipo’s point is that this has been happening in various shapes and forms going back over the last 300 years or so, in the USA. This reallty, truly is par for the course.
Whilst the US is hardly a bastion of humanitarian rights – It’s history of near annihilation of native americans, slavery, antagonistic laws wrt to workers rights, slowness in introducing women’s suffrage, poor public health, constant bias against LGBT, abortion, and underlying racial bias, to name just a few social ills – this is a new low in inhumanity and has caused outrage across all sectors of US society. All 4 living past First ladies have condemned the practice. Melania Trump, meanwhile, placed the blame on “both sides,” saying that she “hates to see children separated from their families and hopes both sides of the aisle can finally come together. Hardly a ringing endorsement of her husbands policy. “The churches including those who supported in the past Trump have expressed their concern that this policy is evil; and the both sides of the house disapprove. 56% of Americans oppose the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy of separating undocumented children from their parents. 27% of respondents, meanwhile, said they agreed with the policy.
If you need a laugh.
Brilliant.
Part 2 is also out.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h9WbiRv80f8
Thompson and Clark used SIS contact to get contracts
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018650018/nicky-hager-sis-relationship-with-thompson-and-clark-shocking
From the link:
So, an unscrupulous manager decided he wanted to spy on an employee or group of employees, so he calls upon an unscrupulous SIS operative who jacks up the equally unscrupulous Thompson and Clark to do the job?
This smells of rotten fish to me.