Duterte’s people signalled before APEC that he’d be coming to NZ so there’s certainly a sanctioning of the visit gone on, by McCully I presume – he’s that stupid.
I’d be interested how you intend to defend John Key’s government hosting Duterte and paying for his visit with our money…
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m just an ordinary punter and don’t know too much about the Hong Kong situation. What I do know is that Blinglish cancelled his meeting with Anson and Lee at 11:00pm the night before after being pressured by Beijing. The same Beijing which doesn’t allow its 1 Billion plus citizens the right to vote.
However you used Martin Lee and Anson Chan as way to somehow illustrate the current govt were ignoring ‘democracy seekers’ while “sucking up” to Durterte, who in your opinion is a [what]?
Then you say you don’t know much about the HK ‘situation’, yet you had used it anyway..
The HK ‘situation’ and primary actors are likely not what they sell themselves as
As far as I’m aware Anson and Lee haven’t carried out extra-judicial killings, and commanded a megalomaniacal breakdown in justice, in the name of a war on drugs like Duterte has.
Perhaps you have more information on this than I do?
Here’s a piece on Duterte, who you didn’t like me referring to when I contrasted the way the current government treated him and Anson and Lee.
In it he talks of admiring New Zealanders for following the law, which is surprising because he does not.
Without elaborating much you claimed dark forces were behind Anson and Lee and Blinglish presumably was warranted in snubbing them at the request of the Chinese Embassy.
I know about as much of Phillipines history as I do Hong Kong’s, but I know a bit and was interested in Duterte’s backers – the family of the late, brutal, and overthrown former president Ferdinand Marcos.
I do hope you will let the forum know what similar dark forces are behind Anson and Lee.
You asked what my opinion of Duterte was and I think he’s a dangerous man who will do a lot of damage to his country before being overthrown by popular uprising.
Yep all the dictators have been wonderful people, very misunderstood – sure they were selfish small handed idiots but hey at least they patted dogs and made the trains run on time //sarc
some actually believe that and guess what? They ain’t from the LEFT.
One day back, one more day of divisive misdirection and predictable antagonism.
I appreciate the notion of a melting pot of ideas and conversation, but clearly the situation with CV has reached an impasse and there can be no positive outcome. Someone has to make the call and stick by it. [deleted] is now just a troll, offering nothing but disunity and loaded, fractured soundbites, with even a moderator openly criticizing the exporting of ” lazily embraced ‘vile’” as a modus operandi.
Someone, for sanity’s sake, make the fucking call. Either CV goes forever or you ban every one else. There is no third way here. The way I see it, these are the only choices.
Fingers crossed for the sake of the site and it’s diminishing reputation the call gets made either way. This is nuts at the best of times, and suicide leading up to an election
Nothing to do with party lines, it’s all about why you are here and what you hope to achieve by doing so, and CV clearly has nothing to offer anyone but the shittiest end of the ugly stick. You feel free to dab yourself with it, but I’m expecting, hoping, someone somewhere will take the long term view and be brave in making the correct decision.
The half dozen suck ups and sycophants will just have to suck it up, get with the program or take the righteous way and fall on their +100 fuckwit swords.
You can lick and slurp ’til your hearts content, but it doesn’t mean I’m not 100% spot on.
All it really shows is your lips are accustomed to kissing that which I keep under wraps. 😀
hi peter, unless i have missed something, i haven’t seen you author a post.
do you do behind the scenes work?
do you contribute meaningfully, beyond commenting?
i get you may not like what cv posts, however that ain’t good enough for you to get your wish of a ban.
offence is only ever offered, it is up to you to accept it or not.
i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.
perhaps we all follow recent urgings and be a little kinder to each other.
The irony there is that while CV himself has authored posts (and done that well in the not-recent past), this year he has been one of the biggest net drains on the site. Rather than helping do the behind the scenes work, he’s been on various crusades of his own making that have not only obviously disrupted the front end, but have resulted in people leaving, created a huge amount of stress for the other authors, and created a large amount of extra work for moderators (which equates to posts not written).
As someone who writes posts, is active in the behind the scenes work and who has done the bulk of the moderating in the past month, I can state categorically that CV has a large negative influence on what happens here and that I am now at the point of seriously wondering wtf we are even doing here. More and more I see this as the point of what CV is doing.
This is not about not ‘liking’ what someone posts. Nor is it about taking offence. It’s about to what degree a community or website remains viable in the presence of someone who is hellbent on ignoring the wellbeing of the place and instead is incessantly destructive. Here I am talking about behaviour, although obviously CV’s recent politics contribute to that. I’ve been in enough groups (online and offline) to recognise what is going on here, the dynamics at play, and it’s a cluster fuck. Yes, the site will carry on (unless Lynn gets sick of the drama and pulls the plug), but it won’t be the vibrant, intellectually stimulating, progressive place it could be. Worse, it may well end up contributing to the demise of the left.
And yes, there is the huge problem of having had an author promote fascism on this site. Now that CV’s authoring rights have been dropped to Contributor (his posts will be vetted, but I don’t know by who), it leaves us with a complex problem in that people are actively avoiding the site because it is now perceived as supporting not robust debate but alt-right ideology, and see the same person is still spamming the site with his proto-fascist views. Why would progressives and lefties want to be here? Why would we want to write? Why would be try and get new authors or moderators?
Look at how many posts going up at the moment are Notices and Features. Look at who is not writing. Look at which commenters are no longer here. What do you think is going to happen here next year in the lead up to the election? It’s a hard enough place to be at the best of times. Currently I see it as untenable for many, and while I will continue to be an author I am seriously considering whether there is any point in putting effort into the running of the site when at the same time it’s being destroyed. No single person is worth that.
Note: Response to Weka but is not aimed at you specifically where it could be read as such…this is a general observation sent to you as a moderator
Without knowing the levels of awareness or content involved in backend conversation it’s not possible to gauge the veracity of your comment
If the drip drip of perception forming tid bits is going to continue to filter into the front end then there is unlikely to be ‘improvement’ and will continue to read like personal vendettas all round
I see no problem with CVs commentary, it is ‘no better or worse’ than any other here, yet in recent times has attracted a shameful amount of abuse from multiple handles, which have veered into negative relms far surpassing claims of CV being ‘responsible’ for degrading and denerating the site
The forked tongues and hypocrisy have stooped to levels which should have been contained instead of tacitly encouraged and cheered on (by the general audience)
Is there a way the back end opinions can be translated into appropriate front end response by way of enabling CV to share and clarify his position? I don’t see why he should need to, but as he has become such a ‘targetted focus’ on the blog, it seems like he should be given that option (if not already offered)
There are only a small number of outcomes and solutions available, and the current approach is blatantly not working, because the drip drip is still active and the insults are still flying in a unilateral direction (overwhelmingly) by commentators
like a few others here, i haven’t read anything too outrageous written by cv. sure i get that others have been mightily upset, i also think a lot of those were looking for upset.
t.b.h. many times i read a lot of provocation, which i don’t think was meritted.
in respect to front/back end goings-on, i have to plead ignorance and just once again thank-you for your labours.
this ‘cv scenario’ typifies for me a big problem for the left.
you and i, i assume, would stand shoulder to shoulder on many issues, however bring up cats and the protection of native birds, geckos, skinks etc and we would be on opposite sides of the battle lines.
rather than focus on where we are divided, what are our common causes, how do we bring change?, when do we bring change?
i enjoy having my beliefs, attitudes and opinions challenged, some of the rwnj can do this but not many.
the bigger threat to this site is having a homogenised, centre-left only dialogue occuring.
once again, thanks for your mahi, when not off grid, i am here most days.
“i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.”
Two things. One is that most authors probably agree with Peter’s assessment. Certainly in the backend most authors see CV as a huge problem.
Two, it’s fine to talk about the site and how people want it to be. Yes, there is a line re not telling authors what to do, or how the site should be run, but personally I welcome people talking about what the problems are, because that’s how we know.
I agree with your assessment above and appreciate there are now many here with a finger on the pulse of the CV situation and what it could mean long term for the standard.
It saddens me to say it but here’s my penny’s worth:
I have come to the conclusion that CV is deliberately trying to destroy this site. Once upon a time I held him in high regard but in recent times he has lost much of his credibility. A lot of regulars seem to have walked in the past six months or so, and it includes some of our best contributors. I refer to people like Pascal’s bookie, Felix, Gobsmacked and Puddleglum. BLiP is also conspicuous by his absence. It doesn’t follow they have all dropped out because of CV, but the very negative atmosphere that has been created is (imo) taking its toll.
All this butt hurt is irrelevant because Trump fucken won. That means every one failed. Short term winners will be short bond sellers, medium term manufacturing, long term those that can dominate the content wars will be the owners of the new world.
Thatcherism is official dead now that the 30 year bond which neoliberalism was financed on, has exploded.
Keep up love. It’s a brave new world. The factories are coming
You do realise that your comment was completely irrelevant to what Anne actually wrote? Did you mean to reply to another comment, maybe?
clue: the comment was about the the recent nature of TS (especially CV’s contributions) and the corresponding disappearance of long term contributors, and had nothing to do with trump.
The meme wars are over because trump won. Stop trying to breath life into a dead corps. Every one but the 50 million Americans got it all wrong, every ones well laid out globalism plans have been smashed. It’s no wonder people are hiding from this market, you just have to live and learn my boy
Go outside.
Look up.
If it’s a clear day, with very few clouds, you might see a small speck far up in the sky.
That’s the point going way over your head because you still seem to think the conversation is about Trump.
Back to the conversation. What Trump has done is pushed the left back over to the left. We use to say trade is bad, Trump literally destroyed the old rulz based idea of global trade. Another traditional left idea Trump took off the left is anti war, by anti war I mean anti Russian sentiment no longer exists. So the left is getting pushed over to issues of identity ie sexual behaviour, Trans/gay, workers rights as opposed to worker subsidies.
You just have to have a good honest look at the state of things my boy, rather than trying to deny the existance of trump.
I have a certain morbid fascination with just what depths CV will plumb – he’s currently writing off extrajudicial killings along the lines of some sort of cultural relativism, in a couple of years will he be excusing concentration camps or nuclear war?
Lord, save us from everyone who thinks they receive personal messages from the universe…
He’s a gone burger. A flame grilled whopper with extra cheese. Tasty, but full of nasty sh1t hidden on the inside.
When the pickle is the sweetener, it shows how bad it’s got.
A Muck nasty with sweet and sour sauce, hold the sweet. lol
Is that the best you can muster now Peter Swift? Gawd I hope Labour has a better chance next year. But I don’t think so. 4 to 1 against, verging on a guaranteed GR2020.
Intellectually moribund disguised as clever and witty. Just like you.
I hope CV sticks around to keep things lively. He’s a lot smarter than the predictable RW trolls, I will go to sleep if this place becomes an echo chamber like TDB or boringly mediocre like PublicAddress
Peter Swift – what do you want this site to be? An echo chamber for the neolib National lite Party? Surely we need the variety of ideas and opinions to flourish and not be stomped on? If you are going to ban CV why not ban the likes of Peter George and PR?
I don’t know if it’s deliberate, but you’re ignoring what’s being written. It’s a diversion tactic, but never mind, I have it covered.
Simple reply is that it’s not about what I want the site to be, but rather what it already is. CV offers nothing with his contributions, unless getting a reaction is the goal, in which case my view of him being nothing more than a troll figure is accurate enough.
I don’t take your point about echo chambers, especially about the neo lib lite party, especially when you’re supporting someone who is self proclaimed non left, so don’t make me laugh, slogan boy.
As for banning, the way I look at it is that it will happen sooner or later. There’s been enough negative examples to expose the trend. I say just bite the bullet and put us out of his misery.
And the funny thing about your last point is that PR is much less offensive to read that [deleted] is, and when the right wing trolls make less of an impact than he does, it’s sort of highlighting the narrative for us all.
[please don’t use someone’s RL name here if they themselves don’t. That’s a general principle designed to protect us all. If you have instances of behaviour or posts that definitely need a moderator’s attention, drop a note in front of an author/moderator. thanks – weka]
Sorry, I disagree. The rightwing trolls are more of a problem here than CV .Sure CV has ramped things up a lot, but that is mainly because of deliberate baiting. He used to be a real breath of fresh air, however I take your point of him heading into a ban if he doesn’t cool it considerably. Thanks for replying Peter.
@Weka I wouldn’t have used his name, wouldn’t have even known it, if he hadn’t have shared it with us all in the first place, but sure, I’ll put his genie back in the bottle and won’t ever do it again.
[deleted]
[he is posting under a pseudonym and that needs to be respected, not least because none of us can know the reasons for that at any given time – some pseudonyms aren’t absolutely private, but people still have a right to them. Otherwise anyone with a pseudonym becomes fair game. This isn’t about CV, it’s about the general principle as I already said. – weka]
Peter Swift – you apparently cannot stomach anything written by Chris Trotter, and now CV is in the same category? What is it about your nature that makes it so Stalinist?
I agree with Garibaldi that PR, Chuck, James, etc are a far worse distraction to debate on this site.
Just about any time Trotter posts on Daily Blog, you take to him with a cleaver. Not here on the Standard – but you have impressed me as a Lefty with a mind so narrow it could pass through the eye of a needle.
(You may make it to heaven!)
I request you link to those cleaver comments please. I’ve made less that a handful of comments there over the years, and from memory, none about Trotter and more importantly none under this handle.
Shouldn’t be as hard to do as the apology I’m expecting you’ll have to make.
You are right- on checking those TDB posts, I find that the guy I objected to was a Peter Wheeler, not you at all. Apology freely given – I must make doubly sure about surnames in future. This may increase your chances of getting to heaven..
Well yeah, obviously, but even so, it’s in the standard archive and all. It’s hardly a a secret, especially when posted by the person in question in the first place.
But I’m not questioning the ruling. Voldermort it is from now on. lol
Yes God forbid people post something peter swift disagrees with. All deserting post and comments must be purged to make the standard a safe place for him.
With that or ban every other person.
Really there is no possible option that you just ignore what you don’t like? Or perhaps attack his argument as opposed to the person.
Also – isn’t there some rule about naming people on this blog – I understand he is known by many – but is it right to put his name into this ??
You gotta admire the guy’s use of adjectives. Think he must’ve just started a creative writing course, or perhaps he’s just finished one. Either way it’s pretty damn funny.
What’s with you three monkeys? Up thread you have a moderator clearly outlining the present troubles on this site, writing about boycotts, contributors not submitting topics and you post like the stereotypical don’t see, hear or speak trio. And I’m having my capabilities questioned 🙄
We’re so lucky to have such astute chumps like you around to save the day lol
is CV really as annoying / destructive to this community as someone like the despicable dirty politics merchant Matthew Hooten? Or a boring threadjacker like Pete George?
CV obviously has issues with the current form of the political Left, his criticism can be cutting, but I haven’t seen him personally attack anyone, or indulge in Hooten like trolling.
Yes, he’s quite the spoiler, and by the looks of it, an increasing number of people view him not only as an agenda driven malcontent on a revenge mission, but a genuine threat to the long term well being and effectiveness of the standard.
That makes him much worse than a tory tool and a silly old man.
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A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...
Million-dollar start to gun collection eventsPolice Minister Stuart Nash says a solid start has been made to the gun buyback and amnesty after the first weekend of community collection events. “Gun owners will walk away with more than ...
Police Minister Stuart Nash has praised Police and gun owners after the first firearms collection event saw a busy turnout at Riccarton Racecourse in Christchurch. “Police officers and staff have put a tremendous effort into planning and logistics for the ...
Seventy-eight new Police constables are heading out to the regions following today’s graduation of a new recruit wing from the Royal New Zealand Police College. Police Minister Stuart Nash says the record high number of new Police officers being recruited, ...
A new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...
Hundreds of whanau and Maori leaders gathered at a hui in Mangere last weekend where they voted unanimously for an inquiry into Oranga Tamariki. The historic meeting called for a child welfare framework to be developed by Maori, for Maori. ...
The Head of the New Zealand Maori Council has called for the Government to hold an immediate investigation into the global cosmetics company Sephora after they were caught dumping waste hundreds and thousands of waste paper products embedded with ...
Simon Shepherd: The government says its agreement with farmers, that they should pay for agricultural emissions, is historic. But there's no agreement on how. One proposal says farmers should pay a 5 per cent emissions tax. Another suggests farmers ...
The O’Brien Institute for Public Health at Calgary University has just released their report on fluoridation. This institute has, up to now, been staunchly in favour of fluoridation. However, yesterday, with regards to fluoride’s effect on the brain, ...
July 19 (BusinessDesk) - The government is looking to tighten control and impose harsher penalties after the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak revealed cracks in the country's stock management system. ...
Kia Anga Mua Ngā Hapū o Ngāpuhi (KAM) has reached a pivotal milestone following a hui yesterday at Waitangi with the Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Government spent $133,530 on producing its ‘Wellbeing Budget’ document, a cost blowout largely driven by spending on graphic design and photography. The $133,530 price tag compares to $86,268 ...
Kahungunu Māori Language Awards. Nominations closed on 5 July 2019, and were judged by the Senior Management Team of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated. The judges wish to acknowledge the very high calibre of all nominations received making it a very ...
High Court of Australia Judge, Justice Stephen Gageler, will address recent criticism of court judgment delays in Australia, at the University of Canterbury (UC) on 23 July at 6.15pm. ...
This summary is provided to assist in the understanding of the Inquiry’s proceedings but does not constitute the official record. The full Minute is available at the link below. ...
The Tertiary Education Commission is laying charges under section 292A of the Education Act 1989 against three individuals for making a false representation for the purpose of receiving, or continuing to receive, free tertiary education from a tertiary education ...
New Zealand food businesses today welcomed a trio of new food safety tools, designed to make it faster, easier and more affordable to follow the rules and keep consumers safe. ...
AUT research shows that Māori children are almost four times more likely than those of European descent to be placed out of home by child protection services ...
The Government announced today that grants of up to $2,500 for energy efficient heaters are now available as part of the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. ...
Fonterra’s use of coal has been the target of numerous grassroots campaigns in recent years. Last year 350 Aotearoa affiliated groups, Fossil Free Aoraki and 350 Nelson launched a petition dismissing the dairy giant’s initial target of no new ...
Information sessions on proposals for The Medicinal Cannabis Scheme take place in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over the next fortnight. The sessions are open to anyone with an interest in learning more about the proposed scheme. ...
“Our children are our most vulnerable, most innocent victims and we do not want to see any more children harmed by these ‘known sex offenders’. The safety of our community must be the paramount consideration.” ...
“The announcement that Fonterra will immediately stop installing any new coal boilers or increasing capacity to burn coal is the signal that the biomass fuel supply industry welcomes” said Brian Cox, Executive Officer of the Bioenergy Association. ...
18 July 2019-- Coal Action Network Aotearoa (CANA) today welcomed Fonterra’s commitment to build no new coal plants, a “no brainer” for the climate crisis the world faces. The group has been urging this transition for six years now and ...
The increase in demand for cage-free eggs is set to continue according to animal rights organisation SAFE, who says the egg industry should expect this and prepare. ...
Wellington, New Zealand – 350 Pacific made a formal submission to the New Zealand Government’s Environment Parliamentary Select Committee on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill, led by the Pacific Climate Warriors (PCWs) based in ...
There used to be a school of thought on the centre right side of politics that the best way to neuter the Greens as a political force would be to let them have a spell in government. Then, according to ...
Today (18 July) is Nelson Mandela International Day when the United Nations highlights the importance of humane conditions of imprisonment. In New Zealand our prisons are overcrowded and understaffed. At 214 prisoners per 100,000 people, we have the fifth ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa will take legal action over the lengthy delay in implementing pay increases for teachers. Novopay announced yesterday that teachers would have to wait until 11 September to see pay increases that they won when they settled ...
EDS has filed its submission on the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill. The Bill sets targets for greenhouse gas reductions, provides for the government to set a series of carbon budgets, and sets up a new, independent, Climate ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has identified an absurd case of mission creep at Wellington City Council: the decision to spend $21,750 on two Consumer NZ investigations into different brands of bike lights. ...
The Motor Trade Association is welcoming the release of the Government’s new draft road safety strategy. MTA Chief Executive Craig Pomare says the association is pleased to see vehicle safety has been made a priority in the Road to Zero ...
The Department of Conservation continue to repeat the same old story about attacks on staff and how it is affecting their role in protecting our precious wildlife. NZ herald https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12249704 ...
The government's silence on the fact that the country's second-largest milk processor is on the brink of becoming 25% Chinese Government owned has been deafening. ...
School Strike 4 Climate NZ welcomes the coalition Government’s endeavour to take action on reducing agricultural emissions but is disappointed at the weak stance that the Government has taken on the issue. ...
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) has issued a formal warning under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (AML/CFT Act) to seven reporting entities within the Regus Management Limited (RNZML) designated business ...
The Northland Regional Council (NRC) has voted to exclude all GM/GE precautionary provisions in its regional plan, despite years of community engagement showing support for such protection. There is a sense of betrayal following the way the NRC Chairman ...
New Zealand’s ‘mission-driven’ charities working in international aid are showing early signs of changing the way they work, in particular prioritising building the capacity and resilience of local communities to do their own development. ...
Teachers will have to wait until 11 September for pay increases won as part of their collective agreement negotiations settled in June, according to an update sent to schools today from Novopay. ...
July 16 (BusinessDesk) - Energy Minister Megan Woods says the government “won’t die in a ditch” if its goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation isn't reached by 2035. ...
The Electricity Networks Association (ENA) is welcoming the Government’s response to the Interim Climate Change Committee (ICCC) Report released today. Graeme Peters, chief executive of the ENA, said one of the key recommendations, endorsed by the ...
An article* published this month in the Journal of Health Organization and Management raises questions over the way health board members are elected and whether the boards are even needed. ...
NZEI Te Riu Roa's kindergarten teacher members will vote on a proposed settlement to their collective agreement after four days of negotiations with the Ministry of Education and kindergarten employers. ...
Vector has today welcomed the ICCC’s report on Accelerated Electrification . Vector agrees that accelerating the electrification of transport and process heat will play a major role in reducing the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Initiatives to ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Porirua City Council to cancel its underwriting of a proposed Canadian-led privately owned adventure park slated for public land after a similar project created a huge liability for Christchurch ...
Youth climate change campaigners Generation Zero welcome the Interim Climate Change Committee’s (ICCC’s) reports: Accelerated Electrification and Action on agricultural emissions ; which were finally released by the Government today, almost three months ...
Fish & Game New Zealand notes the announcement today that the Government and the intensive agriculture leadership have reached a ‘historic consensus’ and are exploring using a formal sector-government agreement instead of bringing agriculture ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee’s report on Accelerated Electrification was released today by the Minister for Energy and Resources, Hon Dr Megan Woods. ...
The independent Interim Climate Change Committee’s report Action on agricultural emissions was released today by the Minister for Climate Change, Hon James Shaw and the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Damien O’Connor. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk New Zealand’s unprecedented “internet-native mass shooting” attack on two mosques, the New Caledonia independence referendum, Fiji’s general election and news media responses are featured in the latest Pacific Journalism Review being published next week. Analysis ...
Aldous Harding is coming back to New Zealand. In the lead-up to her shows, she spoke to The Spinoff about live TV, maturity, and the weirder interpretations of her songs.Aldous Harding is calling from her home in Wales. Only a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Flannery, Planetary Scientist, Queensland University of Technology This weekend marks 50 years exactly since humans first walked on the Moon. It also marks Australia’s small but significant role in enabling NASA ...
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Aaron Jones, founder of Christchurch-based reusable bag company Zerobag.First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Zerobag.Zerobag is a New Zealand-owned ...
Aaron Kreisler looks beyond the gags in this survey of an artist and his dogsat the Christchurch Art Gallery.“The dog really must love him, it’s so incredibly patient…”, a woman says to her daughter, punctuating a screening of Coin ...
‘He wants to sleep with you,’ a close friend had said. ‘Then you’ll be able to tell if it is going to lead anywhere’: a short story by New Plymouth author Elizabeth Smither. Photography by Peter Black. ...
Opinion - The leadership visits are more interesting in that they serve as a spotlight on the two countries - politically, and on policy issues, writes Brigette Morten. ...
Created by future ACT Party leader Richard Prebble after an epic reform bender in the 80s, NZ on Air has just marked its third decade. Duncan Greive relates its history and asks: is the funder still fit for purpose?It’s a ...
It helps that he played in the New Zealand cricket team when they lost the 1992 semi-final and went on to coach India, writes Georgie Wright, daughter of JohnMy dad has taught me a fair few things over my 25 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan – one with a reduced pace, despite the 24 ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and ...
Jacinda Ardern’s Melbourne trip wrapped up with nothing to show on longstanding trans-Tasman concerns, but was a potent reminder of her international appeal. ...
Pricing agricultural emissions first at the processor level - such as Fonterra - rather than right down at farm level stacks up as a gap measure says Catherine Leining. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Children and Technology, Western Sydney University Instagram is running a social media experiment in Australia and elsewhere to see what happens when it hides the number of likes on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Cross, Research Fellow, Curtin University Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter here, and suggest a plant we should cover at batb@theconversation.edu.au. Billabongs in the northern Kimberley are welcome ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sunanda Creagh, Head of Digital Storytelling You’ve probably heard that this week marks 50 years since humans first set foot on the Moon – a feat that still boggles the mind given ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Gentilin, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University As strange as it might sound, whistleblowers in Australia have reason to rejoice – so long as they are in the private sector. Thanks to new ...
The fourth season of Queer Eye drops today on Netflix. Sam Brooks reflects on his difficult relationship with the show, and where it sits in mainstream culture.For depressingly many people, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was an introduction not just to ...
The collapse of a multi-billion dollar deal to sell AMP's life insurance division to a British company for $3.6 billion is the fault of the companies, according to the Reserve Bank. ...
A poem by Miramar poet Geoff Cochrane.Channel HoppingStupa or Stuka?Weet-Bix or Welsh rabbit?Galactic aerodrome or Matchbox truck?*I’m young in my dreams, still young.*Beautiful Keanu’s wearing shades—antique shades with iodine-coloured lenses.*I’m young in my dreams, still young,and I still have some ...
For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week two.Read week one here.I’ll be honest, week two ...
By Royson Willie in Port Vila Two Vanuatu Daily Post journalists were literally given a pat-down by the police criminal investigation unit yesterday over a story they had written about the vehicle of the Chairman of the Public Service ...
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape will visit Australia this weekend for a week-long state visit and the Bougainville independence referendum in less than three months is expected to be high on ...
Tougher laws governing the movement of animals and harsher penalties for non-compliance are on the table under an overhaul of two key pieces of legislation. ...
Wtf did we just watch?That sound you heard was a million furries screaming in ecstasy as their fantasy and everyone else’s nightmare came to life in the form of the first trailer for the live action version of Cats.Is it ...
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 Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (Bloomsbury, $35)Fucking ...
Tougher laws governing the movement of animals and harsher penalties for non-compliance are on the table under an overhaul of two key pieces of legislation. ...
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary the July 20th Moon landing Dr Nick Long reflects on what that's meant for New Zealand and considers the space 'gold rush' ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Griebsch, Specialist and Senior Lecturer in Small Animal Medicine, University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Sydney, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney Recently reported cases of the often fatal bacterial infection ...
My selection of the eight best morning news links from here and overseas, along with eight lunchtime lean-back long reads. Also, the full list of links, including Jacinda Ardern's trip to Australia, the big emissions report, Fonterra's coal move and a new ...
Heaven is a place on earth, and June is saving the world one ’80s pop hit at a time. Tara Ward recaps season 4, episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale. Praise be, for there was a tiny bit of good news ...
Finance companies say they shouldn’t have to be ‘fit and proper’ even though in some cases they charge more than the planned clampdown on high cost lending. A group of finance companies that charges well over the government’s proposed cap on ...
An ANZ shareholder is demanding the bank disclose more information about the sale of an Auckland residential property to its former chief executive and his family. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s contentForeign Affairs and trade Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): The new, ...
Tara Ward sets out on a valiant quest to find the best apple in Aotearoa. The idea that every apple is a good apple is fake news. We’ve all got stories about shit experiences with apples, when it looked good on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Sarkissian, Operations Scientist, CSIRO The role Australia played in relaying the first television images of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the Moon 50 years ago this July features in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lyndal Sleep, Research Fellow, Griffith University In Australia’s social security laws, the “couple rule” is used to determine if a person is in a relationship, tying access to Centrelink payments to the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Walker, Lecturer (Management), Victoria University of Wellington We live in a society obsessed with performance. For both young and old, competitions, awards and rankings are an inescapable feature of life. How ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan O’Connell, Honorary Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne One-third of all preschools may lack a qualified teacher in the next four years if nothing changes, my new modelling shows. Currently, half of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsty Volz, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Of all the mantras for modernism, the one I think most befitting for Australian mid-century modern houses is L’esprit Nouveau – The New Spirit. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Skifield snowmaking a sign of the future, vaccination rates fall alarmingly, and construction industry encouraged to lower emissions.Snowmaking has saved the ski industry from disaster this year, after the weather ...
Daily Review 22/11/2016 
Much like Tuvalu, the manmade climate change Cult love to tell people the Maldives is almost totally underwater. In fact the dishonest Maldives Govt d on the same bandwagon, believing they would receive billions of dollars aid from other Countries ...2 hours ago
As the entry on Wikipedia shows (and no, one doesn’t necessarily have to regard Wikipedia as the be-all and end-all of truth, because it isn’t on a great many things, to agree with the following): “…a fallacious argument that concludes ...4 hours ago
by Daphna Whitmore The story of how the world awoke to a big injustice is starting to be told. The Pacific Games held this month in Samoa is another chapter. On the podium was Laurel Hubbard, the giant transgender weightlifter, ...12 hours ago
Our conversations and push against specific supremacist and ultra-Nationalist groups, and the pseudo-intellectual underpinnings of them, need to mature at all levels. But in doing so, it’s going to have to include a more thorough and brutally honest self-examination ...1 day ago
This week, in the wake of National's opposition to even talking about reducing agricultural emissions and Simon Bridges' refusal to recognise that there is a climate emergency, I've been saying that National is unfit to govern. And it looks like ...1 day ago
Something I missed: not only did Youth MPs declare a climate emergency; they also launched a campaign to lower the voting age to 16:Youth Parliament week in Parliament has seen the establishment of Make it 16, a campaign to ...1 day ago
I have been reading and listening to the aftermath of Trump’s comments about the four female first term Democratic representatives, all of whom are “people of color.” I found the US coverage interesting both as evidence of partisanship and the ...2 days ago
The proposed Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill treats biogenic methane emissions differently from all other carbon emissions. The latter are to be measured net so that emissions from fossil fuels can be offset by carbon stored in trees. ...3 days ago
by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh This article aims to answer a simple question, whether the conflict is only a rural one or whether it is also urban. The verb ‘to be’ is conjugated in the present tense as ,despite what some ...3 days ago
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On Sunday July 7, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter announced their intention to review the Ministry of Health’s Funded Family Care policy and repeal Part 4Aof the 2000 NZ Public Health and Disability Act. These are festering injustices ...4 days ago
Belle is a lovely fifteen year-old border collie who belongs to our friends and neighbours at Bryan’s Beach, Michael and Judy Corboy. Belle, in her old age, can hardly see or hear, but – as a constant participant at social ...5 days ago
An occasional series where I will ponder allegations of anti-Semitism directed at the British Labour Party and its members.In this case, we are thinking about an allegedly anti-Semitic image shared by a Labour Party member. Its origins appear to be ...1 week ago
2 weeks ago
2 weeks ago
Welcome to another heaping helping of research publications related to climate change drivers and mechanisms, the effects of climate change and how we might yet grope our way into systems approaches to dealing with the mess we're making, despite ourselves. ...3 weeks ago
The People's "Friend": In this masterpiece of revolutionary propaganda, the homicidal political psychopath, Jean-Paul Marat, has been transformed by Jacques-Louis David, the French Revolution's most accomplished artist, into a martyred hero of the ordinary people of Paris. Thanks to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, ...3 weeks ago
The principle of one person, one vote doesn’t apply for local elections. In fact, you don’t even need to be a person to have voting rights. Welcome to the ratepayer roll. While the ratepayer roll accounts for less than 1% ...3 weeks ago
Image Credit: Blog Writing Tips. I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the ... 3 weeks ago
A new digital platform aims to make it easier for small businesses to access services from multiple government agencies, leaving them more time to focus on their own priorities. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Small Business Stuart Nash ...5 days ago
A new website has launched in response to recent RNZ reporting about Police in Dunedin unlawfully entering people’s homes and breath-testing them. “I was disgusted when I saw what they cops were doing in Dunedin. Their behaviour undermines all of ...11 hours ago
The Government is ramping up policy and research work in the countdown to next year’s referendum on cannabis legalisation. ...2 hours ago
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk New Zealand’s unprecedented “internet-native mass shooting” attack on two mosques, the New Caledonia independence referendum, Fiji’s general election and news media responses are featured in the latest Pacific Journalism Review being published next week. Analysis ...9 hours ago
Aldous Harding is coming back to New Zealand. In the lead-up to her shows, she spoke to The Spinoff about live TV, maturity, and the weirder interpretations of her songs.Aldous Harding is calling from her home in Wales. Only a ...9 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Flannery, Planetary Scientist, Queensland University of Technology This weekend marks 50 years exactly since humans first walked on the Moon. It also marks Australia’s small but significant role in enabling NASA ...13 hours ago
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Aaron Jones, founder of Christchurch-based reusable bag company Zerobag.First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Zerobag.Zerobag is a New Zealand-owned ...13 hours ago
Aaron Kreisler looks beyond the gags in this survey of an artist and his dogs at the Christchurch Art Gallery.“The dog really must love him, it’s so incredibly patient…”, a woman says to her daughter, punctuating a screening of Coin ...17 hours ago
‘He wants to sleep with you,’ a close friend had said. ‘Then you’ll be able to tell if it is going to lead anywhere’: a short story by New Plymouth author Elizabeth Smither. Photography by Peter Black. ...17 hours ago
Opinion - The leadership visits are more interesting in that they serve as a spotlight on the two countries - politically, and on policy issues, writes Brigette Morten. ...18 hours ago
Created by future ACT Party leader Richard Prebble after an epic reform bender in the 80s, NZ on Air has just marked its third decade. Duncan Greive relates its history and asks: is the funder still fit for purpose?It’s a ...19 hours ago
It helps that he played in the New Zealand cricket team when they lost the 1992 semi-final and went on to coach India, writes Georgie Wright, daughter of JohnMy dad has taught me a fair few things over my 25 ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra [embedded content]University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini discusses the week in politics with Michelle Grattan – one with a reduced pace, despite the 24 ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cherie Hugo, Teaching Fellow, Nutrition & Dietetics, Bond University The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety this week turned its attention to food and nutrition. The testimony of maggots in ...1 day ago
Jacinda Ardern’s Melbourne trip wrapped up with nothing to show on longstanding trans-Tasman concerns, but was a potent reminder of her international appeal. ...1 day ago
Pricing agricultural emissions first at the processor level - such as Fonterra - rather than right down at farm level stacks up as a gap measure says Catherine Leining. ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Cross, Research Fellow, Curtin University Sign up to the Beating Around the Bush newsletter here, and suggest a plant we should cover at batb@theconversation.edu.au. Billabongs in the northern Kimberley are welcome ...1 day ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dennis Gentilin, Adjunct Fellow, Macquarie University As strange as it might sound, whistleblowers in Australia have reason to rejoice – so long as they are in the private sector. Thanks to new ...1 day ago
The fourth season of Queer Eye drops today on Netflix. Sam Brooks reflects on his difficult relationship with the show, and where it sits in mainstream culture.For depressingly many people, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy was an introduction not just to ...1 day ago
The collapse of a multi-billion dollar deal to sell AMP's life insurance division to a British company for $3.6 billion is the fault of the companies, according to the Reserve Bank. ...1 day ago
For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week two.Read week one here.I’ll be honest, week two ...1 day ago
By Royson Willie in Port Vila Two Vanuatu Daily Post journalists were literally given a pat-down by the police criminal investigation unit yesterday over a story they had written about the vehicle of the Chairman of the Public Service ...1 day ago
By Gorothy Kenneth in Port Moresby Papua New Guinean Prime Minister James Marape will visit Australia this weekend for a week-long state visit and the Bougainville independence referendum in less than three months is expected to be high on ...1 day ago
Tougher laws governing the movement of animals and harsher penalties for non-compliance are on the table under an overhaul of two key pieces of legislation. ...1 day ago
Wtf did we just watch?That sound you heard was a million furries screaming in ecstasy as their fantasy and everyone else’s nightmare came to life in the form of the first trailer for the live action version of Cats.Is it ...1 day ago
As we mark the fiftieth anniversary the July 20th Moon landing Dr Nick Long reflects on what that's meant for New Zealand and considers the space 'gold rush' ahead. ...1 day ago
My selection of the eight best morning news links from here and overseas, along with eight lunchtime lean-back long reads. Also, the full list of links, including Jacinda Ardern's trip to Australia, the big emissions report, Fonterra's coal move and a new ...2 days ago
John Banks' former lives, vegetable-based insults in Auckland's mayoral race and metaphorical cabbage - James Elliott has it all. ...2 days ago
Heaven is a place on earth, and June is saving the world one ’80s pop hit at a time. Tara Ward recaps season 4, episode 9 of The Handmaid’s Tale. Praise be, for there was a tiny bit of good news ...2 days ago
An ANZ shareholder is demanding the bank disclose more information about the sale of an Auckland residential property to its former chief executive and his family. ...2 days ago
Tara Ward sets out on a valiant quest to find the best apple in Aotearoa. The idea that every apple is a good apple is fake news. We’ve all got stories about shit experiences with apples, when it looked good on ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Megan O’Connell, Honorary Senior Fellow, University of Melbourne One-third of all preschools may lack a qualified teacher in the next four years if nothing changes, my new modelling shows. Currently, half of ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsty Volz, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Of all the mantras for modernism, the one I think most befitting for Australian mid-century modern houses is L’esprit Nouveau – The New Spirit. ...2 days ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Skifield snowmaking a sign of the future, vaccination rates fall alarmingly, and construction industry encouraged to lower emissions.Snowmaking has saved the ski industry from disaster this year, after the weather ...2 days ago
A former MP and shock jock says Queenstown council’s making excuses in seeking a 35-year approval for sewer overflows. ...2 days ago
Love the image
With respect, but I think today is the 22nd. Easily done though and I have done similar things many a time.
Jeepers, Culverden had another quake an hour ago, shout out to all those in Canterbury, thinking of you’s. Cool photo and text on DR, timing huh? Dang
Intensity severe
Region intensity strong
NZDT Tue, Nov 22 2016, 6:13:34 pm
Depth 7 km
Magnitude 5.7
Location 15 km south-east of Culverden
Wonder if they could extend the Kaikoura airfield runway to take say 20 seater aircraft?
Great image. Hope its okay that I copied it to share with some friends !
We never mind…
Ug, it gets worse. We are now paying to have Duterte stay here.
Where McCully comes from, Hitler would be charming.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11752972
Hitler was charming. How do you think he sucked so many people in? More so than McCully, I would think.
Can see why they are running to his hotel and sucking up to this guy yet won’t meet Hong Kong democracy leaders.
These idiots Key and McCully are strengthening Duterte’s megalomania by inviting him here. Perhaps Key admires him for his actions.
Invited him here ??? I call bullshit on that.
Making shit up again.
What, he turned up here unannounced and McCully just happened to drop by to see if he was ok? Righto.
Since we hard-working Kiwi taxpayers are paying for this monster’s buffet, I’m sure some half decent journalist will OIA the relevant information.
You said it as a statement of fact – you cannot because he wasn’t invited and you are just pushing a bullshit lie.
How about a citation on you claim – or admit your bullshit.
Calm down, petal. The information will come out eventually.
So nothing – nothing at all.
So you lied.
Jaysus, you are more naive than I thought.
Yeah – You posted a comment – it was a bullshit lie.
Yet you say “it will come out”, or someone could do an OIA and that will prove what you said was fact, without anything to prove it.
So my questioning unsubstainated comments presented as fact is “naive”
I think that your tin foil hat is a little tight.
We’ll see.
Duterte’s people signalled before APEC that he’d be coming to NZ so there’s certainly a sanctioning of the visit gone on, by McCully I presume – he’s that stupid.
I’d be interested how you intend to defend John Key’s government hosting Duterte and paying for his visit with our money…
Which Hong Kong ‘democracy leaders’ are you referring to?
Former colonial chief secretary Anson Chan and Democratic Party founder Martin Lee.
Martin Lee is linked with Joshua Wong and Benny Tai
Still they use the word ‘democracy’
Must be all above board then!
Not sure what you are getting at. I’m just an ordinary punter and don’t know too much about the Hong Kong situation. What I do know is that Blinglish cancelled his meeting with Anson and Lee at 11:00pm the night before after being pressured by Beijing. The same Beijing which doesn’t allow its 1 Billion plus citizens the right to vote.
Yes, sure
However you used Martin Lee and Anson Chan as way to somehow illustrate the current govt were ignoring ‘democracy seekers’ while “sucking up” to Durterte, who in your opinion is a [what]?
Then you say you don’t know much about the HK ‘situation’, yet you had used it anyway..
The HK ‘situation’ and primary actors are likely not what they sell themselves as
Funding sources are ‘well known’
As far as I’m aware Anson and Lee haven’t carried out extra-judicial killings, and commanded a megalomaniacal breakdown in justice, in the name of a war on drugs like Duterte has.
Perhaps you have more information on this than I do?
Here’s a piece on Duterte, who you didn’t like me referring to when I contrasted the way the current government treated him and Anson and Lee.
In it he talks of admiring New Zealanders for following the law, which is surprising because he does not.
Without elaborating much you claimed dark forces were behind Anson and Lee and Blinglish presumably was warranted in snubbing them at the request of the Chinese Embassy.
I know about as much of Phillipines history as I do Hong Kong’s, but I know a bit and was interested in Duterte’s backers – the family of the late, brutal, and overthrown former president Ferdinand Marcos.
I do hope you will let the forum know what similar dark forces are behind Anson and Lee.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11753819
You asked what my opinion of Duterte was and I think he’s a dangerous man who will do a lot of damage to his country before being overthrown by popular uprising.
In short he is Marcos 2.0.
Psychopaths are. Despite not understanding social relations they can fake them very well.
Yep all the dictators have been wonderful people, very misunderstood – sure they were selfish small handed idiots but hey at least they patted dogs and made the trains run on time //sarc
some actually believe that and guess what? They ain’t from the LEFT.
One day back, one more day of divisive misdirection and predictable antagonism.
I appreciate the notion of a melting pot of ideas and conversation, but clearly the situation with CV has reached an impasse and there can be no positive outcome. Someone has to make the call and stick by it.
[deleted] is now just a troll, offering nothing but disunity and loaded, fractured soundbites, with even a moderator openly criticizing the exporting of ” lazily embraced ‘vile’” as a modus operandi.
Someone, for sanity’s sake, make the fucking call. Either CV goes forever or you ban every one else. There is no third way here. The way I see it, these are the only choices.
Fingers crossed for the sake of the site and it’s diminishing reputation the call gets made either way. This is nuts at the best of times, and suicide leading up to an election
[see moderator note below]
You’ll be sure to mark clearly the party line that is to be toed? Wouldn’t want to get toes trodden on.
Nothing to do with party lines, it’s all about why you are here and what you hope to achieve by doing so, and CV clearly has nothing to offer anyone but the shittiest end of the ugly stick. You feel free to dab yourself with it, but I’m expecting, hoping, someone somewhere will take the long term view and be brave in making the correct decision.
The half dozen suck ups and sycophants will just have to suck it up, get with the program or take the righteous way and fall on their +100 fuckwit swords.
Meh, if you don’t like being here Peter Swift, just remember that you can frak off with your literary talent somewhere else.
Nah time for you to go not Peter.
As your comments appear to be tolerated…..
Example being the repetitive projection tactics you seem incapable of developing any further
A sure sign of an internet juvenile pushing a trolley of arrested development
Were you attempting to be ironic?
Leaving aside you have replied to the wrong comment…
Why are you here spouting nothing but vitriol to the same few commentators?
Clearly you have an axe to grind, which given your comment would make you a hypocrite
One of the very worst traits a human being can have!
You can lick and slurp ’til your hearts content, but it doesn’t mean I’m not 100% spot on.
All it really shows is your lips are accustomed to kissing that which I keep under wraps. 😀
I enjoy your posts. Keep them coming! (BTW, are you on P?)
Probably on E (ego trip)
hi peter, unless i have missed something, i haven’t seen you author a post.
do you do behind the scenes work?
do you contribute meaningfully, beyond commenting?
i get you may not like what cv posts, however that ain’t good enough for you to get your wish of a ban.
offence is only ever offered, it is up to you to accept it or not.
i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.
perhaps we all follow recent urgings and be a little kinder to each other.
The irony there is that while CV himself has authored posts (and done that well in the not-recent past), this year he has been one of the biggest net drains on the site. Rather than helping do the behind the scenes work, he’s been on various crusades of his own making that have not only obviously disrupted the front end, but have resulted in people leaving, created a huge amount of stress for the other authors, and created a large amount of extra work for moderators (which equates to posts not written).
As someone who writes posts, is active in the behind the scenes work and who has done the bulk of the moderating in the past month, I can state categorically that CV has a large negative influence on what happens here and that I am now at the point of seriously wondering wtf we are even doing here. More and more I see this as the point of what CV is doing.
This is not about not ‘liking’ what someone posts. Nor is it about taking offence. It’s about to what degree a community or website remains viable in the presence of someone who is hellbent on ignoring the wellbeing of the place and instead is incessantly destructive. Here I am talking about behaviour, although obviously CV’s recent politics contribute to that. I’ve been in enough groups (online and offline) to recognise what is going on here, the dynamics at play, and it’s a cluster fuck. Yes, the site will carry on (unless Lynn gets sick of the drama and pulls the plug), but it won’t be the vibrant, intellectually stimulating, progressive place it could be. Worse, it may well end up contributing to the demise of the left.
And yes, there is the huge problem of having had an author promote fascism on this site. Now that CV’s authoring rights have been dropped to Contributor (his posts will be vetted, but I don’t know by who), it leaves us with a complex problem in that people are actively avoiding the site because it is now perceived as supporting not robust debate but alt-right ideology, and see the same person is still spamming the site with his proto-fascist views. Why would progressives and lefties want to be here? Why would we want to write? Why would be try and get new authors or moderators?
Look at how many posts going up at the moment are Notices and Features. Look at who is not writing. Look at which commenters are no longer here. What do you think is going to happen here next year in the lead up to the election? It’s a hard enough place to be at the best of times. Currently I see it as untenable for many, and while I will continue to be an author I am seriously considering whether there is any point in putting effort into the running of the site when at the same time it’s being destroyed. No single person is worth that.
Kia kaha.
What marty said.
Note: Response to Weka but is not aimed at you specifically where it could be read as such…this is a general observation sent to you as a moderator
Without knowing the levels of awareness or content involved in backend conversation it’s not possible to gauge the veracity of your comment
If the drip drip of perception forming tid bits is going to continue to filter into the front end then there is unlikely to be ‘improvement’ and will continue to read like personal vendettas all round
I see no problem with CVs commentary, it is ‘no better or worse’ than any other here, yet in recent times has attracted a shameful amount of abuse from multiple handles, which have veered into negative relms far surpassing claims of CV being ‘responsible’ for degrading and denerating the site
The forked tongues and hypocrisy have stooped to levels which should have been contained instead of tacitly encouraged and cheered on (by the general audience)
Is there a way the back end opinions can be translated into appropriate front end response by way of enabling CV to share and clarify his position? I don’t see why he should need to, but as he has become such a ‘targetted focus’ on the blog, it seems like he should be given that option (if not already offered)
There are only a small number of outcomes and solutions available, and the current approach is blatantly not working, because the drip drip is still active and the insults are still flying in a unilateral direction (overwhelmingly) by commentators
hi weka, thanks for your considered response.
like a few others here, i haven’t read anything too outrageous written by cv. sure i get that others have been mightily upset, i also think a lot of those were looking for upset.
t.b.h. many times i read a lot of provocation, which i don’t think was meritted.
in respect to front/back end goings-on, i have to plead ignorance and just once again thank-you for your labours.
this ‘cv scenario’ typifies for me a big problem for the left.
you and i, i assume, would stand shoulder to shoulder on many issues, however bring up cats and the protection of native birds, geckos, skinks etc and we would be on opposite sides of the battle lines.
rather than focus on where we are divided, what are our common causes, how do we bring change?, when do we bring change?
i enjoy having my beliefs, attitudes and opinions challenged, some of the rwnj can do this but not many.
the bigger threat to this site is having a homogenised, centre-left only dialogue occuring.
once again, thanks for your mahi, when not off grid, i am here most days.
“i am surprised that there wasn’t a big metaphorical uppercut coming at you, with telling the moderators what to do, how to run the site and attacking an author.”
Two things. One is that most authors probably agree with Peter’s assessment. Certainly in the backend most authors see CV as a huge problem.
Two, it’s fine to talk about the site and how people want it to be. Yes, there is a line re not telling authors what to do, or how the site should be run, but personally I welcome people talking about what the problems are, because that’s how we know.
I agree with your assessment above and appreciate there are now many here with a finger on the pulse of the CV situation and what it could mean long term for the standard.
It saddens me to say it but here’s my penny’s worth:
I have come to the conclusion that CV is deliberately trying to destroy this site. Once upon a time I held him in high regard but in recent times he has lost much of his credibility. A lot of regulars seem to have walked in the past six months or so, and it includes some of our best contributors. I refer to people like Pascal’s bookie, Felix, Gobsmacked and Puddleglum. BLiP is also conspicuous by his absence. It doesn’t follow they have all dropped out because of CV, but the very negative atmosphere that has been created is (imo) taking its toll.
All this butt hurt is irrelevant because Trump fucken won. That means every one failed. Short term winners will be short bond sellers, medium term manufacturing, long term those that can dominate the content wars will be the owners of the new world.
Thatcherism is official dead now that the 30 year bond which neoliberalism was financed on, has exploded.
Keep up love. It’s a brave new world. The factories are coming
You do realise that your comment was completely irrelevant to what Anne actually wrote? Did you mean to reply to another comment, maybe?
clue: the comment was about the the recent nature of TS (especially CV’s contributions) and the corresponding disappearance of long term contributors, and had nothing to do with trump.
The meme wars are over because trump won. Stop trying to breath life into a dead corps. Every one but the 50 million Americans got it all wrong, every ones well laid out globalism plans have been smashed. It’s no wonder people are hiding from this market, you just have to live and learn my boy
Go outside.
Look up.
If it’s a clear day, with very few clouds, you might see a small speck far up in the sky.
That’s the point going way over your head because you still seem to think the conversation is about Trump.
Grow up boy
plank from your own eye, and all that
Back to the conversation. What Trump has done is pushed the left back over to the left. We use to say trade is bad, Trump literally destroyed the old rulz based idea of global trade. Another traditional left idea Trump took off the left is anti war, by anti war I mean anti Russian sentiment no longer exists. So the left is getting pushed over to issues of identity ie sexual behaviour, Trans/gay, workers rights as opposed to worker subsidies.
You just have to have a good honest look at the state of things my boy, rather than trying to deny the existance of trump.
lol
It was worth a try, I suppose.
I have a certain morbid fascination with just what depths CV will plumb – he’s currently writing off extrajudicial killings along the lines of some sort of cultural relativism, in a couple of years will he be excusing concentration camps or nuclear war?
Lord, save us from everyone who thinks they receive personal messages from the universe…
He’s a gone burger. A flame grilled whopper with extra cheese. Tasty, but full of nasty sh1t hidden on the inside.
When the pickle is the sweetener, it shows how bad it’s got.
A Muck nasty with sweet and sour sauce, hold the sweet. lol
Personal attacks disguised as humour?
Really?
Is that the best you can muster now Peter Swift? Gawd I hope Labour has a better chance next year. But I don’t think so. 4 to 1 against, verging on a guaranteed GR2020.
Intellectually moribund disguised as clever and witty. Just like you.
good one Peter – yep the mouthpiece is foul – needs a bloody good rinse with disinfectant because, my gods, it is infected all right!
But like that elusive last dag it might take a few passes of the comb to get it off.
I hope CV sticks around to keep things lively. He’s a lot smarter than the predictable RW trolls, I will go to sleep if this place becomes an echo chamber like TDB or boringly mediocre like PublicAddress
Peter Swift – what do you want this site to be? An echo chamber for the neolib National lite Party? Surely we need the variety of ideas and opinions to flourish and not be stomped on? If you are going to ban CV why not ban the likes of Peter George and PR?
I don’t know if it’s deliberate, but you’re ignoring what’s being written. It’s a diversion tactic, but never mind, I have it covered.
Simple reply is that it’s not about what I want the site to be, but rather what it already is. CV offers nothing with his contributions, unless getting a reaction is the goal, in which case my view of him being nothing more than a troll figure is accurate enough.
I don’t take your point about echo chambers, especially about the neo lib lite party, especially when you’re supporting someone who is self proclaimed non left, so don’t make me laugh, slogan boy.
As for banning, the way I look at it is that it will happen sooner or later. There’s been enough negative examples to expose the trend. I say just bite the bullet and put us out of his misery.
And the funny thing about your last point is that PR is much less offensive to read that [deleted] is, and when the right wing trolls make less of an impact than he does, it’s sort of highlighting the narrative for us all.
[please don’t use someone’s RL name here if they themselves don’t. That’s a general principle designed to protect us all. If you have instances of behaviour or posts that definitely need a moderator’s attention, drop a note in front of an author/moderator. thanks – weka]
Sorry, I disagree. The rightwing trolls are more of a problem here than CV .Sure CV has ramped things up a lot, but that is mainly because of deliberate baiting. He used to be a real breath of fresh air, however I take your point of him heading into a ban if he doesn’t cool it considerably. Thanks for replying Peter.
@Weka I wouldn’t have used his name, wouldn’t have even known it, if he hadn’t have shared it with us all in the first place, but sure, I’ll put his genie back in the bottle and won’t ever do it again.
[deleted]
[he is posting under a pseudonym and that needs to be respected, not least because none of us can know the reasons for that at any given time – some pseudonyms aren’t absolutely private, but people still have a right to them. Otherwise anyone with a pseudonym becomes fair game. This isn’t about CV, it’s about the general principle as I already said. – weka]
Peter Swift – you apparently cannot stomach anything written by Chris Trotter, and now CV is in the same category? What is it about your nature that makes it so Stalinist?
I agree with Garibaldi that PR, Chuck, James, etc are a far worse distraction to debate on this site.
What’s that about Trotter? That’s not an opinion I’ve expressed, though of course, like most pundits, he’s written his fair share of sh1t.
And I wouldn’t put CV anywhere close to Trotters level of integrity and professionalism.
Just about any time Trotter posts on Daily Blog, you take to him with a cleaver. Not here on the Standard – but you have impressed me as a Lefty with a mind so narrow it could pass through the eye of a needle.
(You may make it to heaven!)
I request you link to those cleaver comments please. I’ve made less that a handful of comments there over the years, and from memory, none about Trotter and more importantly none under this handle.
Shouldn’t be as hard to do as the apology I’m expecting you’ll have to make.
You are right- on checking those TDB posts, I find that the guy I objected to was a Peter Wheeler, not you at all. Apology freely given – I must make doubly sure about surnames in future. This may increase your chances of getting to heaven..
I imagined there was no heaven. It’s easy if you try.
Apology accepted with almost 100% good grace. :polished halo:
First time I’ve seen a link to an actual ‘The Standard’ topic censored. Interesting times.
I’m sure you can figure out why it was deleted.
Well yeah, obviously, but even so, it’s in the standard archive and all. It’s hardly a a secret, especially when posted by the person in question in the first place.
But I’m not questioning the ruling. Voldermort it is from now on. lol
Yes God forbid people post something peter swift disagrees with. All deserting post and comments must be purged to make the standard a safe place for him.
With that or ban every other person.
Really there is no possible option that you just ignore what you don’t like? Or perhaps attack his argument as opposed to the person.
Also – isn’t there some rule about naming people on this blog – I understand he is known by many – but is it right to put his name into this ??
Hell’s bells, James wrote a comment I agree with!
Something weird is going on around here…
You gotta admire the guy’s use of adjectives. Think he must’ve just started a creative writing course, or perhaps he’s just finished one. Either way it’s pretty damn funny.
What’s with you three monkeys? Up thread you have a moderator clearly outlining the present troubles on this site, writing about boycotts, contributors not submitting topics and you post like the stereotypical don’t see, hear or speak trio. And I’m having my capabilities questioned 🙄
We’re so lucky to have such astute chumps like you around to save the day lol
is CV really as annoying / destructive to this community as someone like the despicable dirty politics merchant Matthew Hooten? Or a boring threadjacker like Pete George?
CV obviously has issues with the current form of the political Left, his criticism can be cutting, but I haven’t seen him personally attack anyone, or indulge in Hooten like trolling.
Yes, he’s quite the spoiler, and by the looks of it, an increasing number of people view him not only as an agenda driven malcontent on a revenge mission, but a genuine threat to the long term well being and effectiveness of the standard.
That makes him much worse than a tory tool and a silly old man.