Daily Review 29/01/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, January 29th, 2016 - 36 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Rand Paul and socialism

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

36 comments on “Daily Review 29/01/2016 ”

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  1. Richard Christie 1
    29 January 2016 at 7:32 pm

    I nearly lost my cup of coffee when I heard conspiracy theorist Ian Wishart say on RNZ today that he “had recently been given the entire police file” on the Olivier Hope and Smart murder investigation.

    Really? the entire police file?

    I wonder if the police will raid his place as they did Hager’s.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201787283/evidence-suggests-watson-wasn't-alone-in-hope-smart-murders

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295268/wishart's-book-withdrawn-from-sale

  2. One Anonymous Bloke 2
    29 January 2016 at 7:57 pm

    Wishart’s masturbatory dribblings are all over the local media. That must be what investigative journalism is all about 🙄

  3. Anne 3
    29 January 2016 at 8:10 pm

    Little has instructed David Shearer to apologise to his caucus colleagues over his TPP remarks to the media. Shearer has done so and Little has accepted he (Shearer) is remorseful of his conduct. Shearer will not lose his shadow portfolios.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11581871

    Also, I saw an item on TV1 this evening about the police phone calls to TTP activists. It appears to have been reasonably widespread. One woman interviewed received an “anonymous” phone call requesting her protest intentions. The caller ignored her request to identify himself and who he represented. I have been looking for a link on TV1’s website but it has yet to appear. Other 6pm news items are online. I will continue to look for it.

    • Anne 3.1
      29 January 2016 at 8:26 pm

      Interesting. Coming up to 8:30pm and item still hasn’t appeared. Unusual. Have a feeling it may not appear…

    • weka 3.2
      29 January 2016 at 9:55 pm

      Good to hear that is getting coverage.

      • Anne 3.2.1
        29 January 2016 at 10:32 pm

        Not really weka. It was late in the bulletin. Saw it by chance. It looks like it has since been pulled. No sign of it online. Can’t see any references to it on any other site either.

        Chances are a “big birdie” has issued instructions to pull it? The woman interviewed was from Rotorua (I think) and was angry at the insinuation she was of suspicious character.

    • AmaKiwi 3.3
      29 January 2016 at 10:08 pm

      Shearer is Labour’s member on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee which will review the TPPA.

      Is Shearer going to step aside and let Labour be represented by an MP who supports the caucus position and opposes the TPPA?

      Or is Labour going to be represented by a Nats supporter?

      • Incognito 3.3.1
        29 January 2016 at 11:16 pm

        Why can’t Shearer continue to be a member of the Select Committee? He has publically declared his ‘conflict of interest’, hasn’t he? Is he not allowed to have an opinion or only one that is aligned with his party on the TPPA or on each and every subject that the committee deals with? Do you think Shearer will be an ineffective or antagonistic member of the Committee or consciously or sub-consciously sabotage it, for example?

        Should Simon O’Connor also step down as Chairperson of Health Select Committee that is currently taking submissions regarding medically-assisted dying? Mr O’Connor is (a) Catholic and completed his training to become a priest but was not ordained.

        It is an interesting topic to contemplate because our elected representatives are, after all, just ordinary humans with opinions, preferences, biases, etc. How should they behave?

        • Colonial Viper 3.3.1.1
          29 January 2016 at 11:24 pm

          Really easy reply here.

          Shearer has shown that he can’t represent Labour’s position on the TPPA, and that he can only represent his own personal position on the TPPA.

          Therefore he should be gone.

          (I am reasonably certain that Little won’t be able to move him on however so Shearer will stay on the committee.)

          • Incognito 3.3.1.1.1
            30 January 2016 at 1:22 am

            So, his public apology that was instructed by Little counted for nothing? He’s damage goods now and needs to be removed? Your reply comes a little too easy and does not address the bigger question that I posed.

            Do you think Shearer should toe the Party line in the Committee? Should this be the general ‘rule’ for all members of all Parliamentary Select Committees?

        • Northsider 3.3.1.2
          30 January 2016 at 12:06 pm

          Shearer/O’Connor analogy by Incognito.
          What a weird and stupid analogy to make. What an ignorant ass.

          • Incognito 3.3.1.2.1
            30 January 2016 at 12:45 pm

            Yes, I’m ignorant and I’ll ignore the other part.

            Would you like to elaborate or just leave it at that?

    • alwyn 3.4
      30 January 2016 at 9:23 am

      Perhaps you can explain why you think that this anonymous call from someone who “ignored her request to identify himself and who he represented” was from the police?
      Sounds more like someone from a paper of TV station to me.

  4. Ad 4
    29 January 2016 at 8:21 pm

    Anyone notice after 5 years not a single National policy has improved New Zealand?

    • fisiani 4.1
      29 January 2016 at 9:51 pm

      What a load of bollocks.
      Here are some of the improvements just in Auckland alone https://www.national.org.nz/news/features/auckland/

      • Ad 4.1.1
        29 January 2016 at 11:23 pm

        – they didn’t create the jobs, and unemployment got worse
        – Housing got worse
        – traffic got worse
        – population health got worse

        It ain’t whether your doing anything, it’s whether your policies are effective.

        National policies haven’t worked.

        • Andre 4.1.1.1
          30 January 2016 at 8:06 am

          Ummm, the Nats did fix the ridiculous give way law we used to have.

          They slightly eased some of the more ridiculous restrictions on DIY work in the Building Act 2004 (but nowhere near enough)

          Beyond that, I’m struggling to see any improvements.

          • weka 4.1.1.1.1
            30 January 2016 at 10:35 am

            How many people now can’t remember what the give way rule is? What I see at corners is everyone watching everyone else to figure out what to do. The law change has just complicated things further.

            • Andre 4.1.1.1.1.1
              30 January 2016 at 10:41 am

              Slow learners in your community?

            • te reo putake 4.1.1.1.1.2
              30 January 2016 at 10:44 am

              Hey, weka, you might like this: http://thecityfix.com/blog/naked-streets-without-traffic-lights-improve-flow-and-safety/

              I saw a short news piece on the Dutch town that has no signs or traffic lights and it works a treat.

              • weka …
                30 January 2016 at 12:10 pm

                The original example is Drachten, a town in Holland of 50,000 people. It is home to exactly zero traffic lights. Even in areas of the town with a traffic volume of 22,000 cars per day, traffic lights have been replaced by roundabouts, extended cycle paths and improved pedestrian areas. The town saw accidents at one intersection fall from 36 over a four-year period to just two in the last two years since the lights were removed in 2006.

                The counter-intuitive finding is that streets without traffic signals mean that cars drive more slowly and carefully because the rules of the road are ambiguous—there’s no red, green or yellow to tell drivers precisely what to do. A Wired article from 2004 quotes Hans Monderman, the late architect of Holland’s minimalist roads, who explains his approach of affecting driver behavior: “A wide road with a lot of signs is telling a story,” Monderman says. “It’s saying, go ahead, don’t worry, go as fast as you want, there’s no need to pay attention to your surroundings. And that’s a very dangerous message.”

                Ah, so maybe confusion about turning laws now makes the roads safer (at least at intersections) 😉

              • Dialey …
                31 January 2016 at 8:11 am

                Thanks for the interesting clip – would be great to see road/traffic initiatives in the Christchurch rebuild

    • greywarshark 4.2
      29 January 2016 at 10:13 pm

      Wrong! Fisiani got a load of bollocks, dug them into the garden, and has a lovely bunch of blue rosettes grown up and ready for using at the next election.

      • fisiani 4.2.1
        29 January 2016 at 10:58 pm

        Care to point out which of the facts I linked to are false or do you think that ad hominems count as debate.

        • Ad 4.2.1.1
          29 January 2016 at 11:24 pm

          See above.

          • fisiani 4.2.1.1.1
            29 January 2016 at 11:28 pm

            None of what you claim is true.
            Employment is at an all time high
            Housing is obviously better with thousands of new hoes built.
            Traffic is a hell of a lot better and soon to be even better.
            Health is better now than ever, and free for all primary kids.
            All of this despite a surge in the population.

            • DoublePlusGood 4.2.1.1.1.1
              30 January 2016 at 12:15 am

              Employment is at an all time high on absolute numbers because we have a larger population. Employment rates however, are not high.

              Housing is worse as you can see by house prices and rents spiralling out of control that there is not sufficient availability of housing to meet demand.

              Traffic isn’t improving significantly by any stretch of the imagination.

              Health care has been free for primary age children for eons. That doesn’t change the fact that the health system is falling apart.

              So, care to try again, and get something right this time?

            • Duncan 4.2.1.1.1.2
              30 January 2016 at 12:43 am

              Building hoes is probably quite a good option for us now.
              Where are all these new jobs though? I have been looking for a job for years, Where do I go that I can earn enough with a basic shed to live in, work hard, be respected, pay my bills, abide the law.
              Where.
              I don’t know these places.

            • reason 4.2.1.1.1.3
              30 January 2016 at 1:49 am

              Just like national have made us go backwards and down in the world education world rankings ( from 7th to 23rd ) ……..

              They have also made us go backwards and down in the world corruption rankings, from 1st to 4th …………… So john keys words “better standards” has resulted in lower and more corrupt standards….

              Government statistics are now as reliable as the police ones in judith collins electorate when she was police minister ……… her crime stats were great and judith used them to tell us what a great crime crusher she was …… They were also false and had things like burglary not being counted as burglary ..

              And so the reality ….. which more and more people experience or see is a lot different than what the nat spinners can pretend….

              Housing is more and more expensive because of speculators and greed …….. Our young and working class are being locked out of home ownership because of this.

              Traffic is diabolical in Auckland and often all it takes is one car crash or extreme rain event to throw the other major new zealand centers into chaos

              New Zealand leads the developed world in some third world diseases for our children due to poor or no housing, overcrowding and other societal failings…..

              New Zealand leads the developed world in domestic violence statistics which exposes many children to abuse and violence ………. the violence and abuse often involves Alcohol.

              The nats recently and still to this day sided with the alcohol makers and pushers ……they used their ‘dirty politics members and blogs to smear and denigrate health professionals, police officers and others who were calling for practical measures to lower Alcohol abuse…….. John and Judiths higher standards once more you see …

              In other parts of the world they are closing prisons ……. here in NZ we have the nats keeping rates of violent crime higher than need be, not to mention all the extra innocent victims ……….. and then signing 25 year deals with Serco ……… a corporation known for corruption and false statistics

              That’s those nats higher standards again…..

            • wippersnapper 4.2.1.1.1.4
              30 January 2016 at 10:02 am

              Employment has dropped by around 1% over the last 2 years.

              Distribution of wealth has worsened. now 50% of the population has only 5.2% of wealth while between 12% and 20% have over 50% of the wealth. Anecdotally, 5 years ago it was 50% of the population having 11% of the wealth.

              Changes to welfare have made it more difficult to leave welfare. Additionally they have not kept pace with changes in the labour market, such that 30 hours per week is still taken as full time, when 40 to 48 hours is now the norm. Additionally there is no longer a sickness benefit, which was a de-facto benefit for mildly disabled recipients who faired better in supported part time employment. Now one is either ‘significantly debilitated’ with a restriction to 15 hours per week maximum work, at a time when most part time jobs have a minimum 20 hours per week, or one is ‘full time work ready’ with intense penalties if full time work is not found in 3-6 months, or even one cannot attend an appointment at the day and time WINZ chooses.

              The brain drain, claimed to be reduced, has actually increased – net emigration may be down, but more people who are highly educated or educated in high-demand sectors are leaving the country. This is particularly the case for Engineering and IT due to much better work-life balance offerings, near guaranteed offerings of health and dental benefits, and better starting and long-term salaries overseas. Consequence is a skills shortage crisis. This is exacerbated by some recruitment agencies and staff increasing the minimum years experience required for entry positions, and an ongoing contraction in the junior labour market especially in IT over the past 2 years. The exacerbation may also explain why the shortage is not filling and possibly contribute to rise in unemployment?

              Transparency International has raised our corruption rating from least to 4th least, citing the withholding of information from public and journalism institutions and (hearsay) the heavy handed police responses to Nicky Hager and some other journalists.

              Regarding hoes (sic), hot-bedding in the auckland CBD is at an all time high, overcrowding in CBD and south auckland is getting worse. New homes being built are expanding the city fringe when more high rises are needed. Cannot comment outside of auckland. Housing bubble has been recognised and likely will collapse in 2 years max, with major impact on the economy.

              Traffic in auckland will hit full daytime rush hour by 2020 and permanent rush hour in 20 years. Some roading projects have exacerbated traffic woes. More rail routes in auckland is needed but NIMBY thinking is holding this back.

              GP visits are becoming more expensive.

              Much of this is auckland. Maybe in other parts there have been benefits. Given Auckland now has over half the population and the most growth, the long term average change is likely to remain bad, I think.

  5. Mrs Brillo 5
    30 January 2016 at 5:46 pm

    Of course those are Auckland statistics, because this regime has shown naff all interest in any other part of New Zealand. (except for what Christchurch can add to employments stats.)

    I doubt they are even looking at what development stats are in the regions, as the results would be so demoralising.