Facebook is in trouble

Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, March 21st, 2018 - 80 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, Donald Trump, facebook, internet, Media, uk politics, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

The Facebook Cambridge Analytica story is getting to a very interesting stage.  A whistleblower, Christopher Wyllie,  has confirmed that Cambridge Analytica was able to download facebook relating to 50 million Facebook users most of who had no idea theie data was being harvested. It was then used to micro target advertising, either to trigger support for the republicans through scratching prejudices or to suppress liberal turn out the vote campaigns.  Its campaign is credited by some with getting Donald Trump elected.

Here is Wyllie explaining what occurred.

This 4 News film provides a fascinating insight into CA’s modus operandii.

The links to CA and the Republican Party are strong. It was essentially Reoublican run and Republican funded.

The repercussions are snowballing. Facebook is being asked in the UK to explain how it could let this happen. From the Guardian:

MPs have summoned Mark Zuckerberg to appear before a select committee investigating fake news and accused his company of misleading them at a previous hearing.

The Facebook founder has been called to give evidence to the digital, culture, media and sport committee, following revelations over the use of its data by the election consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

The company has also come under the spotlight in the US, after an investigation by the Observer, Channel 4 News and the New York Times revealed that 50m user profiles had been accessed and harvested for data.

In a letter to Zuckerberg, the committee’s chair, Damian Collins, wrote that Facebook had been repeatedly asked about how companies acquired and held on to user data from its site, and whether data had been taken without users’ consent.

“Your officials’ answers have consistently understated this risk and have been misleading to the committee,” he wrote. “It is now time to hear from a senior Facebook executive with the sufficient authority to give an accurate account of this catastrophic failure of process … Given your commitment at the start of the new year to ‘fixing’ Facebook, I hope that this representative will be you.”

The committee said Facebook had failed to provide follow-up evidence after the last hearing, and that this week’s revelations had raised new questions for the inquiry. On Wednesday it will take evidence from a former Facebook operations manager, Sandy Parakilas.

And it is also facing an inquiry in the United States. From Radio New Zealand:

The US Federal Trade Commission is reported to be investigating Facebook after allegations 50 million users’ private information was misused by Cambridge Analytica.

Whistleblower Christopher Wylie, who helped set up the firm, has claimed it amassed the data of about 50 million users through a personality quiz on Facebook then deliver tailored material to get them to vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 US election.

Facebook is due to face the US Congress on Wednesday as pressure grows. Its stock has continued to slide, falling 3 percent on Tuesday following a 6.7 percent drop on Monday which wiped almost $37bn from its market value.

Both the British Parliament and the European Parliament have also called on Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg to give evidence to them.

Cambridge Analytica, which is based in London, denies any wrongdoing.

The FTC, an independent agency of the US government, is tasked with protecting American consumers.

Facebook has only last week banned Cambridge Analytica from Facebook. Last week …

80 comments on “Facebook is in trouble ”

  1. Ad 1

    +100 Mickey

  2. Sacha 2

    CA’s Board has thrown chief executive Nix under the bus: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43480048

  3. Peroxide Blonde 3

    Crosby Textor spent Stg 4m of the Tories money on Cambridge Analytica in the last UK GE. It will be difficult to believe that similar antics were not on the menu then.

    Crosby Textor advises the NZ National Party.

    The National Party have to publish the detail of the tools and data that was used on their behalf in NZ.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/mar/19/electoral-commission-conservatives-spent-lost-majority-2017-election

    • Peroxide Blonde 3.1

      Delete please. I just spotted my error.

    • tracey 3.2

      So, the Tories outrage might be considered faux outrage as they paid for and benefitted from the practice?

      The National party still wants us to believe they have not grasped the basic tenets of our Privacy Act.

      First Bennett, then Collins wilfully broke this law, the former resulting in public humiliation for two women, the latter death threats for an innocent civil servant. And just this week we discover that the National Party has breached Privacy laws again by emailing people who signed their petition, seeking donations.

      It beggars belief that from their office floor to their cabinet positions (former) no one in this organisation understands the Privacy Act. This can only happen with poor processes, lack of education, disregard for the importance of privacy or thinking that if you get caught it is of no import.

      Can I just say that breaches of privacy are not “small” errors. They are BIG errors. It would help if the media, who are now all over this FB story, understood that all Privacy breaches are an erosion of rights.

      http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/national/election-2011/102380970/Petitioners-added-to-National-Partys-mailing-list-without-permission

  4. dukeofurl 5

    What an amazing insight into how the digital campaign was run by Cambridge for the politicals party , mostly likely the US republicans.

    One thing to make clear it says “amassed the data of about 50 million users through a personality quiz on Facebook ”
    The quiz was done through a Facebook 3rd party app about 750,000 users downloaded, but through each users wider circle was able to get data for 50 mill other users.

    Puts an interesting light nationals harvesting of emails from petitions ( its got plenty of these running).
    While they may have ‘accidentally’ got a direct email from national, I would think the ultimate goal is to use the emails to target them on Facebook with ‘soft ads’ for national.
    I see so many times on sites I subscribe to or use their services, the facebook logo on the sign in screen, sometimes even to ‘log in via facebook’.

  5. tsmithfield 6

    There will be a bit of hand-wringing.

    Facebook will say they are tightening up their security. Then all will be back to normal.

    At the moment, a good buying opportunity for Facebook shares.

    • tracey 6.1

      Agree. Just as yesterday the police were found (yet again) to have treated sexual allegations poorly in their investigation but we are told the culture has changed since then… yeah right. Zuckerberg’s silence on this is deafening. We really need to hold of sanctifying business people until they are dead and ALL their behaviours are in.

    • cleangreen 6.2

      I refuse to use Facebook now that we know these cretins were rigging countries elections.

      Where are NSA/FBI/CIA long drawn out investigations now I wonder??????

      • alwyn 6.2.1

        Why did you ever use Facebook in the first place?
        I have never understood anyone who enrols with Facebook and then acts surprised that they use, and sell, every single thing you place there. What on earth did you think their business model was?
        I decided, when I read their policies that I would never, ever, have anything to do with them.

        • Tracey 6.2.1.1

          Or why anyone would sign a National Party petition and be surprised when their privacy is breached 😉

          • cleangreen 6.2.1.1.1

            100% correct.

            We are all taken as pawns in a power game controlled by the digital highway now.

            I am not a user of Facebook, as i was always suspicious of the freedom of that media, after once I and my wife engaged in one event on our daughters page and afterwards we got so much stuff sent back to us afterwards.

            Stay away from facebook I say.

        • esoteric pineapples 6.2.1.2

          That’s a convenient attitude for people who aren’t inclined to use social media anyway. Social media is a fact of life and Facebook provides one important part of it. Saying people just shouldn’t use Facebook is simplistic and unrealistic. I use Facebook and have always assumed that nothing I put on there is really that private. I automatically assume, everything I put on it, along with every other bit of digital information I use from phone calls, to emails etc ends up in the NSA. I also assume governments like Turkey follow the facebook pages of people they want to spy on like the Kurds and every like I put on a post there increases my chances of not getting into Turkey. However, that doesn’t mean any of this is acceptable and Facebook should be held to account because it is one of the world’s de facto social media platforms.

          Plus in this day and age you can run but you can’t hide. People who think they are off the radar because they don’t use Facebook are just as naive as people who expect their privacy is safe on Facebook. It’s an issue of privacy and it affects everyone.

          • Incognito 6.2.1.2.1

            Well said.

          • alwyn 6.2.1.2.2

            I wasn’t really meaning that people should take it that I am claiming that I was ” Saying people just shouldn’t use Facebook”. I’m not.

            The critical part of my comment was
            “I have never understood anyone who enrols with Facebook and then acts surprised that they use, and sell, every single thing you place there.”
            That is in fact just the same thing as what you are saying when you continue with ” I use Facebook and have always assumed that nothing I put on there is really that private”.
            You don’t act as if you are surprised that it happens

            I choose not to go near Facebook but I am certainly not going to demand that everyone else should be forced to follow my example or that Facebook should be banned or State controlled.

        • Doogs 6.2.1.3

          Self righteous pomposity Alwyn!
          I do believe you could have couched your comment with less of a put-down, and still got your message across. This is the sort of condescension that is typical of people who arrive on TS intent on being critical and sometimes abusive as a first response.

      • dukeofurl 6.2.2

        Doesnt matter if you previously used facebook or never did ( like me)

        Facebook has a shadow profile on you any way, its so ubiquitous with the little ‘f logo’ indicating its watching you everywhere through its cookies. ( But not on ‘the standard’)

        I try through my brower settings to block facebook.com cookies on websites that I visit ( using global block) but for how long will that last ?

        • AsleepWhileWalking 6.2.2.1

          If you are concerned you can pay for software such as Cryptohippy.

        • cleangreen 6.2.2.2

          Thanks for that dukeofurl,

          I will pass that on to my family members that still use facebook.

          Quote;
          “Doesn’t matter if you previously used facebook or never did ( like me)
          Facebook has a shadow profile on you any way, its so ubiquitous with the little ‘f logo’ indicating its watching you everywhere through its cookies. ( But not on ‘the standard’)
          I try through my browser settings to block facebook.com cookies on websites that I visit ( using global block) but for how long will that last ?”

        • alwyn 6.2.2.3

          I certainly didn’t know that.

      • Wensleydale 6.2.3

        You can use Facebook, just so long as you ensure everything on your page is 100% imaginary. I sign up to sites all over the internet using fictional information because, for the most part, they really don’t need to know anything about me, and it’s really none of their business. There are exceptions obviously — sites involving financial transactions for example, but as a general rule… make stuff up. If they want to profit from someone’s data, they can profit from data belonging to Jasper Dribblewizard or Marjorie Saucepan. Anyone can be an 87-year-old spinster with chronic arthritis and an obese cat living in New Jersey if they really want to be.

        • Thinkerr 6.2.3.1

          Just like The Beatles did on the Sergeant Pepper album…

        • alwyn 6.2.3.2

          You remind me of the old days when the DomPost used to have a cryptic crossword competition. Your best chance of winning was on your very first attempt as the person picking the winners used to pick out new entrants to give the pens to.
          I remember getting pens with entries of “Alberius Aardvark”, “Victor Viking”, “Jaspar Feline” (the family cat) “Theodore Ursine” (grandson’s teddy bear) and a few others. Everyone did the same I think.

  6. Colonial Viper 7

    1) Cambridge Analytica and Palantir operate in this same business area.

    2) The Democrats used Face Book in approximately the same way – to suck massive amounts of user data down – as revealed by Obama’s former campaign director of integration and social media analytics Carol Davidsen. She said that Face Book admitted that they allowed the Democratic campaign to do things that they wouldn’t anyone else – because they were supportive of Barack Obama.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-19/obamas-former-campaign-director-makes-bombshell-facebook-claim-they-were-our-side

    3) Sucking down and selling massive amounts of user data is of course what Face Book was designed for and why app developers flock to the platform. In fact it was “shockingly routine.” The “Friends Permission” feature allowed your Face Book friends to OK the exposure of all your data. Which made Face Book a lot of money. In short, it was like giving all your neighbours a set of keys to your house and car.

    https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-20/former-facebook-employee-says-cambridge-analytica-style-data-harvesting-was

    Anyone who has followed the revelations of William Binnie, Edward Snowden, Kim Dotcom, etc will not have been surprised at any of this.

    • RedLogix 7.1

      My sentiments exactly. However it’s not exactly clear what the right solution is; all the cures I can think of may well be worse than the problem.

      The only thing I can think of is to minimise my personal exposure as much as is reasonable, but even that may not suffice.

      Based on some solid science, it’s pretty trivial to make quite good predictions about how you’re likely to vote based on fairly elementary analysis of personality and interests. Most people are pretty fixed in their voting patterns; it’s the persuadable ones they’ll be looking to influence.

    • Siobhan 7.2

      Exactly.

      End of conversation really.

    • cleangreen 7.3

      I refuse to use Facebook now that we know these cretins were rigging countries elections.

      Where are NSA/FBI/CIA long drawn out investigations now I wonder??????

      • dukeofurl 7.3.1

        Go one better , use your browing settings to BLOCK facebook cookies – they will be ‘shadowing you’ even if you arent a registered user.

  7. Bill 8

    Anyone thinking to revisit opinions about China having banned Facebook solely off the back of anti-democratic sentiments?

    Maybe the Chinese state had reasons enough to consider Facebook “dangerous” for Chinese citizens?

    And no, before the numpties come out to play, that’s just a question borne of curiosity and not some defense of or cheer-leading for the Chinese government and/or their “Great Firewall of China”.

    • xanthe 8.1

      thats a fair question Bill. probably a bit of bit of both

    • weka 8.2

      If you have some evidence that the Chinese govt thought FB was dangerous for Chinese citizens a la privacy issues or election influencing, then I’d love to see it.

      • JohnSelway 8.2.1

        Pretty sure the reason was the Chinese government couldn’t fully monitor or control Facebook

      • Bill 8.2.2

        The “dangerous” for Chinese citizens is simply the official Chinese line (as far as I can ascertain).

        The “anti-democratic” is the general line peddled in the west.

        Given the (how to say?) “unhealthy” impact of Facebook on western consumers (as per this post and a slue of recent headlining and or long articles including “facebook rots your brain” type stuff from ex-programmers), it seems perfectly reasonable to ask whether Chinese officials considered the supposed recent “revelations” about Facebook’s negative connotations when deciding to block it.

        • weka 8.2.2.1

          yes it is reasonable to ask that, and it’s also reasonable to ask if there is any evidence to support that supposition.

          When the Chinese govt say that something is dangerous for their citizens, I trust them as much as I trust most other govts. They’re going to frame things in the way that best justifies them controlling things the way they want to control them. Like other govts they’re not wholly bad, so sure, maybe FB being an ethical clusterfuck was part of their decision making, but I think it’s worth understanding that in the context of their motivations for control as well. Also, within the context of Chinese cultural world views (i.e. what they do makes more sense when looked at from their points of view).

    • McFlock 8.3

      I suppose the key to that question would be whether the FB alternatives available in China such as Wechat and Weibo less “dangerous” to users than FB.

      They all seem about the same to me, although Wechat being used for real-life transaction payments possibly makes it more dangerous – piss someone off, and a “service outage” means you suddenly can’t buy that train ticket or food.

      • adam 8.3.1

        Isn’t all the same if the information your shearing on social media can be mined. My guess is China just didn’t want the west Mining it’s citizens, when they are their citizens to data mine, and hold information on.

        Wechat, is not used by activists within China – to paraphrase a friend of mine – “Too bloody dangerous, the party’s all over it.”

        • Anne 8.3.1.1

          My guess is China just didn’t want the west Mining it’s citizens, when they are their citizens to data mine, and hold information on.

          Sounds like a reasonable assumption to make. A cynical observation, but when most 1st world countries are probably doing it to one degree or another I guess its OK if they want sole rights to mine their own people.

          Thank goodness I avoided the trap of Facebook for suspicions similar to what we now know has actually happened.

  8. Draco T Bastard 9

    falling 3 percent on Tuesday following a 6.7 percent drop on Monday which wiped almost $37bn from its market value.

    Which just proves how fake its value is.

  9. One Two 10

    FB was designed for information gathering…

    Information which can be used in unlimited ways to achieve whichever outcome…

    The surveillance state is what these digital tools were designed for and quite likely by…as a key stakeholder as a minimum…

    Viewing FB as political misses the mark…

  10. The Fairy Godmother 11

    They are quite ridiculous. They go ballistic at pictures of women breastfeeding and the new zealand based page dance with me in the heart was nearly taken down because it featured a painting – not a photo – of naked children playing in the water. Then they allow this nefarious stuff.

  11. Bill 12

    Just read a piece reporting that Trump’s campaign didn’t actually use the data collected by Cambridge Analytica because it wasn’t “as current or as effective as the RNC’s data and Facebook’s advertising platform.”

    Apparently…

    “Basically, the Trump campaign hired Cambridge Analytica as a fallback as it was unsure it would able to use the Republican National Committee data, which in turn, Trump’s campaign did use—and found, together with Facebook’s platform, that it was more effective.”

    The above is from this article.

    And I guess it would be appropriate to throw in this link again – where Facebook big-note themselves for apparently having electoral influence. (Link and surrounding context from this article)

  12. Bill 13

    Also this from a link in one of the above articles…from December 2015

    Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign is using psychological data based on research spanning tens of millions of Facebook users, harvested largely without their permission, to boost his surging White House run and gain an edge over Donald Trump and other Republican rivals, the Guardian can reveal.

    The entire Guardian piece is worth the read.

  13. Obtrectator 14

    My spouse and I are (and will remain) Facebook holdouts until the day dawns when you can’t do anything unless you have an account with them. And even then we’ll probably go off-line rather than submit.

    F*ck the Zuck.

  14. Tuppence Shrewsbury 15

    Lol remember when Obama won cos Facebook and it was the lefts great low rent hope here as they were broke?

    • cleangreen 15.1

      Boycott Facebook folks now.

    • Barfly 15.2

      No

    • weka 15.3

      “Lol remember when Obama won cos Facebook and it was the lefts great low rent hope here as they were broke?”

      I also don’t remember that, but do enlighten us how Obama won because of what this post is about, rather than say just using social media smartly. Or maybe you are arguing that there is no problem with what FB and CA have done and we should just let them get on with it.

  15. Philg 16

    So we are giving away our privacy and democruptcy for what exactly?

    • tc 16.1

      Those fancy devices that nobody seems to be able to do without.

      It’s becoming a clear choice between which handler do you prefer Google’s android or Apple in the smartphone world.

      Then there’s all that cloud data you effectively signed over by agreeing to the T&C’s.

    • adam 16.2

      The freedom to shut up, and do as you are told!

      • weka 16.2.1

        The irony there is that FB have been enabled with extraordinary freedom.

        • alwyn 16.2.1.1

          Have you ever read through the Terms and Conditions that you have agreed to when you use these products?
          If you were to print any of them out you would have hundreds of pages of bumf. If you agree to them you are forfeiting all rights to the material you put there.

          • weka 16.2.1.1.1

            I gave up reading T/Cs a long time ago and largely rely on people who do read them to raise issues of importance. None of what is happening with FB right now is a surprise to me, although I wasn’t familiar with the specifics.

            • alwyn 16.2.1.1.1.1

              “I gave up reading T/Cs a long time ago”.
              So did I and so does everyone else. Life is too short.
              That is what they rely on. Not just Facebook, although they are probably the worst.

              • tc

                Eddie Izzard had a piece in his routine where apple come for your first born a la King Herod…..it was in the T&C’s.

                • alwyn

                  I have heard people claim that such clauses have been inserted in the T&Cs by some bored individual writing them.
                  I’ve never seen one though. Mostly of course because I’ve given up reading them. Wait, there is a knock at the door. Some old fellow with a scythe. Nooooooooooooooo

                • joe90

                  Yeah, look at what happened to Kyle Broflovski after signing Apple’s T&C agreement without reading it.

            • Carolyn_Nth 16.2.1.1.1.2

              I understand that the new EU data protection guidelines address that. The aim is to end the kind of endless unread pages of T and Cs that are on these big sites. Site owners are being asked to make brief clear statements. Can’t remember how it’s worded.

  16. adam 17

    Did anyone notice in all this, the casual racism from Cambridge Analytica? We don’t have any dealing with Russia, nor do we have any Russian staff.

    My guess today we will see it all connected to Russia. Because in an interconnected world, anyone can make these connections. So again we are back to Russian Phobia.

    All the time ignoring this is a foreign country, England, interfering in USA election.

  17. savenz 18

    Scary stuff.

    It also shows that political parties are not being careful enough in their choice of candidates.

    Look at the cosy club that the world leaders seem to have. For example Obama is democrat but Key is National but they both seem to believe in the same ideas.

    Around a golf game, deals are being done, troops being sent off, examples, aka Dotcom made of to help economic interests of donors.

    Jacinda is no 1, because she believes in free trade which helps a lot of wealthy people get more wealth.

    Ideas via propaganda spread from sources like Cambridge Analytics have targeted influential men and women to make everyone believe the same vision even though it is not true.

    It is even more revealing that the whole Cambridge was in itself a fiction to get billionaire funding to make them seem more intellectual and in tune with culture.

    A London base start up, looking for cash, did not fit that profile.

    Everything these days seems to be a manipulation to acquire money and power at the expense of others.

    Globalism and free trade agreements for example are being made out to be some sort of saviour, in spite of what the results are and the internal division of countries it is making. Apparently oil exploration actually helps the environment.. Trump helps the poor. Obama helped the poor. Key helped the poor.

    When there becomes little difference in democratic ideas, it then paves the way for more open division such as Trump. Trump only happened because the democrats pretended that globalism was perfect and working for all.

    Clearly it works out better if you can get around the world in private jets and attend fundraising parties in New York or golf games in NZ, than those without a job in Auckland or Detroit.

    Or you get a job as a NZ First and Labour MP, but then next day, decide what you campaigned on was wrong and global capitalism via free trade agreements is always a good thing even if it’s a “7 out of 10”

    Hey why bother making it a 10, be lazy and keep the 7 like Labour and NZ First, there are lunches and dinners to speak at.

    Ban oil because that’s a bit easier than to go against the Cambridge Analytics propaganda fed by MSM about how great Globalism is for all. (Especially the 0.01%)

    Also notice that with the idea of the only taxes are ‘capital gains taxes’. If you are rich you can avoid capital gains taxes. If you want to tax the flow of money you need to actually do transaction taxes because increasingly wealth is made out of policy, paper and thin air not real assets and you can be rich but post losses and avoid taxes. Corporations have been doing it for years, but still the politicians turn a blind eye. I wonder why.

    • One Two 18.1

      The masses are being played like the proverbial fiddle..

      Not many years ago the catch cry would have been ‘conspiracy’….in the MSM, on blogs such as this…

      Now it’s ‘normal’…

      To those who were calling out against social media, the surveillance state and the ‘intelligence agencies’…

      They were right…so what happens now that it’s out in the open…

      Little of nothing…the people are hooked up on junk…

      Where is it taking our species, and the inhabitants of the planet…

      The digital age is a trap, a dead end death trap…

  18. patricia bremner 19

    “Man’s inhumanity to man knows no bounds’ Robert Burns.

    • tc 19.1

      Noted alot in sci fi as the major reason we are a doomed species.

      We can’t rise above fighting amongst ourselves to save this planet or find another as we’ll never develop the tech in time to do so.

  19. AsleepWhileWalking 20

    And as I predicted the FTC is onto them.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/352989/us-watchdog-investigates-cambridge-analytica-facebook

    Those FTC fuckers are naaasty. Just ask Frank Kern.

  20. Descendant Of Sssmith 21

    All watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace some years ago lamented on the rise of Silicon Valley and it’s Randian adherents.

    Set of three documentaries:

    https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/

    Treating and manipulating society as a computer network was part of the theme.

  21. Thinkerr 22

    Guess they’ll have to call it “Two-Faced-Book” from now on…

    (Ka-thump)

  22. Cinny 23

    Dang, just catching up watching/reading all the links.

    Big up’s to Chris Wylie for coming forward, psychological warfare/manipulation on a massive scale.

    The moves of conmen, the labels and categorisations Chris Wylie uses to describe procedures and practices, wonder who taught him his craft; clever, intelligent, greedy individuals.

    Has Chris Wylie been ridiculed and targeted yet like Ed Snowden was? Or our own Nicky Hager for that matter. It’s too shocking, must not be true… yeah right sure lololz

    • Carolyn_Nth 23.1

      It may be too soon for a massive turn against Wylie – most news media are just transfixed by the story. Of course, news media like it when social media takes a hit. They’ve generally felt the likes of FB have been enabling their news to be circulated without the news sites getting the hits. And then FB gets the advertising kudos.

      But FB has deleted Wylie, which has impacted his use of other sites.

      cnet news reports:

      After he turned whistleblower, he was abruptly booted from Facebook’s services.

      “This is the power Facebook has,” Wylie said Tuesday during an onstage interview at the Front Club in London. “They can delete you from the internet.”

      Facebook is so ingrained in our modern online experience, Wylie said, that his suspension from the social network has had a ripple effect.

      “I know this sounds ridiculous,” he said. “I can’t use Tinder now, for example — because you have to validate yourself with fucking Facebook.” (One of the most popular ways to log in to Tinder is to link it to your Facebook account, however it’s now possible to sign in using your phone number.)

      Facebook, for its part, said Wylie was suspended because he violated the company’s terms of service.

      • Cinny 23.1.1

        Thanks for that Carolyn, so much control that entity appears to have, dirty old FB.

        I see Cambridge Analytical are tied up to UAE interests and had a part to play in the anti-Qatar campaign in the Middle East. Also that much of their intelligence comes via Israel, apparently the Israelis are very practised in gathering info lololollllooool. It’s like a movie script from a spy thriller.
        Also appears they are a bit anti Russia, maybe a chemical attack on a Russian double agent, spin a narrative via the social media, job done? Far out anything is possible.

  23. Sparky 24

    Amazing how we are always hearing about the Republicans but hardly a word about the dirt attached to the Dems.

    I would very much doubt too that data gathering is limited to any one political party.

    https://inc42.com/buzz/cambridge-analytica-big-data-opposition/

    • joe90 24.1

      Yeah, but this time there’s something different going on. A bunch of shady AF US billionaires got themselves an offshore company to engage in deeply unethical behaviors that go way beyond, Ukrainian honey traps, traditional ratfucking.

      CA got itself arsed from FB and video of their executives boasting about their dirty tricks caused a $50 billion Facebook share crash, and the flow-on saw the US stock market shed billions.

      And even though there’s more to come on that front, the real damage is the undermining of voters confidence in not only the information and news they receive, but in the openness and honesty of the electoral process, and the integrity of their democracy.

    • Tricledrown 25.1

      Facebook tax dodging political gerrymandering data stealing monopoly.
      Could be the beginning of the end of their dominance.
      What gets me is their app has got hugely data storage hungry .
      FB continually requires upgrades which have made their app so large that it uses up so much data that I wouldn’t be surprised if they are getting tax free kick backs from ISPs.

  24. Ad 26

    No apology from The Zuck this morning.

    A minor road-bump to controlling the entire English language and human discourse.

    • joe90 26.1

      No apology….

      Mark Zuckerberg
      3 hrs · Menlo Park, CA, United States ·

      I want to share an update on the Cambridge Analytica situation — including the steps we’ve already taken and our next steps to address this important issue.

      We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you. I’ve been working to understand exactly what happened and how to make sure this doesn’t happen again. The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago. But we also made mistakes, there’s more to do, and we need to step up and do it.

      Here’s a timeline of the events:

      https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10104712037900071

      …but Sher does a deeply regret….

      Sheryl Sandberg shared Mark Zuckerberg’s post.
      2 hrs ·

      Sharing Mark’s post addressing the Cambridge Analytica news. As he said, we know that this was a major violation of people’s trust, and I deeply regret that we didn’t do enough to deal with it. We have a responsibility to protect your data – and if we can’t, then we don’t deserve to serve you.

      https://www.facebook.com/sheryl/posts/10160055807270177?pnref=story

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    10 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    15 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    16 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    18 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T10:48:04+00:00