Four eyes and an arsehole

Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, May 17th, 2017 - 40 comments
Categories: International, us politics, war - Tags: , , , ,

What I found so weird about the latest saga in the the flood of White House leaks yesterday, after the news about what Trump told the Russian ambassador, was the sound of some people blindly completely missing the point.  The point is that Trump probably compromised sources of information, certainly did it without thinking about the allies who provided it, and probably did it for no better reason than he was childishly boasting to boost his ego – yet again.

New Zealand along with other allies has been in a long standing and pretty complex set of intelligence gathering and analysis arrangements with the USA since the end of second world war. These arrangements, like all similar information sharing arrangement from and with NZ and between many other other nations and groupings around the world, are done to minimise issues of accidental wars or actions due to a lack of clear information.

Surprises like Pearl Harbouraircraft deliberately flying into buildings, or nerve gas attacks on subways. Each of these cases had previously unclear and uncorroborated intelligence across many nations that could have prevented the actions and their consequences if they’d been assembled in time.

Similarly foolishness like the second gulf war searching for mythical weapons of mass destruction could have been prevented if the intelligence had been clearer than a paranoid dictatorship playing bluffing games allowed. That matched with a foolish president and prime minister who in the absence of clear information believed what they wanted to believe caused a disastrous set of destabilising wars in the middle east and the after effects worldwide.

Of course these were the failures of intelligence gathering. Less well known and usually still secret are the successes of intelligence gathering at preserving the peace world wide.

But such information sharing arrangements usually depend on levels of trust and rules about sharing. That is because the people providing information are often very sensitive about the sources of the information – a detail that is usually passed to provide corroboration as to the information’s veracity. But the information and that the receiver trusts it also can pinpoint where, from whom, and how the information was obtained. That compromises the source(s) and the ability to gain information again. It also often gets sources shutdown, killed, tortured or imprisoned.

In this case, it appears likely to have been the Israelis providing the information about ISIS   While they have their own well-known reasons for providing slanted information, they also have one of the best intelligence networks in the Middle East.

The officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that Israel previously had urged the United States to be careful about the handling of the intelligence that Mr. Trump discussed.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday on Twitter that he had an “absolute right” to share information in the interest of fighting terrorism and called it a “very, very successful meeting” in a brief appearance later Tuesday at the White House alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, told reporters that he was not concerned that information sharing among intelligence partners would stop.

Trump is, to be frank, a complete idiot. Meeting with the newly minted dictator of Turkey (on the back of an referendum that he nearly lost to get there) really does push that point across. You have to ask yourself – was Trump providing intelligence so that his fellow megalomaniac could lock up and torture more of his citizens. You really couldn’t trust this childish leaker of the free world not to do so in his attention seeking.

McMaster might not be worried about the effect on intelligence partners  willing to trust the US with sensitive information, but he’d be a minority of about one.

Even NZ with its various operations around this end of the Pacific really doesn’t need its own intelligence gathering operations blown by the current incompetent blowhard of the White House. Bearing in mind that this appears to be the new norm in US executive politics, our intelligence community should start reviewing and adapting the existing doctrine of how and when we should share information with the US.


lprent: Bearing in mind the number of soapbox fools who didn’t read what the post was about before they started jumping to conclusions like George W Bush did about Saddam Hussien, I’ve now auto-moderated the post. Comments that don’t relate to the primary topics in the post will also be shunted to OpenMike. Excessively creating work to do that are likely to get you bans. The post is about the unconstrained leaking of 3rd party intelligence by Trump and specifically if NZ should change its policy about passing intelligence to the US .

40 comments on “Four eyes and an arsehole ”

  1. Yep he leaked and has admitted it. No thought of consequence just an egofart trying to show hes a big man. Shame on his supporters and the bullshit spinners who try to muddy the waters around this dangerous idiot. Low impulse control is trumps excuse not sure what the excuse is for the fake news spinners – wishful thinking maybe.

  2. Stunned Mullet 2

    Good analysis Lynn, I find myself continually surprised that Trump is as daft and ego maniacal as he comes across and that there is zero depth to the man.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      Doesn’t surprise me. It seems to be part and parcel of the right-wing. They all think that they’re special, better than they are and that the rules don’t apply to them.

      Key was the same.

      • Stunned Mullet 2.1.1

        “Key was the same.”

        Strange you also display all the same traits DTB ..and I’d had you pegged as a LWNJ.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1

          No I don’t so that would be you projecting yourself onto me.

  3. greywarshark 3

    Who knows in the complex world of fear, wariness, sudden death etc of international relations whether Trump does have a useful role in breaking in through its not so smooth wall of misinformation, lies and secrets.

    Trump’s leaks aren’t too dissimilar to selling or giving a foreign power news of a new weapon, as spies and subversives have done for so long. He is putting a spanner in the works, and perhaps he’ll be the nut that turns concepts round. The USA and the Russians have shared space exploration. That is counter to all their professed attitudes back in the day. Who knows what a new approach may result in?

    Perhaps we should ban film making, as a subversive weapon of war and fear. Hollywood was the site of the nest of subversion that was dug deeply by McCarthy and his band of unmerry men as they delved into people’s brains looking for the latest scary idea, communism. The creatives are used for making propaganda which films are. Their area of expertise is rife with subversion of ideas, principles, long-held shibboleths. Trump applying chaos theory to the propaganda story may bear some fruit if it veers away from a new iron curtain.

  4. Bill 4

    So far, all there have been are unsubstantiated and unverifiable allegations made by unnamed people who were not at a meeting.

    That’s a fact and not in any way a defence of Trump.

    There’s a power struggle going on within the US establishment. It’s kind of beyond me why some people are so keen to pick sides – to jump on bandwagons. Maybe they achieve a sense of gratification or something from running with a kind of liberal mob rule that stokes their hatred of Trump?

    Meanwhile, “Israel quickly declared it had “full confidence” in its intelligence-sharing agreement with the US..”

    Turkey is a NATO ally and it would be astonishing if a US President didn’t meet with with Erdogan (fellow bastard that he is) given the disgusting and shambolic goings on in Syria.

    And when are people going to wake up to the fact that it’s all that sits behind Trump that’s the problem and the danger and a far more appropriate target for whatever level of disapproval or opposition?

    Get rid of Trump. Get Pence. Same shit, different figurehead.

    • lprent 4.1

      So far, all there have been are unsubstantiated and unverifiable allegations made by unnamed people who were not at a meeting.

      Plus McMaster and Trump stating in public that intelligence was passed about ISIS (but not detailing what) in response to questions about the particular allegations made by WaPo.

      That is always what you get with anything to do with intelligence in anything less than decade time spans. Generally intelligence is only detailed in the history books. For instance the details about how the Zimmerman telegram got into the hands of the US were only released more than 90 years after the first world war. The details about the cracking of the enigma machine were released more than 50 years after the second world war. It has taken about 15 years to get any details about the decision to start the second gulf war.

      Your expectation is rather endearing in its simplistic nativity. However it isn’t something that I have ever seen happen.

      There’s a power struggle going on within the US establishment. It’s kind of beyond me why some people are so keen to pick sides – to jump on bandwagons.

      The increasing partisanship at various levels and directions in the US government has been obvious for decades.

      However my interest is how it affects NZ and how we should respond. Your interest in comments seems to be how it will affect Russia – something that I find to be a rather weird focus. I have no time for the dictatorial, kleptomaniac and crony economy of Russia. I tend to react when I see the faithful dribbling on about it because they like sucking down propaganda about the benevolent dictator of Russia from RT as if it was credible.

      However I also don’t see it as being at all relevant to NZ except for the way that it interferes with debate about NZ – which is why I was getting annoyed yesterday.

      • Bill 4.1.1

        They have indicated they passed details about a plot involving lap-tops. That info was so fucking top secret that the Washington Post in its article claims to know all about it. (Lap tops were banned as carry-on for UK bound flights back in April btw)

        Like you say, there’s quite a time lag at play with regards the public getting any measure of detailed info on intelligence community shenanigans. That’s absolutely no excuse to run with wild unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources that someone may have told someone else a thing about a something that we have no idea exists or if it does, what it might be.

        It’s wavy armed conspiratorial nonsense.

        That aside, I hope your not going for the lazy “Russian apologist” angle with that second to last para? You should damned well know by now I’m no supporter of any state based governance.

        On “Five Eyes”. Correct if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the US already have unfettered direct access to anything NZ might pick up through Waihopai? Because if that’s the case, then NZ tormenting itself on whether or not to pass intel to the US becomes a laughable moot point.

        • lprent 4.1.1.1

          There was a lot of russia defensive crap going around yesterday.

          It annoyed me because every time anything was raised about the actual effect on how we should act, then it was immediately diverted off into RT speak.

        • lprent 4.1.1.2

          Like you say, there’s quite a time lag at play with regards the public getting any measure of detailed info on intelligence community shenanigans. That’s absolutely no excuse to run with wild unsubstantiated claims from anonymous sources that someone may have told someone else a thing about a something that we have no idea exists or if it does, what it might be.

          And there we completely disagree. Effectively you are arguing that we do nothing because we don’t know absolutely what happened or is going to happen.

          For instance if we used that as a criteria for discussion then we’d never talk about climate change. No one has ever actually seen it happen because the timescales are too great. But the potential costs of not doing anything are too high to not make decisions based on probabilities. For that matter labour law legislation carries exactly the same levels of unknown risks.

          In fact in politics and science and damn near anything else I don’t know of anything that carries the level of certainty that you seem to be after. After all even with physics we know that the current apparent ‘laws’ that govern physical matter and energy were probably quite different in the past and are likely to be different in the future (basically if you want certainty then never read any cosmology).

          Yet you seem to think that intelligence work is different somehow? WTF! And why?

          Personally I look at the risk levels between our intelligence operations and what looks very much like a breach of trust by one of our intelligence partners because of someone who looks to me like a childish dickhead. I want to know that the issue is being dealt with responsibly from our side. I’d also like it to be dealt with preemptively rather than to wait around until after Trump or his minions release all of the phone calls and emails from leftie activists (just to take a random example).

          And having diversions into discussions about irrelevant twaddle isn’t going to assuage that desire.

          • Bill 4.1.1.2.1

            If a claim of an action can be substantiated to some degree or other, then run with it. If the veracity of a claim can be inferred from other known stuff, then run with it.

            If the person or persons making a claim are utterly unknown and they can offer not a skerrick of fuck all beyond their finger pointing to underscore what they say, then nah.

            And btw, I’m not pointing out that it’s bullshit to run with something because “we don’t know absolutely what happened”. I’m saying it’s bullshit because we absolutely do not know what happened.

            Throw on top of that the obvious existence of people peddling agendas and even some of the more incurious of numb-skulls would be making some level of judgement call based on the likelihood of there simply being an agenda in play.

            Or so I’d have thought. Seems though, that you and others want, or are willing, to uncritically accept something as true. Which…whatever.

            btw – did you really just claim in your comment that the laws of physics are mutable?!

            • lprent 4.1.1.2.1.1

              I’m saying it’s bullshit because we absolutely do not know what happened.

              What I am saying is that there are a lot of things that we work with not because they have happened, but because the risk of them happening is what is important. Certainty be damned because it is usually not relevant to working on possible issues. It is the uncertainty that is the problem.

              For instance there is a hell of a lot of extra work gone into buildings and roads because of the risk of earthquakes, floods and even snow, wind or very heavy rain happening. At the time when the work is being done then none of those things are happening. Clearly because building usually doesn’t happen when any of those are happening.

              In this case there is uncertainty if Trump released third party intelligence compared to the prior presumption that wouldn’t happen. Any good intelligence person would have to reassess the risk based on the increased level of uncertainty. It is a standard part of ANY risk assessment.

              FFS: This is pretty basic to most jobs. For instance I have to do this every time that I get strange results out of the hardware and software on the gear I am developing or have developed. In fact I am doing it right now chasing the strange result setting a configuration.

              btw – did you really just claim in your comment that the laws of physics are mutable?!

              Really a topic for another post. But..

              Of course physics is mutable over time, distance, and observation. Offhand I can’t think of much that you could say is not mutable unless you want to add a whole lot of conditions about the reference frame about time, region, velocity and how deep the local gravity dimple is.

              Sometime have a look at what is required to explain the big bang (inflation – which looks like it happened) or steady state (how exactly do we get matter and energy popping in – which looks like we didn’t have).

              But I was dealing with a more basic level than that. Very little science is very certain. All of it is probabilities rather than certainties.

              Physics doesn’t exactly explain happens past the event horizon of a black hole, or the interesting quirks of quantum theory like quantum coupling or zero point energy that are both theoretically possible and increasingly appear to be experimentally probable.

              Even such basics such as how gravity operates are currently largely theory and are only really based on local observation (ie within about a light centuries) because when we go past that we’re peering too far back in time when the certainties of the physical rules we are assuming that we are looking at are less probable.

              However science compared to a large number of other assertions like politics or religion tends to be pretty accurate within a constrained limit because it is widely tested. Of course we really can’t test it a lot because we are a bit constrained in terms of time and space.

              But anyone who is actually trained in science (like I was in my BSc) are acutely aware of the limits of certainty and that science is based on constrained observations and a whole lot of theory over time and space.

    • One Two 4.2

      missing the point….probably compromised sources”

      The salient point is that not a single commentator/author/mod on this site has the first clue what the underlying event’s are..

      • lprent 4.2.1

        ..has the first clue what the underlying event’s are..

        Who really cares apart from the citizens of the US and those who want to go there?

        The reality is that there is a president there who appears to not respect the security of information being passed to them by 3rd parties like NZ. Trump’s response so far is rather explicitly that because he can do it legally then nothing else matters.

        For this country I don’t think that is acceptable and that in the view of that attitude we should change how we share information with the US.

        Is that so hard to understand that you can’t wrap your wee mind around it?

        • Bill 4.2.1.1

          No. Trumps response so far has been that he didn’t pass on sensitive information – that he only passed on info that was pertinent to a possible terrorist attack.

          Can he declassify info? Apparently. Has he? Apparently not.

          Are Israel okay with the intelligence relationship? Apparently.

          Has a plot to bring down a Russian airliner been averted? Possibly.

          Does the US take the info it wants from NZ spying activities or is it given? The way Five Eyes is set up (vague memories of Snowden stuff) it’s taken.

          • lprent 4.2.1.1.1

            And you trust what Trump says?

            What does Israel attitudes have to do with us?

            The treaty arrangement is that we allow them to take whatever they want within the agreement. It will also allow us to vary the conditions because no country makes completely open ended treaties.

            The question is that bearing in mind there is an probably an issue with a White House leaker who will probably be there for 3.5-7.5 years – shouldn’t we change that agreement.

            There is fuckall we can do about having Trump in the White House. That is up to the US. So how about concentrating on NZ where we do have an ability to change things…

            • Bill 4.2.1.1.1.1

              An unknown person accused Trump of being a sheep-shagger (essentially) and offered no proof of that being the case. Trump denies it. It’s not about believing him or trusting him, it’s about the accuser offering up some fucking credible and tangible ‘something’ beyond the mere sound of their own accusation.

              The treaty arrangement is…and you accused me of being naive!

              Why is there probably a White House leaker? No-one who was present at the meeting has made any kind of claim about anything untoward being said or offered up.

              You think NZ has the ability to change (presumably) it’s intelligence services relationships with the US. I don’t think so. It’s a master and servant relationship – not one of equals.

              • McFlock

                Unknown to us, not unknown to WaPo. And WaPo concealed some details and identites for (if the story is true) very good reasons.

                Yes, it could be completely fabricated. But that is significantly less likely with WaPo than it is with either the trump regime, fox news, or reddit.

                So really, we have a “X said, but Y said” situation. X generally tries to tell the truth, has built a commercial reputation on telling the truth, and while it has had a few failures to do so or has exagerrated the truth on occassion, it’s usually pretty reliable.

                Y is a narcissistic pathological liar, and the allegation is perfectly consistent with Y’s known behaviour.

                I can understand a certain amount of scepticsm or a “wait to see if we see more” approach, but it’s not a random and extreme allegation that came out of a vacuum.

              • lprent

                No-one who was present at the meeting has made any kind of claim about anything untoward being said or offered up.

                And that is an interesting point.

                Basically what you are arguing is that WaPo didn’t have a source. Curiously enough that would be a cause for the security apparatus to execute warrants for iff the executive said that ut didn’t happen. That obviously hasn’t happened.

                The wording in tbe last few days from Trump, McMaster and Spicer was unusually precise in what they said and what they answered.

                It never says that what WaPo alleged didn’t happen. What they carefully say is essentially that no classified information was communicated. Which is technically correct because Trump said it and it was essentially declassified as he would have spoken it.

                What was pretty weird about that meeting was also (from memory of the news reports at the time) was that the audience didn’t have the usual type of people in it from state and the intel side.

                But as I pointed out earlier. That is all irrelevant to our decisions. That the issue has been raised about Trumps handling of 3rd party Intel is sufficient for us to examine what we entrust to the US.

                • Bill

                  Basically what you are arguing is that WaPo didn’t have a source.

                  No. I’m saying (have said over and over) that beyond telling us they were not present at the meeting, they are not providing any information about their sources .

                  That means we can’t evaluate those sources or the information they are providing.

                  In cases where sources cannot be revealed, the information presented is usually verifiable. But we don’t have that in this case.

                  You’re willing to accept it all as gospel because “Washington Post”? Seriously?

                  You don’t think the Washington Post is ever fed baseless or dodgy stories to run for the sake of propaganda – and that they do that willingly? You haven’t hesitated to wonder why not one of the liberal msm that ran with the Washington Post story on their front pages asked or wondered about the Washington Post’s sources?

                  First fucking rule of journalism in the absence of any actual evidence I’d have thought – y’know, who is saying whatever and why might they be saying whatever.

  5. Tinfoilhat 5

    “There’s a power struggle going on within the US establishment. It’s kind of beyond me why some people are so keen to pick sides – to jump on bandwagons. Maybe they achieve a sense of gratification or something from running with a kind of liberal mob rule that stokes their hatred of Trump?”

    🙄

    • lprent 5.1

      And how does that affect debate about passing information from our intelligence gatherers to the leaker of the free world?

  6. Anne 6

    Over and above the well known symptoms of narcissism are the six behavioural signs below:

    1) Highly reactive to criticism.
    2) Underneath the self-adulation and sense of entitlement they have low self esteem.
    3) Inordinately self righteous and defensive.
    4) React to contrary view-points with anger and rage.
    5) Project onto others qualities, traits and behaviours they can’t- or won’t – accept in themselves.
    6) Poor interpersonal boundaries.

    Trump has exhibited all six behaviours in their most toxic form in the past week alone!

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/201311/6-signs-narcissism-you-may-not-know-about

    Bill is right about one thing: We’re between the devil and the deep blue sea. Get rid of the “toxic” narcissist and we have the “nutty” fundamentalist tea-party Christian to contend with.

    As a non religious person, all I can say is God help us!

    • lprent 6.1

      Oh I agree that he is right about the Trump / Pence / House – because of the nature of US politics.

      However what my question is is quite different. What do we do about it in terms of our long term program of intelligence sharing with the US. For that matter with other ties to that state?

      • marty mars 6.1.1

        We do nothing like we always do.

        The Euro capitalist cultural connection won’t break easily if at all. Remember at our end of the intelligence chain is the tick from dipton – oh dear we’re fucked.

      • Anne 6.1.2

        What do we do about it in terms of our long term program of intelligence sharing with the US…

        It’s interesting to note that Andrew Little drew immediate attention to the question when responding to the latest development yesterday. He noted NZ might have to reform their processes of information sharing in light of the Trump regime. He declined to comment on what he might do as prime-minister which was the correct response in light of Trump’s behaviour and excesses.

        All English was prepared to say was… it’s got nothing to do with us (or words to that effect) which is nonsense. As members of the 5 Eyes fraternity, it has everything to do with us.

        Thanks lprent for an illuminating post.

        • lprent 6.1.2.1

          I didn’t see that from Little. But I’m damn glad that someone in our media or parliament is raising the question.

  7. Ad 7

    Lyn you will particularly enjoy the new story that Comey wrote a memo detailing a meeting between himself and Trump in which Trump directly requested that the investigation against Flynn be stopped:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-comey-memo-trump_us_591b6e8de4b0a7458fa3f31e?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

    Just hitting the MSM now.

    Comey’s paper trail on his Trump meetings and calls will I am sure be as good as any senior bureaucrats’.

  8. Ad 8

    Just hitting the media now: Trump requested Comey stop the investigation into Flynn.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/james-comey-memo-trump_us_591b6e8de4b0a7458fa3f31e?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

  9. adam 9

    Leaving aside the use of intelligence gathering outside of a war, and the moral implications that has.

    Leaving aside that historically, leaders have chose to ignore intelligence. Thinking Stalin and the German invasion.

    Leaving aside the situation inside the USA. Trump is an Idiot, and that Pence gives me nightmares.

    New Zealand, has no choice, but to keep gathering information and pass it on. That is the essence of the 5 eyes.

    As for the bases we have here, are in at least one case, is maned by personal of the NSA. How many others have staff who are out side the GCSB and indeed foreign nationals working for their respective agencies – we do not know?

    We have at lease two USA bases in NZ, so we have no choice.

    Whilst it might be nice to think we could walk away from this, it is never going to happen. We are so tied into the programme we just have to tip our caps and go yes sir, becasue that is the club we are signed up to.

    If the NZ public wanted to go neutral, and God knows it’s a position I would support. It would mean a real break with the USA, that in this political environment would bring not only political, but economic costs.

    • McFlock 9.1

      yep. Sadly, our safest course is probably just to keep passing stuff on – not that we really filter stuff from the bases, anyway. With the proviso that anything they choose to pass back to us might have already been burned by the vapid bluster of a septugenarian adolescant.

      Not that they told us shit about Rainbow Warrior, but they might have passed on something useful in days gone by.

      I suppose the interesting quandary would be if our folk in harm’s way actually cultivated a high-level source in a Taliban or terrorist group.

      Would we pass on full details about the fruits of that source, or just snippets, or even just shut up and hope the yanks never found out we knew the IEDs were there, because the source was delivering more information that kept our troops safe and we couldn’t trust the yanks to keep the source a secret?

      • Bill 9.1.1

        No quandary. As soon as any communication is made about any such supposed quandary, the US has the information. Well, if there’s any electronic communication made.

        So short of using couriers and/or carrier pigeons…

        Also. Let’s assume just for a sec that NZ did deliberately withhold info from the US and the US then got wind of that fact. What you reckon as to the repercussions? And then, knowing there’d be repercussions if info was withheld, what are the odds of that ever even crossing the mind of NZ intelligence?

        • McFlock 9.1.1.1

          If our armed forces can’t even manage non-trivial encryption, they wouldn’t pick up the intelligence in the first place.

          Anyway, repercussions: standard military relations and diplomatic fare. Not providing air cover in a timely manner. Not aiding in logistics. Not voting our way in UN.

          As for the oods of witholding crossing NZ’s mind, it depends entirely on how many NZ soldiers you think they’d be prepared to sacrifice. Given the media prominence when our soldiers die one at a time, even a single large attack would drastically change the government’s priorities. And then the intelligence folk need to worry about the link between their carelessness with sources and those deaths.

          So yeah, I don’t think it would be an outright rubber stamp to just burn the source by handing intel over to the yanks.

          • Bill 9.1.1.1.1

            Thinking repercussions would be more likely of an economic variety – y’know, hit people/countries where it hurts. Not that it will happen – NZ like other ‘club members’ are master’s well behaved and generally grateful little servants.

            • McFlock 9.1.1.1.1.1

              Yeah, maybe some of the old “oh, this case of crayfish looks odd, we’d better delay at customs the entire $200k worth for a week until they’re all good and smelly” treatment too. I doubt formal sanctions though – too much paperwork.

              Grateful servants are one thing, but it takes a special kind to slit their own throat for their master. If they had a major source who was regularly saving NZ lives with good intelligence, I’m not sure NZ would arbitrarily hand over that source to the yanks to be given to putin who might or might not be co-operating with the Taliban at some level.

              Now I’m not actually opposed to the Russian move as such because I suspect they’re actually doing it the way the yanks should have donein the first place (as in deal with each Taliban group on its own terms and steer clear of the nuttier ones), especially if they’re focusing more on humanitarian and infrastructure aid rather than “here are some new guns to play with”.

              The trouble is that it provides a chain of motives for the identity of a source saving NZ lives to end up being outed to the source’s colleagues, who might be angry in a very pointy way.

              • Bill

                You do know that the Taliban tried on numerous occasions to hand Bin Laden over to the US before 9/11? Problem was, the US at that point didn’t ‘recognise’ the Taliban as the legit government – fuck, they even had him in court and asked the US to provide proof of involvement in embassy bombings so they could add it to charges and wash their fucking hands of him. And the US sent them….wait for it….a tape recording of a 60 Minutes programme! Second problem was that the yanks were really stupid at reading between the lines of what the Taliban were telling them with regards Bin Ladens whereabouts and security at any given time. The third problem was that even when the Taliban tried to extradite him through Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia wouldn’t allow it.

                Anyway. I digress.

                • McFlock

                  Yeah, pretty much.

                  But then I also know that the Taliban are a much looser arrangement of local power structures than in most other parts of the world. Some are in nutbar territory, some just go with the flow to keep their people safe and would have flipped if the yanks were any good at empire. Can’t build good roads, either.

                  Hence why I’m not immediately all “what da fuk” at Russian involvement with some Taliban groups.

  10. bwaghorn 10

    trump to putin
    ‘i’ve got a secret but you mustn’t tell anyone ‘

    of course we should stop telling the fuckers anything till they turf the cunning idiot to the curb.

  11. UncookedSelachimorpha 11

    I wonder how Trump’s supporters will put a positive spin on this one?

    Personally I think we should already be extremely wary of intelligence cooperation with the US – and should avoid military cooperation entirely. With the US we are getting in bed with a country that tortures and without legal process kills and detains (and that was under Obama!).

    His support for waterboarding and killing the families of militants is already reason enough to question any cooperation – and not keeping secrets makes cooperation just ridiculous! With friends like that, who needs enemies.

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    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
    2 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
    2 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 ...
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    8 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
    8 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
    9 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
    9 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
    10 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
    11 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
    13 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 hours 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
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