Lone nutters and suicide by cop

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, December 16th, 2014 - 89 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, australian politics, International, making shit up, police, Politics - Tags: , ,

The cafe siege in Sydney is over. The lone nutter there was apparently killed by police after he’d killed a hostage.

The details of the nutter are revealing. See “Profile of Haron Monis, the man behind Sydney cafe siege“. A writer of obnoxious letters. Currently facing charges related to the killing of his ex-wife. With multiple current charges against him for decade old sexual offenses whilst operating as a “spiritual healer” involved in black magic.

It is a picture of a person wrapping their own anger, mental and sexual issues with some rationalisation. The kind of person that MPs and their staffs across the country know only too well in their role as the final resource in the social systems. Some of them go on to commit suicide by cop.

Meanwhile over here, we have our own lone nutters. Some are more dangerous that others. For instance an idiot National MP, Mark Mitchell, talking to Audrey Young. “Country is not immune from extremist actions, says former security specialist”

The MP who chaired the anti-terrorist legislation rushed through Parliament last week, Mark Mitchell, says the bill was “100 per cent” justified.

And he said he had had messages yesterday thanking him for the bill in light of the Sydney hostage crisis.

“It becomes a lot more real for people when it’s three hours across the ditch.”

Huh? This jerkoff MP doesn’t appear to have considered the most likely explanation was always the lone nutter. Instead he joins the hysterical fools in the kiwiblog sewer with urine dribbling down their legs quaking at the prospect of iman invasion and sharia law. In their usual dumbarse response, some of the tools that live there start muttering about mob violence.

How exactly does recent legislation in any way help against lone nutters grabbing a cafe full of people and committing suicide by cop? That was always the most likely explanation.

He doesn’t explain that. However what Mark Mitchell did was make himself look like a unrestrained idiot. Mind you that isn’t hard. Generally anyone so admired by Cameron Slater (as shown in Dirty Politics and the rawshark dumps) is likely to be complete jerk off. It was confirmed that Mark Mitchell is an publicity seeking fool back in August when he claimed that a theft was related to Dirty Politics.

What is a bit irritating is that Andrew Little covered his bets with this pathetic fantasy, albeit in a more restrained way.

Mr Little said last night that it was not yet known whether the Sydney crisis involved somebody connected to a network, or was a lone person or whether it was someone with mental health issues. “But the reality is that the sort of risks that the legislation is designed to deal with are real.

I remain quite unconvinced. To me this legislation looks more like the kind of thing that our rather paranoid security people like to have in hand, not for the ostensible targets, but for their more general surveillance of people inside NZ who push for change.

It has very few safeguards simply because the security forces only have to lay a claim of terrorism without any substantive evidence to use it. As the operation 8 fiasco of 2007 showed, the time and effort involved in the state funded  5 year legal retreat do not provide any effective recourse against such fantasies by security forces.

Somehow I doubt that they will use the powers given to them to track individual lone nutters like Haron Monis or the Aramoana killer David Gray or any of the other similar situations over the years. They have killed and continue to kill more people here than the fantasy terrorist groups. Sadly they appear to not be sexy enough for fear mongering politicians like Mark Mitchell who instead push through legislation that appears pretty useless against the ostensible threats.

That all being said. It looks like the Sydney police did a very good job in containing and minimizing the damage from their lone nutter

89 comments on “Lone nutters and suicide by cop ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1
    16 December 2014 at 8:31 am

    Haron Monis’ biography is more reminiscent of Titford than bin Laden.

    • lprent 1.1
      16 December 2014 at 8:34 am

      Indeed.

      Titford is actually quite a good comparison.

      This is the guy who according to his ex-wife and kids, burnt down his house so he could blame it on local iwi.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1
        16 December 2014 at 8:53 am

        Extreme misogyny, extreme paranoia and bigotry, hatred and fear of government…just another rwnj 😈

  2. dv 2
    16 December 2014 at 8:35 am

    AND Key saying that it would be naive to think such a siege couldn’t happen here.

    To Late already has

    Aramoana
    Raumati

    • Wonderpup 2.1
      16 December 2014 at 9:04 am

      David Grey was my first thought as well. Its shameful that politicians are using this as a way to defend their anti-democratic impulses. I saw Tau Henare testing the line for National on twitter – I assume it worked well for them, so Key was able to wheel it out.

      On a side note I was really impressed by the Guardian’s live feed of events. I felt updated and in touch without being soiled by sensationalism. Their Australian edition is coming along nicely, it would seem.

    • Tracey 2.2
      16 December 2014 at 10:18 am

      He probably doesnt remember them…

      “…Mr Key admitted there was always the risk that a lone wolf could stage a similar attack in New Zealand.

      “There’s the risk that there’s a person that is somehow attracted to the teachings and the kind of message and propaganda that these people [Islamic State] are peddling,” he told TV3’s Firstline.

      “We know that that risk is here in New Zealand, but of course we do everything we can to try and combat that.”

      Mr Key was confident the police could respond appropriately to an attack in New Zealand.

      Australia has contributed military help to the fight against IS, but Mr Key didn’t think the attack was necessarily a result of Australia’s involvement.

      And he said the siege wouldn’t make any difference to New Zealand’s approach to IS, otherwise known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

      “In the end we have to confront a terrorist group like ISIS.” …”

      • felix 2.2.1
        16 December 2014 at 10:44 am

        I remember Aramoana and Raumati, but I can’t recall having any opinions about them one way way or the other.

        It was so long ago, and it just wasn’t something I was focused on at the time.

        I didn’t go to any of the shootings myself, but I probably would have if I could have afforded to.

        • Tracey 2.2.1.1
          16 December 2014 at 10:48 am

          STOP IT!!!!

          Although I wanted to be PM since I was a boy and first started having “dreams” it never occurred to me to take note of things like Aramoana or the Springbok Tour of 1981 because I thought becoming PM was about how much money you could bring with you, and THATs when I decided to be a currency trader.

    • Roflcopter 2.3
      16 December 2014 at 11:03 am

      Raumati? Do you mean Raurimu?

  3. TeWhareWhero 3
    16 December 2014 at 8:39 am

    In the current climate, the actions of any mentally unstable person who happens to be Muslim will be used to justify the repressive and anti-democratic laws that have been passed under the guise of controlling terrorism.

    • RedLogix 4.1
      16 December 2014 at 8:50 am

      A quick interview on ABC News this morning with Monis’ lawyer described the man as a ‘political refugee’ who had suffered very badly in detention. But that his ideology had led him to abandon ‘common sense’ and that he was a ‘damaged individual’.

      Paul Buchanan makes some very good points. While my point elsewhere that the bail process will never be perfect still stands – I’m beginning to wonder exactly how the hell this guy was ever allowed to be released.

      • minnie 4.1.1
        16 December 2014 at 10:18 am

        I think “ideology” is the keyword above!!!

        • Crashcart 4.1.1.1
          16 December 2014 at 10:40 am

          Just as it applies when a pro gun nut case in America goes mad and shoots the place up. Unstable person using an extreemist ideology to try and legitamise their actions.

    • Chooky 4.2
      16 December 2014 at 9:04 am

      +100…thanks karol…very good analysis by Paul Buchanan…ie it was a deranged individual and NOT ISIS…..and one wonders why this obviously unstable guy ( Shi’ite not Sunni )with a criminal record and who had killed his wife was let out of prison!….and even then did not have a close police watch put on him to prevent what happened!

      ….the whole thing plays into the hands of those who are trying to frighten the population into increased surveillance ….and which obviously did NOT work in this case…even when there was a guy who obviously should have been watched

      ….also great Post thanks Lprent

      • travellerev 4.2.1
        16 December 2014 at 9:21 am

        He was a deranged person and very likely set up to be a patsy

        • tinfoilhat 4.2.1.1
          16 December 2014 at 9:56 am

          🙄

          Eve believe or not, almost all of the time acts such of these are not the work of some nefarious hidden government or religious group.

          • The Murphey 4.2.1.1.1
            16 December 2014 at 10:04 am

            Q. Are the departments responsible for letting individuals with records of serious violent offending and mental issues out on bail or parole the work of hidden groups?

            Q. Is letting individuals with records of violent offending and mental issues out into the public a tactic which could used to ensure a ‘climate of fear’ to suit political agendas?

            • Tracey 4.2.1.1.1.1
              16 December 2014 at 10:13 am

              Q. Has Australia just been a victim of a society that simply refuses to take alleged sexual crimes seriously enough?

              If yes, THAT is the real warning for NZ which alse has an ambivalent attitude to sexual offending, not some terrorist threat.

            • RedLogix 4.2.1.1.1.2
              16 December 2014 at 10:22 am

              Answer. Given this mans well-known criminal record and obvious derangement (how often does a man’s own lawyer describe someone in such terms?) – AND the fact that he had already suffered badly in detention before, AND the fact that he was on bail – I think we can categorically throw out the window the idea that he was any kind of ‘lone wold’ unknown to the authorities.

        • Tracey 4.2.1.2
          16 December 2014 at 10:11 am

          For whom was he allegedly the patsy?

          Sometimes people do stuff cos they are mentally ill and or criminally narcassistic and despite the hand wringing of politicians and the vacuous ejacultation of media all milking it for their own means, it remains a single act of violence unrelated to any evil cause.

          • felix 4.2.1.2.1
            16 December 2014 at 10:50 am

            Yep.

            On the other hand, what did I do when I let my dog off the leash in a paddock full of rabbits on the weekend?

            Dogs will be dogs, you know?

            And we live in a world where Cameron Slater can get prisoners moved around the country at will.

            • Tracey 4.2.1.2.1.1
              16 December 2014 at 10:53 am

              Agree and see my other comments about he “only” allegedly killed his wife and sexually abused some folks, nothing really serious

    • marty mars 4.3
      16 December 2014 at 9:28 am

      “is this effectively using something inaccurately for political gain”

      This ‘outreach’ line is outrageous – good that this spin is unspun by Paul and the interviewer.

    • Tracey 4.4
      16 December 2014 at 10:00 am

      heard it. Colour me impressed in recent weeks by buchanans calm and fact based analysis.

    • MrSmith 4.5
      16 December 2014 at 11:32 am

      Agreed Karol

      To put things in context you need to listen to Key first.

      “However what Mark Mitchell did was make himself look like a unrestrained idiot.”

      Not to be outdone though key makes an even Bigger idiot of himself.

      Key here.
      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20161221/prime-minister-john-key-on-sydney-siege

      Then listen Karol’s link with Dr Paul Buchanan basically call Key a hysterical liar here.
      http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20161223/could-australia's-involvement-in-fight-against-is-be-to-blame-for-seige

  5. les 5
    16 December 2014 at 8:42 am

    ‘Authorities outside Philadelphia say six people are dead and one is wounded in multiple homes and the suspect remains on the loose.

    Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman identified the suspect in the Monday morning shootings as 35-year-old Bradley William Stone. She says all of the victims have a “familial relationship” to Stone.

    Police officers have converged on a home in Pennsburg, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia. They are using a megaphone to compel an end to their daylong pursuit of Stone.’

  6. travellerev 6
    16 December 2014 at 9:17 am

    Iprent you’re getting there. Little by little!

    Thing is Australia’s anti terror squad did an anti terror drill one year before this happened on Martin place and another on how to go about solving a hostage situation in a downtown cafe. And the “lone nutter” has been on the radar for a long time. In fact Muslim leaders had called for the police to investigate him as early as 2008!!!!

  7. millsy 7
    16 December 2014 at 9:17 am

    Tasmania. 1996. Martin Bryant.

    No Islam there. Just a loner with a low IQ and mental illness who was able to access firearms. He walked into a cafe and killed 36 people. No amount of antI-terror law would have stopped him (though making it harder to purchase a gun would have.)

  8. Skinny 8
    16 December 2014 at 9:23 am

    What a sorry saga and very sad outcome. A handful of hostage’s left, and 2 of them are dead. With this oppotunist nutcase carrying a criminal sheet a mile long, it was always going to turn out badly the longer the siege went on. So much for the boasting of the Worlds finest armed offenders squad. They should have took this ‘nothing to lose’ attention seeker down early on when he was prancing around by the front window. You would have to say this lunatic should have been in custody pending trial for 47 indecent assault charges.

    Watching Key on First Line this morning spinning events around to justify sending troops to combat ISIS was simply peddling war propaganda. Trying to say categorically “this had nothing to do with Australian troops in the middle east” is total crap! This halfwit is captured on the news protesting their involvement.

    • Paul 8.1
      16 December 2014 at 9:25 am

      Why is Key so keen to get troops to Iraq?

      • Skinny 8.1.1
        16 December 2014 at 9:49 am

        Key is under instructions to close this deal out, like a good trader does. He will be flying home to America this weekend to give an update. While there he will be debriefed and handed a script (to take to Hawaii to learn) tutoring up on the latest snake oil speak since he has suffered credibility issues i.e. caught out talking crap.

    • vto 8.2
      16 December 2014 at 9:38 am

      John Key is the most dishonest Prime Minister we have ever had to suffer.

    • Colonial Rawshark 8.3
      16 December 2014 at 9:41 am

      As I said beneath the other post, things went down hill the moment Australian authorities started treating this like a militarised “anti-terrorism” operation instead of a standard armed hostage negotiation.

      • Skinny 8.3.1
        16 December 2014 at 10:03 am

        Yes CR I agree totally. To me it appears a failing Abbott’s regime couldn’t help but use the seige as a PR stunt to lift themselves out of the mire. Nothing like a bit of nationalism for a Government polling poorly.

    • Manuka AOR 8.4
      16 December 2014 at 10:23 am

      “should have been in custody pending trial for 47 indecent assault charges. “

      Multiple sexual assault charges, accessory to murder, increasingly deranged comments on facebook, prior requests from within his own community for police to investigate – Why was he out running free? (And why are the msm not asking that question?)

  9. Shona 9
    16 December 2014 at 9:24 am

    Thanks Lprent, a voice of reason and sanity amongst a sea of rabid right wing loonies. These situations always seem like yet another version of Dog Day Afternoon.

  10. batweka 10
    16 December 2014 at 9:51 am

    “David Grey was my first thought as well.”

    Mine was John Tully. I see stargazer has a post up today about beneficiaries not being able to access emergency food grants because in the wake of Ashburton some offices won’t let clients in without ID, or even with ID (plus a bunch of other bureaucratic idiocies). So here we have another situation where the solution to a single, context specific act of violence is to see danger everywhere and to try and control everything but in the process of doing so, the people most at risk of going over the edge are being put under even more pressure than usual.

    It’s not fucking rocket science WINZ (and here I’m talking about senior managers and the decision makers in Wellington). Start treating your clients as human beings, put systems in place that reduce stress and enable dignity, and see an improvement in your relationship with the wider world.

  11. saveNZ 11
    16 December 2014 at 10:21 am

    Love the way Mark Mitchell ‘bribed’ his way into the National Party. Just takes about $10k to a slime ball for ‘blog services’ – what a bargain. Not sure how the more deserving Nat members feel about that, who were undermined in the process. No surprises there that Mark was behind that stupid bill. Obviously can’t wait to start a religious war against anyone not on the 1% hard right of center and mentally ill to boot. My God after cleaning up Security in this country how about Social Welfare. The next bill might be concentration camps for Beneficiaries – he’s such a wizard for policy and democracy for the Nats.

  12. Scott 12
    16 December 2014 at 10:49 am

    There are some interesting parallels, as well as differences, between the tragedy in Sydney and the ‘battle of White Rocks’ which saw a couple of supporters of the Ottoman Empire try to bring World War One to the Australian Outback almost exactly a century ago: http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2009/11/from-fort-hood-to-broken-hill.html

  13. Paul Campbell 13
    16 December 2014 at 1:28 pm

    So the plan is to stop all our “Muslim Terrorists” from going overseas ….. John Key just hasn’t thought this through, if you stop them from going overseas (and they really exist) where does he think they are going to do their terror … in cafes in Ponsonby of course, and it will be John Key’s fault

  14. Mike 14
    16 December 2014 at 2:45 pm

    It’s true that it’s very difficult to stop lone nutters, but this case differs from an Aromoana case in that it’s clearly linked to a political beef with Western involvement in the Middle East. His demands included:

    1. An ISIL flag.

    2. To speak to the Prime Minister.

    Note that in September ISIL called for lone wolf attacks in Australia, so it’s not something occuring in a vacuum. Similarly, there have been numerous arrests of people who had been planning be-headings, so the demand for surveillance powers seems a sad requirement at the moment.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 14.1
      16 December 2014 at 3:44 pm

      It’s also “very clearly linked” to impending protracted loss of liberty for murder and rape. I’m picking loss of liberty weighs heavier on the mind than recently boarded political bandwagons.

      Just a wild guess.

    • BLiP 14.2
      16 December 2014 at 5:00 pm

      ‘

      It wasn’t an ISIS flag . . . if you are taking your information from what John Key said on RNZ this morning, be advised: its another of his lies.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 14.3
      16 December 2014 at 5:02 pm

      RWNJ duped by lying Prime Minister. Ho hum.

      • Paul 14.3.1
        16 December 2014 at 7:04 pm

        You should feel sorry for members of cults like Mike.
        There is hope, but they need our help.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 14.3.1.1
          16 December 2014 at 8:30 pm

          Charity is overrated. I suggest we maintain strict rules of evidence and extend them into all public decisions, then provide income assistance to destitute public relations executives and wingnuts.

    • Tracey 14.4
      16 December 2014 at 6:02 pm

      Do you get that wide surveillance power didnt prevent two innocent folks dying in a cafe in sydney this morning?

    • Tracey 14.5
      16 December 2014 at 6:05 pm

      I guess you missed the bit about the australian police not yet convinced it is terrorism, but what would they know, compared to “i dont recall” John Key.

    • McFlock 14.6
      16 December 2014 at 6:59 pm

      This sad fellow sounds more like Samuel Byck than Abu Nidal.

      Amazing how your comments on behalf of demonstrably-ineffective mass surveillance aren’t matched by your [absent] calls for better mental health care, or even a review of bail risk criteria.

    • Murray Rawshark 14.7
      17 December 2014 at 1:25 am

      There were not numerous arrests of people planning beheadings. One that was reported was because a guy had a plastic sword. There have been very few charges from an operation involving more than 800 police. One arrest was apparently based on an incorrectly translated phone call.

      There is something sad in your comment, but it’s not a requirement. It’s a Kiwi who believes anything.

  15. vto 15
    16 December 2014 at 7:05 pm

    So Tony Abbot reckons this gunman committed an act of political violence.

    How does Tony Abbot square that away with Australia’s acts of political violence in the middle east for the last dozen years?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 15.1
      16 December 2014 at 8:20 pm

      “reckons”

      It’s a sliding scale I guess: from the top:

      1. Publishes in a peer-reviewed journal.
      2. Has evidence for.
      3. Believes as a result of direct personal experience.
      4. Thinks.
      5. Reckons.
      6. Spins.
      7. The shit wingnuts do.

  16. barry 16
    16 December 2014 at 8:11 pm

    The one thing that the siege has shown us is that no matter what powers they give themselves the security apparatus is incapable of stopping random acts by nutters. It does not in any way make a case for increasing surveillance powers.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 16.1
      16 December 2014 at 8:26 pm

      Nope, it hasn’t even shown us that: we already knew that. In that sense it’s yet another banal illustration of just how shite “conservative” “opinion” is these days.

      The good news is that #illridewithyou

      • Paul 16.1.1
        16 December 2014 at 8:30 pm

        I’ll ride with you was a wonderful show of solidarity amongst people.
        Generous empathetic and societal.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 16.1.1.1
          16 December 2014 at 8:36 pm

          Human values are independent of human rights, thankfully, Lao Tzu wrote that when the government is lazy and blunt, the people are kind and honest.

          Our government struggles to match ethics that were ascendant, if not ubiquitous, six thousand years ago.

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  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #48 2023
    Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    7 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    7 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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