So, I was walking along in Kelburn yesterday, and I saw Stephen Franks’ faded yellow mini. He was driving along in the centre of the lane when, without warning, he made a sharp right turn. And I was all like ‘metaphor’.
If you Labour guys weren’t so dangerous Steve your comment would be funny. It isn’t. Get back to work and stop posting on taxpayer time.
[lprent: Don’t make stupid comments. You have no idea where Steve works. On the same basis that you are using for assumptions I could tell you to stop sending in comments from the sewer, because that is obviously where you work. However I know you got that from a sewer – that technical idiot Whale – so I have more basis for my guess than you have for yours. ]
Whilst it is certainly not the worst mistake you’ve ever made, I think you’ll find that the “mini” is actually a VW Beetle. I thought you’d recognise the “people’s car”.
i was tootling thru the streets of a southern town when i saw a little red toyota with ruth dyson’s emblazonry on it. she was driving all over the road and not really appearing to know how to drive at all. it was very dangerous to the people that lived in that town. she in fact appeared to be perhaps drunk and in breach of the very laws she is responsible for. and i was like ‘metaphor’.
written on my own time and i’m never on taxpayer time. One could ask whose time you are writing on, but it’s noone’s business and you should behave the same way to others.
hs. interesting.. nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations, of course, but i wonder what he said to parliament regarding the glenn donation – if he mislead parliament, that would be grounds for sacking.
“if he mislead parliament, that would be grounds for sacking.”
Well the Dalziel precedent is that if you mislead the public you can expect Clark to fire you. And rightly so. It is now untenable that Winston states he did not know about a donation when he in fact sought it.
Helen Clark has refused to be drawn on an election date.[NZH]
… and HC is stalled at the lights.
Don’t bother answering either – this is perfectly acceptable, not required to, nothing in it.
But put Key in the same position, it would be a scandal, there would be a secret agenda, etc etc.
You could even get me to write the odd post now and then seeing how predictable some of the lines are becoming (notwithstanding the convention that this is the collective voice of individuals just in case I stir up the mod again).
“hs. interesting.. nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations”
Still standing behind Winnie I see Steve.
He has just been outed as lying not only in the house but to the NZ public.
But hey he props the labour Govt so that’s OK cause its not illegal. Pathetic.
Dave simple – election dates should be set in legislation – third Saturday of October in the appropriate year or something similar.
SP
So in your opinion Winston has been telling the truth but Owen Glenn is lying, Bob Jones is lying, Rodney Hide is lying etc etc – the man is bringing parliament into even more disrepute than it’s presently held.
If he was a Labour minister he’d be gone – the only reason he’s still there is he’s needed for the ETS.
Both Labour and National are gutless to still be courting this charlatan.
For months now, I’ve been looking at Ligherstandard’s comments and soliciting a clear or even mildly interesting point but have noooo idea if anyone’s ever found one…..and I’m like, metaphor, man….
mike: SP didn’t support or not support Winston. What he said was that it was going to be a problem for Winston if he’d mislead parliament.
Now a comment on your attitude. It is only in your lexicon that you have to attack without evidence (ie mad dog syndrome) on every occasion. In your warped thinking waiting for enough evidence to form a judgement is ‘support’. You are not just wrong, but I’d have to say that your attitude is bloody dangerous. It is the attitude of the fuckwits who lead lynch mobs.
Peters has an explanation in Stuff, but this is starting to look more murky than prior information to me.
Ah Yes AK the person who extrapolates a survey of six health systems in which NZ comes third equal with Australia to NZ having the 2nd best health system in the world.
I suppose you’ll be delighted that we have a Foreign Minister that has repeatedly misled both parliament and the public ?
Not trying to threadjack but to continue the Peters line, I’m involved in the racing industry and hopefully the industry leaders can separate themselves from what is becoming a huge political liability.
What’s the car metaphor for that … caught speeding in stolen car without a WOF?
If he misled parliament ……… are you trying to be funny ?
Ban me if you want but this blog has been pretty much in isolation with it’s ongoing refusal to call Winston for what he is.
[lprent: You mean that the posters here prefer to have some kind of evidence and are not prone to joining lynch mobs at the drop of a hat? In case you hadn’t noticed this is quite a distinct site. We use our brains more frequently than some other sites.
I don’t know about the others, but I’ve seen Winston in action before. I need to see overwhelming evidence because the guy always has a hidden edge. In the meantime he keeps getting the publicity he needs. ]
When is Helen calling the snap election. She is now a leader of a corrupt reigime. Did OG drop Labour in it as well saying it was thanks for supporting Labour in forming the govt?
See the speaker is showing her communist ideals in suppressing Rodney Hide yesterday.
Are you reminding us yet again that our health system ranks third in the world (second last time) at a third of the cost per capita of the private US system (which ranked last) on a highly respected international survey which all those “NZ and its health system sucks” tory campaigners can find by googling Commonwealth Fund?
So I was like you know and he was like no really and I was like yeah and he was like really metaphoric and I well you know blah blah blah
Steve
This is the closest I can find to what you put up as a piece of English Prose. It’s from a spoof on Valley Speak in California, regarded generally as an example of how not to communicate!
If what you actually meant was “I thought to my self ‘wow, is that a metaphor or not!’ ” then perhaps you would grace the English language with those words rather than slang from a foreign country.
Or is that what the taught you in English classes in our advanced state education system? (Sarcasm, in case you took it seriously!)
nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations
Actually, under the old legislation, wouldn’t it have been illegal for Peters to have known the source of an “anonymous” donation? I suspect this is why Peters has specifically addressed the “who did the soliciting” question in his response.
>
>>But put Key in the same position, it would be a scandal, there would be a secret agenda, etc etc.
Indeed, secret agenda does seem to be a common phrase in the Labour Party’s vocabulary. However, the interesting thing to me is that I cannot find a single policy in their platform for re-election so far. Perhaps that’s the real secret?
3rd equal out of six does not equate to 2nd best in the world you buffoon.
Lynn
Poppycock the posters here have convinced themselves of far worse things about the National party on far less evidence than there is of Winston Peters misleading the public and parliament.
Actually its a gold coloured paint, which tends to look horrible when you cover it in gold stickers. I wonder if he has got authorisation on it yet? he hadnt last time i saw it, a couple of months back.
Poppycock the posters here have convinced themselves of far worse things about the National party on far less evidence than there is of Winston Peters misleading the public and parliament.
Not quite. If you read posts carefully (as I do), you’ll find that the posters seldom make absolutist statements.
What they do is to define an interpretation or an opinion based on the available evidence. What they don’t do is state what *must* happen. I have no doubt that you could find a few cases where an absolutist position has been taken, but it isn’t often.
The reason is because the posters here are aware of the primary dictum of politics – that you seldom know the whole story. Therefore everything is in a field of grey and the best you can do is to cautiously venture an opinion.
However I’d have to say that the commentators do sometimes take absolutist positions on posts, often without fully reading them (IMO).
do you not think there is enough evidence by now of Winston intentionally misleading everybody (including HC) on this matter
No. The reasons are
1. We do not know what Winston said to HC
2. Winston hasn’t fully replied to what Owen has said. What he has said requires support.
3. Winston has pulled things out of the hat far too often for me to make early judgements.
4. Anyone with any sense reserves judgements. Look at the Brian Henry stuff last week for why.
Are you just a tad titchy because it looks as though OG has once again landed labour in a pile of shite this close to the election?
In my opinion, Owen Glenn has always acted with the utmost of integrity and always done things above board. That is in stark contrast with the legal (but IMO morally bankrupt devices) like the Waitemata Trust or the other anonymous trusts used so extensively by Act and the Nats.
It has bugger all to do with my favourite party, except in the minds of the terminally conspiracy obsessed. What annoys me is people making premature judgements, and then attacking posters for not agreeing or trying to tell them what they should say.
As you know – that always makes me tetchy and more than usually sarcastic.
Billy. franks is a former ACT MP – their colour is bright yellow. Now he’s National… and he drives a faded yellow car, its like he’s taking the piss out of himself
In the absence of a specific thread about developments re Winson and Glenn, all we know is:
1. what Winston said
2. what Glenn said
3. what Winston said is not what Glenn said
By SP’s logic and many others on this (at least according to r0b) political authority one Nat saying something *perceived* to be different to a policy constituted a scandal.
So given there is no perception of disagreement but absolute disagreement, surely this constitutes a scandal of Biblical proportions?
[lprent: Maybe. Personally I’d wait for more developments before forming an opinion. But I’d suggest that you read the About and Policy – this site doesn’t claim to be a general political blog site. It is a left-leaning broad labour movement blog site that specialises in opinion and commentary – it isn’t a news site.
What NZF gets up to isn’t really that interesting to a left-leaning political blog. That is why the posts about NZF are few and far between. A post will get written when someone can be bothered and there is enough info. ]
and he drives a faded yellow car, its like he’s taking the piss out of himself
Ah. That’ll be what randal meant then: a “pissy extraction” rather than a “pussy extension”. (pity – the latter sounded like a rather intriguing psycho-sociological observation on our regular tory commenters….do elaborate if I’ve misinterpreted, randal… I was thinking along the lines of blow-up dolls so inflated with hot air that they invert in a grotesque fashion….no?…ok then)
I agree I was pushing the envelope and accept your comments as fair as well.
My point – which I think is completely valid – is that by SP’s definition of a scandal, this is also a scandal. If this isn’t a scandal then you can see where I’m heading. In other words, the post wasn’t about NZF itself but the way in which other events involving the Nats have been spun as a scandal.
Hence my post was not meant to derail discussion but to refocus attention on the scandal conspiracy which SP has been spinning for some time.
I acknowledge the fact too you have not over-reacted to my post and have more than tolerated my views.
The hysteria on this site over tapercrap, Lockwoods “dead fish swallowing” (Greens ETS anyone?) meaning ‘secwet agenda’ etc all based on piss all evidence, compared to the idea that wrt Winston Bjeikle-Peterson you require some harder evidence than OG, Bob Jones and Rodney Hide all in diametric opposition, simply beggars belief.
Does nobody here ever try to put objectivity glasses on? Or apply the same standards across the political spectrum.
I think you ruin this site yourselves through being so extremely partisan. HS had it right when he said… “Poppycock the posters here have convinced themselves of far worse things about the National party on far less evidence than there is of Winston Peters misleading the public and parliament.”
vto: Read the About. This site makes no bones about being partisan or for that matter being “objective”. It is left-leaning and looks to the labour movement for inspiration.
However it isn’t particularly partisan for a single party. Although
some of its participants (like me) are. But I don’t write many posts either. Most of the posters don’t really express an affiliation.
What they do have in common is to distrust the political right, just as the labour movement has had to do over the last century or so.
The key problem is that HS said “convinced”. That is incorrect. What the posters do is present the unflattering (to the right) interpretation of events.
The reason for that is historical. Over the last couple of centuries that has been the most effective way to deal with the right. If you are not charitable in your assumptions about the motivations and tactics of the right – then you are probably correct.
It doesn’t mean that we’re convinced of its veracity, it is just a good working assumption based on past behaviour. Think 2005 and revelations in The Hollow Men – that is the norm. Obviously the public think so as well – those polls about if they trust the Nat’s are quite interesting.
Iprent, we used to have a mate ‘Fred’ who exaggerated everything so much we joked that we always had to allow a Fred-factor in his tales.
That is also, following your post, the case here and so we should all allow a Standard-factor for exaggeration and distance from reality and truth.
And so instantly we should, with the most recent topic’s (Cullen on Nat apologies) reference to ‘staying on message’ meaning ‘not telling the truth’, deduct a Standard-factor for exaggeration and distance from reality and truth. I estimate Standard-factor here to be 100%.
ak you are getting warm but not close enough. puss as in the stuff that exudes from scabrous sores and not a prurient psychosexual melodrama for pork pie wannabees!
[lprent: Should I post a d4j warning on your comments?]
I’m curious as to what’s really got people’s ire up with winnie. truth be told I pay him little attention, other than thinking he’s been a good foreign minister as of late.
So, what’s up? He’s said that he didn’t solicit a donation to Ms Clark and to Parliament, apparently (I can’t find any real info on that, anyone help?), and now Glenn has said that’s not true.
Then there’s a question as to whether he knew about it, (as he must have to have thanked Glenn for it, the dates are in question) which probably calls into question whether this agreement with his lawyer was as confidential as he purports.
So, without asking for a tirade – what is it? Is there something really wrong here? As I see it, if he knew about the donation, then the stuff about his lawyer can’t be true (i.e. that he didn’t know about paying the bills at all) unless he knew there was a donation to his lawyer, but didn’t know about the bill that the donation paid. If all that shoots through, then I gather he may have lied to a lot of people, but I can’t find the statements that would be in contradiction…
Oh wait, there was a “NO” sign! If he thanked Glenn for a donation before he says he did (after his lawyer told him about it) then he’s definitely telling porkies. Hadn’t thought about that one…
Excuse my typed train-of-thought. I’d think the main thing, then, is whether he thanked Glenn for a donation he’s said he knows nothing about…
mp dont confuse straight talk with an unstructured rant. those who protest about being offended are either immature and cant handle the truth or seeking to distract and deflect any argument that they personally dont want to deal with. ok?
I agree with MP randal. Yesterday I had a snigger at some comment of d4j’s only to realise after that it was actually you. And re the post MP reffered to above I had a similar comment typed ready to ping out but deleted it. And now I see Iprent has joined the fray.
But do not fear – your one sentence wonders amuse. You sure though that you and d4j are not one and the same?
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As the climate crisis escalates, it is now obvious that we need to radically decarbonise our economy. The good news is that its looking easy and profitable for the energy sector. Wind is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and now solar is too:The levellised cost of solar PV has fallen ...
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...
Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...
The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...
Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...
On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...
New Zealand's new fresh water regulation rules will have no major impacts on the national economy, according to an independent report just out. The report by independent economic consultancy New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that dairying ...
Fish & Game New Zealand has welcomed the findings of a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research report, which rejects claims the Government’s freshwater proposals will have a significant economic impact. ...
The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners (COLFO) says the Government should take its proposed firearms legislation to the people with a touring Select Committee, as it just has with the Zero Carbon bill. ...
Water reforms and the long term sustainability of water will be a key focus at the Water New Zealand conference and expo this week (18-20 September) in Hamilton. ...
“Kiwi ex-smokers are mobilising against the Government’s plans to drastically limit vaping flavours. Flavours have been key to them quitting tobacco and they now just want other smokers to have the same chance,” says Jonathan Devery, co-owner ...
Oil company Tamarind Resources has reportedly halted drilling at its Tui oil field off the Taranaki coast after the first of the three planned wells came up dry and bad weather caused delays. ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the left-wing campaign group “ActionStation” to front up and be transparent about how much taxpayer funding it takes from the Government to underwrite its activism activities. Earlier in the month, the Taxpayers’ ...
The ‘ Unplanned ’ movie is here and Family First has secured one of the first screenings in New Zealand tonight. ‘Unplanned’ brings an eye-opening look inside the abortion industry from a woman who was once its most passionate advocate. All ...
James Renwick claim that NZ is failing on climate change is valid, and since James has been receiving widespread media coverage that we outline most of it again here now as we gear up for the ‘Global climate change conference’ beginning next week. ...
Protestors will be outside the venue of the fourth hearing for Operation Burnham Inquiry on Monday morning from 8.30am to give a message to former and current military officers as they arrive to speak about the ongoing coverup of the 2010 attack on ...
The long-running campaign against purported Chinese “interference” in New Zealand’s political system intensified in the past week following a five-day visit to Beijing by opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges. ...
National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett spent the week claiming a serious cover-up in the Prime Minister's office. She used parliamentary privilege to name three of the Prime Minister's closest advisors who, she says, knew about the sexual assault ...
Six months on from the worst terrorist attack in New Zealand history, Simon Shepherd asked Al Noor Mosque spokesperson Anthony Green how the Christchurch Muslim is community faring. ...
“The Game Animal Council is concerned that the Government’s second tranche of firearms legislation released today may contain unreasonable provisions that will unfairly impact hunters,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...
Government policy work on the Carbon Zero bill highlights connections between climate change, carbon sequestration and agriculture. Water quality and allocation are also topical with the release of the Draft Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...
DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming this afternoon’s announcement that consultation on Essential Freshwater has been extended by two weeks - but is calling on the Minister to go further. ...
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle is calling on the Government to move swiftly to extend the six-week timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation. ...
Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from an large investment of money, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the immigration sector. “Instead of spending $25m ...
In recent times there has been no shortage of commentary regarding whistleblowers, with the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. These are aimed at strengthening the protection available to whistleblowers in New Zealand. That ...
Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and ...
Federated Farmers agrees with most of the steps by government to protect people from illegal or irresponsible firearms use. But concerns about pest control and the effectiveness of a register remain. ...
Today at Parliament the NZ Drug Foundation released Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation, a new report that shows how we can take back control of cannabis from organised crime. ...
In the face of overwhelming public opinion that farmers need to clean up after themselves, Federated Farmers has mounted an offensive to try and stop some of its members having to do just that. ...
Responding to reports that Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa plans to restrict flavoured e-cigarette liquid, New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says: ...
Māori and non- Māori value different aspects of plantation forestry, which owners should bear in mind if they want to maximise their social licence to operate, a new study shows. ...
The Prime Minister’s Award in the first annual Spirit of Service Awards has been won by the Ministry of Health and five agencies who teamed up on the Healthy Homes Initiative. ...
Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...
A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...
For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...
The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...
“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...
An unannounced inspection at Tongariro Prison has found a safe and well-managed prison, with a clear sense of purpose and striving for continuous improvement. ...
The Auditor-General’s discussion paper Public accountability: A matter of trust and confidence was presented to the House of Representatives today. ...
Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) are proud to announce the winners of the Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) – Litter Less 2019 competition. ...
The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that an officer was not justified in tasering a man for a second time during an arrest in Picton on 23 June 2018. ...
The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...
“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...
Could it be that that the press, especially the US press, is finally waking up to the climate story? Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, co-founders of the Covering Climate Now initiative, report. ...
In spite of Jacinda Ardern’s exhortation that ‘it would be preferable if this case were not in the public domain’, differing accounts of what was said in an inquiry into the conduct of a (now former) Labour staffer, who denies wrongdoing, have been issued today to media from the chair ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s time to change Australia’s economic course “in a responsible and affordable way which doesn’t jeopardise the surplus”. Chalmers predicts the budget outcome for last financial year, forecast to be ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, James Cook University Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has ...
One of the people who investigated complaints about a Labour staffer has hired a forensic computer expert to prove he was never told about sexual assault allegations. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Sherwen, Director Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, University of Melbourne Each year, from September to mid-October, the tiny and very precious mountain pygmy-possums arise from their months of hibernation under the snow and begin feasting on billions of bogong moths ...
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Alex Braae breaks down the surprisingly bitter Hutt City mayoral race.The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here.Where?Hutt City covers the ...
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus ...
Covering Climate Now: Grim post-apocalyptic settings are a dime a dozen in gaming, but which ones are the most realistic? Sam Brooks talked to climate scientist David Tong to find out.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Every year there’s a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kassia Beetham, Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Expectant mothers receive an avalanche of information about potential risks to their baby. There’s a growing list of foods, toxins and environmental threats to avoid. It’s normal for this to lead to an increased ...
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...
In this special episode, we welcome you back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun.The gang are back and this time they have to… get summer jobs! Join Kate, Forrest, Hillardo and Peng as they begin ...
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...
National is concerned the government's bill to tighten up gun laws and introduce a gun registry will stop gun owners in mental crisis seeking help from their GPs. ...
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Labour Party sexual assault allegations John Armstrong (1News): Are we witnessing the beginning of the ...
Facebook electioneering.Dr Bryce EdwardsThe National Party is in trouble again for its Facebook advertising campaigning. Late last week, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled against one of the party’s social media ads targeting the Government’s vehicle efficiency feebate scheme. The authority ruled it was “likely to confuse or ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsIf the political reputation of the Labour-led Government and Jacinda Ardern have been badly or even fatally damaged by the ongoing #MeTooLabour scandal, it will be because they’ve disappointed their own supporters, and failed to live up to their own values. This is very different to a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Maxwell, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland What a week it has been in the Apple core. In recent days the tech giant has released a litany of products, including new phones, watches, tablets, and more. The big-ticket items are clearly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Smith, Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, Academic Director of the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s official visit to Washington this week carries some prestige. It is just the second “official visit” (including a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...
Politicians have been criticised for their "cowardice" in persisting with a "racist" refugee policy, as the government repeatedly points to a review underway to excuse the lack of action. ...
David Hannay, who has for decades been trying to get a seat on the council, will not be taking part in a major debate this week because he is facing open heart surgery. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...
In the first of our Covering Climate Now week of news features, Eloise Gibson finds moving coastal land due to earthquakes could double the risks of rising seas for some New Zealanders.. ...
Our most feared pest could be starting its journey to New Zealand. Nikki Mandow discovers the superhuman efforts that officials and scientists are making to eradicate the brown marmorated stink bug. ...
A scheme to get low income families out of debt and into safe cars is being delayed because no one can agree who should stump up the money to get a pilot off the ground. ...
As sea-levels rise globally and around New Zealand, this country's earthquakes are also causing some land to sink, meaning certain coastlines could face twice inundation risk. Eloise Gibson reports. ...
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines ...
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has just released a proposed model for the legalisation and regulation of cannabis in Aotearoa. With the 2020 referendum fast approaching, what should the government be considering in their approach to this legislation?As the days tick down towards 2020 and the referendum on cannabis legalisation ...
Covering Climate Now: Submit, protest, vote. These are the moments that must be seized, writes Sam McGlennonThe Spinoff’s participation is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!The waves are now running together. The next month of national, regional and local politics in New Zealand will go a long ...
Metaphor 
6 hours ago
The text below is a Twitter thread by Heather Heying that explains the essence of sexual reproduction and it long evolutionary history. She is an evolutionary biologist and a “professor-in-exile” after she and her husband, Bret Weinstein, stood up to supporters of an enforced “Day of Absence” for white staff and teachers ...6 hours ago
With crunch time for new Zealand climate policy approaching, most of the New Zealand media have got on board with a global reporting effort to cover the issue. There's one strand of stories today about polling and what it shows about changing public attitudes to the crisis, but the strand ...11 hours ago
Dangerous Foes: For those readers of Bowalley Road who feel disposed to dismiss any prospect of an Israeli destabilisation of New Zealand politics, the example of the United Kingdom repays close attention. Ever since the election of Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the British Labour Party, the Israelis have sanctioned, funded and ...14 hours ago
Make It 16, the youth-led campaign to lower New Zealand's voting age, is holding an official campaign launch at Parliament this Friday from 16:30. If you'd like to attend, you can register using EventBrite here. ...15 hours ago
by Don Franks It was a lovely sunny Wellington afternoon with blue skies above the beaches. In Courtenay Place, political activists packed out a stuffy upstairs room for an important meeting. The assembled pacifists, anarchists, communists and independent young radicals of Peace Action Wellington felt the need for a mission ...15 hours ago
From the Wall Street Journal:Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in ...2 days ago
The Brexit issue has certainly brought with it a series of apparently difficult constitutional issues, many of them concerning the respective roles of the executive and parliament. Most of them arise because of the unwillingness of MPs, despite their professions to the contrary, to be bound by a constitutional rarity ...3 days ago
. . This blogpost is different to my usual format of reporting on issues… Since July 1011, I have blogged on a variety of political issues; near always political and/or environmental; mostly highly critical of the previous National Government. Other issues included Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and repression of ...3 days ago
Those close to the Police Minister believe the initiative may be the result of Nash “seeing a great deal” on AliExpress. In a move that comes seemingly out of nowhere, Police Minister Stuart Nash announced this afternoon that he expects all frontline staff to don bearskin hats, famously worn by ...3 days ago
Moving And Shaking: There was a time when people spoke matter-of-factly about the “labour movement” – a political phenomenon understood to embrace much more than the Labour Party. Included within the term’s definition was the whole trade union movement – many of whose members looked upon the Labour Party as ...4 days ago
By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...4 days ago
Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...5 days ago
By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...5 days ago
Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ... 5 days ago
An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...6 days ago
There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...6 days ago
Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...6 days ago
During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...6 days ago
Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...6 days ago
Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...7 days ago
Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...1 week ago
Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...1 week ago
Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...1 week ago
Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...2 weeks ago
Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...2 weeks ago
Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ... 2 weeks ago
Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...2 weeks ago
A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...2 weeks ago
Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...2 weeks ago
New Zealand's new fresh water regulation rules will have no major impacts on the national economy, according to an independent report just out. The report by independent economic consultancy New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that dairying ...8 hours ago
The media and climate activists must “name and shame” laggards, says the UN special envoy. Mark Hertsgaard reports. ...4 hours ago
Could it be that that the press, especially the US press, is finally waking up to the climate story? Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, co-founders of the Covering Climate Now initiative, report. ...4 hours ago
In spite of Jacinda Ardern’s exhortation that ‘it would be preferable if this case were not in the public domain’, differing accounts of what was said in an inquiry into the conduct of a (now former) Labour staffer, who denies wrongdoing, have been issued today to media from the chair ...6 hours ago
While eight candidates are vying for the top job in Hamilton, only three appear to be front-runners. ...7 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers says it’s time to change Australia’s economic course “in a responsible and affordable way which doesn’t jeopardise the surplus”. Chalmers predicts the budget outcome for last financial year, forecast to be ...8 hours ago
Six months on from the terrorist attacks, and after years of frustrations, the Office of Ethnic communities is changing. ...9 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Maguire, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing, James Cook University Lucy (Charlotte Nicado) is a pink-haired millennial having a quarter-life crisis. Her school friends have drifted away, she has a useless law degree, and a depressing rotation of casual jobs has ...9 hours ago
Labour Party member tasked with investigating misconduct doubles down on claims he never received sexual assault complaints. ...10 hours ago
Germany doesn't need a grand scale infrastructure programme, it needs a different Chancellor in a different coalition government. ...11 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Sherwen, Director Wildlife Conservation and Science, Zoos Victoria, University of Melbourne Each year, from September to mid-October, the tiny and very precious mountain pygmy-possums arise from their months of hibernation under the snow and begin feasting on billions of bogong moths ...11 hours ago
More than 42,000 households switched power companies last month, the highest amount for a month since 2011. ...11 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Why we’re saying adios to animal products (just for a little while). The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!As part of The Spinoff’s commitment to Covering Climate Now, a week-long worldwide initiative aimed at strengthening the media’s focus ...12 hours ago
Covering Climate Now: Grim post-apocalyptic settings are a dime a dozen in gaming, but which ones are the most realistic? Sam Brooks talked to climate scientist David Tong to find out.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here!Every year there’s a ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kassia Beetham, Exercise Physiology Lecturer, Australian Catholic University Expectant mothers receive an avalanche of information about potential risks to their baby. There’s a growing list of foods, toxins and environmental threats to avoid. It’s normal for this to lead to an increased ...13 hours ago
Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman rose 20 percent in the last financial year as the conduct of banks and financial agencies was thrust into the spotlight. ...13 hours ago
One of our country’s finest writers gorges herself on Gilead – and finds herself wishing for more osmosis between the Booker-shortlisted new novel and the horror-story politics playing out around us. Over the past five days I’ve re-read Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale, caught myself up with the MGM/Hulu ...14 hours ago
Builders are setting up a new scheme to lessen the chances that companies close to collapse can win major contracts. ...14 hours ago
Author and social activist Naomi Klein talks the Green New Deal, Greta Thunberg and the links between the rise of white supremacy and the climate crisis. ...15 hours ago
Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level.Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online ...16 hours ago
For the first day of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, Alice Neville banned herself from speaking English. Here’s how it went down.I discovered a foolproof way to make a day of speaking only te reo Māori easy. Just don’t talk. Seriously, turituri and you’ll be fine. I know, I know, ...16 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology On the way home, you wander into the supermarket for a loaf of bread. But before you reach the bread aisle, you drop in your prescription at the supermarket pharmacy. ...19 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate ...19 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Program Director – Health and Physical Education, Maths/Science, Faculty of Education, University of Tasmania Physical education is one of the most popular subjects for children in their early school years. Yet by secondary school less favourable attitudes towards what’s known ...19 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Matthews, Senior Lecturer in Urban and Environmental Planning, Griffith University This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Climate change increasingly threatens communities all over ...19 hours ago
Townies are naive about the "huge" impact and cost a proposed government freshwater action plan will have across the country, says Federated Farmers. ...19 hours ago
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one ...20 hours ago
Kelly Dennett writes about winning the prize on Saturday night for best book of non-fiction at the annual Ngaio Marsh crime writing awards. ...21 hours ago
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If you Labour guys weren’t so dangerous Steve your comment would be funny. It isn’t. Get back to work and stop posting on taxpayer time.
[lprent: Don’t make stupid comments. You have no idea where Steve works. On the same basis that you are using for assumptions I could tell you to stop sending in comments from the sewer, because that is obviously where you work. However I know you got that from a sewer – that technical idiot Whale – so I have more basis for my guess than you have for yours. ]
I was all like ‘metaphor’.
Is that meant to be English? I have no iudea what you mean!
strings… unannounced sharp right turn by a national mp… real life metaphor for what we could expect from a nat govt.
Whilst it is certainly not the worst mistake you’ve ever made, I think you’ll find that the “mini” is actually a VW Beetle. I thought you’d recognise the “people’s car”.
i was tootling thru the streets of a southern town when i saw a little red toyota with ruth dyson’s emblazonry on it. she was driving all over the road and not really appearing to know how to drive at all. it was very dangerous to the people that lived in that town. she in fact appeared to be perhaps drunk and in breach of the very laws she is responsible for. and i was like ‘metaphor’.
Oh dear – it appears Owen Glenn has just dropped dear Winston in it !
Worst metaphor I can recall reading, vto. Perhaps you should just say what you think’s really going on instead of trying to dress it up.
Darren. that’s not the best you can do is it?
written on my own time and i’m never on taxpayer time. One could ask whose time you are writing on, but it’s noone’s business and you should behave the same way to others.
hs. interesting.. nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations, of course, but i wonder what he said to parliament regarding the glenn donation – if he mislead parliament, that would be grounds for sacking.
mr pillot, it wasnt that bad was it? quite apt given the plenty breaches that go on with labour folk (surely I dont need to list them).
“if he mislead parliament, that would be grounds for sacking.”
Well the Dalziel precedent is that if you mislead the public you can expect Clark to fire you. And rightly so. It is now untenable that Winston states he did not know about a donation when he in fact sought it.
Yeah vto, but a metaphor it wasn’t!
… and HC is stalled at the lights.
Don’t bother answering either – this is perfectly acceptable, not required to, nothing in it.
But put Key in the same position, it would be a scandal, there would be a secret agenda, etc etc.
You could even get me to write the odd post now and then seeing how predictable some of the lines are becoming (notwithstanding the convention that this is the collective voice of individuals just in case I stir up the mod again).
“hs. interesting.. nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations”
Still standing behind Winnie I see Steve.
He has just been outed as lying not only in the house but to the NZ public.
But hey he props the labour Govt so that’s OK cause its not illegal. Pathetic.
Dave simple – election dates should be set in legislation – third Saturday of October in the appropriate year or something similar.
SP
So in your opinion Winston has been telling the truth but Owen Glenn is lying, Bob Jones is lying, Rodney Hide is lying etc etc – the man is bringing parliament into even more disrepute than it’s presently held.
If he was a Labour minister he’d be gone – the only reason he’s still there is he’s needed for the ETS.
Both Labour and National are gutless to still be courting this charlatan.
For months now, I’ve been looking at Ligherstandard’s comments and soliciting a clear or even mildly interesting point but have noooo idea if anyone’s ever found one…..and I’m like, metaphor, man….
hs. i didn’t say that peters is telling the truth and the rest are lyin.. don’t put words in my mouth if you want to be welcome here.
mike: SP didn’t support or not support Winston. What he said was that it was going to be a problem for Winston if he’d mislead parliament.
Now a comment on your attitude. It is only in your lexicon that you have to attack without evidence (ie mad dog syndrome) on every occasion. In your warped thinking waiting for enough evidence to form a judgement is ‘support’. You are not just wrong, but I’d have to say that your attitude is bloody dangerous. It is the attitude of the fuckwits who lead lynch mobs.
Peters has an explanation in Stuff, but this is starting to look more murky than prior information to me.
I hope he was watching out for pedestrians. I nearly got hit by a sharp turning car in Kelburn the other day.
Ah Yes AK the person who extrapolates a survey of six health systems in which NZ comes third equal with Australia to NZ having the 2nd best health system in the world.
I suppose you’ll be delighted that we have a Foreign Minister that has repeatedly misled both parliament and the public ?
Not trying to threadjack but to continue the Peters line, I’m involved in the racing industry and hopefully the industry leaders can separate themselves from what is becoming a huge political liability.
What’s the car metaphor for that … caught speeding in stolen car without a WOF?
SP
If he misled parliament ……… are you trying to be funny ?
Ban me if you want but this blog has been pretty much in isolation with it’s ongoing refusal to call Winston for what he is.
[lprent: You mean that the posters here prefer to have some kind of evidence and are not prone to joining lynch mobs at the drop of a hat? In case you hadn’t noticed this is quite a distinct site. We use our brains more frequently than some other sites.
I don’t know about the others, but I’ve seen Winston in action before. I need to see overwhelming evidence because the guy always has a hidden edge. In the meantime he keeps getting the publicity he needs. ]
When is Helen calling the snap election. She is now a leader of a corrupt reigime. Did OG drop Labour in it as well saying it was thanks for supporting Labour in forming the govt?
See the speaker is showing her communist ideals in suppressing Rodney Hide yesterday.
[lprent: probable troll]
What was that HS?
Are you reminding us yet again that our health system ranks third in the world (second last time) at a third of the cost per capita of the private US system (which ranked last) on a highly respected international survey which all those “NZ and its health system sucks” tory campaigners can find by googling Commonwealth Fund?
You are?
Good man.
So I was like you know and he was like no really and I was like yeah and he was like really metaphoric and I well you know blah blah blah
Steve
This is the closest I can find to what you put up as a piece of English Prose. It’s from a spoof on Valley Speak in California, regarded generally as an example of how not to communicate!
If what you actually meant was “I thought to my self ‘wow, is that a metaphor or not!’ ” then perhaps you would grace the English language with those words rather than slang from a foreign country.
Or is that what the taught you in English classes in our advanced state education system? (Sarcasm, in case you took it seriously!)
nothing illegal or unusual in a politican seeking donations
Actually, under the old legislation, wouldn’t it have been illegal for Peters to have known the source of an “anonymous” donation? I suspect this is why Peters has specifically addressed the “who did the soliciting” question in his response.
>
>>But put Key in the same position, it would be a scandal, there would be a secret agenda, etc etc.
Indeed, secret agenda does seem to be a common phrase in the Labour Party’s vocabulary. However, the interesting thing to me is that I cannot find a single policy in their platform for re-election so far. Perhaps that’s the real secret?
“In your warped thinking waiting for enough evidence to form a judgement is ‘support'”
Imprent – do you not think there is enough evidence by now of Winston intentionally misleading everybody (including HC) on this matter
Are you just a tad titchy because it looks as though OG has once again landed labour in a pile of shite this close to the election?
strings. i assure you my choice of vocab in the post was intentional and purely for effect.
Hey, Steve, what does the faded yellow Mini represent?
a pussy extension….
[lprent: the point to that comment was ????]
AK
3rd equal out of six does not equate to 2nd best in the world you buffoon.
Lynn
Poppycock the posters here have convinced themselves of far worse things about the National party on far less evidence than there is of Winston Peters misleading the public and parliament.
I am going for: the public’s (faded) faith in the political process.
Actually its a gold coloured paint, which tends to look horrible when you cover it in gold stickers. I wonder if he has got authorisation on it yet? he hadnt last time i saw it, a couple of months back.
hs:
Not quite. If you read posts carefully (as I do), you’ll find that the posters seldom make absolutist statements.
What they do is to define an interpretation or an opinion based on the available evidence. What they don’t do is state what *must* happen. I have no doubt that you could find a few cases where an absolutist position has been taken, but it isn’t often.
The reason is because the posters here are aware of the primary dictum of politics – that you seldom know the whole story. Therefore everything is in a field of grey and the best you can do is to cautiously venture an opinion.
However I’d have to say that the commentators do sometimes take absolutist positions on posts, often without fully reading them (IMO).
Randal… WTF !?
mike:
No. The reasons are
1. We do not know what Winston said to HC
2. Winston hasn’t fully replied to what Owen has said. What he has said requires support.
3. Winston has pulled things out of the hat far too often for me to make early judgements.
4. Anyone with any sense reserves judgements. Look at the Brian Henry stuff last week for why.
In my opinion, Owen Glenn has always acted with the utmost of integrity and always done things above board. That is in stark contrast with the legal (but IMO morally bankrupt devices) like the Waitemata Trust or the other anonymous trusts used so extensively by Act and the Nats.
It has bugger all to do with my favourite party, except in the minds of the terminally conspiracy obsessed. What annoys me is people making premature judgements, and then attacking posters for not agreeing or trying to tell them what they should say.
As you know – that always makes me tetchy and more than usually sarcastic.
Billy. franks is a former ACT MP – their colour is bright yellow. Now he’s National… and he drives a faded yellow car, its like he’s taking the piss out of himself
In the absence of a specific thread about developments re Winson and Glenn, all we know is:
1. what Winston said
2. what Glenn said
3. what Winston said is not what Glenn said
By SP’s logic and many others on this (at least according to r0b) political authority one Nat saying something *perceived* to be different to a policy constituted a scandal.
So given there is no perception of disagreement but absolute disagreement, surely this constitutes a scandal of Biblical proportions?
[lprent: Maybe. Personally I’d wait for more developments before forming an opinion. But I’d suggest that you read the About and Policy – this site doesn’t claim to be a general political blog site. It is a left-leaning broad labour movement blog site that specialises in opinion and commentary – it isn’t a news site.
What NZF gets up to isn’t really that interesting to a left-leaning political blog. That is why the posts about NZF are few and far between. A post will get written when someone can be bothered and there is enough info. ]
lprent,
You mean that the posters here prefer to have some kind of evidence and are not prone to joining lynch mobs at the drop of a hat?
I’ll join HS in calling that nonsense — or poppycock in his words.
[lprent: Well you can have your opinion….. I have mine.]
Frank’s car is a metallic gold VW Beetle are you sure that you actually saw his car and not just some random faded yellow mini?
[lprent: Well you can have your opinion….. I have mine.]
Yup. Aren’t blogs wonderful….
and he drives a faded yellow car, its like he’s taking the piss out of himself
Ah. That’ll be what randal meant then: a “pissy extraction” rather than a “pussy extension”. (pity – the latter sounded like a rather intriguing psycho-sociological observation on our regular tory commenters….do elaborate if I’ve misinterpreted, randal… I was thinking along the lines of blow-up dolls so inflated with hot air that they invert in a grotesque fashion….no?…ok then)
Lyn
I agree I was pushing the envelope and accept your comments as fair as well.
My point – which I think is completely valid – is that by SP’s definition of a scandal, this is also a scandal. If this isn’t a scandal then you can see where I’m heading. In other words, the post wasn’t about NZF itself but the way in which other events involving the Nats have been spun as a scandal.
Hence my post was not meant to derail discussion but to refocus attention on the scandal conspiracy which SP has been spinning for some time.
I acknowledge the fact too you have not over-reacted to my post and have more than tolerated my views.
Cheers
D
I’m with HS and Scribe..
The hysteria on this site over tapercrap, Lockwoods “dead fish swallowing” (Greens ETS anyone?) meaning ‘secwet agenda’ etc all based on piss all evidence, compared to the idea that wrt Winston Bjeikle-Peterson you require some harder evidence than OG, Bob Jones and Rodney Hide all in diametric opposition, simply beggars belief.
Does nobody here ever try to put objectivity glasses on? Or apply the same standards across the political spectrum.
I think you ruin this site yourselves through being so extremely partisan. HS had it right when he said… “Poppycock the posters here have convinced themselves of far worse things about the National party on far less evidence than there is of Winston Peters misleading the public and parliament.”
vto: Read the About. This site makes no bones about being partisan or for that matter being “objective”. It is left-leaning and looks to the labour movement for inspiration.
However it isn’t particularly partisan for a single party. Although
some of its participants (like me) are. But I don’t write many posts either. Most of the posters don’t really express an affiliation.
What they do have in common is to distrust the political right, just as the labour movement has had to do over the last century or so.
The key problem is that HS said “convinced”. That is incorrect. What the posters do is present the unflattering (to the right) interpretation of events.
The reason for that is historical. Over the last couple of centuries that has been the most effective way to deal with the right. If you are not charitable in your assumptions about the motivations and tactics of the right – then you are probably correct.
It doesn’t mean that we’re convinced of its veracity, it is just a good working assumption based on past behaviour. Think 2005 and revelations in The Hollow Men – that is the norm. Obviously the public think so as well – those polls about if they trust the Nat’s are quite interesting.
Iprent, we used to have a mate ‘Fred’ who exaggerated everything so much we joked that we always had to allow a Fred-factor in his tales.
That is also, following your post, the case here and so we should all allow a Standard-factor for exaggeration and distance from reality and truth.
And so instantly we should, with the most recent topic’s (Cullen on Nat apologies) reference to ‘staying on message’ meaning ‘not telling the truth’, deduct a Standard-factor for exaggeration and distance from reality and truth. I estimate Standard-factor here to be 100%.
ak you are getting warm but not close enough. puss as in the stuff that exudes from scabrous sores and not a prurient psychosexual melodrama for pork pie wannabees!
[lprent: Should I post a d4j warning on your comments?]
vto. you should consume any political material with a critical mind.
Randal has truly hit d4j status.
I’m curious as to what’s really got people’s ire up with winnie. truth be told I pay him little attention, other than thinking he’s been a good foreign minister as of late.
So, what’s up? He’s said that he didn’t solicit a donation to Ms Clark and to Parliament, apparently (I can’t find any real info on that, anyone help?), and now Glenn has said that’s not true.
Then there’s a question as to whether he knew about it, (as he must have to have thanked Glenn for it, the dates are in question) which probably calls into question whether this agreement with his lawyer was as confidential as he purports.
So, without asking for a tirade – what is it? Is there something really wrong here? As I see it, if he knew about the donation, then the stuff about his lawyer can’t be true (i.e. that he didn’t know about paying the bills at all) unless he knew there was a donation to his lawyer, but didn’t know about the bill that the donation paid. If all that shoots through, then I gather he may have lied to a lot of people, but I can’t find the statements that would be in contradiction…
Oh wait, there was a “NO” sign! If he thanked Glenn for a donation before he says he did (after his lawyer told him about it) then he’s definitely telling porkies. Hadn’t thought about that one…
Excuse my typed train-of-thought. I’d think the main thing, then, is whether he thanked Glenn for a donation he’s said he knows nothing about…
mp dont confuse straight talk with an unstructured rant. those who protest about being offended are either immature and cant handle the truth or seeking to distract and deflect any argument that they personally dont want to deal with. ok?
It seems I have enough trouble following my own train of thought on occassion, let alone yours…
well keep it to yourself then
Nothing wrong with wanting to understand – some being more of a challenge than others.
I agree with MP randal. Yesterday I had a snigger at some comment of d4j’s only to realise after that it was actually you. And re the post MP reffered to above I had a similar comment typed ready to ping out but deleted it. And now I see Iprent has joined the fray.
But do not fear – your one sentence wonders amuse. You sure though that you and d4j are not one and the same?
I dont care what you think because if this is all you can do it has nothing to do with ratiocination whatsoever
Hey didn’t I order a cheeseburger?
how much cheese dude?