Have just got the book 33 revolutions a minute from the library, and we are using it to do a quick research project on one song a week. Music, history and social conscience – what more could you ask for in a lesson plan?
One of the points that was brought up during discussions, was that in those lynching photos you could very easily cut images out that indicated an entirely different occasion to what was going on.
Many people smiling, laughing and socialising while human beings were tortured.
We also discussed the importance of recognising this disconnect today, even if it presents in a less visceral way.
Plenty of people got burned to death in Indochina, but it’s apparently OK if the napalm is launched from a gun or from the air. It’s barbaric to do it up close and personal. This is the same attitude that the seppos had 150 years ago, where they said Mexicans were cowards who used knives. While they stood 20 yards apart and tried to hit each other with Colt Peacemakers. Except that apparently most victims got shot in the back. The American national myth allows them to keep killing, while our own myth of peaceful colonisation allows us to keep denying Maori.
“..Burning Victims to Death: Still a Common Practice..”
..The most immediate consequence of drone strikes is of course – death and injury to those targeted or near a strike.
The missiles fired from drones kill or injure in several ways – including through incineration[3] – shrapnel – and the release of powerful blast waves capable of crushing internal organs.
Those who do survive drone strikes often suffer disfiguring burns and shrapnel wounds – limb amputations – as well as vision and hearing loss. . . .
In addition – because the Hellfire missiles fired from drones often incinerate the victims’ bodies – and leave them in pieces and unidentifiable –
– traditional burial processes are rendered impossible.
‘..These missiles are very powerful.
They destroy human beings . . .
There is nobody left – and small pieces left behind.
Pieces.
Whatever is left is just little pieces of bodies and cloth’.
A doctor who has treated drone victims described how ‘[s]kin is burned so that you can’t tell cattle from human’..”
A UK court vindicated Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing on Friday by ruling that the secrecy surrounding one of the programs he exposed was, in fact, illegal. The decision is more evidence that not only were the Snowden revelations necessary and justified, but are also slowly forcing changes in both US and UK, even as both governments fiercely resist.
In a stunning ruling, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) – which oversees (and usually rubber stamps) Britain’s spy agencies – declared that the intelligence-sharing rules between the NSA and GCHQ (Britain’s NSA equivalent and partner-in-crime) governing their mass surveillance program violated UK human rights laws because they were kept secret for so long.
I have been wondering about Karol’s absence too, Rosie. I have only had time to skim TS most days recently, but her absence jumped out. It seems her last comment was on Jan 14.
She is having a timeout after some backend disagreements about some political points between some authors and probably exacerbated by author/commenting fatigue. The former is inevitable when we have strong-willed writing from different standpoints. The latter is just a fact of life, I’ve had several bouts of it over the last seven years myself.
I’m hoping it isn’t permanent but it could be.
It is a major effort for an author and even commenters to keep writing. Eventually you wind up saying all you have to say. You are also progressively naturally less able to tolerate the eternal repetitive disagreements that arise in comments or between authors (anyone who reads my comments is aware that I suffer from that a lot). That or work / family balances are the main reasons why authors drop out of writing.
It is a natural progression, and why we have so many ex-authors.
I try to keep the environment as friendly to authors as I can without making it too prescriptive and constraining the argument between different view points. Sometimes it doesn’t work, especially when I get busy at my paid employment.
Indeed. But I have learnt over the years that when authors decide to stop or go, then they seldom do it lightly. I don’t try to talk them out of it. I just accept that is what they feel they have to do. Usually the first I know about is when they write a post and I read it in draft or when it posts.
One of the things about putting in an authors discussion area is that they tend to do it there now.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know where karol is at, Lynn.
I always appreciated her on -the- ground – looking- upwards way of viewing things. She came across as community centred rather than pure politics, party and parliamentary.
I also appreciate that authors are taking precious time out of their private lives, and that sometimes author time could cross over into work time. Considerable thought and analysis seems to go into author posts. I don’t know where folks get the energy from, I battle with so much fatigue some days and can’t even think to write anything coherent let alone get involved in a tiring conversation.
It’s a real labour of love from TS authors and readers here and overseas benefit from such effort and service, so thank you all (graceful bow) for all you do. What would we do without you?
And keep up “the strong willed writing from different standpoints” 🙂 It helps keep readers alert to different ways of viewing an issue.
I hope Labour and Green politicians are listening to this morning’s “Media Watch” – in particular Ruth Harley’s view on NZoA/funding et al. It’s taken her 25 years to come to her senses but I’m glad she has, and she has the experience to state that view. Link not up atm/yet
Our whole PSB needs a fucking big shakeup, and something more ambitious than the CBB advocates (though don’t get me wrong – I support them)
I agree, and over the years I’ve become sick to death of the old excuse “we don’t have a big enough population….blah blah blah” ….. We do, and its just a question of how we choose to fund it. (CBB and its predecessor Save TVNZ7 provide SOME options – and VicUni’s Peter Thompson could give the pollies a quick primer).
We also don’t need huge overpaid bureaucracies to do it as though it needs to be a ‘commercial enterprise’. As I say, I’m glad Ruth H has come to her senses – I know people who’ve been telling her what she now preaches for 20 years – but she’s the perfect person to continue to advocate.
Disregard the cost, it’s essential given the bias owned nature of all MSM today if we want to be informed without spin or corporate influence.
Look at how Murdoch has Abbott attacking the ABC via budget cuts and appointing mates as ABC and SBS show up the rest for what they are, owned entities with agendas not aligned to the Aussie fair go battler ethos.
It quite cheap if you carve up TVNZ with TV2 taking the high rating commercial material and funding TV1 which goes into PBS mode, plenty of talent around to staff it once you purge the ego cult exemplified by rawdon, mikey and all the highly paid auto cue readers.
I don’t disagree @tc. But to the Natzis, there’s something fundamentally wrong with having a commercial arm ‘subsidising’ PSB – even tho’ they’re quite happy with PSB funded intellectual property subsidising private enterprise (the Sky monopoly….Heartland, etc., etc., etc.)
And as for RNZ … the problem there is pretty much the same thing that’s afflicting the BBC, AND the current Abbotabad gubbamint’s ABC/SBS intentions: ideological tory managerialism.
Oh btw …. don’t blame WallArse … despite the Fiji-colonial background, his romantic notions of a past, disabilities and hip pain, etc. [IS Frank REALLY that bad? …. etc. : yes he ekshully IS!] – as well as Esmeralda’s and Pete George beige-suited lookalikes in their twilight years semi-functioning on the Kepty Coast aside; OR the Christies (2 of – Damian and Rawdyrawdy) and Beckbenchas et al. They’ve done more good than bad. There’s a few others as well. It’s more to do with the environment they work in; the corporate culture they’re immersed in; the ‘in crowd’ they have to associate with – all that kaka. I’m happy to just let it all play out in some ways but for the fact I’m running out of life. In death tho’ I can see the inevitable and it ain’t pretty.
Part of the responsibility for the joke rests with us. It is alarmingly easy for us to get preoccupied with the latest events and sideshows while losing our critical faculties and our immediate memories where the media is concerned. An outstanding difference from the general fluff that passes for information was Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint . While it was on , many of us expressed our appreciation of his unflinching analyses that were a huge departure from the norm and often connected dots with a amazing clarity on an astonishing diversity of subjects. Two weeks ago I raised a concern that , unless he is unwell or on holiday, he has been quietly canned. I say ” quietly” because no one else appears to have noticed the Orwellian dissolve . There was no announcement last year that he would not be returning and nothing mentioned about his disappearance in his usual Sunday slot when the programme returned three Sundays ago.
+1
I’ve been wondering why the absence too. I was going to ask RNZ (via a back door) – he may just be doing other things, but nothing would surprise me given the ‘trend’
I have since called an RNZ insider of my acquaintance who confirmed that Brittenden has indeed been canned . It would seem that certain embassies were unhappy with his content even though they have never been able to challenge its well researched accuracy . His work on the TPPA apparently upset some in high places ….. Interesting that the NY Times earlier this month published a feature by Professor Stiglitz that brought out the very same points about the TPPA that Brittenden gave us very much earlier. How sad that our public broadcaster is more squeamish than the NY Times! My informant told me that Brittenden’s programme was rated highly by listeners , but not , it seems, by certain well-placed people who would rather see him silenced. Ditto for a lightweight presenter who often found himself out of his intellectual depth.
yep well – not surprising ….. se above: re ideological tory managerialism.
Cowards really when it comes down to it. But ….. swing low sweat chariot – the pendulum swings and the harder to the right – the more momentum it has when it reaches its limit and begins its swing left again.
Who to blame? Well those that wind up the mechanism. Lessons never seem to get ‘learned’ do they?! OR as they say (Bridges et al) …. “learnings” – which in itself is an attempt at manipulation.
People continue to tolerate, but only because they have mortgages to pay and lifestyles to maintain. Trouble is those lifestyles and mortgages are getting harder for the 99% (soon to become 99.9% plebians). I already smell the fear …. but tuff shit – I’ll waste my sympathy on the more deserving.
Hopefully you’ll get my meaning
Another pro Medpot blog post, this time about a woman with CRPS, (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) widely regarded as the worst pain disorder in existence. The R in CRPS for regional could be subtracted in her case….
Prime Minister John Key has set out his case for changing the flag at his annual Waitangi Day breakfast address this morning – and admitted to a touch of envy over the ease with which Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has made the same decision.” jeez i missed that one! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11397526
“For that reason, it may serve Iraq better if the international community diverted its support into helping Abadi establish good governance. And in that holistic area, New Zealand has strengths. ”
Except that we don’t have strengths in that area any more. As shown by Dirty Politics, FJK’s lies, and the stone arachnid saga, our governance is incredibly weak.
“In a conflict that has absorbed 10 years and $250bn of US time and money I’m not sure what it is that we are expected to contribute,” – Labour’s Andrew Little.
It appears that Andrew Little needs to get better advisors:
FYI folks – here is a link to the ‘Open Letter /OIA request that i sent to the Local Government Commissioners on 4 February 2015, which should help TORPEDO their ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’, and help STOP the Wellington ‘Supercity’?
(This has already been sent to all Mayors and Councillors in the Greater Wellington Region, all MPs and most ‘mainstream’ media).
____________________________________________________________________________________
URGENT ‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Local Government Commissioners re: Draft Greater Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Local Government Commissioners,
Basil Morrison Chairman
Anne Carter Commissioner
Janie Annear Commissioner
Over the Christmas break, I have studied numerous documents pertaining to the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
The following is my considered opinion:
1) There should be NO further amalgamations of Councils anywhere in New Zealand, until there is a full, thorough and independent audit of the Auckland ‘Supercity’, (based upon FACTS and EVIDENCE) which confirms how ‘cost-effective’ it has really been for the majority of Auckland Council citizens and ratepayers.
I note that in the ‘Application for Local Government Reorganisation – PROPOSAL FOR A UNITARY AUTHORITY WITH LOCAL BOARDS FOR THE WELLINGTON REGION’ – it is stated on page 47:
“The Auckland Council experience and overseas examples strongly suggest that there should be a reasonable expectation of efficiency savings from the creation of a combined Wellington Council.
Opportunities would likely come from the following areas:
* Common administrative and support functions (human resources, procurement, ICT, finance, property management, corporate and executive services)
* Common data management systems and processes
* Common regulatory functions, activities and processes (building consents, resource consents,liquor licensing, dog permits,
and other permits and licensing)
* Streamlined planning processes for resource management, transport planning as well as plans required under the Local
Government Act
* Single ownership of assets and a comprehensive asset management approach
* Services that are delivered at both a regional and local level (economic development and tourism marketing)
* Combined contract for services, for example rubbish collection and road management.
….”
______________________________________________________________________________________
OIA REQUEST 1:
PLEASE PROVIDE THE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH YOU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONERS ARE RELYING / HAVE RELIED UPON IN ORDER TO BE ‘SATISFIED’ WITH THAT THIS ABOVE-MENTIONED STATEMENT IS FACTUALLY ACCURATE:
______________________________________________________________________________________
2) In my considered opinion, this ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’ is fundamentally flawed, and this process should cease forthwith, because the public are not being given detailed FACTS or INFORMATION showing exactly where Councils in the Greater Wellington region are currently spending citizens and ratepayers public monies on Council services and regulatory functions.
This information is needed in order to establish a factual datum, upon which to measure current or future ‘cost-effectiveness’ in the provision of Council services and regulatory functions. There is no information of this type in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, so the public simply cannot make an ‘informed’ submission.
Please be reminded of your statutory duties arising from the Local Government Act 2002, regarding your ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’:
(Please note that the underlining of particular sections of this legislation is mine).
(a)to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
(b)to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
(2)In this Act, good-quality, in relation to local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions, means infrastructure, services, and performance that are—
(a)efficient; and
(b)effective; and
(c)appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances.
There are some hours of (unpaid) work that have gone into this document, which contains research that, to my knowledge, no one else has done.
Having carefully checked the websites for each of the nine Councils which make up the Greater Wellington Region, I have compiled a total of 146 possible Council services and Regulatory Functions, and have provided a ‘Transparency Template’ so that a ‘snapshot’ can be taken of which are currently provided ‘in-house’, by Councils Controlled Organisations (CCOs), or have been ‘contracted out’ to the private sector.
Next, are a series of questions which are to confirm, on an individual Council service or Regulatory Function basis, how the current costs can be quantified, and compared across the Greater Wellington Region, comparing ‘apples with apples’ – as it were.
eg: How is the current Council service of ‘Dog Control’ being applied over the Greater Wellington Region?
How is ‘Dog Control’ carried out in the Kapiti District Council? Carterton District Council? Wellington City Council?
Who exactly is providing this service? How is it being provided? How much is it costing? What are the charges?
Given that the purported purpose of these Council ‘amalgamations’ is supposed to be to provide more ‘cost-effective’ solutions – how on earth can that be established if you don’t know exactly what the are the CURRENT costs for providing these Council services and Regulatory Functions?
These ‘Transparency Templates’ which I have provided, and full credit to my friend and fellow ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’ colleague Grace Haden who helped with the formatting, will help citizens and ratepayers find out EXACTLY where rates monies are being spent.
The question is – why is it that that this information is not already available for public scrutiny – given the current legislative requirements for ‘open, transparent. and democratically accountable’ local government.
Some Sunday weeding for felix updated from the April 29 2011 undesirable plant catalogue.
2015 Political Weeds
Sabinus Sabine, or Northland Knockweed, came late to the government’s attention as a potential hazard to be eradicated. It is such a pest that even its home nursery disowns it, and the common garden slater eschews it. Signs of it are still to be seen in its northern habitat, and the blue-clad pest eradicators are yet to arrest its development though they are strongly rumoured to have advised the government of its errant proclivities which they are currently investigating.
Natio Diversionalis is at times planted by the PM and was last seen on Waitangi Day when it was flown (sorry,grown!) on the Marae. It resembles a Flag Iris when in full bloom and usually accompanies militaristic displays of nationalism. it is likely to replace the white feather given to shirkers such as those who oppose the transmission of troops overseas.
Smithus Smithus var Stuartus (to distinguish from the Nelson cultivar var. Nickus), known in the Kaikoura region as the Marlborough Doosy, is another new weed in the political landscape. It seeks to be a companion plant for grape vines but its pre-selection promises of removing costs to the wine industry have shown little value despite self-promoting displays and an outwardly pleasant appearance..
Smithus Smithus var. Nickus is a plant of florid appearance which has had a singularly poor performance in cleaning up New Zealand’s waterways. A recent outbreak of paralysis causing organisms in Tory Channel has Smithus Nickus in a twist.
Smithus var. Nickus has been responsible for the gradual degrading of a once popular and widespread plant, very useful in providing shelter. Domusdomesticus Socialis is now being progressively sold off by the government which hopes that 5000 kiwis currently sheltering under its canopy will move on to other habitat. These could include under bridges, bus shelters, and garages.
The government has a dualistic view of this 70,000 strong planting. It used to be grown in clumps, then was spread like grains from a pepperpot, and now is being offered to religious groups to tend, with donations of additional fertiliser from the government.
This government says on one hand that there is no problem with its growth and spread and on the other hand wishes to enact regulations to allow its selective spread only by known corporative propagators and friends.
Much of the Kiwis’ former habitat is now prized by invasive species such as Unus Percentus and similar free-loading off-shore varieties. Coastal, mountain, lake and artificial waterways and other locations of prime value are to be denied to native kiwis species by the newly changed RMA, or Render unto Mammon Act.
Instead, unus percents, banksia australis and refugees from the spread of overseas feared Climatus Morphusglobalis and its attendant Holocaustus species are to be allowed unfettered planting rights such as are available now in Hawaii and other Friendly Society Island groups.
Holocaustus species which arise in the ashes of nuclear, environmental or other largely man-made catastrophes are definitely on the upwards growth, powered by rising global temperatures and peculiar conditions such as are found in the Ukraine (holocaustus var. putiniensis), China (var. pollutionis which can reach densities of 650 plants per square metre and are easily seen in the air producing choking and breathing problems), and the Middle East (var. Isis Obamatremens which grows best under a crescent moon).
Unus Percentus, which itself caused a global catastrophe in 2008 and by cutbacks afterwards in other species, greatly fears a severe pruning, and even removal of excess nutrient-accumulation by leaf stripping as promised in Greece, Spain and other under-irrigated areas.
Examination of overseas-held seed banks and occupation of land by rogue unus percentus sub-species such as Mafia Muscova, Donus Sicilianus, red or yellow flowering three petalled Gangtze Chinensis, and tea-leafed Capitalis Americanus in New Zealand is also a possibility in the red-dawned future. However, current NZ government-encouraged growing conditions, abetted by local nutrient-robbing weeds, precludes this for at least two more summers of discontent.
Do the Jews in Germany have the Right to defend themselves?
Imagine a U.S. spokesperson, in 1938, asked to comment on the events of Kristallnacht, saying to a Jewish journalist: “There is violence and back and forth.” Something like that happened at the grotesque and surreal Theatre of the Absurd known as the White House Daily Press Briefing on July 8, 2014….
JEN PSAKI: Israel have the right to defend themselves. REPORTER: Do you think that the Palestinians in Gaza have the right to defend themselves? JEN PSAKI: Errrrr, I think—I— I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Said. REPORTER: I am asking you: Do they have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression? JEN PSAKI: What are you specifically referring to? Is there a specific event or a specific occurrence? REPORTER: Do they have the right to respond to Israeli rocketing and bombing their homes, their houses, their areas, their schools?”
“The strong difference between rocket attacks and Israel s air raids ” is that the rockets are sent buy the poor and dispossessed and the rockets come from the, to the palestinians eyes invaders.
Said needs an award for bravery.
I think it’s more the case that the other reporters, who carefully maintained blank expressions and left him isolated, need to be presented with an award for cowardice. A white feather perhaps?
If you’d walked into scores and scores and scores of thousands of New Zealand homes in August 2014, the occasion of the last biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by NatziYahoo and the IDF against Gaza, you’d have seen this: hundreds of thousands of thick slobs and aresholes sitting on their tatty sofas, watching TVOne/TV3News reporting about the “militants” of Gaza. You watch……the picture will be no less gross in two years or less hence.
You’d have seen also these same thick slobs and arseholes sagely remarking through mouthsful of semi-masticated ‘pork’ sausage and mash, “Well, if they’d stop firing those rockets…….”.
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become…….unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Score in the August 2014 firing of rockets from Gaza – 6 civilians if that.
Score in the August 2014 biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by Zionist Israel – well over 1,500 civilians, 500 plus of them children.
Ask yourselves you ‘pork’ sausage waisted, minded, moralled, bastards ! For whom we can read White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. Whose employer the US of A pays to NatziYahoo an annual $US3,000,000,000 – three thousand million US dollars – in military aid. Hope you and Mr Obama are satisfied you’re getting good bang for your buck there Psaki…….
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become……. unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Actually, North, I don’t believe most people are that cruel. I have not met many people at all that endorse the mass slaughter that we all witnessed last July. Even politicians like Phil Goff, who feel compelled to say with a straight face that the aggressors and mass murderers “have the right to defend themselves” will not keep up that absurd line if they are challenged. That’s not the case, however, with the small gang of moral cowards, illiterates and nincompoops that dominate the media; on television, radio and in the Op-Ed pages of the major papers, morality is as non-existent as professionalism or fairness and balance.
And yes, any number of “thick slobs” do indeed reflexively repeat what they’ve heard the likes of Larry “Lackwit” Williams and his cast of grotesques on NewstalkZB saying—but that’s not serious thinking, and it disappears whenever a reasonable person is (politely and respectfully) challenged.
I’m not entirely convinced Morrissey. Have a look at Facebook during the ‘sport’ seen in August 2014. It hasn’t gone quite as far as death threats but I’ve had promises of GBH from total strangers via FB message. This from mullet-coiffed, ‘good-decent-tell-it-like-it-is-joker’ pork munchers. Oh yes one fascist disporting himself as an associate-professor-of-business as well. You’d be a goner Morrissey !
I know what you mean, my friend. Israel’s most rabid backers, from Dame Lesley Max to the unhinged Waikato professor Dov Bing, are ruthless in the extreme. But they are definitely a tiny rabid fringe. Most people are not like them, even if they are often too afraid to contradict them.
And please be careful out there North—it’s not worth endangering yourself in the face of someone who will not listen or think.
Overheard observation from a mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand – “Dat Mitta Gee……I tink heese a pit of a kirl……” – the reporting of which is completely silly of course and should raise hackles……but bloody funny to hear !
On TV the other night saw the dork mincing his way down a catwalk clad in Rugby World Cup volunteers’ gear from a few years ago. Well !
I cannot help but applaud the mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand for his powers of observation !
TheSodKey at BGO – “But we’ve turned that around. I voted for gay marriage”. Weird phrasing Johnny but that aside, isn’t he lying AGAIN…….or was it the so-called anti-smacking bill or civil union he semi-floated he’d not voted for, during the BBVG (BigBullshitVoteGrease) in South Auckland, accompanied by a rather embarrassed looking PesetaSamBoy ?
Whatever, the bastard can’t help himself ! Poor Bronagh…….limo’ drops him off in Parnell after a long week of telling lies down in Wellington……”Hello John Key, I’ve missed you so much !” – “WTF are you on about woman……my name’s Barack Churchill…….don’t touch me !”
Today my partner and I decided to go on a Sunday drive, walk the dog. My partner suggested taking a fishing rod as she was sick of the bait in the freezer. I checked the Maori fishing calander which said excellent day with bite time 3.30-5.30 pm. off we went to a place not too far only 10 minutes drive. There is a jetty close to the channel and the road is quiet to walk a excitable young King of toys dog. There were a 3 elderly folks fishing and a dozen kids jumping off the jetty swimming. Spoke to the people fishing who had caught one keeper early on before the kids had arrived. So we took the dog for a walk for an hour. About 3pm the kids buggered off so set up fishing. The fish were nibbling pretty much straight away, we all hooked up and landed a few just under the 30cm limit, sadly some released floated to the surface. Which seems such a waste. You would think you could keep them if they die, I would far rather have a size limit on big fish as their the breeding stock. My partner gave up bored and headed to the car, I said I’m nearly out of bait and wouldnt be long. With my last bit of squid I baited my 2 hooks and cast, bang got a good strike, reeling in I landed 2 pan size snapper measuring 42 and 50 cm. I bagged them walked to the car jumped in and said its never over till the baits gone. 🙂 baked snapper for dinner which is ready now.
Sorry it was a haste post as I was being eye balled about over cooking the fish, which since I’m the head cook was silly, it was baked to perfection.
It has a political theme, my point is the raising of legal size of fish you can keep, especially for land/surfcasting 30 cm is silly, I mean I saw 4 fish just under 30 cm and over the old size of 27cm die today. Boat fishing I can understand but land based no, its hard work and the fish get knocked about so its harder for them to survive.
I’m serious I feel the same way for plants the way you feel for animals. I worry for my plants on a really hot day knowing their wilting in the hot sun.
Plant have feelings too ya know.
That’s actually a question which rests on several assumptions.
I suppose the most relevant answer in this instance, temporarily granting as fact all the assumptions in your question, is “because it’s more fun than tofu”.
How I envy you Skinny both in the catching and the eating, two in the one cast. You must have a larger than usual size pans. Those are good sized schnapper !
Which makes what I’m about to ply you with pretty tasteless behaviour on my part but I’d already done the Right/Click/Copy exercise so might as well.
Sarah Palin re the “liberal” Pope and Sarah Palin re Christie’s waste line – wonder what the worked gargoyle would’ve said about FDR.
An American friend of mine and his Kiribati wife introduced me to the deliciousness of Kiribati style raw tuna fish marinated in salt and vinegar, then washed, squeezed and prepared with a few other choice ingredients. Amazing taste. This dish and its preparation is quite different from the raw fish dish of other pacific islands. The dish tastes and feels like the fish is well cooked! Actually, it is in a way, being chemically cooked in salt+vinegar! This works very well with some other firm fish too, including snapper.
If you are keen to know how exactly to do this, reply here and I will be happy to describe the recipe and method.
Ok, Here is the way my friends who are an American-Kiribati couple and I do raw fish. I describe it as chemically cooked fish (CC Fish; See See Fish) rather than raw for the squeamish!
A MUST try delicacy!
First, I will now name this highly recommended recipe….Ta da…
RAWKIRI-CLEMPIN-FISHDISH :
* Definitely Serves 5 to15 depending upon how much one serves on one’s plate!
* or usable for several little meals/snacks for a day or two or three, if refrigerated.
* Good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or as a healthy mid-night or any time snack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE : The measurements are approximate and variable up or down as convenient.
* FISH : 2 kg
Preferably firm fish such as
Tuna, Snapper, Tarakihi, Kahawai, Kingfish,
Salmon, Groper, Gurnard, Halibut, Warehou, John Dory etc
[P.S : I have tried the first five only]
* SALT : About 1/4 Kg
Don’t panic! We will remove all or most of the salt later during preparation.
* WHITE VINEGAR : About 1/2 to 1 litre , enough to cover cut fish pieces in a bowl.
Again, Don’t panic! We will remove most of the vinegar later during preparation!
* COCONUT CREAM : 2 or 3 or may be even 4 cans or about 1 litre.
You’ll need to judge later by eyeballing/taste test in step 7 of procedure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INGREDIENTS LIST 2 :
NOTE :
The following items should all together make up ABOUT half or slightly less than half the quantity of fish. Max 750g or1 kg in this case as fish used here is about 2 Kgs. Do not avoid the first three items marked with two stars **
** CUCUMBER : 1/4 or more of (telegraph) cucumber or 1 cup,
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Judge quantity per taste later, but must have item!
** RIPE RED TOMATOES : 2 medium size or 1 cup
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. May need 3 if small. Judge later.
** ONION : 1 medium size or 1 cup. Definitely red onion if possible.
Cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Use 2 if small. Again, do taste test later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
* CAPSICUM : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 to 1 cup, cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Green and/or yellow adds colour to dish.
* CARROT : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 cup grated or cut tiny 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* CHIVES or PARSLEY or LETTUCE : (Any one, but OPTIONAL), 2 TABLE spoons, cut small 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* LIME ZEST (OPTIONAL), thin green outer layer of lime peel, 2 tea spoons, grated
* LIME or LEMON : 1 (You may or may not need this as per taste later)
~~~~~~~~~~~
PROCEDURE :
STEP 1 :
Wash your hands well in soap. Rinse the fish. Remove skin of fish and fish bones and cut into 1 cm sized cubes. While cutting, keep putting the pieces into a bowl. When a layer of fish forms in the bowl, scatter a handful of salt over it. Repeat this for several layers until the fish is finished. Mix the fish pieces and salt a little to ensure all pieces are well covered in salt. I use my hands for this. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. Have a cuppa or a beer or make love or whatever. (Optional)
STEP 2 :
Pour vinegar into the bowl to cover the fish pieces. Give it a mix with a spoon or your clean hands. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Good to leave it up to 5 hours to cook well chemically in salt and vinegar.
STEP 3 :
While the fish is marinading and getting mysteriously cooked, prepare the cleaning and cutting of the ingredients (those that you will be using) from list 2 above.
STEP 4 : [Important step]
(a) After the 2 to 5 hours, drain the liquid from the fish bowl. I do this either by using a colander or by simply covering the bowl with a plate and draining the liquid into the sink.
(b) Now WASH the fish pieces with your hands using cold running water from the tap.
(c) Drain the water again as before. Squeeze a handful of fish and place it in another bowl. Do this until you have squeezed handfuls and transferred all the
fish into this new bowl.
(d) REPEAT this washing, draining, squeezing (WDS, unlike the WMDs) routine at least THREE times. FIVE times will be better. The idea is to remove MOST of the salt and vinegar and also to make the fish nice and soft to eat. Do a taste test : Take a piece of fish and eat it. It should not be TOO salty or TOO sour. If it is, repeat the WDS routine 1 or 2 more times. If it is a little salty and sour, do not worry too much because when we add the other stuff, the taste and composition will come right.
STEP 5 :
Add a can or two of coconut cream into the bowl of fish to cover the pieces well.
STEP 6 :
Add all the cut ingredients of list 2 that you prepared in step 3, into the fish bowl.
STEP 7:
(a) Give it a good mix using a spoon.
(b) Add more coconut cream if it is not covering the contents in the bowl well.
(c) Make and add more of ingredients from list 3 (except lime) if you feel you must.
(d) Do a taste test and see if you think you may need to add more salt or lime juice. Do NOT add salt or lime just yet.
(e) Cover and keep the bowl in fridge for half an hour. 1 to 2 hours is better.
(f) Do another taste test. This time, if you fancy more salt or lime, feel free to add but very tiny amounts each time. Keep tasting and adding tiny amounts until the dish tastes yummy and you are happy.
STEP 8 :
Serve cold. Normally, as an special extra course or as a side dish.
STEP 9 :
Cover any left over with glad wrap and refrigerate. Will keep good for at least three days in the fridge.
STEP 10:
Enjoy and share or Share and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
‘Make and add more of ingredients from list 2 (except lime) if you feel you must’ [Not list 3 ]
————
And sorry, I could not post the recipe earlier in the evening as I was away and busy. Then it took me considerable time to write this recipe from scratch! It made me realise it isn’t as easy as it seems!
Please let me know if I have made any more errors or if my description is not clear.
I agree that it would be better to have an upper size limit, maybe something like 5kg. They start to be valuable breeders at about 2kg, as far as I know. They get more valuable as they get older. I’ve caught the best fish of the day a few times on the last bait.
I agree a 25+ year old fish is far better too be left as breeding stock, they are not as good to eat 20 pound upwards they become flakey.
Catching 2 on my last cast is a first for me, gave me a good buzz, as some wisecrack fellow watching said looks like its fish & chips for ya dinner on the way home as I said last go. Less then 60 seconds later I hauled in my catch. I winked at him walking off with my booty.
Going to go back on dusk during the week, the recent storm has stirred up the food chain and the swell is up too, and cloud cover is good.
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
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The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
I was initially resistant to the idea often suggested to me that the Government should deliver an arts strategy. The whole point of the arts and creativity is that people should do whatever the hell they want, unbound by the dictates of politicians in Wellington. Peter Jackson, Kiri Te Kanawa, Eleanor ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 26 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
“..The Fiery Cage and the Lynching Tree – Brutality’s Never Far Away..
‘..there it was: the charred corpse of a young black man –
– tied to a blistered tree in the heart of the Texas Bible Belt.
Next to the burned body young white men can be seen smiling and grinning –
– seemingly jubilant at their front-row seats in a carnival of death.
One of them sent a picture postcard home:
‘This is the barbeque we had last night’.
Here is the photograph.
Take a good look at Jesse Washington’s stiffened body tied to the tree.
He had been sentenced to death for the murder of a white woman.
No witnesses saw the crime; he allegedly confessed but the truth of the allegations would never be tested.
The grand jury took just four minutes to return a guilty verdict – but there was no appeal – no review – no prison time.
Instead – a courtroom mob dragged him outside – pinned him to the ground – and cut off his testicles.
A bonfire was quickly built and lit.
For two hours Jesse Washington — alive — was raised and lowered over the flames.
Again and again and again.
City officials and police stood by – approvingly.
According to some estimates – the crowd grew to as many as 15,000.
There were taunts – cheers – and laughter.
Reporters described hearing ‘shouts of delight’.
When the flames died away – Washington’s body was torn apart – and the pieces were sold as souvenirs.
The party was over..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40914.htm
.. strikes a coincidental chime for me, phil…
Have just got the book 33 revolutions a minute from the library, and we are using it to do a quick research project on one song a week. Music, history and social conscience – what more could you ask for in a lesson plan?
This week it was Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday.
One of the points that was brought up during discussions, was that in those lynching photos you could very easily cut images out that indicated an entirely different occasion to what was going on.
Many people smiling, laughing and socialising while human beings were tortured.
We also discussed the importance of recognising this disconnect today, even if it presents in a less visceral way.
Plenty of people got burned to death in Indochina, but it’s apparently OK if the napalm is launched from a gun or from the air. It’s barbaric to do it up close and personal. This is the same attitude that the seppos had 150 years ago, where they said Mexicans were cowards who used knives. While they stood 20 yards apart and tried to hit each other with Colt Peacemakers. Except that apparently most victims got shot in the back. The American national myth allows them to keep killing, while our own myth of peaceful colonisation allows us to keep denying Maori.
“..Burning Victims to Death: Still a Common Practice..”
..The most immediate consequence of drone strikes is of course – death and injury to those targeted or near a strike.
The missiles fired from drones kill or injure in several ways – including through incineration[3] – shrapnel – and the release of powerful blast waves capable of crushing internal organs.
Those who do survive drone strikes often suffer disfiguring burns and shrapnel wounds – limb amputations – as well as vision and hearing loss. . . .
In addition – because the Hellfire missiles fired from drones often incinerate the victims’ bodies – and leave them in pieces and unidentifiable –
– traditional burial processes are rendered impossible.
‘..These missiles are very powerful.
They destroy human beings . . .
There is nobody left – and small pieces left behind.
Pieces.
Whatever is left is just little pieces of bodies and cloth’.
A doctor who has treated drone victims described how ‘[s]kin is burned so that you can’t tell cattle from human’..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40895.htm
(n.b..john key has admitted that we ‘help target’ these drones strikes..
..this is what is being done in our names…
..to some of the poorest/most desperate people on the planet..
..and now he wants boots on the ground..
..he wants to throw our soldiers into this hellhole..
..um..!..aren’t we already doing ‘more than enough’..?..)
A UK court vindicated Edward Snowden’s whistleblowing on Friday by ruling that the secrecy surrounding one of the programs he exposed was, in fact, illegal. The decision is more evidence that not only were the Snowden revelations necessary and justified, but are also slowly forcing changes in both US and UK, even as both governments fiercely resist.
In a stunning ruling, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) – which oversees (and usually rubber stamps) Britain’s spy agencies – declared that the intelligence-sharing rules between the NSA and GCHQ (Britain’s NSA equivalent and partner-in-crime) governing their mass surveillance program violated UK human rights laws because they were kept secret for so long.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/07/gchq-court-surveillance-ruling-complicit-press-tell-the-truth
So Sad, How These International Gangsters Get Away with One Crime after Another
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2015/02/03/so-sad-how-these-international-gangsters-get-away-with-one-crime-after-another/
Is karol still around?
I have been wondering about Karol’s absence too, Rosie. I have only had time to skim TS most days recently, but her absence jumped out. It seems her last comment was on Jan 14.
Hope everything is OK with her, but she is still tweeting https://twitter.com/KarolScribe
Hi VV. Thanks for that. I hope she’s ok too. Good to see she is still tweeting though 🙂
She is having a timeout after some backend disagreements about some political points between some authors and probably exacerbated by author/commenting fatigue. The former is inevitable when we have strong-willed writing from different standpoints. The latter is just a fact of life, I’ve had several bouts of it over the last seven years myself.
I’m hoping it isn’t permanent but it could be.
It is a major effort for an author and even commenters to keep writing. Eventually you wind up saying all you have to say. You are also progressively naturally less able to tolerate the eternal repetitive disagreements that arise in comments or between authors (anyone who reads my comments is aware that I suffer from that a lot). That or work / family balances are the main reasons why authors drop out of writing.
It is a natural progression, and why we have so many ex-authors.
I try to keep the environment as friendly to authors as I can without making it too prescriptive and constraining the argument between different view points. Sometimes it doesn’t work, especially when I get busy at my paid employment.
I hope it isn’t permanent too. The clarity of her vision was always refreshing to read.
Indeed. But I have learnt over the years that when authors decide to stop or go, then they seldom do it lightly. I don’t try to talk them out of it. I just accept that is what they feel they have to do. Usually the first I know about is when they write a post and I read it in draft or when it posts.
One of the things about putting in an authors discussion area is that they tend to do it there now.
Karol seems to be commenting to On the Left.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know where karol is at, Lynn.
I always appreciated her on -the- ground – looking- upwards way of viewing things. She came across as community centred rather than pure politics, party and parliamentary.
I also appreciate that authors are taking precious time out of their private lives, and that sometimes author time could cross over into work time. Considerable thought and analysis seems to go into author posts. I don’t know where folks get the energy from, I battle with so much fatigue some days and can’t even think to write anything coherent let alone get involved in a tiring conversation.
It’s a real labour of love from TS authors and readers here and overseas benefit from such effort and service, so thank you all (graceful bow) for all you do. What would we do without you?
And keep up “the strong willed writing from different standpoints” 🙂 It helps keep readers alert to different ways of viewing an issue.
plus 100% rosie … and Karol ? hope you will return sometime please …
I hope Labour and Green politicians are listening to this morning’s “Media Watch” – in particular Ruth Harley’s view on NZoA/funding et al. It’s taken her 25 years to come to her senses but I’m glad she has, and she has the experience to state that view. Link not up atm/yet
Our whole PSB needs a fucking big shakeup, and something more ambitious than the CBB advocates (though don’t get me wrong – I support them)
We need one based on the oz model where acts enshrine the funding and independance so any tinkering has to go through parliament.
There is no public broadcasting in nz, RNZ is a joke, TVNZ an even bigger one.
I agree, and over the years I’ve become sick to death of the old excuse “we don’t have a big enough population….blah blah blah” ….. We do, and its just a question of how we choose to fund it. (CBB and its predecessor Save TVNZ7 provide SOME options – and VicUni’s Peter Thompson could give the pollies a quick primer).
We also don’t need huge overpaid bureaucracies to do it as though it needs to be a ‘commercial enterprise’. As I say, I’m glad Ruth H has come to her senses – I know people who’ve been telling her what she now preaches for 20 years – but she’s the perfect person to continue to advocate.
Disregard the cost, it’s essential given the bias owned nature of all MSM today if we want to be informed without spin or corporate influence.
Look at how Murdoch has Abbott attacking the ABC via budget cuts and appointing mates as ABC and SBS show up the rest for what they are, owned entities with agendas not aligned to the Aussie fair go battler ethos.
It quite cheap if you carve up TVNZ with TV2 taking the high rating commercial material and funding TV1 which goes into PBS mode, plenty of talent around to staff it once you purge the ego cult exemplified by rawdon, mikey and all the highly paid auto cue readers.
I don’t disagree @tc. But to the Natzis, there’s something fundamentally wrong with having a commercial arm ‘subsidising’ PSB – even tho’ they’re quite happy with PSB funded intellectual property subsidising private enterprise (the Sky monopoly….Heartland, etc., etc., etc.)
And as for RNZ … the problem there is pretty much the same thing that’s afflicting the BBC, AND the current Abbotabad gubbamint’s ABC/SBS intentions: ideological tory managerialism.
Oh btw …. don’t blame WallArse … despite the Fiji-colonial background, his romantic notions of a past, disabilities and hip pain, etc. [IS Frank REALLY that bad? …. etc. : yes he ekshully IS!] – as well as Esmeralda’s and Pete George beige-suited lookalikes in their twilight years semi-functioning on the Kepty Coast aside; OR the Christies (2 of – Damian and Rawdyrawdy) and Beckbenchas et al. They’ve done more good than bad. There’s a few others as well. It’s more to do with the environment they work in; the corporate culture they’re immersed in; the ‘in crowd’ they have to associate with – all that kaka. I’m happy to just let it all play out in some ways but for the fact I’m running out of life. In death tho’ I can see the inevitable and it ain’t pretty.
Part of the responsibility for the joke rests with us. It is alarmingly easy for us to get preoccupied with the latest events and sideshows while losing our critical faculties and our immediate memories where the media is concerned. An outstanding difference from the general fluff that passes for information was Wayne Brittenden’s Counterpoint . While it was on , many of us expressed our appreciation of his unflinching analyses that were a huge departure from the norm and often connected dots with a amazing clarity on an astonishing diversity of subjects. Two weeks ago I raised a concern that , unless he is unwell or on holiday, he has been quietly canned. I say ” quietly” because no one else appears to have noticed the Orwellian dissolve . There was no announcement last year that he would not be returning and nothing mentioned about his disappearance in his usual Sunday slot when the programme returned three Sundays ago.
+1
I’ve been wondering why the absence too. I was going to ask RNZ (via a back door) – he may just be doing other things, but nothing would surprise me given the ‘trend’
I have since called an RNZ insider of my acquaintance who confirmed that Brittenden has indeed been canned . It would seem that certain embassies were unhappy with his content even though they have never been able to challenge its well researched accuracy . His work on the TPPA apparently upset some in high places ….. Interesting that the NY Times earlier this month published a feature by Professor Stiglitz that brought out the very same points about the TPPA that Brittenden gave us very much earlier. How sad that our public broadcaster is more squeamish than the NY Times! My informant told me that Brittenden’s programme was rated highly by listeners , but not , it seems, by certain well-placed people who would rather see him silenced. Ditto for a lightweight presenter who often found himself out of his intellectual depth.
yep well – not surprising ….. se above: re ideological tory managerialism.
Cowards really when it comes down to it. But ….. swing low sweat chariot – the pendulum swings and the harder to the right – the more momentum it has when it reaches its limit and begins its swing left again.
Who to blame? Well those that wind up the mechanism. Lessons never seem to get ‘learned’ do they?! OR as they say (Bridges et al) …. “learnings” – which in itself is an attempt at manipulation.
People continue to tolerate, but only because they have mortgages to pay and lifestyles to maintain. Trouble is those lifestyles and mortgages are getting harder for the 99% (soon to become 99.9% plebians). I already smell the fear …. but tuff shit – I’ll waste my sympathy on the more deserving.
Hopefully you’ll get my meaning
They aren’t squeamish they are controlled indirectly based on CT advice through Nat ministers then onto griffin etc.
It’s how gluon gets the gig, Bradbury gets turfed and hooten, farrar etc all get to plug their agenda without critique.
Another pro Medpot blog post, this time about a woman with CRPS, (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) widely regarded as the worst pain disorder in existence. The R in CRPS for regional could be subtracted in her case….
http://yournz.org/2015/02/08/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-another-case-for-medicinal-cannabis/
Alternate address
https://mmj4chronicpain.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-another-case-for-medicinal-cannabis/
hi shane – thanks for the alt link 🙂
“John Key restates case for flag change
Prime Minister John Key has set out his case for changing the flag at his annual Waitangi Day breakfast address this morning – and admitted to a touch of envy over the ease with which Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has made the same decision.” jeez i missed that one! http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11397526
& also rodney hyde is critical of john key from a right wing libertarian viewpoint & seemingly blaming everyone but some short clear points. comments are especially anti-nats. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11398277
Three cheers for Andrea Vance and this bright and brave, unexpected opinion …. even challenging Key that it was not debated prior to the election …
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/65916914/andrea-vance-think-twice-before-joining-new-iraq-war
meant to add she also gives serious gravitas to Andrew Little’s opinions on the issues.
(lprent .. would not let me edit even within one minute of posting ?)
“For that reason, it may serve Iraq better if the international community diverted its support into helping Abadi establish good governance. And in that holistic area, New Zealand has strengths. ”
Except that we don’t have strengths in that area any more. As shown by Dirty Politics, FJK’s lies, and the stone arachnid saga, our governance is incredibly weak.
It appears that Andrew Little needs to get better advisors:
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/the-iraq-war-by-numbers-2014-6
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314
Apparently, the US/Iraq war has already cost 1.7 trillion.
FYI folks – here is a link to the ‘Open Letter /OIA request that i sent to the Local Government Commissioners on 4 February 2015, which should help TORPEDO their ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’, and help STOP the Wellington ‘Supercity’?
(This has already been sent to all Mayors and Councillors in the Greater Wellington Region, all MPs and most ‘mainstream’ media).
____________________________________________________________________________________
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz/open-letteroia-to-local-government-commissioners-stop-the-wellington-supercity/
4 February 2015
URGENT ‘Open Letter’ /OIA request to Local Government Commissioners re: Draft Greater Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
Dear Local Government Commissioners,
Basil Morrison Chairman
Anne Carter Commissioner
Janie Annear Commissioner
Over the Christmas break, I have studied numerous documents pertaining to the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal.
The following is my considered opinion:
1) There should be NO further amalgamations of Councils anywhere in New Zealand, until there is a full, thorough and independent audit of the Auckland ‘Supercity’, (based upon FACTS and EVIDENCE) which confirms how ‘cost-effective’ it has really been for the majority of Auckland Council citizens and ratepayers.
I note that in the ‘Application for Local Government Reorganisation – PROPOSAL FOR A UNITARY AUTHORITY WITH LOCAL BOARDS FOR THE WELLINGTON REGION’ – it is stated on page 47:
“The Auckland Council experience and overseas examples strongly suggest that there should be a reasonable expectation of efficiency savings from the creation of a combined Wellington Council.
Opportunities would likely come from the following areas:
* Common administrative and support functions (human resources, procurement, ICT, finance, property management, corporate and executive services)
* Common data management systems and processes
* Common regulatory functions, activities and processes (building consents, resource consents,liquor licensing, dog permits,
and other permits and licensing)
* Streamlined planning processes for resource management, transport planning as well as plans required under the Local
Government Act
* Single ownership of assets and a comprehensive asset management approach
* Services that are delivered at both a regional and local level (economic development and tourism marketing)
* Combined contract for services, for example rubbish collection and road management.
….”
______________________________________________________________________________________
OIA REQUEST 1:
PLEASE PROVIDE THE EVIDENCE UPON WHICH YOU LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSIONERS ARE RELYING / HAVE RELIED UPON IN ORDER TO BE ‘SATISFIED’ WITH THAT THIS ABOVE-MENTIONED STATEMENT IS FACTUALLY ACCURATE:
______________________________________________________________________________________
2) In my considered opinion, this ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’ is fundamentally flawed, and this process should cease forthwith, because the public are not being given detailed FACTS or INFORMATION showing exactly where Councils in the Greater Wellington region are currently spending citizens and ratepayers public monies on Council services and regulatory functions.
This information is needed in order to establish a factual datum, upon which to measure current or future ‘cost-effectiveness’ in the provision of Council services and regulatory functions. There is no information of this type in the Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal, so the public simply cannot make an ‘informed’ submission.
Please be reminded of your statutory duties arising from the Local Government Act 2002, regarding your ‘Draft Wellington Reorganisation Proposal’:
(Please note that the underlining of particular sections of this legislation is mine).
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0084/latest/DLM171803.html
Subpart 1—Purpose of local government
10Purpose of local government
(1)The purpose of local government is—
(a)to enable democratic local decision-making and action by, and on behalf of, communities; and
(b)to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.
(2)In this Act, good-quality, in relation to local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions, means infrastructure, services, and performance that are—
(a)efficient; and
(b)effective; and
(c)appropriate to present and anticipated future circumstances.
………………………..
______________________________________________________________________________________
(That’s just the start ……… )
There are some hours of (unpaid) work that have gone into this document, which contains research that, to my knowledge, no one else has done.
Having carefully checked the websites for each of the nine Councils which make up the Greater Wellington Region, I have compiled a total of 146 possible Council services and Regulatory Functions, and have provided a ‘Transparency Template’ so that a ‘snapshot’ can be taken of which are currently provided ‘in-house’, by Councils Controlled Organisations (CCOs), or have been ‘contracted out’ to the private sector.
Next, are a series of questions which are to confirm, on an individual Council service or Regulatory Function basis, how the current costs can be quantified, and compared across the Greater Wellington Region, comparing ‘apples with apples’ – as it were.
eg: How is the current Council service of ‘Dog Control’ being applied over the Greater Wellington Region?
How is ‘Dog Control’ carried out in the Kapiti District Council? Carterton District Council? Wellington City Council?
Who exactly is providing this service? How is it being provided? How much is it costing? What are the charges?
Given that the purported purpose of these Council ‘amalgamations’ is supposed to be to provide more ‘cost-effective’ solutions – how on earth can that be established if you don’t know exactly what the are the CURRENT costs for providing these Council services and Regulatory Functions?
These ‘Transparency Templates’ which I have provided, and full credit to my friend and fellow ‘anti-corruption whistle-blower’ colleague Grace Haden who helped with the formatting, will help citizens and ratepayers find out EXACTLY where rates monies are being spent.
The question is – why is it that that this information is not already available for public scrutiny – given the current legislative requirements for ‘open, transparent. and democratically accountable’ local government.
Be interested in your feedback.
Kind regards,
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Some Sunday weeding for felix updated from the April 29 2011 undesirable plant catalogue.
2015 Political Weeds
Sabinus Sabine, or Northland Knockweed, came late to the government’s attention as a potential hazard to be eradicated. It is such a pest that even its home nursery disowns it, and the common garden slater eschews it. Signs of it are still to be seen in its northern habitat, and the blue-clad pest eradicators are yet to arrest its development though they are strongly rumoured to have advised the government of its errant proclivities which they are currently investigating.
Natio Diversionalis is at times planted by the PM and was last seen on Waitangi Day when it was flown (sorry,grown!) on the Marae. It resembles a Flag Iris when in full bloom and usually accompanies militaristic displays of nationalism. it is likely to replace the white feather given to shirkers such as those who oppose the transmission of troops overseas.
Smithus Smithus var Stuartus (to distinguish from the Nelson cultivar var. Nickus), known in the Kaikoura region as the Marlborough Doosy, is another new weed in the political landscape. It seeks to be a companion plant for grape vines but its pre-selection promises of removing costs to the wine industry have shown little value despite self-promoting displays and an outwardly pleasant appearance..
Smithus Smithus var. Nickus is a plant of florid appearance which has had a singularly poor performance in cleaning up New Zealand’s waterways. A recent outbreak of paralysis causing organisms in Tory Channel has Smithus Nickus in a twist.
Smithus var. Nickus has been responsible for the gradual degrading of a once popular and widespread plant, very useful in providing shelter. Domusdomesticus Socialis is now being progressively sold off by the government which hopes that 5000 kiwis currently sheltering under its canopy will move on to other habitat. These could include under bridges, bus shelters, and garages.
The government has a dualistic view of this 70,000 strong planting. It used to be grown in clumps, then was spread like grains from a pepperpot, and now is being offered to religious groups to tend, with donations of additional fertiliser from the government.
This government says on one hand that there is no problem with its growth and spread and on the other hand wishes to enact regulations to allow its selective spread only by known corporative propagators and friends.
Much of the Kiwis’ former habitat is now prized by invasive species such as Unus Percentus and similar free-loading off-shore varieties. Coastal, mountain, lake and artificial waterways and other locations of prime value are to be denied to native kiwis species by the newly changed RMA, or Render unto Mammon Act.
Instead, unus percents, banksia australis and refugees from the spread of overseas feared Climatus Morphusglobalis and its attendant Holocaustus species are to be allowed unfettered planting rights such as are available now in Hawaii and other Friendly Society Island groups.
Holocaustus species which arise in the ashes of nuclear, environmental or other largely man-made catastrophes are definitely on the upwards growth, powered by rising global temperatures and peculiar conditions such as are found in the Ukraine (holocaustus var. putiniensis), China (var. pollutionis which can reach densities of 650 plants per square metre and are easily seen in the air producing choking and breathing problems), and the Middle East (var. Isis Obamatremens which grows best under a crescent moon).
Unus Percentus, which itself caused a global catastrophe in 2008 and by cutbacks afterwards in other species, greatly fears a severe pruning, and even removal of excess nutrient-accumulation by leaf stripping as promised in Greece, Spain and other under-irrigated areas.
Examination of overseas-held seed banks and occupation of land by rogue unus percentus sub-species such as Mafia Muscova, Donus Sicilianus, red or yellow flowering three petalled Gangtze Chinensis, and tea-leafed Capitalis Americanus in New Zealand is also a possibility in the red-dawned future. However, current NZ government-encouraged growing conditions, abetted by local nutrient-robbing weeds, precludes this for at least two more summers of discontent.
Excellent, Macrophage-1
Great analysis Mac1!
Do the Jews in Germany have the Right to defend themselves?
Imagine a U.S. spokesperson, in 1938, asked to comment on the events of Kristallnacht, saying to a Jewish journalist: “There is violence and back and forth.” Something like that happened at the grotesque and surreal Theatre of the Absurd known as the White House Daily Press Briefing on July 8, 2014….
JEN PSAKI: Israel have the right to defend themselves.
REPORTER: Do you think that the Palestinians in Gaza have the right to defend themselves?
JEN PSAKI: Errrrr, I think—I— I’m not sure what you’re getting at, Said.
REPORTER: I am asking you: Do they have the right to defend themselves against Israeli aggression?
JEN PSAKI: What are you specifically referring to? Is there a specific event or a specific occurrence?
REPORTER: Do they have the right to respond to Israeli rocketing and bombing their homes, their houses, their areas, their schools?”
……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZI3UfatCyo
“The strong difference between rocket attacks and Israel s air raids ” is that the rockets are sent buy the poor and dispossessed and the rockets come from the, to the palestinians eyes invaders.
Said needs an award for bravery.
Said needs an award for bravery.
I think it’s more the case that the other reporters, who carefully maintained blank expressions and left him isolated, need to be presented with an award for cowardice. A white feather perhaps?
Meanwhile, the lightweights of the American media continue to insult the intelligence of their viewers….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vII4e99ugbc
If you’d walked into scores and scores and scores of thousands of New Zealand homes in August 2014, the occasion of the last biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by NatziYahoo and the IDF against Gaza, you’d have seen this: hundreds of thousands of thick slobs and aresholes sitting on their tatty sofas, watching TVOne/TV3News reporting about the “militants” of Gaza. You watch……the picture will be no less gross in two years or less hence.
You’d have seen also these same thick slobs and arseholes sagely remarking through mouthsful of semi-masticated ‘pork’ sausage and mash, “Well, if they’d stop firing those rockets…….”.
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become…….unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Score in the August 2014 firing of rockets from Gaza – 6 civilians if that.
Score in the August 2014 biennial shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise by Zionist Israel – well over 1,500 civilians, 500 plus of them children.
Ask yourselves you ‘pork’ sausage waisted, minded, moralled, bastards ! For whom we can read White House spokesperson Jen Psaki. Whose employer the US of A pays to NatziYahoo an annual $US3,000,000,000 – three thousand million US dollars – in military aid. Hope you and Mr Obama are satisfied you’re getting good bang for your buck there Psaki…….
That is what a vast number of New Zealanders have become……. unempathetic, reflexively cruel bastards. A Palestinian mother and father whose 4 children under 12 have just been wasted when their apartment exploded under fire from a US made fighter jet…….”well, if only they’d stop firing those rockets.”
Actually, North, I don’t believe most people are that cruel. I have not met many people at all that endorse the mass slaughter that we all witnessed last July. Even politicians like Phil Goff, who feel compelled to say with a straight face that the aggressors and mass murderers “have the right to defend themselves” will not keep up that absurd line if they are challenged. That’s not the case, however, with the small gang of moral cowards, illiterates and nincompoops that dominate the media; on television, radio and in the Op-Ed pages of the major papers, morality is as non-existent as professionalism or fairness and balance.
And yes, any number of “thick slobs” do indeed reflexively repeat what they’ve heard the likes of Larry “Lackwit” Williams and his cast of grotesques on NewstalkZB saying—but that’s not serious thinking, and it disappears whenever a reasonable person is (politely and respectfully) challenged.
I’m not entirely convinced Morrissey. Have a look at Facebook during the ‘sport’ seen in August 2014. It hasn’t gone quite as far as death threats but I’ve had promises of GBH from total strangers via FB message. This from mullet-coiffed, ‘good-decent-tell-it-like-it-is-joker’ pork munchers. Oh yes one fascist disporting himself as an associate-professor-of-business as well. You’d be a goner Morrissey !
I know what you mean, my friend. Israel’s most rabid backers, from Dame Lesley Max to the unhinged Waikato professor Dov Bing, are ruthless in the extreme. But they are definitely a tiny rabid fringe. Most people are not like them, even if they are often too afraid to contradict them.
And please be careful out there North—it’s not worth endangering yourself in the face of someone who will not listen or think.
John Key booed at the Big Gay Out. Good!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/65921438/mixed-reception-for-prime-minister-john-key-at-aucklands-big-gay-out
awwww.
poor widdle tory needed an MC to defend him.
Overheard observation from a mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand – “Dat Mitta Gee……I tink heese a pit of a kirl……” – the reporting of which is completely silly of course and should raise hackles……but bloody funny to hear !
On TV the other night saw the dork mincing his way down a catwalk clad in Rugby World Cup volunteers’ gear from a few years ago. Well !
I cannot help but applaud the mature member of a group of people resident but not born in New Zealand for his powers of observation !
TheSodKey at BGO – “But we’ve turned that around. I voted for gay marriage”. Weird phrasing Johnny but that aside, isn’t he lying AGAIN…….or was it the so-called anti-smacking bill or civil union he semi-floated he’d not voted for, during the BBVG (BigBullshitVoteGrease) in South Auckland, accompanied by a rather embarrassed looking PesetaSamBoy ?
Whatever, the bastard can’t help himself ! Poor Bronagh…….limo’ drops him off in Parnell after a long week of telling lies down in Wellington……”Hello John Key, I’ve missed you so much !” – “WTF are you on about woman……my name’s Barack Churchill…….don’t touch me !”
And in the I didn’t think National could get any more creepy department, the striking difference between National and Labour at the BGO.
https://twitter.com/CraigTRobertson/status/564267037363810305
Very revealing. They are actually in love with the creep.
Would love to see some FJK badges.
Today my partner and I decided to go on a Sunday drive, walk the dog. My partner suggested taking a fishing rod as she was sick of the bait in the freezer. I checked the Maori fishing calander which said excellent day with bite time 3.30-5.30 pm. off we went to a place not too far only 10 minutes drive. There is a jetty close to the channel and the road is quiet to walk a excitable young King of toys dog. There were a 3 elderly folks fishing and a dozen kids jumping off the jetty swimming. Spoke to the people fishing who had caught one keeper early on before the kids had arrived. So we took the dog for a walk for an hour. About 3pm the kids buggered off so set up fishing. The fish were nibbling pretty much straight away, we all hooked up and landed a few just under the 30cm limit, sadly some released floated to the surface. Which seems such a waste. You would think you could keep them if they die, I would far rather have a size limit on big fish as their the breeding stock. My partner gave up bored and headed to the car, I said I’m nearly out of bait and wouldnt be long. With my last bit of squid I baited my 2 hooks and cast, bang got a good strike, reeling in I landed 2 pan size snapper measuring 42 and 50 cm. I bagged them walked to the car jumped in and said its never over till the baits gone. 🙂 baked snapper for dinner which is ready now.
Nice to read story Skinny but should have been on Weekend Social. 🙂
Sorry it was a haste post as I was being eye balled about over cooking the fish, which since I’m the head cook was silly, it was baked to perfection.
It has a political theme, my point is the raising of legal size of fish you can keep, especially for land/surfcasting 30 cm is silly, I mean I saw 4 fish just under 30 cm and over the old size of 27cm die today. Boat fishing I can understand but land based no, its hard work and the fish get knocked about so its harder for them to survive.
interesting fact is that fish have central nervous systems very similar to humans..
..so if you can imagine a hook going thru yr cheek..
..and then being dragged by that hook..thru the water..
..then to be dragged out of the water..to either suffocate..
..or to have yr skull bashed in..
..you’ll get/have some idea of the amount of pain the fish suffer..
..but i guess meat/fish-eaters know how much pain/suffering they cause..
..just to get that ‘tastes good’..eh..?
..so i guess it just doesn’t bother them in the slightest…
..and it is such a nice day out..isn’t it..?..
..(except for the fish..of course..eh..?..)
It’s never pleasant having to do the hunter gatherer thing Phil. I feel guilty taking a knife to garden veggies, you can almost here them scream.
really..?
..the screaming-vegetables carnivore-cliche/excuse is all you’ve got..?
..it is pretty defenceless tho..eh..?
..if you think about it for more than a nano-second..
..and of course with pigs and the like..
..they really do scream..eh..?
..not just pretend-vegetable scream..eh..?
..and i guess if fish could scream..
..you wd definitely hear that as you pulled them out of their world..
..eh..?
..wot with that hook in/thru their mouth..and all..eh..?
..lucky they only gasp..eh..?
..screams wd mar that ‘nice day out’ so..eh..?
I’m serious I feel the same way for plants the way you feel for animals. I worry for my plants on a really hot day knowing their wilting in the hot sun.
Plant have feelings too ya know.
“..having to do the hunter gatherer thing..’
..what a pile of fresh steaming hose-shit that is..eh..?
no wonder they flap about a bit..eh..?
..the fish…
..i guess you wd too..
..if that was done to you..
..eh..?
Yeah, but I’m sure that, when eaten, both Skinny and the fish would produce less bile and indigestion than you.
got anything else..?
..or is that it..?
..wd b nice if it made some sense..eh..?
..more just an inarticulate-snarl..eh..?
stop flapping.
so no real countering-arguments or anything..eh..?
..well..there aren’t any really..are there..
..so i guess ad-homs r all you’ve got..eh..?
..what’s next..?
..are we gonna escalate to nyah..!..nyah..!..?
countering-argument surely implies an argument to respond to?
here’s the argument..
..why do you hurt animals..?
..when you don’t need to..
..(i’ll leave you with that thought..)
That’s actually a question which rests on several assumptions.
I suppose the most relevant answer in this instance, temporarily granting as fact all the assumptions in your question, is “because it’s more fun than tofu”.
Look what you have done to me now! I just finished writing and posting a raw fish recipe! You have made me think a lot now! Oh, dear!
“..You have made me think a lot now! Oh, dear!..”
..that’s good..that’s what i am trying to do…
..many reading that wd still believe the myth that ‘fish don’t feel pain’..
..and the thing is with knowledge/awareness..
..once you have it..you may ignore it..
..but it still sits there..nagging away..
..(a bit like me..really..)
How I envy you Skinny both in the catching and the eating, two in the one cast. You must have a larger than usual size pans. Those are good sized schnapper !
Which makes what I’m about to ply you with pretty tasteless behaviour on my part but I’d already done the Right/Click/Copy exercise so might as well.
Sarah Palin re the “liberal” Pope and Sarah Palin re Christie’s waste line – wonder what the worked gargoyle would’ve said about FDR.
Poor Amerika !
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/#r/archive/segment/52839899fe34444ea5000206?cps=gravity_3831_-1162663177255025467
Good life!
An American friend of mine and his Kiribati wife introduced me to the deliciousness of Kiribati style raw tuna fish marinated in salt and vinegar, then washed, squeezed and prepared with a few other choice ingredients. Amazing taste. This dish and its preparation is quite different from the raw fish dish of other pacific islands. The dish tastes and feels like the fish is well cooked! Actually, it is in a way, being chemically cooked in salt+vinegar! This works very well with some other firm fish too, including snapper.
If you are keen to know how exactly to do this, reply here and I will be happy to describe the recipe and method.
Yes please Clem you have my taste buds going, quiet day on open mike anyways lol.
My as well talk food.
Ok, Here is the way my friends who are an American-Kiribati couple and I do raw fish. I describe it as chemically cooked fish (CC Fish; See See Fish) rather than raw for the squeamish!
A MUST try delicacy!
First, I will now name this highly recommended recipe….Ta da…
RAWKIRI-CLEMPIN-FISHDISH :
* Definitely Serves 5 to15 depending upon how much one serves on one’s plate!
* or usable for several little meals/snacks for a day or two or three, if refrigerated.
* Good for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner or as a healthy mid-night or any time snack!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YOU WILL NEED:
Fish, Coconut cream, Salt, White vinegar, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Onion -mainly.
Optional : Capsicum, Carrrot, Chives/Parsley/Lettuce, Lime/Lemon.
INGREDIENTS LIST 1 :
NOTE : The measurements are approximate and variable up or down as convenient.
* FISH : 2 kg
Preferably firm fish such as
Tuna, Snapper, Tarakihi, Kahawai, Kingfish,
Salmon, Groper, Gurnard, Halibut, Warehou, John Dory etc
[P.S : I have tried the first five only]
* SALT : About 1/4 Kg
Don’t panic! We will remove all or most of the salt later during preparation.
* WHITE VINEGAR : About 1/2 to 1 litre , enough to cover cut fish pieces in a bowl.
Again, Don’t panic! We will remove most of the vinegar later during preparation!
* COCONUT CREAM : 2 or 3 or may be even 4 cans or about 1 litre.
You’ll need to judge later by eyeballing/taste test in step 7 of procedure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INGREDIENTS LIST 2 :
NOTE :
The following items should all together make up ABOUT half or slightly less than half the quantity of fish. Max 750g or1 kg in this case as fish used here is about 2 Kgs. Do not avoid the first three items marked with two stars **
** CUCUMBER : 1/4 or more of (telegraph) cucumber or 1 cup,
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Judge quantity per taste later, but must have item!
** RIPE RED TOMATOES : 2 medium size or 1 cup
cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. May need 3 if small. Judge later.
** ONION : 1 medium size or 1 cup. Definitely red onion if possible.
Cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Use 2 if small. Again, do taste test later.
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* CAPSICUM : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 to 1 cup, cut in small 1/2 cm cubes. Green and/or yellow adds colour to dish.
* CARROT : (OPTIONAL), 1/2 cup grated or cut tiny 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* CHIVES or PARSLEY or LETTUCE : (Any one, but OPTIONAL), 2 TABLE spoons, cut small 1/4 or 1/2 cm.
* LIME ZEST (OPTIONAL), thin green outer layer of lime peel, 2 tea spoons, grated
* LIME or LEMON : 1 (You may or may not need this as per taste later)
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PROCEDURE :
STEP 1 :
Wash your hands well in soap. Rinse the fish. Remove skin of fish and fish bones and cut into 1 cm sized cubes. While cutting, keep putting the pieces into a bowl. When a layer of fish forms in the bowl, scatter a handful of salt over it. Repeat this for several layers until the fish is finished. Mix the fish pieces and salt a little to ensure all pieces are well covered in salt. I use my hands for this. Leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. Have a cuppa or a beer or make love or whatever. (Optional)
STEP 2 :
Pour vinegar into the bowl to cover the fish pieces. Give it a mix with a spoon or your clean hands. Cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Good to leave it up to 5 hours to cook well chemically in salt and vinegar.
STEP 3 :
While the fish is marinading and getting mysteriously cooked, prepare the cleaning and cutting of the ingredients (those that you will be using) from list 2 above.
STEP 4 : [Important step]
(a) After the 2 to 5 hours, drain the liquid from the fish bowl. I do this either by using a colander or by simply covering the bowl with a plate and draining the liquid into the sink.
(b) Now WASH the fish pieces with your hands using cold running water from the tap.
(c) Drain the water again as before. Squeeze a handful of fish and place it in another bowl. Do this until you have squeezed handfuls and transferred all the
fish into this new bowl.
(d) REPEAT this washing, draining, squeezing (WDS, unlike the WMDs) routine at least THREE times. FIVE times will be better. The idea is to remove MOST of the salt and vinegar and also to make the fish nice and soft to eat. Do a taste test : Take a piece of fish and eat it. It should not be TOO salty or TOO sour. If it is, repeat the WDS routine 1 or 2 more times. If it is a little salty and sour, do not worry too much because when we add the other stuff, the taste and composition will come right.
STEP 5 :
Add a can or two of coconut cream into the bowl of fish to cover the pieces well.
STEP 6 :
Add all the cut ingredients of list 2 that you prepared in step 3, into the fish bowl.
STEP 7:
(a) Give it a good mix using a spoon.
(b) Add more coconut cream if it is not covering the contents in the bowl well.
(c) Make and add more of ingredients from list 3 (except lime) if you feel you must.
(d) Do a taste test and see if you think you may need to add more salt or lime juice. Do NOT add salt or lime just yet.
(e) Cover and keep the bowl in fridge for half an hour. 1 to 2 hours is better.
(f) Do another taste test. This time, if you fancy more salt or lime, feel free to add but very tiny amounts each time. Keep tasting and adding tiny amounts until the dish tastes yummy and you are happy.
STEP 8 :
Serve cold. Normally, as an special extra course or as a side dish.
STEP 9 :
Cover any left over with glad wrap and refrigerate. Will keep good for at least three days in the fridge.
STEP 10:
Enjoy and share or Share and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~
CORRECTION :
7 (c) should read,
‘Make and add more of ingredients from list 2 (except lime) if you feel you must’ [Not list 3 ]
————
And sorry, I could not post the recipe earlier in the evening as I was away and busy. Then it took me considerable time to write this recipe from scratch! It made me realise it isn’t as easy as it seems!
Please let me know if I have made any more errors or if my description is not clear.
Cheers Clem looks delicious have saved recipe thanks cobbah much apreiated dude!
I agree that it would be better to have an upper size limit, maybe something like 5kg. They start to be valuable breeders at about 2kg, as far as I know. They get more valuable as they get older. I’ve caught the best fish of the day a few times on the last bait.
I agree a 25+ year old fish is far better too be left as breeding stock, they are not as good to eat 20 pound upwards they become flakey.
Catching 2 on my last cast is a first for me, gave me a good buzz, as some wisecrack fellow watching said looks like its fish & chips for ya dinner on the way home as I said last go. Less then 60 seconds later I hauled in my catch. I winked at him walking off with my booty.
Going to go back on dusk during the week, the recent storm has stirred up the food chain and the swell is up too, and cloud cover is good.
Don’t the corporate and rich dude created callous river pollution contaminate the fish?
Liars of Our Time
No. 46: JULIA GILLARD
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—JULIA GILLARD, straight-faced, vile on ABC Television, 14 March 2011
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1q9eqhT5UM
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232
Liars of Our Time
No. 48: JIM MORA
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The studio fills with the sound of Tony Doe singing his new single “How Do You Embrace the Earth?”
JIM MORA: Well DONE.
TONY DOE: [modestly] So yeah. Pleased to be able to get it out to a wider audience.
JIM MORA: Fantastic! I’ll have a listen to the full version after The Panel.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
—JIM MORA, The Panel, Radio NZ National, 3:35 p.m., Wednesday 18 February 2015
Liar No.47 Simon Mercep: ““Coming up in a few minutes, The Panel. …. Whoever they are, quality broadcasting will ensue.”
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-18022015/#comment-970927
Liar No. 46 Julia Gillard: “I have got a lot of respect for people who whistle-blow, ummm….” http://thestandard.org.nz/ope-mike-08022015/#comment-965394
Liar No. 45 Zara Potts: “Sir Bob Geldof has assembled the best of modern musicians for this year’s record, including Ed Sheeran and One Direction.” http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-11112014/#comment-924196
More liars HERE….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-09102014/#comment-907232