Would Winston Peters do better keeping out of the media spotlight? He sounds confused, and his policies are a mix of unlimited fund vote attraction and contradictions.
Pressed about other new policies to be considered at the conference, he says: “I haven’t got them all in front of me … I need to go and get the darned book. Did you get my press statement. I listed them all on the press statement?”
Later he says: “It will be an election-defining series of issues. If I say now I’m bound to put it in the speech.”
The darned book seems to be a problem.
He’s proposing to halve student debt as young vote bait. “We expect them to come in their droves.”
His worst proposal is:
“cutting the benefits of family members who withhold information on child abuse.”
“I want to know – not just [from] the nearest person to that child but the whole family and the wider family related to that child – I want to know that we have got admission and ownership and not silence. “
Who will decide how many benefits to cut? On what basis? And how will cutting all the benefits of all the wider family affect all the children?
Winston is hinting that he will stand in Te Atatu. The seat should, barring something extraordinary, be Phil Twyford’s but Peters could cause problems. Local support for Tau Henare is brittle and if there is a run of support then Peters could have a chance.
I wonder if there is an element of utu involved in trying to show up former NZFirster Henare.
If it occurs it also suggests that NZ First will want to cannibalise Labour’s vote, just as they did in 1995. That year Peters campaigned through the country sounding like Labour lite and all but promising coalition with Labour after the election.
Then over a few bottles of whisky with Bolger he sold out and went with the tories.
I prefer that Labour now takes Peters head on. It is unlikely that NZ First will make it. And policy formation with an ex torie leading a bunch of immigrant hating climate change deniers is problematic to say the least.
I think they should. Peters and NZF look more unreliable than ever.
It’s not just that he seems older and more cantankerous. He doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as sharp as he used to be. It almost seems he could be a few marbles short of a Colosseum.
Peters, banks, brash, Douglas show the sad sad state of politics in this country where troughing has beens could have a say in the direction of NZ when they should all be directing golf carts around retirement homes.
Three banking guys run this country for their international masters. John Key as the prime minister, Don Brash as the evil in the background linked to the new American Century Neocon boys and Michael Moore as the US ambassador and linked to the Bilderberg group and the trilateral commission. Everything else is just puppets playing political theatre in their usual venal and narrow minded way.
Here is a presentation by Edward G. Griffin on the origins of the privately owned Federal Reserve of New York.
I had the honour of meeting him in March 2008 and asked him what he thought of John Key and his history on Wall street and what it would mean if he was elected as NZ prime minister. He answered: “He will sell your country to the highest bidder and throw in his mother with the deal.”
When I asked him if he thought it was possible he had been groomed for the job of PM he said: “It has happened before.”
Things appear to be falling apart in Rusty Shackleford’s new Somalia.
Of-course he will blame the weather, not the fact there is no functioning Government.
“The current government has no control over a number of areas in the country. Even the capital of Mogadishu is partially controlled by militia groups, making it almost impossible to deliver relief supplies.”
It is a stain on the forehead of all Arabs and Muslims that Americans and Europeans have moved faster to provide urgent aid to the famine-stricken population in Somalia, one of the 22 members of the Arab League. Saudi Arabia has pledged $60 million, but it remains to be seen if it will fulfill its promise. The promise is considered a drop in the sea compared with what Western countries have pledged to save the lives of the Somalis.
The promise is considered a drop in the sea compared with what Western countries have pledged to save the lives of the Somalis.
Have you got any figures to show how much the “Western countries” have contributed to Somali famine relief compared to the daily amount they spend on bombing Libya?
Completely unrelated matters, Mozza. The fact is that the UN is co-ordinating the relief effort in Somalia in horrendously difficult circumstances and if it wasn’t for that humanitariam effort thousands would be dying.
The Libyan situation can be resolved instantly if Gaddafi accepts any of the repeated offers to generously fund his retirement in or out of the country. The West’s contribution there is also fantastic, really. A combination of aid, logistical support and remarkably accurate bombing of Gaddafi’s forces mean the Libyan people have a real chance of a democratic future. Maybe this coming holiday season will herald the Ramadan Revolution? I certainly hope so.
Completely unrelated matters, Mozza.
Actually, these matters are closely connected. The quote put up by Joe90 is a naked attempt to embarrass “all Arabs and Muslims”, and show that “the West” is morally superior. In fact, “the West” is waging war on three countries at the moment, and spending enormous amounts on it.
The fact is that the UN is co-ordinating the relief effort in Somalia in horrendously difficult circumstances and if it wasn’t for that humanitariam effort thousands would be dying.
True. That’s the UN. That’s not “the West”.
The Libyan situation can be resolved instantly if Gaddafi accepts any of the repeated offers to generously fund his retirement in or out of the country.
On what basis do you make that claim?
The West’s contribution there is also fantastic, really. A combination of aid, logistical support and remarkably accurate bombing of Gaddafi’s forces mean the Libyan people have a real chance of a democratic future.
For the sake of argument, I’ll leave aside for now your claims that “the West” has been “fantastic” and that its bombs are “remarkably accurate”. What’s really interesting is that you seem to believe that “the West” is interested in promoting a “democratic future” in Libya—or anywhere, for that matter. What has “the West” done in the middle east or South America or Southeast Asia to promote a “democratic future”?
Maybe this coming holiday season will herald the Ramadan Revolution? I certainly hope so.
Well then, if by a “Ramadan Revolution”, it’s a democratic revolution you want, you’re not in the same camp as “the West”. Have you any familiarity of “the West’s” history of promoting democracy in Egypt, Palestine, Iran and Saudi Arabia?
Sorry, but I remained convinced that they are completely unrelated matters. You say they are closely connected, but give no evidence. And you agree that the Somalian aid effort is run by the UN, not ‘the west’, which further strengthens my point that they are unrelated.
Gaddafi has been given many offers to step down over the last few months. It’s been in the all the news reports, so I’m surprised you aren’t aware of it. The sticking point has been whether he is allowed to stay in Libya. He wants to, the opposition will only accept exile.
I haven’t got the time to answer your question on what the west has done to promote democracy in the middle East in any detail, but I would suggest that writing democratic constitutions and then holding elections in both Afghanastan and Iraq suggests that the west has a commitment to democratising at least those countries. If you need a broader history lesson, I suspect you may be able to google some resources that will help you there.
And you agree that the Somalian aid effort is run by the UN, not ‘the west’, which further strengthens my point that they are unrelated.
The extract quoted by joe90 said that “Americans and Europeans have moved faster” to provide aid to Somalia. This implies that the U.S. and its obedient vassal continent are somehow superior to the Arab League countries. The fact is, of course, that the U.S. and Europe are spending a fortune on the bombing of Libya, and the arming of Israel with attack helicopters, (illegal) white phosphorus and (illegal) cluster munitions, all of which are used on civilian populations. The money contributed for famine relief by the U.S. and Europe is a derisory sum.
Gaddafi has been given many offers to step down over the last few months.
I’d like the dishonest, foolish and intellectually idle New Zealand prime minister to step down. I’d like the corrupt British prime minister to resign immediately. I think the Canadian prime minister is an embarrassment and should be removed forthwith. Why should Gaddafi have to “step down” before those three scoundrels do?
I haven’t got the time to answer your question on what the west has done to promote democracy in the middle East in any detail
Give me one example, please. Just one. I’ll help you avoid a few pitfalls, however: don’t mention the killing of democratic government in Iran, or the military and diplomatic support for Saddam Hussein, or the support of Egyptian dictatorships since the 1970s, or the contemptuous treatment of Palestinians after the free and fair elections of 2006.
Okay, now tell us how “the West” has SUPPORTED democracy in the middle east.
I would suggest that writing democratic constitutions and then holding elections in both Afghanastan and Iraq suggests that the west has a commitment to democratising at least those countries.
Nobody would deny the U.S. has a rhetorical commitment to democracy. Perhaps you need to listen to what Afghanis think about the American and European “commitment to democratising” their country….
So no answers to my original point then? Which was that the attempt to get rid of the Libyan dictator and the aid effort in Somalia are unrelated.
Btw, you do know that they had actual elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, don’t you? And in Palestine, for that matter. If they weren’t perfect it’s hardly surprising, but it’s an improvement on the previous arrangement. And democratic elections are the major difference between the PM’s of NZ, Canada and England, who, to the best of my knowledge, have never used tanks against their own civilian population, nor organised the bombing of civilian airliners.
Andthe British government certainly did deploy tanks on the streets of Glasgow following Bloody Friday in 1919
Government concerns about industrial militancy and revolutionary political activity in Glasgow reached new heights after the events of 31 January 1919. Fears within government of a workers’ revolution in Glasgow led to the deployment of troops and tanks in the city.
An estimated 10000 English troops in total were sent to Glasgow in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of George Square. This was in spite of a full battalion of Scottish soldiers being stationed at Maryhill barracks in Glasgow at the time. No Scottish troops were deployed, with the government fearing that fellow Scots, soldiers or otherwise, would go over to the workers side if a revolutionary situation developed in Glasgow.
Fair enough, Bill. It’s worth noting that Muldoon had the army on standby near Bastion Point during the last days of the (re)occupation too. And I imagine the ’51 blue had the troops itching to pull the trigger on their 303’s.
But Morrissey it was who referred to the 3 current PM’s, not me, and I replied to that comment in kind. Quite why I referred to Cameron as the “English’ PM, I don’t know. Perhaps something to do with the lack of Tory MP’s in Scotland and Wales?
So no answers to my original point then? Which was that the attempt to get rid of the Libyan dictator and the aid effort in Somalia are unrelated.
It was actually joe90 who posted the original absurd attempt to show that the U.S. and its obedient servants in Europe were morally superior to the Arab League states. I pointed out that that is a ridiculous position to hold when the U.S. and Europe are presently prosecuting THREE wars of choice, one of them without even the slightest moral or military justification.
Btw, you do know that they had actual elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, don’t you?
They had actual elections in occupied Vietnam in the 1960s too. And you do know that the United States supported the anti-democracy forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the 1980s?
And in Palestine, for that matter.
The U.S. and its vassal states have done nothing except express anger and contempt at the Palestinians for voting the wrong way in 2006. They even bank-rolled and armed a bloody Fatah coup attempt in 2007. The U.S. and Europe do not want democracy in Palestine, any more than they wanted it in Iran in 1954, in Egypt in the 1970s, in Algeria or in Iraq in the early 1990s.
…the PM’s of NZ, Canada and England, who, to the best of my knowledge, have never used tanks against their own civilian population, nor organised the bombing of civilian airliners.
All three of these mediocrities and yes-men continue to express support for the “mission” in Afghanistan and Iraq, with Key’s moronic “that’s why we’re in Afghanistan” comment after the Norwegian killings being perhaps the most craven. During and after Israel’s murderous 22-day rampage in Gaza in 2008-9, all three of them voiced “solidarity” and “support”—for the Israelis.
How are these three superior to any other national leader, either morally or intellectually?
Btw, you do know that they had actual elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, don’t you?
Hilarious! I am reminded of the 1960s joke that “they’re holding a general election in Greece – they’re going to elect another general. Anyone but you, finds it just a tad suspicious that the ‘elections’ in Afghanistan and Iraq chose rulers pre-approved by the filth, er Americans…
. And democratic elections are the major difference between the PM’s of NZ, Canada and England, who, to the best of my knowledge, have never used tanks against their own civilian population, nor organised the bombing of civilian airliners.
Not yet, anyway. But you think they haven’t done any other damage? Ah, yes, Randbot aren’t you…
Gaddafi has been given many offers to step down over the last few months. It’s been in the all the news reports, so I’m surprised you aren’t aware of it. The sticking point has been whether he is allowed to stay in Libya. He wants to, the opposition will only accept exile.
I haven’t got the time to answer your question on what the west has done to promote democracy in the middle East in any detail, but I would suggest that writing democratic constitutions and then holding elections in both Afghanastan and Iraq suggests that the west has a commitment to democratising at least those countries. If you need a broader history lesson, I suspect you may be able to google some resources that will help you there.
Oh unbelievable! Either you’re incredibly stupidly naive, or you’re a crazy Neocon! The actions of the ‘West’ (the USA) in Libya, stink on ice, and there are so many questions even my right-wing(ish) son is suspicious. You are an American, or you just have a general hate-on against Muslims, and here was I thinking it was only Christians you loathed! Oh, I have just remembered, you’re just a Rand-bot, hey?
@mikesh – No why should he. Gadaffi has been on top for over 30 years in an oil rich country. No, no we won’t go is an understandable chant. The idea that only one person can be found to run a country, or that man’s son, or his daughter indicates that there is a ruling elite sticking to their comforts and power.
Interesting in South Australia they are just trying to get rid of Premier Mike Rann who has been in for 9 years in a uranium mining state. He had been in the SA House of Assembly since 1985 and been South Australian Labor parliamentary leader since 1994. Same thing – he doesn’t want to go. Even in a democracy it is hard to get the incumbent to move on but the longer they stay the more difficult to get them out and the right person in.
[@mikesh – No why should he. Gadaffi has been on top for over 30 years in an oil rich country. No, no we won’t go is an understandable chant. The idea that only one person can be found to run a country, or that man’s son, or his daughter indicates that there is a ruling elite sticking to their comforts and power.]
Quite so. And the rebels would like to replace him as the “ruling elite”, and of course they’re prepared to turn the country to over to foreign capital in return for western support for the purpose of gaining power.
All he’s describing is the bog standard mechanisms of SAPs and the bog standard means of escalation/ follow up.
And then inserting a fiction of shadowy anti-hero hit men and jackals.
Which in some ways is okay, ’cause he’s essentially outlining a truth. And maybe he reckoned if ‘the story’ was ‘sexed up’ then Mr and Mrs Middle America would be hooked in as readers. Not to mention he stood to make a fair bit of money if his book sold.
Lord Winston’s prejudiced and ignorant comments
Sunday morning National Radio, Sunday 31 July 2011
Chris Laidlaw’s guest: ROBERT WINSTON
As long as Lord Winston speaks about genetic science and television presenting, he is plausible. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever heard RICHARD DAWKINS blither ignorantly about the middle east, or listened to the New Zealand government’s science advisor PETER GLUCKMAN [1] will know, the seriousness and scientific approach of these people is often not carried into their politics.
As an example, witness Lord Winston’s incredibly naive and ignorant statements about Israel in the following talk….
LAIDLAW: Hrrrrumph. How important is your Jewish heritage?
LORD WINSTON: The Jewish tradition means that science and evidence are very important in forming an ethical standpoint.
LAIDLAW: Did your family have much consciousness about Israel?
WINSTON: No, not much at all. We never gave it a thought. My feelings on Israel came from when Israel was besieged on all sides.
LAIDLAW: Hrrrrumph.
WINSTON: The problem is that there is a deeply ingrained set of people who will not accept the fact that Israel exists at all. It’s an AGONIZING problem for Jews.
LAIDLAW: Hmmmmm?
WINSTON: In the House of Lords over the last year, theere have been ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY questions on Israel and TWO on Kashmir. [2] That gives you an idea of the focus. Israel has a lot to be proud of. Its development of high-tech industries is amazing! It’s got a lot to show New Zealand in that area of development!
LAIDLAW: Hrrrumph! We don’t have quite the same force of necessity do we! Hrrrumph!
WINSTON: Well, no, I suppose you’re right!
LAIDLAW: What do you have to say about homeopathic medicine?
WINSTON: Well, my wife uses homeopathic medicine and I tease her about it, but she persists! We need to expect the same standards of proof that we expect with conventional medicine.
LAIDLAW: Spoken like a scientist! Which we should have expected! Hrrumph!
WINSTON: [modestly] We-e-e-e-ll…
LAIDLAW: Television is an amazing medium, and you’ve used it SHAMELESSLY for good causes. Is there any evidence it’s had an effect on education?
WINSTON: That’s a very good question. We haven’t done the metrics on this….
LAIDLAW: Finally, Lord Winston, what would you like to be remembered for?
WINSTON: Oh Chris! Any personal achievement is trivial. My three children are the best thing I’ve done. For anyone, if you can produce children who contribute to society….
—————————————————————————————
Dismayed at Laidlaw’s failure to challenge anything this practised liar said, I sent off the following email…
FROM: Morrissey Breen
TO: sundays@radionz.co.nz
TOPIC: Lord Winston’s prejudiced and ignorant comments
Dear Chris,
You let Lord Winston get away with saying, with sinister smoothness, that Israel was “besieged” by all the countries around it, and that it is threatened by “ingrained” prejudice by people who “won’t even accept its right to exist”. Both statements are nonsense, and nothing more than hardline Israeli state propaganda.
His casting of an aggressor state as a victim is a perfect inversion of the truth: Israel is “surrounded and besieged” in the same way Germany was “besieged” by its neighbours in the 1930s.
His claim that Israel’s “right to exist” needs to be acknowledged is nonsense: Gandhi never accepted the “right to exist” of Pakistan, and human rights advocates all over the world never accepted the “right to exist” of the Soviet Union or of apartheid South Africa.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
[1]/open-mike-27032011/#comment-313255 [2] This is the sort of British parliamentary speech that angers worshippers of the Israeli state like Robert Winston….
Robert Lord Winston is whipped cream, smooth, rich, satisfying. He is deprecating about all his wonderful achievements. And he likes to be eased comfortably nto his set speech giving his experiences. And everyone loves him, which is just as well as the man is ubiquitious.
I won’t forget hearing Kim Hill interview him, after the facts as usual, with queries that should have been simple for him to answer, though perhaps tedious as he has advanced so far in so many fields that explaining to a new audience about past history must be boring. But it’s the price of good book sales and large TV audiences. She didn’t put on her velvet gloves and stroke his ego, but treated him as the man of science he claims he is. He didn’t like it and told her so.
She didn’t put on her velvet gloves and stroke his ego, but treated him as the man of science he claims he is. He didn’t like it and told her so.
David Suzuki reacted angrily to Kim Hill a few months back. I thought he was over-sensitive, as Kim’s questions hadn’t been disrespectful, or even especially provocative. I would have thought Suzuki was smarter than to allow himself to lose his temper so completely.
Two less than savoury interviewees who Kim has reduced to spluttering anger are Jeffrey Archer and William Shawcross. Archer screamed at her in 1993, snarling: “I was WARNED about you!” Shawcross was embarrassed and angry at being reminded of his past support for Saddam Hussein. I thought Shawcross was going to burst a blood vessel, he was so incensed.
Last year she keelhauled another dyed-in-the-wool liar, John Howard. While Howard licked his wounds in private, and decided to make no public statements about the humiliation, dear old witless Karl DuFresne decided to make a stand on behalf of the great statesman, and wrote a confused and woolly-minded attack on Hill in the Australian Spectator.
And did you see Kim Hill interveiw Brash on TV, this was after some chauvinistic comments he had made in the media, she destroyed him and by half time I was almost feeling sorry for him, almost, she could have let him off the hook, but to her credit continued to show him for what the sexist, shallow, old man he is.
Listened to precisely the same Laidlaw interview of Winston on Sunday morning and (much to the surprise of family members) let out one or two loud expletives.
Still, not at all surprising. I think I read about Winston’s lazy second-hand, Zionist-cliche-ridden views on Israel at least 5 or 6 years ago. It may have been in some sort of open letter to The Guardian. I seem to remember that both he and Melvyn Bragg were expressing some particularly ignorant Israeli apologetics in the British media either at the time of Israel’s murderous assault on the West Bank in 2002 (the so-called “Operation Defensive Shield” – Jesus, now there’s Orwellian absurdity for you !), or during the ultimately unsuccessful British attempt to boycott Israeli Universities in about 2005/2006. Or possibly on both occassions.
You’ve gotta love Laidlaw’s “Hrrrrumphs”. I think it’s his substitute for incisive/critical comment.
You’ve gotta love Laidlaw’s “Hrrrrumphs”. I think it’s his substitute for incisive/critical comment.
Actually, I think Chris Laidlaw is a well informed and deeply concerned interviewer. As well as all the Hrrrrumphing, he regularly voices a skeptical “Hmmmmm?” to show he is disturbed by what his guest is saying. On this occasion, he kept the interjections to the occasional neutral-sounding “Hrrrrumph”, and suppressed the disquiet I’m sure he felt.
Laidlaw believes in giving his guests a long rope. Often, as Lord Winston did on Sunday, the guest will hang himself by airing intolerant and ignorant views. It’s up to the rest of us to repeat and highlight this.
I am rereading Douglas Adams four book trilogy about an alternate future for the planet.
He refers to The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which recommends a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and says that the effect of drinking one is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. (It has comprehensive coverage of this, the recipe, the price, ‘and what voluntary organisations exist to help you rehabilitate afterwards’.)
Well after listening to the never-ending-stoooooory of the USA great talkfest and stand-off over their economy which lies pathetically at their feet, along with any integrity and democratic standards that country ever had, I get a similar feeling. I think we need to resort to the odd evening off from trying to keep the whole thing on the rails, if we ever can find them. This Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster sounds like an experience that would take one’s full attention away from other considerations.
Try it when the RWC comes to our shores – a similar saga. Perhaps we could invent a colourful cocktail that echoes NZs spirits and charm. Something green but not with creme de menthe. Please could bloggers keep posting with news of interest to them while the ruggers on.. I anyway, am likely to miss many important events while trying to get shot of the rugby for a while.
USA citizens have found it easy to criticise other countries and not be objective about their own. I’m just looking at a book on Trade me, Russia – Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams. The blurb says ‘Probing beneath the usual surface observations, stereotypes, and official government rhetoric, the former Moscow bureau chief of The New York Times carefully analyzes the loss of faith and the bankrupt ideology that afflict the Soviet system and society today.’
Now that Communism is not so dominating, perhaps the USA can look at itself to see if the same applies to them.
Recently I wrote about National being in breach of privacy laws and abusing Parliamentary Services concerning them attaining the address details of pensioners, and targeting that group with electioneering material.
There’s a question mark missing from your headline, jackal. It should read ‘Police to investigate Key?’ if it’s just speculative, not a fact.
The article itself is excellent and you’ve done some great investigative work there. If Key does end up getting his collar felt by PC Plod because of your efforts, I’ll be the first to shout you a whiskey!
You’re right of course VOR. However under the Electoral Act the Electoral Commission is obliged to present the facts of the matter to the Police who are in turn obliged to investigate. Unless either of those bodies are going to disregard the law (a very small possibility), I think the headline is correct.
Well now your talking! I was visiting my in laws and I found a letter from “John Key” to them and I thought it was beyond the pale for a party to use these addresses from obviously a state data bank to target people like that.
Well done and the second shout is for me if you get them to investigate!
What’s more, my in-laws are both in their 80s, did not vote for John Key and had no idea how the National party had gotten hold of their addresses but are both to intimidated by “authorities” to make a stink so thanks on their behalf too (I sent them the link cause my father-in-law is very internet savy and will enjoy reading about it.
Cheers travellerev. It’s the Pensioners private details thing that I dislike the most. I’m not convinced that the information was gained in the way John Key’s Communications Manager has stated. I’m hoping any investigation will look into that discrepancy as well.
I’m glad you also posted the letter integrally as my parents in law were aghast at the idea that their name would start to float around the internet (They are up and running with my political activities and it petrifies them even though they agree that 911 could not have possibly been done as the OCT states) if they gave me the letter (as if I would ever do that to them but I respected their need for privacy and now I can read it better and read the stuff you wrote about it).
Lying in bed in the middle dark of night and feeling your entire city grind from one set of longitude and latitude to another set over a long period of minutes with virtually no shaking. Gives you a sense of scale and tinyness. And spookiness.
For some reason the 3.6M at 3:30 this morning had me out of bed and half way to the door within a second. When I actually woke up and realised what I was doing, the shaking had already stopped. So I got back into bed.
Seemed much sharper than usual. It was quite a bit closer to my house than most.
Yes I see it was close to central. But I swear that I could for some long time afterwards feel the great giant slabs of deep earth moving slowly past each other, for quite a while after the shake had stopped. I felt this near continuously after the Feb quake but have not felt it for some time. Need to be in a sensitive spot (which our hosue seems to be) and very quiet and still. Quite an astounding sensation. And the anecdote seems to be borne out by the colossal number of aftershocks which indicate constant movement with various bits catching occasionally.
More on this to follow. Just heard on newstalk zb that when Key was on the David Letterman show (think it was last year) it was not by invitation it was by request with a price tag of $10,000. Key’s position is that it is gold for NZ to get exposure.
What a try hard, devious bastard. Letterman might well have been thinking who is this shithead? And Shonkey said in parliament that beneficiaries need to budget better.
“As if it wasn’t embrassing enough already. Sheesh.”
Letterman even recieved footage of Key.
Key was on Letterman for 4 minutes.
A PR company was contacted because after 6 months of trying to get on Letterman this was unsuccessful.
Not lie – deflect. “We paid $10k to stroke your ego?!” “Well eckshooly, that is not at ah we never paid Letterman to appear on his ah show and really, well, I wouldn’t be that comfortable with that at all, it wouldn’t be a good look, in that circumstance I’d probably pay for an ego stroke myself”.
People will be surprised by this I suppose, but most people don’t think and live like them, you have to understand this is just another marketing campaign; it started the day they took office, I wish people would wake up to this and no amount of praying or we will do it the old fashion way will have any impact, Wake the fuck up, you are being sold every waking hour.
Thats why I don’t have a TV or get the paper , or listen to commercial radio or watch movies , I get my news when I want it where I want it, sure I still get some marketing but I understand these people and have friends still in the industry , you have know idea how these people operate, they are not evil they are just doing there job, the job being to sell you something you don’t need.
Well in a way, but I’m sure they don’t think of it like that, it’s a job/career and people compete, so want to win.
Calling Capitalism evil is easy, but for me the saying from Forest Gump “Stupid is as stupid does” says it all; we need education, education, education for the people. The right are not that smart and making money is easy, especially when you don’t have any compassion, and compassion comes from education for me.
Job creation – after spending 45 minutes waiting to speak to someone (anyone!!!) at Kiwibank I think there is scope for more jobs in their call centre – better than building a cycle track IMHO.
Job creation – after spending 45 minutes waiting to speak to someone (anyone!!!) at Kiwibank I think there is scope for more jobs in their call centre – better than building a cycle track IMHO.
I have often wished that the person I was talking to had half a brain * – which would be more than they are displaying at the time! I’ve applied for call centre jobs (amongst others) for 2 1/2 years, and been refused for 2 1/2 years – I have no idea why! Interview # 140 today. “Uts a metter of futt” is what I am usually told (and I hear them thinking, what one woman actually said last week) “the boys don’t want to feel they’ve got their mother sitting there judging them”. I suppose the girls feel the same way! F*** capitalism.
*Studylink seem to be the only ones who have sufficient staff, with sufficient brain power, sadly
It’s more than likely your condescending attitude that’s putting them off hiring you. Call centre workers need to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life and intellects. Work on improving your attitude and you might do better. Good luck!
It’s more than likely your condescending attitude that’s putting them off hiring you. Call centre workers need to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life and intellects. Work on improving your attitude and you might do better. Good luck!
Wooh, arrogant much? I am an ESOL teacher and a basic requirement of being one, is “communicating with people from all walks of life and intellects”… I do that better than most, especially the smug South African woman at the City Council who tried to tell me that it was my responsibility to try to talk the Housing NZ maintenance chief into fixing the permanent puddle in our street. Turned out that she was so good at listening, that she hadn’t grasped that the puddle is on the pavement and not on my front lawn! But let me guess, she’s nicely middle class and you’d hire her, despite her superior attitude. Maybe I should have put on an American accent, or claimed to be a real estate agent trying to sell houses in the street?
I can be as ‘condescending’ as I like here, especially to 30-something men who think they know where every unemployed person is going wrong.. but that doesn’t mean I’d be that way to people making inquiries!
Anyone here on the news today that ACT are not standing anyone in New Plymouth to give National a better chance at winning that seat – more fiddling the electorates to gain seat – maybe National threatened a ‘if you want Banks to be unopposed….)
Also heard on the radio today, with the change to the driving age federated farmers et. al. are not happy because rural parents will have the expense of driving their kids to sport (and here was me thinking that farmers just used the business Holden and claimed the expense as a legitimate drive to RD1).
The funniest bit though was when they gave the stats – the evidence suggests the change in driving age may save up to FIVE lives.
So how come, when it comes down to things like children starving, national Standards, etc. the evidence is suddenly unimportant? (NB as a rural parent I am pissed off too, as my son cannot do his test till January next year, despite having had this booked for over a month)
William Shawcross explodes in a rage at Kim Hill
National Radio, Saturday 1 May 2004, from 8:30 a.m. Transcribed by MORRISSEY BREEN, Daisycutter Sports Inc.
The first half of the interview ambles along smoothly enough—but then the haughty Shawcross delivers a torrent of wandery, pompous cant about bin Laden’s “holy war”…
…
SHAWCROSS: In his assault on the US, bin Laden had this famous phrase, which was a sort of TAUNTING phrase: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse they naturally gravitate towards the strong horse”, and I think, understandably enough, and none of these issues are easy, none of them are trivial, they are all very hard I COMPLETELY agree with you and understandably enough … And after 9/11 there was a feeling in Washington that it was possible to portray America as a weak horse and after 9/11 George Bush decided that could no longer be the case.
HILL: [laughing, incredulous] But you can’t, you can’t surely justify bombing a country like Iraq, at the cost of many, many civilian lives, as a kind of PR exercise to convince the world that the United States is not a “weak horse”.
SHAWCROSS: [icy] No I didn’t say that. You are twisting, very cleverly, my words.
HILL: Well, the reason—no no no no no, the reason I make that point is that, according to Bob Woodward’s latest book, Bush was secretly planning to go after not bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but Saddam Hussein!
SHAWCROSS: Well, I don’t think THAT’s true. I think that he was planning to go after BOTH. And I think, as I said to you, that the threat that Clinton saw in Saddam Hussein was deemed to be tolerable in the nineties – I think that’s a pity for Iraq and for the rest of the world that Saddam was not dealt with more firmly in the nineties. This was a man who had form, this was a man who’d not only murdered three hundred thousand or more of his own people, he was the man who killed more Muslims than any other leader in the world today, both in Iran in his war with Iran, in Kurdistan, and in Iraq itself. This was not a man who was a threat to Christians, he was a threat to Muslims and a threat to the entire region—
HILL: Of course.
SHAWCROSS: —and most of the countries in the region wanted to get rid of him and it’s a great PITY he wasn’t got rid of before.
HILL: And as you eloquently say in your book, a lot of Saddam Hussein’s atrocities were committed with the sanction of the United States.
SHAWCROSS: [exploding with rage] I did NOT say that! Come on, you’re absolutely— this is an ABSURD interview if you want to say that!—I did NOT say that! I did NOT say that! I said that in the 1980s, the greatest threat was seen to be the Ayatollah Khomeini and his version of fundamentalist Islam and it WAS a threat! The Ayatollah was murdering all Iranians who were in opposition to him he could get his hands on inside and outside the country, he wanted to DESTROY the western world, and it was a serious threat. His agents blew up three hundred marines in Lebanon in 1983, you could SEE why he was a threat, and on the rather sad principle but old principle that my enemy’s enemy is my friend, we decided that the greater threat of the two from Saddam Hussein and the Ayatollah Khomeini was not Saddam Hussein at that time.
HILL: So you’re not talking about Saddam Hussein when you say in the book: “but of course one has to take into account the fact that Western governments have for decades supported middle east regimes that may brutalise and impoverish the mass of the people—”
SHAWCROSS: Yes.
HILL: “—-but nonetheless provide stable oil supplies.”
SHAWCROSS: Yes, it’s one of the paradoxes and the dilemmas of our time.
HILL: Well I’m SORRY, but that was merely the point I was making, I don’t think it was an “absurd” point.
SHAWCROSS: [icy] Well don’t get ANGRY! Don’t get angry with me, it’s FOOLISH of you. You’re supposed to be a very highly professional interviewer.
HILL: I’m sorry, I thought you were taking offence. I’m merely trying to explain to you by looking at your book—
SHAWCROSS: I think some of the things you said WERE rather offensive—
HILL: Which things were offensive to you?
SHAWCROSS: —and incorrect. I didn’t say— [laughing] I don’t want to go back over it now…
HILL: Feel free!
SHAWCROSS: [momentarily disoriented] … but you maintained… No. Will you requote your question to me? The one that I, um, took offence to.
HILL: I think the one that you took offence to was the one where I suggested that Saddam Hussein had committed his worst atrocities while he was sanctioned by the United States and other western governments.
SHAWCROSS: Oh yeah that’s right. Well, I don’t think that he was SANCTIONED by the United States. I think that, as I said to you, often you have to deal in areas of darker shades of gray and at that time in the 1980s the Ayatollah Khomeini was seen as a very great threat to the world. Let me read something he wrote in 1984… [Shawcross reads piece of mad Khomeini rhetoric about need to wage war against “infidels”.] Now THAT was the inspiration for the Ayatollah Khomeini back in the 1980s and it’s the inspiration for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda now. And what I think we do not fully understand is that this is a very serious war. Some people call it the third “ism”. We’ve got rid of nazism and Communism….
HILL: [reminds Shawcross of his former trenchant opposition to the Vietnam calamity, and his formerly excoriating writings about Dean Rusk’s absurd Domino Theory] Does that mean you are recanting from that view?
SHAWCROSS: [huffing impatiently] No, I don’t think I said that. [waffles on for several minutes, reproaching all who opposed the Vietnam invasion, and completely recanting his views, even quoting Lee Kuan Yew (“authoritarian, but in many ways very successful”) who, like the new-model Shawcross, enthusiastically endorses the US’s rape of Vietnam as somehow validating the Domino Theory.] All I’m saying is that we have to, errrrr, learn from history and—who was it?—John Maynard Keynes, who said that when the facts change it’s quite a good thing to change your opinion.
HILL: Does it ever occur to you that the impact of Sideshow may have helped create the cynicism with regard to U.S. foreign policy that you are arguing AGAINST in your latest book?
SHAWCROSS: Well that’s a very provocative and clever question. Yes, you may well be right and if so I’m sorry because I didn’t MEAN it to provoke cynicism. I think I said at the end of Sideshow, that Kissinger and Nixon had not governed in my view honestly enough, but America was the most vital democracy in the whole world, and I believed it then and I believe it even more so now. [PAUSE] You seem surprised by that…
HILL: It does seem that the United States is roundly loathed…
SHAWCROSS: [steaming with indignation] Why don’t you GO to Iraq then? That is certainly not the case….
HILL: [archly] I was going to say “in the middle east.”
Touche! Even this smooth dissembler is momentarily non-plussed. Shawcross utters some mealy-mouthed words about Israel. He knows Israel’s war of terror against the people of Palestine is indefensible, but on the other hand, he’s an apologist for the neoconservatives now, so he can’t mouth anything stronger than a contemptible bit of handwringing…
SHAWCROSS: Obviously the heart-breaking impasse between the Israelis and the Palestinians is an APPALLING sore. But Israel needs to defend itself. There are vicious and rotten governments—Libya, Egypt, Syria—all around it. To quote President George W. Bush: We have to encourage democracies and free the people of the region from their despotic torpor.
HILL: Do you think Henry Kissinger should be tried as a war criminal?
SHAWCROSS: [with extreme gravitas] I think he committed a lot of mistakes, but he is not a war criminal.
HILL: The trajectory of your views is compared to that of Christopher Hitchens…
SHAWCROSS: [laughs] Well Christopher is ADORABLE….
…………………………………………….
This weasel was here to flog a weaselish book supporting the rape of Iraq, viz., William Shawcross, Allies: The U.S. and the world in the aftermath of the Iraq War (Appallin’ and Unctuous, 2004)
So the deal is done and “Surprise! Surprise”! (as Gomer Pyle used to say) – there’s a thoroughgoing ‘cave in’ to the right. So much for Mr ‘I’m putting my presidency on the line over this’ Obama.
I’m rapidly tending to the view that this was no ‘cave in’ but a carefully “orchestrated litany of lies”. What a joke. And I see the ‘Super Congress’ of 12 good men and true will now be in session.
What should you do if you discover an anarchist living next door? Dust off your old Sex Pistols albums and hang out a black and red flag to make them feel at home? Invite them round to debate the merits of Peter Kropotkin’s anarchist communism versus the individualist anarchism of Emile Armand? No – the answer, according to an official counter-terrorism notice circulated in London last week, is that you must report them to police immediately.
Why should these peaceful people be reported to police you ask?
the City of Westminster police’s “counter terrorist focus desk” called for anti-anarchist whistleblowers stating: “Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy.”
by The Council of Disobedient Women In a press release today Massey University announced it has decided to rebrand and reorientate after struggling to be a University for grown-ups. For some time the University has wanted to be a safe play space for wee-woke-misogynists who have been really badly triggered ...
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...
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New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...
At 1.30pm tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of Kiwis will join about 65 million people around the globe in ShakeOut, the world’s biggest earthquake drill. The annual drill is to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake which is to Drop, Cover, Hold, and to practise their ...
Kiwis are benefiting from higher wage growth and low inflation under the Coalition Government. Stats NZ data out today shows the rise in the cost of living remains low, as annual Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.5% in September from 1.7% in June. “The low inflation comes as ...
New Zealand’s economic strength and resilience has been recognised in a major update on the state of the global economy. The IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook released overnight shows a reduced global growth forecast over the next two years as issues like the US-China trade war and Brexit take hold. ...
Justice Minister Andrew Little has today introduced a new Bill to prevent terrorism and support the de-radicalisation of New Zealanders returning from overseas. The Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Bill gives the New Zealand Police the ability to apply to the High Court to impose control orders on New Zealanders who ...
A Bill that proposes targeted changes to simplify the processes for Māori land owners when engaging with the Māori Land Court has had its First Reading today. “The approach taken by the Government is to ensure that the protection of Māori land remains a priority as we seek to improve ...
Let me first thank all the new unionists and members in the room. There is nothing more important to improving people’s working lives than people making the decision to care, to get on board and help, to take up the reins and get involved. Congratulations to you. You bring the ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has signed a certificate exempting the activity of engine testing at Whenuapai Airbase from the Resource Management Act 1991. The Act gives the Minister of Defence the power to exempt activities for the purposes of national security. The certificate will mean the recent Environment Court ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson has announced New Zealand will join the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action while attending APEC meetings in Chile. The objective of the 39 member Coalition is to share information and promote action to tackle climate change. It was formed in April this year, in ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Black Fern Vania Wolfgramm has been given a golden opportunity to learn from leaders in US sport, and in return, make a lasting contribution to Kiwi female athletes. ...
A symposium to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of Halt All Racist Tours shook and changed our society, taking NZ into a new and different national and international consciousness. ...
When Hannah Yang complained about a racist clue in the daily paper, she was reminded of the prevalence of casual racism in New Zealand.I’d never seen a racist clue before.It happened in the morning when I sat down in our break room to look at the day’s cryptic crossword (yes, ...
The commentary around local election turnout is littered with misunderstanding. Yes, there’s a problem, but we should regard any suggestion of a single, simple solution with deep suspicion, writes local elections expert Julienne MolineauxThe Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming ...
Alex Casey talks to Henessey Griffiths, a 22 year-old Dunedin student who just finished her dissertation about one of Youtube’s most controversial stars. Content warning: this article contains mention of suicide, please take careYesterday afternoon in Dunedin, honours student Henessey Griffiths sent a tweet that was a year (or rather, five ...
The Transport Minister has released almost all of the letters he's received from Green MPs, but still refuses to release the letter from Julie Anne Genter that is now at the centre of an Ombudsman complaint. ...
Court documents have confirmed Winston Peters was sent a letter by officials four years into his seven-year overpayment of national superannuation asking him to check details he had supplied, including that he was 'single'. ...
Olympic sailors Blair Tuke and Peter Burling are throwing their weight behind a campaign encouraging New Zealander consumers and businesses to reduce their plastic pollution. ...
National Party leader Simon Bridges says his MP Agnes Loheni let him know she'd be contesting the candidacy for Botany, adding it's a "free world". ...
Think you’ve got your KiwiSaver sorted? Try Kōura’s ‘robo-advice’ questionnaire and you might be surprised.If a person who looks like they know about finance asks you whether your appetite for risk is low, medium or high, what do you say? The problem is most Kiwis don’t understand what the question ...
The Social Services and Community Committee is seeking submissions on the Rates Rebate (Statutory Declarations) Amendment Bill. This bill aims to improve the process of applying for rates rebates. It proposes: • Removing the requirement to make a statutory ...
The Māori Affairs Committee is calling for submissions on the Te Ture Whenua Maori (Succession, Dispute Resolution, and Related Matters) Amendment Bill. ...
The New Zealand Police have been used as a political pawn which is stretching their resources and seriously affecting their ability to address the real causes of crime, such as gang related supply of illicit drugs. ...
Alex Casey yarns to Karen O’Leary, early childhood teacher by day and star of Wellington Paranormal and What We Do in The Shadows by night. Two of the funniest moments in New Zealand television last year were entirely fence-based. First up there was Agni on The Block NZ, who packed a ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
NZ Police wish to clarify that cartridges filled with steel or lead shot are not prohibited. They may still be used under the Arms (Prohibited Ammunition) Order 2019 as shotgun cartridges are specifically excluded from the prohibition order. ...
Josie Adams is in tonight’s episode of Have You Been Paying Attention. Specifically, she is in the audience.When you watch Have You Been Paying Attention? tonight, please consider the bladders of audience members watching it live. They offer beverages, but my God it’s a dangerous offer. As I found out ...
Despite comments from Auckland City Council CCOs Board Chairs re pay and performance bonuses for top managers—Herald Newspaper Tuesday Oct 15th--there is very little evidence that says high pay and bonuses improve the performance of a company. Most ...
By Michael Andrew Pacific diplomats, academics and youth leaders will gather in Auckland this week to discuss security, economic development and other pressing issues shaping the region’s future. Pacific Futures will be held on October 18 and will feature speakers from across the region, including Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Hutchinson, PhD Candidate, Australian National University It has been more than two years since “clearance operations” by Myanmar’s security forces, the Tatmadaw, forced more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh. During this time, the UN Security Council has ...
Fast food company Restaurant Brands has made a smaller half year profit largely because of accounting changes as it prepares to invest heavily in the launch of Taco Bell in New Zealand. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Papua New Guinea police have issued a warrant for the arrest of former Prime Minister Peter O’Neill. According to EMTV News, the Waigana district court issued the warrant which was based on evidence previously compiled by police investigators. Acting Police Commissioner David Manning said he ...
Patient Voice Aotearoa welcomes the comments made by the Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on ‘The Project’ on Friday last week. Peters stated “Right now…we know we are not spending nearly enough on pharmaceuticals and first world drugs…the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is calling on outgoing Porirua Mayor Mike Tana to repay money clocked up on his ratepayer-funded fuel card for personal travel. The Ernst and Young report released yesterday reveals that, within less than three ...
Barely a month after the Solomon Islands switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s Central Province has signed an agreement with the Beijing-based Sam Group to develop Tulagi Island, across Ironbottom Sound from the capital Honiara. Tulagi was the pre-war base of the British ...
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, a new hole-in-the-wall eatery in Auckland dedicated to New Zealand’s favourite snack.Cheese On Toast has unsavoury connotations for a lot of New Zealand music fans, but now you can wash that bad taste out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Md Arif Hasan, PhD candidate, Victoria University of Wellington CC BY-NDClimate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert ...
There’s an innovation renaissance brewing in post-earthquake Christchurch as multicultural entrepreneurship replaces the old boys’ network. This required a new name, writes Steven Moe.An unusual name that evokes images from Harry Potter is fine by the Ministry of Awesome, because it immediately sets it apart. Founded in the aftermath of ...
Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and Ngā Tāngata Microfinance endorse the Salvation Army’s call for tougher regulations on debt collectors and mechanisms to provide forgiveness or waivers for debts to private lenders and Government that are "effectively ...
Cotton On members are currently negotiating a new Collective Agreement with their employer, but despite the company’s repeated claims that they will provide “a pathway to the living wage”, a “people first focus” and a “commitment to ...
Today the Wellington Howard League releases the results of its fourth annual Wellington Howard League prison survey. The survey suggests a variation in the conditions experienced across prisons in New Zealand and an overall decline in most aspects surveyed. This ...
Some people go for a run to let off steam after work, while others try their hand at ballroom dancing or hit up a pub quiz. And some, as Greta Yeoman discovers, throw sharp objects at walls. She gives it a go.An uncoordinated, anxious journalist with terrible aim is probably ...
A move by Australia's financial regulator could be enough to turn the big banks' threat to ditch New Zealand into a reality - or at least see them charge customers more. ...
A staffing survey carried out by the senior doctors’ union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, has found a gaping shortfall of hospital specialists at the Northland DHB. ...
Iain Lees-Galloway has defended granting residency to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions saying the person had been in the country for 20 years and had kept out of trouble for a long time. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Industrial relations Luke Malpass (Stuff): Winston Peters holds the keys to new union laws. Will ...
Not the impeachment investigation. Nor Ukraine. Syrian Kurds.Last week, Turkey invaded the bit of Syria controlled by America’s Kurdish hitherto-allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he only wants to occupy a border strip to resettle Syrian refugees and create a buffer zone between ...
Yes we fully support Minister of transport plan to use special speed cameras finally catching all speeding trucks, and other vehicles on our narrow single lane roads that are not fit to use as a speedway by any vehicle. ...
This afternoon Fish & Game posted a public statement responding to my email to supporters this morning – specifically rejecting our claim that steel shot is now deemed "enhanced penetration ammunition" and therefore possession of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Two-thirds of young people experience levels of exam stress that mental health organisation ReachOut describes as “worrying”. Research shows high levels of exam stress can interfere with attention and reduce working memory, leading ...
The National Party's outrage that the Immigration Minister granted residency to a protected person and recidivist drink driver, entitling them to the same benefits as New Zealanders, has backfired. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Beckett, Lecturer in Media and Communications, University of Melbourne Reports of Facebook moderators’ appalling working conditions have been making headlines worldwide. Workers say they are burning out as they moderate vast flows of violent content under pressure, with vague, ever-changing guidelines. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Lycett, Senior Research Officer, Deakin University; Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Three simple factors can predict whether a child is likely to be overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence: the child’s body mass ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Marshall, Lecturer, Landscape Architecture and Urban Ecology, University of Melbourne You may mock the national anthem by singing “Our land abounds in nature strips” but what you might not know is how true that is. In Melbourne, for example, more than ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University It’s unlikely Daryl Morey, general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, realised he’d be sparking an international diplomatic incident when, on October 4, he tweeted the following Stand with Hong ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination.Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ ...
It’s the end of an era at Three as MAFS NZ and Guy Williams’ new show canceled and 7 Days cut to bone, writes Duncan Greive.A trio of shows which have been amongst Three’s most important local productions are either being canceled or severely cut back, as the channel’s agonising ...
'Joker' expects viewers not only to understand its cruelty, but to understand the justified violence of a white man when the protests of black men and women in the US are regularly met with condemnation, vilification and exclusion. ...
She runs the women's Aussie Rules and netball programmes at one of Australia's oldest sports clubs, so why is Jane Woodlands-Thompson sitting on the Silver Ferns bench? ...
As someone with a severe chronic illness, Hannah McGowan has a vested interest in getting to the bottom of what cannabis can and can’t do for her health. The reality, she discovers, is complicated.Woo [colloq.]: Mystical, supernatural or pseudo-scientific beliefs not backed up by evidence. I crave a well informed, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
Open mike 01/08/2011 
After a brief dalliance with 'hard Revoke' it looks like the Lib Dems are changing ground on on Brexit, with leader Jo Swinson reverting to calling for a second referendum on Johnson's deal.The party has tabled an amendment to the Queen’s speech requesting that any deal brought back from Brussels ...12 hours ago
The government has decided that someone has done Something Bad. But despite their belief, there seems to be no evidence that they have actually broken the law. So the government's solution is to pass a retrospective law allowing them to be punished anyway, on a lower standard of proof. If ...16 hours ago
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz There is a lot of discussion on the benefits of ...19 hours ago
I came across this song quite by accident. If it isn't one of Greta Thunberg's favourites - it should be.Video courtesy of YouTube.This post is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...19 hours ago
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...2 days ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...2 days ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...2 days ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...5 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...6 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...7 days ago
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is predicting a hard Brexit for the United Kingdom, as he believes British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won’t be able to negotiate terms before the October 30 deadline. The Minister, who was one of the first to publicly come out and predict British voters would leave ...14 hours ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...2 days ago
The future for New Zealand’s threatened indigenous freshwater fish looks brighter with the passing of the Conservation (Indigenous Freshwater Fish) Amendment Bill in Parliament today said Minister of Conservation, Eugenie Sage. “Until now, our freshwater fish legislation has been 20 years out of date. We have lacked effective tools to ...9 hours ago
Justice Minister Andrew Little says if National withdraws support from counter-terrorism legislation it would leave New Zealanders unsafe. ...41 mins ago
The Second Fleet was reactivated to patrol the Arctic. Only problem is, the fleet’s home is on the front lines of sea-level rise. ...1 hour ago
Mildly dyslexic Sportsroom editor Steve Deane breaks down the keys to victory for the All Blacks in their World Cup quarterfinal against Ireland. ...1 hour ago
Black Fern Vania Wolfgramm has been given a golden opportunity to learn from leaders in US sport, and in return, make a lasting contribution to Kiwi female athletes. ...1 hour ago
A symposium to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of Halt All Racist Tours shook and changed our society, taking NZ into a new and different national and international consciousness. ...1 hour ago
When Hannah Yang complained about a racist clue in the daily paper, she was reminded of the prevalence of casual racism in New Zealand.I’d never seen a racist clue before.It happened in the morning when I sat down in our break room to look at the day’s cryptic crossword (yes, ...2 hours ago
What happens when an historic air base that used to be well out of Auckland finds the city has grown up around it? ...2 hours ago
Court documents have confirmed Winston Peters was sent a letter by officials four years into his seven-year overpayment of national superannuation asking him to check details he had supplied, including that he was 'single'. ...13 hours ago
An ambitious target for new officers seems to have turned into a cynical redefinition - how will police take the news? ...13 hours ago
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Would Winston Peters do better keeping out of the media spotlight? He sounds confused, and his policies are a mix of unlimited fund vote attraction and contradictions.
The darned book seems to be a problem.
He’s proposing to halve student debt as young vote bait. “We expect them to come in their droves.”
His worst proposal is:
Who will decide how many benefits to cut? On what basis? And how will cutting all the benefits of all the wider family affect all the children?
It sounds like Sippenhaft.
Who would want to try a coalition with Winston Peters and confusion?
Winston is hinting that he will stand in Te Atatu. The seat should, barring something extraordinary, be Phil Twyford’s but Peters could cause problems. Local support for Tau Henare is brittle and if there is a run of support then Peters could have a chance.
I wonder if there is an element of utu involved in trying to show up former NZFirster Henare.
If it occurs it also suggests that NZ First will want to cannibalise Labour’s vote, just as they did in 1995. That year Peters campaigned through the country sounding like Labour lite and all but promising coalition with Labour after the election.
Then over a few bottles of whisky with Bolger he sold out and went with the tories.
I prefer that Labour now takes Peters head on. It is unlikely that NZ First will make it. And policy formation with an ex torie leading a bunch of immigrant hating climate change deniers is problematic to say the least.
I prefer that Labour now takes Peters head on.
I think they should. Peters and NZF look more unreliable than ever.
It’s not just that he seems older and more cantankerous. He doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as sharp as he used to be. It almost seems he could be a few marbles short of a Colosseum.
Peters, banks, brash, Douglas show the sad sad state of politics in this country where troughing has beens could have a say in the direction of NZ when they should all be directing golf carts around retirement homes.
Three banking guys run this country for their international masters. John Key as the prime minister, Don Brash as the evil in the background linked to the new American Century Neocon boys and Michael Moore as the US ambassador and linked to the Bilderberg group and the trilateral commission. Everything else is just puppets playing political theatre in their usual venal and narrow minded way.
Here is a presentation by Edward G. Griffin on the origins of the privately owned Federal Reserve of New York.
I had the honour of meeting him in March 2008 and asked him what he thought of John Key and his history on Wall street and what it would mean if he was elected as NZ prime minister. He answered: “He will sell your country to the highest bidder and throw in his mother with the deal.”
When I asked him if he thought it was possible he had been groomed for the job of PM he said: “It has happened before.”
Things appear to be falling apart in Rusty Shackleford’s new Somalia.
Of-course he will blame the weather, not the fact there is no functioning Government.
“The current government has no control over a number of areas in the country. Even the capital of Mogadishu is partially controlled by militia groups, making it almost impossible to deliver relief supplies.”
link
What Do Wealthy Arabs Really Care About?.
It is a stain on the forehead of all Arabs and Muslims that Americans and Europeans have moved faster to provide urgent aid to the famine-stricken population in Somalia, one of the 22 members of the Arab League. Saudi Arabia has pledged $60 million, but it remains to be seen if it will fulfill its promise. The promise is considered a drop in the sea compared with what Western countries have pledged to save the lives of the Somalis.
The promise is considered a drop in the sea compared with what Western countries have pledged to save the lives of the Somalis.
Have you got any figures to show how much the “Western countries” have contributed to Somali famine relief compared to the daily amount they spend on bombing Libya?
Completely unrelated matters, Mozza. The fact is that the UN is co-ordinating the relief effort in Somalia in horrendously difficult circumstances and if it wasn’t for that humanitariam effort thousands would be dying.
The Libyan situation can be resolved instantly if Gaddafi accepts any of the repeated offers to generously fund his retirement in or out of the country. The West’s contribution there is also fantastic, really. A combination of aid, logistical support and remarkably accurate bombing of Gaddafi’s forces mean the Libyan people have a real chance of a democratic future. Maybe this coming holiday season will herald the Ramadan Revolution? I certainly hope so.
Completely unrelated matters, Mozza.
Actually, these matters are closely connected. The quote put up by Joe90 is a naked attempt to embarrass “all Arabs and Muslims”, and show that “the West” is morally superior. In fact, “the West” is waging war on three countries at the moment, and spending enormous amounts on it.
The fact is that the UN is co-ordinating the relief effort in Somalia in horrendously difficult circumstances and if it wasn’t for that humanitariam effort thousands would be dying.
True. That’s the UN. That’s not “the West”.
The Libyan situation can be resolved instantly if Gaddafi accepts any of the repeated offers to generously fund his retirement in or out of the country.
On what basis do you make that claim?
The West’s contribution there is also fantastic, really. A combination of aid, logistical support and remarkably accurate bombing of Gaddafi’s forces mean the Libyan people have a real chance of a democratic future.
For the sake of argument, I’ll leave aside for now your claims that “the West” has been “fantastic” and that its bombs are “remarkably accurate”. What’s really interesting is that you seem to believe that “the West” is interested in promoting a “democratic future” in Libya—or anywhere, for that matter. What has “the West” done in the middle east or South America or Southeast Asia to promote a “democratic future”?
Maybe this coming holiday season will herald the Ramadan Revolution? I certainly hope so.
Well then, if by a “Ramadan Revolution”, it’s a democratic revolution you want, you’re not in the same camp as “the West”. Have you any familiarity of “the West’s” history of promoting democracy in Egypt, Palestine, Iran and Saudi Arabia?
Sorry, but I remained convinced that they are completely unrelated matters. You say they are closely connected, but give no evidence. And you agree that the Somalian aid effort is run by the UN, not ‘the west’, which further strengthens my point that they are unrelated.
Gaddafi has been given many offers to step down over the last few months. It’s been in the all the news reports, so I’m surprised you aren’t aware of it. The sticking point has been whether he is allowed to stay in Libya. He wants to, the opposition will only accept exile.
I haven’t got the time to answer your question on what the west has done to promote democracy in the middle East in any detail, but I would suggest that writing democratic constitutions and then holding elections in both Afghanastan and Iraq suggests that the west has a commitment to democratising at least those countries. If you need a broader history lesson, I suspect you may be able to google some resources that will help you there.
And you agree that the Somalian aid effort is run by the UN, not ‘the west’, which further strengthens my point that they are unrelated.
The extract quoted by joe90 said that “Americans and Europeans have moved faster” to provide aid to Somalia. This implies that the U.S. and its obedient vassal continent are somehow superior to the Arab League countries. The fact is, of course, that the U.S. and Europe are spending a fortune on the bombing of Libya, and the arming of Israel with attack helicopters, (illegal) white phosphorus and (illegal) cluster munitions, all of which are used on civilian populations. The money contributed for famine relief by the U.S. and Europe is a derisory sum.
Gaddafi has been given many offers to step down over the last few months.
I’d like the dishonest, foolish and intellectually idle New Zealand prime minister to step down. I’d like the corrupt British prime minister to resign immediately. I think the Canadian prime minister is an embarrassment and should be removed forthwith. Why should Gaddafi have to “step down” before those three scoundrels do?
I haven’t got the time to answer your question on what the west has done to promote democracy in the middle East in any detail
Give me one example, please. Just one. I’ll help you avoid a few pitfalls, however: don’t mention the killing of democratic government in Iran, or the military and diplomatic support for Saddam Hussein, or the support of Egyptian dictatorships since the 1970s, or the contemptuous treatment of Palestinians after the free and fair elections of 2006.
Okay, now tell us how “the West” has SUPPORTED democracy in the middle east.
I would suggest that writing democratic constitutions and then holding elections in both Afghanastan and Iraq suggests that the west has a commitment to democratising at least those countries.
Nobody would deny the U.S. has a rhetorical commitment to democracy. Perhaps you need to listen to what Afghanis think about the American and European “commitment to democratising” their country….
So no answers to my original point then? Which was that the attempt to get rid of the Libyan dictator and the aid effort in Somalia are unrelated.
Btw, you do know that they had actual elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, don’t you? And in Palestine, for that matter. If they weren’t perfect it’s hardly surprising, but it’s an improvement on the previous arrangement. And democratic elections are the major difference between the PM’s of NZ, Canada and England, who, to the best of my knowledge, have never used tanks against their own civilian population, nor organised the bombing of civilian airliners.
Minor point VoR, but there is no PM of England.
Andthe British government certainly did deploy tanks on the streets of Glasgow following Bloody Friday in 1919
http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/redclyde/redclyeve14.htm
Fair enough, Bill. It’s worth noting that Muldoon had the army on standby near Bastion Point during the last days of the (re)occupation too. And I imagine the ’51 blue had the troops itching to pull the trigger on their 303’s.
But Morrissey it was who referred to the 3 current PM’s, not me, and I replied to that comment in kind. Quite why I referred to Cameron as the “English’ PM, I don’t know. Perhaps something to do with the lack of Tory MP’s in Scotland and Wales?
Okay. Whatever. But while I’m railing against your naivity, what about Iran Air Flight 655 (IR655)?
Sure, it wasn’t an act of Canada or NZ or the UK. T’was the US. But a valid example to signpost in light of your comment methinks
Sorry, didn’t realise you were railing against my naivety. I’ll take notes from here on in. Can’t wait for the exam!
As for IR655, what has the mistaken shooting down of that plane 20 years ago got to do with Somalia, Libya or anything current? Er, nothing?
You said that ‘the good guys’ haven’t deliberately targeted civilian airliners.
Unlike Libya (presumably). As though Libyan involvement in ‘the Lockerbie bombing’ is a given, which it isn’t.
The fact that the US claims that the shooting down of flight IR665 was ‘a mistake’ is very much contested.
So no answers to my original point then? Which was that the attempt to get rid of the Libyan dictator and the aid effort in Somalia are unrelated.
It was actually joe90 who posted the original absurd attempt to show that the U.S. and its obedient servants in Europe were morally superior to the Arab League states. I pointed out that that is a ridiculous position to hold when the U.S. and Europe are presently prosecuting THREE wars of choice, one of them without even the slightest moral or military justification.
Btw, you do know that they had actual elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, don’t you?
They had actual elections in occupied Vietnam in the 1960s too. And you do know that the United States supported the anti-democracy forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan throughout the 1980s?
And in Palestine, for that matter.
The U.S. and its vassal states have done nothing except express anger and contempt at the Palestinians for voting the wrong way in 2006. They even bank-rolled and armed a bloody Fatah coup attempt in 2007. The U.S. and Europe do not want democracy in Palestine, any more than they wanted it in Iran in 1954, in Egypt in the 1970s, in Algeria or in Iraq in the early 1990s.
…the PM’s of NZ, Canada and England, who, to the best of my knowledge, have never used tanks against their own civilian population, nor organised the bombing of civilian airliners.
All three of these mediocrities and yes-men continue to express support for the “mission” in Afghanistan and Iraq, with Key’s moronic “that’s why we’re in Afghanistan” comment after the Norwegian killings being perhaps the most craven. During and after Israel’s murderous 22-day rampage in Gaza in 2008-9, all three of them voiced “solidarity” and “support”—for the Israelis.
How are these three superior to any other national leader, either morally or intellectually?
So, still no answer to my original point, Morrissey? The relationship or otherwise between Somalia and Libya?
Hilarious! I am reminded of the 1960s joke that “they’re holding a general election in Greece – they’re going to elect another general. Anyone but you, finds it just a tad suspicious that the ‘elections’ in Afghanistan and Iraq chose rulers pre-approved by the filth, er Americans…
Not yet, anyway. But you think they haven’t done any other damage? Ah, yes, Randbot aren’t you…
Oh unbelievable! Either you’re incredibly stupidly naive, or you’re a crazy Neocon! The actions of the ‘West’ (the USA) in Libya, stink on ice, and there are so many questions even my right-wing(ish) son is suspicious. You are an American, or you just have a general hate-on against Muslims, and here was I thinking it was only Christians you loathed! Oh, I have just remembered, you’re just a Rand-bot, hey?
Unlike the western supported thugs who are rebelling, Gadaffi doesn’t want to sell his country down the river.
@mikesh – No why should he. Gadaffi has been on top for over 30 years in an oil rich country. No, no we won’t go is an understandable chant. The idea that only one person can be found to run a country, or that man’s son, or his daughter indicates that there is a ruling elite sticking to their comforts and power.
Interesting in South Australia they are just trying to get rid of Premier Mike Rann who has been in for 9 years in a uranium mining state. He had been in the SA House of Assembly since 1985 and been South Australian Labor parliamentary leader since 1994. Same thing – he doesn’t want to go. Even in a democracy it is hard to get the incumbent to move on but the longer they stay the more difficult to get them out and the right person in.
[@mikesh – No why should he. Gadaffi has been on top for over 30 years in an oil rich country. No, no we won’t go is an understandable chant. The idea that only one person can be found to run a country, or that man’s son, or his daughter indicates that there is a ruling elite sticking to their comforts and power.]
Quite so. And the rebels would like to replace him as the “ruling elite”, and of course they’re prepared to turn the country to over to foreign capital in return for western support for the purpose of gaining power.
VoR.
When you made that comment at 10:56, were you able to maintain a straight face as you typed?
I think this gives pause for thought – the western powers using “Economic Hit Men”
Hit man schmit man. Jackal schmackal.
All he’s describing is the bog standard mechanisms of SAPs and the bog standard means of escalation/ follow up.
And then inserting a fiction of shadowy anti-hero hit men and jackals.
Which in some ways is okay, ’cause he’s essentially outlining a truth. And maybe he reckoned if ‘the story’ was ‘sexed up’ then Mr and Mrs Middle America would be hooked in as readers. Not to mention he stood to make a fair bit of money if his book sold.
Gosh you know how to take the romance out of a moment.
Low taxes and the lack of government red tape rewards entrepreneurial effort. It will surely bring a Somalian economic boom any time now, MrSmith.
Lord Winston’s prejudiced and ignorant comments
Sunday morning National Radio, Sunday 31 July 2011
Chris Laidlaw’s guest: ROBERT WINSTON
As long as Lord Winston speaks about genetic science and television presenting, he is plausible. Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever heard RICHARD DAWKINS blither ignorantly about the middle east, or listened to the New Zealand government’s science advisor PETER GLUCKMAN [1] will know, the seriousness and scientific approach of these people is often not carried into their politics.
As an example, witness Lord Winston’s incredibly naive and ignorant statements about Israel in the following talk….
LAIDLAW: Hrrrrumph. How important is your Jewish heritage?
LORD WINSTON: The Jewish tradition means that science and evidence are very important in forming an ethical standpoint.
LAIDLAW: Did your family have much consciousness about Israel?
WINSTON: No, not much at all. We never gave it a thought. My feelings on Israel came from when Israel was besieged on all sides.
LAIDLAW: Hrrrrumph.
WINSTON: The problem is that there is a deeply ingrained set of people who will not accept the fact that Israel exists at all. It’s an AGONIZING problem for Jews.
LAIDLAW: Hmmmmm?
WINSTON: In the House of Lords over the last year, theere have been ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY questions on Israel and TWO on Kashmir. [2] That gives you an idea of the focus. Israel has a lot to be proud of. Its development of high-tech industries is amazing! It’s got a lot to show New Zealand in that area of development!
LAIDLAW: Hrrrumph! We don’t have quite the same force of necessity do we! Hrrrumph!
WINSTON: Well, no, I suppose you’re right!
LAIDLAW: What do you have to say about homeopathic medicine?
WINSTON: Well, my wife uses homeopathic medicine and I tease her about it, but she persists! We need to expect the same standards of proof that we expect with conventional medicine.
LAIDLAW: Spoken like a scientist! Which we should have expected! Hrrumph!
WINSTON: [modestly] We-e-e-e-ll…
LAIDLAW: Television is an amazing medium, and you’ve used it SHAMELESSLY for good causes. Is there any evidence it’s had an effect on education?
WINSTON: That’s a very good question. We haven’t done the metrics on this….
LAIDLAW: Finally, Lord Winston, what would you like to be remembered for?
WINSTON: Oh Chris! Any personal achievement is trivial. My three children are the best thing I’ve done. For anyone, if you can produce children who contribute to society….
—————————————————————————————
Dismayed at Laidlaw’s failure to challenge anything this practised liar said, I sent off the following email…
FROM: Morrissey Breen
TO: sundays@radionz.co.nz
TOPIC: Lord Winston’s prejudiced and ignorant comments
Dear Chris,
You let Lord Winston get away with saying, with sinister smoothness, that Israel was “besieged” by all the countries around it, and that it is threatened by “ingrained” prejudice by people who “won’t even accept its right to exist”. Both statements are nonsense, and nothing more than hardline Israeli state propaganda.
His casting of an aggressor state as a victim is a perfect inversion of the truth: Israel is “surrounded and besieged” in the same way Germany was “besieged” by its neighbours in the 1930s.
His claim that Israel’s “right to exist” needs to be acknowledged is nonsense: Gandhi never accepted the “right to exist” of Pakistan, and human rights advocates all over the world never accepted the “right to exist” of the Soviet Union or of apartheid South Africa.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
[1] /open-mike-27032011/#comment-313255
[2] This is the sort of British parliamentary speech that angers worshippers of the Israeli state like Robert Winston….
Robert Lord Winston is whipped cream, smooth, rich, satisfying. He is deprecating about all his wonderful achievements. And he likes to be eased comfortably nto his set speech giving his experiences. And everyone loves him, which is just as well as the man is ubiquitious.
I won’t forget hearing Kim Hill interview him, after the facts as usual, with queries that should have been simple for him to answer, though perhaps tedious as he has advanced so far in so many fields that explaining to a new audience about past history must be boring. But it’s the price of good book sales and large TV audiences. She didn’t put on her velvet gloves and stroke his ego, but treated him as the man of science he claims he is. He didn’t like it and told her so.
She didn’t put on her velvet gloves and stroke his ego, but treated him as the man of science he claims he is. He didn’t like it and told her so.
David Suzuki reacted angrily to Kim Hill a few months back. I thought he was over-sensitive, as Kim’s questions hadn’t been disrespectful, or even especially provocative. I would have thought Suzuki was smarter than to allow himself to lose his temper so completely.
Two less than savoury interviewees who Kim has reduced to spluttering anger are Jeffrey Archer and William Shawcross. Archer screamed at her in 1993, snarling: “I was WARNED about you!” Shawcross was embarrassed and angry at being reminded of his past support for Saddam Hussein. I thought Shawcross was going to burst a blood vessel, he was so incensed.
Last year she keelhauled another dyed-in-the-wool liar, John Howard. While Howard licked his wounds in private, and decided to make no public statements about the humiliation, dear old witless Karl DuFresne decided to make a stand on behalf of the great statesman, and wrote a confused and woolly-minded attack on Hill in the Australian Spectator.
Thanks for that Morrissey. Good old Karl – he’ll never run out of work when he supports people of John Howard’s ilk.
And did you see Kim Hill interveiw Brash on TV, this was after some chauvinistic comments he had made in the media, she destroyed him and by half time I was almost feeling sorry for him, almost, she could have let him off the hook, but to her credit continued to show him for what the sexist, shallow, old man he is.
Listened to precisely the same Laidlaw interview of Winston on Sunday morning and (much to the surprise of family members) let out one or two loud expletives.
Still, not at all surprising. I think I read about Winston’s lazy second-hand, Zionist-cliche-ridden views on Israel at least 5 or 6 years ago. It may have been in some sort of open letter to The Guardian. I seem to remember that both he and Melvyn Bragg were expressing some particularly ignorant Israeli apologetics in the British media either at the time of Israel’s murderous assault on the West Bank in 2002 (the so-called “Operation Defensive Shield” – Jesus, now there’s Orwellian absurdity for you !), or during the ultimately unsuccessful British attempt to boycott Israeli Universities in about 2005/2006. Or possibly on both occassions.
You’ve gotta love Laidlaw’s “Hrrrrumphs”. I think it’s his substitute for incisive/critical comment.
You’ve gotta love Laidlaw’s “Hrrrrumphs”. I think it’s his substitute for incisive/critical comment.
Actually, I think Chris Laidlaw is a well informed and deeply concerned interviewer. As well as all the Hrrrrumphing, he regularly voices a skeptical “Hmmmmm?” to show he is disturbed by what his guest is saying. On this occasion, he kept the interjections to the occasional neutral-sounding “Hrrrrumph”, and suppressed the disquiet I’m sure he felt.
Laidlaw believes in giving his guests a long rope. Often, as Lord Winston did on Sunday, the guest will hang himself by airing intolerant and ignorant views. It’s up to the rest of us to repeat and highlight this.
Laidlaw is such a lightweight and just provides a soapbox. I listened to it thinking how he’d go up against Mary Ryan. Another isreali apologist.
Mary Ryan is another shit overbearing interviewer, one who is far more pleased at the sound of her own voice than…well, anyone elses.
Mary Ryan is another shit overbearing interviewer, one who is far more pleased at the sound of her own voice than…well, anyone elses.
Mary Ryan? Or Mary Wilson?
I am rereading Douglas Adams four book trilogy about an alternate future for the planet.
He refers to The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy which recommends a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster and says that the effect of drinking one is like having your brains smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick. (It has comprehensive coverage of this, the recipe, the price, ‘and what voluntary organisations exist to help you rehabilitate afterwards’.)
Well after listening to the never-ending-stoooooory of the USA great talkfest and stand-off over their economy which lies pathetically at their feet, along with any integrity and democratic standards that country ever had, I get a similar feeling. I think we need to resort to the odd evening off from trying to keep the whole thing on the rails, if we ever can find them. This Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster sounds like an experience that would take one’s full attention away from other considerations.
Try it when the RWC comes to our shores – a similar saga. Perhaps we could invent a colourful cocktail that echoes NZs spirits and charm. Something green but not with creme de menthe. Please could bloggers keep posting with news of interest to them while the ruggers on.. I anyway, am likely to miss many important events while trying to get shot of the rugby for a while.
Aye Prism. I think I will spend this week trying to find the closest substitute for a Pggb …
Keep your towel handy is all I can say.
USA citizens have found it easy to criticise other countries and not be objective about their own. I’m just looking at a book on Trade me, Russia – Broken Idols, Solemn Dreams. The blurb says ‘Probing beneath the usual surface observations, stereotypes, and official government rhetoric, the former Moscow bureau chief of The New York Times carefully analyzes the loss of faith and the bankrupt ideology that afflict the Soviet system and society today.’
Now that Communism is not so dominating, perhaps the USA can look at itself to see if the same applies to them.
The debt limit increase they voted on today basically allows the US Govt to add another US$7000 of debt on to each man woman and child in the country.
EVERYONE (except the banks and the wealthy) are unhappy with this.
Goff hints at new Kiwisaver policy:
http://www.interest.co.nz/kiwisaver/54642/goff-hints-universal-savings-policy-goes-further-kiwisaver-which-was-universally-ava
Police to Investigate John Key
Recently I wrote about National being in breach of privacy laws and abusing Parliamentary Services concerning them attaining the address details of pensioners, and targeting that group with electioneering material.
There’s a question mark missing from your headline, jackal. It should read ‘Police to investigate Key?’ if it’s just speculative, not a fact.
The article itself is excellent and you’ve done some great investigative work there. If Key does end up getting his collar felt by PC Plod because of your efforts, I’ll be the first to shout you a whiskey!
You’re right of course VOR. However under the Electoral Act the Electoral Commission is obliged to present the facts of the matter to the Police who are in turn obliged to investigate. Unless either of those bodies are going to disregard the law (a very small possibility), I think the headline is correct.
Excellent work.
Thanks.
Well now your talking! I was visiting my in laws and I found a letter from “John Key” to them and I thought it was beyond the pale for a party to use these addresses from obviously a state data bank to target people like that.
Well done and the second shout is for me if you get them to investigate!
What’s more, my in-laws are both in their 80s, did not vote for John Key and had no idea how the National party had gotten hold of their addresses but are both to intimidated by “authorities” to make a stink so thanks on their behalf too (I sent them the link cause my father-in-law is very internet savy and will enjoy reading about it.
Cheers travellerev. It’s the Pensioners private details thing that I dislike the most. I’m not convinced that the information was gained in the way John Key’s Communications Manager has stated. I’m hoping any investigation will look into that discrepancy as well.
I’m glad you also posted the letter integrally as my parents in law were aghast at the idea that their name would start to float around the internet (They are up and running with my political activities and it petrifies them even though they agree that 911 could not have possibly been done as the OCT states) if they gave me the letter (as if I would ever do that to them but I respected their need for privacy and now I can read it better and read the stuff you wrote about it).
Unexpected Eartyquake Observation #491.3;
Lying in bed in the middle dark of night and feeling your entire city grind from one set of longitude and latitude to another set over a long period of minutes with virtually no shaking. Gives you a sense of scale and tinyness. And spookiness.
For some reason the 3.6M at 3:30 this morning had me out of bed and half way to the door within a second. When I actually woke up and realised what I was doing, the shaking had already stopped. So I got back into bed.
Seemed much sharper than usual. It was quite a bit closer to my house than most.
Yes I see it was close to central. But I swear that I could for some long time afterwards feel the great giant slabs of deep earth moving slowly past each other, for quite a while after the shake had stopped. I felt this near continuously after the Feb quake but have not felt it for some time. Need to be in a sensitive spot (which our hosue seems to be) and very quiet and still. Quite an astounding sensation. And the anecdote seems to be borne out by the colossal number of aftershocks which indicate constant movement with various bits catching occasionally.
On my way to Shakyvile tomorrow and with the run of luck I’m having at the moment>>>////<<< anything could happen.
More on this to follow. Just heard on newstalk zb that when Key was on the David Letterman show (think it was last year) it was not by invitation it was by request with a price tag of $10,000. Key’s position is that it is gold for NZ to get exposure.
That would explain the incredibly lame appearance, then.
Doesn’t bode well for his image of just wanting photo ops, though.
A retainer of $10,000 to look stupid is what I remember. Key appeared in late September 2009.
Bet you Key has got a great scrapbook photo posing with Letterman backstage.
And whoever the actual guests were that night. Gotta get yourself paparazzied as much as possible!
I wonder if that makes him a pap-smear?
Mcflock 😀
Possibly and an autograph to go with it, and a personal charge as well.
ZB story: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=201589
As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough already. Sheesh.
What a try hard, devious bastard. Letterman might well have been thinking who is this shithead? And Shonkey said in parliament that beneficiaries need to budget better.
“As if it wasn’t embrassing enough already. Sheesh.”
Letterman even recieved footage of Key.
Key was on Letterman for 4 minutes.
A PR company was contacted because after 6 months of trying to get on Letterman this was unsuccessful.
Key was just on Prime News First refuting that a payment had been made to Letterman. It appears that the Prime Minster can’t even lie properly.
Not lie – deflect. “We paid $10k to stroke your ego?!” “Well eckshooly, that is not at ah we never paid Letterman to appear on his ah show and really, well, I wouldn’t be that comfortable with that at all, it wouldn’t be a good look, in that circumstance I’d probably pay for an ego stroke myself”.
We paid other people to get Key on Letterman.
People will be surprised by this I suppose, but most people don’t think and live like them, you have to understand this is just another marketing campaign; it started the day they took office, I wish people would wake up to this and no amount of praying or we will do it the old fashion way will have any impact, Wake the fuck up, you are being sold every waking hour.
Thats why I don’t have a TV or get the paper , or listen to commercial radio or watch movies , I get my news when I want it where I want it, sure I still get some marketing but I understand these people and have friends still in the industry , you have know idea how these people operate, they are not evil they are just doing there job, the job being to sell you something you don’t need.
And that job is to support an evil system – capitalism.
Well in a way, but I’m sure they don’t think of it like that, it’s a job/career and people compete, so want to win.
Calling Capitalism evil is easy, but for me the saying from Forest Gump “Stupid is as stupid does” says it all; we need education, education, education for the people. The right are not that smart and making money is easy, especially when you don’t have any compassion, and compassion comes from education for me.
Job creation – after spending 45 minutes waiting to speak to someone (anyone!!!) at Kiwibank I think there is scope for more jobs in their call centre – better than building a cycle track IMHO.
I have often wished that the person I was talking to had half a brain * – which would be more than they are displaying at the time! I’ve applied for call centre jobs (amongst others) for 2 1/2 years, and been refused for 2 1/2 years – I have no idea why! Interview # 140 today. “Uts a metter of futt” is what I am usually told (and I hear them thinking, what one woman actually said last week) “the boys don’t want to feel they’ve got their mother sitting there judging them”. I suppose the girls feel the same way! F*** capitalism.
*Studylink seem to be the only ones who have sufficient staff, with sufficient brain power, sadly
It’s more than likely your condescending attitude that’s putting them off hiring you. Call centre workers need to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life and intellects. Work on improving your attitude and you might do better. Good luck!
Wooh, arrogant much? I am an ESOL teacher and a basic requirement of being one, is “communicating with people from all walks of life and intellects”… I do that better than most, especially the smug South African woman at the City Council who tried to tell me that it was my responsibility to try to talk the Housing NZ maintenance chief into fixing the permanent puddle in our street. Turned out that she was so good at listening, that she hadn’t grasped that the puddle is on the pavement and not on my front lawn! But let me guess, she’s nicely middle class and you’d hire her, despite her superior attitude. Maybe I should have put on an American accent, or claimed to be a real estate agent trying to sell houses in the street?
I can be as ‘condescending’ as I like here, especially to 30-something men who think they know where every unemployed person is going wrong.. but that doesn’t mean I’d be that way to people making inquiries!
Anyone here on the news today that ACT are not standing anyone in New Plymouth to give National a better chance at winning that seat – more fiddling the electorates to gain seat – maybe National threatened a ‘if you want Banks to be unopposed….)
Also heard on the radio today, with the change to the driving age federated farmers et. al. are not happy because rural parents will have the expense of driving their kids to sport (and here was me thinking that farmers just used the business Holden and claimed the expense as a legitimate drive to RD1).
The funniest bit though was when they gave the stats – the evidence suggests the change in driving age may save up to FIVE lives.
So how come, when it comes down to things like children starving, national Standards, etc. the evidence is suddenly unimportant?
(NB as a rural parent I am pissed off too, as my son cannot do his test till January next year, despite having had this booked for over a month)
William Shawcross explodes in a rage at Kim Hill
National Radio, Saturday 1 May 2004, from 8:30 a.m.
Transcribed by MORRISSEY BREEN, Daisycutter Sports Inc.
The first half of the interview ambles along smoothly enough—but then the haughty Shawcross delivers a torrent of wandery, pompous cant about bin Laden’s “holy war”…
…
SHAWCROSS: In his assault on the US, bin Laden had this famous phrase, which was a sort of TAUNTING phrase: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse they naturally gravitate towards the strong horse”, and I think, understandably enough, and none of these issues are easy, none of them are trivial, they are all very hard I COMPLETELY agree with you and understandably enough … And after 9/11 there was a feeling in Washington that it was possible to portray America as a weak horse and after 9/11 George Bush decided that could no longer be the case.
HILL: [laughing, incredulous] But you can’t, you can’t surely justify bombing a country like Iraq, at the cost of many, many civilian lives, as a kind of PR exercise to convince the world that the United States is not a “weak horse”.
SHAWCROSS: [icy] No I didn’t say that. You are twisting, very cleverly, my words.
HILL: Well, the reason—no no no no no, the reason I make that point is that, according to Bob Woodward’s latest book, Bush was secretly planning to go after not bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks, but Saddam Hussein!
SHAWCROSS: Well, I don’t think THAT’s true. I think that he was planning to go after BOTH. And I think, as I said to you, that the threat that Clinton saw in Saddam Hussein was deemed to be tolerable in the nineties – I think that’s a pity for Iraq and for the rest of the world that Saddam was not dealt with more firmly in the nineties. This was a man who had form, this was a man who’d not only murdered three hundred thousand or more of his own people, he was the man who killed more Muslims than any other leader in the world today, both in Iran in his war with Iran, in Kurdistan, and in Iraq itself. This was not a man who was a threat to Christians, he was a threat to Muslims and a threat to the entire region—
HILL: Of course.
SHAWCROSS: —and most of the countries in the region wanted to get rid of him and it’s a great PITY he wasn’t got rid of before.
HILL: And as you eloquently say in your book, a lot of Saddam Hussein’s atrocities were committed with the sanction of the United States.
SHAWCROSS: [exploding with rage] I did NOT say that! Come on, you’re absolutely— this is an ABSURD interview if you want to say that!—I did NOT say that! I did NOT say that! I said that in the 1980s, the greatest threat was seen to be the Ayatollah Khomeini and his version of fundamentalist Islam and it WAS a threat! The Ayatollah was murdering all Iranians who were in opposition to him he could get his hands on inside and outside the country, he wanted to DESTROY the western world, and it was a serious threat. His agents blew up three hundred marines in Lebanon in 1983, you could SEE why he was a threat, and on the rather sad principle but old principle that my enemy’s enemy is my friend, we decided that the greater threat of the two from Saddam Hussein and the Ayatollah Khomeini was not Saddam Hussein at that time.
HILL: So you’re not talking about Saddam Hussein when you say in the book: “but of course one has to take into account the fact that Western governments have for decades supported middle east regimes that may brutalise and impoverish the mass of the people—”
SHAWCROSS: Yes.
HILL: “—-but nonetheless provide stable oil supplies.”
SHAWCROSS: Yes, it’s one of the paradoxes and the dilemmas of our time.
HILL: Well I’m SORRY, but that was merely the point I was making, I don’t think it was an “absurd” point.
SHAWCROSS: [icy] Well don’t get ANGRY! Don’t get angry with me, it’s FOOLISH of you. You’re supposed to be a very highly professional interviewer.
HILL: I’m sorry, I thought you were taking offence. I’m merely trying to explain to you by looking at your book—
SHAWCROSS: I think some of the things you said WERE rather offensive—
HILL: Which things were offensive to you?
SHAWCROSS: —and incorrect. I didn’t say— [laughing] I don’t want to go back over it now…
HILL: Feel free!
SHAWCROSS: [momentarily disoriented] … but you maintained… No. Will you requote your question to me? The one that I, um, took offence to.
HILL: I think the one that you took offence to was the one where I suggested that Saddam Hussein had committed his worst atrocities while he was sanctioned by the United States and other western governments.
SHAWCROSS: Oh yeah that’s right. Well, I don’t think that he was SANCTIONED by the United States. I think that, as I said to you, often you have to deal in areas of darker shades of gray and at that time in the 1980s the Ayatollah Khomeini was seen as a very great threat to the world. Let me read something he wrote in 1984… [Shawcross reads piece of mad Khomeini rhetoric about need to wage war against “infidels”.] Now THAT was the inspiration for the Ayatollah Khomeini back in the 1980s and it’s the inspiration for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda now. And what I think we do not fully understand is that this is a very serious war. Some people call it the third “ism”. We’ve got rid of nazism and Communism….
HILL: [reminds Shawcross of his former trenchant opposition to the Vietnam calamity, and his formerly excoriating writings about Dean Rusk’s absurd Domino Theory] Does that mean you are recanting from that view?
SHAWCROSS: [huffing impatiently] No, I don’t think I said that. [waffles on for several minutes, reproaching all who opposed the Vietnam invasion, and completely recanting his views, even quoting Lee Kuan Yew (“authoritarian, but in many ways very successful”) who, like the new-model Shawcross, enthusiastically endorses the US’s rape of Vietnam as somehow validating the Domino Theory.] All I’m saying is that we have to, errrrr, learn from history and—who was it?—John Maynard Keynes, who said that when the facts change it’s quite a good thing to change your opinion.
HILL: Does it ever occur to you that the impact of Sideshow may have helped create the cynicism with regard to U.S. foreign policy that you are arguing AGAINST in your latest book?
SHAWCROSS: Well that’s a very provocative and clever question. Yes, you may well be right and if so I’m sorry because I didn’t MEAN it to provoke cynicism. I think I said at the end of Sideshow, that Kissinger and Nixon had not governed in my view honestly enough, but America was the most vital democracy in the whole world, and I believed it then and I believe it even more so now. [PAUSE] You seem surprised by that…
HILL: It does seem that the United States is roundly loathed…
SHAWCROSS: [steaming with indignation] Why don’t you GO to Iraq then? That is certainly not the case….
HILL: [archly] I was going to say “in the middle east.”
Touche! Even this smooth dissembler is momentarily non-plussed. Shawcross utters some mealy-mouthed words about Israel. He knows Israel’s war of terror against the people of Palestine is indefensible, but on the other hand, he’s an apologist for the neoconservatives now, so he can’t mouth anything stronger than a contemptible bit of handwringing…
SHAWCROSS: Obviously the heart-breaking impasse between the Israelis and the Palestinians is an APPALLING sore. But Israel needs to defend itself. There are vicious and rotten governments—Libya, Egypt, Syria—all around it. To quote President George W. Bush: We have to encourage democracies and free the people of the region from their despotic torpor.
HILL: Do you think Henry Kissinger should be tried as a war criminal?
SHAWCROSS: [with extreme gravitas] I think he committed a lot of mistakes, but he is not a war criminal.
HILL: The trajectory of your views is compared to that of Christopher Hitchens…
SHAWCROSS: [laughs] Well Christopher is ADORABLE….
…………………………………………….
This weasel was here to flog a weaselish book supporting the rape of Iraq, viz., William Shawcross, Allies: The U.S. and the world in the aftermath of the Iraq War (Appallin’ and Unctuous, 2004)
So the deal is done and “Surprise! Surprise”! (as Gomer Pyle used to say) – there’s a thoroughgoing ‘cave in’ to the right. So much for Mr ‘I’m putting my presidency on the line over this’ Obama.
I’m rapidly tending to the view that this was no ‘cave in’ but a carefully “orchestrated litany of lies”. What a joke. And I see the ‘Super Congress’ of 12 good men and true will now be in session.
The entire last month has been a Congressional show of Kabuki Theatre. What a farce.
None of this is going to change the big dip coming up.
Anarchists should be reported, advises Westminster anti-terror police
Why should these peaceful people be reported to police you ask?
Because they’re anti-state.