Newstalk ZB have added Cameron Slater to their list of talkback hosts. Radio Live have sacked Keith Stewart, one of the few leftwing radio hosts. He had a very good following apparently so dont understand why they got rid of him. There are now very few lefties on the radio, seems to be a pattern here.
I had the misfortune to tune in when Cameron Slater was on. He was doing the intro and said if anyone had any unwanted Christmas presents? Perhaps like kittens? He’s just a one man wrecking crew. I can understand why his style may appeal to his sycophants, but why on earth would NewstalkZB put him on the radio?
Are you trying to say NewstalkZB is too classy for Cameron Slater?
Have you ever listened to Leighton “Ummmm, Ahhhhhhh, Errrrr, Ahhhhmmmm” Smith, Larry “Lackwit” Williams, Tony “Boot Boy” Veitch, Kerre Woodham, Bruce Russell or Gary Denver?
Please tell us how Cameron Slater is in any way worse or more extreme than any of those hosts?
I’m looking forward to the Open Debate that will be at the centre on the Leadership process in February. The turn out in 2011 was great. The Town Halls in Auckland and Wellington will be needed to accommodate the crowds.
It will be a great chance to convert supporters into Financial Members!
KTo achieve the Open Debate you are looking forward to, means a lot of work needs to be done before hand. You can bet that the ABC faction are not sitting on their hands. I imagine that they will be flat out over the holiday period lobbying Labour MPs, to vote against any Open Debate. (using the promise of promotion and the threat of demotion to get their way). KT to achieve what you seek, the membership need to lobby their local Labour MP even harder. You need to match the threat of demotion with the counter threat of withdrawal of branch electoral support if the wishes of the membership are ignored.
Slater’s exclusive revelation is that disgraced thieving lawyer and “retired” District Court Judge, Michael “what money” Guest (photo top) had made allegations against David Bain relating to Bain arguing at his first trial that he had not worn his mothers prescription glasses, but had later admitted to Guest and co counsel Jonelle Williams that he had in fact worn the glasses the Sunday evening before the killings occurred the following day.
NZ received banana republic status some time back, but it seems these days the place is being taken to the cleaners, to what end!
Again the LF team, provide a decent write up, this and the corrupted judiciary series which can be linked from the main page,
Blubber-boy scores a real own goal there doesn’t He, going mainstream with ‘the sewer’ certainly hasn’t stopped the utter s**t flowing from the fat one,
If Bain was wearing His moms glasses on the Sunday befor the murder of the family that would tend to suggest,(to anyone with half a brain), that His own glasses were already lost to His use and were then likely to have been where they,(the glasses), were later found which doesn’t suit the prosecution’s version of events at all….
QOT, I’ll assume (benefit of doubt) you bothered to read the article linked, and will have realised that the title was a and paste!
Or perhaps you simply chimed in having seen the title in my post, and could not resist the urge to protest the injustice of wording while adding nothing of anything to the discussion about the injustice to David Bain being ratcheted up in the press!
You managed to sucker Marty into the same hollow space too, well done Marty!
Thanks, McFliper. muzza, maybe in future you’d like to include context if it so irks you for people to read the words you choose to use in comments and remark on their general shittiness.
McFlock – No it just means I cut and pasted the orignal text. People getting caught up in language is missing the main points, which illustrates that digital communication can be problematic. Good thing you’re able to read though QoTs intentions though!
QoT – Or perhaps look into the articles context yourself, and comment on the subject not the wording of the title. Seems the irk , is with you!
Marty – Sorry bro, was no ill intended, I ,incorrectly tied your reponse to QoTs lack of value add to the serious injustice being done to David Bane, perpetuated by the establishment. Personally I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article, but in this instance knowing that there is a vehicle which is speaking out against what is going on to David Bane is the bigger message here, IMO.
Oh, sorry, I forgot the rules.
We should accept othering, marginalisation and hate speech simply because they’re not the “main point”, and are therefore unimportant.
Let us know when it’s okay to start caring about how we treat each other on a daily basis, will you?
Your presumptions are incorrect, and I’m not going to indulge them.
If you would like to offer something on the David Bane situation go ahead, thats what I linked to. Not interested debating the rights or wrongs of the language used, further than I have already.
Quite Marty, which, as pointed out does not actually address the content of the link.
Bain it is McFlock, cheers.
Shitty councilor, corrupt lawyer, yet no new years *honours* for him. Must have not been important enough part of the cover ups/corruption to rate a mention.
Perhaps Guest will extend himself with the Bain *opportunity*, and score himself some *redemptiom* via next years list!
Do what you like McFlock, if language/words in titles or main text detracts from the core message then perhaps thats something which the LF writers might want to consider, ask them, see what you get as a response!
I’ve given my position on it, if you can’t read, or don’t like the position, move on!
Poor wording, possibly, offensive to some, always, hate speech, its not!
Actually, you didn’t give your position on it. You said it was a cut&paste, reckoned that the debate was on the bain thing, took umbrage when called on the fact that this means we should accept othering language because other things are more important, and decided that Guest getting a gong was more important to discuss than othering language. You’ve only just mentioned that you don’t think that using “rent boy” to denigrate someone is hate speech. You mentioned no basis for that position, though.
3.22pm – Mine to Marty Mars
“Personally I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article, but in this instance knowing that there is a vehicle which is speaking out against what is going on to David Bane is the bigger message here, IMO ”
Actually, you didn’t give your position on it.
Actually I gave it above hours ago, and insinuated no such instruction to anyone on what should or should not bother them. Your presumptions, interpretations and explanations are exceptionally poor today.
Should have used the /sarc tag about Guest, figured you might pick that up, but given the exceptionally poor interpretaions today, clearly I should have used it!
Language is important, thats not been contended, just don’t be sidetracked so readily!
Fair call, I missed the comment explicitly directed at someone else.
But while you issued “no instructions”, you definitely criticised others for “missing the main point” and refused to countenance debate in any subject are you disapproved of.
And frankly, most of the time when I think you’re in the realm of absurdity, you turn out to be stone cold serious. So you might want to tag all your statements for the assistance of people who are on planet earth.
…if language/words in titles or main text detracts from the core message then perhaps thats something which the LF writers might want to consider,
I think QoT and McF are taking it up with you, Muzza. Last I knew there was no rule that you had to link to a headline rather than using your own words or linking to text within the article.
OMG,FFS, surprise surprise Muzza…seems you are up against the same old commissariat tag team. I chose the route to Purgatory because down here our sins are not selective, they are in entirety. We all have sins, even the most bald faced PC blog block warts. There was a holy gent wandering by here talking about the right to cast stones….
But while you issued “no instructions”, you definitely criticised others for “missing the main point” and refused to countenance debate in any subject are you disapproved of.
Dude whats with the absolutes, I don’t believe I criticised anyone, it was only about not being deflected away from the primary subject of the link, which is why I did not want to enter into debate around wording, its not why I had posted the link.
If you want to start a convo about the wording, cool, ill engage, but didn’t fancy it as a spin off of the Bain linked comment, otherwise I would have been getting readily side-tracked (as if ive not been now), which would have been ironic & hypocritical,, given thats what I have been asking others to be cautious of.
And frankly, most of the time when I think you’re in the realm of absurdity, you turn out to be stone cold serious. So you might want to tag all your statements for the assistance of people who are on planet earth.
Written digital comms, very easy to interperet incorrectly from the intent.
Well, if you seriously believe you didn’t come across as criticising anyone, you need to take a class in communication. Actually you probably should, anyway.
And fuck David Bain. As if I thought you cared about that possible injustice any more than any other incident involving death that you bring up here as a hobby.
Well, if you seriously believe you didn’t come across as criticising anyone, you need to take a class in communication. Actually you probably should, anyway.
Irony is a go to play for you innit!
And fuck David Bain. As if I thought you cared about that possible injustice any more than any other incident involving death that you bring up here as a hobby.
Followed by (some inward prejudice perhaps towards DB, or is it general anger, or are you out of smokes), and further incorrect presumptions, and a whiff of accusation, my my McFlock, aren’t we all growns up!
Thing is McFlock, I very much give a damn, but you don’t know me, so you don’t/can’t know that, yet you continue to make incorrect , now abusive assumptions!
For the record, every single act of injustice no matter the scale, or where it happens, not just in NZ, but especially in NZ, has an impact, even to those who are not in the immediate vacinity, or directly affected. Every current global event has an impact on us here in NZ, in some way shape or form.
The negative consequences of events, touches everyone who gives a shit to pay attention, and even those who don’t give a shit, and think that there is no impact to their own life.
Any act of violence, hurt, abuse, neglect, war, famine, poverty, inequality, be it from politicans, bankers, police,, military/intelligence, foreign entities, local entities or the general public, likely as a result of actions/inactions or perpetrated by the afformentioned, does us all damage, it chips away at the collective well being, Attempts to further distort history to hide lies, amplifies the damage, and commits all of us to be living inside of, and with the results, and *solutions* of the lies.
And yet marginalising people on the basis of sexual orientation is fine. Even though it perpetuates inequality, which is apparently one of the things you oppose.
“Any act of violence, hurt, abuse, neglect, war, famine, poverty, inequality, be it from politicans, bankers, police,, military/intelligence, foreign entities, local entities or the general public, likely as a result of actions/inactions or perpetrated by the afformentioned, does us all damage, it chips away at the collective well being”
Repeating homophobic slurs surely falls within this muzza.
You know it’s actually ok to now and then just say “oops, I shouldn’t have said that, sorry”.
Felix – Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that, much as some of you are trying hard to conjure up!.
The link goes to the same place regardless, where you can read the original title and article text, stop picking over semantics with yourself!
Trying, like McFlock and QoT to make some (very weak) case against me for propagating, *hate speech* (McFlock, while being abusive all at the same time), and looking for (suggesting) an apology, seems the brigade might have gotten to you lot eh!
@ McFlock – Take it up with LF bro, see what they say, perhaps my cut & paste violates copyright!
The difference you don’t seem to get is that my “abuse” in this thread is directed solely at you as an individual, and I usually try to avoid belittling entire groups of other people simply to point out that you are a shallow fool who has not the sense to look at their own language.
Whereas you, on the other hand, managed to marginalise homosexuals and sex workers by not recognising the hate speech for what it was. And then saying that it wasn’t the “main point” and so you will make no effort to own it or moderate it in any way, even though it was contained in a link that *you* posted here.
The difference you don’t seem to get is that my “abuse” in this thread is directed solely at you as an individual, and I usually try to avoid belittling entire groups of other people simply to point out that you are a shallow fool who has not the sense to look at their own language.
I get it alright McFlock ,you are intentionally being abusive, thats your language, your words, your choice!
Again, and for the final time, its not my words or my language, (but yes I posted it) I had no inclination or intent to *own or moderate it*!
Take it up with LF if you’re serious about what you’re saying, post the email you send to LF, and any reply you might get back from them on here!
so you made the links and posted the comment, but I should take it up with someone else for you bringing their trash here because the content reproduced here is not your responsibility and you have no inclination to take it.
Felix/McFlock/QoT – The link goes to the same LF article, regardless of the words used to create the link in the post here on TS. The LF article will still have language which you are protesting use of, so yes if you’re genuine, then you would take it up with the LF site McFlock/Felix/QoT. its rather simple! – I look foward to reading your protest email posts to LF, and any response you get!
By your logic I am propagating/repeating *hate speech/homophobic slurs* on *our lawn* (as if I am somehow outside of the *our*, and it belongs to yourself, McFlock. QoT et al?) regardless of linking to the article using the original text, or edited text, it MUST amount to exactly the same propagation, by such logic…..
Which means that your positions, (other than disgracefully trying to prove intent and/or slur me of bigotry/ homophobic hatred etc) MUST be, that people can’t/shouldn’t, etc link to articles, or in this instance, quote link articles, in case someone takes offence at any point in the linking chain! – Yeah, nah!
Good on you Felix, you can’t or won’t defend the logic (which actually leads to the root issue here), and are seemingly ok to go around in circles, deflect/avoid etc, which you are entitled to do!
But, in case you missed it/couldn’t understand/grasp it, and yourself/McFlock/QoT feel like adressing it, (even in your own head is ok, if you’re not wanting to write it) here is again….(new emphasis, for your assistance, para below, line 4/5) – Try to not get confused/hung up by the *own* red herring again, you seemed to be confused by it the first time, recall the use of ?
“By your logic I am propagating/repeating *hate speech/homophobic slurs* on *our lawn* (as if I am somehow outside of the *our*, and it belongs to yourself, McFlock. QoT et al?) regardless of linking to the article using the original text, or edited text, it MUST amount to exactly the same propagation, by such logic…..
Which means that your positions, (other than disgracefully trying to prove intent and/or slur me of bigotry/ homophobic hatred etc) MUST be, that people can’t/shouldn’t, etc link to articles, or in this instance, quote link articles, in case someone takes offence at any point in the linking chain”
The problem you’re having is the word “must” (or MUST, to put it in your terms).
So dispute it then Felix, or keep avoiding it, as you like!
It’s hilarious (by which I mean farking sad) that you think you’re using logic.
I’m not, I have questioned others, and still watching (you currently) avoid the line of questioning, why can’t you answer it Felix, instead of coming back with further deflections?
Pretty simple stuff , which you continue to avoid, why?
You’re claiming that what I said can only possibly mean one thing. That’s what “must” (sorry, MUST) means in the context you used it.
It’s up to you to show that’s the case. Using, you know, logic, which would look something like ‘it must mean this because etc’. All you’ve done so far is make an assertion which no-one is obliged to take as read.
Once you’ve had a go at that and failed (we can all see what I’ve written and it isn’t what you say it is, idiot) then we’ll get onto the other stuff you’ve accused me of, such as “trying to prove intent” which, again, is something you just pulled out of your arse.
In fact, QoT and McFlock made the original allegations about propagation, which was further concured with by your word, so the onus lies with you (QoT/McFlock), just like the irk, lies with QoT, to prove my intent was to propagate *hate speech, and homophobia*. Making such serious false claims against someone is out of order, but not out of character based on your comments here.
Telling me I’m making the claim and to back it up, serves to show how far wrong you have got this one.
The rest of what you write is simply more deflecting garbage.
Come out and openly accuse me of this hate speech/homophobia based propagation, if thats what this is really about, and we will take it from there!
felixviper …
3 January 2013 at 12:41 am
Exactly McF.
He’s dumped a rusty fridge on our lawn and is trying to blame Fisher and Paykel.
“Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that”
Oh I see, it’s not that you’re into spreading bigotry, it’s just that sometimes it’s less effort than not spreading bigotry.
(Semi) clever (thinly veiled) words (my bold, your italic emphasis), which I’m sure you will have an explanation for. No doubt it was just an accusatory enquiry on your part, following your agreement with McFlock!
Muzz, I neither know nor care what your intent was.
The fact is that you chose to spread it, unmitigated and unaltered.
If I were asked to guess what your intent was initially, I’d probably say that it simply didn’t occur to you, as you were distraced by the hard-on that leapt forth in your pants when you found someone who could provide new, verifiable and unbiased information on the topic agreed with your opinions.
Subsequent discussion has revealed that you don’t believe that some marginalising and bigoted statements are worthy of discussion, although trite “sarcastic” statements about regional nonentities are worthy of your effort. Which I believes indicates your priorities when it comes to othering language (depending on who is marginalised).
For future reference (if you want to avoid being called on the “collatoral damage” your comments cause) you can think about the language you are cut&pasting, and if some of the content is bigoted then try to put a little heads up in the link rather than cut&pasting drivel.
Oh I’m sorry, you missed the “The fact is that you chose to spread it, unmitigated and unaltered.”
Is “rent-boy” not used to denigrate WO by likening him to a homosexual sex worker?
Did you spread/propagate it to this forum, even if you weren’t the original author?
Did you reproduce the headline in full?
Did you criticise the choice of language, even if the article might have raised some interesting points?
Or did you suggest that the choice of language was unimportant and should not be discussed, thus asking us to accept bigoted language without comment?
Just to be completely explicit, based on those questions being answered “yes, yes, yes, no, yes”, my answer to you is:
McFlock – Good on you for providing an answer, even to questions which were not asked!
Next question to you:
Would editing the original title text, but linking to the same protested language/article, still constitute propagating *hate speech & homophobia* ? – Yes/No (just this question)
This is why you should take a class. I’m not your fucking communications teacher.
Basically, bigoted language is like a fart. Try and keep it away from others. If you must share it with them, it’s only courtesy to apologise and open a window.
McFlock – You failed to anwser the question, try again please:
Would editing the original title text, but linking to the same protested language/article, still constitute propagating *hate speech & homophobia* ? – Yes/No (just this question)
Because if interacting like a human being was a list of “yes/no” questions, a zx81 could pass the Turing Test.
This is going to be a list of 50-odd boolean questions, each becoming increasingly specific, and each becoming increasingly irrelevant to anything other than the language fail you started with. And you know what? I’m only human, too. So sooner or later I’ll be completely wrong, and lead you into another thread like this. I’m sure some people already think I was being a precious fuckwit. But then some people IRL think I’m a fuckwit, too. But on the flipside some people like me, and most of the people who think I’m a fuckwit are jerkoffs. So fuck them, is what I say. I also say “fuck” a lot IRL. filters out a lot of jerks.
How about you learn social interaction iteratively, like a normal human being?
It starts with consideration as to what people might read, as opposed to simply what you want to say.
In what universe could you possibly construe anything I’ve written to mean that I don’t think you’re spreading bigotry?
Then answer the question!
You’ve already openly admitted that you did, and you already gave your reason: you couldn’t be bothered not doing it.
I’ve admitted no such thing Felix, you’re making shit up twice in the same sentence! Maybe try something, like dropping the double negatives, they seem to lead you into false spaces!
As for the reason,thats not the full context though is it – What I said about cut, paste of the words was (which seems you have misinterpreted)
“Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that”
I think it’s about time you answered my questions now muzza.
You have yet to anwer one yet, so you think wrong!
McFlock – Lets just leave it at that, as there is no point in trying to pander to every possible offence which could be taken, which is what you are implying (and I’m never going to do), and given you wont answer my second question, Ill take the default as being, that you are in fact about censorship of language, and would have answered yes!
Muzz, it’s not “pandering to every possible offense”. It’s simply understanding the meanings of the words you use.
And I’m not saying you shouldn’t link to it, you moron. It’s not like nobody has ever linked to a tangential article but included a warning because the contents might be disturbing or offensive, even if there is an important message there.
Ever here of the “NSFW” (Not Safe for the Workplace) warning? Same sort of thing. So the long answer is “yes with an if”, short answer “no with a but”.
But then you’re obviously just focused on finding a reason to accuse me of censorship, when all I’ve done is suggest that you not be such an idiot and instead try to see through your obsessions and realise that your language might have unintended consequences. Like contributing to the bigotry of the societal system you love to hate.
McFlock – Anger (my impression from your musings here), swearing, personal abuse (towards me) and repetative sexual references about genetalia! (not just todays convo)
Speaking with someone should assist you with all of these as they will be linked, perhaps something to address before you attempt to take any future moralistic position in discussions around use of language, and so forth!
muzza, sure you did. It was in the sentence you just quoted now where you said you copied a bigoted headline because it was easier than writing a new one. The relevant words are “I didn’t fancy thinking something else up“.
To make it simpler for you (ffs this is amazing) we can break it into two questions:
Is the headline bigoted? [Yes/No]
Did you copypasta it? [Yes/No]
The answer to both of those being yes, you’ve admitted that you were spreading bigotry.
When someone associated the patois of the street with anger, yet is still happy to spread bigoted language, then they deserve abuse (much of which in the base lexicon revolves around reproductive systems). And equating the lingua valde francum with moral or intellectual debasement is remarkably shallow. So they flag themselves as a shallow stupid bigot deserving of more personal abuse.
And avoiding the previous comment by criticising your opponent is plain stupid.
As opposed to abusing your opponent while addressing their comments, which is what I like to do if my opponent is a case study of Dunning-Kruger. Prevents boredom.
muzza, sure you did. It was in the sentence you just quoted now where you said you copied a bigoted headline because it was easier than writing a new one. The relevant words are “I didn’t fancy thinking something else up“.
Felix, yes copied the text, but said I found it bigoted, no I did not!
The error you make is thinking you get to choose the relevant words while trying to crystal ball my intent., The key is really the first part of the sentence, where I said I don’t like editing other sites wordings, the second part you favour, (while reading to right to left), is that I dont want to speak on LF’s behalf, by changing their words, when my intent was quoting verbatim!
To make it simpler for you (ffs this is amazing) we can break it into two questions:
Is the headline bigoted? [Yes/No]
Did you copypasta it? [Yes/No]
The answer to both of those being yes, you’ve admitted that you were spreading bigotry
Is it!
Felix, you have answered the first question on behalf of yourself only,. never put words,thoughts or your blatant prejudices in my mouth!
Edit : McFlock, stop promoting yourself bro its about as challenging to see through as an open window, and its not smart!
So when you said you didn’t personally approve of some of the language in the article, you weren’t talking about the homophobic slur in the headline?
That’d be odd.
So which is it, muzza? Either you disapprove of the language but repeated it out of laziness, which is what you’ve been saying all along and I’ve been agreeing with all along, or you’ve changed your mind and now approve of the language.
If you didn’t think it was bigoted, why did you consider changing the language of the headline before you decided that you “didn’t fancy thinking something else up”?
Or did your “I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article” not actually refer at all to the bit you reproduced here, the headline? If it did refer to the headline, was it bigoted or was there something else about it you disagreed with?
So when you said you didn’t personally approve of some of the language in the article, you weren’t talking about the homophobic slur in the headline?
Personally I was/am not bothered , as you are about the language in the header, I was more interested in the article details How you interpret it (let it affect you) is your personal choice, as it is mine. The LF team do some great investigative work IMO, but they also use alot of language etc, just like McFlock does, which could detract from the articles message, as I made note of. early in this thread. An example would be the word fuck-tard (used heavily by LF), its not really necessary, but I dont microscope it the way you might, and Ill leave the hand wringing to others, its not for me!
That’d be odd.
Really Felix, given the utter shit you and McFlock come up with, that is of no surprise to me!
So which is it, muzza? Either you disapprove of the language but repeated it out of laziness, which is what you’ve been saying all along and I’ve been agreeing with all along, or you’ve changed your mind and now approve of the language.
You have asked the same thing twice, Im only answering it once, and stop making shit up Felix, its getting tedious!
So you didn’t actually give your position on the material you cut&paste. You don’t have a problem with the marginalising aspects of using “rent boy” in a derogatory way. You think the headline language is appropriate.
Fair enough. You don’t just spread bigoted language, you are a bigot. And if you think potty mouth is even close to hate speech, fuck you fucking stupid fucktard. You don’t even realise the difference between addressing an individual and marginalising entire sectors of society.
edit: you’re also a fucking coward for taking this long to actually address the concerns raised yesterday about the headline language. Tool.
Felix /McFlock – Bigot, coward, liar, stupid – Quite some list of defaming/slanderous accusations there, but then, who would argue with the genius of you two intellectual giants, thought police, censorship committee, deciders/defenders of what is/is not abuse on these here boards, and hypocrites of note!
Fortunately, your musings are transparent and callow, the frothing desire to impose blatant shortcomings, and obvious lack of life experience which is not behind a screen, by demanding that others bend to your predisposed prejudicial mind set, leading to predetermined outcomes of your making to *satisfy* yourselves with.
When challenged about questionable motives,(including by the LF representative) and the desperately desired outcome becomes unattainable, abuse, demands, word twisting, (deliberate?) misinterpretations and misdirection become the go to plays, along with other *tools* which seek to subvert the obvious flaws in the attack methods assumption, and the weakness of the protagonists!
This is followed up with the claiming of *victory* for the *entire marginalised sectors of society*, against the perpetrator of the *hate speech & homophobia*. The closing off of the debate, having rigged a TKO decision, and exiting the arena, patting each other on the back with a hoodwink!
Pausing to imagine that the *pseudonym* they have rounded on to impose their views/will/prejudice, could possibly have direct experiences, preferences and affiliations with those same *marginalised sectors of society*, who they proclaim to be defending against such horrifying bigoted actions of the original post, is simply not possible, such amazing personality traits as predjudice/chips on shoulders/superiority complex, prevent it!
Only they get to decide who is marginalised, and who fits in the box to claim marginalised status, and thus *control* what can/can’t be published here and how, as it panders to their insecurites and bias. Muzza, cannot possibly fit in any box in the minds of these two childlike masterminds!
No, the discussion outcome has been (pre) determined, the profile of the handle named muzza, having been *outed*, assumed in iron clad certainty, as the anti, to their hero status!
whew you guys (non-gender specific) that was an enjoyable exchange – from the outside anyway.
muzza after all that the point still seems to be missed – anyone can be offended by an offensive headline and it is their right to be, as I was. Attacking slater with boring overused lazy hurtful descriptions is a pain because it is so unnecessary and there is too much collateral damage. IMO QoT’s inital post was true and I still agree with it. If you choose not to see that muzza then so be it but it is below the line imo to try and defend someone by attacking a disadvantaged group/s whether indirectly or carelessly.
and it could so easlily have been sorted but the discussion has illuminated so thanks.
muzza after all that the point still seems to be missed – anyone can be offended by an offensive headline and it is their right to be, as I was.
People can take offence at anything they like, I have never intented to argue that. I could take offence (if so wanted) on a daily basis, but it achieves very little.
What I do have a problem with, is people making accusations at me (of a very serious nature) based on the *taken offence,* when there was never any intent, (although they tried to *prove* it) and turn it into slanderous filth using disgraceful , inept tactics!
The point was taken Marty, I can tell you that, its the undirectional point taking, which I find hypocritical!
good for you muzza – I simply care about those who can’t defend themselves and get used tactically as derogatory labels to try and insult others. The people that do that are low and deserve a pile of crap on them. In terms of c&p – I think it is a responsibility of a poster to highlight any area that may adversely affect others especially in areas considered “hot’ – that is a courtesy – some people are courteous and others not. This is not necessary if the headline is in alignment with the views of the poster or they just don’t care. But the old “what?” “me?” innocence panto can’t really be used as a defence – although it is often the favorite one.
The links put up give me information on the interests of the poster and there is a linkage between what a poster puts up as a link and the views of that poster and that relates to the language used and alterations/deletions made, even the way it is presented.
Bigot
You spread bigoted language and said that you had no problem with it,
coward
you took 2 days and however many comments to admit you had no problem with it,
liar
you said you’d addressed the point of the language in the headline when you hadn’t,
stupid
self evident.
Nice monologue, though. Always nice to see how the word appears through idiot-tinted glasses.
As an aside, I notice in my previous comment that I used the term “fucktard”. Upon reflection, it seems plausible that the word is a portmanteau of “fuckwit” and “retard”, in which case I might have offended people and loved ones of people with some types of intellectual disability. I withdraw the word and apologise for my carelessness, and will try to avoid that language in the future. Sorry. muzz: it’s not that fucking difficult, do you see?
muzza, maybe in future you’d like to include context….
Use of the words, like (yours) and perhaps (mine), are offers, or suggestions only, not demands (speaking for myself) hence you trying to play smart arse is hardly necessary!
I made a suggestion to improve your future interactions here. You directed what topics I can comment on. Tiny difference, also, you’re the one who kicked this off by uncritically repeating someone’s prejudiced language, so I’ll play as much of a smartass as I like.
I made a suggestion to improve your future interactions here.
Which made no actual comment about the subject matter, almost certainly having not read past the (imported) title of my post
You directed what topics I can comment on.
No, thats how you have interpreted my suggestion of perhaps reading the article, and adding comment, what you do is entirely your choice obviously.
Tiny difference, also, you’re the one who kicked this off by uncritically repeating someone’s prejudiced language,
You have got to be kidding with that one – If you have an issue with the words, take it up with the LF writers, let me know what they say. I’m not interested in pandering to the needs of every/any bias on here, by editing link headers in case someone takes offence!
so I’ll play as much of a smartass as I like.
Cool, sound game plan. Not enough professionalism around these days!
We would suggest that you brush up on your colloquial English as in its usage in AUSTRALIA, we are after all an AUSTRALIAN site.
The term “rent boy” has no exclusive use clause attached to it and its use in the article Muzza has referred to is certainly NOT homophobic. The colloquial/slang term “Rent-boy” is often used to describe various forms of male prostitution, Straight, POLITICAL, MEDIA, sporting and of course Homosexual. The word Prostitution and or any innuendo/inference attached to it, as with the use of the term “Rent-Boy”, has no prescribed exclusive use policy…..at least that was the case when we last checked.
The English language and the written word is ever evolving, that’s why we here in AUSTRALIA like to update/republish our national Dictionary (Macquarie) every so often, but of course KIWI’s can’t afford that sort of educational TOOL as always they rely on Australia to do the heavy lifting.
Whilst on the subject of TOOLS; YOUR allegation of “anti sex-worker insults” is in fact in our view highly SUSPECT as we certainly made no implicit reference whatsoever to sex workers in our piece, nor are we for that matter denigrating of anyone who is gainfully employed within that industry.
Our only reference to prostitution, by inference, was to the POLITICAL prostitute Cameron Slater and our very accurate observation that the “TRUTH” dedicates an inordinate amount of space to its personals classifieds…….the “tongue in cheek” inference being that it is obviously not a credible publication that relies on quality editorial content to achieve sales…….but you obviously missed that point, if in fact you even bothered to read the piece.
Further, we suspect that you, unlike the author of our article “John Keys “rent boy” Cam Slater wants to fuck Bain [badly] using a corrupt District Court Judge.”, are in all likelihood far from an individual who identifies as Gay and thus not qualified to comment…….but of course that’s just our supposition.
Reading the thread below we are also inclined to suspect that your comment (above) had an ulterior motive which unfortunately back-fired; we were in fact alerted to the existence of the comment by an unprecedented volume of traffic being referred to our site by http://www.thestandard.org.nz.
We would recommend that you read these two pieces and then purchase a sense of humour:
Given that you QoTViper are obviously a self-styled dedicated anti-homophobia crusader (Yeah Right!) you will no doubt be getting right in behind our up coming series on the Peter Ellis case.
Have you heard of the bloke? Well if not he’s one of your Gay Kiwi brothers that rotted in jail for around a decade; all as a result of an impossible series of pornographic Hans Christian Andersen inspired fairy tales involving Lions, Giraffes, secret tunnels, trap doors and of course the now infamous black Penis……..now hows that for PC language QoTViper?
In our humble opinion Mr Ellis is yet another victim of your so-called justice system. In fact we will be arguing that he was the victim of a rampantly HOMOPHOBIC macho society, its police force, crown law office and the HOMOPHOBIC political movers and shakers of the era.
In fact, given your obvious concern with homophobia we’re a little surprised that you and your mates (below) are not already doing time for breaching the name suppression orders in and around the Peter Ellis case……..why is that?
New Zealand and its inhabitants are an international laughing stock, but its actually not that funny given that many of your innocent fellow citizens have suffered in the circus that is now destroying New Zealand’s reputation!
In closing we’ve formed the view that you might be more than a little challenged when it comes to distinguishing “shit from clay”, Or perhaps its just that you’re a POLITICAL shit stirrer or then again perhaps just a National Party TROLL………After all neither you, nor any of the tag team assembled below, bothered taking up Muzza’s suggestion (again somewhere below) to contact us for clarification…… so just why was that QoTViper, or are you not one who subscribes to the legal maxim of natural justice?
New Zealand and its inhabitants are an international laughing stock,
Illustrated nicely in the response above by Felix – (lol) -WTF is that about!
NZ has of course been an experiment (on-going), and we see some of the consequences via the protest/responses by the likes of QoT/Felix and McFlock, and the energy expended in fighting against injustice (Fuck David Blain – to quote McFlock), while manufacturing bias based *injustice* born of incorrect perception of their own (programmed) world view. They scramble to both attack and defend injustice simultaneously, while throwing distractions around trying to defend obvious prejudical bias. Failure to understand that there is a bigger picture, and what it might look like , a huge problem!
Much as I would like to think that Felix/QoT/McFlock and others are not representative of the *average kiwi*, experiences and interactions, tell me the optimism is misplaced!
Help me, Jebus! I love the way the writer can’t help launching into a racist tirade against Kiwis, before chiding TS posters for being too sensitive. That certainly makes the use of ‘rent boy’ look less bigoted, eh, what?
Still, at least they are honest about the motivations of their sources; the article notes that they got a copy of the Truth from a regular reader.
“Our supporter bought the paper for the prostitute ads section”.
Agree on a heavy (and increasing) tax being introduced. But I think the idea of dispensing that tax back to consumers is flawed. I’d rather it went to government and was earmarked for a rapid development of carbon free public transport systems. (I can’t remember what info has gone into posts I’ve written to date, but over 40% of NZs CO2 comes from road transport…so replacing private transport with public transport would make a large intitial dent in emissions)
Also, Hanson appears to suggest that a tax would increase the feasability of alternative energy supplies…but alternative energy supplies (infrastructure) takes a fair amount of time to develop and build. So although I’d agree that it needs built, I don’t think it can be relied on it to solve the problem of emissions in the short/medium term. In other words, I’m going along with Anderson who reckons the demand side is absolutely crucial for now.
Interesting that Hansen had to make this proposal in the context of “not increasing the size of government”. Clearly he’s talking to an American audience.
But absolutely it seems that the idea of ‘peak oil’ somehow saving us from our own folly would appear to be a false hope. While we have reached a bumpy production plateau; it would seem that there’s still enough extractable carbon in the ground to be ‘game over’ from a climate perspective.
As Jenny has been saying for sometime now … we actually have to leave the damn stuff in the ground in order to have any hope whatsoever. Given that our whole economy is based on coal, oil, concrete and steel … that has massive implications everywhere. And people know this instinctively.
Personally I think the best hope is for the WAIS and/or Greenland to collapse catastrophically and dramatically raise sea-levels by 2-7m metres in less than a decade … and force the issue globally.
Unfortunately you might be right in saying that a catastrophic event is needed to wake us up. I hope not, because it’s not so easy to respond and adapt when the shit has already hit the fan. And if there is a likelihood of one non-linearity feeding into a subsequent one – eg, loss of arctic ice kick starting methane release…
I suspect you are being too optimistic.
Capitalism, consumerism and the resource extraction required to keep both going are going to grind onwards at the maximum pace that the smartest minds in the world can organise for. Even against ever increasing headwinds and the detriment of growing numbers of people at the bottom.
George Bernard Shaw
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.
or just follow on from John Lennon’s song…
Imagine if all the parties that do not support asset sales joined together and agreed to and made a public unified announcement *All assets sold will be renationalised on our return to government.*
Quote KV 1/1/13 7.50pm, except I’m proposing all like minded parties put their policy on the line,
“A simple statement by the leader of the opposition re the re-nationalisation of unique or monopoly class assets like the hydro-dams and electricity infrastructure will be a major red-flag highlight of the risk analysis by the Australian, US and Asian investment analysts. All assets sold will be renationalised on our return to government.”
Would love to see an Imagine blog, no judgemental follow ups, just a brain storm of what TS readers would add to the IMAGINE list. Happy 2013.
Is the top left hand corner of the Stuff website main page, it’s version of “page three”? Do they assume that their readership is largely people who want to gaze upon pretty young women as often as possible, regardless of significance of said women?
Yes, they do vary the images a little from time to time, often with laddish stuff like male rugby heroes. But the main default option seems to be those retro pretty young women.
Blow the weather. They always have a story promoted with an image there. This morning it includes images of the things people want to give up in their New Year resolutions – really? Do people actually make those resolutions?
Gotta get NZ news from somewhere. I prefer Stuff to the cluttered mess that is the NZ Herald site . But I also check out Scoop, RNZ and google NZ news.
RNZ-World Watch-“coal consumption increased great and widely last annum
Dom-MOH directive to reduce ED arrivals revealed to St John, despite projected growth in “falls” workload; wtf?
-Hollywood films “bloated” length; Time for Intermissions.
(Pi did not appear that long, or to go on forever and ever, unlike Titanic, yet sadly, long enough)
-US Military “four pillars” is likely a one-legged dog called Old Yellow; a “military to military” relationship with China (60% of the fleet in the Pacific by 2020, budgets sailing through)
RT, we took my 84 and 85yr old parents to the movies yesterday. The last movie they went to was The World’s Fastest Indian and prior to that Forrest Gump so it’s been a while. Funnily enough Dad asked about getting an ice-cream at intermission. We explained that was no longer an option so he’d need to stock up prior to going in. Fortunately as it was Quartet and only 93mins long, it was ok for elderly bladders’! Dad also recalled sound proofed mothers’ rooms with microphones, something I hadn’t known of. I reassured him we wouldn’t be standing to sing God Save the Queen and on a sadder note he also recalled racially segregated Theatres.
Ah we kids knew there was something different about us lot when mum took us to the flicks and She refused to even stand for God Save the Queen, us kids didn’t dare do anything else but follow suit….
“The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same again -(chauvanistic period)- as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less sure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend”
-Aldous Huxley : The Doors of Perception
(“but if the prevalence of illicit drugs is any indicator, it seems our people long to see the world afresh again” ) I did and grew Salvia D. (it’s legal, and if you can Master that…you have begun a journey)
but that was a long time ago, in a place far, far away.
We were getting hammered by multiple bingbots running all over the site trying to find out how close to 100% CPU they could make the server run. I was using .htaccess to deny the bot. Unfortunately I hadn’t thought it through and was denying everyone pushed through one of the cloudflare servers (oops). I should have used the cloudflare tools..
I have now taught the bingbot that using a geoip to look at location of our server and then hammering it in the middle of the server’s ‘night’ is not a good idea for our site. Used the bing webmaster tools to say when the middle of the night was.
Umm. Re-reading that I see what you mean. The short version:-
Frigging microsoft was hogging our site and making it slow (hiss!). I stopped them (yay!) and taught them a think or two. But I’m sorry that I screwed up access to the site while I was doing it (contrition).
● Concerned about what the new ‘Social Security (Benefit Category and Work Capacity) Amendment Bill’, currently before the Social Security Committee of Parliament, will bring in the way of PRIVATISED WELFARE in the form of outsourced medical and work capacity assessments, NGO agency involvement and so forth;
● presently on the Sickness or Invalid’s Benefit, or likely to have to apply for these, or the future Jobseeker Support Payment, or the Living Support Payment benefits;
● who are working in the health, disability or any related areas, involved with assessing, caring for, supporting or otherwise working with sick, disabled or injured, dependent on welfare support;
● who are advocates for the above types of persons, or activists, seriously concerned and ready to take actions to avoid serious harm, suffering and unreasonable pressures to be placed on sick, injured and disabled;
● who are perhaps presently on ACC, or are likely to be claimants for serious health and injury issues causing disability and incapacity to work, and who may in some cases also still end up with WINZ on their benefits.
The following article ‘A Tale of two Models: Disabled People vs Unum, Atos, Government and Disability Charities’ – by Debbie Jolly, DPAC, is a MUST to read, as it reveals how key players in the form of the UK state department DWP, the private insurer Unus and private work capacity and medical assessor ATOS, have and are working together, to restrict entitlements for sick, injured or disabled depending on state support.
Key professional players are mentioned, who have in part been on the payroll of questionable private insurer Unus, or worked for organisations or institutes set up under that insuer’s and the state’s funding, who have worked together, linked together, refrained from disclosing interests, and thus were involved in high level lobbying and introduction of major, restrictive reforms to welfare in the UK.
Names turn up, who should be well familiar to any person, who has ever read, listened to or seen any of the highly one sided presentations by the Principal Health Advisor for Work and Income, and paid for by MSD, Dr David Bratt, a staunch promoter of a “work ability focus” already, who is involved here in New Zealand (together with other key players in the game), to bring in very harsh, questionable reforms, that have led to serious harm, psychological distress, untold pressures and even increased suicides in the UK.
It is time to be informed, be alert, take a solid stand, and to voice opposition to the most draconian, unfair, not evidence based, unbalanced and unreasonable welfare reforms New Zealand has seen since the early 1990s.
I am yet to read the link and will do so carefully.
Did you see this today?
ACC pays $61m to patients injured in care
“Figures related to Fairfax under the Official Information Act show the 10 most expensive treatment injury claims totalled $3.2 million in the last financial year.”
“A total of 61.3m was paid to 7832 people for treatment injuries in the same year.”
Not hard to see why people end up on ACC and then they are chucked onto a Work and Income NZ benefit (sickness/invalid) and Work and Income NZ now want to say that thousands of people got good treatment within the health system.
I have not yet addressed the Work and Income NZ cases where the health system are not diagnosing or treating them.
The DSM – V due out in 2013 is only going to make the stats higher for medical misadventure.
Happy New Year to those who are at the mercy of the health system because Work and Income NZ now want to poke you; the new carrot and the stick.
So 61.3 million paid to 7,832 claimants is on average only $ 7,826.86 per person.
Of course that sounds like a fair bit of money to some, but what is the “news-worthiness” of this, as the costs are likely to have been totally justified, and the payments needed to cover essential treatment and so forth?!
Taking the 3.2 million for the 10 most expensive claims out leaves 58,100,000 to divide by 7822 leaves $ 7,427.77 per person on average.
With operation costs ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands per case, it is not surprising that there will be some quite expensive claims resulting in such figures. Other measures may over time also cost a lot.
That Stuff.Co article is just typical mainstream media figure juggling and so forth. It is actually quite detrimental to write such one sided articles, as it tries to give the impression to Joe Average and Jill Average, that there is too much money being spent, so measures need to be taken to make cuts and to tighten up on entitlements.
If only some more people would use a calculator do get some more realistic figures, and above all their brains, to get a hang of what really goes on, we would not have a debate about some misleading political agendas.
Precisely xtasy. The same’s done with the “total welfare bill” with no recognition of increased numbers of people qualifying and the huge decreases in what individuals receive. Even NZ Superannuation is often thrown in for good measure. Same with benefit “fraud” statistics. The whole thing’s a sham to make it look like government spending is out of control. It’s nasty stuff, but gives us more reason to be even more vigilant to make sure people are given the opportunity to see the truth.
My criticism was not really so much directed at you, Treetop!
I know where you come from, it is the costs of unacceptable levels of medical misadventure, and I can tell you, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as not all is covered by ACC.
What about cases going unnoticed, because patients die, commit suicide, are unable to make a claim due to incapacity as a result of mental and physical damages, and the list goes on!
What also about “misadventure” in the mental health areas???
I have first hand experience with a scandalous case of more or less criminal negligence of a person I know, yet the health board used the Privacy Act and other laws to block all information applied for, while the patient in question did not have the ability or guts to take it further!
So much goes under the radar, it is not funny. And who pays for the costs? The tax payer, who reads such articles like the one in The Press, part of Fairfax Media, who also own and run Stuff.Co., and then thinks, wow, am I paying for all this???
Yes, the article should have raised more issues than just present a few swiftly arranged figures! Appalling modern day, laissez faire, lazy journalism!
Just to add: I know it is a bit long an article, but it is quite interesting, revealing and full of valuable information about persons and stakeholders involved, as well giving a good historic overview of how things evolved in the UK.
Part 2 I find much more important as part 1, as in part 1 the writer largely reflects on the “social model”, how it came about, is being viewed now, and so forth.
It is terminology like “bio-psycho-social” aspects, and the use of such terminology in models favoured by welfare privatisers now, in the UK and NZ, that gives real reasons to worry about where the journey is going!
A story regarding Lesley Longstone which is only now surfacing following her sacking/resignation.
Apparently Longstone was a very caring and compassionate person. A few weeks before she exited she was walking out of a supermarket in Wellington. She saw an old lady struggling to get her shopping into a car. Longstone walked over and asked the old lady “can you manage love?”
The old lady gave Longstone a mouth full followed by the finger. As she was climbing into the car the old lady muttered “you applied for the job, you came half way round the world for the job, with Hekia in place, you can have it”.
I wont comment on Longstones character, I don’t know her or have any experience of her, so in my book she remains innocent of charges, accusations, conjecture etc, What I do have experience of is the “MBA” class of corporate mercenaries, hired guns making nasty policies hit the road running regardless of human impact. There is a whole international class of them, hired guns with a method but no excuse, bar the threadbare shibboleths of their masters ideology. Lesley appears to be one of them.
just idling along https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/542100_10151150888055957_863074373_n.jpg
at least The Standard’s not usually a matinee showing for children, which reminds me, eyed a copy of Lies at 4 Square…now the Rogue has a long-held intuition (that’s all it is mind) about this matter, having The Dark Half that is fading gently away, and observed and studied sociopathy and psychopathy in detail, yet i am not and never will be a juror…Oh Well, Time Will Tell, very sad outcomes for dysfunctional families.
Now regarding Health Politics, I am encouraging my good friend who is primary health care nurse to come out of the bushes (Woodwork,Woodworm,Wormwood or Worm-tongue?) and share her learnings which are to the left, for example, the damage that MARGERINE is doing to peoples circulatory systems and the outcomes when body defenses act to dislodge the buildup of product not far removed from plastic (common knowledge amongst the medical profession apparently), yet it’s Budget. I have said it before and I’ll say it again BIG FAT LIES http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13519011-big-fat-lies
Joe Bennett writes well and irreverently in Todays Dominion and other The Press
(gypsy or Tiger?)
from the desert, by 2016, the Populations of Palestinians and Jewish people in Israel and the Occupied territories will be similar in number and by 2020 Palestinians will be the numerical majority
(may need another few tents)
HBToday: Intoxication Intoxication Intoxication with some UV Radiation slapped in for the price.
(House prices are going to continue to climb in ak; Excellent writing and insight ak)
RNZ were repeating an article about the lack of Central and Local Govt wiil towards the educational advancement of our Pacifica Citizens (consider, the decline of manufacturing, without stereo-typing) underemployment and diet.
Any chance you can set up an autoplay thing which takes you through each track one at a time in an ongoing loop? And maybe provide an email address on your website that people (and aliens) can contact you on…
If I knew how to do any of that, I would.
I obviously have trouble enough with the music, let alone getting the website how I want it.
I’ll ask a friend.
My thinking is name the ‘band’ al1en.org and just put a buy now/donate button on the site.
Direct from source, no middle men, no expenses, 100% for the cause.
Do have a look at it though ‘cos it is really simple to use and does a whole lot of stuff, in the long run a lot simpler than doing a whole lot of simple things yourself if you know what I mean. Also costs nothing except (I think) 15% if you’re selling stuff.
I’ve used soundcloud to post up demos before, and I like the new interface, but I think I’ll stick with my own site for now.
I tried to get funding from NZonair for the faeces record, sort a fuck off to Key’s constituency chairman complaining about the inside child poverty documentary that inspired me to start this project, but found that unless you’ve had existing success, a large fan base, or live following, there’s not much chance of it happening, save winning a monthly talent show at http://www.theaudience.co.nz/ for a 6k grant.
I’ll put it up if people keep voting for it. See if they’ve got the balls if it won.
Use the system to beat the system, or at least make it uncomfortable.
NZonair funding is a strange beast, aloof, nepotistic and arcane. At some point most people have to decide whether the time and energy spent navigating the system, kissing the appropriate arses, and jumping through the requisite hoops might be better spent writing recording and performing for audiences of actual people.
Sooo, all the international stock exchanges are in a good mood again today, the “fiscal cliff” has been averted, that is the silly story going around the news tickers. What a load of bollocks! So the Democrats and Republicans in the US agree to a 2 month postponement for resolving and addressing the expenditure issues, and tax increases will only be hitting those over 400 k per annum, or about that.
Yes, what a bloody “achievement”, but nothing has been resolved or achieved. The quantitative easing will need to continue, burdens will be shifted around, ultimately to be paid by the bulk of middle class and certainly the poor, and no solution is there, to get more balance in international trade, to get rid of deficits that have accrued, and to create a desperately new economic order for the whole globe, to steer away from neo capitalist agendas playing off populations between nations, between societies within nations (classes), and to keep wasting energy, that took tens to hundreds of millions of years to be created.
What about climate change issues, are we getting any solution there?
No, nada, zilch, nichts, rien, rien ne va plus, indeed, and we get the shit mainstream media give us snippets of infotainment distraction about what is supposedly going on in the world. Where is the NZ media even reporting about details about all this?
I am afraid, the NZ media is in the process of being dissolved and got rid off, as the private corporate remnants of controlling commercial media outlets have just signed the last deal, to advertise for the status quo, to uphold our dear Hawaiian Leader Maximus Incomprehensiblus, mumbling from “leader” to “leader” across the political ditches, that are crossed by going surfing and BBQing together at some stage, to mend the society, and to run the real dictatorship NZ has become. Thank you John and David (who?), we know what goes on down under.
Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came from Education Minister Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has been under pressure from rising costs. Down on the farm, this has been hitting hard. But there was more positive news this week, first from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where prices rose, and then from a report ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normalcolumn of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
The electorate has high expectations of the new government. The question is: can it deliver? Some might say the signs are not promising. Protestors are already marching in the streets. The new Prime Minister has had little experience of managing very diverse politicians in coalition. The economy he ...
Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to …. Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand! Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations. • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme – that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate changeDaily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenanceBeehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
Open access notables From this week's government/NGO section, longitudinal data is gold and Leisorowitz, Maibachi et al. continue to mine ore from the US public with Climate Change in the American Mind: Politics & Policy, Fall 2023: Drawing on a representative sample of the U.S. adult population, the authors describe how registered ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
David Farrar writes – 1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR:PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some of the economic issues confronting New Zealand. It may take time for some new ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the changes that ...
TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
Labour’s immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford is calling on the Government to follow the example of Australia and help New Zealanders’ close family members stuck in Gaza to escape and take shelter here. ...
The Green Party is urging the Government to recognise its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi so our tamariki and mokopuna can grow up in an Aotearoa where their language is celebrated, their health is prioritised, and their whenua is protected. ...
By scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...
Figures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...
Community organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...
"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
NZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...
Te Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...
The New Zealand Labour Party is urgently calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to put a halt to the appalling attacks and violence, so that a journey to a lasting peace can begin, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids. The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber. I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
New Zealand will need to spend billions on projects cutting emissions in other countries to make up for what the Climate Change Commission says was a late start to cutting greenhouse gases at home. ...
With the new government pledging to scrap the Māori Health Authority, board member Dr Mataroria Lyndon tells Ronan Payinda that while the exact path forward may not yet be known, there’s no stopping the fight for Māori health equity. Dr Mataroria Lyndon (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato) is ...
National’s ban on phones in schools is poorly researched, won’t work and misses the real problem, argues high-schooler Caspar Levack. On a typical weekday, I wake up, hurriedly get ready, and rush off to school, barely making it there in time. At this point, because I haven’t had the chance ...
A top transport expert lays out some new ideas to fix the capital’s transport troubles. Let’s Get Wellington Moving is dead. The three-headed transport monster, run equally by Waka Kotahi, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council, but somehow less effective than any of them individually, is set to ...
An animal rights group will ask the Commerce Commission to investigate claims chicken meat producers are misleading consumers The post Misleading packaging claims headed to ComCom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Analysis: With the phase-out of fossil fuels on the negotiating table at the COP28 climate negotiations, could producing nations be persuaded to sign up? After all the stakes are stratospheric, and the science crystal clear. Humanity must sharply cut fossil fuels emissions to forestall catastrophic climate change. The rewards ...
Wellington mayor Tory Whanau’s admission that she has a drinking problem is another new headline for a not-so-new issue. The New Zealand Health Survey says that 4 in 5 Kiwi adults have had a drink in the past year, and 1 in 5 have a hazardous drinking pattern. So ...
Opinion: People don’t choose to get diabetes, yet there is a perception that they do, that their condition is a ‘lifestyle disease’, that it’s all their own fault, purely a consequence of eating an unhealthy diet , of not getting enough exercise. Diabetes stigma is alive, and unfortunately, kicking where ...
Luxon's plan for Govt's first 100 days in office looks more like a work programme set out by a chief executive The post PM can’t just dismantle Labour policies appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Standing on the edge of Suzie Bates Oval in Dunedin, Diana Puketapu-Lyndon clutches a black cap emblazoned with a golden fern and the number 300. She’s thrilled that her first job as chair of New Zealand Cricket is to present White Ferns legend Suzie Bates with the cap commemorating ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Peterie, Research Fellow, University of Sydney After a week of non-stop headlines, the government’s preventative detention legislation is being debated in the lower house, just in time for the end of the sitting year. It’s likely to pass on Thursday. The ...
Mitchell has set his expectations of police commissioner Andrew Coster, laying out the government's direction and priorities. Mitchell has repeatedly refused to declare his confidence in Coster. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government has promised extra funding for health and to extend its top-up of the GST, in exchange for the states undertaking more of the heavy lifting on disability to help curb the National ...
Auckland’s councillors have supported Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposal for a ten-year budget to go through to public consultation, despite significant backlash to leasing out port land and putting airport shares into a trust. Brown’s wide-reaching proposal will receive feedback from Aucklanders from February to March next year to see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leena Adel, PhD Candidate, Political Science and International Relations, Curtin University In recent days, three Israeli-linked commercial vessels were targeted by ballistic missiles and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, marking a clear escalation in maritime attacks in the critical Bab el ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Shutterstock The national accounts released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show economic growth slid to a measly 0.2% in the last quarter. That’s well down from a low 0.4% in ...
Hipkins used his first speech of the 54th Parliament to accuse the new government of "trashing" NZ's reputation, while Luxon called him an "arsonist". ...
Public Service Minister Nicola Willis is softening her comments to RNZ suggesting the government would prevent bonuses being negotiated for te reo Māori proficiency. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick O’Connor, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide Shutterstock Australians woke up this morning to discover they had a nature repair market, after the legislation passed late last night. Except it won’t be called a market, after amendments by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lily Hospers, PhD Candidate, University of Sydney Shutterstock Australia is braced for a hot, dry summer. El Nino is back, and this year it will occur alongside an Indian Ocean dipole, a climate pattern which will further amplify this hot ...
Dame Cindy Kiro's Speech from the Throne marks the State Opening of Parliament, an event of pomp and ceremony captured here by RNZ's visual journalists. ...
New Zealand First is asking new Speaker Gerry Brownlee to lay down the letter of the law, after Te Pāti Māori varied the ways they swore in at Parliament. ...
The changing media habits of young New Zealanders means our longest running kids’ show is undergoing its biggest change in years. Tara Ward finds out more.When What Now returns in 2024, things may look a little different. Young viewers will still enjoy a fun hour-long episode of gunge and ...
Christopher Luxon has hit back at the opposition during his first speech in the House as prime minister, comparing Chris Hipkins to an “arsonist” who set fire to his party. According to the new PM, Hipkins should have quit after the election result but was instead “loitering around” at the ...
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has taken aim at the new government during a debate to respond to this morning’s speech from the throne. Addressing the 123 MPs of the 54th parliament for the first time, Chris Hipkins said all he had heard from the government was a “plan to take ...
'E kore e hekeheke he kākano rangatira' - 'A noble heritage will never perish'. Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission proudly announces the appointment of Julia Amua Whaipooti (Ngāti Porou) as Tatau-Urutahi|shared leader. Julia brings ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael J. I. Brown, Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder in the Western Australian desert.CSIRO Supermassive black holes reside in some of the biggest galaxies in the universe. They tend to be billions of times ...
Books editor Claire Mabey has scoured the local publishing landscape to find what’s coming in the first half of next year.If you thought 2023 was a ripper of a year for books (it was) then get a load of what 2024 has tucked up its futuristic sounding sleeve. Here’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Baker, Associate Professor in Human Geography, University of Auckland It was scarcely mentioned during the election campaign, but we will undoubtedly be hearing more about “social investment”. As the National Party’s election platform stated, it will be the “organising framework” for ...
The Greens have responded to this morning’s speech from the throne with a simple message to their followers: “Make this a one-term government”. The formalities at parliament today included the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, laying out the priorities of the incoming government via a lengthy speech provided by the prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle ShutterstockWhy do some farts smell and some don’t, and some feel hot? – Kian, age 6, from Maleny in Queensland Hi Kian, thanks for your interesting ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to remove all price controls from carbon credits following today’s auction failing to clear the minimum reserve price for the fourth quarter in a row. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Arrow, Professor of History, Macquarie University Kane Skennar/Binge The inner workings of magazines, television stations and newspapers have been rich fodder for film and television for decades. From All the President’s Men (1976) to Frontline (1994–7), Paper Giants: The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A federal Resolve poll for Nine newspapers, conducted November 29 to December 3 from a sample of 1,605, gave Labor 35% of ...
Asia Pacific AML – Written By Kerry Grass* Since 2010, I Have Been Operating As An Anti-money Laundering Consultant. In This Role, I Enjoy Reporting On The Principles Of Anti-corruption And Anti-bribery Laws. Being A Citizen Of New Zealand, I Follow ...
A devotee of the squeaky cheese investigates why his favourite brand has started speckling its halloumi with a dried herb.Halloumi is one of the purest joys in this world. It takes one of the best foods, cheese, and makes it just that little bit better by paradoxically allowing it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivan Smirnov, Research Fellow, University of Technology Sydney Shutterstock We’re now sadly used to seeing toxic exchanges play out on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and TikTok. But Wikipedia is a reference work. How heated can ...
Commenting on the incoming Government exploring plans to scrap Māori language bonuses for public servants , Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said: “If a role requires proficiency in te Reo Māori, then of course fluent speakers should ...
Addressing all MPs of the 54th parliament, the speech from the throne delivered by Dame Cindy Kiro, the governor-general, noted that New Zealanders had “voted for change” on October 14. “The government enjoys the confidence of a clear majority of members in the 123-seat House of Representatives, but it is ...
The governor-general Dame Cindy Kiro is about to deliver the official speech from the throne at this morning’s state opening of parliament. Written by the incoming government, the speech lays out priorities and policies for the term ahead. As noted by Luke Malpass in The Post this morning, as the ...
The new Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden must be upfront with the public, say the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions. NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff said yesterday’s Newstalk ZB interview with Minister van Velden contained false ...
Danny Rood challenges the arguments in favour of allowing offshore oil and gas exploration in Aotearoa. In the National and Act coalition agreement, a quick CTRL + F for “climate” will give you zero results. Not a jot. The National and NZ First agreement gives just one:Ensure that climate ...
The pomp and ceremony continues at parliament today, with the official state opening of parliament. It includes the ceremonial speech from the throne, written by the government and delivered by the governor-general, along with the first debate of the 54th parliament. You can tune into the live stream below: ...
The PSA is deeply disappointed by the threat from new Public Services Minister Nicola Willis to remove allowances recognising competency in Te Reo across the public sector. "We will resist any backtracking on the progress we have made in recognising ...
Teachers will resist the new Government’s threat to remove remove allowances that recognise teachers with skills and specialist knowledge of te reo and Māori tikanga, their union NZEI Te Riu Roa says. Under their collective agreements, teachers teaching ...
Newly released Ministry of Transport data shows the emissions of newly registered cars hit a record low in November as Kiwis flocked to buy hybrids and EVs, says Better New Zealand Trust Chairperson Kathryn Trounson. The average emissions of light passenger ...
A shortage of neurologists is leaving West Coasters with multiple sclerosis waiting months for a newly funded drug that can stop the debilitating disease in its tracks. Pharmac agreed in September to fund ocrelizumab, branded as Ocrevus, for people with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), giving hope to hundreds ...
Laura Gemmell, chief executive of Eco Choice Aotearoa, writes: The organisers of COP28 (the Conference of the Parties) have billed it as the most inclusive yet; and there’s certainly a huge number of countries represented and a technicolor of cultural dress amid the boring suits. But getting an invite, and ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is calling a national hui, for Te Iwi Maaori, next year to unify the nation and ensure all voices are heard when holding the new Coalition Government to account. Kiingi Tuheitia received a very clear message ...
Struggling with the prospect of new titles for everything? Here to help. Among the early tasks of the new, three-handled broom of government is giving primacy to English names – it’s all laid out in the agreement between NZ First and National under the heading “Strengthening Democracy and Freedoms”.The ...
The previous government's plan for a second harbour crossing in Auckland does not have the support of the transport agencies tasked with taking on the project. ...
New research released this morning via the Science Media Centre and reported by RNZ this morning, shows that most New Zealanders aged 16-29 support the law to progressively ban smoking. As we know, the new coalition government plans to repeal changes to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act that would ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tom Carruthers, Co-president, Australian Science Communicators, and Adjunct Lecturer, Science Communication, The University of Western Australia Pixabay / Pexels, CC BY A stir went through the Australian science communication community last week, caused by an article with the headline Science ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olivera Simic, Associate Professor, Griffith University School cantina damages in Ivanivka village, Chernihiv region, Ukraine.”Anastasiia Chupis, Author provided In a village in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, activists documenting evidence of potential war crimes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice, The University of Melbourne National Cabinet meets today to discuss three big issues in Commonwealth-state financial relations: GST allocation, National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gill Armstrong, Researcher in architecture and urban planning, Climateworks Centre ronstik, Shutterstock Millions of homes were built before Australia introduced housing energy efficiency standards in 2003. They’re leaky. Gaps around windows, doors and between building materials allow air to move ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Georgiou, Senior Lecturer in Science Education, University of Wollongong Ask anyone about how Australian students are doing in school and they will likely tell you our results are abysmal and, more importantly, getting progressively worse. This narrative has been reinforced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter McPhee, Emeritus professor, The University of Melbourne The release of Napoleon unleashed a torrent of objections to historical errors in the movie. Social media platforms were inundated with outrage – particularly from military historians – objecting from everything from details ...
Chris Hipkins says the new government has an “anti-Māori bias” and thinks it was totally acceptable for those concerned to march in the streets yesterday. Led by Te Pāti Māori, thousands protested the reopening of parliament yesterday across the country, taking aim at the government’s plans to, among other things, ...
The Governor General will deliver the speech today, pressing play on a hectic three weeks of work for MPs, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The speech from the throne ...
The government will find out at noon today whether it has reaped about $1 billion from selling carbon credits, or earned nothing and will have to wait until next year. ...
Dumb New Zealand
NewstalkZB, Wednesday January 2, 2013, 6:25 a.m.
It’s quiz time on NewstalkZB….
TIM DOWER: If you were suffering from consumption, would you (a) have eaten too much Christmas pudding, or (b) would it be something else?
CALLER: [long pause] Consumption? [long, long pause] Ahhhhhhmmm, I’m gonna have to go with (a) eaten too much Christmas pudding.
DOWER: No, but I’ll give you another try. The answer iiiiiiiiis?…..
CALLER: The other one.
DOWER: Yes. Well done! I’ll get your details so we can send you your prize; stay on the line, will you?
INTERESTING FACT: One of NewstalkZB’s mottoes is “Tune Your Mind.”
I always suspected….
Newstalk ZB have added Cameron Slater to their list of talkback hosts. Radio Live have sacked Keith Stewart, one of the few leftwing radio hosts. He had a very good following apparently so dont understand why they got rid of him. There are now very few lefties on the radio, seems to be a pattern here.
I had the misfortune to tune in when Cameron Slater was on. He was doing the intro and said if anyone had any unwanted Christmas presents? Perhaps like kittens? He’s just a one man wrecking crew. I can understand why his style may appeal to his sycophants, but why on earth would NewstalkZB put him on the radio?
Marty:
“I can understand why his style may appeal to his sycophants, but why on earth would NewstalkZB put him on the radio?”
Maybe many of their listeners are “sycophants”?
Are you trying to say NewstalkZB is too classy for Cameron Slater?
Have you ever listened to Leighton “Ummmm, Ahhhhhhh, Errrrr, Ahhhhmmmm” Smith, Larry “Lackwit” Williams, Tony “Boot Boy” Veitch, Kerre Woodham, Bruce Russell or Gary Denver?
Please tell us how Cameron Slater is in any way worse or more extreme than any of those hosts?
I’m looking forward to the Open Debate that will be at the centre on the Leadership process in February. The turn out in 2011 was great. The Town Halls in Auckland and Wellington will be needed to accommodate the crowds.
It will be a great chance to convert supporters into Financial Members!
Do you think that there is the numbers in caucus willing to trigger that ‘debate’ in February???…
At the conference in November ’11 the majority of the membership’s delegates voted
For: an open and robust debate that gives them an insight into the policy and leadership capabilities and styles of the contenders.
Against: back-office deals and arm twisting to force another pyric 100% endorsement of a leader and a choking of membership power.
KTo achieve the Open Debate you are looking forward to, means a lot of work needs to be done before hand. You can bet that the ABC faction are not sitting on their hands. I imagine that they will be flat out over the holiday period lobbying Labour MPs, to vote against any Open Debate. (using the promise of promotion and the threat of demotion to get their way). KT to achieve what you seek, the membership need to lobby their local Labour MP even harder. You need to match the threat of demotion with the counter threat of withdrawal of branch electoral support if the wishes of the membership are ignored.
John Keys “rent boy” Cam Slater wants to fuck Bain [badly] using a corrupt District Court Judge.
NZ received banana republic status some time back, but it seems these days the place is being taken to the cleaners, to what end!
Again the LF team, provide a decent write up, this and the corrupted judiciary series which can be linked from the main page,
Blubber-boy scores a real own goal there doesn’t He, going mainstream with ‘the sewer’ certainly hasn’t stopped the utter s**t flowing from the fat one,
If Bain was wearing His moms glasses on the Sunday befor the murder of the family that would tend to suggest,(to anyone with half a brain), that His own glasses were already lost to His use and were then likely to have been where they,(the glasses), were later found which doesn’t suit the prosecution’s version of events at all….
Because it’s simply impossible to criticise Cameron Slater without resorting to cheap homophobic/anti-sex-worker insults. 🙄
+ 1 I’m sick of it.
QOT, I’ll assume (benefit of doubt) you bothered to read the article linked, and will have realised that the title was a and paste!
Or perhaps you simply chimed in having seen the title in my post, and could not resist the urge to protest the injustice of wording while adding nothing of anything to the discussion about the injustice to David Bain being ratcheted up in the press!
You managed to sucker Marty into the same hollow space too, well done Marty!
oh ffs.
So because homophobic/anti-sex-worker insults were used off site, that makes their inclusion in the dialogue on or offsite okay?
QoT wasn’t saying YOU originated it. Just that there is no place in it to criticise WO.
WO belittles himself enough with no effort needed from anyone else, imo.
Thanks, McFliper. muzza, maybe in future you’d like to include context if it so irks you for people to read the words you choose to use in comments and remark on their general shittiness.
McFlock – No it just means I cut and pasted the orignal text. People getting caught up in language is missing the main points, which illustrates that digital communication can be problematic. Good thing you’re able to read though QoTs intentions though!
QoT – Or perhaps look into the articles context yourself, and comment on the subject not the wording of the title. Seems the irk , is with you!
Marty – Sorry bro, was no ill intended, I ,incorrectly tied your reponse to QoTs lack of value add to the serious injustice being done to David Bane, perpetuated by the establishment. Personally I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article, but in this instance knowing that there is a vehicle which is speaking out against what is going on to David Bane is the bigger message here, IMO.
Oh, sorry, I forgot the rules.
We should accept othering, marginalisation and hate speech simply because they’re not the “main point”, and are therefore unimportant.
Let us know when it’s okay to start caring about how we treat each other on a daily basis, will you?
Your presumptions are incorrect, and I’m not going to indulge them.
If you would like to offer something on the David Bane situation go ahead, thats what I linked to. Not interested debating the rights or wrongs of the language used, further than I have already.
Yeah. You got his name wrong.
And Guest was a shitty city councilor, too.
But there’s still no reason for anyone to use hate speech.
muzza, my intrepretation of QoTViper’s comment was based on
“Because it’s simply impossible to criticise Cameron Slater without resorting to cheap homophobic/anti-sex-worker insults. :roll:”
there is not much about bain in there.
Quite Marty, which, as pointed out does not actually address the content of the link.
Bain it is McFlock, cheers.
Shitty councilor, corrupt lawyer, yet no new years *honours* for him. Must have not been important enough part of the cover ups/corruption to rate a mention.
Perhaps Guest will extend himself with the Bain *opportunity*, and score himself some *redemptiom* via next years list!
So we’re just supposed to *ignore* other injustices and hate speech until *you* feel they’re *important* enough to address.
Do you *really* think that mediocre *honours* for a provincial *nonentity* are more important than hate speech?
Do what you like McFlock, if language/words in titles or main text detracts from the core message then perhaps thats something which the LF writers might want to consider, ask them, see what you get as a response!
I’ve given my position on it, if you can’t read, or don’t like the position, move on!
Poor wording, possibly, offensive to some, always, hate speech, its not!
Actually, you didn’t give your position on it. You said it was a cut&paste, reckoned that the debate was on the bain thing, took umbrage when called on the fact that this means we should accept othering language because other things are more important, and decided that Guest getting a gong was more important to discuss than othering language. You’ve only just mentioned that you don’t think that using “rent boy” to denigrate someone is hate speech. You mentioned no basis for that position, though.
Unimpressive.
3.22pm – Mine to Marty Mars
“Personally I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article, but in this instance knowing that there is a vehicle which is speaking out against what is going on to David Bane is the bigger message here, IMO ”
Actually I gave it above hours ago, and insinuated no such instruction to anyone on what should or should not bother them. Your presumptions, interpretations and explanations are exceptionally poor today.
Should have used the /sarc tag about Guest, figured you might pick that up, but given the exceptionally poor interpretaions today, clearly I should have used it!
Language is important, thats not been contended, just don’t be sidetracked so readily!
Even by your standards McFlock, yes, yes it is!
lol
Fair call, I missed the comment explicitly directed at someone else.
But while you issued “no instructions”, you definitely criticised others for “missing the main point” and refused to countenance debate in any subject are you disapproved of.
And frankly, most of the time when I think you’re in the realm of absurdity, you turn out to be stone cold serious. So you might want to tag all your statements for the assistance of people who are on planet earth.
I think QoT and McF are taking it up with you, Muzza. Last I knew there was no rule that you had to link to a headline rather than using your own words or linking to text within the article.
OMG,FFS, surprise surprise Muzza…seems you are up against the same old commissariat tag team. I chose the route to Purgatory because down here our sins are not selective, they are in entirety. We all have sins, even the most bald faced PC blog block warts. There was a holy gent wandering by here talking about the right to cast stones….
Actually, this is the first time QoT and I have been on the same side in a while.
But language is important. There’s really no need for collatoral damage when talking about whaleoil. He’s enough of a jerk already.
Yeah no worries on missing it, easily done.
Dude whats with the absolutes, I don’t believe I criticised anyone, it was only about not being deflected away from the primary subject of the link, which is why I did not want to enter into debate around wording, its not why I had posted the link.
If you want to start a convo about the wording, cool, ill engage, but didn’t fancy it as a spin off of the Bain linked comment, otherwise I would have been getting readily side-tracked (as if ive not been now), which would have been ironic & hypocritical,, given thats what I have been asking others to be cautious of.
Written digital comms, very easy to interperet incorrectly from the intent.
So anyway, David Bain eh!
Well, if you seriously believe you didn’t come across as criticising anyone, you need to take a class in communication. Actually you probably should, anyway.
And fuck David Bain. As if I thought you cared about that possible injustice any more than any other incident involving death that you bring up here as a hobby.
Irony is a go to play for you innit!
Followed by (some inward prejudice perhaps towards DB, or is it general anger, or are you out of smokes), and further incorrect presumptions, and a whiff of accusation, my my McFlock, aren’t we all growns up!
keep stroking that ego, muzz. And avoid making eye contact with yourself in the mirror.
Dunedin’s a small town, mate. Some of us are sick to death of conceited little jerkoffs like you pretending to give a damn.
Thing is McFlock, I very much give a damn, but you don’t know me, so you don’t/can’t know that, yet you continue to make incorrect , now abusive assumptions!
For the record, every single act of injustice no matter the scale, or where it happens, not just in NZ, but especially in NZ, has an impact, even to those who are not in the immediate vacinity, or directly affected. Every current global event has an impact on us here in NZ, in some way shape or form.
The negative consequences of events, touches everyone who gives a shit to pay attention, and even those who don’t give a shit, and think that there is no impact to their own life.
Any act of violence, hurt, abuse, neglect, war, famine, poverty, inequality, be it from politicans, bankers, police,, military/intelligence, foreign entities, local entities or the general public, likely as a result of actions/inactions or perpetrated by the afformentioned, does us all damage, it chips away at the collective well being, Attempts to further distort history to hide lies, amplifies the damage, and commits all of us to be living inside of, and with the results, and *solutions* of the lies.
I understand that, do you!
And yet marginalising people on the basis of sexual orientation is fine. Even though it perpetuates inequality, which is apparently one of the things you oppose.
Your principles seem somewhat precisely targeted.
“Any act of violence, hurt, abuse, neglect, war, famine, poverty, inequality, be it from politicans, bankers, police,, military/intelligence, foreign entities, local entities or the general public, likely as a result of actions/inactions or perpetrated by the afformentioned, does us all damage, it chips away at the collective well being”
Repeating homophobic slurs surely falls within this muzza.
You know it’s actually ok to now and then just say “oops, I shouldn’t have said that, sorry”.
snap
Felix – Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that, much as some of you are trying hard to conjure up!.
The link goes to the same place regardless, where you can read the original title and article text, stop picking over semantics with yourself!
Trying, like McFlock and QoT to make some (very weak) case against me for propagating, *hate speech* (McFlock, while being abusive all at the same time), and looking for (suggesting) an apology, seems the brigade might have gotten to you lot eh!
@ McFlock – Take it up with LF bro, see what they say, perhaps my cut & paste violates copyright!
The difference you don’t seem to get is that my “abuse” in this thread is directed solely at you as an individual, and I usually try to avoid belittling entire groups of other people simply to point out that you are a shallow fool who has not the sense to look at their own language.
Whereas you, on the other hand, managed to marginalise homosexuals and sex workers by not recognising the hate speech for what it was. And then saying that it wasn’t the “main point” and so you will make no effort to own it or moderate it in any way, even though it was contained in a link that *you* posted here.
I get it alright McFlock ,you are intentionally being abusive, thats your language, your words, your choice!
Again, and for the final time, its not my words or my language, (but yes I posted it) I had no inclination or intent to *own or moderate it*!
Take it up with LF if you’re serious about what you’re saying, post the email you send to LF, and any reply you might get back from them on here!
so you made the links and posted the comment, but I should take it up with someone else for you bringing their trash here because the content reproduced here is not your responsibility and you have no inclination to take it.
Been taking lessons from dunnokeyo, have you?
Exactly McF.
He’s dumped a rusty fridge on our lawn and is trying to blame Fisher and Paykel.
“Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that”
Oh I see, it’s not that you’re into spreading bigotry, it’s just that sometimes it’s less effort than not spreading bigotry.
Felix/McFlock/QoT – The link goes to the same LF article, regardless of the words used to create the link in the post here on TS. The LF article will still have language which you are protesting use of, so yes if you’re genuine, then you would take it up with the LF site McFlock/Felix/QoT. its rather simple! – I look foward to reading your protest email posts to LF, and any response you get!
By your logic I am propagating/repeating *hate speech/homophobic slurs* on *our lawn* (as if I am somehow outside of the *our*, and it belongs to yourself, McFlock. QoT et al?) regardless of linking to the article using the original text, or edited text, it MUST amount to exactly the same propagation, by such logic…..
Which means that your positions, (other than disgracefully trying to prove intent and/or slur me of bigotry/ homophobic hatred etc) MUST be, that people can’t/shouldn’t, etc link to articles, or in this instance, quote link articles, in case someone takes offence at any point in the linking chain! – Yeah, nah!
1. Where did I exclude you from “our”? Be specific. Show me or apologise please.
2. You dumped it, you made a decision to do that, so take responsibility for it.
1: LOL Felix, youre reaching, and attempting to distract!
2: Take responsibility for your own logic, or contest my contention of it, see where it leads you!
You accused me of excluding you from something with a statement I made.
Show the statement.
It had a ?, which is not an absolute Felix, its a variable!
Stop running around in circles, contest your logic or STFU!
Ah, I see. You’re a fuckwit? with comprehension problems.
Good on you Felix, you can’t or won’t defend the logic (which actually leads to the root issue here), and are seemingly ok to go around in circles, deflect/avoid etc, which you are entitled to do!
But, in case you missed it/couldn’t understand/grasp it, and yourself/McFlock/QoT feel like adressing it, (even in your own head is ok, if you’re not wanting to write it) here is again….(new emphasis, for your assistance, para below, line 4/5) – Try to not get confused/hung up by the *own* red herring again, you seemed to be confused by it the first time, recall the use of ?
Fin!
The problem you’re having is the word “must” (or MUST, to put it in your terms).
It’s hilarious (by which I mean farking sad) that you think you’re using logic.
So dispute it then Felix, or keep avoiding it, as you like!
I’m not, I have questioned others, and still watching (you currently) avoid the line of questioning, why can’t you answer it Felix, instead of coming back with further deflections?
Pretty simple stuff , which you continue to avoid, why?
You’re making the claim, back it up yourself.
You’re claiming that what I said can only possibly mean one thing. That’s what “must” (sorry, MUST) means in the context you used it.
It’s up to you to show that’s the case. Using, you know, logic, which would look something like ‘it must mean this because etc’. All you’ve done so far is make an assertion which no-one is obliged to take as read.
Once you’ve had a go at that and failed (we can all see what I’ve written and it isn’t what you say it is, idiot) then we’ll get onto the other stuff you’ve accused me of, such as “trying to prove intent” which, again, is something you just pulled out of your arse.
In fact, QoT and McFlock made the original allegations about propagation, which was further concured with by your word, so the onus lies with you (QoT/McFlock), just like the irk, lies with QoT, to prove my intent was to propagate *hate speech, and homophobia*. Making such serious false claims against someone is out of order, but not out of character based on your comments here.
Telling me I’m making the claim and to back it up, serves to show how far wrong you have got this one.
The rest of what you write is simply more deflecting garbage.
Come out and openly accuse me of this hate speech/homophobia based propagation, if thats what this is really about, and we will take it from there!
No, you’re making claims about what I said.
I take great personal offense at being told that I’ve said things I haven’t said and I’d like you to show me where I said these things or apologise.
What’s unreasonable about that? If I really have been “trying to prove intent” then you’ll be able to show where.
If I really did say something that must mean I think that “people can’t/shouldn’t, etc link to articles”, then you’ll be able to show where.
Get it, dick? So far you’ve shown nothing of the sort, because I didn’t say either of those things. If I had, you’d have been able to show where.
Any reason you think should be able to make up these lies about me and not apologise, my quite stupid but quite wriggly little friend?
(ps everything I’ve accused you of, you’ve admitted to already so you can drop that particular line of bullshit, thanks)
(Semi) clever (thinly veiled) words (my bold, your italic emphasis), which I’m sure you will have an explanation for. No doubt it was just an accusatory enquiry on your part, following your agreement with McFlock!
I don’t see which part of that you’re disputing, muzza.
How about you break down the intention of your words Felix – 3 January 2013 at 12:41 am, and explain them simply and clearly, step through it?
Then there’s reduced chance of misunderstandings!
What of it? It means exactly what it says – you chose to copypasta the bigoted headline because it was easier to repeat it than to re-word it.
Anything there you disagree with? If so, say which bit.
Not too interested in stating what your intent in the words is eh Felix!
In your words, I have posted a bigoted headlined link, so are are your words
intended to accuse me of propagating *hate speech & homophobia* or not?
Muzz, I neither know nor care what your intent was.
The fact is that you chose to spread it, unmitigated and unaltered.
If I were asked to guess what your intent was initially, I’d probably say that it simply didn’t occur to you, as you were distraced by the hard-on that leapt forth in your pants when you found someone who
could provide new, verifiable and unbiased information on the topicagreed with your opinions.Subsequent discussion has revealed that you don’t believe that some marginalising and bigoted statements are worthy of discussion, although trite “sarcastic” statements about regional nonentities are worthy of your effort. Which I believes indicates your priorities when it comes to othering language (depending on who is marginalised).
For future reference (if you want to avoid being called on the “collatoral damage” your comments cause) you can think about the language you are cut&pasting, and if some of the content is bigoted then try to put a little heads up in the link rather than cut&pasting drivel.
McFlock (same question as I asked Felix)- For the record, do you accuse me of propagating *hate speech and homophobia* – Yes/No
Felix – I’ll wait to hear your response to the same question, which I asked you above – Yes/No
Oh I’m sorry, you missed the “The fact is that you chose to spread it, unmitigated and unaltered.”
Is “rent-boy” not used to denigrate WO by likening him to a homosexual sex worker?
Did you spread/propagate it to this forum, even if you weren’t the original author?
Did you reproduce the headline in full?
Did you criticise the choice of language, even if the article might have raised some interesting points?
Or did you suggest that the choice of language was unimportant and should not be discussed, thus asking us to accept bigoted language without comment?
Just to be completely explicit, based on those questions being answered “yes, yes, yes, no, yes”, my answer to you is:
YES
McFlock – Good on you for providing an answer, even to questions which were not asked!
Next question to you:
Would editing the original title text, but linking to the same protested language/article, still constitute propagating *hate speech & homophobia* ? – Yes/No (just this question)
oh ffs.
This is why you should take a class. I’m not your fucking communications teacher.
Basically, bigoted language is like a fart. Try and keep it away from others. If you must share it with them, it’s only courtesy to apologise and open a window.
McFlock – You failed to anwser the question, try again please:
Would editing the original title text, but linking to the same protested language/article, still constitute propagating *hate speech & homophobia* ? – Yes/No (just this question)
Amazing.
In what universe could you possibly construe anything I’ve written to mean that I don’t think you’re spreading bigotry?
You’ve already openly admitted that you did, and you already gave your reason: you couldn’t be bothered not doing it.
If you’ve changed your mind about that and are offering some other reason, go right ahead and say so. It won’t help your case though.
I think it’s about time you answered my questions now muzza.
Because if interacting like a human being was a list of “yes/no” questions, a zx81 could pass the Turing Test.
This is going to be a list of 50-odd boolean questions, each becoming increasingly specific, and each becoming increasingly irrelevant to anything other than the language fail you started with. And you know what? I’m only human, too. So sooner or later I’ll be completely wrong, and lead you into another thread like this. I’m sure some people already think I was being a precious fuckwit. But then some people IRL think I’m a fuckwit, too. But on the flipside some people like me, and most of the people who think I’m a fuckwit are jerkoffs. So fuck them, is what I say. I also say “fuck” a lot IRL. filters out a lot of jerks.
How about you learn social interaction iteratively, like a normal human being?
It starts with consideration as to what people might read, as opposed to simply what you want to say.
Then answer the question!
I’ve admitted no such thing Felix, you’re making shit up twice in the same sentence! Maybe try something, like dropping the double negatives, they seem to lead you into false spaces!
As for the reason,thats not the full context though is it – What I said about cut, paste of the words was (which seems you have misinterpreted)
“Nah its just I don’t like editing other sites wordings, and didn’t fancy thinking something else up, nothing more to it than that”
You have yet to anwer one yet, so you think wrong!
McFlock – Lets just leave it at that, as there is no point in trying to pander to every possible offence which could be taken, which is what you are implying (and I’m never going to do), and given you wont answer my second question, Ill take the default as being, that you are in fact about censorship of language, and would have answered yes!
felix, muzz now chooses to only understand monosyllabic boolean responses to his/her interrogative statements.
Just fyi.
Muzz, it’s not “pandering to every possible offense”. It’s simply understanding the meanings of the words you use.
And I’m not saying you shouldn’t link to it, you moron. It’s not like nobody has ever linked to a tangential article but included a warning because the contents might be disturbing or offensive, even if there is an important message there.
Ever here of the “NSFW” (Not Safe for the Workplace) warning? Same sort of thing. So the long answer is “yes with an if”, short answer “no with a but”.
But then you’re obviously just focused on finding a reason to accuse me of censorship, when all I’ve done is suggest that you not be such an idiot and instead try to see through your obsessions and realise that your language might have unintended consequences. Like contributing to the bigotry of the societal system you love to hate.
McFlock – Anger (my impression from your musings here), swearing, personal abuse (towards me) and repetative sexual references about genetalia! (not just todays convo)
Speaking with someone should assist you with all of these as they will be linked, perhaps something to address before you attempt to take any future moralistic position in discussions around use of language, and so forth!
Thanks McF, I’ll try.
muzza, sure you did. It was in the sentence you just quoted now where you said you copied a bigoted headline because it was easier than writing a new one. The relevant words are “I didn’t fancy thinking something else up“.
To make it simpler for you (ffs this is amazing) we can break it into two questions:
Is the headline bigoted? [Yes/No]
Did you copypasta it? [Yes/No]
The answer to both of those being yes, you’ve admitted that you were spreading bigotry.
Muzz, that’s one of the advantages to swearing.
When someone associated the patois of the street with anger, yet is still happy to spread bigoted language, then they deserve abuse (much of which in the base lexicon revolves around reproductive systems). And equating the lingua valde francum with moral or intellectual debasement is remarkably shallow. So they flag themselves as a shallow stupid bigot deserving of more personal abuse.
And avoiding the previous comment by criticising your opponent is plain stupid.
As opposed to abusing your opponent while addressing their comments, which is what I like to do if my opponent is a case study of Dunning-Kruger. Prevents boredom.
Felix, yes copied the text, but said I found it bigoted, no I did not!
The error you make is thinking you get to choose the relevant words while trying to crystal ball my intent., The key is really the first part of the sentence, where I said I don’t like editing other sites wordings, the second part you favour, (while reading to right to left), is that I dont want to speak on LF’s behalf, by changing their words, when my intent was quoting verbatim!
Is it!
Felix, you have answered the first question on behalf of yourself only,. never put words,thoughts or your blatant prejudices in my mouth!
Edit : McFlock, stop promoting yourself bro its about as challenging to see through as an open window, and its not smart!
So when you said you didn’t personally approve of some of the language in the article, you weren’t talking about the homophobic slur in the headline?
That’d be odd.
So which is it, muzza? Either you disapprove of the language but repeated it out of laziness, which is what you’ve been saying all along and I’ve been agreeing with all along, or you’ve changed your mind and now approve of the language.
If you didn’t think it was bigoted, why did you consider changing the language of the headline before you decided that you “didn’t fancy thinking something else up”?
Or did your “I do not agree with the use of some of the language/wording in the article” not actually refer at all to the bit you reproduced here, the headline? If it did refer to the headline, was it bigoted or was there something else about it you disagreed with?
edit: fuckballs
another edit: shitsnap felix 🙂
Personally I was/am not bothered , as you are about the language in the header, I was more interested in the article details How you interpret it (let it affect you) is your personal choice, as it is mine. The LF team do some great investigative work IMO, but they also use alot of language etc, just like McFlock does, which could detract from the articles message, as I made note of. early in this thread. An example would be the word fuck-tard (used heavily by LF), its not really necessary, but I dont microscope it the way you might, and Ill leave the hand wringing to others, its not for me!
Really Felix, given the utter shit you and McFlock come up with, that is of no surprise to me!
You have asked the same thing twice, Im only answering it once, and stop making shit up Felix, its getting tedious!
Muzz, I refer you to my comment here and your reply.
So you didn’t actually give your position on the material you cut&paste. You don’t have a problem with the marginalising aspects of using “rent boy” in a derogatory way. You think the headline language is appropriate.
Fair enough. You don’t just spread bigoted language, you are a bigot. And if you think potty mouth is even close to hate speech, fuck you fucking stupid fucktard. You don’t even realise the difference between addressing an individual and marginalising entire sectors of society.
edit: you’re also a fucking coward for taking this long to actually address the concerns raised yesterday about the headline language. Tool.
Finally we get there.
I don’t think muzza has any idea what he’s just said, but it’s about the third time he’s admitted it and I’m sure anyone else can see it so I’m out.
On record as a bigot, a coward, and a liar, and too stupid to notice.
Felix /McFlock – Bigot, coward, liar, stupid – Quite some list of defaming/slanderous accusations there, but then, who would argue with the genius of you two intellectual giants, thought police, censorship committee, deciders/defenders of what is/is not abuse on these here boards, and hypocrites of note!
Fortunately, your musings are transparent and callow, the frothing desire to impose blatant shortcomings, and obvious lack of life experience which is not behind a screen, by demanding that others bend to your predisposed prejudicial mind set, leading to predetermined outcomes of your making to *satisfy* yourselves with.
When challenged about questionable motives,(including by the LF representative) and the desperately desired outcome becomes unattainable, abuse, demands, word twisting, (deliberate?) misinterpretations and misdirection become the go to plays, along with other *tools* which seek to subvert the obvious flaws in the attack methods assumption, and the weakness of the protagonists!
This is followed up with the claiming of *victory* for the *entire marginalised sectors of society*, against the perpetrator of the *hate speech & homophobia*. The closing off of the debate, having rigged a TKO decision, and exiting the arena, patting each other on the back with a hoodwink!
Pausing to imagine that the *pseudonym* they have rounded on to impose their views/will/prejudice, could possibly have direct experiences, preferences and affiliations with those same *marginalised sectors of society*, who they proclaim to be defending against such horrifying bigoted actions of the original post, is simply not possible, such amazing personality traits as predjudice/chips on shoulders/superiority complex, prevent it!
Only they get to decide who is marginalised, and who fits in the box to claim marginalised status, and thus *control* what can/can’t be published here and how, as it panders to their insecurites and bias. Muzza, cannot possibly fit in any box in the minds of these two childlike masterminds!
No, the discussion outcome has been (pre) determined, the profile of the handle named muzza, having been *outed*, assumed in iron clad certainty, as the anti, to their hero status!
LOL
whew you guys (non-gender specific) that was an enjoyable exchange – from the outside anyway.
muzza after all that the point still seems to be missed – anyone can be offended by an offensive headline and it is their right to be, as I was. Attacking slater with boring overused lazy hurtful descriptions is a pain because it is so unnecessary and there is too much collateral damage. IMO QoT’s inital post was true and I still agree with it. If you choose not to see that muzza then so be it but it is below the line imo to try and defend someone by attacking a disadvantaged group/s whether indirectly or carelessly.
and it could so easlily have been sorted but the discussion has illuminated so thanks.
Hi Marty, bigot muzza here
People can take offence at anything they like, I have never intented to argue that. I could take offence (if so wanted) on a daily basis, but it achieves very little.
What I do have a problem with, is people making accusations at me (of a very serious nature) based on the *taken offence,* when there was never any intent, (although they tried to *prove* it) and turn it into slanderous filth using disgraceful , inept tactics!
The point was taken Marty, I can tell you that, its the undirectional point taking, which I find hypocritical!
You did not do this, others have!
good for you muzza – I simply care about those who can’t defend themselves and get used tactically as derogatory labels to try and insult others. The people that do that are low and deserve a pile of crap on them. In terms of c&p – I think it is a responsibility of a poster to highlight any area that may adversely affect others especially in areas considered “hot’ – that is a courtesy – some people are courteous and others not. This is not necessary if the headline is in alignment with the views of the poster or they just don’t care. But the old “what?” “me?” innocence panto can’t really be used as a defence – although it is often the favorite one.
The links put up give me information on the interests of the poster and there is a linkage between what a poster puts up as a link and the views of that poster and that relates to the language used and alterations/deletions made, even the way it is presented.
anyway…
Bigot
You spread bigoted language and said that you had no problem with it,
coward
you took 2 days and however many comments to admit you had no problem with it,
liar
you said you’d addressed the point of the language in the headline when you hadn’t,
stupid
self evident.
Nice monologue, though. Always nice to see how the word appears through idiot-tinted glasses.
As an aside, I notice in my previous comment that I used the term “fucktard”. Upon reflection, it seems plausible that the word is a portmanteau of “fuckwit” and “retard”, in which case I might have offended people and loved ones of people with some types of intellectual disability. I withdraw the word and apologise for my carelessness, and will try to avoid that language in the future. Sorry.
muzz: it’s not that fucking difficult, do you see?
QoT – Or perhaps look into the articles context yourself, and comment on the subject not the wording of the title.
No, muzza, you don’t actually get to tell me what to do.
Did you forget what preceeded that suggestion…
Use of the words, like (yours) and perhaps (mine), are offers, or suggestions only, not demands (speaking for myself) hence you trying to play smart arse is hardly necessary!
I made a suggestion to improve your future interactions here. You directed what topics I can comment on. Tiny difference, also, you’re the one who kicked this off by uncritically repeating someone’s prejudiced language, so I’ll play as much of a smartass as I like.
Which made no actual comment about the subject matter, almost certainly having not read past the (imported) title of my post
No, thats how you have interpreted my suggestion of perhaps reading the article, and adding comment, what you do is entirely your choice obviously.
You have got to be kidding with that one – If you have an issue with the words, take it up with the LF writers, let me know what they say. I’m not interested in pandering to the needs of every/any bias on here, by editing link headers in case someone takes offence!
Cool, sound game plan. Not enough professionalism around these days!
sucker marty here – umm I wasn’t meaning you muzza
We would suggest that you brush up on your colloquial English as in its usage in AUSTRALIA, we are after all an AUSTRALIAN site.
The term “rent boy” has no exclusive use clause attached to it and its use in the article Muzza has referred to is certainly NOT homophobic. The colloquial/slang term “Rent-boy” is often used to describe various forms of male prostitution, Straight, POLITICAL, MEDIA, sporting and of course Homosexual. The word Prostitution and or any innuendo/inference attached to it, as with the use of the term “Rent-Boy”, has no prescribed exclusive use policy…..at least that was the case when we last checked.
The English language and the written word is ever evolving, that’s why we here in AUSTRALIA like to update/republish our national Dictionary (Macquarie) every so often, but of course KIWI’s can’t afford that sort of educational TOOL as always they rely on Australia to do the heavy lifting.
Whilst on the subject of TOOLS; YOUR allegation of “anti sex-worker insults” is in fact in our view highly SUSPECT as we certainly made no implicit reference whatsoever to sex workers in our piece, nor are we for that matter denigrating of anyone who is gainfully employed within that industry.
Our only reference to prostitution, by inference, was to the POLITICAL prostitute Cameron Slater and our very accurate observation that the “TRUTH” dedicates an inordinate amount of space to its personals classifieds…….the “tongue in cheek” inference being that it is obviously not a credible publication that relies on quality editorial content to achieve sales…….but you obviously missed that point, if in fact you even bothered to read the piece.
Further, we suspect that you, unlike the author of our article “John Keys “rent boy” Cam Slater wants to fuck Bain [badly] using a corrupt District Court Judge.”, are in all likelihood far from an individual who identifies as Gay and thus not qualified to comment…….but of course that’s just our supposition.
Reading the thread below we are also inclined to suspect that your comment (above) had an ulterior motive which unfortunately back-fired; we were in fact alerted to the existence of the comment by an unprecedented volume of traffic being referred to our site by http://www.thestandard.org.nz.
We would recommend that you read these two pieces and then purchase a sense of humour:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/schools-news/170815/madly-politically-correct
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8128866/Bastards-booze-wheres-our-sense-of-humour
Given that you QoTViper are obviously a self-styled dedicated anti-homophobia crusader (Yeah Right!) you will no doubt be getting right in behind our up coming series on the Peter Ellis case.
Have you heard of the bloke? Well if not he’s one of your Gay Kiwi brothers that rotted in jail for around a decade; all as a result of an impossible series of pornographic Hans Christian Andersen inspired fairy tales involving Lions, Giraffes, secret tunnels, trap doors and of course the now infamous black Penis……..now hows that for PC language QoTViper?
In our humble opinion Mr Ellis is yet another victim of your so-called justice system. In fact we will be arguing that he was the victim of a rampantly HOMOPHOBIC macho society, its police force, crown law office and the HOMOPHOBIC political movers and shakers of the era.
In fact, given your obvious concern with homophobia we’re a little surprised that you and your mates (below) are not already doing time for breaching the name suppression orders in and around the Peter Ellis case……..why is that?
New Zealand and its inhabitants are an international laughing stock, but its actually not that funny given that many of your innocent fellow citizens have suffered in the circus that is now destroying New Zealand’s reputation!
In closing we’ve formed the view that you might be more than a little challenged when it comes to distinguishing “shit from clay”, Or perhaps its just that you’re a POLITICAL shit stirrer or then again perhaps just a National Party TROLL………After all neither you, nor any of the tag team assembled below, bothered taking up Muzza’s suggestion (again somewhere below) to contact us for clarification…… so just why was that QoTViper, or are you not one who subscribes to the legal maxim of natural justice?
lol.
Illustrated nicely in the response above by Felix – (lol) -WTF is that about!
NZ has of course been an experiment (on-going), and we see some of the consequences via the protest/responses by the likes of QoT/Felix and McFlock, and the energy expended in fighting against injustice (Fuck David Blain – to quote McFlock), while manufacturing bias based *injustice* born of incorrect perception of their own (programmed) world view. They scramble to both attack and defend injustice simultaneously, while throwing distractions around trying to defend obvious prejudical bias. Failure to understand that there is a bigger picture, and what it might look like , a huge problem!
Much as I would like to think that Felix/QoT/McFlock and others are not representative of the *average kiwi*, experiences and interactions, tell me the optimism is misplaced!
“Illustrated nicely in the response above by Felix – (lol) -WTF is that about!”
It’s all the response that semi-literate drivel deserved.
Yep, this massive overreactive rant has certainly put me in my place.
Help me, Jebus! I love the way the writer can’t help launching into a racist tirade against Kiwis, before chiding TS posters for being too sensitive. That certainly makes the use of ‘rent boy’ look less bigoted, eh, what?
Still, at least they are honest about the motivations of their sources; the article notes that they got a copy of the Truth from a regular reader.
“Our supporter bought the paper for the prostitute ads section”.
Wow! (that’s all I can say) phew, sure gets hot in the outback, especially today I hear; I pray no more lives are lost.
“He said (Binnie) the issue was largely irrelevant because there was no evidence showing Mr Bain was wearing the glasses at the time of the murders.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10856832
Glasses are not an issue.
People love to tangle up truths and half truths and throw in some bull shit for good measure.
James Hansen speaking to a Union conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-dbmqhon5TY
Agree on a heavy (and increasing) tax being introduced. But I think the idea of dispensing that tax back to consumers is flawed. I’d rather it went to government and was earmarked for a rapid development of carbon free public transport systems. (I can’t remember what info has gone into posts I’ve written to date, but over 40% of NZs CO2 comes from road transport…so replacing private transport with public transport would make a large intitial dent in emissions)
Also, Hanson appears to suggest that a tax would increase the feasability of alternative energy supplies…but alternative energy supplies (infrastructure) takes a fair amount of time to develop and build. So although I’d agree that it needs built, I don’t think it can be relied on it to solve the problem of emissions in the short/medium term. In other words, I’m going along with Anderson who reckons the demand side is absolutely crucial for now.
Interesting that Hansen had to make this proposal in the context of “not increasing the size of government”. Clearly he’s talking to an American audience.
But absolutely it seems that the idea of ‘peak oil’ somehow saving us from our own folly would appear to be a false hope. While we have reached a bumpy production plateau; it would seem that there’s still enough extractable carbon in the ground to be ‘game over’ from a climate perspective.
As Jenny has been saying for sometime now … we actually have to leave the damn stuff in the ground in order to have any hope whatsoever. Given that our whole economy is based on coal, oil, concrete and steel … that has massive implications everywhere. And people know this instinctively.
Personally I think the best hope is for the WAIS and/or Greenland to collapse catastrophically and dramatically raise sea-levels by 2-7m metres in less than a decade … and force the issue globally.
Unfortunately you might be right in saying that a catastrophic event is needed to wake us up. I hope not, because it’s not so easy to respond and adapt when the shit has already hit the fan. And if there is a likelihood of one non-linearity feeding into a subsequent one – eg, loss of arctic ice kick starting methane release…
I suspect you are being too optimistic.
Capitalism, consumerism and the resource extraction required to keep both going are going to grind onwards at the maximum pace that the smartest minds in the world can organise for. Even against ever increasing headwinds and the detriment of growing numbers of people at the bottom.
+1
As capitalism absolutely requires increasing resource extraction the only hope we have of decreasing GHG emissions is to drop capitalism.
IMAGINE
George Bernard Shaw
Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what you will.
or just follow on from John Lennon’s song…
Imagine if all the parties that do not support asset sales joined together and agreed to and made a public unified announcement *All assets sold will be renationalised on our return to government.*
Quote KV 1/1/13 7.50pm, except I’m proposing all like minded parties put their policy on the line,
“A simple statement by the leader of the opposition re the re-nationalisation of unique or monopoly class assets like the hydro-dams and electricity infrastructure will be a major red-flag highlight of the risk analysis by the Australian, US and Asian investment analysts. All assets sold will be renationalised on our return to government.”
Would love to see an Imagine blog, no judgemental follow ups, just a brain storm of what TS readers would add to the IMAGINE list. Happy 2013.
Is the top left hand corner of the Stuff website main page, it’s version of “page three”? Do they assume that their readership is largely people who want to gaze upon pretty young women as often as possible, regardless of significance of said women?
Hey now, sometimes they have super-grainy zoomed-in screenshots from hilarious YouTube videos which went viral six months previously.
Yes, they do vary the images a little from time to time, often with laddish stuff like male rugby heroes. But the main default option seems to be those retro pretty young women.
Why can’t I see these pictures? All I get in the top left is the weather.
Blow the weather. They always have a story promoted with an image there. This morning it includes images of the things people want to give up in their New Year resolutions – really? Do people actually make those resolutions?
Ah I see. At the moment it’s a young boy wearing pink shoes OH THE HORROR.
Why are you reading that dross anyway?
Gotta get NZ news from somewhere. I prefer Stuff to the cluttered mess that is the NZ Herald site . But I also check out Scoop, RNZ and google NZ news.
RNZ-World Watch-“coal consumption increased great and widely last annum
Dom-MOH directive to reduce ED arrivals revealed to St John, despite projected growth in “falls” workload; wtf?
-Hollywood films “bloated” length; Time for Intermissions.
(Pi did not appear that long, or to go on forever and ever, unlike Titanic, yet sadly, long enough)
-US Military “four pillars” is likely a one-legged dog called Old Yellow; a “military to military” relationship with China (60% of the fleet in the Pacific by 2020, budgets sailing through)
“She’s The Queen of The Silver Dollar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV5ztdWx56I
-Hookie
RT, we took my 84 and 85yr old parents to the movies yesterday. The last movie they went to was The World’s Fastest Indian and prior to that Forrest Gump so it’s been a while. Funnily enough Dad asked about getting an ice-cream at intermission. We explained that was no longer an option so he’d need to stock up prior to going in. Fortunately as it was Quartet and only 93mins long, it was ok for elderly bladders’! Dad also recalled sound proofed mothers’ rooms with microphones, something I hadn’t known of. I reassured him we wouldn’t be standing to sing God Save the Queen and on a sadder note he also recalled racially segregated Theatres.
Ah we kids knew there was something different about us lot when mum took us to the flicks and She refused to even stand for God Save the Queen, us kids didn’t dare do anything else but follow suit….
Great role model and influence to think for yourself +1
Why the Tree Loves the Ax
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1172799.Why_the_Tree_Loves_the_Ax
-Lewis
(notes from the crypt)
An Aura Nation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurignacian -buried their dead, made some tools and painted inside the Cave (Nick-Murder Ballads, “They Call Me The Wild Rose”) became “intelligent Like Water for cocoa Beans, baked beans, ma baked beans…
now, there conceptualization of their world was not a “misfire” at fantasy (mixed with Asch es)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Asch the metaphorical came with the “literal”. Theres that
Recurring Phenomena again http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology , philosophically and psychologically, year after freakin Yeah! Some very perceptive “pontification”-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Merleau-Ponty.
Even “Dr Bombay” concurs with the diagnosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V.S._Ramachandran.
Use some the Wishbone Ash (and bud the rod for the children if you care)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowin%27_Free:_An_Introduction_to_Wishbone_Ash
-Isaac (The Man Who Was Not There)
or, One could try some Nazareth (from where good things Do come)
clean off our bicycles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEpD9RH-Wds
look out for This Flight Tonight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylW6sC6NNhY
and of course
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pHNkOQCIzk
Ouch*
(thanks to the doubling and tripling up of property)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j76FeCVDFE
-Whitesnake ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_an%27_Willing )
this actually belongs on “Politics and Pleasure” yet there does not seem to be much pleasure flowing from this government, Oh Well
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesh_and_Blood_%281985_film%29
-The Hitchiker (Shiny Happy People Holding Hands)
p.s. thanks to the socratic whirlpool one, i’m not so glum either 🙂
Shite, so many words so little light;
“The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same again -(chauvanistic period)- as the man who went out. He will be wiser but less sure, happier but less self-satisfied, humbler in acknowledging his ignorance yet better equipped to understand the relationship of words to things, of systematic reasoning to the unfathomable mystery which it tries, forever vainly, to comprehend”
-Aldous Huxley : The Doors of Perception
(“but if the prevalence of illicit drugs is any indicator, it seems our people long to see the world afresh again” ) I did and grew Salvia D. (it’s legal, and if you can Master that…you have begun a journey)
but that was a long time ago, in a place far, far away.
-John
Sorry about the outage. My fault.
We were getting hammered by multiple bingbots running all over the site trying to find out how close to 100% CPU they could make the server run. I was using .htaccess to deny the bot. Unfortunately I hadn’t thought it through and was denying everyone pushed through one of the cloudflare servers (oops). I should have used the cloudflare tools..
I have now taught the bingbot that using a geoip to look at location of our server and then hammering it in the middle of the server’s ‘night’ is not a good idea for our site. Used the bing webmaster tools to say when the middle of the night was.
My heads hurting L, just do what you have to.
Umm. Re-reading that I see what you mean. The short version:-
Frigging microsoft was hogging our site and making it slow (hiss!). I stopped them (yay!) and taught them a think or two. But I’m sorry that I screwed up access to the site while I was doing it (contrition).
🙂
You had me on “sorry about the outage” In your hands totally!
Done! Better than a magazine subscription. Finally got around to donating to The Standard. Once again thanks Lynn and co for all you do.
So I heard: “The day that Microsoft makes something that doesn’t suck will be the day they start manufacturing vacuum cleaners”.
You lost me after “Now listen carefully Max,…”
THIS is a MUST READ for ALL who are:
● Concerned about what the new ‘Social Security (Benefit Category and Work Capacity) Amendment Bill’, currently before the Social Security Committee of Parliament, will bring in the way of PRIVATISED WELFARE in the form of outsourced medical and work capacity assessments, NGO agency involvement and so forth;
● presently on the Sickness or Invalid’s Benefit, or likely to have to apply for these, or the future Jobseeker Support Payment, or the Living Support Payment benefits;
● who are working in the health, disability or any related areas, involved with assessing, caring for, supporting or otherwise working with sick, disabled or injured, dependent on welfare support;
● who are advocates for the above types of persons, or activists, seriously concerned and ready to take actions to avoid serious harm, suffering and unreasonable pressures to be placed on sick, injured and disabled;
● who are perhaps presently on ACC, or are likely to be claimants for serious health and injury issues causing disability and incapacity to work, and who may in some cases also still end up with WINZ on their benefits.
The following article ‘A Tale of two Models: Disabled People vs Unum, Atos, Government and Disability Charities’ – by Debbie Jolly, DPAC, is a MUST to read, as it reveals how key players in the form of the UK state department DWP, the private insurer Unus and private work capacity and medical assessor ATOS, have and are working together, to restrict entitlements for sick, injured or disabled depending on state support.
Key professional players are mentioned, who have in part been on the payroll of questionable private insurer Unus, or worked for organisations or institutes set up under that insuer’s and the state’s funding, who have worked together, linked together, refrained from disclosing interests, and thus were involved in high level lobbying and introduction of major, restrictive reforms to welfare in the UK.
Names turn up, who should be well familiar to any person, who has ever read, listened to or seen any of the highly one sided presentations by the Principal Health Advisor for Work and Income, and paid for by MSD, Dr David Bratt, a staunch promoter of a “work ability focus” already, who is involved here in New Zealand (together with other key players in the game), to bring in very harsh, questionable reforms, that have led to serious harm, psychological distress, untold pressures and even increased suicides in the UK.
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/05/31/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-by-debbie-jolly-dpac/
It is time to be informed, be alert, take a solid stand, and to voice opposition to the most draconian, unfair, not evidence based, unbalanced and unreasonable welfare reforms New Zealand has seen since the early 1990s.
I am yet to read the link and will do so carefully.
Did you see this today?
ACC pays $61m to patients injured in care
“Figures related to Fairfax under the Official Information Act show the 10 most expensive treatment injury claims totalled $3.2 million in the last financial year.”
“A total of 61.3m was paid to 7832 people for treatment injuries in the same year.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8135203/ACC-pays-61m-to-patients-injured-in-care
Not hard to see why people end up on ACC and then they are chucked onto a Work and Income NZ benefit (sickness/invalid) and Work and Income NZ now want to say that thousands of people got good treatment within the health system.
I have not yet addressed the Work and Income NZ cases where the health system are not diagnosing or treating them.
The DSM – V due out in 2013 is only going to make the stats higher for medical misadventure.
Happy New Year to those who are at the mercy of the health system because Work and Income NZ now want to poke you; the new carrot and the stick.
Happy New Year to everyone else as well.
So 61.3 million paid to 7,832 claimants is on average only $ 7,826.86 per person.
Of course that sounds like a fair bit of money to some, but what is the “news-worthiness” of this, as the costs are likely to have been totally justified, and the payments needed to cover essential treatment and so forth?!
Taking the 3.2 million for the 10 most expensive claims out leaves 58,100,000 to divide by 7822 leaves $ 7,427.77 per person on average.
With operation costs ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands per case, it is not surprising that there will be some quite expensive claims resulting in such figures. Other measures may over time also cost a lot.
That Stuff.Co article is just typical mainstream media figure juggling and so forth. It is actually quite detrimental to write such one sided articles, as it tries to give the impression to Joe Average and Jill Average, that there is too much money being spent, so measures need to be taken to make cuts and to tighten up on entitlements.
If only some more people would use a calculator do get some more realistic figures, and above all their brains, to get a hang of what really goes on, we would not have a debate about some misleading political agendas.
Stuff “Stuff.co”, they are getting worse also.
Precisely xtasy. The same’s done with the “total welfare bill” with no recognition of increased numbers of people qualifying and the huge decreases in what individuals receive. Even NZ Superannuation is often thrown in for good measure. Same with benefit “fraud” statistics. The whole thing’s a sham to make it look like government spending is out of control. It’s nasty stuff, but gives us more reason to be even more vigilant to make sure people are given the opportunity to see the truth.
It is not about the money for me, it is about the errors made in the delivery of health care.
My criticism was not really so much directed at you, Treetop!
I know where you come from, it is the costs of unacceptable levels of medical misadventure, and I can tell you, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as not all is covered by ACC.
What about cases going unnoticed, because patients die, commit suicide, are unable to make a claim due to incapacity as a result of mental and physical damages, and the list goes on!
What also about “misadventure” in the mental health areas???
I have first hand experience with a scandalous case of more or less criminal negligence of a person I know, yet the health board used the Privacy Act and other laws to block all information applied for, while the patient in question did not have the ability or guts to take it further!
So much goes under the radar, it is not funny. And who pays for the costs? The tax payer, who reads such articles like the one in The Press, part of Fairfax Media, who also own and run Stuff.Co., and then thinks, wow, am I paying for all this???
Yes, the article should have raised more issues than just present a few swiftly arranged figures! Appalling modern day, laissez faire, lazy journalism!
Just to add: I know it is a bit long an article, but it is quite interesting, revealing and full of valuable information about persons and stakeholders involved, as well giving a good historic overview of how things evolved in the UK.
Part 2 I find much more important as part 1, as in part 1 the writer largely reflects on the “social model”, how it came about, is being viewed now, and so forth.
It is terminology like “bio-psycho-social” aspects, and the use of such terminology in models favoured by welfare privatisers now, in the UK and NZ, that gives real reasons to worry about where the journey is going!
Keep up the good fight like I intend to regarding health politics.
Great article – well worth a read.
Thanks for the link Xtasy.
A story regarding Lesley Longstone which is only now surfacing following her sacking/resignation.
Apparently Longstone was a very caring and compassionate person. A few weeks before she exited she was walking out of a supermarket in Wellington. She saw an old lady struggling to get her shopping into a car. Longstone walked over and asked the old lady “can you manage love?”
The old lady gave Longstone a mouth full followed by the finger. As she was climbing into the car the old lady muttered “you applied for the job, you came half way round the world for the job, with Hekia in place, you can have it”.
Longstone seemed neither compassionate nor competent when she obediently launched into her ignorant rant against teachers.
She lacked the courage and the integrity to tell Steven Joyce to keep his opinions to himself.
I wont comment on Longstones character, I don’t know her or have any experience of her, so in my book she remains innocent of charges, accusations, conjecture etc, What I do have experience of is the “MBA” class of corporate mercenaries, hired guns making nasty policies hit the road running regardless of human impact. There is a whole international class of them, hired guns with a method but no excuse, bar the threadbare shibboleths of their masters ideology. Lesley appears to be one of them.
Exactly what I meant, Ennui. Thanks for putting it so eloquently.
Well put ennui.
just idling along
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/542100_10151150888055957_863074373_n.jpg
at least The Standard’s not usually a matinee showing for children, which reminds me, eyed a copy of Lies at 4 Square…now the Rogue has a long-held intuition (that’s all it is mind) about this matter, having The Dark Half that is fading gently away, and observed and studied sociopathy and psychopathy in detail, yet i am not and never will be a juror…Oh Well, Time Will Tell, very sad outcomes for dysfunctional families.
Story telling heals
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/574949_521544454545672_1020923242_n.jpg
Revolution of The Mind
http://www.theidealistrevolution.com/19-signs-that-america-has-become-a-crazy-control-freak-nation-where-almost-everything-is-illegal/
The weather has sure been wild down South
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_weather_man
Its raining men, hallelujah it’s raining men
Now regarding Health Politics, I am encouraging my good friend who is primary health care nurse to come out of the bushes (Woodwork,Woodworm,Wormwood or Worm-tongue?) and share her learnings which are to the left, for example, the damage that MARGERINE is doing to peoples circulatory systems and the outcomes when body defenses act to dislodge the buildup of product not far removed from plastic (common knowledge amongst the medical profession apparently), yet it’s Budget. I have said it before and I’ll say it again BIG FAT LIES
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13519011-big-fat-lies
Joe Bennett writes well and irreverently in Todays Dominion and other The Press
(gypsy or Tiger?)
from the desert, by 2016, the Populations of Palestinians and Jewish people in Israel and the Occupied territories will be similar in number and by 2020 Palestinians will be the numerical majority
(may need another few tents)
HBToday: Intoxication Intoxication Intoxication with some UV Radiation slapped in for the price.
(House prices are going to continue to climb in ak; Excellent writing and insight ak)
RNZ were repeating an article about the lack of Central and Local Govt wiil towards the educational advancement of our Pacifica Citizens (consider, the decline of manufacturing, without stereo-typing) underemployment and diet.
Kia Kaha mm
guess I’ve always been a Fortunate Son
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_4GVm9adaU
playing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAOxCqSxRD0
Wickedly
-christian
Just realised it was half ten and I hadn’t posted any thing derogatory about anyone.
New years resolutions – Made to break 😆
Don’t go to my site and listen to the first couple of tracks on side two, they’re crap, and the guy’s an arsehat. 😆
http://www.al1en.org
Any chance you can set up an autoplay thing which takes you through each track one at a time in an ongoing loop? And maybe provide an email address on your website that people (and aliens) can contact you on…
I did just put up a valid email address (just tested it), even if I couldn’t put my first reply (22) in the right place.
Great minds…terrestrial or not.
At 45 for 9 who would want to be a New Zealander
ALL OUT 45 in the first session. how fucking embarrassing, but thats how we do it in New Zealand
Never mind the coach will sort it out.
Could always try changing the captain, i’ve heard that works really well…
They may need a conference to bolster spirits. Get head office to give a rousing speech. Everything will be sweet as.
If I knew how to do any of that, I would.
I obviously have trouble enough with the music, let alone getting the website how I want it.
I’ll ask a friend.
I think I’ve just put a valid email address up.
Thanks for the nudge.
I recommend http://bandcamp.com
Their embeddable players will play your whole album, and you can add tracks to your album whenever you like (which I see you like to do)
I’ll have another look at it, ta.
My thinking is name the ‘band’ al1en.org and just put a buy now/donate button on the site.
Direct from source, no middle men, no expenses, 100% for the cause.
And also a small copyright notice.
© 2013 al1en.org. All rights reserved.
😉
Yeah keeping it simple is good.
Do have a look at it though ‘cos it is really simple to use and does a whole lot of stuff, in the long run a lot simpler than doing a whole lot of simple things yourself if you know what I mean. Also costs nothing except (I think) 15% if you’re selling stuff.
I’ve used soundcloud to post up demos before, and I like the new interface, but I think I’ll stick with my own site for now.
I tried to get funding from NZonair for the faeces record, sort a fuck off to Key’s constituency chairman complaining about the inside child poverty documentary that inspired me to start this project, but found that unless you’ve had existing success, a large fan base, or live following, there’s not much chance of it happening, save winning a monthly talent show at http://www.theaudience.co.nz/ for a 6k grant.
I’ll put it up if people keep voting for it. See if they’ve got the balls if it won.
Use the system to beat the system, or at least make it uncomfortable.
NZonair funding is a strange beast, aloof, nepotistic and arcane. At some point most people have to decide whether the time and energy spent navigating the system, kissing the appropriate arses, and jumping through the requisite hoops might be better spent writing recording and performing for audiences of actual people.
Sooo, all the international stock exchanges are in a good mood again today, the “fiscal cliff” has been averted, that is the silly story going around the news tickers. What a load of bollocks! So the Democrats and Republicans in the US agree to a 2 month postponement for resolving and addressing the expenditure issues, and tax increases will only be hitting those over 400 k per annum, or about that.
Yes, what a bloody “achievement”, but nothing has been resolved or achieved. The quantitative easing will need to continue, burdens will be shifted around, ultimately to be paid by the bulk of middle class and certainly the poor, and no solution is there, to get more balance in international trade, to get rid of deficits that have accrued, and to create a desperately new economic order for the whole globe, to steer away from neo capitalist agendas playing off populations between nations, between societies within nations (classes), and to keep wasting energy, that took tens to hundreds of millions of years to be created.
What about climate change issues, are we getting any solution there?
No, nada, zilch, nichts, rien, rien ne va plus, indeed, and we get the shit mainstream media give us snippets of infotainment distraction about what is supposedly going on in the world. Where is the NZ media even reporting about details about all this?
I am afraid, the NZ media is in the process of being dissolved and got rid off, as the private corporate remnants of controlling commercial media outlets have just signed the last deal, to advertise for the status quo, to uphold our dear Hawaiian Leader Maximus Incomprehensiblus, mumbling from “leader” to “leader” across the political ditches, that are crossed by going surfing and BBQing together at some stage, to mend the society, and to run the real dictatorship NZ has become. Thank you John and David (who?), we know what goes on down under.
What a bloody disgrace, good night, had enough!