So let’s get this straight Andre. Is Russia not allowed to respond to the massive military build up right on its borders ? Should they just shrug their shoulders and believe that the Americans(Nato) are nice friendly people just giving their boys some kind of a picnic on their border? Would the Americans let the Russians amass forces on, say, the Canadian border?
Is anyone in this World allowed to disagree with USA hegemony, and have a different world view?
You come across as America – Great, and Russia- Bad , full stop. It’s not that simple, even if you are an American.
garibaldi – at least half the article is about the states dirty extractive energy decline – be good if they all just gave it up and worked towards the future – whether that be cleanish energy, reduced need for energy and/or renewable energy.
But I spose while kneejerks continue on the macro and micro scale we are left with the spoil.
It actually explains a few of the reasons nations in the Baltic region are nervous about Russia and might want visible shows of friendship from their allies.
The article talks about Russia parading warships close to the Swedish coast.
Looking at the linked article referencing that, Russia moved two warships to its Kaliningrad base and they have to pass through Swedish waters to get there.
This kind of propoganda isnt great for international relations either.
The article refers to Russian warships deliberately preventing power supply from Sweden to the Baltic republics, so they have to remain dependent on Russia for electricity. You don’t think the governments involved might have some concerns about that?
Paul
That thing about the border agreement doesn’t get mentioned much but could be pivotal in Russian thinking today leading to aggressive defensive moves.
And I would really like to know if you will be in the first reading group looking over E F Schumacher, it would be good for us to have you along. We give it a month and then a really good discussion.
The first citation involves some people claiming a “massive military build-up,” which says nothing more than that people other than Garibaldi are also making the claim. The second one includes the actual number, 4,000, which is equivalent to one brigade. That’s a “massive” military buildup to the same extent that a sandfly is a “massive” animal. The only purpose a military force that small can serve in those countries is to ensure that any Russian attack would involve firing on American troops, so the fact the Russian government is angry about it is quite revealing.
The second citation points out that these troops are being deployed in Poland and the Baltic republics. Those countries certainly border Russia (and two of them border “Russia” only in the sense that they border Kaliningrad, which Russia has no business occupying in the first place), but if we’re applying that criterion, every single one of Russia’s neighbours has military “right on Russia’s borders.” There is no military build-up “right on Russia’s borders” under any useful meaning of the phrase.
Come on, you are cherry picking, America has at least 40,000 troops in Germany alone, you know the same Germany that invaded Russia, and raped burned, tortured and pillaged their way to something like 20 million Russian/Slavic casualties not all that long ago.
So I am not defending Putin, but I can fully understand Russia being just a little bit sensitive when it comes to it’s boarders…especially when an extra 4,000 troops from the world biggest and most aggressive super power arrive on your doorstep, don’t you think?
Sure. But can you fully understand the governments whose countries have been invaded and occupied multiple times by Russia being just a bit sensitive when Russia is ruled by a nationalist authoritarian dictator who acts aggressively against his neighbours?
Are you not aware of the Ukraine and Georgia? These were actual invasions this century. So it is not surprising the Baltic states need some reassurance.
Ukraine? Where fascists (not your ‘garden variety’ or idiot on the street type of fascist) were floated into government on a raft of western interference in the internal affairs of the country? That Ukraine?
They were indeed, Wayne, and they were certainly wrong. But compared to the invasions this century of Iraq and Afghanistan, they’re not in the same ballpark.
What reassurance do you think the United States’ neighbours need?
Yes I can, but what has that got to do with the USA?
However we all know what happened in Cuba right? that’s what happens when the US felt threatened, but they can’t seem be able to put that shoe on the other foot.
Yes I can, but what has that got to do with the USA?
Seriously? Lithuania has a smaller population than New Zealand. Estonia and Latvia between them have a similar population to New Zealand, but a proportion of those are Russian colonists. If you were responsible for the defence of any of those countries, wouldn’t your first priority be an alliance with someone who has a military as powerful as Russia’s?
However we all know what happened in Cuba right? that’s what happens when the US felt threatened, but they can’t seem be able to put that shoe on the other foot.
There’s a lot more reason to feel threatened by nuclear missiles than by a combat brigade. I expect that if there was an actual equivalent, ie if NATO was installing nuclear missiles in Poland, there’d be a “Polish missile crisis” and we’d all be wondering if we’d wake up to a nuclear war – which is why there’s 0 chance of NATO installing nuclear missiles in Poland.
No seriously American has significant nuclear weapons in Europe…
“180 of the tactical versions of the B61s remain at six
bases in Europe – in Belgium, Italy, Germany,
the Netherlands, and Turkey – as symbols of
US nuclear commitments to NATO. All the bases,
except the one in Turkey, have US or Allied
fighter jets equipped to deliver the bombs;” https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/B61-Life-Extension-Program.pdf
Maybe my first priority would be making an alliance or at least try fora stable diplomatic relationship, with the countries on my boarder, but while the US is in there, the natural scales are never allowed to balance.
These countries have excellent diplomatic relationships with the countries on their borders – except with the one that’s invaded and occupied them multiple times, never accepted that it was wrong to do so, and publicly regards them as belonging to a putative “sphere of influence” it feels it has a right to.
But you’re right in that the best thing the governments of these countries could do is achieve stable diplomatic relationships with the Russian Federation. I could envisage that being a possibility if the Russian Federation were to apologise for previous invasions, publicly reject any claim to an interest in the governance of these countries, cease its military activity against its neighbour Ukraine and generally demonstrate a willingness to cooperate (or at least to not actively obstruct, as described in the article linked above).
Problem is: first, those things aren’t going to happen, and second, even if they did the relevant governments would take decades to be convinced it wasn’t just a sham to get them to drop their defences. So, status quo it is then, for the foreseeable future.
Iraq, yes illegal. Afghanistan was a UNSC approved operation for reasons you know well. So Afghanistan is actually a legal invasion.
Neither Georgia or Ukraine were UN authorized.
The Baltics have been previously invaded by Russia (USSR). That is why they wanted to be in NATO, to guarantee it would not happen again. The deployments are part of the guarantee.
In any event this is all a pointless debate. Pointing to Iraq or central America is all a bit irrelevant if you are a Baltic nation. Russia actions are what matters to them.
The Baltics are in NATO. That won’t change. NATO provides guarantees to all it members. Trump can’t change that. Congress wont let him.
So despite this debate, these deployments will happen, until and unless Russia stops complaining about them. If Russia didn’t complain the Baltics would be less nervous.
Neither was the U.S./U.K. aggression against Iraq. In fact, it was the refusal of the United Nations Director General Kofi Annan to back the aggression that so incensed this racist broadcaster….
Pointing to Iraq or central America is all a bit irrelevant if you are a Baltic nation.
You are not a Baltic nation. I wanted to know why you were singling out Russian intervention in Georgia and Ukraine, and ignoring the far bloodier, far more destructive, and utterly unwarranted invasions of Afhanistan and Iraq.
Exactly. The countries near to Russia got worried about the semi-covert invasions of their territory similar to those that Russia did with the Ukraine in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The obvious buildup in Kalingrad is worrying.
Russia that has been getting increasingly aggressive apparently for the purposes of stifling internal dissent triggered by the faltering Russian economy. All of the states near them are increasing their defensive posture. Part of that has been to request and receive token numbers of ‘tripwire’ troops from Nato.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states. If that makes Russia uncomfortable, then that is the direct consequence of their previous actions.
If their idiotic apologists here dislike that, then I really couldn’t give a damn. Russia has shown in the past that this is about the only language that they understand when their internal issues spill over the borders.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states.
Russian adventurism in neighboring states is minor compared to what the United States has done and is doing in Central and South America. I see no concern by you about constraining the U.S.
If their idiotic apologists here…
So pointing out inaccurate and/or maliciously false claims against a party makes one an apologist, does it? I have sometimes had to point out to people that the United States did NOT have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks*; does that make me an apologist for the United States?
* Well, it did of course have something to do with the 9/11 attacks in 1973, which killed more people.
Russian adventurism in neighboring states is minor compared to what the United States has done and is doing in Central and South America.
More false equivalence. First, the actual invasion, occupation and colonisation of Russia’s neighbouring states isn’t “minor” compared to US activities in Central and South America. Second, what’s your opinion of US involvement in Central and South America? Is it something you’d defend as vigorously as you defend Russia’s invasions of its neighbours? No, it isn’t, because the US’ activities in Central and South America have been unbelievably shitty. It would be nice if those countries had some means of defending themselves against their local great power, wouldn’t it? If they did, would you be on here berating them for “threatening” the USA?
Fool, I didn’t say they were equivalent. When it comes to aggression and body counts, Russia is Switzerland or Liechtenstein compared to the United States.
I guess you’re right – “false equivalence” is overly generous. It fails to capture the requisite level of wrongness and bombast. Unfortunately though, I don’t believe the the necessary linguistic tools to properly describe Morrissey levels of logical fallacy have yet been invented, so “false equivalence” will have to cover the territory in the meantime.
Looks like I slipped and posted that comment early. However…
The stupid adventurism of the US up to last century pretty much caused the hostile reactions by their neighbors. It also caused the formation of regional coalitions to limit it, and the slow deterioration of the Monroe doctrine. As it stands at present, the US has apparently been pretty good recently in central and south America in recent decades. Venezuela you could argue about, but it appears to have been largely the incompetent government internally that has done the damage there.
But basically you are being a complete and utter fool if you equate a powers making bad as excusing another to also act like an arsehole. It speaks of a certain level of moral and intellectual stupidity that I associate with unthinking apologists for one cause or another.
Personally I’d prefer if we left that kind of idiotic thinking back in the 19th century where it belongs.
Governments of small states (like NZ or Lithuania or Poland or Mexico or Saddam’s Iraq) should be able to make their own stupid decisions without having dickhead nations treating it as an excuse for adventurism. The exception is always when the disintegration of the government of the state causes overflow at the borders (the failed state issue), or where they start intruding or threatening other states (eg North Korea).
As it stands at present, the US has apparently been pretty good recently in central and south America in recent decades.
That is simply not true. Unless of course the expression “pretty good” means something entirely different to what it used to mean. The United States is still involved in funding and training death squads in Honduras, to mention just one of the places where the United States has, in recent decades, been involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government…
Venezuela you could argue about, but it appears to have been largely the incompetent government internally that has done the damage there.
Certainly the Chávez and now Maduro government has been extremely incompetent, but it is its fiercely independent stance that angers the United States. Forty years ago, of course, the United States could deal with these troublesome democratic governments by backing a military coup, as it did to the democratically elected government of Chile in 1973. There was a coup against Chávez, of course, in 2002, but massive popular resistance restored him to office—in fact, it’s a model of what the beleaguered population of the United States should be doing right now as its democracy is under massive attack from within the very centre of power. It certainly beats repeating those DNC fantasies about Russian hacking.
But basically you are being a complete and utter fool if you equate a powers making bad as excusing another to also act like an arsehole.
Certainly that would be true if that’s what I had done, but it’s not. I don’t support Russia, any more than I support Australia, or Sweden, or anyone else. But are you seriously trying to suggest that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Georgia have caused anything like the death and destruction that the U.S. and its vassal states have wrought in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Syria?
…. where they start intruding or threatening other states (eg North Korea).
And the United States, and South Korea, and Israel.
or where they start intruding or threatening other states (eg North Korea).
Can’t say that I consider the DPRK as a threat to anyone*. The US on the other hand, well, history tells us that they are a threat and a major one to pretty much any nation that displeases them.
* This isn’t to say that they haven’t threatened anyone – they have. I just don’t think those threats are credible.
Exactly. The countries near to Russia got worried about the semi-covert invasions of their territory similar to those that Russia did with the Ukraine in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The obvious buildup in Kalingrad is worrying.
Russia that has been getting increasingly aggressive apparently for the purposes of stifling internal dissent triggered by the faltering Russian economy. All of the states near them are increasing their defensive posture. Part of that has been to request and receive token numbers of ‘tripwire’ troops from Nato.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states. If that makes Russia uncomfortable, then that is the direct consequence of their previous actions.
If Russia’s apologists dislike that, then I really couldn’t give a damn. They deserve my contempt for their moral turpitude. I am only really concerned with their neighboring states and their ability towards self-determination without having an arsehole state next to them meddling in their internal affairs. The great power twaddle about “spheres of influence” and other such imperial stupidity belongs to be back in World War 1 when it demonstrated why it should be as dead as the soldiers and civilians it killed.
If Russia’s neighbors feel insecure, then they should be able to call on the international community for whatever assistance they need to feel secure with Russia rattling its sabers against them again. A brigade level tripwire for states is a minimal response to that call.
I’d point out that I feel exactly the same about the US, UK, French, China, Germany, or even tiddlers like Aussie.
Edit: Opps – I must have banged that off already… Oh well.
If Russia’s neighbors feel insecure, then they should be able to call on the international community for whatever assistance they need to feel secure with Russia rattling its sabers against them again.
But it’s a case of if they should call upon the UN or upon NATO.
Of course, the UN has been set up so that it can’t act against the actions of the big players with the UNSC veto that they hold.
True but NATO’s is not the people that they should be asking as it comes with massive US political agenda.
To put it another way: The UN needs to be reformed so that it can act against the US, Russia, China and all the other UNSC veto holders. Preferably by getting rid of their veto.
ok, so until the five permanent members all relinquish their vetos out of the kindness of their hearts, NATO is the go-to organisation for smaller European states looking for some external security support.
Yeah. But the hassle with the UN isn’t just the security council. The principle of giving seats based solely on nation states sucks as well. It seems designed to provide lowest common denominator (ie the bribery level) decision making.
I’d say that the UN is a failed experiment, except that all of the extant alternatives are even worse.
Not so much a failed experiment. It’s long been fashionable to write off the UN, but it is a large and complex organisation that has achieved a lot over the years. Arguably the world would be a lot worse off without it, despite the obvious shortcomings and failures.
The modern democratic nation-state was centuries in the making; equally it is reasonable to suppose the next logical step of federal global governance might take more than one attempt to get right. History will judge the League of Nations, and the UN as essential pre-cursors to the emergence of an authentic, democratically accountable global body.
All of the really big problems humanity faces are global in nature; from climate change onwards. I’ve always argued that ultimately they will only be solved by an entity with the authority and capacity to solve them on a global scale.
so until the five permanent members all relinquish their vetos out of the kindness of their hearts,
Well, it should be put to the General Forum where every country gets to have a say on it. I don’t think there would be a majority of other states that allow them to keep it.
Of course, those states will probably simply leave the UN at that point in which case it would be up to the Rest of the World to show that they can go on without them. And that would include putting in place valid sanctions against them.
Let’s go with your counter-factual. For the analogy to work, we’re going to have to imagine that the USA has invaded and occupied Canada and Mexico several times within living memory, that they have since requested Russian protection because they don’t want a further repeat of the exercise, and that this Russian protection consists only of a few thousand troops who can serve no military purpose beyond ensuring that the USA can’t attack Canada and Mexico again without firing on Russian soldiers. I imagine the US government’s response would be exactly the kind of bluster we’re seeing from Putin.
we’re going to have to imagine that the USA has invaded and occupied Canada
They haven’t invaded Canada, although Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt both spoke of invading Canada at the time they were “liberating” Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Haiti, and the Philippines.
and Mexico
California? Texas? Arizona? New Mexico? Nevada? Utah? Colorado?
You’re quite right that the annexation of much of Mexico did not occur “within living memory”. The rhetorical and physical aggression against Mexicans by successive U.S. administrations, however, shows that the war against Mexico has continued through different means. And you’re correct to point out that Canada has not been attacked and occupied by the United States.
But the people of the Dominican Republic, which the U.S. attacked in 1965, or Grenada (attacked in 1983) or Haiti, or Panama, or Chile, or Nicaragua, or Venezuela, or Brazil, or Honduras, or Ecuador, or Guatemala, or Bolivia, or Colombia, or Costa Rica certainly do have a living memory of being invaded, occupied, threatened, blockaded, tortured, humiliated and insulted by the United States.
Until Hopey-Changey did one of the few positive things in his eight wasted years and normalised relations, Cuba had been the subject of a relentless propaganda and outright terror campaign by the United States.
The terror, economic sabotage and vile propaganda continues against Venezuela.
The United States has been, and is, a relentless and malignant aggressor against its neighbours. Russia, for all its crimes, is not in the same league.
Blah blah blah. Meanwhile, back here outside of the People’s Republic of False Equivalence, Poland and the Baltic republics have been actually invaded and occupied by Russia multiple times within living memory and their governments are justifiably suspicious of Putin. Your opinions on the relative merits of the Russian Federation vs the USA matter jack shit to them.
How exactly is what Morrissey is saying the “People’s Republic of False Equivalence”?
Of course most post war invasions quite often look a lot different from those pre 1930’s, but the results and intentions are the same politically.
The US invasion of Panama 1989 would be a good example of that..
So as I have mentioned before I am not defending Putin, but neither could one deny the US has been the major player in conducting regime change, in one way or another on the world stage post ’45.
How exactly is what Morrissey is saying the “People’s Republic of False Equivalence”?
Because it’s his standard MO. In this particular instance: Russia’s practice of invading, annexing and colonising neighbour states (or parts of them) has continued unbroken from the times when that kind of thing was typical, right up to the collapse of the USSR, and now looks like it’s starting again under Putin. The USA attacking some states it wasn’t happy with in Latin America is not in the same league, and in any case is completely irrelevant to the topic of the post.
…I am not defending Putin, but neither could one deny the US has been the major player in conducting regime change, in one way or another on the world stage post ’45.
Well, one can deny it, and I do, because “regime change” in other countries was a major focus of the USSR for the entire period of its existence, not just post-war. In any case, what the USA does is of a lot less interest to the governments of Russia’s western neighbours than what Russia does – given the content of comment 1, all the subsequent blather about what the US government gets up to is tiresome what-aboutery.
Since when is calling someone a retard an acceptable insult, here, at the standard, or anywhere for that matter?
You won’t be, but you should be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed of yourself 🙄
Ultimately the content of your rants show the caliber of your mettle.
And your anger belies any pretense of decent, knowledgeable opinion.
No matter your half baked, ill politics and sick logic, I reckon you’re a bit scum, to be fair.
Reading these responses, it seems some people need to go take a look at a map. Apart from Kaliningrad (that Russia continues to hold Kaliningrad and has stationed big nasty missiles there is a provocation in itself, like Gibraltar or Ceuta and Melilla), to get from Poland to Russia requires going through quite a lot of either Ukraine or Belarus.
So in fact as far as I can tell, American troops are a lot closer to Russia just across the Bering Strait from Alaska than they are in Poland.
Asleep While Walking
EU aren’t going to allow Brits off as Greece wasn’t allowed to do what was best for it. All divorces have high costs these days.
When I was writing about having a reading circle AWW you liked the idea. Will you come in to the first group looking at E F Schumacher Small is Beautiful over a month with big discussion on it at end? You would contribute lots and it would be great to have you in if poss. Could you let me know as I am looking at best way to get the most out of the exercise. Thanks.
Any payment will be minimal. At the end of the two years the U.K. can leave and just go to WTO rules (basically the same as NZ today). In that case no payment is required. That is why PM May said no deal is better than a bad deal.
Peter Thiel supports Muslim ban of Trump’s.
We should remember that he is part of a religion himself – the cult of Ayn Rand and Hayek. Their neoliberal cult of the individual has done a lot more damage to the world in the past 40 years than Islam has.
Shall we ban followers of the neoliberal religion?
a brief glimpse of a parallel world through a crack in the door……where the rules and rationale of the often evoked ” kiwi way” are turned on their head.
This is just appalling. Is there no end to this greedy need for irrigation ? Surely someone in the Takaka authorities can see the incredible threat irrigation would bring to the Springs?
Labour drops the ball, no wait Labour never picked up the ball on protecting the renter class from being gouged by landlords. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/322483/average-rent-on-the-rise-across-the-country-trade-me http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/323612/rental-rises-put-squeeze-on-tenants
Labour also have no policies that I know of to enable the renter class to have any type of long term security in a tenancy.
No plan for protecting the wave of people coming into retirement age renting.
So while Labour push their $500-600,000 affordable houses, they have no provisions to protect working people and families who obviously can’t afford their ‘affordable’ houses and are consigned to a bleak life rent from Ma & Pa investors, and speculators, who will both sell their investments at the drop of a hat, with no thought to the uprooting of the lives that live in their investments.
As I have said previously, if I have missed something in Labours manifesto, please inform me, other wise we have to jus call it for what it is, class war.
Luckily they have got the centre well covered though.
No, you are right, Labour are quiet on this. Their slogan is ‘Backing the Kiwi Dream’, but nowhere is there concern for those who missed the boat when National cast off the moorings.
Greens are much more vocal. Clutching at straws here but maybe the Greens are given that area under the MOU?
To me “Backing the Kiwi Dream” of home ownership is part of the problem.
So much emphasis on home ownership puts more pressure on people to buy – and some will pay over the odds to nail this over-rated dream. This plays into the hands of the speculators, property investors and banksters.
Better to back secure, safe, affordable homes for all whether it be via renting or property ownership.
Yes to say I am disappointed in Labour, with the information I have on their policies thus far would be a understatement.
To have a labour Party completely ignore the working class housing security is a sham.
To have a Labour Party that is tacit at best on importing Labour from third world countries, there by artificially keeping working class wage growth down, while at the same time the unprotected renter is being forced to pay more and more in rent to the greedy and unhinged landlord class is almost beyond belief.
What sort of Labour is Labour 2017?
Who are they fighting for?, because it sure as hell doesn’t look like they are fighting for and protecting he working classes with any conviction.
“Backing the Kiwi Dream”, yes they are, but only for certain classes.
I’m an aging renter from choice. Rented all my adult life. I’d always assumed there’s be affordable rentals available, and that there always would be properties available for long term rent.
This is the worst situation I’ve ever seen for renters in my lifetime. It has escalated to unacceptable levels since 2008.
Still, I’m not one of the worst off….. yet at least. I have a reasonable income at the moment, and a further year’s tenancy in this place.
But I have seen what else is out there for rent. And I know how much of a desperate struggle it must be for those on low incomes.
The future situation is insecure for all renters now.
This issue will be a biggie for me in this year’s election.
Yes – Adrian Thornton, you HAVE missed something. And Muttonbird too.
Labour has a massively comprehensive housing plan – it includes building thousands of state houses for rental, getting hundreds of young people into building apprentices – thereby giving them a good starting place at work, cracking down on speculators, limiting the numbers of immigrants to what can be sustained, fund additional emergency housing, and stopping the current Govt’s state housing sell-off.
And of course, making it easier by getting more affordable housing built.
This plan has been out in the open for months – and is on the Labour website.
So I don’t know how you’ve all missed knowing something about it.
It’s also on Labour’s Facebook page, if you’re into FB.
‘
You can see that yesterday I looked at Labour’s Housing policy online. There is nothing there explicitly to support private renters re- security of tenure, rent caps, etc.
I know that manifesto pretty well I have read through a number of times.
Have to say their I also think the ‘cracking down on speculators’ is pretty soft core.
I say again, where are the protections and security policies for renters? keeping in mind that this private/public affordable housing scheme is geared toward middle and upper middle class couples and not working class workers.
Are you suggesting that Labour’s long term plan is to house the working class renters and incoming renting retirees in long term state housing?,
“Little also said his party would build at least 1000 new state houses each year until there were enough to meet demand”…that’s great, but say Labour are in power 3 years, that’s 3000 state houses, its not going to cover all those in real immediate need, let alone those people who are simply trying to survive a lifetime on short term rentals and constant rent hikes, who do not have a hope of ever, ever, getting anywhere near a housing NZ waiting list.
These policies are, maybe, addressing the immediate crisis of homeless people, and middle class kids who can’t afford a house. But they DO NOT deal with the new reality of an ever increasing number of folk who need to be allowed some security during a life time of renting.
And there is no hint at how Labour will deal with large numbers of renters living on the pension. No one seems to want to have that conversation.
Bill English, who deals daily with the ACT cult, and was one of the many recipients of secret Brethren cash, condemns “ideological” and “doctrinaire” Greens
RNZ National, Thursday 2 Febrary 2017
About 8:15 this morning I heard that little tick Bill “Douple Dipton” English engaging in a bit of low-level propaganda warfare. He was dumping on the Greens….
“We found them eventually just too ideological, too doctrinaire.”
He said that with not the slightest tremor in his voice, nor the slightest sign that he possessed any sense of irony or absurdity. He sounded just like John Key.
He would argue that he ‘helps’ them by taking away any support and ‘encouraging’ them to stand on their own two feet…..
“Its [the Church’s] desire is that the poor should rise above poverty and wretchedness, and should better their condition in life; and for this it strives.
Rerum Novarum -‘Condition of Labour’ (1981), paragraph 23
What I don’t understand is that English doesn’t get called out for being an ideologue himself.
Key and English are probably the most pure politicians, ideologically since Douglas, they are both real believers.
John Key chair of the right wing International Democrat Union https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Democrat_Union
I recall that Judith Collins marched with them last year. So no platform this time for Louise Upston.
Maybe Judith (such a great LGBTI supporter!!??) will be able to hitch a ride this time with an ethnic community float, or one focused on energy & resources?
Two girls die in suspected suicides a 9 and a 10 year old – this a a real tragedy – that kids so young take their own lives should be a wake up call.
I don’t know why these kids did what they did, but I do think National’s policy of National Standards needs to be abolished. It puts a huge amount of stress of children from 5 years of age upward and they are told they are no achieving a set of standards that are stupid and arbitrary. There is also too much emphasis on safety in schools, this leads to kids thinking that the world is a dangerous place and developing anxiety. Parents are now forced into long hours of work and being home for your kids at 3pm is a luxury as well as the worry of losing your job/ income. There is huge pressure on parents in NZ and there is huge stress on kids in NZ.
I went on a horrendous school trip last year and there were something like 8 messages of safety at least one per hour and the trip was not dangerous at all and was as boring as hell. It seemed more about keeping the kids contained than the actually the kids learning something and enjoying themselves. The kids were fidgeting and poking each other in frustration. I feel sorry for today’s kids and it was not the school or the teachers fault in my view but more policy from the ministry of education that they were following. Paperwork and testing has replaced teaching and learning. Teachers do a fantastic job. They should be respected and allowed to do a good job.
Kids need to play and room to grow mentally and physically. These days there are no school pools anymore and fun places for them. They should not be told they are not good enough by their school reports and be contained and restrained in everything they do for ‘safety’.
Who knows what else was going on in these poor kids lives to lead them to want to end it.
My condolences to the family and friends of the two little lives lost.
I was also talking to another parent, their kids went on a pre school trip to the local estuary – they had to fill out a 28? page report on the site prior to going and the teachers put barricades around some trees because they were prickly. WTF?
Welcome to the nanny state, Bob Jones did a story in the herald a couple of years ago about how NZ has become the biggest nanny state any where, a slag at JK and National, I don’t support Jones, but what he said is correct.
Protecting people form inherent danger is mandatory, but you have to draw the line somewhere, when govts regulate how people behave in the belief that it some how protects them is incorrect, molly coddling leads to a lack of “personal responsibility”, which in turn results in greater danger for all.
Thousands of years ago, when humans made stupid mistakes which resulted in injury or death, this generally served as a lesson for all, and if death occurred, it meant that this lack of perceived danger could not be passed on to next generation.
Nanny states lead to reduced responsibility by some individuals, having a negative outcome, rather than a positive one.
Children should be allowed to play, but supervision in imperative, allowing children to be pricked by a gorse bush, for example, is a lesson about how to avoid a recurrence, one which makes them wiser.
Newsflash
Example of dogma Number 1 of 1000. Repeat 100 times while sitting on the toilet thus reducing the brain’s ‘downtime’ in an efficient manner.
Nanny states lead to reduced responsibility by some individuals, having a negative outcome, rather than a positive one.
I came across this url, and it reminded me that in these difficult times for journalism, there is little follow up on stories. Naturally this trend is encouraged by the government – they know that all they have to do is defer action for a short while and the issue will be forgotten http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/85000994/John-Key-keeps-lid-on-hidden-billions
What’s the betting nothing will be done before the next election?
In like vein a radio report yesterday said that one of the issues affecting housing construction was a shortage of developer finance. Remember when National promised to do something about finance company legislation to restore the ability of investors to trust they will not lose all their money, and provide an alternative to the banks for developers? Well if you didn’t I suspect you are not alone – and of course it is very hard to find any references . . .
Another article I remember is one about some foreign workers employed by a foreign contractor just before Christmas – I think they were doing welding work on a project – their “employer” required them to live where directed, and charged them for food and accommodation – leaving them with pay much lower than the minimum wage. After discovering that this was all legal as it was an overseas contractor with overseas workers, it all got dropped. Can anyone find the reference?
All that makes me wonder if there is a site somewhere that indexes articles that need to be followed up – perhaps it would be enough to keep a list of posts to The Standard that should probably be looked at again in a certain number of months – and a “reminder” posted if appropriate at that time – and perhaps the list of “banked” issues posted once a month for review.
Ed
Absolutely necessary as you say, to keep note of these stories. Facts, reference to past disasters, unbelievable but true, to learn from – absolutely. And not just the links either, though that is better than nothing, they need to be fully copied and (my belief) transferred to paper if possible. Everyone in theory, should have a large drawer for this sort of stuff. Lest we forget.
Trivia it may be but illuminating of hidden behaviour and culture of some; does someone remember – when did some NZ men in Wellington area I think, businessmen I think, punish someone for something by digging an underground bunker and locking a man in? About 10-20 years ago.
Thanks. I still can’t find the story about the foreign workers getting treated as slaves and the advice that it is all legal even though they were working in New Zealand (and prevented some locals getting welding work).
I am not able to help with the “memory list’ – it needs a reference list held by category, picking up both post headings from the Std as well as urls. I understand why the search function was removed, but it was a good way to find issues from this site at least.
lprent
Hi what do you think about Ed saying that some subjects need to go into memory both from posts and from URLS? Can it be done.
And is it possible to have again a search function where you can type in a commenters name that brings up their contributions? It was so handy and I miss it.
“Speaking rights confirmed for Penny Bright at next Auckland Transport Board meeting 16 February 2017.”
The next AT Board meeting is scheduled as follows:
DATE: Thursday 16 February 2017
TIME: 2.00pm
VENUE: AMP Building, Level 17, Mairangi Room, 29 Customs St West
“This is going to be, in my opinion, a HUGE development in ensuring that ratepayers’ and citizens’ lawful rights to transparency and accountability in the spending of public monies on private consultants and contractors, are fully implemented and upheld,” says ‘anti-corruption campaigner’ and 2017 Independent Mt Albert by-election candidate, Penny Bright.
“My subject matter for this Auckland Transport Board meeting, is as follows:
Having spent days over the Christmas break, studying the ‘Reasons for the Verdict of Fitzgerald J’, I wish to raise key concerns that arise from the facts and evidence, upon which Justice Sally Fitzgerald relied in her Judgment.
1) The need for Auckland Transport to fully comply with the Public Records Act 2005, particularly section 17, and to make transparent and available for public scrutiny the details of ALL awarded contracts, including those under $50,000, and including ALL those sub-contracted.
(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an independent contractor.
_________________________________________________
(Please be advised that I have raised my concerns directly with the Local Government and Environment Select Committee, regarding the lack of transparency with Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), which included Auckland Transport.
Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and Report from the Controller and Auditor-General, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations.
a) Here is the Local Government and Environment Select Committee’s Report on my above-mentioned petition:
I would like members of the Board of Auckland Transport to please study both this Local Government and Environment Select Committee Report, and the evidence I provided, before I attend the AT Board meeting on 20 February 2017? )
2) The need to cease the ‘collaborative’ model for contracting, given that it has proven to ‘breed corruption’.
3) The need for the Board of AT to urgently review the ‘private procurement’ model for the provision of passenger transport services, and for related services provided by Auckland Transport, regarding ‘cost-effectiveness’, ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’, bearing in mind the statutory obligations arising from the underpinning Act upon which Auckland Transport was established, namely the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009:
In meeting its principal objective (as a council-controlled organisation) under section 59 of the Local Government Act 2002, and in performing its functions, Auckland Transport must—
(a) establish and maintain processes for Māori to contribute to its decision-making processes; and
(b) operate in a financially responsible manner and, for this purpose, prudently manage its assets and liabilities and endeavour to ensure—
(i) its long-term financial viability; and
(ii) that it acts as a successful going concern; and
(c) use its revenue efficiently and effectively, and in a manner that seeks value for money; and
(d) ensure that its revenue and expenditure are accounted for in a transparent manner; and
(e) ensure that it acts in a transparent manner in making decisions under this Act and the Land Transport Management Act 2003.
Section 40: substituted, on 1 November 2010, by section 31 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 36).
…”
______________________________________________________
We’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, aren’t we?” Mr Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016. “There’s no doubt about that. They’re taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face — and you understand how important face is — and say it’s an ancient territorial sea.”
President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not detail who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,” nor did it make clear the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s response.
What also I find interesting is the ‘shock’ of the media about anything Trump says like “stopping bad hombres” but it’s already been going on with Obama and with previous presidents throughout their history and more and more presidents seem to be doing it openly and with zero penalty or censor from international community. (Hard to censor when they are guilty of it themselves).
My wife just made the observation to me that the “Fallout” series of computer games (set in the post-apocalyptic US) is based on the premise of a Chinese-USA war.
The game involves remnant technology from the war – Remote drones, Power Armour, Energy Weapons, Virtual Reality & Robot military hardware – all things currently in varying stages of real-life development and some probably not all that far away as we seem to be on the cusp of a rapid automation boom/phase.
After the reports of Trump’s conversation with Turnbull, and his casual line about sending troops to the Mexico border, any confrontation with China makes that feel a little too close for comfort.
Just to give you the flavour of how that imaginary war started:
“As the United Nations tried with little success to keep the peace, many of that organization’s member-states pulled out, and within two months of the outbreak of what was soon called the Resource Wars in 2052, the United Nations was disbanded. Next, following the breakdown of trade talks and the unilateral American exploitation of the world’s last newly discovered reserves of crude oil, the Chinese invaded Alaska in 2066 in pursuit of the state’s remaining oil reserves. The United States ultimately annexed Canada in 2076 to ensure Canadian support for its defense of the Alaskan front even as the American federal government acted aggressively against its own citizens to contain wartime rioting, anti-war civil disobedience and military desertion.”
Somehow it doesn’t seen quite so an unlikely scenario any more.
Trump is insane. We have proof now. He needs to be removed from office. Peacefully, one hopes. @GOP, you know what you have to do — do it.— John Schindler (@20committee) February 2, 2017
In a letter to the Dutch parliament on Wednesday, Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk wrote “no shadow of doubt can be allowed to hang over the result” of the March 15 parliamentary poll.
To allay concerns about potential interference, municipalities and electoral regions will now have to tally all votes manually instead of using an automated counting system.
“I cannot rule out that state actors may try to benefit from influencing political decisions and public opinion in the Netherlands,” Plasterk wrote.
The military convoy spotted on Sunday flying a Donald Trump flag near Louisville belonged to an East Coast-based SEAL unit, a Navy spokesperson told ABC News.
Military officials have launched an inquiry to determine if any misconduct can be linked to the incident. Regulations do not permit an unauthorized flag on a military vehicle.
And who’s to say the services haven’t been infiltrated in the same way law enforcement has.
In a heavily redacted version of an October 2006 FBI internal intelligence assessment, the agency raised the alarm over white supremacist groups’ “historical” interest in “infiltrating law enforcement communities or recruiting law enforcement personnel.” The effort, the memo noted, “can lead to investigative breaches and can jeopardize the safety of law enforcement sources or personnel.” The memo also states that law enforcement had recently become aware of the term “ghost skins,” used among white supremacists to describe “those who avoid overt displays of their beliefs to blend into society and covertly advance white supremacist causes.” In at least one case, the FBI learned of a skinhead group encouraging ghost skins to seek employment with law enforcement agencies in order to warn crews of any investigations.
Coincidentally, efforts to counter extremists have been sidetracked.
The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The program, “Countering Violent Extremism,” or CVE, would be changed to “Countering Islamic Extremism” or “Countering Radical Islamic Extremism,” the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.
Oh dear. It’s probably just as well Trump seems to be too lazy to do any background on people he talks to or he would’ve given Turnbull shit about how close he came to losing.
Robert Guyton
How are things going down south? I am wondering if you can join in our group planning to read E F Schumachers Small is Beautiful over a month and then have an on-line discussion on it? Could you reply and let me know if you can fit it in. It’s something you could do to take a break from the hard yakker in the forest!
Just when I had given up the panel I heard that Rachel Stewart and Gary McCormack were going to be on. At last, two decent people instead of the usual twats.
Garibaldi
You ended up in a different place than you intended as I am talking about a group on TS reading together E F Schumacher Small is Beautiful. That’s the nearest I am coming to a panel.
But since you have turned up, it’s an opportunity to ask – would you be in on this our first go at group informed discussion, which we plan to do at the end of a month reading and extracting good stuff that could raise our political nous? Hope to have a really good discussion together on TS on a Sunday. If you could join in that would be much appreciated. Could you reply and let me know yay or nay, or next time, as if we can get this sort of informed political discussion going on a regular basis it would be a useful aspect giving kudos to TS.
And yes fancy Rachel Stewart being on Mora, lets have more’a of her stripes.
Gary, you like do you. I may have to listen to bring my opinion uptodate.
Sorry greywarshark, I was merely expressing my delight at getting a decnt panel on RNZ.
Thanks for your offer to join your group but I have too many other commitments for the next 3 months.
Paul
I asked on one of my comments if you would be in the reading group that you expressed interest in earlier. Perhaps you didn’t see it so I am asking again.
Could you advise yes or no by replying to this?
You are very interested in the political scene and it would be good to have your comments after the month we have set for reading and noting ideas from E F Schumacher.
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Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Russian military threat keeps Baltic states reliant on Russian dirty energy.
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/02/01/russian-military-threat-halts-giant-offshore-wind-project/
So let’s get this straight Andre. Is Russia not allowed to respond to the massive military build up right on its borders ? Should they just shrug their shoulders and believe that the Americans(Nato) are nice friendly people just giving their boys some kind of a picnic on their border? Would the Americans let the Russians amass forces on, say, the Canadian border?
Is anyone in this World allowed to disagree with USA hegemony, and have a different world view?
You come across as America – Great, and Russia- Bad , full stop. It’s not that simple, even if you are an American.
garibaldi – at least half the article is about the states dirty extractive energy decline – be good if they all just gave it up and worked towards the future – whether that be cleanish energy, reduced need for energy and/or renewable energy.
But I spose while kneejerks continue on the macro and micro scale we are left with the spoil.
Did you read the linked article garibaldi?
It actually explains a few of the reasons nations in the Baltic region are nervous about Russia and might want visible shows of friendship from their allies.
The article talks about Russia parading warships close to the Swedish coast.
Looking at the linked article referencing that, Russia moved two warships to its Kaliningrad base and they have to pass through Swedish waters to get there.
This kind of propoganda isnt great for international relations either.
The article refers to Russian warships deliberately preventing power supply from Sweden to the Baltic republics, so they have to remain dependent on Russia for electricity. You don’t think the governments involved might have some concerns about that?
…massive military build up… [citation needed]
…right on its borders… [citation needed]
At the time of Gorbachev the US promised NATO would not move East .
You appear to be a cold war armchair warrior.
Paul
That thing about the border agreement doesn’t get mentioned much but could be pivotal in Russian thinking today leading to aggressive defensive moves.
And I would really like to know if you will be in the first reading group looking over E F Schumacher, it would be good for us to have you along. We give it a month and then a really good discussion.
…massive military build up
http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-nato-buildup-on-russian-border-could-lead-to-nuclear-war-nobel-laureate/5568246
…right on its borders…
http://www.businessinsider.com/nato-build-up-on-russias-borders-2016-10?IR=T
The first citation involves some people claiming a “massive military build-up,” which says nothing more than that people other than Garibaldi are also making the claim. The second one includes the actual number, 4,000, which is equivalent to one brigade. That’s a “massive” military buildup to the same extent that a sandfly is a “massive” animal. The only purpose a military force that small can serve in those countries is to ensure that any Russian attack would involve firing on American troops, so the fact the Russian government is angry about it is quite revealing.
The second citation points out that these troops are being deployed in Poland and the Baltic republics. Those countries certainly border Russia (and two of them border “Russia” only in the sense that they border Kaliningrad, which Russia has no business occupying in the first place), but if we’re applying that criterion, every single one of Russia’s neighbours has military “right on Russia’s borders.” There is no military build-up “right on Russia’s borders” under any useful meaning of the phrase.
Come on, you are cherry picking, America has at least 40,000 troops in Germany alone, you know the same Germany that invaded Russia, and raped burned, tortured and pillaged their way to something like 20 million Russian/Slavic casualties not all that long ago.
So I am not defending Putin, but I can fully understand Russia being just a little bit sensitive when it comes to it’s boarders…especially when an extra 4,000 troops from the world biggest and most aggressive super power arrive on your doorstep, don’t you think?
Sure. But can you fully understand the governments whose countries have been invaded and occupied multiple times by Russia being just a bit sensitive when Russia is ruled by a nationalist authoritarian dictator who acts aggressively against his neighbours?
a nationalist authoritarian dictator who acts aggressively against his neighbours?
You’ve described the president of the United States perfectly. But your misapplication of those epithets to Putin is simply nonsense.
Are you not aware of the Ukraine and Georgia? These were actual invasions this century. So it is not surprising the Baltic states need some reassurance.
Ukraine? Where fascists (not your ‘garden variety’ or idiot on the street type of fascist) were floated into government on a raft of western interference in the internal affairs of the country? That Ukraine?
These were actual invasions this century.
They were indeed, Wayne, and they were certainly wrong. But compared to the invasions this century of Iraq and Afghanistan, they’re not in the same ballpark.
What reassurance do you think the United States’ neighbours need?
Yes I can, but what has that got to do with the USA?
However we all know what happened in Cuba right? that’s what happens when the US felt threatened, but they can’t seem be able to put that shoe on the other foot.
Yes I can, but what has that got to do with the USA?
Seriously? Lithuania has a smaller population than New Zealand. Estonia and Latvia between them have a similar population to New Zealand, but a proportion of those are Russian colonists. If you were responsible for the defence of any of those countries, wouldn’t your first priority be an alliance with someone who has a military as powerful as Russia’s?
However we all know what happened in Cuba right? that’s what happens when the US felt threatened, but they can’t seem be able to put that shoe on the other foot.
There’s a lot more reason to feel threatened by nuclear missiles than by a combat brigade. I expect that if there was an actual equivalent, ie if NATO was installing nuclear missiles in Poland, there’d be a “Polish missile crisis” and we’d all be wondering if we’d wake up to a nuclear war – which is why there’s 0 chance of NATO installing nuclear missiles in Poland.
No seriously American has significant nuclear weapons in Europe…
“180 of the tactical versions of the B61s remain at six
bases in Europe – in Belgium, Italy, Germany,
the Netherlands, and Turkey – as symbols of
US nuclear commitments to NATO. All the bases,
except the one in Turkey, have US or Allied
fighter jets equipped to deliver the bombs;”
https://www.stimson.org/sites/default/files/file-attachments/B61-Life-Extension-Program.pdf
Maybe my first priority would be making an alliance or at least try fora stable diplomatic relationship, with the countries on my boarder, but while the US is in there, the natural scales are never allowed to balance.
These countries have excellent diplomatic relationships with the countries on their borders – except with the one that’s invaded and occupied them multiple times, never accepted that it was wrong to do so, and publicly regards them as belonging to a putative “sphere of influence” it feels it has a right to.
But you’re right in that the best thing the governments of these countries could do is achieve stable diplomatic relationships with the Russian Federation. I could envisage that being a possibility if the Russian Federation were to apologise for previous invasions, publicly reject any claim to an interest in the governance of these countries, cease its military activity against its neighbour Ukraine and generally demonstrate a willingness to cooperate (or at least to not actively obstruct, as described in the article linked above).
Problem is: first, those things aren’t going to happen, and second, even if they did the relevant governments would take decades to be convinced it wasn’t just a sham to get them to drop their defences. So, status quo it is then, for the foreseeable future.
4.00pm and I’m back from work and I just want to say thanks to Paul, Morrissey and Adrian Thornton for their efforts here in this thread.
Morrissey,
Iraq, yes illegal. Afghanistan was a UNSC approved operation for reasons you know well. So Afghanistan is actually a legal invasion.
Neither Georgia or Ukraine were UN authorized.
The Baltics have been previously invaded by Russia (USSR). That is why they wanted to be in NATO, to guarantee it would not happen again. The deployments are part of the guarantee.
In any event this is all a pointless debate. Pointing to Iraq or central America is all a bit irrelevant if you are a Baltic nation. Russia actions are what matters to them.
The Baltics are in NATO. That won’t change. NATO provides guarantees to all it members. Trump can’t change that. Congress wont let him.
So despite this debate, these deployments will happen, until and unless Russia stops complaining about them. If Russia didn’t complain the Baltics would be less nervous.
Iraq, yes illegal.
It was, and is, the worst case of aggression since the destruction of Indo-China.
Afghanistan was a UNSC approved operation for reasons you know well. So Afghanistan is actually a legal invasion.
Your relaxed view of that horror contrasts starkly with the view of thoughtful Afghanis…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEK7nOq5KY
Neither Georgia or Ukraine were UN authorized.
Neither was the U.S./U.K. aggression against Iraq. In fact, it was the refusal of the United Nations Director General Kofi Annan to back the aggression that so incensed this racist broadcaster….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNdk7Hsj_R0&t=1s
Pointing to Iraq or central America is all a bit irrelevant if you are a Baltic nation.
You are not a Baltic nation. I wanted to know why you were singling out Russian intervention in Georgia and Ukraine, and ignoring the far bloodier, far more destructive, and utterly unwarranted invasions of Afhanistan and Iraq.
Exactly. The countries near to Russia got worried about the semi-covert invasions of their territory similar to those that Russia did with the Ukraine in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The obvious buildup in Kalingrad is worrying.
Russia that has been getting increasingly aggressive apparently for the purposes of stifling internal dissent triggered by the faltering Russian economy. All of the states near them are increasing their defensive posture. Part of that has been to request and receive token numbers of ‘tripwire’ troops from Nato.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states. If that makes Russia uncomfortable, then that is the direct consequence of their previous actions.
If their idiotic apologists here dislike that, then I really couldn’t give a damn. Russia has shown in the past that this is about the only language that they understand when their internal issues spill over the borders.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states.
Russian adventurism in neighboring states is minor compared to what the United States has done and is doing in Central and South America. I see no concern by you about constraining the U.S.
If their idiotic apologists here…
So pointing out inaccurate and/or maliciously false claims against a party makes one an apologist, does it? I have sometimes had to point out to people that the United States did NOT have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks*; does that make me an apologist for the United States?
* Well, it did of course have something to do with the 9/11 attacks in 1973, which killed more people.
Russian adventurism in neighboring states is minor compared to what the United States has done and is doing in Central and South America.
More false equivalence. First, the actual invasion, occupation and colonisation of Russia’s neighbouring states isn’t “minor” compared to US activities in Central and South America. Second, what’s your opinion of US involvement in Central and South America? Is it something you’d defend as vigorously as you defend Russia’s invasions of its neighbours? No, it isn’t, because the US’ activities in Central and South America have been unbelievably shitty. It would be nice if those countries had some means of defending themselves against their local great power, wouldn’t it? If they did, would you be on here berating them for “threatening” the USA?
Fool, I didn’t say they were equivalent. When it comes to aggression and body counts, Russia is Switzerland or Liechtenstein compared to the United States.
I guess you’re right – “false equivalence” is overly generous. It fails to capture the requisite level of wrongness and bombast. Unfortunately though, I don’t believe the the necessary linguistic tools to properly describe Morrissey levels of logical fallacy have yet been invented, so “false equivalence” will have to cover the territory in the meantime.
Looks like I slipped and posted that comment early. However…
The stupid adventurism of the US up to last century pretty much caused the hostile reactions by their neighbors. It also caused the formation of regional coalitions to limit it, and the slow deterioration of the Monroe doctrine. As it stands at present, the US has apparently been pretty good recently in central and south America in recent decades. Venezuela you could argue about, but it appears to have been largely the incompetent government internally that has done the damage there.
But basically you are being a complete and utter fool if you equate a powers making bad as excusing another to also act like an arsehole. It speaks of a certain level of moral and intellectual stupidity that I associate with unthinking apologists for one cause or another.
Personally I’d prefer if we left that kind of idiotic thinking back in the 19th century where it belongs.
Governments of small states (like NZ or Lithuania or Poland or Mexico or Saddam’s Iraq) should be able to make their own stupid decisions without having dickhead nations treating it as an excuse for adventurism. The exception is always when the disintegration of the government of the state causes overflow at the borders (the failed state issue), or where they start intruding or threatening other states (eg North Korea).
As it stands at present, the US has apparently been pretty good recently in central and south America in recent decades.
That is simply not true. Unless of course the expression “pretty good” means something entirely different to what it used to mean. The United States is still involved in funding and training death squads in Honduras, to mention just one of the places where the United States has, in recent decades, been involved in the overthrow of a democratically elected government…
https://theintercept.com/2016/04/12/death-squads-are-back-in-honduras-honduran-activists-tell-congress/
Venezuela you could argue about, but it appears to have been largely the incompetent government internally that has done the damage there.
Certainly the Chávez and now Maduro government has been extremely incompetent, but it is its fiercely independent stance that angers the United States. Forty years ago, of course, the United States could deal with these troublesome democratic governments by backing a military coup, as it did to the democratically elected government of Chile in 1973. There was a coup against Chávez, of course, in 2002, but massive popular resistance restored him to office—in fact, it’s a model of what the beleaguered population of the United States should be doing right now as its democracy is under massive attack from within the very centre of power. It certainly beats repeating those DNC fantasies about Russian hacking.
But basically you are being a complete and utter fool if you equate a powers making bad as excusing another to also act like an arsehole.
Certainly that would be true if that’s what I had done, but it’s not. I don’t support Russia, any more than I support Australia, or Sweden, or anyone else. But are you seriously trying to suggest that Russia’s actions in Ukraine and Georgia have caused anything like the death and destruction that the U.S. and its vassal states have wrought in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Syria?
…. where they start intruding or threatening other states (eg North Korea).
And the United States, and South Korea, and Israel.
Can’t say that I consider the DPRK as a threat to anyone*. The US on the other hand, well, history tells us that they are a threat and a major one to pretty much any nation that displeases them.
* This isn’t to say that they haven’t threatened anyone – they have. I just don’t think those threats are credible.
Exactly. The countries near to Russia got worried about the semi-covert invasions of their territory similar to those that Russia did with the Ukraine in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The obvious buildup in Kalingrad is worrying.
Russia that has been getting increasingly aggressive apparently for the purposes of stifling internal dissent triggered by the faltering Russian economy. All of the states near them are increasing their defensive posture. Part of that has been to request and receive token numbers of ‘tripwire’ troops from Nato.
Both help to constrain the Russian government from executing adventurism in neighboring states. If that makes Russia uncomfortable, then that is the direct consequence of their previous actions.
If Russia’s apologists dislike that, then I really couldn’t give a damn. They deserve my contempt for their moral turpitude. I am only really concerned with their neighboring states and their ability towards self-determination without having an arsehole state next to them meddling in their internal affairs. The great power twaddle about “spheres of influence” and other such imperial stupidity belongs to be back in World War 1 when it demonstrated why it should be as dead as the soldiers and civilians it killed.
If Russia’s neighbors feel insecure, then they should be able to call on the international community for whatever assistance they need to feel secure with Russia rattling its sabers against them again. A brigade level tripwire for states is a minimal response to that call.
I’d point out that I feel exactly the same about the US, UK, French, China, Germany, or even tiddlers like Aussie.
Edit: Opps – I must have banged that off already… Oh well.
But it’s a case of if they should call upon the UN or upon NATO.
Of course, the UN has been set up so that it can’t act against the actions of the big players with the UNSC veto that they hold.
Which is why they asked NATO.
True but NATO’s is not the people that they should be asking as it comes with massive US political agenda.
To put it another way: The UN needs to be reformed so that it can act against the US, Russia, China and all the other UNSC veto holders. Preferably by getting rid of their veto.
You know that what Peter Fraser said would eventually undermine the UN.
lol
ok, so until the five permanent members all relinquish their vetos out of the kindness of their hearts, NATO is the go-to organisation for smaller European states looking for some external security support.
Yeah. But the hassle with the UN isn’t just the security council. The principle of giving seats based solely on nation states sucks as well. It seems designed to provide lowest common denominator (ie the bribery level) decision making.
I’d say that the UN is a failed experiment, except that all of the extant alternatives are even worse.
Not so much a failed experiment. It’s long been fashionable to write off the UN, but it is a large and complex organisation that has achieved a lot over the years. Arguably the world would be a lot worse off without it, despite the obvious shortcomings and failures.
The modern democratic nation-state was centuries in the making; equally it is reasonable to suppose the next logical step of federal global governance might take more than one attempt to get right. History will judge the League of Nations, and the UN as essential pre-cursors to the emergence of an authentic, democratically accountable global body.
All of the really big problems humanity faces are global in nature; from climate change onwards. I’ve always argued that ultimately they will only be solved by an entity with the authority and capacity to solve them on a global scale.
Well, it should be put to the General Forum where every country gets to have a say on it. I don’t think there would be a majority of other states that allow them to keep it.
Of course, those states will probably simply leave the UN at that point in which case it would be up to the Rest of the World to show that they can go on without them. And that would include putting in place valid sanctions against them.
Andre still believes what America tells him…
Fake news Paul – yawn
The msm does create a lot of fake news, I agree.
Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, Scotland, Brexit etc etc
Fake news marty mars – yawn
Touchy
Imagine the response if thousands of Russian troops conducted live fire “exercises” in Canada and Mexico.
Let’s go with your counter-factual. For the analogy to work, we’re going to have to imagine that the USA has invaded and occupied Canada and Mexico several times within living memory, that they have since requested Russian protection because they don’t want a further repeat of the exercise, and that this Russian protection consists only of a few thousand troops who can serve no military purpose beyond ensuring that the USA can’t attack Canada and Mexico again without firing on Russian soldiers. I imagine the US government’s response would be exactly the kind of bluster we’re seeing from Putin.
we’re going to have to imagine that the USA has invaded and occupied Canada
They haven’t invaded Canada, although Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt both spoke of invading Canada at the time they were “liberating” Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Haiti, and the Philippines.
and Mexico
California? Texas? Arizona? New Mexico? Nevada? Utah? Colorado?
I guess the phrase “within living memory” made the sentence longer than you can read.
You’re quite right that the annexation of much of Mexico did not occur “within living memory”. The rhetorical and physical aggression against Mexicans by successive U.S. administrations, however, shows that the war against Mexico has continued through different means. And you’re correct to point out that Canada has not been attacked and occupied by the United States.
But the people of the Dominican Republic, which the U.S. attacked in 1965, or Grenada (attacked in 1983) or Haiti, or Panama, or Chile, or Nicaragua, or Venezuela, or Brazil, or Honduras, or Ecuador, or Guatemala, or Bolivia, or Colombia, or Costa Rica certainly do have a living memory of being invaded, occupied, threatened, blockaded, tortured, humiliated and insulted by the United States.
Until Hopey-Changey did one of the few positive things in his eight wasted years and normalised relations, Cuba had been the subject of a relentless propaganda and outright terror campaign by the United States.
The terror, economic sabotage and vile propaganda continues against Venezuela.
The United States has been, and is, a relentless and malignant aggressor against its neighbours. Russia, for all its crimes, is not in the same league.
Blah blah blah. Meanwhile, back here outside of the People’s Republic of False Equivalence, Poland and the Baltic republics have been actually invaded and occupied by Russia multiple times within living memory and their governments are justifiably suspicious of Putin. Your opinions on the relative merits of the Russian Federation vs the USA matter jack shit to them.
Your flippant, disrespectful and foolish answer does you no credit.
How exactly is what Morrissey is saying the “People’s Republic of False Equivalence”?
Of course most post war invasions quite often look a lot different from those pre 1930’s, but the results and intentions are the same politically.
The US invasion of Panama 1989 would be a good example of that..
So as I have mentioned before I am not defending Putin, but neither could one deny the US has been the major player in conducting regime change, in one way or another on the world stage post ’45.
How exactly is what Morrissey is saying the “People’s Republic of False Equivalence”?
Because it’s his standard MO. In this particular instance: Russia’s practice of invading, annexing and colonising neighbour states (or parts of them) has continued unbroken from the times when that kind of thing was typical, right up to the collapse of the USSR, and now looks like it’s starting again under Putin. The USA attacking some states it wasn’t happy with in Latin America is not in the same league, and in any case is completely irrelevant to the topic of the post.
…I am not defending Putin, but neither could one deny the US has been the major player in conducting regime change, in one way or another on the world stage post ’45.
Well, one can deny it, and I do, because “regime change” in other countries was a major focus of the USSR for the entire period of its existence, not just post-war. In any case, what the USA does is of a lot less interest to the governments of Russia’s western neighbours than what Russia does – given the content of comment 1, all the subsequent blather about what the US government gets up to is tiresome what-aboutery.
“Meanwhile, back here outside of the People’s Republic of False Equivalence”
It’s funny because it’s true but a little sad at the same time.
http://img.memecdn.com/that-one-teacher-who-makes-you-feel-like-a-complete-idiot-when-you-get-an-answer-wrong_o_410937.gif
Since when is calling someone a retard an acceptable insult, here, at the standard, or anywhere for that matter?
You won’t be, but you should be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed of yourself 🙄
Ultimately the content of your rants show the caliber of your mettle.
And your anger belies any pretense of decent, knowledgeable opinion.
No matter your half baked, ill politics and sick logic, I reckon you’re a bit scum, to be fair.
I expect the response would be quite severe as such an action would quite possibly have involved an act of war by Russia.
Reading these responses, it seems some people need to go take a look at a map. Apart from Kaliningrad (that Russia continues to hold Kaliningrad and has stationed big nasty missiles there is a provocation in itself, like Gibraltar or Ceuta and Melilla), to get from Poland to Russia requires going through quite a lot of either Ukraine or Belarus.
So in fact as far as I can tell, American troops are a lot closer to Russia just across the Bering Strait from Alaska than they are in Poland.
OMG – are they “massing troops” there?
Not that I know of. Just the usual contingents at the bases scattered around the state. But Sarah Palin’s keeping a good eye on them from her porch.
https://investmentwatchblog.com/eu-demands-half-a-trillion-for-uk-leaving-brexit/
This ^ is what happens when unelected bureaucrats are allowed to take over.
Asleep While Walking
EU aren’t going to allow Brits off as Greece wasn’t allowed to do what was best for it. All divorces have high costs these days.
When I was writing about having a reading circle AWW you liked the idea. Will you come in to the first group looking at E F Schumacher Small is Beautiful over a month with big discussion on it at end? You would contribute lots and it would be great to have you in if poss. Could you let me know as I am looking at best way to get the most out of the exercise. Thanks.
Any payment will be minimal. At the end of the two years the U.K. can leave and just go to WTO rules (basically the same as NZ today). In that case no payment is required. That is why PM May said no deal is better than a bad deal.
https://www.ft.com/content/5741129a-4510-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d
and keep in mind that basically half of the UKs exports go to EU member countries.
Peter Thiel supports Muslim ban of Trump’s.
We should remember that he is part of a religion himself – the cult of Ayn Rand and Hayek. Their neoliberal cult of the individual has done a lot more damage to the world in the past 40 years than Islam has.
Shall we ban followers of the neoliberal religion?
a brief glimpse of a parallel world through a crack in the door……where the rules and rationale of the often evoked ” kiwi way” are turned on their head.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201831731/xero-founder-'absolutely'-backs-peter-thiel-citizenship
Should we ban neo liberals, No just left wing nut jobs
http://img.memecdn.com/that-one-teacher-who-makes-you-feel-like-a-complete-idiot-when-you-get-an-answer-wrong_o_410937.gif
Paul
Shall we ban followers of the neoliberal religion?
Yes! And remove tax privileges from all religions?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11792544
nats can’t even keep city police stations manned. Hopeless
If resistance is rising and Revolution is in the air is it too much to expect some decent fucking music at last!.
Once the revolution overturns the industry cartels
Here you go Adrian,
Gil Scott Heron:
Htpps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qGaoXAwl9kw
@gsays – great link to start day!
Some good water protection networks out there – the fight to save us all is continuing – check out ‘bung the bore’ on fbook for instance.
And for those who have visited Golden Bay/Mohua and may have met the beautiful waters of Waikoropupu Springs – this is concerning isn’t it?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/88874528/new-zealands-largest-freshwater-springs-under-threat-from-irrigation
This is just appalling. Is there no end to this greedy need for irrigation ? Surely someone in the Takaka authorities can see the incredible threat irrigation would bring to the Springs?
The opposition to this will win. This is not going to happen. Many allied against including iwi.
Labour drops the ball, no wait Labour never picked up the ball on protecting the renter class from being gouged by landlords.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/322483/average-rent-on-the-rise-across-the-country-trade-me
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/323612/rental-rises-put-squeeze-on-tenants
Labour also have no policies that I know of to enable the renter class to have any type of long term security in a tenancy.
No plan for protecting the wave of people coming into retirement age renting.
So while Labour push their $500-600,000 affordable houses, they have no provisions to protect working people and families who obviously can’t afford their ‘affordable’ houses and are consigned to a bleak life rent from Ma & Pa investors, and speculators, who will both sell their investments at the drop of a hat, with no thought to the uprooting of the lives that live in their investments.
As I have said previously, if I have missed something in Labours manifesto, please inform me, other wise we have to jus call it for what it is, class war.
Luckily they have got the centre well covered though.
No, you are right, Labour are quiet on this. Their slogan is ‘Backing the Kiwi Dream’, but nowhere is there concern for those who missed the boat when National cast off the moorings.
Greens are much more vocal. Clutching at straws here but maybe the Greens are given that area under the MOU?
To me “Backing the Kiwi Dream” of home ownership is part of the problem.
So much emphasis on home ownership puts more pressure on people to buy – and some will pay over the odds to nail this over-rated dream. This plays into the hands of the speculators, property investors and banksters.
Better to back secure, safe, affordable homes for all whether it be via renting or property ownership.
Yes to say I am disappointed in Labour, with the information I have on their policies thus far would be a understatement.
To have a labour Party completely ignore the working class housing security is a sham.
To have a Labour Party that is tacit at best on importing Labour from third world countries, there by artificially keeping working class wage growth down, while at the same time the unprotected renter is being forced to pay more and more in rent to the greedy and unhinged landlord class is almost beyond belief.
What sort of Labour is Labour 2017?
Who are they fighting for?, because it sure as hell doesn’t look like they are fighting for and protecting he working classes with any conviction.
“Backing the Kiwi Dream”, yes they are, but only for certain classes.
I’m an aging renter from choice. Rented all my adult life. I’d always assumed there’s be affordable rentals available, and that there always would be properties available for long term rent.
This is the worst situation I’ve ever seen for renters in my lifetime. It has escalated to unacceptable levels since 2008.
Still, I’m not one of the worst off….. yet at least. I have a reasonable income at the moment, and a further year’s tenancy in this place.
But I have seen what else is out there for rent. And I know how much of a desperate struggle it must be for those on low incomes.
The future situation is insecure for all renters now.
This issue will be a biggie for me in this year’s election.
Yes – Adrian Thornton, you HAVE missed something. And Muttonbird too.
Labour has a massively comprehensive housing plan – it includes building thousands of state houses for rental, getting hundreds of young people into building apprentices – thereby giving them a good starting place at work, cracking down on speculators, limiting the numbers of immigrants to what can be sustained, fund additional emergency housing, and stopping the current Govt’s state housing sell-off.
And of course, making it easier by getting more affordable housing built.
This plan has been out in the open for months – and is on the Labour website.
So I don’t know how you’ve all missed knowing something about it.
It’s also on Labour’s Facebook page, if you’re into FB.
‘
Yes, Jenny. There are those policies.
Adrian and I commented on the Labour Housing policy yesterday here.
You can see that yesterday I looked at Labour’s Housing policy online. There is nothing there explicitly to support private renters re- security of tenure, rent caps, etc.
I know that manifesto pretty well I have read through a number of times.
Have to say their I also think the ‘cracking down on speculators’ is pretty soft core.
I say again, where are the protections and security policies for renters? keeping in mind that this private/public affordable housing scheme is geared toward middle and upper middle class couples and not working class workers.
Are you suggesting that Labour’s long term plan is to house the working class renters and incoming renting retirees in long term state housing?,
“Little also said his party would build at least 1000 new state houses each year until there were enough to meet demand”…that’s great, but say Labour are in power 3 years, that’s 3000 state houses, its not going to cover all those in real immediate need, let alone those people who are simply trying to survive a lifetime on short term rentals and constant rent hikes, who do not have a hope of ever, ever, getting anywhere near a housing NZ waiting list.
These policies are, maybe, addressing the immediate crisis of homeless people, and middle class kids who can’t afford a house. But they DO NOT deal with the new reality of an ever increasing number of folk who need to be allowed some security during a life time of renting.
And there is no hint at how Labour will deal with large numbers of renters living on the pension. No one seems to want to have that conversation.
Bill English, who deals daily with the ACT cult, and was one of the many recipients of secret Brethren cash, condemns “ideological” and “doctrinaire” Greens
RNZ National, Thursday 2 Febrary 2017
About 8:15 this morning I heard that little tick Bill “Douple Dipton” English engaging in a bit of low-level propaganda warfare. He was dumping on the Greens….
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/323600/political-alliances-clear-ahead-of-election-campaigning
He said that with not the slightest tremor in his voice, nor the slightest sign that he possessed any sense of irony or absurdity. He sounded just like John Key.
“too ideological, too doctrinaire.”
= too principled.
the horror.
The tick from dipton – nice
he Had better also check with his religious leaders about the too ideological and doctrinaire position -he might be being hypocritical
His religion says a lot about helping the poor. Does the National Party do that?
Who’s the major deity of third rate stenographers ?
“Third rate”?
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/54388732.jpg
Surely it’s better than being fourth rate…
http://media.salon.com/2015/04/sean_hannity4.jpg
This article starts with a much better shot of him.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/01/27/donald_trump_gives_hannity_interview_says_usual_ridiculous_things.html
Leave Lumpy alone.
https://twitter.com/lumpyhannity1
Ok. I’ll pick on the orange pimple instead.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anti-trump-street-art_us_58820c24e4b070d8cad1ead2
Titter – I believe that’s the face he makes as he outrages his underpants.
He would argue that he ‘helps’ them by taking away any support and ‘encouraging’ them to stand on their own two feet…..
“Its [the Church’s] desire is that the poor should rise above poverty and wretchedness, and should better their condition in life; and for this it strives.
Rerum Novarum -‘Condition of Labour’ (1981), paragraph 23
What I don’t understand is that English doesn’t get called out for being an ideologue himself.
Key and English are probably the most pure politicians, ideologically since Douglas, they are both real believers.
John Key chair of the right wing International Democrat Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Democrat_Union
What I don’t understand is that English doesn’t get called out for being an ideologue himself.
All they worry about is the ties he wears, and the timbre of his voice. The fact he tells lies as routinely as he breathes is of little importance.
Dept of Corrections has been banned from this month’s Auckland Pride Parade.
I recall that Judith Collins marched with them last year. So no platform this time for Louise Upston.
Maybe Judith (such a great LGBTI supporter!!??) will be able to hitch a ride this time with an ethnic community float, or one focused on energy & resources?
Two girls die in suspected suicides a 9 and a 10 year old – this a a real tragedy – that kids so young take their own lives should be a wake up call.
I don’t know why these kids did what they did, but I do think National’s policy of National Standards needs to be abolished. It puts a huge amount of stress of children from 5 years of age upward and they are told they are no achieving a set of standards that are stupid and arbitrary. There is also too much emphasis on safety in schools, this leads to kids thinking that the world is a dangerous place and developing anxiety. Parents are now forced into long hours of work and being home for your kids at 3pm is a luxury as well as the worry of losing your job/ income. There is huge pressure on parents in NZ and there is huge stress on kids in NZ.
I went on a horrendous school trip last year and there were something like 8 messages of safety at least one per hour and the trip was not dangerous at all and was as boring as hell. It seemed more about keeping the kids contained than the actually the kids learning something and enjoying themselves. The kids were fidgeting and poking each other in frustration. I feel sorry for today’s kids and it was not the school or the teachers fault in my view but more policy from the ministry of education that they were following. Paperwork and testing has replaced teaching and learning. Teachers do a fantastic job. They should be respected and allowed to do a good job.
Kids need to play and room to grow mentally and physically. These days there are no school pools anymore and fun places for them. They should not be told they are not good enough by their school reports and be contained and restrained in everything they do for ‘safety’.
Who knows what else was going on in these poor kids lives to lead them to want to end it.
My condolences to the family and friends of the two little lives lost.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/02/two-girls-die-in-suspected-suicides.html
I was also talking to another parent, their kids went on a pre school trip to the local estuary – they had to fill out a 28? page report on the site prior to going and the teachers put barricades around some trees because they were prickly. WTF?
Welcome to the nanny state, Bob Jones did a story in the herald a couple of years ago about how NZ has become the biggest nanny state any where, a slag at JK and National, I don’t support Jones, but what he said is correct.
Protecting people form inherent danger is mandatory, but you have to draw the line somewhere, when govts regulate how people behave in the belief that it some how protects them is incorrect, molly coddling leads to a lack of “personal responsibility”, which in turn results in greater danger for all.
Thousands of years ago, when humans made stupid mistakes which resulted in injury or death, this generally served as a lesson for all, and if death occurred, it meant that this lack of perceived danger could not be passed on to next generation.
Nanny states lead to reduced responsibility by some individuals, having a negative outcome, rather than a positive one.
Children should be allowed to play, but supervision in imperative, allowing children to be pricked by a gorse bush, for example, is a lesson about how to avoid a recurrence, one which makes them wiser.
Newsflash
Example of dogma Number 1 of 1000. Repeat 100 times while sitting on the toilet thus reducing the brain’s ‘downtime’ in an efficient manner.
Nanny states lead to reduced responsibility by some individuals, having a negative outcome, rather than a positive one.
I came across this url, and it reminded me that in these difficult times for journalism, there is little follow up on stories. Naturally this trend is encouraged by the government – they know that all they have to do is defer action for a short while and the issue will be forgotten
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/85000994/John-Key-keeps-lid-on-hidden-billions
What’s the betting nothing will be done before the next election?
In like vein a radio report yesterday said that one of the issues affecting housing construction was a shortage of developer finance. Remember when National promised to do something about finance company legislation to restore the ability of investors to trust they will not lose all their money, and provide an alternative to the banks for developers? Well if you didn’t I suspect you are not alone – and of course it is very hard to find any references . . .
Another article I remember is one about some foreign workers employed by a foreign contractor just before Christmas – I think they were doing welding work on a project – their “employer” required them to live where directed, and charged them for food and accommodation – leaving them with pay much lower than the minimum wage. After discovering that this was all legal as it was an overseas contractor with overseas workers, it all got dropped. Can anyone find the reference?
All that makes me wonder if there is a site somewhere that indexes articles that need to be followed up – perhaps it would be enough to keep a list of posts to The Standard that should probably be looked at again in a certain number of months – and a “reminder” posted if appropriate at that time – and perhaps the list of “banked” issues posted once a month for review.
Lest we forget . . .
Ed
Absolutely necessary as you say, to keep note of these stories. Facts, reference to past disasters, unbelievable but true, to learn from – absolutely. And not just the links either, though that is better than nothing, they need to be fully copied and (my belief) transferred to paper if possible. Everyone in theory, should have a large drawer for this sort of stuff. Lest we forget.
Trivia it may be but illuminating of hidden behaviour and culture of some; does someone remember – when did some NZ men in Wellington area I think, businessmen I think, punish someone for something by digging an underground bunker and locking a man in? About 10-20 years ago.
Thanks. I still can’t find the story about the foreign workers getting treated as slaves and the advice that it is all legal even though they were working in New Zealand (and prevented some locals getting welding work).
I am not able to help with the “memory list’ – it needs a reference list held by category, picking up both post headings from the Std as well as urls. I understand why the search function was removed, but it was a good way to find issues from this site at least.
lprent
Hi what do you think about Ed saying that some subjects need to go into memory both from posts and from URLS? Can it be done.
And is it possible to have again a search function where you can type in a commenters name that brings up their contributions? It was so handy and I miss it.
FYI.
2 February 2017
“Speaking rights confirmed for Penny Bright at next Auckland Transport Board meeting 16 February 2017.”
The next AT Board meeting is scheduled as follows:
DATE: Thursday 16 February 2017
TIME: 2.00pm
VENUE: AMP Building, Level 17, Mairangi Room, 29 Customs St West
“This is going to be, in my opinion, a HUGE development in ensuring that ratepayers’ and citizens’ lawful rights to transparency and accountability in the spending of public monies on private consultants and contractors, are fully implemented and upheld,” says ‘anti-corruption campaigner’ and 2017 Independent Mt Albert by-election candidate, Penny Bright.
“My subject matter for this Auckland Transport Board meeting, is as follows:
Having spent days over the Christmas break, studying the ‘Reasons for the Verdict of Fitzgerald J’, I wish to raise key concerns that arise from the facts and evidence, upon which Justice Sally Fitzgerald relied in her Judgment.
( https://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/cases/r-v-borlase-reasons/@@images/fileDecision )
1) The need for Auckland Transport to fully comply with the Public Records Act 2005, particularly section 17, and to make transparent and available for public scrutiny the details of ALL awarded contracts, including those under $50,000, and including ALL those sub-contracted.
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345729.html
17 Requirement to create and maintain records
(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an independent contractor.
_________________________________________________
(Please be advised that I have raised my concerns directly with the Local Government and Environment Select Committee, regarding the lack of transparency with Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), which included Auckland Transport.
Petition 2014/33 of Penelope Mary Bright and 55 others, and Report from the Controller and Auditor-General, Governance and accountability of council-controlled organisations.
a) Here is the Local Government and Environment Select Committee’s Report on my above-mentioned petition:
https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/51DBSCH_SCR69296_1/924613ec7fb831c4e74bd062f73287ac2ceb5081
b) Here is my evidence which I presented to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee:
https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/51SCLGE_EVI_51DBHOH_PET66634_1_A494444/90cd29f5accdd6dca8189fcddce8fa662e07a62b
I would like members of the Board of Auckland Transport to please study both this Local Government and Environment Select Committee Report, and the evidence I provided, before I attend the AT Board meeting on 20 February 2017? )
2) The need to cease the ‘collaborative’ model for contracting, given that it has proven to ‘breed corruption’.
3) The need for the Board of AT to urgently review the ‘private procurement’ model for the provision of passenger transport services, and for related services provided by Auckland Transport, regarding ‘cost-effectiveness’, ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’, bearing in mind the statutory obligations arising from the underpinning Act upon which Auckland Transport was established, namely the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2009/0032/80.0/DLM2363310.html
40 Operating principles
In meeting its principal objective (as a council-controlled organisation) under section 59 of the Local Government Act 2002, and in performing its functions, Auckland Transport must—
(a) establish and maintain processes for Māori to contribute to its decision-making processes; and
(b) operate in a financially responsible manner and, for this purpose, prudently manage its assets and liabilities and endeavour to ensure—
(i) its long-term financial viability; and
(ii) that it acts as a successful going concern; and
(c) use its revenue efficiently and effectively, and in a manner that seeks value for money; and
(d) ensure that its revenue and expenditure are accounted for in a transparent manner; and
(e) ensure that it acts in a transparent manner in making decisions under this Act and the Land Transport Management Act 2003.
Section 40: substituted, on 1 November 2010, by section 31 of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 36).
…”
______________________________________________________
Penny Bright
………
‘Anti-privatisation / anti-corruption campaigner’.
(2017 Independent candidate Mt Albert by-election.)
(Authorised by Penny Bright 86A School Rd, Kingsland Auckland 1021)
Zzzzzzzzzzzzx
The peace dividend.
/
We’re going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, aren’t we?” Mr Bannon said on his radio show in March 2016. “There’s no doubt about that. They’re taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face — and you understand how important face is — and say it’s an ancient territorial sea.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-steve-bannon-china-south-sea-war-chinese-us-president-special-counsellor-a7556546.html
On a roll.
President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not detail who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,” nor did it make clear the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s response.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-mexico-care-bad-hombres-us-might-231304076–politics.html
Executions seem like all the rage these days for Presidents…
Obama’s drone wars and the normalisation of extrajudicial murder
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/11/obama-drone-wars-normalisation-extrajudicial-killing
Philippines President Duterte admits killing suspects
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/12/14/asia/duterte-philippines-davao-killings/index.html
What also I find interesting is the ‘shock’ of the media about anything Trump says like “stopping bad hombres” but it’s already been going on with Obama and with previous presidents throughout their history and more and more presidents seem to be doing it openly and with zero penalty or censor from international community. (Hard to censor when they are guilty of it themselves).
My wife just made the observation to me that the “Fallout” series of computer games (set in the post-apocalyptic US) is based on the premise of a Chinese-USA war.
The game involves remnant technology from the war – Remote drones, Power Armour, Energy Weapons, Virtual Reality & Robot military hardware – all things currently in varying stages of real-life development and some probably not all that far away as we seem to be on the cusp of a rapid automation boom/phase.
After the reports of Trump’s conversation with Turnbull, and his casual line about sending troops to the Mexico border, any confrontation with China makes that feel a little too close for comfort.
Just to give you the flavour of how that imaginary war started:
“As the United Nations tried with little success to keep the peace, many of that organization’s member-states pulled out, and within two months of the outbreak of what was soon called the Resource Wars in 2052, the United Nations was disbanded. Next, following the breakdown of trade talks and the unilateral American exploitation of the world’s last newly discovered reserves of crude oil, the Chinese invaded Alaska in 2066 in pursuit of the state’s remaining oil reserves. The United States ultimately annexed Canada in 2076 to ensure Canadian support for its defense of the Alaskan front even as the American federal government acted aggressively against its own citizens to contain wartime rioting, anti-war civil disobedience and military desertion.”
Somehow it doesn’t seen quite so an unlikely scenario any more.
I told her to stop – she was freaking me out! 😉
This bloke’s a right wing hawk and he’s worried.
Fake news!.
/
In a letter to the Dutch parliament on Wednesday, Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk wrote “no shadow of doubt can be allowed to hang over the result” of the March 15 parliamentary poll.
To allay concerns about potential interference, municipalities and electoral regions will now have to tally all votes manually instead of using an automated counting system.
“I cannot rule out that state actors may try to benefit from influencing political decisions and public opinion in the Netherlands,” Plasterk wrote.
http://www.dw.com/en/dutch-to-hand-count-ballots-in-march-vote-due-to-hacking-fears/a-37375137
Come on Joe ,say its not so.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n03/patrick-cockburn/who-supplies-the-news
Junta in the making.
The military convoy spotted on Sunday flying a Donald Trump flag near Louisville belonged to an East Coast-based SEAL unit, a Navy spokesperson told ABC News.
Military officials have launched an inquiry to determine if any misconduct can be linked to the incident. Regulations do not permit an unauthorized flag on a military vehicle.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/military-convoy-flying-trump-flag-belonged-seal-unit/story?id=45207477
Holy moly that is scary.
Indeed.
And who’s to say the services haven’t been infiltrated in the same way law enforcement has.
In a heavily redacted version of an October 2006 FBI internal intelligence assessment, the agency raised the alarm over white supremacist groups’ “historical” interest in “infiltrating law enforcement communities or recruiting law enforcement personnel.” The effort, the memo noted, “can lead to investigative breaches and can jeopardize the safety of law enforcement sources or personnel.” The memo also states that law enforcement had recently become aware of the term “ghost skins,” used among white supremacists to describe “those who avoid overt displays of their beliefs to blend into society and covertly advance white supremacist causes.” In at least one case, the FBI learned of a skinhead group encouraging ghost skins to seek employment with law enforcement agencies in order to warn crews of any investigations.
https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/the-fbi-has-quietly-investigated-white-supremacist-infiltration-of-law-enforcement/
Coincidentally, efforts to counter extremists have been sidetracked.
The Trump administration wants to revamp and rename a U.S. government program designed to counter all violent ideologies so that it focuses solely on Islamist extremism, five people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
The program, “Countering Violent Extremism,” or CVE, would be changed to “Countering Islamic Extremism” or “Countering Radical Islamic Extremism,” the sources said, and would no longer target groups such as white supremacists who have also carried out bombings and shootings in the United States.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN15G5VO
Oh dear. It’s probably just as well Trump seems to be too lazy to do any background on people he talks to or he would’ve given Turnbull shit about how close he came to losing.
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/world/no-%E2%80%98g%E2%80%99day-mate%E2%80%99-on-call-with-australian-prime-minister-trump-badgers-and-brags/ar-AAmwcU6?li=BBqdg4K&ocid=mailsignout
Robert Guyton
How are things going down south? I am wondering if you can join in our group planning to read E F Schumachers Small is Beautiful over a month and then have an on-line discussion on it? Could you reply and let me know if you can fit it in. It’s something you could do to take a break from the hard yakker in the forest!
Just when I had given up the panel I heard that Rachel Stewart and Gary McCormack were going to be on. At last, two decent people instead of the usual twats.
Garibaldi
You ended up in a different place than you intended as I am talking about a group on TS reading together E F Schumacher Small is Beautiful. That’s the nearest I am coming to a panel.
But since you have turned up, it’s an opportunity to ask – would you be in on this our first go at group informed discussion, which we plan to do at the end of a month reading and extracting good stuff that could raise our political nous? Hope to have a really good discussion together on TS on a Sunday. If you could join in that would be much appreciated. Could you reply and let me know yay or nay, or next time, as if we can get this sort of informed political discussion going on a regular basis it would be a useful aspect giving kudos to TS.
And yes fancy Rachel Stewart being on Mora, lets have more’a of her stripes.
Gary, you like do you. I may have to listen to bring my opinion uptodate.
Sorry greywarshark, I was merely expressing my delight at getting a decnt panel on RNZ.
Thanks for your offer to join your group but I have too many other commitments for the next 3 months.
Thanks Garibaldi for advising.
When are they on?
Paul
I asked on one of my comments if you would be in the reading group that you expressed interest in earlier. Perhaps you didn’t see it so I am asking again.
Could you advise yes or no by replying to this?
You are very interested in the political scene and it would be good to have your comments after the month we have set for reading and noting ideas from E F Schumacher.