Interesting to see where he chose to throw his cash – something deep and long lasting, something that directly helped people (front line services anyone)? The freaking cycleway? No. A giant, plastic altar to worshipping money and sport. Figures.
This is right now rapidly spinning through Chch emails…. it is long.
“What is going on in Christchurch??
Is this for real??
“The Hotel Grand Chancellor is a story that needs to be told. Maybe a book someday! It was finally announced on Wednesday but it is the story behind the delay that is interesting. This story also applies to the rebuilding and repair of Christchurch which Fletcher Building are overseeing.
The tender was to RCP (project managers for council) but was passed over to CERA once they arrived. CERA is staffed entirely by Fletchers employees.
CERA delayed the announcement for a month to enable Fletchers to study the other tenderers info & submit a late bid. The day it was submitted CERA awarded them the tender. Fletchers price was 3 million higher than anyone else’s!
Fletchers have no intention of doing the demolition, taking the risk, or putting up the bond to cover the risk. They are just appointing themselves as project managers to clip the ticket & then getting the original tender winners to do the work.
How did they get away with it? Do a companies search on Fletchers. (No – don’t bother we’ve done it for you below).
They just got bought by the Reserve bank! RBNZ owns 275 million Fletcher shares while Hugh Fletcher now only has 5000. Its a SOE. A Govt department!!
They bought themselves an income stream. They direct all the profits from the recovery straight into their own pockets instead of allowing the people of ChCh to make a bit each to help them recover.
You have to admit it is clever!!
But how on earth did they keep it out of the media?: NZ’s largest Co gets bought by Govt & it doesnt make even the tiniest news report? Really???
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark! (or in this case Canterbury!)
Meanwhile still no start to the demo & recovery after 3 months.
The books get fiddled while ChCh burns!
Here are a few questions for you to think about (oh, I’ll make it easy: I will give you the answers as well)
Q. Who appointed RCP (Resource Coordination Partnership Ltd) as Project Managers for the management of ‘critical buildings’ following the February
22nd earthquake?
A . Christchurch City Council under instructions of the NZ Government
Q . Who appointed CERA?
A . NZ Government.
Q . Who appointed Fletcher Building to manage the demolition works and then, reconstruction works?
A .. NZ Government firstly, then CERA
Q . Who is the main single shareholder of Fletcher Building?
A .. NZ Government.
Q . Who called for the tenders for the demolition of the Grand Chancellor?
A . RCP
Q .. Who is to be the Principle to the demolition Contract (i.e. the Payer)
A . The Crown (NZ Government).
Q . Who assessed the Tenders for the Demolition of the Grand Chancellor?
A . RCP
Q . Who has been awarded the Grand Chancellor job (at whatever price and/or conditions)?
A . Fletcher Building
Q . Who will make the profits?
A . Fletcher Building (and it’s Shareholders)
Q . Who is the main shareholder of Fletcher Building? (I know, I already asked this one, but it could be a trick question)
A . NZ Government as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand(no trick question, sorry)
Q . Who has been blind-sided?
A . Everyone involved in the (supposed) tender process firstly, but more importantly, the people of Christchurch and New Zealand who thought that
they lived in a first-world economy.
Q . What are the ramifications?
A . Immediate loss of confidence by all independent Consultants and Contractors in the tender process if CERA, RCP or Fletcher Building are
involved jointly or singularly in a government sanctioned role, for fear of a continued potential for a monopoly and huge profiteering there from.
Q . Who are the winners?
A . Fletcher Building and the NZ Government, along with the other Financial institutions that form the majority shareholders in Fletcher Building.
Q. Who are the losers?
A . The property owners, their tenants, clients and customers, along with everyone in New Zealand who believes in a ‘level playing field’, all the
people of Christchurch, and all the people of New Zealand that have supported, volunteered their time and/or donated their hard earned, tax-paid
monies to the recovery following the devastating events of February 22nd.”
end
I will just throw in a couple of my own further questions too…
Q. Who owns the Grand Chancellor?
A. Phillip Carter.
Q. Who is a Minister in the government?
A. Phillip Carter’s brother David Carter.
Q. Who is a new Councillor prominent in the rebuild?
A. Tim Carter, Phillip Carter’s son and David Carter’s nephew.
The thoughts and potential accusations that spring to mind are obvious. I would be immensely curious to hear other views of the above…
The thing about the Reserve Bank owning Fletchers is a mis-understanding. The Reserve Bank has a kind of nominee company for nominee companies. It owns billions of dollars of shares but the beneficial owners are the nominee companies and other large traders who, in turn, own the shares on behalf of investors like people in Kiwisaver. The Reserve Bank’s company, NZClear, owns the shares but only in a technical sense, not a beneficial sense. It’s something to do with liquidity.
Thats what I thought when I read the email. But the main question is, who (the writers) do they think was capable of doing the job, Bob the Builder and his ute and dog?. Even if a whole new standalone authority was setup it would be still interviewing for the first job.
The point of Tendering is give all those with the ability to bid for the job. To say that Fletchers get priority defeats the purpose of the tendering. And I believe an American firm which has a long history of expertise in building demolition was a tenderer. Hardly Bob the builder and his dog.
There are stacks of organisations capable of doing this job. If you see how it is to be tackled you will see that it is not that difficult. It is simply a build in reverse – clear some space for a big crane and dismantle and lower to the ground. There is plenty of such capablity here for that.
In fact, further, a knowledge of the process reveals what this anon email also states which is that the actual work is to be carried out by other firms anyway and not Fletchers.
I don’t know the truth of everything in this email but I do admit that my eyebrows went up when I heard Fletchers had the job. Cronyism. Favours for the friends. There is a huge amount of inside knowledge being passed around at the moment… for the purposes of self-enrichment.
Big huge sums involved. An election coming up. Conflicts of interest left right and centre. What do you expect?
Big huge sums involved. An election coming up. Conflicts of interest left right and centre. What do you expect?
I expect people to avoid the temptations of cronyism and disaster capitalism, for the sake of getting Christchurch rebuilt properly. I’m sick and tired of people who already have buckets of the stuff enriching themselves further by fucking my country over.
FTR I don’t mind people making money and profits, it’s when they use underhand tactics to do so that I get angry.
I don’t think it can be called cronyism but it is another strange happening from one of the Christchurch parallel worlds. Complaint was made this morning by a business owner kept away from his premises (probably on the grounds it isn’t safe, something that can’t be controverted without expert and informed reports that I haven’t heard being available to ‘stakeholders’). But gardeners have been allowed into the red zone to tend the plants which I suppose are needing attention and would otherwise be dying off. Put ‘businesses’ where ‘plants’ are in the above sentence!
The list of nominee companies make interesting reading, and the Carter link stinks to high heaven.
The holding company which owns the 275 million or so shares has itself only 100 shares – being the minimum legal requirement for an incorporated company.
From where I sit, this looks like yet another nail in the coffin of NZ democracy as Herr Key and his cronies sell the country down the river – but no matter who is in power, the panto of politics is just to distract the punters and every three years we get to exercise our prerogative – yeah right! Like it makes any difference already?
We are just the most far flung colony of an evil empire – our forebears invaded this place and have screwed the Tangata Whenua ever since – and people bitch about welfare and seashore issues – for God’s sake we stole the bloody country with broken promises. So why should it be any different now – the bloody Crown still rule, and those who think otherwise are their fools….
Not a single share held by the RBNZ.
Someone is benefiting from what is happening. A lot of tax dollars are going into the rebuild – as such the citizens need clarity on where these tax dollars are going. Preferably not in retrospect, either.
On a semi-related subject, discussed previously – perhaps the easiest way for a Ministry of Works to be recreated would be for the government to buy Fletchers.
Not quite. While the email raises some interesting issues, the claim about Fletchers being an SOE was a key element in the conflict of interest suggestion. The fact that it might be incorrect (or a good example of teh interwebz not being an effective substitute for actual education in a particular area) makes me suspicious of everything else in it.
That, and the unheard of possibility that an email rumour might not be 100% true.
Yes, all fair enough commentary above.. It could also be that it is in the interests of other interests to cloud and disturb the process for their own counter-enrichment!
Onwards we go…
On the positive side there is some incredible and determined energy to seriously create a new and exciting city. And I suspect the traction will be gained.
… whistle while you work… diddly um de dum de dum…
Oh, I’m all for more accountability and would like to see far more transparency as far as anything the government does but I’m not in favour of spreading what appear to be untruths which the referenced email is doing.
The general manager of insurance company Vero’s new ventures, Nigel Edmiston, told Morning Report the message he’s getting from the Government is that it will look at other areas of ACC, like the motor vehicle account.
Mr Edmiston says they have not put a time frame on it, but he believes they will be up for discussion within the next 12 months.
If so, was it before or after the discussions that seem to have been held with Vero, and I assume, others.
Someone should ask Nick Smith what Edmiston is talking about.
Clearly Nick Smith issued the current privatisation plan as being sort of the gentle “don’t scare the horses” plan. Get the folk used to the idea that privatisation is OK but when/if the National get re-elected, they can say they have a MANDATE! This lets them widen it to include the motor vehicle account and….. Suckers we are!
Amen Ian – Key is a salesman/hatchet-man – he spent two years on the Forex Board of the New York Fed being groomed for his assignment – the smiling assassin – he will sell us all down the river folks – but then the Fed is the greatest privatisation rort in history up until now – it is amazing the number of numb nuts who do not even realise that it is a private institution, wholly unaccountable to the US Govt and a power unto itself. This is why the marriage of banking and business in NZ is so dangerous – this is Fascism by stealth, you may not vote for it per se, but you will fall for it when your next meal depends upon it. Just think prewar Nazi Germany. The mere fact that the media is so compliant and complicit with this should have you shitting your pants….Goebbels and Bernays would be impressed. But let’s just bash a few beneficiaries or cry crocodile tears over kiwi kids dying when our soldiers and mercs are shooting up Afghanistan and Iraq – who cries for them? You cannot be a part of a global crime syndicate without incurring some accountability – but as long as there is petrol for the car we can all dine out at MacDeathalds….
$180 million loss to Australian apple growers when NZ enters the market – announcement on the
radio. Then there is a comment that Chinese and USA apples are also going to be sold. So how much will NZ get out of this market after going to the WTO, and did those other countries pay some of the costs of the appeal to open the Australian market?
Prime Minister John Key has laid down the law to his ministers over accepting too many corporate box invitations during the Rugby World Cup.
His warning to be careful about the sort of hospitality ministers accept during the six-week tournament comes after the Greens questioned ministers and their staff accepting generous hospitality from Westpac Bank while the Government’s master banking contract is under review. Westpac holds the contract.
Further to a discussion with MS yesterday, I think the major parties need to develop and promote policies based on their ideologies, and so do some small parties.
But I see a niche for a small party or parties that develop and promote policies, independent of any particular ideology, based on the majority wishes of it’s constituents. This would give some people an alternative, and more voice. And it would be complementary to the traditional type of party policy development.
Nope, no misunderstanding, but it certainly is unfortunate that people support Dark Side Darth and our lying thief of a PM.
Single issue parties don’t usually do that well in the polls, because people rightfully expect a bit more than just one policy form those representing them. Which is why although I support the cause of ALCP I don’t vote for them, choosing instead to vote for the Greens who have a range of innovative and well considered policies backed up with a philosophy which also resonates with me.
from left field I dont know why thy national party is cutting benefits when there is a general inflation and price rise going flat out at the moment. if it continues then the dollar wont be worth peanuts and all the monkeys will be wearing sh*t eating grins.
A report from the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser says raising the drinking age to 21 and increasing alcohol prices are two of the most effective ways to address youth drinking problems.
Raising it further would adddress some adult drink problems (and probably create others). Is this a genuine target age for legislation change? Or a high suggestion so most will be happy to settle for 20 again?
I know we have huge drinking issues in our society, but I’m not sure if this is the right approach.
Can’t drag out supporting data now (I’d assume NMDS alcohol-related injury hospital admissions) , but the fact it comes from Gluckman (rather than a lobby group or whatever) suggests to me that he’s looking at the tail end of the risk-taking curve, rather than pulling a random number out of a focus group.
The world’s largest social networking website which is meant to connect people with friends has once again undertaken “upgrades” that are designed to remove what the administrators determine as groups without enough recent activity. But there’s something far more sinister going on.
Today’s Afternoons with Sir Bruce Slane and Stephen Franks.
The ever-so-measured-I-sound-so-reasonable-and-clever-Franks dropped his guard today. He showed his true colours when discussing sporting events being influenced by Governments and boycotts. Must piss him off that his beloved National Party are making a stand against Fiji. He says it is counter productive and he said it won’t work, it didn’t work in South Africa. Sir Bruce Slane countered immediately that it did, and for one second Franks embarked on a “yes it did/no it didn’t” discussion. Sir Bruce very cleverly knocked an old scab that Franks thought might have healed with time. A different Franks was suddenly exposed.
Previously in the programme Franks implied that his qualifications are far superior to any current graduates of our Universities. Franks claimed also that somehow students are taking out loans to finance their social life. What a bloody insult to middle income families whose children are working their butts off… families whose combined income puts them out of the student allowance eligibility. (Not like the impoverished farmers or even high powered business practices that can work the books so that their children’s education can be put down as expenses).
In my experience getting a student loan to cover anything other than fees is really difficult. I couldn’t get a cost of living loan for the last course I did in the 1st decade of this century, even though my student allowance didn’t cover my rent. I think cost of living loans are means tested.
Woman drinks with friends, “collapsed drunk into bed”.
“Soon after partygoer Jason (Paora) Ransfield went to her bedroom where he began to kiss her. When Horua went to the bedroom looking for a guest’s car keys, Ransfield left.
Horua then attacked his partner, inflicting blows to her head and face. ”
Killing her.
Partner pleads down to manslaughter.
So many wrongs there, both in the incident and the reporting thereof, that I don’t even know where one would start.
I was able to use information you helped to provide to counter an attack today from former Business Round Table heavyweight Lindsay Fergusson.
An interesting little ‘case study’?
“In response to Penny Bright | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 4:14pm
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up?
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm”
Treasury: drop all screening of foreign investment
Acting Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf has hit out at critics of foreign investment in New Zealand, saying Treasury has consistently recommended removing all screening.
The British civil servant who arrived in this country 15 months ago told the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs that lowering foreign investment would be counter-productive to growth ambitions.
……………….
_____________________________________________________________________________
MY COMMENT:
Where is the ‘Register of Interests’ for Treasury staff – including Acting Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf ?
What are his connections, and whose interests is he serving?
How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided if interests are not declared ?
Declared in a form which makes them readily available for public scrutiny – given NZ’s lack of an ‘Independent Commission Against Corruption’ or the like – who’s tasked with PREVENTING corruption and educating the public about corruption?
(Unlike the Police or SFO whose focus is more upon investigation of corruption AFTER the event, rather than PREVENTION ?)
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up?
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2,
2011 – 9:21pm
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up? ”
______________________________
(grumpier) old man Lindsay?
Thought you (used to?) support ‘freedom of expression Lindsay?
Or – have you got something to hide perhaps?
Wanting to have my posts ‘banned’?
Goodness me – I MUST be on target to cop that sort of flak, from someone with your Business Round Table background.
You and your mates ever seen this?
Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
by H. Michael Sweeney
copyright (c) 1997, 2000 All rights reserved
(Revised April 2000 – formerly SEVEN Traits)
……………………..
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for ‘conspiracy theorists’ and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain.Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of ‘artificial’ emotionalism and an unusually thick skin — an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial. Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the ‘image’ and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It’s just a job, and they often seem unable to ‘act their role in character’ as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later — an emotional yo-yo. With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game — where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat ‘freudian’, so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I’m not aware of too many Navy pilots who don’t have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) BONUS TRAIT: Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
1) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT – FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
2) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR – there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to ‘get permission’ or instruction from a formal chain of command.
3) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay – the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
I close with the first paragraph of the introduction to my unpublished book, Fatal Rebirth:
Truth cannot live on a diet of secrets, withering within entangled lies. Freedom cannot live on a diet of lies, surrendering to the veil of oppression. The human spirit cannot live on a diet of oppression, becoming subservient in the end to the will of evil. God, as truth incarnate, will not long let stand a world devoted to such evil. Therefore, let us have the truth and freedom our spirits require… or let us die seeking these things, for without them, we shall surely and justly perish in an evil world.
Penny Bright | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 11:30pm
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The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...
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Most economists agree that a currently slowing economy could do with some stimulus – and they would also agree that there is no shortage of infrastructure projects which could be brought to productive fruition with help from that stimulus. In view of the current practice of sub-contracting economic policy decisions ...
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ...
AN OPEN LETTER FOR SIGN ON BY ORGANISATIONS AND MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE WORLD, ALLIED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INEQUALITY. This letter was released at the UN Political Forum on 9 July, where the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality was reviewed. The purpose of the letter is to call out the ...
We asked a young gay science student and critic of trans ideology and the trans activists’ assault on women’s and gay rights to outline his views on Redline. Thanks to him for his article. by Cian Ó Catháin Gender identity ideology (Gender ID) is ripping through western society at full ...
The Environment Committee is currently hearing submissions on the Zero Carbon Bill, and Stuff is reporting on the submissions. Today, they're covering yesterday they heard from "NZ" Steel:NZ Steel has told MPs it may be forced to close with the loss of thousands of jobs if changes aren't made to ...
Students are striking against climate change on September 27. And this time, they're asking everyone to join them:Students are taking to the streets, beaches and parks on 27 September, and we're inviting everyone to join us. That's right, this is an intergenerational issue, and you're all invited to put pressure ...
Peter McKenzie has a piece on Newsroom this morning about how local body politics is awash with property developer cash. 70% of all the donations in the 2016 Wellington mayoral election came from property developers. And its pretty obvious what they want in exchange:That’s particularly important in local government, according ...
Source: Unknown, twitter user Recently, I wrote a (relatively) short paper titled as above, to explore what self-determination could like in a practical sense. Maybe I’m a bit of an international trade truther or something, but I absolutely believe trade is at the heart of achieving peace and self-determination. Since ...
In the 1960s, after I had graduated with a first-class Oxford postgraduate law degree, I joined the British Foreign Office as the top entrant of my year. There, I worked for a couple of years on European affairs and was eventually posted to the Embassy in Brussels. After this exposure ...
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...
I heard a 45 minute interview with Monica Lewinsky talking to TED’s Chris Anderson on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend, and have listened to it another two times out walking. I recommend it. Highly. Man, I am so impressed with how this woman has integrated her life experiences and ...
Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, The Coddling of the American Mind: how good intentions and bad ideas are setting up a generation for failure, London, Penguin, 2019, 352pp; reviewed by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff’s book The Coddling of the American Mind is a timely book, whose ...
When the Justice Committee reported back on the Administration of Justice (Reform of Contempt of Court) Bill, free speech advocates breathed a sigh of relief. As originally introduced, the Bill reitered the ancient offence of "scandalising the court" - basicly, a special sedition law protecting judges from criticism. The select ...
Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. Since then - crickets. Which raises the obvious question: are they actually going to do this, ...
Back in March, the Ministry of Justice conducted a public consultation exercise on whether to hold a review of the Official Information Act. 285 people submitted on it. Now, Stuff has trawled through those submissions, and the case for reform is strong:The Justice Ministry asked Kiwis what they thought was ...
National's prisoner voting ban has gone down as one of the worst laws in New Zealand history. Passed after a farcical debate (including this farcial speech from ACT MP Hilary Calvert), it has subsequently been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act by the High Court, Court ...
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...
by Daphna Whitmore US social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt spoke on 1 August in Auckland to a crowd of around one thousand people. He is best known for his bookThe Coddling of the American Mind which examines the new climate of trigger warnings and acute sensitivity of Gen Z. ...
What an extraordinarily depressing experience it is to be compelled to watch, at 12,000 miles distance, the contortions and machinations of the British political class as they set about their determined attempt to overturn the decision taken by the British people that they wish to leave the European Union. The ...
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...
by Don Franks Way back when British guitar virtuoso Joe Brown was a beginning session guy he got to back a visiting American artist. Young Joe was an able technician but had yet to learn some points of professionalism. Part way through “Five foot high and rising” Joe tired of ...
Since scientists started studying climate change, they have warned that it will reduce food production. And now, its happening:The climate crisis is damaging the ability of the land to sustain humanity, with cascading risks becoming increasingly severe as global temperatures rise, according to a landmark UN report compiled by some ...
The Abortion Legislation Bill just passed its first reading, 94-23. Its a far bigger margin than I expected, even allowing for the Winston factor, and it reflects the overwhelming support there is in this country for reform. but that support isn't a new thing - it has existed for literally ...
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on the Referendums Framework Bill. The Bill does what it says on the label - establishes a framework for referenda. Things you may want to address in your submission: Whether the bill should apply only at the 2020 election, or whether it should ...
The Thompson and Clark / MBIE spying scandal continues to result in fallout, this time in the form of a report on the implementation of MBIE's "Operation Exploration", its internal operation to enforce the infamous Anadarko Amendment which criminalised protests against the oil industry. MBIE's enforcement operation was tainted by ...
So, Winston Peters is defending his last-minute demand for a referendum on abortion by claiming he was "blindsided" by the bill. Really? The bill is a government bill. It has been working through the cabinet approval process since December last year. As part of that process, NZ First was consulted, ...
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...
The New Zealand Maori Council has been provided with the soon to be released coronial data on suicide in New Zealand. The fact is the suicide rate has risen again and is out of control. The Executive Director of the New Zealand Maori Council (and former ...
Family First NZ is welcoming the Government’s intention to tackle the harms of pornography, and are also continuing to call for a truly independent Expert Panel to investigate and provide solutions for families. ...
"For too long central government has layered additional responsibilities onto local government with little consultation or acknowledgement of the essential work councils do. Combined with the lack of support and funding, this top down attitude ...
Joining local Green candidates at their campaign launch on Sunday at the Highbury Whanau Centre Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson will say, “I’m very proud to join Green candidates Teanau Tuiono, Renee Dingwall and Brent Barrett in calling ...
The Campaign for Better Transport ( CBT ) is pleased to hear the government has announced the start of train services from Hamilton to Papakura but is concerned about some of the features of the proposed service. ...
Family First NZ is supporting a call by the Police to raise the drinking age, which echoes previous calls by the NZ Medical Association, but says that other factors around price, availability, penalties and addiction services must be part of the ...
West Papua solidarity activists met yesterday and resolved to call on the Prime Minister to step up to help resolve the escalating crisis in West Papua. ...
Landmark Report Released into Maori Aging and Disabilities “Manaaki Pakeke” – New Zealand Maori Council calls for a policy shift and greater focus The New Zealand Maori Council has released a comprehensive policy statement challenging the ...
MANATŪ TAONGA MINISTRY FOR CULTURE AND HERITAGE MEDIA RELEASE 25 August 2019 Privacy breach identified with the Tuia 250 Voyage Trainee website Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage is investigating a serious digital privacy breach involving ...
‘Original Sin’ of Land Confiscation at Ihumātao is a wrong that can be put right by Government says Justice & Peace Commission of Catholic Diocese of Auckland ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference on August 19 that her government is likely to impose new restrictions on prisoners’ rights to send letters. She said the law could be changed in “weeks.” ...
Heart-warming images of House Speaker Trevor Mallard cradling a baby in Parliament have been welcomed around New Zealand, but the Public Service Association warns most families can only dream of such support in the workplace. ...
Applying New Zealand’s international human rights commitments, particularly those in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, can help in resolving the situation at Ihumātao, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt says. ...
Climate campaigners impersonating bank staff have taken to the streets this week to expose ANZ Bank’s sponsorship of the fossil fuel industry. In the series of satirical actions in Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland, the ‘bank staff’ promoted ...
Auckland Action Against Poverty joins the Children’s Commissioner , The Green Party , The New Zealand Drugs Foundation , Child Poverty Action Group and other organisations in the calls for an immediate end to the drug testing benefit sanctions. ...
Negotiations between Port Otago workers represented by the Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) and management failed today and the unions have issued notice of an overtime ban from Saturday 7th September. ...
Queenstown Lakes District Council’s comments that it has applied for a consent to pollute waterways to avoid 'prosecutions by the Otago Regional Council' are unacceptable,’ Fish & Game New Zealand Chief Executive Martin Taylor says. ...
On March 15, the real world impact of online hate became abundantly, horrifically clear. As a shooter opened fire at two Christchurch mosques, the online image board 8chan anticipated, celebrated and amplified his killing spree. ...
Friday, 23 August: Government delegates from around the world, including New Zealand, are meeting in New York for the third of four meetings at the United Nations to agree a Global Oceans Treaty that could help to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030. Greenpeace ...
The excuses about a reportedly unwanted $57,000 payrise for Dunedin City Council CEO Sue Bidrose are laughable, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union. ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance has launched the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” committing to no more than 2% annual rate hikes over the next Council term, and has written to all Mayoral and Council candidates asking them to sign. The pledge will ...
This Saturday, Pakuranga Hunt Day at the Ellerslie Racecourse will see anti-horse racing protesters demonstrating at the corner of Ascot Avenue and Greenlane East. ...
Mayoral candidate John Tamihere will meet with Pacific Island leaders and community elders today at Puhunui Reserve in South Auckland to commit to a Pasefika Cultural Centre. ...
Cruel and invalid Forced Swim Tests carried out at Victoria University of Wellington, will be exposed at the University Open Day today, so prospective students can be warned about the flawed and unethical research being conducted at the institute. ...
The organiser of the annual YWCA Equal Pay Awards has expressed her disappointment with the latest Gender Pay Gap figure for New Zealand workers. The figure rose slightly from 9.2% in 2018 to 9.3% for the quarter ended 30 June 2019. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to pass on information to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques now that the period for submissions has been extended to 27 September. ...
An application was filed in the Employment Relations Authority in Wellington today, seeking an injunction to prevent the Board of the New Zealand Nurses Organisation from removing the President from office. ...
The Government’s commitment to support literacy and numeracy training in the workplace is a strong signal from Government on recognising the importance of upskilling, reskilling and increasing productivity alongside their commitment to address the challenges ...
“The infrastructure sector sees a major role for the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission/Te Waihanga in lifting the nation’s sagging infrastructure performance,” says Paul Blair, incoming CEO of Infrastructure NZ. ...
The AA is calling on the Government to bring forward critical highway projects while time is spent properly developing the plans for a rapid transit system in Auckland. ...
Between 2015/16 and 2017/18, DHBs spent $280 million treating patients due to adverse drug reactions, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union in its latest briefing paper on health productivity . ...
The Pay Equity Coalition Auckland (PECA) is pleased the gender pay gap has decreased slightly. Statistics released today show the gap is now 11.9%, nearly 2 percent less than last year. ...
The Council of Licenced Firearm Owners (COLFO) is urging firearms owners to make sure they pass on any information they have to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on Christchurch Mosques before submissions close tomorrow (Friday). ...
The big electricity companies consider solar energy “disruptive” and want pricing to suppress it. In contrast, advocates of local energy say that solar, energy efficiency, and other local energy solutions are the cheapest ways to reduce carbon emissions. ...
The Earthquake Commission and Shine Lawyers are delighted to announce that EQC has reached an agreement with the Gibling family, agreeing to cover the cost of repairs of remaining earthquake damage on their property. ...
Four months into the inquiry, the Royal Commission is gathering significant information and continues to receive valuable submissions from the public, from current and former State servants, experts and community groups. ...
While Fish & Game New Zealand is pleased to see Federated Farmers Environment Spokesperson Chris Allen say that 'we all want good, fresh water', he conveniently overlooks some key facts. ...
What: Wellington demo “Save the Amazon Forest/Salve a Amazônia!” When: Friday, 6 September 2019 from 12:30-13:30 Where: Embassy of Brazil in Wellingtona ...
Rt Hon Trevor Mallard, Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, welcomes the visit of His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal. ...
A cross political Mental Health and Addictions Wellbeing group will be launched on Wednesday 28 August hosted by Sir John Kirwan and Moe Milne (ONZM) who have both been at the forefront of our country’s often difficult conversations about mental ...
Confirmation that the government will be progressing an independent Parliamentary Budget Office is great news for democracy and transparency, Federated Farmers says. ...
Ruby Porter on the first novel by acclaimed Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong. I came across Ocean Vuong’s poetry collection Night Sky With Exit Wounds last year. I read it twice in one day. I was staying outside of New York, at the time, and taking the train in each morning. I ...
A War Story is one more attempt in a long line of art to make sense of 9/11 – this time from a uniquely Kiwi perspective.The coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 cut a razor-sharp divide between the relatively carefree time before and everything after, bleeding into ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Privacy breach at Ministry for Culture and Heritage Audrey Young (Herald): How latest privacy breach ...
Auckland mayoral rival John Tamihere is pitching himself as a low-cost candidate but the incumbent Phil Goff says Mr Tamihere lacks a basic understanding of finances. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elyse Methven, Lecturer in Law, University of Technology Sydney As the state election loomed last year, the NSW government rushed through a new crime targeting drug suppliers. A person who supplies a prohibited drug for profit can now be prosecuted for homicide ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julia Talbot-Jones, Lecturer, Victoria University of Wellington Last week, voter enrolment for the 2019 local government elections closed in New Zealand and concerns about low voter turnout resurfaced. During a panel discussion run by Auckland Council, the idea was raised to pay ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Dunk, Research Fellow, University of Sydney Last week, one of the world’s leading medical journals declared the medical community must act now to limit the health effects of climate change. In a stark editorial, readers of the New England Journal of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Goss, School Education Program Director, Grattan Institute Australia’s young high achievers are turning their backs on teaching. They want to make a difference in their careers, and they are interested in teaching, but when it comes to the crunch they choose ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carl Grodach, Professor and Director of Urban Planning & Design, Monash University Since 2000, planning authorities in Australia have overseen a massive rezoning of inner-city industrial land to make way for mixed-use residential development. They claim central industrial space is obsolete in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lara Owen, PhD Candidate, Monash University Last week, menstrual pad brand Libra launched their Blood Normal commercial in Australia, running it during prime time television shows including The Bachelor, The Project, and Gogglebox. Australia is a little late to the party: Blood ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Govt rejects idea to ban petrol car imports in 2035, firefighters say they’re facing a workforce crisis, and Tamihere pledges rate freeze.A strange sort of stoush erupted at the end of last week around petrol and diesel car sales. On Friday, Newsroom reported ...
Kiwi boxer Troy Garton, who defied medical advice to produce one of the most remarkable performances in NZ sport, now has her sights set firmly on the Tokyo Olympics. ...
Victoria University of Wellington's Anne Goulding discusses the paradox of New Zealanders wanting to safeguard our personal data, while frequently and freely giving it away. ...
Lisa McMillan is an adrenaline junkie. Instead of skydiving or driving race cars, she collects rooms full of naked strangers. Josie Adams went along to the Naked Dinner and found it stimulated all the wrong hormones.In a tealight-lit lounge in a rented Symonds Street flat, I milled around with 23 ...
Brazil’s rainforests are ablaze, and even from the distance of New Zealand, many of us are losing sleep. For the climate and for humanity, we can do something profound and simple, writes Kena DuignanI’ve asked my dad to look after my kids yesterday so I could write this, after a ...
Meng Foon has been a fixture in Gisborne local government for more than two decades. Today he starts a new role, as race relations commissioner. Alice Webb-Lidall heads over to his Gisborne home for dinner, to find out what he’ll miss as mayor, and how he’ll approach his new jobThis ...
In the final of our series on the loss of faith in free market economics we ask New Zealand business leaders how they’re grappling with the almighty power of a technology that barely existed 20 years ago. Hands up who’s read the Financial Markets Authority’s website. Come on, be honest.No, of ...
Is New Zealand in danger of becoming a bio-tech backwater because of our strict GE rules, or should we retain them to sell our clean image overseas? ...
ANALYSIS:By David Robie Indonesia’s harsh policies towards West Papua ought to be scrapped. Whatever happened to the brief window of enlightenment ushered in by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2015 with promises of a more “open door” policy towards foreign journalists and human rights groups? They were supposed ...
The House - The grammar of being an MP is harder than you might think. MPs in Parliament choose their words with care, and it just got more complicated. ...
As a format it predates almost all reality TV, and that’s precisely why it works in 2019, writes Duncan Greive.There’s something deeply comforting about watching Celebrity Treasure Island. It is a very pure form of escapism, largely because it explicitly recalls a world without the internet, and before everything started ...
Residents in Los Angeles and Orange County warned to check for symptoms after an infected NZ teen visited theme parks including Disneyland and Universal Studios earlier this month.Californian health authorities have issued warnings to residents and visitors after a New Zealand teenager was found to have spent five days in ...
When you crave fresh, bright flavours but summer veges seem far away, throw together this simple salad.Growing up we often ate this salad, or one very similar to it. My mum is a fantastic cook and this dish is one she still makes to this day – though I must ...
Analysis of New Zealand media headlines reveals a lot of people slamming a lot of other people.Slamming is at epidemic levels in New Zealand news. Drawn from just the last month, we present a selection of slamming.On July 27A union boss slammed David ClarkOn July 29Police slammed a dangerous photographerOn ...
Vana Manasiadis wrote a collection of poetry in the wake of her mother’s death. In this essay, ahead of her appearance at the Going West festival, she argues that as a nation Aotearoa needs to learn to make space for mourning. When Mum died in Athens, I cried loudly and publicly ...
The giant hand that captivated, delighted and disgusted the nation is now settling into its new Wellington home. For City Gallery Wellington’s blog, Spinoff arts editor Megan Dunn talked to Ronnie van Hout, the man who made Quasi.“Quasi is in the wrong place,” wrote art critic Warren Feeney in 2016, ...
At school camp, the children are banned from having phones, laptops, lollies, chocolate, money, cotton clothing or independent thoughts. They, are, however, allowed home baking – but it’s gotta be hearty. How hearty are you? We are packing for a school camp. If you’re thinking that the middle of winter is ...
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it ...
Split Level View Finder: Theo Schoon and New Zealand Art is the exhibition that sparked a protest over issues of cultural appropriation and institutional representation. Theo Schoon is a divisive historical figure. But is his art any good? Martin Patrick reviews.British novelist L.P. Hartley once wrote that “the past is ...
Ahead of debuting her solo show at New Zealand Fashion Week, Korean-NZ couture designer Cecilia Kang talks about growing up ‘feminine’, being influenced by the LGBTQ+ community, and why an ‘administrative error’ at Fashion Week left her so shaken up. ‘I like something big,” says Cecilia Kang, gesturing to the giant ...
The Labour Party is distancing itself from one of its members who is strongly pro-Beijing and has caused controversy in the Chinese community by standing for local office in Auckland. ...
Faced with staff shortages, equipment failures, cancer risks, and a jump in critical calls that can leave them traumatised, some firefighters are wondering if it’s time to hang up the hose. Gareth Shute reports on the dissatisfaction inside Fire and Emergency New Zealand.The state of our nation’s fire service is ...
“She comes over. You’re my mother, she says. Yes, I say. I don’t know you, she says”: a mother and child seaside story by Wellington author Jan Pryor. Photo by Peter Black. ...
On Monday the government announced its new five-year strategy to reduce the Māori prison population. Emilie Rākete looks at another ‘kaupapa Māori’ prison initiative that degrades prisoners and asks if Corrections are capable of seeing it through.On August 19th, the Department of Corrections announced Hōkai Rangi, its new strategy intended ...
By Michael Andrew The Indonesian media is contributing to resentment and racism toward Papuans, according to a human rights researcher and former journalist. Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch Jakarta told Pacific Media Watch many Indonesian journalists either view Papuans as enemy “separatists” or deviants and their reporting tends to convey these ...
Analysis - The prime minister puts a stake in the ground over petrol prices, National balks at having its election promises costed and the government puts millions into helping the homeless. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danilo Ignacio de Urzedo, PhD candidate, University of Sydney Record fires are raging in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, with more than 2,500 fires currently burning. They are collectively emitting huge amounts of carbon, with smoke plumes visible thousands of kilometres away. Fires in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sean Docking, Post-doctoral researcher, La Trobe University Basketball fans around the world were recently sickened by the footage of NBA star Kevin Durant’s Achilles tendon rupturing during a game. But while many think it’s only elite athletes who suffer from Achilles tendon ...
Open mike 02/06/2011 
My wife and I have had dogs for the whole of our 52 years of married life – and that has meant sharing our lives with our little furry friends. Because we usually spend a good part of our evenings watching television, it also means that our dogs have learned ...1 day ago
. . Former Police, Corrections, and Justice Minister in the previous John Key government, Judith Collins, has been ridiculed on social media after posting a comment on Twitter that was patently untrue; . Wrong!! National did not remove Prisoners’ ability to vote. Parliament voted through a Private Member’s Bill ...2 days ago
Speaker Trevor Mallard was left to look after Jones, while his usual caretaker, Winston Peters, underwent surgery. A truly adorable scene from Parliament yesterday has gone viral, after Speaker Trevor Mallard cradled an extremely drunk Shane Jones in his arms while the House was in session. Loud “awwww”s could be ...3 days ago
Western media have defended their decision not to cover the fires so as not to give them any oxygen. Social media outrage continues to grow around the sentiment that mainstream western media is devoting too little coverage to an ongoing series of fires in the Amazon rainforest, and in doing ...3 days ago
A Long Time Ago, In A Parallel Universe Far, Far Away: The political journalist scratched his head in confusion. Only then did he notice the name of the building: ‘The Jacinda Ardern Presidential Library and Public Resource Centre’. Making his way inside to the information desk, he asked the librarian ...3 days ago
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Nothing from me tody - I'm off to Christchurch to pretend to be other people for a weekend. Normal bloggage should resume on Tuesday. ...3 days ago
Spark is bracing for a customer backlash as rugby fans all across the country struggle to get a picture on their wireless router. With the Rugby World Cup fast approaching, an elderly Taranaki couple are furious after being told that they still won’t be able to watch the tournament, even ...4 days ago
Several explosions have been reported across Auckland, as well-meaning environmentalists have already begun purchasing too much petrol Starting from next week, customers will no longer need a car to purchase petrol directly from the pump, a development that two major fuel providers are billing as an opportunity to help fight ...4 days ago
A new study claims to find that a mother’s exposure to fluoridated water during pregnancy may decrease the IQ of male children – but is it correct? (Photo: Getty Images) Anti-fluoride campaigners are promoting ... 4 days ago
by Jan Rivers More than 30 years ago a Commission of Inquiry was held in New Zealand to investigate, amongst other things, whether women with cervical cancer were aware that they had been part of a research project and whether they were properly informed of the treatment options ...6 days ago
Everyone Wants To Be Fuhrer: When fascist groups are discussed, the image conjured-up in the minds of most New Zealanders is one of pathetic misfits. This negative impression is reinforced by the latter’s idiotic embrace of the swastika. Even in the second decade of the twenty-first century, the baleful legacy ...6 days ago
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...1 week ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...1 week ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...1 week ago
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Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...1 week ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...2 weeks ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...2 weeks ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...2 weeks ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...2 weeks ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...2 weeks ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 2 weeks ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...2 weeks ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...2 weeks ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...2 weeks ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...3 weeks ago
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Key paying $300K for the Tupperwaka?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10729608
Interesting to see where he chose to throw his cash – something deep and long lasting, something that directly helped people (front line services anyone)? The freaking cycleway? No. A giant, plastic altar to worshipping money and sport. Figures.
Is shonkey turning DPMC into a slush fund to raid for his personal pet projects?
“Key paying $300K for the Tupperwaka?” What! Oh I see. Not Key really. He is spending taxpayers money on this strange homeless waka.
This is right now rapidly spinning through Chch emails…. it is long.
“What is going on in Christchurch??
Is this for real??
“The Hotel Grand Chancellor is a story that needs to be told. Maybe a book someday! It was finally announced on Wednesday but it is the story behind the delay that is interesting. This story also applies to the rebuilding and repair of Christchurch which Fletcher Building are overseeing.
The tender was to RCP (project managers for council) but was passed over to CERA once they arrived. CERA is staffed entirely by Fletchers employees.
CERA delayed the announcement for a month to enable Fletchers to study the other tenderers info & submit a late bid. The day it was submitted CERA awarded them the tender. Fletchers price was 3 million higher than anyone else’s!
Fletchers have no intention of doing the demolition, taking the risk, or putting up the bond to cover the risk. They are just appointing themselves as project managers to clip the ticket & then getting the original tender winners to do the work.
How did they get away with it? Do a companies search on Fletchers. (No – don’t bother we’ve done it for you below).
They just got bought by the Reserve bank! RBNZ owns 275 million Fletcher shares while Hugh Fletcher now only has 5000. Its a SOE. A Govt department!!
They bought themselves an income stream. They direct all the profits from the recovery straight into their own pockets instead of allowing the people of ChCh to make a bit each to help them recover.
You have to admit it is clever!!
But how on earth did they keep it out of the media?: NZ’s largest Co gets bought by Govt & it doesnt make even the tiniest news report? Really???
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark! (or in this case Canterbury!)
Meanwhile still no start to the demo & recovery after 3 months.
The books get fiddled while ChCh burns!
Here are a few questions for you to think about (oh, I’ll make it easy: I will give you the answers as well)
Q. Who appointed RCP (Resource Coordination Partnership Ltd) as Project Managers for the management of ‘critical buildings’ following the February
22nd earthquake?
A . Christchurch City Council under instructions of the NZ Government
Q . Who appointed CERA?
A . NZ Government.
Q . Who appointed Fletcher Building to manage the demolition works and then, reconstruction works?
A .. NZ Government firstly, then CERA
Q . Who is the main single shareholder of Fletcher Building?
A .. NZ Government.
Q . Who called for the tenders for the demolition of the Grand Chancellor?
A . RCP
Q .. Who is to be the Principle to the demolition Contract (i.e. the Payer)
A . The Crown (NZ Government).
Q . Who assessed the Tenders for the Demolition of the Grand Chancellor?
A . RCP
Q . Who has been awarded the Grand Chancellor job (at whatever price and/or conditions)?
A . Fletcher Building
Q . Who will make the profits?
A . Fletcher Building (and it’s Shareholders)
Q . Who is the main shareholder of Fletcher Building? (I know, I already asked this one, but it could be a trick question)
A . NZ Government as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand(no trick question, sorry)
Q . Who has been blind-sided?
A . Everyone involved in the (supposed) tender process firstly, but more importantly, the people of Christchurch and New Zealand who thought that
they lived in a first-world economy.
Q . What are the ramifications?
A . Immediate loss of confidence by all independent Consultants and Contractors in the tender process if CERA, RCP or Fletcher Building are
involved jointly or singularly in a government sanctioned role, for fear of a continued potential for a monopoly and huge profiteering there from.
Q . Who are the winners?
A . Fletcher Building and the NZ Government, along with the other Financial institutions that form the majority shareholders in Fletcher Building.
Q. Who are the losers?
A . The property owners, their tenants, clients and customers, along with everyone in New Zealand who believes in a ‘level playing field’, all the
people of Christchurch, and all the people of New Zealand that have supported, volunteered their time and/or donated their hard earned, tax-paid
monies to the recovery following the devastating events of February 22nd.”
end
I will just throw in a couple of my own further questions too…
Q. Who owns the Grand Chancellor?
A. Phillip Carter.
Q. Who is a Minister in the government?
A. Phillip Carter’s brother David Carter.
Q. Who is a new Councillor prominent in the rebuild?
A. Tim Carter, Phillip Carter’s son and David Carter’s nephew.
The thoughts and potential accusations that spring to mind are obvious. I would be immensely curious to hear other views of the above…
The Carter link is interesting.
The thing about the Reserve Bank owning Fletchers is a mis-understanding. The Reserve Bank has a kind of nominee company for nominee companies. It owns billions of dollars of shares but the beneficial owners are the nominee companies and other large traders who, in turn, own the shares on behalf of investors like people in Kiwisaver. The Reserve Bank’s company, NZClear, owns the shares but only in a technical sense, not a beneficial sense. It’s something to do with liquidity.
Thats what I thought when I read the email. But the main question is, who (the writers) do they think was capable of doing the job, Bob the Builder and his ute and dog?. Even if a whole new standalone authority was setup it would be still interviewing for the first job.
The point of Tendering is give all those with the ability to bid for the job. To say that Fletchers get priority defeats the purpose of the tendering. And I believe an American firm which has a long history of expertise in building demolition was a tenderer. Hardly Bob the builder and his dog.
Bob the builder… for heavens sake.
There are stacks of organisations capable of doing this job. If you see how it is to be tackled you will see that it is not that difficult. It is simply a build in reverse – clear some space for a big crane and dismantle and lower to the ground. There is plenty of such capablity here for that.
In fact, further, a knowledge of the process reveals what this anon email also states which is that the actual work is to be carried out by other firms anyway and not Fletchers.
I don’t know the truth of everything in this email but I do admit that my eyebrows went up when I heard Fletchers had the job. Cronyism. Favours for the friends. There is a huge amount of inside knowledge being passed around at the moment… for the purposes of self-enrichment.
Big huge sums involved. An election coming up. Conflicts of interest left right and centre. What do you expect?
Big huge sums involved. An election coming up. Conflicts of interest left right and centre. What do you expect?
I expect people to avoid the temptations of cronyism and disaster capitalism, for the sake of getting Christchurch rebuilt properly. I’m sick and tired of people who already have buckets of the stuff enriching themselves further by fucking my country over.
FTR I don’t mind people making money and profits, it’s when they use underhand tactics to do so that I get angry.
I don’t think it can be called cronyism but it is another strange happening from one of the Christchurch parallel worlds. Complaint was made this morning by a business owner kept away from his premises (probably on the grounds it isn’t safe, something that can’t be controverted without expert and informed reports that I haven’t heard being available to ‘stakeholders’). But gardeners have been allowed into the red zone to tend the plants which I suppose are needing attention and would otherwise be dying off. Put ‘businesses’ where ‘plants’ are in the above sentence!
The list of nominee companies make interesting reading, and the Carter link stinks to high heaven.
The holding company which owns the 275 million or so shares has itself only 100 shares – being the minimum legal requirement for an incorporated company.
From where I sit, this looks like yet another nail in the coffin of NZ democracy as Herr Key and his cronies sell the country down the river – but no matter who is in power, the panto of politics is just to distract the punters and every three years we get to exercise our prerogative – yeah right! Like it makes any difference already?
We are just the most far flung colony of an evil empire – our forebears invaded this place and have screwed the Tangata Whenua ever since – and people bitch about welfare and seashore issues – for God’s sake we stole the bloody country with broken promises. So why should it be any different now – the bloody Crown still rule, and those who think otherwise are their fools….
http://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/1104175/shareholdings
Not a single share held by the RBNZ.
Not a single share held by the RBNZ.
Someone is benefiting from what is happening. A lot of tax dollars are going into the rebuild – as such the citizens need clarity on where these tax dollars are going. Preferably not in retrospect, either.
On a semi-related subject, discussed previously – perhaps the easiest way for a Ministry of Works to be recreated would be for the government to buy Fletchers.
Not quite. While the email raises some interesting issues, the claim about Fletchers being an SOE was a key element in the conflict of interest suggestion. The fact that it might be incorrect (or a good example of teh interwebz not being an effective substitute for actual education in a particular area) makes me suspicious of everything else in it.
That, and the unheard of possibility that an email rumour might not be 100% true.
Yes, all fair enough commentary above.. It could also be that it is in the interests of other interests to cloud and disturb the process for their own counter-enrichment!
Onwards we go…
On the positive side there is some incredible and determined energy to seriously create a new and exciting city. And I suspect the traction will be gained.
… whistle while you work… diddly um de dum de dum…
Oh, I’m all for more accountability and would like to see far more transparency as far as anything the government does but I’m not in favour of spreading what appear to be untruths which the referenced email is doing.
http://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/644859/detail?backurl=%2Fcompanies%2Fapp%2Fui%2Fpages%2Fcompanies%2F644859
Solely owned by the Reserve Bank – you did not look closely enough.
Has this ‘message’ been made in public?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/76756/company-believes-acc-competition-may-be-extended
If so, was it before or after the discussions that seem to have been held with Vero, and I assume, others.
Someone should ask Nick Smith what Edmiston is talking about.
Clearly Nick Smith issued the current privatisation plan as being sort of the gentle “don’t scare the horses” plan. Get the folk used to the idea that privatisation is OK but when/if the National get re-elected, they can say they have a MANDATE! This lets them widen it to include the motor vehicle account and….. Suckers we are!
Amen Ian – Key is a salesman/hatchet-man – he spent two years on the Forex Board of the New York Fed being groomed for his assignment – the smiling assassin – he will sell us all down the river folks – but then the Fed is the greatest privatisation rort in history up until now – it is amazing the number of numb nuts who do not even realise that it is a private institution, wholly unaccountable to the US Govt and a power unto itself. This is why the marriage of banking and business in NZ is so dangerous – this is Fascism by stealth, you may not vote for it per se, but you will fall for it when your next meal depends upon it. Just think prewar Nazi Germany. The mere fact that the media is so compliant and complicit with this should have you shitting your pants….Goebbels and Bernays would be impressed. But let’s just bash a few beneficiaries or cry crocodile tears over kiwi kids dying when our soldiers and mercs are shooting up Afghanistan and Iraq – who cries for them? You cannot be a part of a global crime syndicate without incurring some accountability – but as long as there is petrol for the car we can all dine out at MacDeathalds….
$180 million loss to Australian apple growers when NZ enters the market – announcement on the
radio. Then there is a comment that Chinese and USA apples are also going to be sold. So how much will NZ get out of this market after going to the WTO, and did those other countries pay some of the costs of the appeal to open the Australian market?
So John Key says there’s nothing wrong with his ministers accepting Westpac hospitality:
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/key-says-nothing-wrong-westpac-hospitality-4202382
But yet, immediately following the media coverage given to this issue, he is warning Ministers & MPs not to accept too much RWC hospitality:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5088675/MPs-told-cup-must-not-runneth-over
Not a good look for you, John!
Labour & Greens: Public Interest
National: Conflict of Interests
Further to a discussion with MS yesterday, I think the major parties need to develop and promote policies based on their ideologies, and so do some small parties.
But I see a niche for a small party or parties that develop and promote policies, independent of any particular ideology, based on the majority wishes of it’s constituents. This would give some people an alternative, and more voice. And it would be complementary to the traditional type of party policy development.
You mean lobby groups dressed up in drag?
This could led to some unfortunate outcomes:
The MP for Benson and Hedges
The MP for summary execution Darth McVicar
The PM for foreign banks Shon-key, oh wait that has already happened
Associate Minister for Whoring: Hillary Calvert.
Leader of Trash: Brash
You seem to have an unfortunate misunderstanding – I doubt you would find the majority of any electorate would support Benson and Hedges.
Edit: or Calvert. And maybe not Brash but that one will be interesting.
Nope, no misunderstanding, but it certainly is unfortunate that people support Dark Side Darth and our lying thief of a PM.
Single issue parties don’t usually do that well in the polls, because people rightfully expect a bit more than just one policy form those representing them. Which is why although I support the cause of ALCP I don’t vote for them, choosing instead to vote for the Greens who have a range of innovative and well considered policies backed up with a philosophy which also resonates with me.
Don’t you mean “further to a discussion with MS who just doesn’t get it”?
Good luck with your “Your NZ” party, PeteG
from left field I dont know why thy national party is cutting benefits when there is a general inflation and price rise going flat out at the moment. if it continues then the dollar wont be worth peanuts and all the monkeys will be wearing sh*t eating grins.
Raising it further would adddress some adult drink problems (and probably create others). Is this a genuine target age for legislation change? Or a high suggestion so most will be happy to settle for 20 again?
I know we have huge drinking issues in our society, but I’m not sure if this is the right approach.
Can’t drag out supporting data now (I’d assume NMDS alcohol-related injury hospital admissions) , but the fact it comes from Gluckman (rather than a lobby group or whatever) suggests to me that he’s looking at the tail end of the risk-taking curve, rather than pulling a random number out of a focus group.
Dear Kiwis
The time is nigh
to kiss your assets goodbye
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5090908/No-guarantees-for-Kiwis-in-SOE-sell-off
Oh please they are not going to do anything that will cost them an election.
The thing is they are so confident of winning that they don’t think anything they do will cost them the election.
He already said it Brett.
I bet Lord Ashcroft will soon be having lunch with Key , Goodbye ACC,
note the open ended – ‘…if our assets are sold off’.
Not ‘partially sold’, sold off.
The softening up has begun.
Will Labour announce their intention to re-nationalize without compensation any of our assets lost by the Nats?
If not, why not?
To show we are not playing, lets get 50% of Contact and of Telecom back as well. Serious.
Get 100% of Conact and Telecom back. Serious.
yeah, outa shakytown for the long w.e.
hasta mananas bananas
brett dale …I’m beginning to think they have already bought and paid for it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is Facebook Biased?
http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/06/is-facebook-biased.html
The world’s largest social networking website which is meant to connect people with friends has once again undertaken “upgrades” that are designed to remove what the administrators determine as groups without enough recent activity. But there’s something far more sinister going on.
Today’s Afternoons with Sir Bruce Slane and Stephen Franks.
The ever-so-measured-I-sound-so-reasonable-and-clever-Franks dropped his guard today. He showed his true colours when discussing sporting events being influenced by Governments and boycotts. Must piss him off that his beloved National Party are making a stand against Fiji. He says it is counter productive and he said it won’t work, it didn’t work in South Africa. Sir Bruce Slane countered immediately that it did, and for one second Franks embarked on a “yes it did/no it didn’t” discussion. Sir Bruce very cleverly knocked an old scab that Franks thought might have healed with time. A different Franks was suddenly exposed.
Previously in the programme Franks implied that his qualifications are far superior to any current graduates of our Universities. Franks claimed also that somehow students are taking out loans to finance their social life. What a bloody insult to middle income families whose children are working their butts off… families whose combined income puts them out of the student allowance eligibility. (Not like the impoverished farmers or even high powered business practices that can work the books so that their children’s education can be put down as expenses).
In my experience getting a student loan to cover anything other than fees is really difficult. I couldn’t get a cost of living loan for the last course I did in the 1st decade of this century, even though my student allowance didn’t cover my rent. I think cost of living loans are means tested.
Student Allowance or cost of living loan – you don’t get both (which is really quite stupid considering that you have to pay it back).
Sigh.
Woman drinks with friends, “collapsed drunk into bed”.
“Soon after partygoer Jason (Paora) Ransfield went to her bedroom where he began to kiss her. When Horua went to the bedroom looking for a guest’s car keys, Ransfield left.
Horua then attacked his partner, inflicting blows to her head and face. ”
Killing her.
Partner pleads down to manslaughter.
So many wrongs there, both in the incident and the reporting thereof, that I don’t even know where one would start.
Thanks ‘Jackal’ and others!
I was able to use information you helped to provide to counter an attack today from former Business Round Table heavyweight Lindsay Fergusson.
An interesting little ‘case study’?
“In response to Penny Bright | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 4:14pm
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up?
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm”
THE NBR ARTICLE THAT KICKED THIS OFF!
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/treasury-drop-all-screening-foreign-investment-ck-94649#comment-134613
Treasury: drop all screening of foreign investment
Acting Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf has hit out at critics of foreign investment in New Zealand, saying Treasury has consistently recommended removing all screening.
The British civil servant who arrived in this country 15 months ago told the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs that lowering foreign investment would be counter-productive to growth ambitions.
……………….
_____________________________________________________________________________
MY COMMENT:
Where is the ‘Register of Interests’ for Treasury staff – including Acting Secretary to the Treasury Gabriel Makhlouf ?
What are his connections, and whose interests is he serving?
How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be avoided if interests are not declared ?
Declared in a form which makes them readily available for public scrutiny – given NZ’s lack of an ‘Independent Commission Against Corruption’ or the like – who’s tasked with PREVENTING corruption and educating the public about corruption?
(Unlike the Police or SFO whose focus is more upon investigation of corruption AFTER the event, rather than PREVENTION ?)
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
________________________________________________________________________________
MY NEXT COMMENT WHICH APPEARS TO HAVE JAMMED LINDSAY FERGUSSON’S BUTTONS ON FULL?
In response to Ross1
T2 | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 4:26pm
errr…. no.
I have been raising the need for ‘disclosure’ of the interests of those responsible for property and procurement for some time.
This is a continuation of the same theme…
Where is the genuine ‘transparency’ if ‘interests’ are not publicly disclosed and available for public scrutiny?
Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
Penny Bright | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 4:42pm
______________________________________________________________________________
LINDSAY FERGUSSON’S LITTLE ‘HISSY FIT’:
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up?
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm
______________________________________________________________________________
In response to Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 9:21pm
Lindsay Fergusson | Thursday, June 2,
2011 – 9:21pm
Your comments are becoming repetitive and tiresome. It is time the NBR banned your posts. This last one borders on defamation. If you don’t have something intelligent to say why not just shut up? ”
______________________________
(grumpier) old man Lindsay?
Thought you (used to?) support ‘freedom of expression Lindsay?
Or – have you got something to hide perhaps?
Wanting to have my posts ‘banned’?
Goodness me – I MUST be on target to cop that sort of flak, from someone with your Business Round Table background.
You and your mates ever seen this?
Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
by H. Michael Sweeney
copyright (c) 1997, 2000 All rights reserved
(Revised April 2000 – formerly SEVEN Traits)
……………………..
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for ‘conspiracy theorists’ and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain.Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of ‘artificial’ emotionalism and an unusually thick skin — an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial. Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the ‘image’ and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It’s just a job, and they often seem unable to ‘act their role in character’ as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later — an emotional yo-yo. With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game — where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat ‘freudian’, so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I’m not aware of too many Navy pilots who don’t have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) BONUS TRAIT: Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
1) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT – FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
2) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR – there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to ‘get permission’ or instruction from a formal chain of command.
3) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay – the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
I close with the first paragraph of the introduction to my unpublished book, Fatal Rebirth:
Truth cannot live on a diet of secrets, withering within entangled lies. Freedom cannot live on a diet of lies, surrendering to the veil of oppression. The human spirit cannot live on a diet of oppression, becoming subservient in the end to the will of evil. God, as truth incarnate, will not long let stand a world devoted to such evil. Therefore, let us have the truth and freedom our spirits require… or let us die seeking these things, for without them, we shall surely and justly perish in an evil world.
Penny Bright | Thursday, June 2, 2011 – 11:30pm