Ouch. That was a bad upgrade. It looks like it started failing after it switched back from the backup server to the usual web servers. Just after I went to bed (grr)
She rang because she has a problem with the video driver on her new desktop box and (grr) woke me up. I’d better head over to her new house and suffer the torments of no seats, boxes everywhere, and fixing windows driver problems. She’d already tried everything so it will be one of those nasty extract and reinstall.
Just run the vendors driver removal tool and reinstall the latest. Intel laptops, specifically HD4000 ones come with a buggy driver. So it’s probably just that. Download the newest version.
Ditto (even tho’ I am but an occasional/regular interloper).
As I register my compliments however, (and with the pleasure of having Natrad in holiday mode – with a superior Colin Peacock and a Matinee Idol team replacing the regulars) – has anybody else noticed todays msm preocc with their idol?
John Key says this
Jonkey says that
Simon says pick a bale of cotton!
So far I’ve heard is expertise on everything from bloody road accidents caused by international terrorists on the roads, to the All Bleks in Sam Owen to itchim smetchim fawn polsy fekting ear fewcha.
Thank Christ for alternative media (such as the Standard, and elsewhere)
Many dictators would be jealous of the uniformity of the western corporate media.
All hail the dear Leader.
He makes all sorts of important pronouncements for us.
Coup d’état and Assassination Plan Unveiled in Venezuela
The United States has backed murderous insurrections against democratic governments in what its politicians contemptuously call its “backyard” for more than a century. It’s still at it…
Watched the Pilger South American program showing over and over again the USA dirty tricks overthrowing Democratic governments. If it is in the USA’s national interests then they will do what it takes. Sadly it is so huge it is beyond my ability to comprehend and what can the world do about it. Better to rail about the local carpark I suppose.
The Shock Doctrine was shown on Maori TV last week. It was chilling. Why is NZ associating itself with an ethically bankrupt regime? How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
Great film. By the way, Shock Doctrine can be applied to the events in Christchurch and 1980s New Zealand. There are so many similarities between New Orleans post Katrina and Christchurch for the 2011 earthquake.
I recommend you watch ‘Dirty Wars’, which is a much more recent film.
As part of 5 Eyes, NZ now contributes to these secret wars and assassinations.
Have been meaning to watch this as I missed it last week on Maori TV.
Vaguely related. I’ve been watching the drama, Treme, about post hurricane Katrina New Orleans (see Paul’s comment) and have been disturbingly surprised by the themes of disaster capitalism and ordinary people’s experiences with their government and authorities.
Christchurch mirrors New Orleans in some ways in some of the story lines.
Scared me enough to decide to comfort cook toad in the hole for dinner, which coincidentally, is what JK will be when he gets booted from office and settles permanently in his u.s holiday home
@Tautoko How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
Does the road wind up-hill all the way?
Yes, to the very end.
Will the day’s journey take the whole long day?
From morn to night, my friend.
Up-Hill
Christina Rossetti, 1830 – 1894
I don’t buy this argument for the demise of left-right politics. I’m sure there’s an uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party). But that’s all a symptom of how the power elites have undermined left wing parties and politics over the last few decades, masking the entities that have the most power and influence.
…uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party).
Not to mention the occupy movement and a whole pile of non-party movements.
Incidentally I watched V for Vendetta last night. Finally cottoned on to the Guy Fawkes masks 🙂 This is what happens when you drop out of popular culture for a few years back in the mid-00s
The establishment isn’t doing the majority of people any good and everyone knows it but the established parties will keep doing the same things because it’s what they’ve always done before. We see it in Labour here in the fact that they are unwilling to make any real changes such as 80% tax rates on the rich, the banning of foreign ownership and stopping the private banks from creating money.
Well, maybe the mistake (of those who see left-right distinctions as in decline) is in assuming that political parties, like Labour, are totally left wing – rather than seeing them as embracing a mix of left and right wing values and policies.
Political parties do have a mixture of Left and Right in them but the real problem, IMO, is the embracing of the status quo. It is the status quo that needs changing but none of our major parties are willing to change it.
But currently the status quo favours right wing values more than left wing ones. Changing the status quo, without a clear idea of a society that works for all and in balance with the environment and resources – could just mean a new status quo, with different players, and not a lot different from the old status quo.
if its substituting the status quo with a disguised status quo…
Humans hate change. Most resist it. Which is why too many politicians disguise it.
The basic status quo has benefitted the ruling elite for hundreds of years, they tinker only when they begin to be found out and then they pretend to change… After a few years the lack of change is obvious
From time to time the elite can support a change in the status quo OPERATIONS when circumstances dictate its necessity. They are forced to move to a new paradigm to maintain their place on top of the HIERARCHY which is the one status quo that they will not change.
Example – Roosevelt’s new deal. Massive government employment programmes were created and tax rates dramatically increased which was a change to the status quo OPERATIONS but it was only done with the aim of ensuring the 1%’s position as the status quo atop the HIERARCHY.
In the same vein, CV, my concern with the likes of Kim Dotcom, is that he (and maybe some of his colleagues) aim to change the way businesses operate in the Internet age: a way that makes the best use of digital technologies. The result could actually be to re-vitalise capitalism in a way that responds to its current challenges. But it also may only be a temporary boost to capitalism, given the challenges.
if some kind of renewed emphasis on high tech business can help give us an extra 10 years economic breathing room with which to adapt the rest of the nation to harsh future realities it may not be a wholly bad thing? Just pondering.
One other thing with KDC – he may be rich himself but he has also set himself in direct opposition to the corporate power elite. They don’t like bolshy SMEs that they can’t buy up and they definitely don’t like class traitors.
Hmmm. But, but in the past, at moments of upheaval, younger people break through in unorthodox ways to become the new elite – think Bill Gates,… or further back, the likes of Andrew Carnegie.
That’s also true – changing the old oligarchs at the top for younger ones, and updating the company names on the Dow Jones to newer ones is hardly progress.
Lets see what would happen
1)Dot Com woudnt declare any income in NZ
2) ACT would say all the monied types will invest overseas and the economy will collapse
3) The Nats will say the Banks will squeeze us and the economy will collapse
4)Winston First will release Dot Coms tax return to show the rich foerigners arent paying their fair share
5) Peter Dunne will also leak the Dot Com tax return and then blame Winston
6) Mana will make an exception for Germans
7) Labour will be strangely quiet and have no policy
8) The Greens will put in huge tax rebates for those who invest in wind farms and stuff they themselves invest in.
1.) Doubt it
2.) Just so long as the monied types follow their money I’m all for it – along with the ban on foreign ownership
3.) The banks are already squeezing us dry
4.) Winston would be right about the rich foreigners – KDC isn’t one
5.) Peter Dunne will say something meaningless, then contradict himself and then build an altar to Sensible Centrism.
6.) Doubt it
7.) So, no change then?
8.) Good, need more renewable energy
Bomber waxing lyrical in the Herald today,”Some on the left call this a sell out. principled opposition is admirable, but, who will tell 285,000 children in poverty we wouldn’t replace the Government because we couldn’t agree on which version of Marx to follow”,
If Harawira, Harre, Sykes, and, minto are the sell out, sign me up”.unquote.
Couldn’t agree more, Principles can neither put food on the table or a roof over your head…
Talking of non party movements, our little efforts in Ohariu get some attention from bored commuters. PPO’s latest placard, on the Govts reneging on the GCSB and SIS review, promised to Dunne as part of the “willing buyer, willing seller” deal, situated at the J’ville train station (with more sites to come as more placards are produced)
We try to keep it a bit light by adding the emoticons Dunne face. (Although his angry face is rather a deep shade of red in the above placard 😀 ) and usually do a few placards on the Dunne topic du jour and place them in strategic sites around the electorate.
Just read the piece on the Herald website about the Samoan PM criticizing (or rather misconstruing) the Labour Party’s proposed immigration policy and of course John Key picking it up and running with it. Presumably the Samoan PM is well aware of the housing situation in Auckland and that PI families are living in cars and other inadequate housing, particularly in South and West Auckland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11266018
Am I unfairly suggesting that he simply wants unfettered access for his people so they can come over and work for less than fair wages so more money can be sent back home to Samoa.
Really or maybe he would like his people to have the same labour mobility that the English and Australians have so that they can come here and work in higher paid jobs than fruit picking.
Explain to me any rational reason why our close ties to the Pacific nations shouldn’t ensure their workers have the same rights to work here as Australians.
Presumably you’re aware that housing problems is not just an issue for Pacific Island families.
I have some questions that just occurred to me that some may be able to answer (save me looking it up if one of you already know 🙂 )
Under what legal conditions is the Rt Honourable (& they are all Honourable men) John Key able to own land in Hawaii / United States? (Oh the irony of him being an absentee foreign owner of land!)
Under what legal conditions is he able to enter the United States for periods of time? Does he have a limited stay type of visa or does he have dual citizenship?
If he has dual citizenship (US & NZ) then what conflict of interest issues does that raise if he is the head of NZ’s security services? Does this explain why he & his govt have brought the KY to the James Clapper/Ian Fletcher/Eric Halder lovefests & the Dotcom raid?
as as side….
Why has Grant Wormald from OFCANZ (Organised and Financial Crime Agency) not been charged with perjury for his testimony in court?
And many of the trade agreements have provisions for executives and CEO’s to move freely across country borders – just not workers which have a greater tendency to default to immigration policy.
The Wormald prosecution will have to be brought by Graham McCready. ‘Senior police’ have closed ranks: “his words have been taken out of context”, “he thought the question was about physical surveillance”, “the transcript proves his innocence. You can’t see it.”
I’ver wondered about this. Has anybody ever asked J Key if he holds a USA passport? If he does there must be potential for some pretty big conflicts of interest? And if he does, then he is liable for US taxes on his worldwide income which I assume includes his Prime ministerial salary. Maybe he also takes advantage of the US tax breaks around donations?
I recently emailed Maori television to ask if the station thinks in light of the ongoing human rights violations against the Palestinian people at the hands of israel they feel it is prudent for the station to go ahead and screen israeli comedy films in their 9:30 pm Sunday night film slot. I waited the time they said it would take to respond and longer. No reply. I did receive responses from both Trademe and RNZ on the same topic. Both were pretty much bullshit- but at least they did reply.
At this moment, 705 candidates from the original pool of over 200,000 applicants remain in Mars One’s astronaut selection process. They will be interviewed by the Mars One selection committee, headed by Dr. Norbert Kraft, Chief Medical Officer of Mars One.
With a long history in astronaut selection and crew preparation at NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, Dr. Kraft is well aware of the risks and challenges for the Mars settlers. He has also spent 110 days in group isolation as commander of an international mixed gender crew and spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Kraft says, “we’re incredibly excited to start the next phase of Round 2, where we begin to better understand our candidates who aspire to take such a daring trip. They will have to show their knowledge, intelligence, adaptability and personality.”
Who are the 705 candidates?
The remaining 418 men and 287 women in Mars One’s astronaut selection program come from all over the world: 313 from the Americas, 187 from Europe, 136 from Asia, 41 from Africa, and 28 from Oceania. In this spreadsheet you’ll find all the 705 candidates and a link to their profile on our community platform.
Aspiring Martians T-shirt
We are temporarily offering an Aspiring Martians themed T-shirt to celebrate the Aspiring Martians Community first anniversary. We will have them printed if at least 100 shirts are pre-ordered by May 31st. Don’t miss out!
Each month, we award an autographed Mars One coffee mug to two randomly picked monthly donors. This month, the rewarded supporters are Humberto Q. (Brazil) and Arnold S. (Denmark). Thank you!
The next selection steps
The remaining candidates will be invited for a personal interview. Mars One is in negotiations with media companies to report on those interviews. Once the television deal is finalized and the interviews begin, the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians will be shared with the world.
The selection phases that follow in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of the candidates.
Aspiring Martians who have missed the first application round can join subsequent astronaut selection programs. Mars One will commence regular recruitment programs as the search for follow-up crews continues. Read more about the astronaut requirements.
Candidates dominate headlines!
As round two of the astronaut selection process carries on, Mars One has continued to be the subject of many media stories. Many of our candidates have been featured by various media outlets, including:
Followed by sycophantic giggling to Matthew Hooton as he makes snide comments about them.
Body language..everything different.
Very chummy and convivial amongst all of the panel.
What a bunch of….
I was interested to watch Qu & A this week, because it was being talked about online. But I do find Susan Woods pretty unwatchable. She is so not right for a current affairs show. Just smug and prissy, and totally out of her depth when engaging with someone as politically savvy as Harre.
She lives in Paratai Drive does she not? I’m sure no-one is allowed live in that street without first presenting their National membership card. They do allow ACT members to live there too but only with special dispensation.
I also HATE it when the interviewer asks a question and interrupts the answer before the person has a chance to complete the answer. It is not only bad manners, rude and irritating, but quite off putting for the person answering. Many of these ego driven stupid interviewers do it! For them it is just a feel good game for a few minutes for their programme, but for the politician answering the question and for the party they represent, a lot is at stake.
Probably not much in the way of cash.
However, they get paid in the contacts they make. They network on a programme like Q and A.
Future cushy contracts await.
If i were to pick a ”winner” out of tonight’s discussion it would be Labour’s Willow Jean Prime, my prejudices are showing here, both Grandfather’s freezing workers, father worked 20 years for the railways befor being made redundant,
She seemed to ‘come across’ best on the medium of television, pity Willow is contesting the Northland electorate for Labour,(havn’t checked to see where She sits on the list),
The Maori Party candidate made one good point about the current clusterfuck that is Auckland housing, in saying that it is easy to shift from the provinces to look for work, should you not find that work tho it is virtually impossible to shift back home again,
Of course seeing this from the point of view of the incongruous relationship the Maori Party shares with the current National Government devalues His point dramatically and it is such ”attacks” upon Maori from National while the Maori Party tucks nga korokoro under the table and nga tiro onto the leather seats of the beamers that have all but condemned the Party to the overcrowded dustbin of political history…
When it come to housing policy tho, Jack Mcdonald from the Green Party had it all over everyone else, with the Mana Party candidate failing to fire in terms of having a clear personal vision of Mana’s State House policy,
The variable equity scheme as outlined by the Green party policy is in my opinion an excellent forward looking piece of ”bread and butter” policy that they should spend far more effort explaining to the electorate,
This policy simply means that anyone, in theory, from the lowest of beneficiaries to the most comfortable of the middle class could be housed and it is only my worries about future attacks upon those housed under this policy by another Tory Government that i see as the slightest negative issue with the policy,
(besides the ability to build enough such homes that is)…
“Senior Labour Party MPs have used social media to attack the alliance struck between Mana and the Internet Party.
Former leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer, and Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins are among those who have objected to the deal.
The strong opposition from within Labour could make post-election coalition talks tricky.
All three MPs were linked to the Anyone But Cunliffe [ABC] faction – who were opposed to David Cunliffe assuming leadership of the party. However, a Labour source played down talk of more division, saying all three were close to Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis.
Davis himself posted on Twitter: ‘‘Bro, I think of the people of Te Tai Tokerau, not Sergeant Shultz.’’ He was referring to Dotcom’s German origins.”
The neo-liberal rats in the Labour caucus are squirming and causing as much trouble as they can.
Cunliffe must apply some party discipline here.
Goff was a key member of the Douglas clique who betrayed NZ.
Davis looking more and more like a total plonker.
The Labour Party used to be the people’s party, but it seems determined to lose many of its traditional voters. I myself will not be voting Labour again, but with me that decision came about after the election as leader of David #2 – is he the biggest goose Labour has ever had as a leader? Too late to get David #1 back…. or is it.
Shearer proved unable to navigate internal Labour Party politics, partly because he was too inexperienced, I do not think he would be able to deal with the quickly changing dynamics that IMP is bringing to the table.
Imagine the Internet Party having a more experienced leader (Laila Harre ex Labour led Cabinet Minister) than the Labour Party (David Shearer 0 full terms as Labour MP).
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Warning: This post contains references to sexual assaultOn Saturday, I spent far too long editing a video on Tim Jago, the ACT Party President and criminal, who has given up his fight for name suppression after 2 years. He voluntarily gave up just in time for what will be a ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is global warming ...
Our low-investment, low-wage, migration-led and housing-market-driven political economy has delivered poorer productivity growth than the rest of the OECD, and our performance since Covid has been particularly poor. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty this ...
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.As far as major government announcements go, a Three Ministers Event is Big. It can signify a major policy development or something has gone Very Well, or an absolute Clusterf**k. When Three Ministers assemble ...
One of those blasts from the past. Peter Dunne – originally neoliberal Labour, then leader of various parties that sought to work with both big parties (generally National) – has taken to calling ...
Completed reads for January: I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson The Black Spider, by Jeremias Gotthelf The Spider and the Fly (poem), by Mary Howitt A Noiseless Patient Spider (poem), by Walt Whitman August Heat, by W.F. Harvey Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White The Shrinking Man, by Richard Matheson ...
Do its Property Right Provisions Make Sense?Last week I pointed out that it is uninformed to argue that the New Zealand’s apparently poor economic performance can be traced only to poor regulations. Even were there evidence they had some impact, there are other factors. Of course, we should seek to ...
Richard Wagstaff It was incredibly jarring to hear the hubris from the Prime Minister during his recent state of the nation address. I had just spent close to a week working though the stories and thoughts shared with us by nearly 2000 working people as part of our annual Mood ...
Odd fact about the Broadcasting Standards Authority: for the last few years, they’ve only been upholding about 5% of complaints. Why? I think there’s a range of reasons. Generally responsible broadcasters. Dumb complaints. Complaints brought under the wrong standard. Greater adherence to broadcasters’ rights to freedom of expression in the ...
And I said, "Mama, mama, mama, why am I so alone"'Cause I can't go outside, I'm scared I might not make it homeWell I'm alive, I'm alive, but I'm sinking inIf there's anyone at home at your place, darlingWhy don't you invite me in?Don't try to feed me'Cause I've been ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ star is on the rise, having just added the Energy, Local Government and Revenue portfolios to his responsibilities - but there is nothing ambitious about the Government’s new climate targets. Photo: SuppliedLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate ...
It may have been a short week but there’s been no shortage of things that caught our attention. Here is some of the most interesting. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt took a look at public transport ridership in 2024 On Thursday Connor asked some questions ...
The East Is Red: Journalists and commentators are referring to the sudden and disruptive arrival of DeepSeek as a second “Sputnik moment”. (Sputnik being the name given by the godless communists of the Soviet Union to the world’s first artificial satellite which, to the consternation and dismay of the Americans, ...
Hi,Back on inauguration day we launched a ridiculous RFK Jr. “brain worms” tee on the Webworm store, and I told you I’d be throwing my profits over to Mutual Aid LA and Rainbow Youth New Zealand. Just to show I am not full of shit, here are the receipts. I ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump over Gaza and Ukraine.Health expert and author David Galler ...
In an uncompromising paper Treasury has basically told the Government that its plan for a third medical school at Waikato University is a waste of money. Furthermore, the country cannot afford it. That advice was released this week by the Treasury under the Official Information Act. And it comes as ...
Back in November, He Pou a Rangi provided the government with formal advice on the domestic contribution to our next Paris target. Not what the target should be, but what we could realistically achieve, by domestic action alone, without resorting to offshore mitigation. Their answer was startling: depending on exactly ...
Photo by Mauricio Fanfa on UnsplashKia oraCome and join us for our weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news with myself , plus regular guest David Patman and ...
I don't like to spend all my time complaining about our government, so let me complain about the media first.Senior journalistic Herald person Thomas Coughlan reported that Treasury replied yeah nah, wrong bro to Luxon's claim that our benighted little country has been in recession for three years.His excitement rose ...
Back in 2022, when the government was consulting internally about proactive release of cabinet papers, the SIS opposed it. The basis of their opposition was the "mosaic effect" - people being able to piece together individual pieces of innocuous public information in a way which supposedly harms "national security" (effectively: ...
With The Stroke Of A Pen:Populism, especially right-wing populism, invests all the power of an electoral/parliamentary majority in a single political leader because it no longer trusts the bona fides of the sprawling political class among whom power is traditionally dispersed. Populism eschews traditional politics, because, among populists, traditional politics ...
I’ve spent the last week writing a fairly substantial review of a recent book (“Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism: How we crushed the curve but lost the race”) by a couple of Australian academic economists on Australia’s pandemic policies and experiences. For all its limitations, there isn’t anything similar in New Zealand. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to stand firm and work with allies to progress climate action as Donald Trump signals his intent to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords once again. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
The opening of Palmerston North’s biggest social housing development will have a significant impact for whānau in need of safe, warm, dry housing, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The minister visited the development today at North Street where a total of 50 two, three, and four-bedroom homes plus a ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the new membership of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC), who will serve for a three-year term. “The Committee brings together wide-ranging expertise relevant to disarmament. We have made six new appointments to the Committee and reappointed two existing members ...
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora, good morning, talofa, malo e lelei, bula vinaka, da jia hao, namaste, sat sri akal, assalamu alaikum. It’s so great to be here and I’m ready and pumped for 2025. Can I start by acknowledging: Simon Bridges – CEO of the Auckland ...
The Government has unveiled a bold new initiative to position New Zealand as a premier destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) that will create higher paying jobs and grow the economy. “Invest New Zealand will streamline the investment process and provide tailored support to foreign investors, to increase capital investment ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced the largest reset of the New Zealand science system in more than 30 years with reforms which will boost the economy and benefit the sector. “The reforms will maximise the value of the $1.2 billion in government funding that goes into ...
Turbocharging New Zealand’s economic growth is the key to brighter days ahead for all Kiwis, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. In the Prime Minister’s State of the Nation Speech in Auckland today, Christopher Luxon laid out the path to the prosperity that will affect all aspects of New Zealanders’ lives. ...
The latest set of accounts show the Government has successfully checked the runaway growth of public spending, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. “In the previous government’s final five months in office, public spending was almost 10 per cent higher than for the same period the previous year. “That is completely ...
The Government’s welfare reforms are delivering results with the number of people moving off benefits into work increasing year-on-year for six straight months. “There are positive signs that our welfare reset and the return consequences for job seekers who don't fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find a job ...
Jon Kroll and Aimee McCammon have been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “I am delighted to appoint these two new board members who will bring a wealth of industry, governance, and commercial experience to the Film Commission. “Jon Kroll has been an ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has hailed a drop in the domestic component of inflation, saying it increases the prospect of mortgage rate reductions and a lower cost of living for Kiwi households. Stats NZ reported today that inflation was 2.2 per cent in the year to December, the second consecutive ...
Two new appointed members and one reappointed member of the Employment Relations Authority have been announced by Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden today. “I’m pleased to announce the new appointed members Helen van Druten and Matthew Piper to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) and welcome them to ...
ACT Party leader David Seymour said he wrote to police about the treatment of Philip Polkinghorne because it's an electorate MP's job to pass on the concerns of their constituents. ...
MEDIAWATCH:By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter By the time US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on China and Canada last Monday which could kickstart a trade war, New Zealand’s diplomats in Washington, DC, had already been deployed on another diplomatic drama. Republican Senator Ted Cruz had said on social ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand is asking for too much oversight over its deal with China, which is expected to be penned in Beijing next week. Brown told RNZ Pacific the Cook Islands-New Zealand relationship was reciprocal. “They certainly did ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Byelections occurred on Saturday in the Victorian state seats of Prahran and Werribee. The Liberals gained Prahran from the Greens by a ...
A long time ago, Brian Turner wrote a poem in which, among the mountains, as he slept on a river flat … My speechless ancestors played like mice among my dreamsand he woke to the river running over my bed of stone. I have come to know that where a ...
Pacific Media Watch President Donald Trump has frozen billions of dollars around the world in aid projects, including more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support independent media and the free flow of information. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has denounced this decision, which has plunged NGOs, media outlets, and ...
Otago University professor of international relations Robert Patman says New Zealand should provide a robust response to Donald Trump's Gaza plan, and also "should stop tip-toeing" around Trump. ...
The new minister of transport has opened the door for public consultation on at least some of the speed limit changes the government said would be automatic. ...
Officially, they’re called ‘memecoins,’ but Kōura Wealth founder Rupert Carlyon says the crypto world has another name for them: ‘shitcoins’.In digital finance, that phrase is used for tokens that have no true value – in essence, a money-grab.A few days before his inauguration, US President Donald Trump launched his own ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. Guy Williams has made a whole show off the joke that he is a “volunteer” journalist. So getting publicly owned by David Seymour while trying to act as a journalist is a good and timely reminder not to underestimate the nuance and ...
Many of Sāmoa’s beloved dishes are the result of cultural collaboration, writes Madeleine Chapman. All photos by Jin FelletIf you ever find yourself at a barbecue in a Sāmoan home, there’s 99% chance that sapasui (chop suey) will be on the table. For the past century, sapasui has ...
The funnyman takes us through his life in television, including Jono and Ben mayhem, live Telethon flubs, and funnelling all those experiences into his new comedy Vince. There’s an inciting incident in Three’s new comedy Vince where morning television presenter Vince Walters (Jono Pryor) is visiting sick kids in hospital ...
People often claim they just want Waitangi Day to be a celebration. At Waitangi, away from the headlined political acrimony and the marae ātea, celebrating is what most people are doing. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous ...
Is there anything more fashionable than a Māori get together? One of the best things about Northland is that nobody cares what they look like — probably because they’re all naturally more stylish than the rest of us, famously. Māori from the Far North, especially. In 27 degree heat, wearing ...
I’ve been in love with him since last July, but it’s only now in this tepid hotel room that I find myself wondering why. The first thing he does when we arrive is smoke a cone in the bathroom – he emerges, hacking up a lung, fists thrust into his ...
MONDAY“Name,” barked a representative of the lower orders.I regarded him with a look of stern disapproval, and told him from up high, “May I remind you that I have name suppression. I shall also thank you to ask with more respect as befits a former president of the Act Party, ...
Books of Mana: 180 Māori-Authored Books of Significance, edited by Jacinta Ruru, Angela Wanhalla and Jeanette Wikaira has just been released by Otago University Press. In this essay, Books are Taonga, Jeanette Wikaira explores her personal relationship to books and their value.For me, books are taonga. The knowledge ...
Get to know Tara, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Tara’s human for their support! Dog name: Tara Age: Two Breed: Mostly Border Collie and a little bit Catahoula Leopard dog If dog ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Health NZ's CEO has resigned, but frontline healthworkers are sceptical that installing new leadership will make any difference to a system grappling with problems. ...
Gail Duncan, Chairperson of the St Peter’s on Willis Social Justice Group, one of the organisations invited to submit on the Bill, says the Government’s actions are unprecedented. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amani Kasherwa, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Queensland In late January, a rebel group that has long caused mayhem in the sprawling African nation of Democratic Republic of Congo took control of Goma, a major city of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yee-Fui Ng, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Monash University An ad falsely depicting independent candidate Alex Dyson as a Greens member.ABC News/Supplied The highly pertinent case of a little-known independent candidate in the Victorian seat of Wannon has exposed a gaping ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lauren Ball, Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing, The University of Queensland Nik/Unsplash You might have heard that eating too many eggs will cause high cholesterol levels, leading to poor health. Researchers have examined the science behind this myth again, and ...
Everything you missed from the third day of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard four hours of oral submission. Read our recaps of day one of the hearings here, and day two here. Parliament was quiet on Friday for the third day of hearings on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Jeffries, Senior Lecturer in Microbiology, Western Sydney University Tijana Simic/Shutterstock The news last week that three people in Sydney were hospitalised with botulism after receiving botox injections has raised questions about the regulation of the cosmetic injectables industry. The ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jens Blotevogel, Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader for Remediation Technologies, CSIRO Mino Surkala, Shutterstock Lithium-ion batteries are part of everyday life. They power small rechargeable devices such as mobile phones and laptops. They enable electric vehicles. And larger versions store ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edith Jennifer Hill, Associate Lecturer, Learning & Teaching Innovation, Flinders University Netflix Netflix’s new limited series, Apple Cider Vinegar, tells the story of the elaborate cancer con orchestrated by Australian blogger Annabelle (Belle) Gibson. The first episode opens with Gibson’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dee Ninis, Earthquake Scientist, Monash University Greece’s government has just declared a state of emergency on the island of Santorini, as earthquakes shake the island multiple times a day and sometimes only minutes apart. The “earthquake swarm” is also affecting other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Western Australian state election will be held on March 8. A Newspoll, conducted January 29 to February 4 from a sample ...
She’s back behind the wheel, and this time, she wants to find out what it is that makes us tick. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. After a prolific career on stage and screen, 83-year-old Miriam Margolyes is on the road again. ...
A new poem by Jordan Hamel. Real Poet Every word earned its place and so did he, so should you. Real poet lives in the capital but writes himself into the Mackenzie country golden hour, man of the paper land, he neglects to mention his pollen ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Understanding Te Tiriti by Roimata Smail (Wai Ako Press, $25) No better time to get ...
The committee has published this list to inform the public about its work, and to give clarity to submitters who have contacted the committee asking if they will be invited to make an oral submission. ...
Alex Casey and Gabi Lardies dissect their Laneway 2025 experience. Gabi Lardies: Hi Alex :))))))) Congratulations on not getting sunburnt. Everyone I talked to at Laneway yesterday was braving the sun for one thing. Charli XCX. How was your brat experience?Alex Casey: We will talk about the rest of ...
The US President's suggestion, which sparked enormous debate globally, has been labelled as a threat, not a proposal, by the Federation of Islamic Associations. ...
Ouch. That was a bad upgrade. It looks like it started failing after it switched back from the backup server to the usual web servers. Just after I went to bed (grr)
Fixed now by rolling back the web servers.
There will be some maintenance tonight.
Thanks for sorting it so quickly – while most others have the fortune to be in holiday mode.
Thank rocky. I was in full blown sleep-in mode…..
She rang because she has a problem with the video driver on her new desktop box and (grr) woke me up. I’d better head over to her new house and suffer the torments of no seats, boxes everywhere, and fixing windows driver problems. She’d already tried everything so it will be one of those nasty extract and reinstall.
Just run the vendors driver removal tool and reinstall the latest. Intel laptops, specifically HD4000 ones come with a buggy driver. So it’s probably just that. Download the newest version.
It is a desktop. Rocky had fixed it before I got there. Just fixing the WiFi card in Linux.
Thanks for the awesome Lprent, and all you do for the site.
My thanks also for all your hard work, lprent. Much appreciated. Felt ‘lost’ when I could not get on this morning!
+1
Thank you for your work to make this site run.
+100!
Thanks Lynn, was starting to get withdrawal symptoms. Thanks for all you do for this site.
Would be a grim world if it wasn’t available.
Ditto (even tho’ I am but an occasional/regular interloper).
As I register my compliments however, (and with the pleasure of having Natrad in holiday mode – with a superior Colin Peacock and a Matinee Idol team replacing the regulars) – has anybody else noticed todays msm preocc with their idol?
John Key says this
Jonkey says that
Simon says pick a bale of cotton!
So far I’ve heard is expertise on everything from bloody road accidents caused by international terrorists on the roads, to the All Bleks in Sam Owen to itchim smetchim fawn polsy fekting ear fewcha.
Thank Christ for alternative media (such as the Standard, and elsewhere)
Many dictators would be jealous of the uniformity of the western corporate media.
All hail the dear Leader.
He makes all sorts of important pronouncements for us.
Don’t thank me for this one. It was my cockup. Holiday mode…,
Coup d’état and Assassination Plan Unveiled in Venezuela
The United States has backed murderous insurrections against democratic governments in what its politicians contemptuously call its “backyard” for more than a century. It’s still at it…
http://www.minci.gob.ve/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Magnicidio-Inglés.pdf
Watched the Pilger South American program showing over and over again the USA dirty tricks overthrowing Democratic governments. If it is in the USA’s national interests then they will do what it takes. Sadly it is so huge it is beyond my ability to comprehend and what can the world do about it. Better to rail about the local carpark I suppose.
The Shock Doctrine was shown on Maori TV last week. It was chilling. Why is NZ associating itself with an ethically bankrupt regime? How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
http://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/tuesday-festival-documentaries/S01E001/shock-doctrine
Great film. By the way, Shock Doctrine can be applied to the events in Christchurch and 1980s New Zealand. There are so many similarities between New Orleans post Katrina and Christchurch for the 2011 earthquake.
I recommend you watch ‘Dirty Wars’, which is a much more recent film.
As part of 5 Eyes, NZ now contributes to these secret wars and assassinations.
Review
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/24/jeremy-scahill-exposing-us-dirty-war-afghanistan-pakistan-somalia-yemen
Trailer
Have been meaning to watch this as I missed it last week on Maori TV.
Vaguely related. I’ve been watching the drama, Treme, about post hurricane Katrina New Orleans (see Paul’s comment) and have been disturbingly surprised by the themes of disaster capitalism and ordinary people’s experiences with their government and authorities.
Christchurch mirrors New Orleans in some ways in some of the story lines.
A little bit about Treme:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treme_(TV_series)
And a great opening intro song:
Treme was written by David Simon, who also wrote the Wire.
Probably the best drama ever. Makes a strongest care ever for the end of the drug war.
“How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?”
If you see yankee warships in NZ harbours, then that will be a big clue.
Then, be very afraid.
Thanks I had missed that. Very interesting the PLAN was involved.
Scared me enough to decide to comfort cook toad in the hole for dinner, which coincidentally, is what JK will be when he gets booted from office and settles permanently in his u.s holiday home
The military exercises around Canty etc recently
Also our co-operation in drawing up GCSB legislation to their specifications and requirements
@Tautoko
How far will the US go to keep their Muppet/Puppet in power here?
For an excellent argument on corporate welfare, watch Joseph Stiglitz: Let’s stop subsidising tax dodgers.
https://www.commondreams.org/video/2014/05/31
I don’t buy this argument for the demise of left-right politics. I’m sure there’s an uprising in anti-establishment sentiment (that’s what drives the tea party). But that’s all a symptom of how the power elites have undermined left wing parties and politics over the last few decades, masking the entities that have the most power and influence.
Not to mention the occupy movement and a whole pile of non-party movements.
Incidentally I watched V for Vendetta last night. Finally cottoned on to the Guy Fawkes masks 🙂 This is what happens when you drop out of popular culture for a few years back in the mid-00s
CV
Alan Moore wrote the comic back in the 80s, but the masks didn’t really take off until the film happened.
The establishment isn’t doing the majority of people any good and everyone knows it but the established parties will keep doing the same things because it’s what they’ve always done before. We see it in Labour here in the fact that they are unwilling to make any real changes such as 80% tax rates on the rich, the banning of foreign ownership and stopping the private banks from creating money.
Well, maybe the mistake (of those who see left-right distinctions as in decline) is in assuming that political parties, like Labour, are totally left wing – rather than seeing them as embracing a mix of left and right wing values and policies.
Political parties do have a mixture of Left and Right in them but the real problem, IMO, is the embracing of the status quo. It is the status quo that needs changing but none of our major parties are willing to change it.
people think the status quo serves them because change is scarier
But currently the status quo favours right wing values more than left wing ones. Changing the status quo, without a clear idea of a society that works for all and in balance with the environment and resources – could just mean a new status quo, with different players, and not a lot different from the old status quo.
True but we’re not even seeing a vision of a better society.
if its substituting the status quo with a disguised status quo…
Humans hate change. Most resist it. Which is why too many politicians disguise it.
The basic status quo has benefitted the ruling elite for hundreds of years, they tinker only when they begin to be found out and then they pretend to change… After a few years the lack of change is obvious
From time to time the elite can support a change in the status quo OPERATIONS when circumstances dictate its necessity. They are forced to move to a new paradigm to maintain their place on top of the HIERARCHY which is the one status quo that they will not change.
Example – Roosevelt’s new deal. Massive government employment programmes were created and tax rates dramatically increased which was a change to the status quo OPERATIONS but it was only done with the aim of ensuring the 1%’s position as the status quo atop the HIERARCHY.
In the same vein, CV, my concern with the likes of Kim Dotcom, is that he (and maybe some of his colleagues) aim to change the way businesses operate in the Internet age: a way that makes the best use of digital technologies. The result could actually be to re-vitalise capitalism in a way that responds to its current challenges. But it also may only be a temporary boost to capitalism, given the challenges.
if some kind of renewed emphasis on high tech business can help give us an extra 10 years economic breathing room with which to adapt the rest of the nation to harsh future realities it may not be a wholly bad thing? Just pondering.
One other thing with KDC – he may be rich himself but he has also set himself in direct opposition to the corporate power elite. They don’t like bolshy SMEs that they can’t buy up and they definitely don’t like class traitors.
Hmmm. But, but in the past, at moments of upheaval, younger people break through in unorthodox ways to become the new elite – think Bill Gates,… or further back, the likes of Andrew Carnegie.
That’s also true – changing the old oligarchs at the top for younger ones, and updating the company names on the Dow Jones to newer ones is hardly progress.
Labour 1984 changed the status quo. Now it is time to change the new, now old status quo.
Yep. They did it in 1935 as well. At some point in the past Labour had the guts to change the system but, seemingly, they no longer do.
In 1984 Labour led a revolution which upended the social and economic order of the country.
CV
Time for another turn of the wheel then?
80% tax on the rich?
Lets see what would happen
1)Dot Com woudnt declare any income in NZ
2) ACT would say all the monied types will invest overseas and the economy will collapse
3) The Nats will say the Banks will squeeze us and the economy will collapse
4)Winston First will release Dot Coms tax return to show the rich foerigners arent paying their fair share
5) Peter Dunne will also leak the Dot Com tax return and then blame Winston
6) Mana will make an exception for Germans
7) Labour will be strangely quiet and have no policy
8) The Greens will put in huge tax rebates for those who invest in wind farms and stuff they themselves invest in.
I suggest a 91% income tax rate on monies earnt over 10x the median income = $29,000.
That income tax rate is consistent with what the US had around 1960.
Also a death tax is a good idea to sweep in all that hoarded financial capital. Say 50% of all financial assets i.e. not including the family home.
1.) Doubt it
2.) Just so long as the monied types follow their money I’m all for it – along with the ban on foreign ownership
3.) The banks are already squeezing us dry
4.) Winston would be right about the rich foreigners – KDC isn’t one
5.) Peter Dunne will say something meaningless, then contradict himself and then build an altar to Sensible Centrism.
6.) Doubt it
7.) So, no change then?
8.) Good, need more renewable energy
How ironic. David Farrar being savaged on his own blog for (partially) siding with the Greens on the carbon tax.
Bomber waxing lyrical in the Herald today,”Some on the left call this a sell out. principled opposition is admirable, but, who will tell 285,000 children in poverty we wouldn’t replace the Government because we couldn’t agree on which version of Marx to follow”,
If Harawira, Harre, Sykes, and, minto are the sell out, sign me up”.unquote.
Couldn’t agree more, Principles can neither put food on the table or a roof over your head…
My comments are like mist, disappearing into the ethereal unknown…
Talking of non party movements, our little efforts in Ohariu get some attention from bored commuters. PPO’s latest placard, on the Govts reneging on the GCSB and SIS review, promised to Dunne as part of the “willing buyer, willing seller” deal, situated at the J’ville train station (with more sites to come as more placards are produced)
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=67747
Thanks, Rosie. Will add it to my 20th century spying post – which will make it more accessible for future use.
Love the poster, Rosie. Well done – and good to see your group’s efforts being reported on.
It’s especially awesome that this is just one in an ongoing series…people take this kind of consistency with much more seriousness.
i put it up on whoar..
Thanks karol, VV, CV and phillip.
We try to keep it a bit light by adding the emoticons Dunne face. (Although his angry face is rather a deep shade of red in the above placard 😀 ) and usually do a few placards on the Dunne topic du jour and place them in strategic sites around the electorate.
Here’s a previous placard from Scoop:
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=61648
It’s fun to do but is also a challenge to Dunne as well as an awareness raiser for the locals.
well done. Speaking truth to power
That is what is needed Rosie. A little abrasion often wears away the sock.
Just read the piece on the Herald website about the Samoan PM criticizing (or rather misconstruing) the Labour Party’s proposed immigration policy and of course John Key picking it up and running with it. Presumably the Samoan PM is well aware of the housing situation in Auckland and that PI families are living in cars and other inadequate housing, particularly in South and West Auckland. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11266018
Am I unfairly suggesting that he simply wants unfettered access for his people so they can come over and work for less than fair wages so more money can be sent back home to Samoa.
Really or maybe he would like his people to have the same labour mobility that the English and Australians have so that they can come here and work in higher paid jobs than fruit picking.
Explain to me any rational reason why our close ties to the Pacific nations shouldn’t ensure their workers have the same rights to work here as Australians.
Presumably you’re aware that housing problems is not just an issue for Pacific Island families.
I have some questions that just occurred to me that some may be able to answer (save me looking it up if one of you already know 🙂 )
Under what legal conditions is the Rt Honourable (& they are all Honourable men) John Key able to own land in Hawaii / United States? (Oh the irony of him being an absentee foreign owner of land!)
Under what legal conditions is he able to enter the United States for periods of time? Does he have a limited stay type of visa or does he have dual citizenship?
If he has dual citizenship (US & NZ) then what conflict of interest issues does that raise if he is the head of NZ’s security services? Does this explain why he & his govt have brought the KY to the James Clapper/Ian Fletcher/Eric Halder lovefests & the Dotcom raid?
as as side….
Why has Grant Wormald from OFCANZ (Organised and Financial Crime Agency) not been charged with perjury for his testimony in court?
Yes, foreigners can buy land in Hawaii.
And many of the trade agreements have provisions for executives and CEO’s to move freely across country borders – just not workers which have a greater tendency to default to immigration policy.
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/symp_apr_02_nielson1_e.doc
The Wormald prosecution will have to be brought by Graham McCready. ‘Senior police’ have closed ranks: “his words have been taken out of context”, “he thought the question was about physical surveillance”, “the transcript proves his innocence. You can’t see it.”
he would be staying on diplomatic equivalent or visitor visa, nz citizens get automatic 3 month visa to the us i think.
I’ver wondered about this. Has anybody ever asked J Key if he holds a USA passport? If he does there must be potential for some pretty big conflicts of interest? And if he does, then he is liable for US taxes on his worldwide income which I assume includes his Prime ministerial salary. Maybe he also takes advantage of the US tax breaks around donations?
I recently emailed Maori television to ask if the station thinks in light of the ongoing human rights violations against the Palestinian people at the hands of israel they feel it is prudent for the station to go ahead and screen israeli comedy films in their 9:30 pm Sunday night film slot. I waited the time they said it would take to respond and longer. No reply. I did receive responses from both Trademe and RNZ on the same topic. Both were pretty much bullshit- but at least they did reply.
What Is Money by Jeremy Lee 1993 Australia
The Greens have support for their Carbon tax proposals from an unexpected group.
http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c86359d14575615d6ae8c2b60&id=5797dbd47b
i never realised tau henare is so old..(or bred so young..?..)
“..Henare, the great grandson of former Northern Maori MP Tau Henare –
was selected this afternoon to contest the Auckland Maori electorate..”
Phillip @ 12.
No not the National TAu Henare. The late Tau Henare who was a MP for Northen Maori
One way ticket to Mars.
From an email to me:
At this moment, 705 candidates from the original pool of over 200,000 applicants remain in Mars One’s astronaut selection process. They will be interviewed by the Mars One selection committee, headed by Dr. Norbert Kraft, Chief Medical Officer of Mars One.
With a long history in astronaut selection and crew preparation at NASA and the Japanese Space Agency, Dr. Kraft is well aware of the risks and challenges for the Mars settlers. He has also spent 110 days in group isolation as commander of an international mixed gender crew and spaceflight simulation experiment in Moscow, Russia.
Dr. Kraft says, “we’re incredibly excited to start the next phase of Round 2, where we begin to better understand our candidates who aspire to take such a daring trip. They will have to show their knowledge, intelligence, adaptability and personality.”
Who are the 705 candidates?
The remaining 418 men and 287 women in Mars One’s astronaut selection program come from all over the world: 313 from the Americas, 187 from Europe, 136 from Asia, 41 from Africa, and 28 from Oceania. In this spreadsheet you’ll find all the 705 candidates and a link to their profile on our community platform.
Aspiring Martians T-shirt
We are temporarily offering an Aspiring Martians themed T-shirt to celebrate the Aspiring Martians Community first anniversary. We will have them printed if at least 100 shirts are pre-ordered by May 31st. Don’t miss out!
Each month, we award an autographed Mars One coffee mug to two randomly picked monthly donors. This month, the rewarded supporters are Humberto Q. (Brazil) and Arnold S. (Denmark). Thank you!
The next selection steps
The remaining candidates will be invited for a personal interview. Mars One is in negotiations with media companies to report on those interviews. Once the television deal is finalized and the interviews begin, the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians will be shared with the world.
The selection phases that follow in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of the candidates.
Aspiring Martians who have missed the first application round can join subsequent astronaut selection programs. Mars One will commence regular recruitment programs as the search for follow-up crews continues. Read more about the astronaut requirements.
Candidates dominate headlines!
As round two of the astronaut selection process carries on, Mars One has continued to be the subject of many media stories. Many of our candidates have been featured by various media outlets, including:
Interviews with some candidates:
RT http://rt.com/news/158216-mars-one-way-ticket/
CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/16/tech/innovation/mars-one-candidates/
CBS: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24d8ce153d9cbd2546aca36de&id=ca374bb0c4&e=d2915e610c
{The CBS video did not play for me}
http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=24d8ce153d9cbd2546aca36de&id=ca374bb0c4&e=d2915e610c
Find more Mars One media coverage on the Mars One website:
http://www.mars-one.com/news/media-publications
Is Kelvin Davis the new Shane Jones? You know he’s in trouble when he has immediately become the pet of Cameron Slater.
Just saw the interview of Leila Harre by Susan Wood.
The bias was just so overt.
Followed by sycophantic giggling to Matthew Hooton as he makes snide comments about them.
Body language..everything different.
Very chummy and convivial amongst all of the panel.
What a bunch of….
As I said earlier today on twitter – that Qu & A panel was rambling like the late end of a Remmers cocktail party.
A small group of people locked in their own bubble, clueless about the struggles of a lot of Kiwis.
A disgrace if that’s what constitutes political debate in this country.
I was interested to watch Qu & A this week, because it was being talked about online. But I do find Susan Woods pretty unwatchable. She is so not right for a current affairs show. Just smug and prissy, and totally out of her depth when engaging with someone as politically savvy as Harre.
Quite the Tory and in the Remmers set.
She lives in Paratai Drive does she not? I’m sure no-one is allowed live in that street without first presenting their National membership card. They do allow ACT members to live there too but only with special dispensation.
George Carlin – It’s a big club and you ain’t in it
Cheers, Paul. Seen it before, but you can never have too much of George Carlin, can you.
I also HATE it when the interviewer asks a question and interrupts the answer before the person has a chance to complete the answer. It is not only bad manners, rude and irritating, but quite off putting for the person answering. Many of these ego driven stupid interviewers do it! For them it is just a feel good game for a few minutes for their programme, but for the politician answering the question and for the party they represent, a lot is at stake.
And not just clueless – more like couldn’t give a fuck and the cruelty of deliberate ignorance.
I wonder how much these biased idiots are paid for their so called ‘expert commentary’!
Any idea or guess?
Probably not much in the way of cash.
However, they get paid in the contacts they make. They network on a programme like Q and A.
Future cushy contracts await.
Oh wow! He says it in a nutshell. Thanks Paul.
Damn all my comments have been locked out by this morning’s outage…
Edit: lolz except this one…
Maori television’s Native Affairs,as usual, out of the blocks first with in depth coverage of potential Maori MP’s for this election….
Poetry in motion?
Brilliant.
Can’t wait till John Oliver’s programme focuses on Key.
@ draco..that is very funny…
i want the green candidate..and the labour candidate..and the maori party candidate..
..they were all far better than most of the wastes of space who are currently mp’s..
..and all would improve parliament..
..and their skills/commitment could not be questioned..
..unforunately..as a mana voter..
..the mana candidate impressed least of all..
..why is the green guy number 21 on the list..?
..he won’t get in..and that is a shame..
..w.t.f.are the greens thinking..?
..why isn’t he higher..?
..would you like a list of current green mp’s who in a just world would/should move aside for the likes of macdonald..?
Jack McDonald was particularly impressive – and Willow was also excellent.
If i were to pick a ”winner” out of tonight’s discussion it would be Labour’s Willow Jean Prime, my prejudices are showing here, both Grandfather’s freezing workers, father worked 20 years for the railways befor being made redundant,
She seemed to ‘come across’ best on the medium of television, pity Willow is contesting the Northland electorate for Labour,(havn’t checked to see where She sits on the list),
The Maori Party candidate made one good point about the current clusterfuck that is Auckland housing, in saying that it is easy to shift from the provinces to look for work, should you not find that work tho it is virtually impossible to shift back home again,
Of course seeing this from the point of view of the incongruous relationship the Maori Party shares with the current National Government devalues His point dramatically and it is such ”attacks” upon Maori from National while the Maori Party tucks nga korokoro under the table and nga tiro onto the leather seats of the beamers that have all but condemned the Party to the overcrowded dustbin of political history…
Part One.
Don’t know what happened to part 4.
When it come to housing policy tho, Jack Mcdonald from the Green Party had it all over everyone else, with the Mana Party candidate failing to fire in terms of having a clear personal vision of Mana’s State House policy,
The variable equity scheme as outlined by the Green party policy is in my opinion an excellent forward looking piece of ”bread and butter” policy that they should spend far more effort explaining to the electorate,
This policy simply means that anyone, in theory, from the lowest of beneficiaries to the most comfortable of the middle class could be housed and it is only my worries about future attacks upon those housed under this policy by another Tory Government that i see as the slightest negative issue with the policy,
(besides the ability to build enough such homes that is)…
“Senior Labour Party MPs have used social media to attack the alliance struck between Mana and the Internet Party.
Former leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer, and Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins are among those who have objected to the deal.
The strong opposition from within Labour could make post-election coalition talks tricky.
All three MPs were linked to the Anyone But Cunliffe [ABC] faction – who were opposed to David Cunliffe assuming leadership of the party. However, a Labour source played down talk of more division, saying all three were close to Te Tai Tokerau candidate Kelvin Davis.
Davis himself posted on Twitter: ‘‘Bro, I think of the people of Te Tai Tokerau, not Sergeant Shultz.’’ He was referring to Dotcom’s German origins.”
The neo-liberal rats in the Labour caucus are squirming and causing as much trouble as they can.
Cunliffe must apply some party discipline here.
Goff was a key member of the Douglas clique who betrayed NZ.
Davis looking more and more like a total plonker.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10111029/Labour-MPs-not-happy-with-Mana-Internet
Progressive voters in Mt Roskill, Mt Albert, and Rimutaka, now have a choice and can cast their party votes for IMP!
And those in Te Tai Tok can cast their electorate vote for Hone.
🙂
“..Davis looking more and more like a total plonker..”
..+1..
..’sgt schultz’..?..really..?
..that’s the best davis has got..
..i used to think davis was ok..
..but you are right…he is actually a ‘total plonker’..
John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight eviscerates Tony Abbott
The Labour Party used to be the people’s party, but it seems determined to lose many of its traditional voters. I myself will not be voting Labour again, but with me that decision came about after the election as leader of David #2 – is he the biggest goose Labour has ever had as a leader? Too late to get David #1 back…. or is it.
Sounds like a concern tr**l
Seriously? Do you think Shearer would have been able to cope with all the nasties the Nats have been throwing out?
Shearer proved unable to navigate internal Labour Party politics, partly because he was too inexperienced, I do not think he would be able to deal with the quickly changing dynamics that IMP is bringing to the table.
Imagine the Internet Party having a more experienced leader (Laila Harre ex Labour led Cabinet Minister) than the Labour Party (David Shearer 0 full terms as Labour MP).
Test. Link here http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-29052014/#comment-821422