@happynz
Not bad enough to get out of bed for though I’m told from westside Christchurch. And it’s not likely to break anything. That’s all been done and dusted by past equakes.
Tomorrow at the Stop Child Abuse memorial in Dunedin (12.30pm, Cenotaph, Queens Gardens) I’m going to speak about the unspoken problem – men’s non-violent code of silence.
Non-violent men are at least as a big a part of the problem as violent men, through their complicity of silent approval.
Cherie Kurarangi Sweeney has spoken up with the NARK campaign, and she is getting a lot of support – mostly from women.
Non-violent men need to NARK too, more than anyone.
I hope you mean non-violent men who have someone to nark on, and not just most of us in general. I’m certainly not complicit and 111 is always one thumb away.
If a non-violent man has never listened to another man talking about his viiolent behaviour without speaking up about it then he is not a part of the problem.
If non-violent men bite their lip, cringe inside and turn away in silence then they are a part of the problem.
This can be hard to accept, it was for me, but it needs to be said.
PG “Anger is an emotional response to discomfort.” “Stop and think before you react when angry.” I would like to see magnets sent to every home with the above comments including a free helpline number where people can be connected to the most appropriate agency.
“Be a nark when you know of harm” or similar worded magnet would help to reinforce that narking when violence is occurring especially where children are involved is necessary to protect them from harm, would be a direction I would go in.
Money to print political party manifestos but not to prevent child murder/manslaughter is so disgraceful.
I believe that neglect causes abuse and abuse causes either a physical and/or a emotional/psychological injury or a fatality.
Stress due to the cost of living or illness also plays a part as well as intergenerational abuse, but this is no excuse for violence, however some people are unable to change without intensive resources.
Shonkey missing in action again on Radio NZ this morning re the new Hagar book. If there were any journalists with guts the Beehive theaterette seats would all be empty for a couple of weeks while they went and did some proper research. TV equipment would be mysteriously faulty, John who? editors would say until the PM shows some due respect and deigns to appear more regularly for open media discussion rather than either managed “spout and run” or not fronting at all.
NZ’s media think that John Key is there to be fawned over, not questioned.
As long as his PR staff keep them well-supplied with fluffy stories and photos, they’re not too fussed over him ducking any serious issues. Serious issues are boring, don’t ya know – much better to have a big pic of Key with a dog/child/famous person wearing his signature cheesy grin.
It sells better than actually having to do something called ‘journalism’.
What a load of bollocks! You have to despair about the state of the MSM.
Why would you expend time and money to ask voters this sort of question?
It perpetuates the “personality over policy” evil that is undermining our democracy.
Makes me want to pull the covers over my head with a torch, a good book and a nice bourbon.
*sigh*
Why would you expend time and money to ask voters this sort of question?
It perpetuates the “personality over policy” evil that is undermining our democracy.
oh my god – and the contextual “headlines” menu on the right brings up “John Key a Hit with Female Voters” from July. The man is the sexiest, most sensitive, and most trustworthy politician in NZ, according to the supposedly impartial pollsters. Better than a Big Brother, because you’re allowed to date him!
I thought the “I’d be a bit disappointed if one of my ministers was caught vomiting” was the hight of class and leadership. I was surprised that made it through, probably appeals nicely to his good old bloke voter base…
Corporate excess and tax dodging is a time-honored tradition in America. Indeed, it is a matter of public record that many of the largest corporations pay no taxes at all. The IPS report, however, comes at time when budget deficits at the federal and state level have been exploited to implement massive cuts in social services and worker pay, all on the grounds that there is simply “no money.”
The IPS found that the 25 CEOS who were paid more than their companies paid in taxes took home on average $16.7 million a piece. This is 50 percent more than the average CEO compensation for S&P 500 companies, of $10.8 million. These 25 companies received a tax rebate of, on average, $304 million.
Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg was compensated to the tune of $18.1 million in 2010, even as the company received a $705 million tax refund. “In effect,” according to the report, “every Verizon phone customer paid more in federal telephone excise taxes than Verizon paid in federal income taxes.”
Friday is a great day to plan what to do with the well earned time off. I will be looking at the fruits of spring this weekend out around the hills searching out suitable places to seed guerilla style. Here in NZ we need never go short of food but it does behove us to look for non market based methods of replenishment, because lest we forget we have hungry children en masse in our poorer communities. The dollar based food and goods distribution has failed them.
What if the dollar and market were to fail you? How would you feed and warm yourself? Better get thinking because the scenario is entirely plausible. Those great military planners the German Bundswer (the same people responsible for Blitzkreig and Tiger tanks) have this to say on the chances of this event….
is that for real ??
maybe we should get city councils to approve planting them on a wide scale.
with another term of this lot in power, the fuschsias will be enthusiastically feasted on.
we could keep this lot in power and look forward to being truly fuchsiased.
That new foo bill, linked here recently, don’t have it with me on my phone, would suggest councils may not be that supportive of us growing much food on their land. Get in the way of monsanto’s profits.
In our household we get most of our leafy greens in the form of wild radish, wild turnip, puha, and chickweed.
IMO I think at least 50% of NZ sports fields should be converted into garden allotments. Unfortunately, in Wellington we have several councillors who are dead-set on astroturfing all the sports fields. Can’t grow cabbages on plastic astroturf.
You’d be better off growing out the hutt anyways, the place was awash with market gardens for years, I’ve got over a metre of silt loam at my place in Taita. I can grow anything even had edible strawberries against the house on the north side over winter….
Yeah we have been thinking about moving to Otaki (friends tell us they have never found the bottom of the topsoil yet), but the Hutt could be the go from what you’re saying…
Otaki is better, cheaper housing and a warmer climate give you more range…. But on the flat in Naenae, Taita & Pomare is certainly the best area south of Horowhenua…
Great link thanks Uke, find most of those mentioned but thats a bonus for people who dont know whats what. I will be planting the JB spuds, jerusalem artichokes, and some carrots. Got broad beans in the garden, plus beet and celery. Cold frame has the zuchinnis, tomatoes and spring brassicas going plus some amaranth. Gonna direct seed spring onions, beetroot and radish…got to keep the girls (hens) off. Runner beans to plant October.
In a city garden there is no reason you cant grow allyour greens but you cant expect to feed yourself a lot more, so you will always be buying carbs and protein from the shop, damn it.
I do find it hard to understand why every school, particularly every decile one school doesn’t have a dozen fruit trees on it’s grounds. Or, I noticed as I drove past a recently upgraded state housing complex, whole bunch of new planting, nothing that produces food.
What you planting Bored? And what sort of places, how do you avoid council sprays and mowers?
If I were back at school today, with the foresight of a wiser, more experienced and knowledgeable head and the aim of being prepared for the future, I would want to have some valuable life skills imparted like being taught home science (eg how to cook, and especially to make the most of my budget) and garden science (eg how to grow food in the garden).
Btw, there were (still are?) feijoa trees at the school which my nephew went to. There was a feijoa tree or maybe more near the rector’s house. I used to pick him up after school to find him sucking feijoa and drenched with them (too sour for me but lotsa Vit C!). This was at Southwell Boys (Hamilton) … I think his mum spent a bit to have him schooled there!
Totally, they should remove imported trees and plant natives or food bearing trees.
I went to a small school (40 kids total) and the Fijoa was awesome when it was in season.
I’m in the landscaping trade, You’ll be pleased to know that in the last two new schools I’ve landscaped have had orchards consisting of apples, pears, plums, peaches, lemons, apricots and grapes and the local body in Upper Hutt have planted numerous nut trees.
That said near my place in Taita there are around a dozen peach trees planted in the railway land, last year I collected @ 20kg from them for bottling, the remaining fruit rotted on the trees.
Trouble is the skill of preserving foods when they are cheap and plentiful is dying fast. I pickle cauliflower cabbage broccili carrott pepper as well as bottle fruit. It’s not hard and it makes a difference when you’re feeling the pinch. How we get people back into this I don’t know.
Off site pumpkins go well in water courses / gullies, spud peelings seem to grow anywhere, toatoes like hot spots with good moisture, pretty much every extra seedling can find a home. Whoever picks them good luck, well spotted.
Trouble is those that need them most don’t spot them… Hell there are lots of people the that don’t know what a potato plant looks like…
I hate to say it but there really is no excuse not to be able to supplement your diet with homegrown vege, You need bugger all room and if you’ve got lawn you could have a years worth of spuds instead.
My grandparents were much worse off than most people now but they grew there own food, same goes with my family in law in eastern Europe, they eat well on wages of less than 400nzd per month by growing and preserving there own food.
People here have become to dependant on the super market to get there food.
I hate to say it but there really is no excuse not to be able to supplement your diet with homegrown vege, You need bugger all room and if you’ve got lawn you could have a years worth of spuds instead.
You seem a wee bit judgemental, there Gareth. My ‘excuses’ are an uncooperative landlord who believes that anything other than lawn is untidy and therefore a breach of the tenancy agreement – and the fact that I am 154 cm tall, 43 kg in weight, and have a disability/disease that means that digging and planting are beyond me. I’d love a garden – have you got someone who’ll create it for me for free? If the answer’s no, then don’t judge everyone by your own abilities.
There are several excellent books available about no dig gardens available, or it’s amazing what you can grow in a bucket on your porch,
It’s a common misconseption that gardening requires alot of digging and is too much hard work,
Whilst you may not be able to have an A1 show vege patch, if you can put a seed in the ground you can grow veges.
It’s amzing how much food you can get off a cherry tomato or Zucchini growing in a pot, certainly enough to make a difference.
If you,re in the Hutt valley I would be more than happy to supply some old planter bags full of recycled potting mix.
Good work and kind offer Gareth. Nice to see people like yourself and Uke getting practical and helpful. Lifts the level and spirits. Vicky see if you can get some assistance to get things growing because the upkeep is easy.
If you,re in the Hutt valley I would be more than happy to supply some old planter bags full of recycled potting mix.
I wish I was in the Hutt Valley for so many reasons, Gareth… and thank you so much for the advice! My late father had a wonderful vege garden, and in defiance of the Rotorua council he even kept chickens.. That was in the 1960s and we lived in the CBD! (He was an early survivalist and our neighbours thought he was a nutbar.. The apple doesn’t fall far etc, hey?)
I was thinking of buying my mother a mobility scooter but I think I will put a bid in for one of the Ministerial BMW’s that are up for tender.
I think she will appreciate the heated seat.
Anyone else thinking of putting a bid in? You’ve got until 4 pm today.
BTW – are these the “asset sales” that will reduce our government debt? Perhaps I only need to buy 49% of a BMW. Perhaps we can create consortia of people from Otara, Manurewa or Canon’s Creek who can each buy less than the 10% cap and together 49% means that they could timeshare a car.
A sort of community bemmer that is big enough to get the extended family into and go for day trips to Karori or Remmers to see how the other half lives (did I say other half – I mean 1%).
It could be a called “The Road Trip of Aspiration” for those from a single parent state house who want to grow up to be rich by fucking with other peoples economy and jobs by speculating on their currency. (all to the tune of “I want to be a gangster bankster”
@William Joyce I think some of the BMWs have back massagers too. Or is that the newer ones? Mother would probably like that touch of luxury.
The idea of setting up groups of investors, if run to rules with treasurers who don’t abscond with the dosh, would be a good way for those ordinary mums and dads to amass enough money to share in the profitable investments that at present just float above their reach. Throw up a rope with a grappling hook on it and haul these financial opportunities down so we can get a hand on them I reckon.
Community investors need to start up (or take over) local businesses and make them democratic enterprises. The workers become the owners, and profits made yearly are controlled by the workers. This is how communities start controlling their destinies, taking power back from distant board rooms.
@Colonial Viper – This sounds good but can be hard to do in practice. I spent a considerable time talking to a bloke last night about community initiatives, swopping my own experiences also. He had been in on the start of a group community project, which is still operating successfully, and had to leave before it started because he couldn’t bear the interminable discussions. And these will happen throughout the life of the business whenever there is a new idea. Once started, many of those involved will cling like limpets to the same model, carried out in the same way, despite obvious signs of diminishing use and returns. So there needs to be good, reliable, informed leadership with consultation with the community but to leave it to the community to run it, is like that saying “When it’s everybody’s responsibility, it’s ends up nobody’s’.
So a good management committee and a practical manager need to be in place with a mission wide enough to make necessary decisions and have them respected and followed by the others.
And some might have to be excluded from working in the shop if they won’t follow the controls and systems. It won’t work as a viable business unless there are sanctions and the need to have these must be realised, though the use would be rare.
There are many who go for a great ideal or dream and who can’t concentrate on fitting them into the practical needs. In the end if the operation fails, largely as a result of them, they are sad because their dream didn’t work never considering any contribution on their own part, but they lack the commitment to make it work – to find a better way of doing business and to flourish.
Sigh…apathetic sheeples organise, nah. Trotter points to just how redundant the people have become in the political process when he notes how between 1984 and 1990 Labour party membership went from 85,000 to less than 10,000.
and had to leave before it started because he couldn’t bear the interminable discussions. And these will happen throughout the life of the business whenever there is a new idea. Once started, many of those involved will cling like limpets to the same model, carried out in the same way, despite obvious signs of diminishing use and returns. So there needs to be good, reliable, informed leadership with consultation with the community but to leave it to the community to run it, is like that saying “When it’s everybody’s responsibility, it’s ends up nobody’s’
These kinds of organisations can be extremely quick and rapid moving ones. A CEO and senior management team is voted in by the workers on an annual basis, from amongst their own membership. These senior management powers have significant executive powers to conduct business according to priorities and policies set annually by the shareholders (who also happen to be workers themselves).
Any extraordinary events or changes in direction would need to be put to the shareholders, perhaps via an elected Board of Directors (some of whom will also be ordinary workers).
In other words, a democratically run and owned workplace is not about daily committee meetings where everyone has an equal say, it is about getting a job done to goals and priorities agreed to say once or twice a year, and where management is accountable to the owners (i.e. the workers) for their performance perhaps monthly.
That should read ‘since the September 11 controlled demolition of three buildings (at a profit) to provide a false flag pretext for invasions of states vital to US companies, such as Halliburton, in the control of global oil supplies’.
NZ has been part of a global empire which achieves its goals via lies, manipulation and violence since the first British government was established here. Nothing has changed in over 160 years.
[lprent: too far off topic. Moved to OpenMike ]
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 8.1
Thanks for the link, Ev, it’s a pretty kewl site. I particularly like how the blogroll is divided into ‘conspiracy theorists’ and ‘voices of reason’! And no, before anyone asks, it has nothing to do with me, first time I’ve heard of it.
LOL, Have you seen the voices of reason links? Either their non existent or they have exactly the same style as the Nutjobnz site. But I agree it fits your emitonal rather than factual debating style.
Hi nadis
That a controlled demolition happened is supported by many professionals in the U$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for the following reasons:
1. Very tall buildings hit by aircraft in the past did not collapse despite the damage to their tops
2. The Towers fell at the speed of “Free Fall” something that only happens with controlled demolition and they fell neatly into their base levels!!!
3. Traces of explosive material have been detected in the rubble.
4.WTC7 was not hit yet collapsed in the exact manner of a controlled demolition.
The above is not to say they were not hit by airliners.
AFKTT is backed in his conclusions by Richard Gage who heads a large body of professionals who looked into this historic event.
AFKTT is not a dick or a mentally disturbed person although seeing the realities of our f*cked up World could lead to mental disturbance!
This won’t be the last mention of 911 TVOR, I am not a major supporter of the ‘controlled collapse’ theories or of the official “just accept what happened” school, and am happy to leave it to those with more scientific expertise and ultimately time to argue the toss. But there is enough element of doubt there to keep a free thinker interested.
It is just hard to believe that the amount of fuel on the airplanes had enough oomph to cause that type of damage in that particular way to three, count’em, buildings. It will be interesting to see if the international meeting comes up with any new leads.
The biggest stretch is the why, but who would have thought a lot of things would have been done by the USA ruling class in relation to the way they interfere with both the US and other sovereign states-Chile 1973, Cuba-bay of pigs (beard drop out powder in Fidels boots, and all heh), JFK assassination, Iran, Iraq,Vietnam, China, USSR etc. you surely know the roll call.
International capital has operated beyond borders for many years, why should capital’s political representatives have genuine loyalty to a nation state beyond convenient tactical reasons. It is partly the point of Hagar’s book from the extracts I have read.
lprent maybe we should have a weekly post like Weekend social where the actual events of 9/11 can be debated in depth.
I acknowledge many passionate views on the subject and admit I have not had the time or headspace to thing about the issues but the subject tends to contaminate a lot of threads …
Monthly possibly (weekly seems rather too much)? Entering comments disables after a month…
But I’d prefer that it just confined itself to OpenMike. In the absence of new information I literally can’t see what else there is to argue about. We just seem to have people going over the same material without any resolution (which is why I can’t be bothered arguing about it).
I’ve already looked at the available data and links for alternate explanations several times and find them unconvincing. It reminds me of the other “old chestnuts” (as Lyn puts it) of the net. Like if there were lunar landings, or who was the better captain of the Enterprise (as I was reminded about last night).
Unfortunately in this post it is kind of on-topic (even though I think it is a fatuous sidetrack) because it bears on why we have troops in Afghanistan. But I’m sure that there will be some comment threads in here that I will bump as delving outside the post.
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell …
Go to Ev’s site if you want to discuss nothing but 911 and depleted uranium and the international banking conspiracy. Since Ev thinks everything in the world comes back to these three issues, that is all that is there.
Actually while everybody is welcome of course to inform themselves with the info on my site I am very happy with the traffic as I seem to attract about 30 new readers on average a day according to my stat counter.
1: He created a cannon out of bamboo and diamonds;
2: He wasn’t afraid of taking inter-species cooperation to the next level;
3: He hated hippies and nazis with the same intensity;
4: anything that offered unfettered fun, peace and joy to his crew was identified as a threat to civilisation that should be immediately destroyed, unless it could prove otherwise pretty damned quickly.
Yeah might be time to move on from the Twin Towers and move on to the deliberate demolition of the US Dollar. And deliberate demolition of economic sovereignty in the Eurozone.
Sorry lprent, i know its off topic and this will be my only post on the matter:
I have actually been waiting for someone to bring up the WTC vs Empire state building (presumed) line. This is a response that i sent to a person i know that asked the same question on FB. I’m just going to paste it all:
“a number of factors explain why the Empire State Building suffered relatively minor damage while the twin towers were catastrophically destroyed. First, the energy of impact sustained by the buildings differed by orders of magnitude. The B-25 that struck the Empire State Building weighed approximately 21,500 lb (9,760 kg) and was traveling around 200 mph (320 km/h). The kinetic energy it created in the collision was about 30 million ft-lb (40 million Joules).
The twin towers of the World Trade Center, by comparison, were struck by Boeing 767 airliners traveling over twice as fast and weighing nearly 15 times as much as a B-25. The energy of impact for the two planes ranged from 2 billion ft-lb (2.6 billion Joules) to 3 billion ft-lb (4.1 billion Joules), some 60 to 100 times greater than that absorbed by the Empire State Building. This estimate is also conservative since it does not account for the energy released by the exploding jet fuel, which greatly exceeded the energy released by the much smaller B-25 fuel supply as well. The greater kinetic energy allowed the 767 aircraft to penetrate much further into the twin towers than the B-25 was able to do at the Empire State Building. Most of the B-25 impact was absorbed by the building’s exterior wall leaving very little to damage the interior structure. The 767 impacts, however, not only produced gaping holes in the WTC exterior but also destroyed much of the structural core at the center of each tower.”
Last Friday I blogged about the National Business Reviews article on Hone Harawira that was inaccurate and misquoted what the Mana party leader had said. Unfortunately similar cases of incorrect reporting are not isolated. The main stream media is awash with inaccuracies, discrimination and subterfuge that discourages proper debate and ensures the public is not properly informed…
Not wanting to give Brash airtime but he said that Labour’s canning the Youth Employment Pay caused 13,000 growth in unemployment. What? Why doesn’t anyone challenge that?
“Dr Brash. Please give us the data for your assertion.”
Nah. Who cares.
yeah, tories have brought that up here, too. I believe it’s a rough estimate of a figure Eric Crampton came to. The thing being that if we’re talking 13,000 youth unemployed jobs, then the youth unemployment rate (according to the 13,000 out of 39,000 current youth unemployed) would not have changed significantly as we entered our economic malaise (15% – 18%, as opposed to 15% – 27%), which seems a bit unlikely.
Haven’t read Cramptoin’s paper, but I find the c3% increase in youth unemployment estimate suspiciously close to a naive “overall unemployment rose c3%, therefore youth unemplyment would rise c3%”. In reality, overall unemployment doubles, so you’d expect youth unemployment to roughly double, if you were doing a simple naive comparison.
The problem is that it’s a retarded assertion that immediately moves the debate into “minimum wages increase unemployment” – even if you win without getting bogged down in calculus, you’re back where you started with “so what are you going to do about youth unemployment?”
Better to just say “bullshit – move on”.
It’s so good to see that the heroes of freedom in Libya (France and the UK) are not backward in coming forward when it comes to a little bit of ‘compensation‘ for their efforts.
The most interesting/revealing/worrying aspect of the poll was that 57.6% would look to Key for financial advice and 5% to Bill English. That 5% is less than for Goff (7.5%). Don Brash is favoured by 4.5%.
Oddly, in part of the text they claim that Brash is ‘third’ in this category behind English and Key. That is, Goff’s ranking at no. 2 on this dimension is ignored. Quite a telling ‘Freudian slip’.
The Dom-Post has the big photo of Mr. Sincerity along with the bullshit re the ‘poll’. Just below the photo is a piece by the editor about their new ‘charter of independence and commitment to the highest professional standards.(!!!) Meanwhile the editorial is a patronising smear job on Labour and dog-whistle doubt-casting on The Greens. Wonder if Crosby Textor write these editorials, no wait isn’t Mr Impartial himself, that Hollow Man Richard Long back from Vietnam?
History is on President Obama’s side as the 2012 elections approach.
And by “history” we mean Allan Lichtman, an American University professor who has gone 7-for-7 at predicting presidential elections since he developed his candidate-picking system roughly two decades ago.
Lichtman says that based on the 13 criteria he has used to correctly forecast every presidential election since Ronald Reagan’s re-election victory in 1984, Team Obama can rest easy. “Even if I am being conservative, I don’t see how Obama can lose,” Lichtman told US News
As a taxpaying New Zealander who has money invested into the Superannuation fund, I am disgusted at my hard earned dollars funding despicable companies that cause untold death and mayhem around the world…
One month after major disturbances were provoked by the August 4 police killing of Mark Duggan in north London, the Metropolitan Police in the capital are intensifying raids on working class communities.
Entire neighbourhoods have been sealed off, with riot police smashing down doors and dragging people away. So far this has resulted in over 2,000 arrests in London alone, averaging approximately 100 a day since the riots began. The media, tipped off in advance, has filmed the build-up, the actual raids and the spectacle of youth being thrown into police vans.
A police source told the Sunday Times that the police are hunting 30,000 people they say were involved in the disturbances. Nationally, 40,000 hours of CCTV footage will be examined and senior police officers are expecting the investigation to last for years.
But wait a 2nd, didn’t John Key list on of the reasons for getting the new BMW’s was because NZ didn’t have enough Limos to cater to the demand of the RWC and the expected numbers of international diplomats.
Federated Farmers are suggesting that scientists are conspiring to present false information regarding river quality to ensure themselves of future employment.
It seems to be well established pattern by the National Government/ Federated Farmers Dave.
Denial.
Rubbish the messenger.
Ignore the science.
Key leads by example.
Don Cheadle is obviously the best person to play Captain Planet in the movie version of the popular cartoon, hopefully they make his character a nicer guy…
Journalist Katie Bradford just tweeted that Labour completely denies the assertion made in the DF’s blog. Labour has no plans to release EQ policy in CHCH this Friday, on the anniversary of the quake.
Looks like Farrar’s bullshit holds about as much water as Slater’s recent claim Labour MP’s are ringing him up all the time. What a couple of douche bags!
To a certain degree Farrar is just pretending to be a clairvoyant: by keeping it vague all he’s really saying is that there could well be a major policy announcement in the lead-in to an election (wow), on a Sunday (a common occurrence to try and nab slow news days not packed with market reports, and good for the major papers) in September as the first quake anniversary approaches when the govt is taking flak for doing nothing about accommodation prices in the city. . .
It’s a punt – if he’s right he says he’s got inside knowledge, if he’s wrong then he says LP read his prediction and chickened out from such blatant bribery. And he conveniently ignores the latest govt business bribe, say tax laws.
Frankly, a land swap isn’t a bad idea, and I think was mentioned in the chch interview Brownlee did where he was bollocked by homeowners. I believe Key was at a thing there earlier in the day, but strangely had to leave before encountering any of the peasantry face to face…
What follows is a list of 25 mega corporations that paid one guy—their CEO—more money than what they spent on their entire federal tax bills last year. The same companies averaged $1.9 billion each in profits—money that was earned, in many cases, by cutting thousands of American jobs.
On the subject of the banks, ceo bonuses, Bank of America etc…
U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages
The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter.
And last month, the insurance giant American International Group filed a $10 billion suit against Bank of America, accusing the bank and its Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch units of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages that backed the securities A.I.G. bought.
I know where they can recover some $50 million from a prominent NZdr and a property in Hawaii they slap a court order on.
Image, an impoverished John Key claiming welfare because of “life style choices”.
Some of the posts questioning that 9/11 was a terrorist attack, is pretty pathetic. You must have a real chip on your shoulder about the USA to think like that.
It is love for the American, Iraqi, Pashtun victims and all those American, English, Canadian, Dutch and New Zealand soldiers (the Americans now have more soldiers dying of suicide than dying in battle) who are trying to do the right thing that makes me keep on doing what I’m doing.
It is love for the brave American first responders who are still dying as the result of those attacks (and not invited to the commemoration of the events when they behaved like heroes) and the citizens of New York the majority of whom want a new and independent investigation.
A name to remember – Polly Higgins. A smart woman who speaks sense with an idea for turning us all from our present collision course. Something concrete to get our teeth into and good for counteracting that ‘But what can we do’ feeling. Book link – http://www.eradicatingecocide.com
Agree. Polly will be giving two more talks – in Auckland on Sunday and Monday.
Would be good for someone to do a write-up about her work re ‘ecocide’.
Google her and I have also made a comment previously:
Sunday 4th September 1- 9pm, Auckland
Eradicating Ecocide
Earthsong, 457 Swanson Road, Ranui, Waitakere, Auckland
Please email Helen McNeil, bagend (at) clear.net.nz to book a place ($20 includes dinner)
Monday 5th September, 7 – 9pm, Auckland University
Ecocide, the missing 5th Crime Against Peace (Facebook), Auckland
Lecture Theatre 260-098, Owen Glenn Building, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
@Jim Nald
Query – The time for Polly’s Auckland meeting wouldn’t be 1 to 9 pm would it? She would be worn out being on tap for all afternoon and evening. And people turning up at the wrong time wouldn’t be happy.
I’m guessing that you mean 7 to 9 pm. Though perhaps it’s 1 to 3 or 4 pm, though 1 pm is a bad time being straight after normal lunchtime. I would think in a big city where people have to drive for at least half-hour it would be too early a start. Could you check and confirm on this, thanks.
@JimNald
I’ve looked up info and it does seem that 1-9pm (if you book for dinner) is the time. It’s a lovely trip to I think the Waitakeres to an eco-village so well worth a visit and to meet this very experienced, good speaker on ways to move our laws to serve our present and future needs to conserve our place and the rest of the world.
The earlier details were copied from the permaculture.org.au … and you know what our Aussie cossies are like … prolly something they consumed the evening before … or while typing. Haha.
Oh ok, more seriously, maybe the details were originally handwritten and 1 was misread as 7 and then typed as such.
I did wonder when I copied and pasted .. but I thought – let’s see if anyone is interested enough and asks 😉
Have fun. Polly is cool (or ‘hot’ depending on the slang one prefers). “Ecocide” may sound a bit zany or quirky .. but she is anything but that. Polly has real legal – commercial and civil litigation experience – and she is a smart, practical and strategic person. She has a positive, optimistic, generous, cheery and inspirational attitude. Her ideas and words reflect the good sense of where she is coming from – her mind.
Give her a hug from me. Say it is from the invisible keyboard hands that have been busy drawing attention to her talks about the important issues. And we should get her back for a longer visit.
Declaration of interest: No commission. Polly’s proposal, research and her qualities stand on their own merits.
@Jim Nald – I was talking about Sunday’s times and have worked out why they are 1 to 9 pm – perhaps she can relax and talk to visitors at the eco-village before the dinner in the evening. She seems to have reserves of energy beyond the norm so perhaps she doesn’t need as much time off as others would. I think to her talking to people about her ideas and spreading the word and enthusiasm is not hard work.
Ok, all signs that I can pick up are pointing that there was no mistake.
I take my comment back about our Aussie cousins. Looks like permaculture is correct.
Confirming the following and Google tells me the phone number for the contact person for the Sunday event, ie Helen McNeil, is (09) 832 8181:
Sunday 4th September 1- 9pm, Auckland
Eradicating Ecocide
Earthsong, 457 Swanson Road, Ranui, Waitakere, Auckland
Please email Helen McNeil, bagend (at) clear.net.nz to book a place ($20 includes dinner)
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Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
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After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
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Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Emotional scenes played out in the Invercargill courthouse on the first two days of the coronial inquest into the death of Gore toddler Lachlan Jones, in which the boy’s mother was accused of disposing of her son’s body. The second season of Newsroom’s award-nominated podcast The Boy in the Water ...
Asia Pacific Report A Pacific civil society alliance has condemned French neocolonial policies in Kanaky New Caledonia, saying Paris is set on “maintaining the status quo” and denying the indigenous Kanak people their inalienable right to self-determination. The Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOs) Alliance, representing some 15 groups, said in ...
Koi Tū New Zealand cannot sit back and see the collapse of its Fourth Estate, the director of Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures, Sir Peter Gluckman, says in the foreword of a paper published today. The paper, “If not journalists, then who?” paints a picture of an industry ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Foreign investment proposals with implications for Australia’s strategic or economic security will face tougher scrutiny, under a policy overhaul to be announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday. At the same time, the government ...
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Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
03:30, lurch, chikka chikka chikka, 4.9
Good morning!
Just another morning here in Christchurch.
@happynz
Not bad enough to get out of bed for though I’m told from westside Christchurch. And it’s not likely to break anything. That’s all been done and dusted by past equakes.
…yeah, that’s about the size of it…
Something more important than politics: NARK the Non-Violent Code of Silence
Tomorrow at the Stop Child Abuse memorial in Dunedin (12.30pm, Cenotaph, Queens Gardens) I’m going to speak about the unspoken problem – men’s non-violent code of silence.
Non-violent men are at least as a big a part of the problem as violent men, through their complicity of silent approval.
Cherie Kurarangi Sweeney has spoken up with the NARK campaign, and she is getting a lot of support – mostly from women.
Non-violent men need to NARK too, more than anyone.
I hope you mean non-violent men who have someone to nark on, and not just most of us in general. I’m certainly not complicit and 111 is always one thumb away.
If a non-violent man has never listened to another man talking about his viiolent behaviour without speaking up about it then he is not a part of the problem.
If non-violent men bite their lip, cringe inside and turn away in silence then they are a part of the problem.
This can be hard to accept, it was for me, but it needs to be said.
PG “Anger is an emotional response to discomfort.” “Stop and think before you react when angry.” I would like to see magnets sent to every home with the above comments including a free helpline number where people can be connected to the most appropriate agency.
“Be a nark when you know of harm” or similar worded magnet would help to reinforce that narking when violence is occurring especially where children are involved is necessary to protect them from harm, would be a direction I would go in.
Money to print political party manifestos but not to prevent child murder/manslaughter is so disgraceful.
I believe that neglect causes abuse and abuse causes either a physical and/or a emotional/psychological injury or a fatality.
Stress due to the cost of living or illness also plays a part as well as intergenerational abuse, but this is no excuse for violence, however some people are unable to change without intensive resources.
Shonkey missing in action again on Radio NZ this morning re the new Hagar book. If there were any journalists with guts the Beehive theaterette seats would all be empty for a couple of weeks while they went and did some proper research. TV equipment would be mysteriously faulty, John who? editors would say until the PM shows some due respect and deigns to appear more regularly for open media discussion rather than either managed “spout and run” or not fronting at all.
NZ’s media think that John Key is there to be fawned over, not questioned.
As long as his PR staff keep them well-supplied with fluffy stories and photos, they’re not too fussed over him ducking any serious issues. Serious issues are boring, don’t ya know – much better to have a big pic of Key with a dog/child/famous person wearing his signature cheesy grin.
It sells better than actually having to do something called ‘journalism’.
You mean like this :
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/polls/election-poll/5551633/PM-trusted-to-babysit-the-children
John Key is a class clown.
What a load of bollocks! You have to despair about the state of the MSM.
Why would you expend time and money to ask voters this sort of question?
It perpetuates the “personality over policy” evil that is undermining our democracy.
Makes me want to pull the covers over my head with a torch, a good book and a nice bourbon.
*sigh*
You answered your own question.
oh my god – and the contextual “headlines” menu on the right brings up “John Key a Hit with Female Voters” from July. The man is the sexiest, most sensitive, and most trustworthy politician in NZ, according to the supposedly impartial pollsters. Better than a Big Brother, because you’re allowed to date him!
Fairfax are becoming the new Pravda.
First class shit! I’d rather have Uncle Hone, even though my kids are pakeha – at least they would learn something from him.
I thought the “I’d be a bit disappointed if one of my ministers was caught vomiting” was the hight of class and leadership. I was surprised that made it through, probably appeals nicely to his good old bloke voter base…
Top US Corporations paid CEOs more than they paid in taxes
the same was applicable to Banking bonuses after the bailouts
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHURVoSUqpho
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/2867946/As-RBS-dishes-out-13bn-in-bonuses-we-ask-whether-they-deserve-it.html
We are all serfs working for a few elite, and most are unawarem of this
So who did the stimulus packages 1,2 (and most probably 3) as well as the bailouts in the US, EU and most other countries assist excl Iceland ???
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/America:_Freedom_to_Fascism
Friday is a great day to plan what to do with the well earned time off. I will be looking at the fruits of spring this weekend out around the hills searching out suitable places to seed guerilla style. Here in NZ we need never go short of food but it does behove us to look for non market based methods of replenishment, because lest we forget we have hungry children en masse in our poorer communities. The dollar based food and goods distribution has failed them.
What if the dollar and market were to fail you? How would you feed and warm yourself? Better get thinking because the scenario is entirely plausible. Those great military planners the German Bundswer (the same people responsible for Blitzkreig and Tiger tanks) have this to say on the chances of this event….
http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2011-08-30/complete-english-translation-german-military-analysis-peak-oil-now-available
Be prepared.
Out of interest, what are you planning to plant?
PS. You may already know, but there are also lots of wild foods growing in town belts and forest margins.
is that for real ??
maybe we should get city councils to approve planting them on a wide scale.
with another term of this lot in power, the fuschsias will be enthusiastically feasted on.
we could keep this lot in power and look forward to being truly fuchsiased.
That new foo bill, linked here recently, don’t have it with me on my phone, would suggest councils may not be that supportive of us growing much food on their land. Get in the way of monsanto’s profits.
In our household we get most of our leafy greens in the form of wild radish, wild turnip, puha, and chickweed.
IMO I think at least 50% of NZ sports fields should be converted into garden allotments. Unfortunately, in Wellington we have several councillors who are dead-set on astroturfing all the sports fields. Can’t grow cabbages on plastic astroturf.
You’d be better off growing out the hutt anyways, the place was awash with market gardens for years, I’ve got over a metre of silt loam at my place in Taita. I can grow anything even had edible strawberries against the house on the north side over winter….
Yeah we have been thinking about moving to Otaki (friends tell us they have never found the bottom of the topsoil yet), but the Hutt could be the go from what you’re saying…
Otaki is better, cheaper housing and a warmer climate give you more range…. But on the flat in Naenae, Taita & Pomare is certainly the best area south of Horowhenua…
Great link thanks Uke, find most of those mentioned but thats a bonus for people who dont know whats what. I will be planting the JB spuds, jerusalem artichokes, and some carrots. Got broad beans in the garden, plus beet and celery. Cold frame has the zuchinnis, tomatoes and spring brassicas going plus some amaranth. Gonna direct seed spring onions, beetroot and radish…got to keep the girls (hens) off. Runner beans to plant October.
In a city garden there is no reason you cant grow allyour greens but you cant expect to feed yourself a lot more, so you will always be buying carbs and protein from the shop, damn it.
Whoah – the vege garden king! You’re inspiring me to go and turn over some of those fallow patches and do some planting tomorrow.
I do find it hard to understand why every school, particularly every decile one school doesn’t have a dozen fruit trees on it’s grounds. Or, I noticed as I drove past a recently upgraded state housing complex, whole bunch of new planting, nothing that produces food.
What you planting Bored? And what sort of places, how do you avoid council sprays and mowers?
Fruit trees at schools. Great idea! Even a vegetable and herb garden, teaching basic survival skills.
Or even simply picking an apple at luck time cause mum didn’t put one in your lunch box
If I were back at school today, with the foresight of a wiser, more experienced and knowledgeable head and the aim of being prepared for the future, I would want to have some valuable life skills imparted like being taught home science (eg how to cook, and especially to make the most of my budget) and garden science (eg how to grow food in the garden).
Btw, there were (still are?) feijoa trees at the school which my nephew went to. There was a feijoa tree or maybe more near the rector’s house. I used to pick him up after school to find him sucking feijoa and drenched with them (too sour for me but lotsa Vit C!). This was at Southwell Boys (Hamilton) … I think his mum spent a bit to have him schooled there!
There’s a fijoa tree at my sons school, it just that he kept gettin in trouble for eating them. Go figure..
But there should be enough to go round the school, and as you say, they could then take them into the kitchen and turn them into things.
There is a garden to table initiative in some schools, but fruit am nut orchards in every school I reckon, given the already available space.
They probably wouldn’t want the kids climbing the trees. And wouldn’t want to deprive the local Woolworth o ita profits.
Totally, they should remove imported trees and plant natives or food bearing trees.
I went to a small school (40 kids total) and the Fijoa was awesome when it was in season.
Hahmmm, with the current lot in power, there are lotsa nuts and fruit in Cabinet.
But the advice is to avoid going near them, let alone touch them.
I’m in the landscaping trade, You’ll be pleased to know that in the last two new schools I’ve landscaped have had orchards consisting of apples, pears, plums, peaches, lemons, apricots and grapes and the local body in Upper Hutt have planted numerous nut trees.
That said near my place in Taita there are around a dozen peach trees planted in the railway land, last year I collected @ 20kg from them for bottling, the remaining fruit rotted on the trees.
Trouble is the skill of preserving foods when they are cheap and plentiful is dying fast. I pickle cauliflower cabbage broccili carrott pepper as well as bottle fruit. It’s not hard and it makes a difference when you’re feeling the pinch. How we get people back into this I don’t know.
Eating a school feijoa is its own punishment! god those things are disgusting!
We need a Friday gardening column……..
Off site pumpkins go well in water courses / gullies, spud peelings seem to grow anywhere, toatoes like hot spots with good moisture, pretty much every extra seedling can find a home. Whoever picks them good luck, well spotted.
Trouble is those that need them most don’t spot them… Hell there are lots of people the that don’t know what a potato plant looks like…
I hate to say it but there really is no excuse not to be able to supplement your diet with homegrown vege, You need bugger all room and if you’ve got lawn you could have a years worth of spuds instead.
My grandparents were much worse off than most people now but they grew there own food, same goes with my family in law in eastern Europe, they eat well on wages of less than 400nzd per month by growing and preserving there own food.
People here have become to dependant on the super market to get there food.
You seem a wee bit judgemental, there Gareth. My ‘excuses’ are an uncooperative landlord who believes that anything other than lawn is untidy and therefore a breach of the tenancy agreement – and the fact that I am 154 cm tall, 43 kg in weight, and have a disability/disease that means that digging and planting are beyond me. I’d love a garden – have you got someone who’ll create it for me for free? If the answer’s no, then don’t judge everyone by your own abilities.
There are several excellent books available about no dig gardens available, or it’s amazing what you can grow in a bucket on your porch,
It’s a common misconseption that gardening requires alot of digging and is too much hard work,
Whilst you may not be able to have an A1 show vege patch, if you can put a seed in the ground you can grow veges.
It’s amzing how much food you can get off a cherry tomato or Zucchini growing in a pot, certainly enough to make a difference.
If you,re in the Hutt valley I would be more than happy to supply some old planter bags full of recycled potting mix.
Good work and kind offer Gareth. Nice to see people like yourself and Uke getting practical and helpful. Lifts the level and spirits. Vicky see if you can get some assistance to get things growing because the upkeep is easy.
I wish I was in the Hutt Valley for so many reasons, Gareth… and thank you so much for the advice! My late father had a wonderful vege garden, and in defiance of the Rotorua council he even kept chickens.. That was in the 1960s and we lived in the CBD! (He was an early survivalist and our neighbours thought he was a nutbar.. The apple doesn’t fall far etc, hey?)
hhahahah enjoy
http://i.imgur.com/CZhIH.png
I was thinking of buying my mother a mobility scooter but I think I will put a bid in for one of the Ministerial BMW’s that are up for tender.
I think she will appreciate the heated seat.
Anyone else thinking of putting a bid in? You’ve got until 4 pm today.
BTW – are these the “asset sales” that will reduce our government debt? Perhaps I only need to buy 49% of a BMW. Perhaps we can create consortia of people from Otara, Manurewa or Canon’s Creek who can each buy less than the 10% cap and together 49% means that they could timeshare a car.
A sort of community bemmer that is big enough to get the extended family into and go for day trips to Karori or Remmers to see how the other half lives (did I say other half – I mean 1%).
It could be a called “The Road Trip of Aspiration” for those from a single parent state house who want to grow up to be rich by fucking with other peoples economy and jobs by speculating on their currency. (all to the tune of “I want to be a gangster bankster”
… other half lives – you mean Oz? (oh, aspirationally 99% there soon)
@William Joyce I think some of the BMWs have back massagers too. Or is that the newer ones? Mother would probably like that touch of luxury.
The idea of setting up groups of investors, if run to rules with treasurers who don’t abscond with the dosh, would be a good way for those ordinary mums and dads to amass enough money to share in the profitable investments that at present just float above their reach. Throw up a rope with a grappling hook on it and haul these financial opportunities down so we can get a hand on them I reckon.
Community investors need to start up (or take over) local businesses and make them democratic enterprises. The workers become the owners, and profits made yearly are controlled by the workers. This is how communities start controlling their destinies, taking power back from distant board rooms.
@Colonial Viper – This sounds good but can be hard to do in practice. I spent a considerable time talking to a bloke last night about community initiatives, swopping my own experiences also. He had been in on the start of a group community project, which is still operating successfully, and had to leave before it started because he couldn’t bear the interminable discussions. And these will happen throughout the life of the business whenever there is a new idea. Once started, many of those involved will cling like limpets to the same model, carried out in the same way, despite obvious signs of diminishing use and returns. So there needs to be good, reliable, informed leadership with consultation with the community but to leave it to the community to run it, is like that saying “When it’s everybody’s responsibility, it’s ends up nobody’s’.
So a good management committee and a practical manager need to be in place with a mission wide enough to make necessary decisions and have them respected and followed by the others.
And some might have to be excluded from working in the shop if they won’t follow the controls and systems. It won’t work as a viable business unless there are sanctions and the need to have these must be realised, though the use would be rare.
There are many who go for a great ideal or dream and who can’t concentrate on fitting them into the practical needs. In the end if the operation fails, largely as a result of them, they are sad because their dream didn’t work never considering any contribution on their own part, but they lack the commitment to make it work – to find a better way of doing business and to flourish.
Sigh…apathetic sheeples organise, nah. Trotter points to just how redundant the people have become in the political process when he notes how between 1984 and 1990 Labour party membership went from 85,000 to less than 10,000.
and had to leave before it started because he couldn’t bear the interminable discussions. And these will happen throughout the life of the business whenever there is a new idea. Once started, many of those involved will cling like limpets to the same model, carried out in the same way, despite obvious signs of diminishing use and returns. So there needs to be good, reliable, informed leadership with consultation with the community but to leave it to the community to run it, is like that saying “When it’s everybody’s responsibility, it’s ends up nobody’s’
These kinds of organisations can be extremely quick and rapid moving ones. A CEO and senior management team is voted in by the workers on an annual basis, from amongst their own membership. These senior management powers have significant executive powers to conduct business according to priorities and policies set annually by the shareholders (who also happen to be workers themselves).
Any extraordinary events or changes in direction would need to be put to the shareholders, perhaps via an elected Board of Directors (some of whom will also be ordinary workers).
In other words, a democratically run and owned workplace is not about daily committee meetings where everyone has an equal say, it is about getting a job done to goals and priorities agreed to say once or twice a year, and where management is accountable to the owners (i.e. the workers) for their performance perhaps monthly.
‘since the September 11 attacks’
That should read ‘since the September 11 controlled demolition of three buildings (at a profit) to provide a false flag pretext for invasions of states vital to US companies, such as Halliburton, in the control of global oil supplies’.
NZ has been part of a global empire which achieves its goals via lies, manipulation and violence since the first British government was established here. Nothing has changed in over 160 years.
[lprent: too far off topic. Moved to OpenMike ]
Fuck you are a dick.
“September 11 controlled demolition”
Comments like this are why returning mental health patients to the community rather than institutionalizing them is a bad idea.
Oi Gormy and N,
You’ll feel right at home here !!!
Thanks for the link, Ev, it’s a pretty kewl site. I particularly like how the blogroll is divided into ‘conspiracy theorists’ and ‘voices of reason’! And no, before anyone asks, it has nothing to do with me, first time I’ve heard of it.
LOL, Have you seen the voices of reason links? Either their non existent or they have exactly the same style as the Nutjobnz site. But I agree it fits your emitonal rather than factual debating style.
Hi nadis
That a controlled demolition happened is supported by many professionals in the U$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for the following reasons:
1. Very tall buildings hit by aircraft in the past did not collapse despite the damage to their tops
2. The Towers fell at the speed of “Free Fall” something that only happens with controlled demolition and they fell neatly into their base levels!!!
3. Traces of explosive material have been detected in the rubble.
4.WTC7 was not hit yet collapsed in the exact manner of a controlled demolition.
The above is not to say they were not hit by airliners.
AFKTT is backed in his conclusions by Richard Gage who heads a large body of professionals who looked into this historic event.
AFKTT is not a dick or a mentally disturbed person although seeing the realities of our f*cked up World could lead to mental disturbance!
1. So what?
2. No, they didn’t.
3. No, they haven’t.
4. WTC7 was hit. By a falling building.
Righto, are we all ready for another 200 comment, evidence free circle jerk from the tinfoil hat brigade?
This won’t be the last mention of 911 TVOR, I am not a major supporter of the ‘controlled collapse’ theories or of the official “just accept what happened” school, and am happy to leave it to those with more scientific expertise and ultimately time to argue the toss. But there is enough element of doubt there to keep a free thinker interested.
It is just hard to believe that the amount of fuel on the airplanes had enough oomph to cause that type of damage in that particular way to three, count’em, buildings. It will be interesting to see if the international meeting comes up with any new leads.
The biggest stretch is the why, but who would have thought a lot of things would have been done by the USA ruling class in relation to the way they interfere with both the US and other sovereign states-Chile 1973, Cuba-bay of pigs (beard drop out powder in Fidels boots, and all heh), JFK assassination, Iran, Iraq,Vietnam, China, USSR etc. you surely know the roll call.
International capital has operated beyond borders for many years, why should capital’s political representatives have genuine loyalty to a nation state beyond convenient tactical reasons. It is partly the point of Hagar’s book from the extracts I have read.
oh god not again. think ill stay on the sidelines for this one.
lprent maybe we should have a weekly post like Weekend social where the actual events of 9/11 can be debated in depth.
I acknowledge many passionate views on the subject and admit I have not had the time or headspace to thing about the issues but the subject tends to contaminate a lot of threads …
Monthly possibly (weekly seems rather too much)? Entering comments disables after a month…
But I’d prefer that it just confined itself to OpenMike. In the absence of new information I literally can’t see what else there is to argue about. We just seem to have people going over the same material without any resolution (which is why I can’t be bothered arguing about it).
I’ve already looked at the available data and links for alternate explanations several times and find them unconvincing. It reminds me of the other “old chestnuts” (as Lyn puts it) of the net. Like if there were lunar landings, or who was the better captain of the Enterprise (as I was reminded about last night).
Unfortunately in this post it is kind of on-topic (even though I think it is a fatuous sidetrack) because it bears on why we have troops in Afghanistan. But I’m sure that there will be some comment threads in here that I will bump as delving outside the post.
Go to Ev’s site if you want to discuss nothing but 911 and depleted uranium and the international banking conspiracy. Since Ev thinks everything in the world comes back to these three issues, that is all that is there.
And she could do with the traffic.
Actually while everybody is welcome of course to inform themselves with the info on my site I am very happy with the traffic as I seem to attract about 30 new readers on average a day according to my stat counter.
Kirk, obviously.
1: He created a cannon out of bamboo and diamonds;
2: He wasn’t afraid of taking inter-species cooperation to the next level;
3: He hated hippies and nazis with the same intensity;
4: anything that offered unfettered fun, peace and joy to his crew was identified as a threat to civilisation that should be immediately destroyed, unless it could prove otherwise pretty damned quickly.
Kirk for me too – anyone but picard.
Yeah might be time to move on from the Twin Towers and move on to the deliberate demolition of the US Dollar. And deliberate demolition of economic sovereignty in the Eurozone.
Hey nutbarsnz.blogspot.com! Nutbar infestation detected, loss of logic and reason at Threat Level amber!
Sorry lprent, i know its off topic and this will be my only post on the matter:
I have actually been waiting for someone to bring up the WTC vs Empire state building (presumed) line. This is a response that i sent to a person i know that asked the same question on FB. I’m just going to paste it all:
“a number of factors explain why the Empire State Building suffered relatively minor damage while the twin towers were catastrophically destroyed. First, the energy of impact sustained by the buildings differed by orders of magnitude. The B-25 that struck the Empire State Building weighed approximately 21,500 lb (9,760 kg) and was traveling around 200 mph (320 km/h). The kinetic energy it created in the collision was about 30 million ft-lb (40 million Joules).
The twin towers of the World Trade Center, by comparison, were struck by Boeing 767 airliners traveling over twice as fast and weighing nearly 15 times as much as a B-25. The energy of impact for the two planes ranged from 2 billion ft-lb (2.6 billion Joules) to 3 billion ft-lb (4.1 billion Joules), some 60 to 100 times greater than that absorbed by the Empire State Building. This estimate is also conservative since it does not account for the energy released by the exploding jet fuel, which greatly exceeded the energy released by the much smaller B-25 fuel supply as well. The greater kinetic energy allowed the 767 aircraft to penetrate much further into the twin towers than the B-25 was able to do at the Empire State Building. Most of the B-25 impact was absorbed by the building’s exterior wall leaving very little to damage the interior structure. The 767 impacts, however, not only produced gaping holes in the WTC exterior but also destroyed much of the structural core at the center of each tower.”
The National Business Review’s Biased Reporting
Last Friday I blogged about the National Business Reviews article on Hone Harawira that was inaccurate and misquoted what the Mana party leader had said. Unfortunately similar cases of incorrect reporting are not isolated. The main stream media is awash with inaccuracies, discrimination and subterfuge that discourages proper debate and ensures the public is not properly informed…
Not wanting to give Brash airtime but he said that Labour’s canning the Youth Employment Pay caused 13,000 growth in unemployment. What? Why doesn’t anyone challenge that?
“Dr Brash. Please give us the data for your assertion.”
Nah. Who cares.
yeah, tories have brought that up here, too. I believe it’s a rough estimate of a figure Eric Crampton came to. The thing being that if we’re talking 13,000 youth unemployed jobs, then the youth unemployment rate (according to the 13,000 out of 39,000 current youth unemployed) would not have changed significantly as we entered our economic malaise (15% – 18%, as opposed to 15% – 27%), which seems a bit unlikely.
Haven’t read Cramptoin’s paper, but I find the c3% increase in youth unemployment estimate suspiciously close to a naive “overall unemployment rose c3%, therefore youth unemplyment would rise c3%”. In reality, overall unemployment doubles, so you’d expect youth unemployment to roughly double, if you were doing a simple naive comparison.
The problem is that it’s a retarded assertion that immediately moves the debate into “minimum wages increase unemployment” – even if you win without getting bogged down in calculus, you’re back where you started with “so what are you going to do about youth unemployment?”
Better to just say “bullshit – move on”.
It’s so good to see that the heroes of freedom in Libya (France and the UK) are not backward in coming forward when it comes to a little bit of ‘compensation‘ for their efforts.
Surprised no one’s posted about this puff piece yet:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/polls/election-poll/5551633/PM-trusted-to-babysit-the-children
That little yellow sliver on 0.9 is Don Brash.
Banter also mentioned the link above.
The most interesting/revealing/worrying aspect of the poll was that 57.6% would look to Key for financial advice and 5% to Bill English. That 5% is less than for Goff (7.5%). Don Brash is favoured by 4.5%.
Oddly, in part of the text they claim that Brash is ‘third’ in this category behind English and Key. That is, Goff’s ranking at no. 2 on this dimension is ignored. Quite a telling ‘Freudian slip’.
The Dom-Post has the big photo of Mr. Sincerity along with the bullshit re the ‘poll’. Just below the photo is a piece by the editor about their new ‘charter of independence and commitment to the highest professional standards.(!!!) Meanwhile the editorial is a patronising smear job on Labour and dog-whistle doubt-casting on The Greens. Wonder if Crosby Textor write these editorials, no wait isn’t Mr Impartial himself, that Hollow Man Richard Long back from Vietnam?
Slate: “Never-Wrong” Pundit Predicts 2012 Win for Obama.
History is on President Obama’s side as the 2012 elections approach.
And by “history” we mean Allan Lichtman, an American University professor who has gone 7-for-7 at predicting presidential elections since he developed his candidate-picking system roughly two decades ago.
Lichtman says that based on the 13 criteria he has used to correctly forecast every presidential election since Ronald Reagan’s re-election victory in 1984, Team Obama can rest easy. “Even if I am being conservative, I don’t see how Obama can lose,” Lichtman told US News
Asshole of the Week Award – David May
As a taxpaying New Zealander who has money invested into the Superannuation fund, I am disgusted at my hard earned dollars funding despicable companies that cause untold death and mayhem around the world…
Welcome to David Cameron’s police state:
30, 000 arrests planned – London neighbourhoods terrorized by police raids
Out of those 30,000 potential arrests, how many are aimed at the City of London Bankster looters who made of with billions of pounds?
Oh, none. Just the chavs down the road who nicked 10 quids worth of alcohol. Figures.
I hear National are selling off the old BMW’s http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20110901-0858-governments_cast-off_bmws_up_for_sale_this_week-048.mp3
But wait a 2nd, didn’t John Key list on of the reasons for getting the new BMW’s was because NZ didn’t have enough Limos to cater to the demand of the RWC and the expected numbers of international diplomats.
Looks like another Key lie.
Bookmarking
Still less than what they would have got if they were brown and wearing balaclavas, but it’s a good result anyway.
Federated Farmers are suggesting that scientists are conspiring to present false information regarding river quality to ensure themselves of future employment.
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.com/2011/09/federated-farmers-discredit-waituna.html
It seems to be well established pattern by the National Government/ Federated Farmers Dave.
Denial.
Rubbish the messenger.
Ignore the science.
Key leads by example.
Friday Fun With Photos #14
Don Cheadle is obviously the best person to play Captain Planet in the movie version of the popular cartoon, hopefully they make his character a nicer guy…
Any gossip around the campfire on DPF’s blog that the LP is gonna put something BIG out on Sunday?
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2011/09/labours_biggest_bribe_ever.html
Journalist Katie Bradford just tweeted that Labour completely denies the assertion made in the DF’s blog. Labour has no plans to release EQ policy in CHCH this Friday, on the anniversary of the quake.
Looks like Farrar’s bullshit holds about as much water as Slater’s recent claim Labour MP’s are ringing him up all the time. What a couple of douche bags!
ok but DPF said something would come out on Sunday not this Friday (today or next week?) like Bradford denied..
so …. ?
so wot??
who cares
hes a fatass liar
Where’s the like button? Well said Kris!
I started to read the DPF tripe, but had to quit as it was simply repulsive!
To a certain degree Farrar is just pretending to be a clairvoyant: by keeping it vague all he’s really saying is that there could well be a major policy announcement in the lead-in to an election (wow), on a Sunday (a common occurrence to try and nab slow news days not packed with market reports, and good for the major papers) in September as the first quake anniversary approaches when the govt is taking flak for doing nothing about accommodation prices in the city. . .
It’s a punt – if he’s right he says he’s got inside knowledge, if he’s wrong then he says LP read his prediction and chickened out from such blatant bribery. And he conveniently ignores the latest govt business bribe, say tax laws.
Frankly, a land swap isn’t a bad idea, and I think was mentioned in the chch interview Brownlee did where he was bollocked by homeowners. I believe Key was at a thing there earlier in the day, but strangely had to leave before encountering any of the peasantry face to face…
Well its going to be interesting on Sunday to see if anything happens.
I wonder however about the purposefully incorret denial from Katie Bradford.
But I love a good concpiracy.
Have a good Friday evening.
… believe Key was at a thing there earlier in the day, but strangely had to leave before encountering any of the peasantry face to face…
What is strange about that? He is always a bit gutless in dealing with people with more on their mind than mindless idolatry.
Saw this on a mates page
http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/25-giant-corporations-paid-their-ceos-more-uncle-sam
Sounds ever so familiar, dairy farmers, etc….
On the subject of the banks, ceo bonuses, Bank of America etc…
NYTimes Link
A further thought…
I know where they can recover some $50 million from a prominent NZdr and a property in Hawaii they slap a court order on.
Image, an impoverished John Key claiming welfare because of “life style choices”.
Where did you find this quote?
New York Times, 1 Sep 2011
Here?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/business/us-is-set-to-sue-dozen-big-banks-over-mortgages.html
Cheers
Gold!
Some of the posts questioning that 9/11 was a terrorist attack, is pretty pathetic. You must have a real chip on your shoulder about the USA to think like that.
15% of the US population on food stamps. And a real underemployment rate of roughly 25%. Is that more to your liking?
Au contraire dear Brett,
It is love for the American, Iraqi, Pashtun victims and all those American, English, Canadian, Dutch and New Zealand soldiers (the Americans now have more soldiers dying of suicide than dying in battle) who are trying to do the right thing that makes me keep on doing what I’m doing.
It is love for the brave American first responders who are still dying as the result of those attacks (and not invited to the commemoration of the events when they behaved like heroes) and the citizens of New York the majority of whom want a new and independent investigation.
It is for Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza, Lorie Van Auken, and Mindy Kleinberg and Bob Mcgilvaine who lost husbands and sons on that day ansd never got answers to their questions that I will keep on braving riducule and trolling for just so I can get the truth out and and maybe one day we will get a new and independent investigation and justice for the victims
A name to remember – Polly Higgins. A smart woman who speaks sense with an idea for turning us all from our present collision course. Something concrete to get our teeth into and good for counteracting that ‘But what can we do’ feeling. Book link – http://www.eradicatingecocide.com
Agree. Polly will be giving two more talks – in Auckland on Sunday and Monday.
Would be good for someone to do a write-up about her work re ‘ecocide’.
Google her and I have also made a comment previously:
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01092011/#comment-370409
Sunday 4th September 1- 9pm, Auckland
Eradicating Ecocide
Earthsong, 457 Swanson Road, Ranui, Waitakere, Auckland
Please email Helen McNeil, bagend (at) clear.net.nz to book a place ($20 includes dinner)
Monday 5th September, 7 – 9pm, Auckland University
Ecocide, the missing 5th Crime Against Peace (Facebook), Auckland
Lecture Theatre 260-098, Owen Glenn Building, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
See:
http://permaculture.org.au/2011/08/18/polly-higgins-speaking-tour-australia-new-zealand-eradicating-ecocide-laws-and-governance-to-prevent-the-destruction-of-our-planet/
@Jim Nald
Query – The time for Polly’s Auckland meeting wouldn’t be 1 to 9 pm would it? She would be worn out being on tap for all afternoon and evening. And people turning up at the wrong time wouldn’t be happy.
I’m guessing that you mean 7 to 9 pm. Though perhaps it’s 1 to 3 or 4 pm, though 1 pm is a bad time being straight after normal lunchtime. I would think in a big city where people have to drive for at least half-hour it would be too early a start. Could you check and confirm on this, thanks.
@JimNald
I’ve looked up info and it does seem that 1-9pm (if you book for dinner) is the time. It’s a lovely trip to I think the Waitakeres to an eco-village so well worth a visit and to meet this very experienced, good speaker on ways to move our laws to serve our present and future needs to conserve our place and the rest of the world.
Yo Bro!
Looks like it will be 7 – 9 pm for Polly’s Monday talk.
That’s what I can tell from googling (again) and found this:
http://sustahood.com/eradicating-ecocide-advocate-polly-higgins-speaking-in-australia/2090/?319c1000
The earlier details were copied from the permaculture.org.au … and you know what our Aussie cossies are like … prolly something they consumed the evening before … or while typing. Haha.
Oh ok, more seriously, maybe the details were originally handwritten and 1 was misread as 7 and then typed as such.
I did wonder when I copied and pasted .. but I thought – let’s see if anyone is interested enough and asks 😉
Have fun. Polly is cool (or ‘hot’ depending on the slang one prefers). “Ecocide” may sound a bit zany or quirky .. but she is anything but that. Polly has real legal – commercial and civil litigation experience – and she is a smart, practical and strategic person. She has a positive, optimistic, generous, cheery and inspirational attitude. Her ideas and words reflect the good sense of where she is coming from – her mind.
Give her a hug from me. Say it is from the invisible keyboard hands that have been busy drawing attention to her talks about the important issues. And we should get her back for a longer visit.
Declaration of interest: No commission. Polly’s proposal, research and her qualities stand on their own merits.
@Jim Nald – I was talking about Sunday’s times and have worked out why they are 1 to 9 pm – perhaps she can relax and talk to visitors at the eco-village before the dinner in the evening. She seems to have reserves of energy beyond the norm so perhaps she doesn’t need as much time off as others would. I think to her talking to people about her ideas and spreading the word and enthusiasm is not hard work.
argh. .. i meant to say Sunday.
will check the Sunday starting time via another way.
I’ll confirm the starting time when I get a text back. If I don’t hear back in the next couple of hours, I will make a few phone calls to ask.
Ok, all signs that I can pick up are pointing that there was no mistake.
I take my comment back about our Aussie cousins. Looks like permaculture is correct.
Confirming the following and Google tells me the phone number for the contact person for the Sunday event, ie Helen McNeil, is (09) 832 8181:
Sunday 4th September 1- 9pm, Auckland
Eradicating Ecocide
Earthsong, 457 Swanson Road, Ranui, Waitakere, Auckland
Please email Helen McNeil, bagend (at) clear.net.nz to book a place ($20 includes dinner)
Have fun at Polly’s talks.