And it looks like they will be fielding a candidate in Dunedin South this time around. Whoops that’s 500 less electorate votes for Clare, in a finger click. Only 3,400 left to go.
Talking to an agent who deals with that end of the market recently and they commented that the current political situation in USA and UK, with the Clinton / Trump choice and Brexit, was stunningly good for business….
Just reading this scary article makes you want to demand a banking transaction tax (and why the UK has capital gains taxes, stamp duties, taxes on taxes, but zero financial transaction taxes). This is the world that John Key made his money in. No wonder there is this .01% mentality and inability to change during the GFC from the banks.
“Top graduates missing out on banking jobs for lacking ‘polish”
That’s happening more and more across all industries. Getting a job is now more about socialisation than about being able to do the job. And the preferred socialisation is being exactly the same as the person hiring you.
We’re seeing the rise of conformity and the conformity is to be a psychopath just like your boss.
Social mobility for the lower and middle classes has stalled. Upper class has not changed, nor will it, by the looks of things in this article. Not really what you expect in 21st century of supposedly classless society. We are going backwards to Victorian times.
If the comments on yahoo’s linked Facebok page is anything to go by, it doesn’t look like the Nats are going to get the kind of vote winning reaction they thought they will get…
Azaelia Mackereth There is no low this shitty government will go to, people with mental illness struggle enough just to get out of bed and function with life as it is, forcing them into a dead end job will just make them worse and then that vicious cycle starts all over again! People without mental health problems like this stupid tart never understand
38 · 23 hrs
5 Replies · 9 hrs
Debbie Jane Lomas oh and another point…mental health patients had plenty of support until you idiots wiped out virtually all the mental health agencies around the country…you are a disgrace….
20 · 16 hrs
Brian McFarland $3.2 million to find jobs for 1,000 people. So the government is going to pay a contractor $3,200 per person to find them a job? Sounds like they have budgeted inefficiencies nicely into the program. Better to just give $3,200 grants to those thousand people to improve their standard of living for a little while.
2 · 10 hrs
Arthur C. Charlton HOW. I may ask. Imported trash is draining the country’s overseas funds and ruining manufacturing jobs. Good luck with that. Please note a real job is not part time. 40 hours please.
13 · Yesterday at 13:50
Atra Dash Bunch of cunts. Bad enough people with mental health problems have issues and these fuckers want them to go back to work. This government needs to go and it needs to go quick smart.
3 · 15 hrs
3 Replies · 3 hrs
Carolyne Moran Once again National a going to Strip Kiwis from help and force them into jobs that have no guaranteed hours which is just what someone with mental health issues need.
5 · 22 hrs
1 Reply
Raumahoe Rose Williams aparently this stupid women has never worked with those with mental health..you cannot expect someone with this unwellness who is drugged to the eyeballs to be able to hold a decent job let alone a mundane one..they can only focus for a few minute at a time…so go tell that to yourself ..selfish twit…
7 · 22 hrs
2 Replies · 9 hrs
Deb Hartigan surely there must be some people that can be helped into work……….not saying everyone with the illness, but there would be some that with some help would love to get back into some type of work………..as a person said earlier in this thread it took him 3 years to find a job……..this may help shorten that time……….if one person out of 100 can be helped out then thats great isn’t it………….
2 · 22 hrs · Edited
9 Replies · 11 hrs
Estella Kingi So sick of the government right now. Tired of words being spoken by Aotearoa but never heard by ignorance. Hand enough, roll on elections, can’t come any faster or can it? Wishful thinking or is it?…..
14 hrs · Edited
Robin Aldridge Actually it’s hard to convince employers to take on people if they have been unwell. I know I have been an employment consultant looking for jobs for people with mental health issues. There is so much discrimination out there. And that adds more stress…See more
3 · 21 hrs
Lorraine Sami silly cow anne tolley try getting unemployed into work but noooooooooooo you want to bring in migrants who rort the immigration system, dumb down our society, allow employers to lower wage rates disingenuous cow
3 · 20 hrs
1 Reply
Danielle Pike Yes. Sounds bloody perfect. Instead of reinstating the help these people have lost because of the government over the years, they’re going to force them all to work whether they’re ready or not. Sounds like a plan. A really stupid fucked up plan.
1 · 10 hrs
Greg Giles It took me three years to find work, and I had to move from Hamilton to Auckland, any absence from work after an illness, or accident takes a lot to fit back in. Work is a necessary evil, and even more so with coping with unrealistic expectations. Being self employed should be considered and funded.
4 · Yesterday at 14:04
1 Reply
Charlie Boy Batt What a total load of crap. Have had ongoing vacancys listed with Winz work brokers for the last two years. Be lucky if they have referred two people. Both only lasted a week and were never seen again.
21 hrs
Jeanne Hill The problem is there needs to be jobs for them this is the government being oh so choosy.
17 hrs
Madonna Meikle if those without m-h probs cant find work how will those with m-h probs find work
9 · Yesterday at 14:03
1 Reply
Leonie Jones How the hell can they do that when most normal people themselves cannot find work. Pull the other one please 😛
7 · 23 hrs
Invoker’s Better Half Some are just unemployable and needs to be left alone just like permanent injury via acc need to be left alone !!
7 · Yesterday at 14:27
Rae Adams I got a degree and experience and still cant find a job. Maybe they should help us older workers as well.
2 · 9 hrs
Derek-Kim Hickling In small towns especially, jobs are limited. Makes it hard for everyone…thats why many jump the ditch to OZ.
3 · 23 hrs
Ramari Te Rupe Wiringi Stupid politicians…too much money not enough brain matter.
2 · 19 hrs
Graeme Trask Employers looking for cheap labour no doubt. Another wave of exploitation.
1 · 14 hrs
Joyce Marina OMG WTF what’s this stupid government thinking of.Next they’ll be wanting the elderly to find work
1 · 9 hrs
Jay Belmont Whatever. What about the non-mentally impaired that are unemployed, homeless??? Yeah….right!!!
1 · 12 hrs
Taruke Mafi Oh come on WTH THIS GOVERNMENT sux our Mental Health now but that doesnt surprise me the government will try anything
1 · 18 hrs
Deborah Smitheram I am so surprized no ones shot one of these fukwits already if anyone deserves a bullet they do
3 · 22 hrs
Jill Riggs This is already happening sad to see all the negative comments lots of people with mental health issues hold down jobs
1 · 15 hrs
1 Reply
Roberta Tau Get them into work, bossess will take advantage of them, they’ll be fired then can’t get back in assistance 🙁
15 hrs
David Simmonds Looks like that face above has been attacked by a pit bull,ug ug ug bloody ugly to say the least.Looks like it had just kissed G Brownlee
10 hrs
Glenys Epiha Toa Of all the dumbest things you’ve done..this takes it.
14 hrs
Cat Lamb And I hope they are serious about “helping ” and not just BULLYING
16 hrs
Horomona Kingi and what does she think they can do? most jobs now are taken up by immigrants
10 hrs
Debbie Jane Lomas just a way to kick the disabled off their benefits..
7 · 23 hrs
Lui Ikenasio What bloody jobs??
6 · Yesterday at 14:11
Garry Craig She should watch out. More competition for her job.
5 · Yesterday at 13:42
Brian Stowe more money wasted .
4 · Yesterday at 14:04
Nell Smith-Hughes More sheltered workshops!
Why were so many closed??
1 · 17 hrs
1 Reply
Karenza Mcleod Able bodied people need to get a job
2 · 19 hrs
Sharon Solomon What work? and where is it?
2 · 16 hrs
Christine Williams Arent that the truth Atra Dash.
3 hrs
Christine Williams You are right Azaelia Mackereth. When i saw this article i suddenly felt anxious and thought what the hell are they playing at now. You are right, people who don’t suffer from mental illness will never understand and us that suffer from the illness have to suffer more because of their stupidity .
3 hrs
Ray Harrison I have a feeling not many will be “opting in”
19 hrs
Damos Reddington Fkn idiot. It seems reality has leftthe building
2 hrs
Kath Garrity Another stupid intiative..
12 hrs
Louise Gordon You lot are a joke
17 hrs
Carl Zijlstra That’s an old old line
13 hrs
Jill Riggs What do they think we’re doing now…
15 hrs
Lee Anne Wikaira there definition of help is forced
11 hrs
Strangely enough, on the current (Open Mike) page, I’m seeing your usual gravatar / identicon, as well as CV’s, Draco’s, and ianmac’s, but everyone else (including my good self) are rendered as anonymous white figures against a grey background. What makes you 4 so special ??? – Bloody Teacher’s Pets !!!
The gravatars and identicons are effectively generated remotely at gravatar, stored locally on my system after generation because gravatar were slowing down the page load too much, and then cached on a CDN (content distribution system) in Sydney.
Because I just shifted this site to https and especially http2, if something doesn’t arrive in time you get the default.
In this case it looks like you are seeing a bug. I’ll remove a layer and see what happens.
Edit: Ok, setting it to “monster”, clearing the cache, then reverting to identicons, and clearing the cache appear to have fixed it. I’ll have a look to see if I get widespread reversion to default icons.
CV, Draco, ian and myself have all configured non-default gravatars.
If you are using the default one, then it generates an icon based on your email address (and also username?). It was the default geometric thing that wasn’t working properly.
The Http/2 is really dealing with the gravatars well without the local cache. I had to shift to that a few years ago as they were slowing the page loads so much after getting a few hundred people on a comments page.
I’ve just been looking at pages with 300 comments from way back and getting no page load lag. I also see a massive amount of parallelism off to gravatar.
I really like HTTP2. It beats the hell out of SPDY and I don’t have to compromise the site setup.
Maybe Trump will nuke em, if they don’t pay for the wall.
Of course more “civilised” US policy does this behind closed doors, and uses torture and rendition by friendly intermediaries towards people they don’t like and wars to countries they don’t like.
In this context maybe a wall to try to keep the outside world out, is better than trying to infiltrate and control the outside world under current US foreign policy.
Our planet is not looking in good shape and nor is equality or democracy under US control.
The Donald is probably like most people contributing on this site.
Not being able to speak Spanish he might have tried to interpret it as if what the words sounded like in English was the translation.
The last sentence therefore came out as “Mexico jamas (hm. jumps at?) pagaria(paying) for a wall.
Not that speaking Spanish seems to make much difference of course. Both George W and brother Jeb were fluent in the language.
Yes, they were. It was a pity about their inability to express themselves clearly in English.
Mind you the Donald seems to spend his time repeatably saying “I am a pretentious loudmouth narcissistic dickhead” in whatever language he is trying to grunt at the time. Has anyone ever seen him talk about anything apart directly or indirectly referring to himself and what he is gonna do?
It’s extraordinary isn’t it…….I know what Alwyn would say if Trump dropped his trou’ and defecated on the stage at a huge rally…….
While almost drowned out by the cheers of a very ugly thousands – Alwyn (maybe CV too) – “Ummh…….Err Err Err……you know……you must consider that The Donald was never potty trained……..you know…….to be fair.”
Love Friday nights. Such fun. Good feed. Coro’ Street. Loving family of 6. Warm. In the people-mover in the park. Alwyn.
We really do live in the 8th happiest country in the world aye Alwyn ? …….respectful nod to the National Party Cabinet (Club). 10th without you and me though aye Alwyn…….?
Last I heard it was 2.3 billion a year.The cut is expected to be a small part – $5 million – of the U.S.’s roughly $2.3 billion aid package to Mexico to combat the drug cartels, according to the Washington Post. The money covers such things as helicopters, border sensors and training programs, the Post said.” Plus ifyou use mexican labour it wont cost as much. :-0
Congress has appropriated $2.3 billion since 2008 for equipment such as helicopters and border sensors as well as training programs for thousands of Mexican officials.
This site is being inundated by less than savoury attacks on various commenters by one commenter in particular. His (can’t imagine a ‘she’ stooping to such puerile language) level of debate is often personal and comes across as deliberate stalking of selected individuals. Likely to be putting off readers from coming here.
His latest example:
Ooh! Another Labour-can-do-no-wronger! Thought you might’ve been, you little piece of poo… It’s fuckwits like you who’re responsible for fucking this country. No analysis, no critical faculty. Just blind support for a neo-liberal opposition that fucks our democracy. I suggest it’s you who should fuck off to the sewer where you belong. Hey, you might even meet Leftie there. You two could snuggle up, keep warm, hope you’re not eaten.
[lprent: I have been noticing his (feels like a dickhead) comments. To date, he seems to have been reacting to others blowing their volcanoes. I tend to not moderate against reactions unless they get too consistently inflammatory and look like someone trying to ignite a flamewar.
I’m always ready to give people time to learn to hang themselves – it is better for the training of all observers. 😈 ]
@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!
“@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!”
Agree with you there Bearded Git, and I know it’s wrong to feed the trolls, but they make themselves very hard to ignore. Hitting back with logic and facts seem to fuel them into a tizz and then they get even more abusive.
“@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!”
Agree with you there Bearded Git, and I know it’s wrong to feed the trolls, but they make themselves very hard to ignore. Hitting back with logic and facts seem to fuel them into a tizz and then they get even more abusive.
I do not however, believe that Anne’s post was sexist in any way. We all know who she is talking about after all.
For sure Anne, there is no doubt about it, he stalks/trolls to abuse. Some comments don’t even necessitate such abuse either, which can and do come out of the blue as well.
It was difficult to tell given the early/late comments, to whom that comment was directed. It did seem to be in lock with mine responding to a “deluded Helen” comment catatonically issued by someone else. It just occurred to me that unlike Key Helen never got on global television and giggled about a murderer/child rapist being on the run from justice…….
Chris ain’t no prob’. I love his/her waste of energy.
If you regard my tongue in cheek comment as ‘sexist’ then you are being overly sensitive. It’s normal in my world for the genders to joust with one another. No sexism involved.
“When I refuse to eat animals, I refuse to indulge in a system that profits off objectification. When I associate with my diet only ethical standards, and not guidelines on how to be the most ‘feminine’ according to patriarchal benchmarks on the slenderness of a woman’s physique; I reclaim my body. I nourish it for reasons beyond weight loss and dieting. I cater not for the gaze of toxic masculinity, but for the well-being of women and animals alike. Rather than eating for the eyes of my oppressor – he who too oppresses animals – a vegan lifestyle provides me revenge in solidarity. In my nourishment, I quietly protest.
Whilst the system’s prime concern is in ensuring masculinity is content and pleased, neither gender equality or animal equality will ever exist.”
disclaimer : I am vegetarian for 36 years, never been vegan.
Personally I have always thought the relationship and correlation between meat eating and violence in society was a bit of a no brainer. The objectification argument makes sense to me.
It is true that you don’t like vegans who push their philosophy though isn’t it? My reading of your comments on vegans is that you don’t really think much of them, their choices, or philosophy. Perhaps I’m wrong though.
Objectification of animals and womens bodies seems on a continuum to me and profiting off either is not something I’d endorse.
“My reading of your comments on vegans is that you don’t really think much of them, their choices, or philosophy.”
I like people that make thoughtful ethical choices about what they eat (vegans, vegetarians, locavores, slow foodies etc). I don’t like fundamentalists. Much of my arguments about veganism on ts centre around arguing with fundamentalists.
I also don’t like people misuing facts in one area to push underlying agendas eg Cowspiracy trying to say that it’s saving the planet while the underlying message is that everyone should be vegan. Animal rights ethics and environmental ethics are not a neat overlap and it does piss me off when they get conflated.
That’s me and vegans in general. I don’t know anything about the woman who wrote the article.
Perhaps I could have framed my response differently. Something like, there are similarities between objectificaiton of women, animals, the land and ecosystems, she appears to be focussing on two of them, and because some fundamentalist vegans pick and choose their ethics around objectification I wonder if she does too.
In terms of the article overall, I didn’t like the stuff about women’s tactics to not be seen as ‘appetising’ or prey. I don’t think most women frame themselves as meat, so her argument seemed off there to me. There are really obvious parallels in terms of oppression of women and animals, and how the dominant culture enforces and sanctions that, but she seemed to be falling into the thing she was objecting to by the way she framed her argument.
If you don’t want to eat for whatever reason that’s fine but to say “I don’t eat meat because I’m a feminist” is drawing one helluva line in the sand don’t you think (does that mean if you do eat meat then you’re not what she considers a “real” feminist?)
How about the gross generalisations contained within, for example I work in a male dominated, very macho industry yet I haven’t had any conversations at all long the lines of being a leg or breast man or anything remotely similar
“Men (particularly white men) have historically felt entitled to the land and bodies of “others”;
Really, particularly white men? So the mongol hordes were white, how about the (but not limited to) tribes of Zulu, how about the Barbary slave trade, Japan invading China, China invading Korea etc etc etc
This and her other ideas are what has led me to think shes trolling, no one could possibly take her seriously and if they do then well done to her
her argument on objectification (whether you agree or not) are an argument that supports that particular headline (quite possibly chosen by subeditor for its provocative nature).
your ignorance and ununderstanding show when you try to be high brow and discuss historical entitlements to land and bodies – do you know what the word ‘particularly ‘ means because I’m not sure it interpreted correctly by you there – hint – it doesn’t exclude.
I was using the that as an example of her trolling, she could have just left it at men but nope she threw in white men because she knew it would provoke a reaction
Anyone can eat what they like but when you start throwing massive generalisations around like she has it just shows shes trolling
Good on ya, marty. I’ve been a vegetarian since my late teens. I didn’t get into it for ethical reasons, but that’s been the driver for quite a few years now. I wrote a post here a few years back suggesting you couldn’t be socialist and a meat eater. Annoyed a few people, as I recall, but it was worth challenging some ingrained beliefs.
I enjoyed reading that too. I liked your post and I thought Rocky’s and Philip Ure’s responses were very good. In fact, the following quote from Philip Ure was excellent!!
” i’ve been vegan for ten years..vegetarian for twenty before that..
i know people who have been vegan for 40+ years..
and lots of other vegans..
one thing they have in common..
is glowing good health..
i also have three vegan dogs..
one 10 yrs old..her six yr old daughter..
and another 2 yr old..
the mother was vegan during the pregnancy..
these dogs could do centrefolds for ‘dog monthly’..
their coats are so shiny..you need to wear shades.. ”
Well, it was interesting in the sense that it’s rare to see such a level of pompous, smug self-indulgence compressed into such a small piece of text, but apart from that – not really.
A powerful climate change doco shown on Al Jazeera (47 mins):
Refusing to fall victim to the weather, Kisilu, a Kenyan smallholder farmer, uses a camera to capture the human impact of climate change.
Filmed over four years, he documents floods, droughts and storms that menace his and his community’s farms, forcing some to stop tending the fields and seek work in towns and cities.
500 cows – how many trucks to move them? How long would that take?
“Police investigating the disappearance of 500 dairy cows from an Ashburton farm will be following a milk trail worth $900,000 as they keep an open mind on a popular theory that the in-calf cattle went to the meat blackmarket.
All-up, the cows represent a loss of around $2 million to their owners.
The missing friesian-cross mixed-age cows – which number more than the average New Zealand dairy herd – went from a winter grazing property adjacent to their owners’ Norvo Farm in mid-Canterbury.”
“…the cows were winter-grazing on the adjacent farm with the staff who milked them.”
I knew farm employees are generally not well treated but this is ridiculous.
More likely china , although i think they only send heifers. 13 truck loads of cattle would be hard to shift with out the workers noticing something , that’s a lot of heavy tyre marks and mess in the yards.
Ain’t it beautiful how $43 million can fix any ‘little’ (huh!) irregularity in one’s status and tenure in New Zealand. These Indian students are palpably victims on an horrific scale. The ruination of them and very probably their families back in India as well.
“Oh so what ?” Having no capacity to make anonymous ‘donations’ to some anonymous ‘party’ (I use the word pointedly) is an insufferable culpability, the penalty for which must be sheeted home at once !
Remember folks……”On Planet Putea we must, simply must, protect the vaunted but illusory integrity of our systems……oh, in the absence of substantial expressions of ‘goodwill’ the way of those who ‘matter’ that is.”
It would be karmic were this to come back in a big way on that excuse for a man Key (represented on Checkpoint tonight by the dark creature Joyce).
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Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Sievers, Research Fellow, Global Wetlands Project, Australia Rivers Institute, Griffith University Chris Brown Humans love the coast. But we love it to death, so much so we’ve destroyed valuable coastal habitat – in the case of some types of habitat, ...
Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more. For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
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Natz have a slimy lying, 2 faced creep for a leader…. Morning
Cheers Nick have a nice day and may Jk be with you….morning
lols. Sorry Nck. I agree with you but you did ask for that one.
And yet he is preferred to anything the left can offer election after election after election … and probably for at least for one more.
Enjoy your day. Its easier when you dont wake up bitter.
“And yet he is preferred to anything the left can offer election after election after election … and probably for at least for one more.”
Well… that’s what the spin says, James.
Actually that’s what the results show. He’s PM and the labour leaders keep falling away.
“Actually that’s what the results show. He’s PM…”
Being PM is a temporary position James and Key had to use dirty politics to cling to it.
“the labour leaders keep falling away.”
As did the Nat leaders when National were in opposition for 9 years.
Morning Nck, that’s very true, lets kick him out next year. It’s what he deserves.
That will teach you to listen to Leighton Smith.
The New Zealand First annual conference is in Dunedin this weekend.
Should be some good speeches about the decline of rural life and the loss of land to foreigners.
And it looks like they will be fielding a candidate in Dunedin South this time around. Whoops that’s 500 less electorate votes for Clare, in a finger click. Only 3,400 left to go.
Will that candidate be…you?
Oh gawd no 😛
Nah……CV’s gonna be a doofer at the Trump White House.
Almost the entire shoreline of Lake Hawea has been sold or is in the process of being sold to overseas interests in the last few months.
And here is another part of Lake Wanaka gone today:
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/wanaka/land-purchase-approved-oio
“angry emoticon”
Talking to an agent who deals with that end of the market recently and they commented that the current political situation in USA and UK, with the Clinton / Trump choice and Brexit, was stunningly good for business….
Just reading this scary article makes you want to demand a banking transaction tax (and why the UK has capital gains taxes, stamp duties, taxes on taxes, but zero financial transaction taxes). This is the world that John Key made his money in. No wonder there is this .01% mentality and inability to change during the GFC from the banks.
“Top graduates missing out on banking jobs for lacking ‘polish”
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/01/top-graduates-missing-out-on-banking-jobs-for-lacking-polish
That’s happening more and more across all industries. Getting a job is now more about socialisation than about being able to do the job. And the preferred socialisation is being exactly the same as the person hiring you.
We’re seeing the rise of conformity and the conformity is to be a psychopath just like your boss.
Massive groupthink on the bridge of the Titanic…and on all the lower decks too…
Social mobility for the lower and middle classes has stalled. Upper class has not changed, nor will it, by the looks of things in this article. Not really what you expect in 21st century of supposedly classless society. We are going backwards to Victorian times.
Neo-feudal
Just listening to Key live on Leighten Smith. A first!
Key plays with figures to explain “not defensively” the housing not being a crisis.
A shifty tricky chap. Can you stomach him?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11702996
“A shifty tricky chap. Can you stomach him?:
NO
+100…i don’think jonkey nact is going to win the next election ( from my surveys)
Ohh do publish your surveys – will be interesting to see the analysis…
Ever think of opening your eyes and taking a look outside of that bubble you live in James?
I do.
Judging by your comments, it doesn’t look like it.
Totally agree with you there Chooky!!
National have announced it’s usual pre election bene bashing policy….
Beneficiaries will be helped to find work
A new service will be trialled next year to help beneficiaries with diagnosed mental health conditions become independent and find work.
The two year trial is expected to cost $3.2 million and will be available in the Auckland, Waikato, Central, Canterbury and Southern regions.
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley says Work to Wellness will be a contracted service and will help around 1000 people a year.
She says it will provide coaching and mentoring, job search services and assistance to help people into work.
Beneficiaries will be able to opt-in through Work and Income, a referral from their GP or self-referring direct to the provider.
<a href="https://nz.news.yahoo.com/top-stories/a/32498892/beneficiaries-will-be-helped-to-find-work/#page1
If the comments on yahoo’s linked Facebok page is anything to go by, it doesn’t look like the Nats are going to get the kind of vote winning reaction they thought they will get…
Azaelia Mackereth There is no low this shitty government will go to, people with mental illness struggle enough just to get out of bed and function with life as it is, forcing them into a dead end job will just make them worse and then that vicious cycle starts all over again! People without mental health problems like this stupid tart never understand
38 · 23 hrs
5 Replies · 9 hrs
Debbie Jane Lomas oh and another point…mental health patients had plenty of support until you idiots wiped out virtually all the mental health agencies around the country…you are a disgrace….
20 · 16 hrs
Brian McFarland $3.2 million to find jobs for 1,000 people. So the government is going to pay a contractor $3,200 per person to find them a job? Sounds like they have budgeted inefficiencies nicely into the program. Better to just give $3,200 grants to those thousand people to improve their standard of living for a little while.
2 · 10 hrs
Arthur C. Charlton HOW. I may ask. Imported trash is draining the country’s overseas funds and ruining manufacturing jobs. Good luck with that. Please note a real job is not part time. 40 hours please.
13 · Yesterday at 13:50
Atra Dash Bunch of cunts. Bad enough people with mental health problems have issues and these fuckers want them to go back to work. This government needs to go and it needs to go quick smart.
3 · 15 hrs
3 Replies · 3 hrs
Carolyne Moran Once again National a going to Strip Kiwis from help and force them into jobs that have no guaranteed hours which is just what someone with mental health issues need.
5 · 22 hrs
1 Reply
Raumahoe Rose Williams aparently this stupid women has never worked with those with mental health..you cannot expect someone with this unwellness who is drugged to the eyeballs to be able to hold a decent job let alone a mundane one..they can only focus for a few minute at a time…so go tell that to yourself ..selfish twit…
7 · 22 hrs
2 Replies · 9 hrs
Deb Hartigan surely there must be some people that can be helped into work……….not saying everyone with the illness, but there would be some that with some help would love to get back into some type of work………..as a person said earlier in this thread it took him 3 years to find a job……..this may help shorten that time……….if one person out of 100 can be helped out then thats great isn’t it………….
2 · 22 hrs · Edited
9 Replies · 11 hrs
Estella Kingi So sick of the government right now. Tired of words being spoken by Aotearoa but never heard by ignorance. Hand enough, roll on elections, can’t come any faster or can it? Wishful thinking or is it?…..
14 hrs · Edited
Robin Aldridge Actually it’s hard to convince employers to take on people if they have been unwell. I know I have been an employment consultant looking for jobs for people with mental health issues. There is so much discrimination out there. And that adds more stress…See more
3 · 21 hrs
Lorraine Sami silly cow anne tolley try getting unemployed into work but noooooooooooo you want to bring in migrants who rort the immigration system, dumb down our society, allow employers to lower wage rates disingenuous cow
3 · 20 hrs
1 Reply
Danielle Pike Yes. Sounds bloody perfect. Instead of reinstating the help these people have lost because of the government over the years, they’re going to force them all to work whether they’re ready or not. Sounds like a plan. A really stupid fucked up plan.
1 · 10 hrs
Greg Giles It took me three years to find work, and I had to move from Hamilton to Auckland, any absence from work after an illness, or accident takes a lot to fit back in. Work is a necessary evil, and even more so with coping with unrealistic expectations. Being self employed should be considered and funded.
4 · Yesterday at 14:04
1 Reply
Charlie Boy Batt What a total load of crap. Have had ongoing vacancys listed with Winz work brokers for the last two years. Be lucky if they have referred two people. Both only lasted a week and were never seen again.
21 hrs
Jeanne Hill The problem is there needs to be jobs for them this is the government being oh so choosy.
17 hrs
Madonna Meikle if those without m-h probs cant find work how will those with m-h probs find work
9 · Yesterday at 14:03
1 Reply
Leonie Jones How the hell can they do that when most normal people themselves cannot find work. Pull the other one please 😛
7 · 23 hrs
Invoker’s Better Half Some are just unemployable and needs to be left alone just like permanent injury via acc need to be left alone !!
7 · Yesterday at 14:27
Rae Adams I got a degree and experience and still cant find a job. Maybe they should help us older workers as well.
2 · 9 hrs
Derek-Kim Hickling In small towns especially, jobs are limited. Makes it hard for everyone…thats why many jump the ditch to OZ.
3 · 23 hrs
Ramari Te Rupe Wiringi Stupid politicians…too much money not enough brain matter.
2 · 19 hrs
Graeme Trask Employers looking for cheap labour no doubt. Another wave of exploitation.
1 · 14 hrs
Joyce Marina OMG WTF what’s this stupid government thinking of.Next they’ll be wanting the elderly to find work
1 · 9 hrs
Jay Belmont Whatever. What about the non-mentally impaired that are unemployed, homeless??? Yeah….right!!!
1 · 12 hrs
Taruke Mafi Oh come on WTH THIS GOVERNMENT sux our Mental Health now but that doesnt surprise me the government will try anything
1 · 18 hrs
Deborah Smitheram I am so surprized no ones shot one of these fukwits already if anyone deserves a bullet they do
3 · 22 hrs
Jill Riggs This is already happening sad to see all the negative comments lots of people with mental health issues hold down jobs
1 · 15 hrs
1 Reply
Roberta Tau Get them into work, bossess will take advantage of them, they’ll be fired then can’t get back in assistance 🙁
15 hrs
David Simmonds Looks like that face above has been attacked by a pit bull,ug ug ug bloody ugly to say the least.Looks like it had just kissed G Brownlee
10 hrs
Glenys Epiha Toa Of all the dumbest things you’ve done..this takes it.
14 hrs
Cat Lamb And I hope they are serious about “helping ” and not just BULLYING
16 hrs
Horomona Kingi and what does she think they can do? most jobs now are taken up by immigrants
10 hrs
Debbie Jane Lomas just a way to kick the disabled off their benefits..
7 · 23 hrs
Lui Ikenasio What bloody jobs??
6 · Yesterday at 14:11
Garry Craig She should watch out. More competition for her job.
5 · Yesterday at 13:42
Brian Stowe more money wasted .
4 · Yesterday at 14:04
Nell Smith-Hughes More sheltered workshops!
Why were so many closed??
1 · 17 hrs
1 Reply
Karenza Mcleod Able bodied people need to get a job
2 · 19 hrs
Sharon Solomon What work? and where is it?
2 · 16 hrs
Christine Williams Arent that the truth Atra Dash.
3 hrs
Christine Williams You are right Azaelia Mackereth. When i saw this article i suddenly felt anxious and thought what the hell are they playing at now. You are right, people who don’t suffer from mental illness will never understand and us that suffer from the illness have to suffer more because of their stupidity .
3 hrs
Ray Harrison I have a feeling not many will be “opting in”
19 hrs
Damos Reddington Fkn idiot. It seems reality has leftthe building
2 hrs
Kath Garrity Another stupid intiative..
12 hrs
Louise Gordon You lot are a joke
17 hrs
Carl Zijlstra That’s an old old line
13 hrs
Jill Riggs What do they think we’re doing now…
15 hrs
Lee Anne Wikaira there definition of help is forced
11 hrs
Stanley G Foster What a joke
17 hrs
Dave Moke Fck bullshyt policies
5 hrs
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/YahooNewZealand/
+1 Leftie – some great comments there.
Thanks Save NZ, yep great comments there, it gives a glimpse of how people are really feeling, particularly about National.
Israel and Facebook lose a satellite:
‘Facebook satellite lost in SpaceX explosion at Cape Canaveral (VIDEO)’
https://www.rt.com/usa/357893-spacex-explosion-platform-launch/
“A Falcon 9 booster rocket exploded on the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as tropical storm Hermine bore down on the area.
An Israeli satellite that was to provide Facebook broadband to Africa was lost in the explosion, SpaceX confirmed…
@Lynn, when you’re on the main landing page, all the default geometric gravatars show up, but when you visit an article page, they don’t.
I expect it’s some caching thing.
Strangely enough, on the current (Open Mike) page, I’m seeing your usual gravatar / identicon, as well as CV’s, Draco’s, and ianmac’s, but everyone else (including my good self) are rendered as anonymous white figures against a grey background. What makes you 4 so special ??? – Bloody Teacher’s Pets !!!
The gravatars and identicons are effectively generated remotely at gravatar, stored locally on my system after generation because gravatar were slowing down the page load too much, and then cached on a CDN (content distribution system) in Sydney.
Because I just shifted this site to https and especially http2, if something doesn’t arrive in time you get the default.
In this case it looks like you are seeing a bug. I’ll remove a layer and see what happens.
Edit: Ok, setting it to “monster”, clearing the cache, then reverting to identicons, and clearing the cache appear to have fixed it. I’ll have a look to see if I get widespread reversion to default icons.
Cheers, 1prent.
Nope. Ummm removed the local cache.
CV, Draco, ian and myself have all configured non-default gravatars.
If you are using the default one, then it generates an icon based on your email address (and also username?). It was the default geometric thing that wasn’t working properly.
“CV, Draco, ian and myself have all configured non-default gravatars”
Ahhh, of course !
When you think about it, that was ridiculously stupid of me.
I politely didn’t mention that 😛
Wow!
The Http/2 is really dealing with the gravatars well without the local cache. I had to shift to that a few years ago as they were slowing the page loads so much after getting a few hundred people on a comments page.
I’ve just been looking at pages with 300 comments from way back and getting no page load lag. I also see a massive amount of parallelism off to gravatar.
I really like HTTP2. It beats the hell out of SPDY and I don’t have to compromise the site setup.
He’s not one to miss an opportunity to tell a lie.
/
Translation: “I repeat what I said personally, Mr. Trump: Mexico would never pay for a wall.”
Maybe Trump will nuke em, if they don’t pay for the wall.
Of course more “civilised” US policy does this behind closed doors, and uses torture and rendition by friendly intermediaries towards people they don’t like and wars to countries they don’t like.
In this context maybe a wall to try to keep the outside world out, is better than trying to infiltrate and control the outside world under current US foreign policy.
Our planet is not looking in good shape and nor is equality or democracy under US control.
If only Klein or Sanders had a chance.
The Donald is probably like most people contributing on this site.
Not being able to speak Spanish he might have tried to interpret it as if what the words sounded like in English was the translation.
The last sentence therefore came out as “Mexico jamas (hm. jumps at?) pagaria(paying) for a wall.
Not that speaking Spanish seems to make much difference of course. Both George W and brother Jeb were fluent in the language.
Yes, they were. It was a pity about their inability to express themselves clearly in English.
Mind you the Donald seems to spend his time repeatably saying “I am a pretentious loudmouth narcissistic dickhead” in whatever language he is trying to grunt at the time. Has anyone ever seen him talk about anything apart directly or indirectly referring to himself and what he is gonna do?
FFS: even Yankees don’t deserve this cretin.
It’s extraordinary isn’t it…….I know what Alwyn would say if Trump dropped his trou’ and defecated on the stage at a huge rally…….
While almost drowned out by the cheers of a very ugly thousands – Alwyn (maybe CV too) – “Ummh…….Err Err Err……you know……you must consider that The Donald was never potty trained……..you know…….to be fair.”
Love Friday nights. Such fun. Good feed. Coro’ Street. Loving family of 6. Warm. In the people-mover in the park. Alwyn.
We really do live in the 8th happiest country in the world aye Alwyn ? …….respectful nod to the National Party Cabinet (Club). 10th without you and me though aye Alwyn…….?
You really are a sick little prick aren’t you?
Trumper has an idea…..
Oh God there’s another fuck promising a ‘Brighter Future’ !
Maybe he will pay for it with aid that used to go to Mexico US dollars 209,432,920, build a nice wall for that!
With US aid to Mexico around $420 million a year – It’ll take some time.
He could use neoliberalism to get China to build the wall or some sort of PPP which takes 25 years to build and costs 5 times as much.
Last I heard it was 2.3 billion a year.The cut is expected to be a small part – $5 million – of the U.S.’s roughly $2.3 billion aid package to Mexico to combat the drug cartels, according to the Washington Post. The money covers such things as helicopters, border sensors and training programs, the Post said.” Plus ifyou use mexican labour it wont cost as much. :-0
I see you’ve taken faux new’s word.
/
Congress has appropriated $2.3 billion since 2008 for equipment such as helicopters and border sensors as well as training programs for thousands of Mexican officials.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-blocks-some-anti-drug-funds-for-mexico-over-human-rights-concerns/2015/10/18/8fa3925e-710b-11e5-ba14-318f8e87a2fc_story.html
Meanwhile…..
http://us-foreign-aid.insidegov.com/q/112/1590/How-much-money-does-the-U-S-give-to-Mexico
http://beta.foreignassistance.gov/explore#
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_foreign_aid
This site is being inundated by less than savoury attacks on various commenters by one commenter in particular. His (can’t imagine a ‘she’ stooping to such puerile language) level of debate is often personal and comes across as deliberate stalking of selected individuals. Likely to be putting off readers from coming here.
His latest example:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01092016/#comment-1226860
[lprent: I have been noticing his (feels like a dickhead) comments. To date, he seems to have been reacting to others blowing their volcanoes. I tend to not moderate against reactions unless they get too consistently inflammatory and look like someone trying to ignite a flamewar.
I’m always ready to give people time to learn to hang themselves – it is better for the training of all observers. 😈 ]
@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!
Incidentally I regard your post as sexist.
“@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!”
Agree with you there Bearded Git, and I know it’s wrong to feed the trolls, but they make themselves very hard to ignore. Hitting back with logic and facts seem to fuel them into a tizz and then they get even more abusive.
“@Anne You know Chris and Alwyn have lost the argument when they attack you. Simply ignore the attacks and answer with facts and logic. That confuses them!”
Agree with you there Bearded Git, and I know it’s wrong to feed the trolls, but they make themselves very hard to ignore. Hitting back with logic and facts seem to fuel them into a tizz and then they get even more abusive.
I do not however, believe that Anne’s post was sexist in any way. We all know who she is talking about after all.
@lprent
To date, he seems to have been reacting to others blowing their volcanoes.
In this and some other instances yes, but not always…
For sure Anne, there is no doubt about it, he stalks/trolls to abuse. Some comments don’t even necessitate such abuse either, which can and do come out of the blue as well.
+1 Anne, very pleased you have raised this issue.
It was difficult to tell given the early/late comments, to whom that comment was directed. It did seem to be in lock with mine responding to a “deluded Helen” comment catatonically issued by someone else. It just occurred to me that unlike Key Helen never got on global television and giggled about a murderer/child rapist being on the run from justice…….
Chris ain’t no prob’. I love his/her waste of energy.
It was an attack on someone else BG.
If you regard my tongue in cheek comment as ‘sexist’ then you are being overly sensitive. It’s normal in my world for the genders to joust with one another. No sexism involved.
But don’t let the twats divide and rule, the one thing they are masters at
That’s true Whateva Next.
@Anne. Agreed.
From recent (mid-late August) YouGov Polling:
Favourable to Clinton, unfavourable to Trump: 37%
Favourable to Trump, unfavourable to Clinton: 35%
Unfavourable to Both: 21%
Favourable to Both: 4%
Unsure: 2%
>
>
Presidential vote intention among registered voters who have an Unfavourable opinion of BOTH Clinton and Trump:
Will Vote
Trump 20%
Johnson 19%
Clinton 17%
Stein 12%
Other / Unsure 26%
This is how you handle banksters:
https://redice.tv/news/first-they-jailed-the-bankers-now-every-icelander-to-get-paid-in-bank-sale
YES!!!! Iceland is showing us the way!!
+1
Interesting perspective
“When I refuse to eat animals, I refuse to indulge in a system that profits off objectification. When I associate with my diet only ethical standards, and not guidelines on how to be the most ‘feminine’ according to patriarchal benchmarks on the slenderness of a woman’s physique; I reclaim my body. I nourish it for reasons beyond weight loss and dieting. I cater not for the gaze of toxic masculinity, but for the well-being of women and animals alike. Rather than eating for the eyes of my oppressor – he who too oppresses animals – a vegan lifestyle provides me revenge in solidarity. In my nourishment, I quietly protest.
Whilst the system’s prime concern is in ensuring masculinity is content and pleased, neither gender equality or animal equality will ever exist.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/83820068/i-dont-eat-meat-because-im-a-feminist
disclaimer : I am vegetarian for 36 years, never been vegan.
Personally I have always thought the relationship and correlation between meat eating and violence in society was a bit of a no brainer. The objectification argument makes sense to me.
“When I refuse to eat animals, I refuse to indulge in a system that profits off objectification.”
Sorry, but she obviously is ignorant about the realities of industrial grain and soy growing. Monsantoed monocrops are objectification too.
Can she be correct about what she says and not bring the other argument (you bought in) in?
Not if instead of eating meat she is eating industrial grain, soy etc (which she almost certainly is).
Edit, tbh I didn’t find her general argument about oppression of women and animals that compelling (the way she did it).
It is true that you don’t like vegans who push their philosophy though isn’t it? My reading of your comments on vegans is that you don’t really think much of them, their choices, or philosophy. Perhaps I’m wrong though.
Objectification of animals and womens bodies seems on a continuum to me and profiting off either is not something I’d endorse.
“My reading of your comments on vegans is that you don’t really think much of them, their choices, or philosophy.”
I like people that make thoughtful ethical choices about what they eat (vegans, vegetarians, locavores, slow foodies etc). I don’t like fundamentalists. Much of my arguments about veganism on ts centre around arguing with fundamentalists.
I also don’t like people misuing facts in one area to push underlying agendas eg Cowspiracy trying to say that it’s saving the planet while the underlying message is that everyone should be vegan. Animal rights ethics and environmental ethics are not a neat overlap and it does piss me off when they get conflated.
That’s me and vegans in general. I don’t know anything about the woman who wrote the article.
Perhaps I could have framed my response differently. Something like, there are similarities between objectificaiton of women, animals, the land and ecosystems, she appears to be focussing on two of them, and because some fundamentalist vegans pick and choose their ethics around objectification I wonder if she does too.
In terms of the article overall, I didn’t like the stuff about women’s tactics to not be seen as ‘appetising’ or prey. I don’t think most women frame themselves as meat, so her argument seemed off there to me. There are really obvious parallels in terms of oppression of women and animals, and how the dominant culture enforces and sanctions that, but she seemed to be falling into the thing she was objecting to by the way she framed her argument.
Thanks for clarifying – you make some interesting points as usual 🙂
I thought it was one of the best trolling efforts I’d ever read
in what way was it trolling?
It’s not trolling.
Its trolling and its very well done
No, it’s not trolling.
If you don’t want to eat for whatever reason that’s fine but to say “I don’t eat meat because I’m a feminist” is drawing one helluva line in the sand don’t you think (does that mean if you do eat meat then you’re not what she considers a “real” feminist?)
How about the gross generalisations contained within, for example I work in a male dominated, very macho industry yet I haven’t had any conversations at all long the lines of being a leg or breast man or anything remotely similar
“Men (particularly white men) have historically felt entitled to the land and bodies of “others”;
Really, particularly white men? So the mongol hordes were white, how about the (but not limited to) tribes of Zulu, how about the Barbary slave trade, Japan invading China, China invading Korea etc etc etc
This and her other ideas are what has led me to think shes trolling, no one could possibly take her seriously and if they do then well done to her
being provocative isn’t trolling
her argument on objectification (whether you agree or not) are an argument that supports that particular headline (quite possibly chosen by subeditor for its provocative nature).
your ignorance and ununderstanding show when you try to be high brow and discuss historical entitlements to land and bodies – do you know what the word ‘particularly ‘ means because I’m not sure it interpreted correctly by you there – hint – it doesn’t exclude.
I was using the that as an example of her trolling, she could have just left it at men but nope she threw in white men because she knew it would provoke a reaction
Anyone can eat what they like but when you start throwing massive generalisations around like she has it just shows shes trolling
“Anyone can eat what they like” – nah – can you eat babies?
veal – the iron deprived white calf meat?
Kiwi?
Baby seals?
A cat?
Lots of no noes there
Now you’re just being silly
go back to sleep and pretend to work then
Oh Mars Bars…….that did make me chortle…….”pretend to work then.”
+1 Marty Mars.
Good on ya, marty. I’ve been a vegetarian since my late teens. I didn’t get into it for ethical reasons, but that’s been the driver for quite a few years now. I wrote a post here a few years back suggesting you couldn’t be socialist and a meat eater. Annoyed a few people, as I recall, but it was worth challenging some ingrained beliefs.
thanks to you both – I might look that one up for a laugh trp
Here ya go: https://thestandard.org.nz/world-vegetarian-day-october-1st/
It was one of one of my first efforts. Looking back at it, I was a bit pompous and overbearing. Glad I’m not like that now 😉
Good fun reading that. I havent changed much either and i miss some of those commenters.
I enjoyed reading that too. I liked your post and I thought Rocky’s and Philip Ure’s responses were very good. In fact, the following quote from Philip Ure was excellent!!
” i’ve been vegan for ten years..vegetarian for twenty before that..
i know people who have been vegan for 40+ years..
and lots of other vegans..
one thing they have in common..
is glowing good health..
i also have three vegan dogs..
one 10 yrs old..her six yr old daughter..
and another 2 yr old..
the mother was vegan during the pregnancy..
these dogs could do centrefolds for ‘dog monthly’..
their coats are so shiny..you need to wear shades.. ”
Lol I thought that was hilarious!!!
Thanks for the link Te Reo Putake, enjoyed that.
Been a vegetarian since my teens too, and I wouldn’t want to live any other way.
That’s fantastic, Leftie. Well done.
Good one leftie
Interesting perspective
Well, it was interesting in the sense that it’s rare to see such a level of pompous, smug self-indulgence compressed into such a small piece of text, but apart from that – not really.
Lucky we all have different thresholds of interesting isn’t it.
A powerful climate change doco shown on Al Jazeera (47 mins):
Refusing to fall victim to the weather, Kisilu, a Kenyan smallholder farmer, uses a camera to capture the human impact of climate change.
Filmed over four years, he documents floods, droughts and storms that menace his and his community’s farms, forcing some to stop tending the fields and seek work in towns and cities.
https://youtu.be/Ccgsh-YafRk
+1 Mauī!!!
Hey waggy – this is a bit funny doncha reckon
500 cows – how many trucks to move them? How long would that take?
“Police investigating the disappearance of 500 dairy cows from an Ashburton farm will be following a milk trail worth $900,000 as they keep an open mind on a popular theory that the in-calf cattle went to the meat blackmarket.
All-up, the cows represent a loss of around $2 million to their owners.
The missing friesian-cross mixed-age cows – which number more than the average New Zealand dairy herd – went from a winter grazing property adjacent to their owners’ Norvo Farm in mid-Canterbury.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/83805047/police-follow-milk-or-meat-theories-in-2m-cow-theft
“…the cows were winter-grazing on the adjacent farm with the staff who milked them.”
I knew farm employees are generally not well treated but this is ridiculous.
I was drinking a cup of coffee when I reached your statement.
Then I had to wipe down the keyboard. Lovely comment.
🙂
They’re on a farm in Saudi now.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/83404772/shipping-dairy-cows-to-china-is-ecomomic-treason-winston-peters-says
More likely china , although i think they only send heifers. 13 truck loads of cattle would be hard to shift with out the workers noticing something , that’s a lot of heavy tyre marks and mess in the yards.
Ain’t it beautiful how $43 million can fix any ‘little’ (huh!) irregularity in one’s status and tenure in New Zealand. These Indian students are palpably victims on an horrific scale. The ruination of them and very probably their families back in India as well.
“Oh so what ?” Having no capacity to make anonymous ‘donations’ to some anonymous ‘party’ (I use the word pointedly) is an insufferable culpability, the penalty for which must be sheeted home at once !
Remember folks……”On Planet Putea we must, simply must, protect the vaunted but illusory integrity of our systems……oh, in the absence of substantial expressions of ‘goodwill’ the way of those who ‘matter’ that is.”
It would be karmic were this to come back in a big way on that excuse for a man Key (represented on Checkpoint tonight by the dark creature Joyce).