On Tuesday last week we had the launch for the book Whale Oil by Margie Thomson. It was an incredible and humbling experience. About three hundred people turned up. My wife and kids attended and afterwards they talked about what an amazing night they had with other friends and family.
This weekend with the dust starting to settle I looked back at the week that followed the launch and I felt uncomfortable. It was a busy week with media appearances and messages of support, and naturally there was a big focus on the details of my protracted battle against Cameron Slater. What got me thinking, though, was a book review on Newsroom by Finlay Macdonald – not his words but the image at the top of the page: Cameron Slater knocked out in the first round of his boxing match with Jesse Rider. He looks broken. I needed to beat Cameron in court in order to win back my reputation. It was never my intention to break the man.
Cameron Slater has had his struggles in life. He’s had business failures. He struggled with mental illness; he lost his home. More recently he has had health issues. It follows that my mind takes me to a place of sympathy for Slater. He has a wife and kids just like me; he has tried to succeed, just like me. I feel increasingly concerned at the tone of some of the comments about him that are appearing online. I know what it’s like first hand to be ridiculed online, to be bullied and it affects more than just the individual. It flows through to that person’s friends and family.
Slater is not well. His attacks against me are not the actions of a right thinking individual. He needs help.
I’m concerned that some of the coverage given to the publication of Margie’s book gives the impression this book is a tit-for-tat exercise. It’s not, and that’s clear to anyone reading it. Yes, it’s the story of my long struggle to rescue my reputation and get justice, but
it’s about much more than a fight between two individuals. It is about our changing world and a system that needs to change so that our children are protected. It introduces readers to some incredible individuals and shows that even during the hardest of times good people will stand up and be counted. It’s about never giving up, and that sometimes the decision to fight can come from a place of love, compassion and family. Finally, it’s about people as a whole and how we choose to live not only on the internet but as a society.
The people who have read the book have all had the same reaction; a feeling of surprise. It follows that those same people have expressed to me what an important book this is and how much it impacted them as individuals.
I am now going to focus on my family, my health, my education and hopefully move past this. My story has been told.
I hope that people will move past attacking what can be only be described as a damaged individual. Let’s put him where he belongs, in the footnote of history, and move on to talking about the important issues he only symbolizes.
It's great that Blomfield can be so objective and magnanimous, but the evil of Slater is not just confined to him.
That p.o.s. Slater has destroyed so many lives with his obsessive hatred, revelling in the hurt and suffering he inflicted on grieving families and systematic attempts to destroy public servants and the undermining of our justice system.
Yes, sociopaths, for clearly that is what he is, can be smart. His blog did a great job with political commentary but sadly now has morphed into conspiracy theories and Islamophobia under the direction of his wife. I detest the childish nonsense of Karma, but his current suffering is well deserved.
Not depravity – it may be that people just don't like sitting in bird poo. Perhaps the seats should have been shifted free of trees.
.
The streets and pavements would still have lots of white spots. But hey in other civilised countries there is a night-time water spray over city streets (they also clean their buildings too), so perhaps some NZ cities could start taking more pride in the civic appearance, Palmerston North leading the way!
Cars receiving droppings could accept it as one-of-life's problems during the day.
At night near twilight when the birds are gathering en masse and letting it all hang out, twittering about the day's events, and people gathering at bars doing the same, cars might be hit then. It would be a good incentive to cut the cackle, down a few beers and go and get some food. There is a way of managing such things without abandoning lots of trees.
In the Palmerston North example (trees along Broadway felled because people complained about birdshit on their cars), the result has been that, in the evenings, the few remaining trees (around the Square) now host all the birds in the central city and God help you if you park your car under one – you won't be able to see out the windows when you return to it. No doubt the city's councillors will apply their awesome problem-solving skills to the issue and cut down the remaining trees.
Australia's Controversial Adani Coal Mine Now One Approval Away From Construction
….."Assessment of this plan has been a rigorous process, informed by the best available science," a DES spokesperson said in a statement reported by The Guardian. "DES has met regularly with Adani to ensure that the plan is robust and is well-placed to deliver the best outcomes for the protection of the black-throated finch.
‘Rigorous’?
Hardly.
Not one mention of climate change as a reason to stop the Adani mega coal mine project
In many ways this mirrors the approval process for coal mines in this country. – Make a big fuss about giant snails or weta but stay a million miles away from any mention of climate change.
Actually, in New Zealand it is illegal for a consent tribunal to allow climate change evidence to be heard in any consent hearings for fossil fuel projects, including coal mines.
I wonder why?
Is it because, if climate change was allowed to raised as an objection, the evidence is so compelling that no new coal mine or oil well would ever win approval?
Extinction: The species your are worrying about, may be your own.
In 2009 250years above the 1750 baseline we were at .85c. Now a mere 10 years later in 2019 we've added another .9c to make 1.75c. We're now in exponential climate change. The Australian government is quite happy to destroy the liveability of the Planet to make more money. We're heading for hot house earth. The old white Oz morons running the show there, Australia is being impacted by climate change severely now, will be long dead when the sh*t really hits the fan. And that wonder of our planet: The great barrier reef is dying ,its beauty could be seen from space.
As to the controversy over the Powelliphanta Snails and the Black Throated Finch prove,
The first rule of climate change denial; Don't say anything about climate change denial.
If the Green Party ever achieve anything meaningful in government about climate change, it would be to strive like hell to raise the issue of getting rid of the iniquitous legislation that makes it illegal for a planning consent tribunal to hear objections based on climate change evidence. And if the rest of the government don't agree, to make it an election issue.
The real tragedy of the so called political consensus between all the political parties around Zero Carbon Act that the Green Party has tried so hard to achieve, and sacrificed real policy for, is that climate change will again not be debated in the elections.
Why would it? They all agree. There is consensus.
It is a consensus to say, (and do), nothing.
The first rule of climate change denial; Don't say anything about climate change denial.
“in the evenings, the few remaining trees (around the Square) now host all the birds in the central city and God help you if you park your car under one”
"God help you" – sounds like a real crisis and your link reveals just how appalling, nay existentially threatening, those birds are! Can they be annihilated, please, for the sake of the children?
In Vancouver, we walked past some trees near Stanley Park where the Blue Herons nest. There were a shedload of signs pointing out that there were nests above, and that herons (as fish eaters) have smelly and corrosive droppings and you should therefore not park your car underneath these trees. It seemed to work. Unfortunately, thanks to Rodney Hide and the NACT government of the time, the only trees that have any protection are those which are individually scheduled, or those on public land.
Robert – I live near some of these desecrations and though we protested / tried to guard 24 hours daily the processes of law overwhelmed us.
Now we have ticky tacky houses / apartments in the place of once beautiful trees. All they want in Auckand is as many houses on tiny sites as can be built ; the inhabitants live squashed in like lab rats and no lawns or trees nearby. Often no garages either so cars clutter up the roads.
"A meme has gotten loose on this planet the socially equivalent of cancer (in my opinion), and what it is–is capitalism. Capitalism does not serve human beings. It serves itself, in the same way cancer does not serve a human being it serves itself. "
Yesterday I was examining well placed street trees vs random plantings that will be culled, trying to figure out what the formula is to plant a tree with some reasonable chance of its longevity. After my impromptu study I came home and read that article. I've seen so many trees vanish I've stopped mentioning it.
Avoiding parking areas was one of the first things I thought of. Not because bird shit is a real issue, but preciousness certainly is. Plant away from car parks.
Avoiding power lines. This is a no brainer but you'd be surprised how many fail to look up when they plant things that grow tall. Likewise guttering. I don't mind cleaning mine, and gutter guards work well, but be aware of the previously mentioned preciousness of people.
What's under the ground? Avoiding electrical and plumbing infrastructure is wise, but requires some investigation. Your local council has the details.
To recap – trees are an ever expanding three dimensional structure. They can be pruned but ideally they are left to do their own thing.
Education. People have no idea of the ecosystem services trees provide, or perhaps they're national voters who want the benefits but no leaves on their driveways.
Trees are free. I walk about and see a tree I like in seed I grab some seed and throw it in a pot or two and leave them be. This summer/autumn I've sprouted Coprosmas, Kowhai, Karo, Pohutakawa, Jacaranda, Albizia, Inga, Acacia…
We need to reverse the laws favoring developers and people over nature, or we will also perish.
Plant trees wisely, make them count.
P.S. I grow very wary of going back to edit every post because the software insists on putting all sorts of shit formatting in plain view. The above has already been edited twice.
I've just come inside from planting the seeds of Himalayan Tree Strawberry; lots of them. Also, Sweet Chestnuts, about 200, straight into a sawdust/soil bed. My peach stones have been in for a couple of weeks now. This afternoon, I'll sow the seeds of the Chinese Hawthorn and Cornelian Cherry (really a dogwood). All these trees will go "somewhere", I know nor care not where, just out there, where they are needed. Great gifts, trees.
One thing, WTB, if you accidentally hold down the Crtl/Cmd key while you are typing a space, it turns into a special non-breaking one which the editor then shows as "nbsp".
Basically if the UK had any pretension to being a justice based democracy and upholder of the "rules based order" it would free Assange as per UN rulings, so as to allow him to have urgently needed medical attention , and to prepare his defence in the Swedish case. It would never have without any objection, parcelled up Assange's belongings and handed them over to the US
I think we can see whose "rules" have priority here.
Sweden could assure him that it would not extradite to the US, as per Amnesty International
If the Swedes had done this back in 2012, the Swedish complainants and Assange would have had their day in court, and justice would have been done
Why such intransigence? Didn't the Swedes feel that the most important issue was that the Swedish women have their complaints heard?
Probably not, according to Amnesty International's recent report on sexual violence in the Nordic countries .The courts are notoriously slow to act, sexual violence is widespread, and there are very few convictions compared to complaints. Only 6% of cases resulted in prosecution in 2017!
Thankyou for your intelligent and accurate observations which are 100% true, Francesca, 🙂 . The U$K has joined the war criminal enterprise of the U$. And also has committed crimes at home against its own poor people.
130,000 preventable austerity deaths as banquet is laid for trump
“We have been watching the slow-motion assassination of Julian Assange. They have been choking him to death by tactical psyops, siege tactics, and wilful neglect as surely as if they placed a noose tied around his neck, not just in Belmarsh Prison but in the embassy as well. The only difference between his execution and someone on death row is the same as the difference between covert and overt warfare, which makes sense because the intelligence, judicial and military agencies who are carrying out his death sentence operate within the same power structure which carries out war. First came the smears (propaganda), then came the siege (sanctions), and they staged their coup (dragged him out of the embassy) and now they’ve got him in their clutches and they can do what they want behind closed doors. That’s how you kill a nation while still looking like a nice guy, and that’s how they’re killing Assange.”
If the world stands for the US/UK/Swedish judicial murder of an innocent man, the world does not deserve to exist another second.
Your ability to stoically ignore the crushing of democracy is impressive, Marty.
But not in a good way. Mind you, I recall you springing to the defence of “Sir” Mark Solomon’s “leadership” a few years ago, so this latest expression of contempt for democracy, though far uglier and more extreme, is really not a surprise.
"Anyone who is pushing the provably fake rape charges as a reason to not support a man dying in prison is a piece of s**t and waste of oxygen" – Twitter comment, and quite correct.
Your ability to get it wrong so much is impressive though minor morrie in the scheme of things – your 3rd rate stenographer skills and outright fabrications as well as your abysmal understanding of our national game put you in a class of your own – sadly that class is no class and a shadow of class – classless I think it is.
None of that is criticism, Sacha. It's merely abuse. Not very pointed or clever abuse, but abuse is what it is.
Our friend Marty's mustering and deployment of as many derogatory adjectives as he could remember has as much relationship to criticism as Judge Michael Snow's words in that kangaroo court on April 11th have to justice.
Marty. Should the war crimes exposed by Manning and Assange be pursued as ruthlessly as both these individuals are. It's clear they are not, why do you think this is? Do you think it is because they have better character than Assange and Manning?
Related to Assange punitive detention and resulting suffering, at the hands of the vengeful US State Department, is the continued punitive detention and suffering of Chelsea Manning.
Manning's lawyers filed court papers Friday asking a federal judge to reconsider his decision to send Manning to the Alexandria jail for refusing to testify to a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks…..
…..
Manning is suffering physically as a result of her incarceration and is in the midst of losing her home because of the financial effect it is having on her.
Manning has been jailed for civil contempt since May 16. She could remain in jail for up to 18 months — the length of the grand-jury term. Judge Anthony Trenga also ordered fines of $500 a day to kick in after 30 days of confinement and $1,000 a day after 60 days.
This follows a two-month jail term earlier this year for refusing to testify to a previous grand jury.
…….Under federal law, a recalcitrant witness can only be jailed for civil contempt if there is a reasonable belief that incarceration will coerce the witness into testifying. If the jail time has no coercive effect and is purely punitive, the recalcitrant witness is supposed to be released….
……Manning, in response, penned a lengthy letter to the judge reiterating her rationale. She included a lengthy history on the use of grand juries around the world, and says that many Western countries have abandoned the system because it operates in secret and in a one-sided fashion to the benefit of prosecutors against those accused.
……Manning has said she believes grand juries in general are an abuse of power and that she would rather starve to death than testify.
Do McFlock and the rest of the mob pour filthy abuse on Chelsea Manning as well? I remember they ridiculed Edward Snowden, deriving a great deal of lynch-mob hilarity from the fact his girlfriend had been a stripper. It was almost as good as Julian Assange's cat as a device to belittle him with unfunny quips.
Not sure the Cardinal’s experience was too happy, either. Got there in the end, but after how long? He must have not had a cat.
Notice that most of the same people who buy into this establishment anti Assange at all costs narrative, are also the same people who pushed the Russia conspiracy, go along with intervention in Venezuela etc etc they probably believe Corbyn is anti semitic too…it's like they just can't help but get sucked into every establishment MSM narrative that gets spun to them, almost like they have no defense, broken internal bullshit detectors or something.
Moz, it's one thing to argue that we don't know he's guilty. But every time you call it a concocted story, I'll call you a rape apologist. Because you are.
Here is British justice for you…they will protect Pinochet but give Assange to the wolves
Margaret Thatcher "The chance of Senator Pinochet receiving anything resembling what Britain would recognise as justice in a Spanish court is minimal, not least because key witnesses for his defence run the risk of immediate arrest if they set foot on Spanish soil. What is planned then is a show trial with a preordained outcome. Lingering death in a foreign land."
I think Pinochet was nice to Margaret Thatcher in some way; did he help her during the Falklands War? She knew which side her bread was buttered, with only the best butter of course, and knew who to butter up. On further consideration she could give butter a bad name, so forget I mentioned it.
To follow on from the the sentiments expressed by Matt Blomfield (via Pete George, cheers Pete) and Peter Chch's comment.
It's pleasing to see on one got a gong for being a sociopath (Services to Business) in this years Queen's Birthday Honours. But rather people who've selflessly worked to make our society a better place.
The awarding of a gong to Fran Walsh reminded me of her teary performance (along with Phillipa Boyens) with Kathryn Ryan on Nine To Noon. it was related to the Hobbitt/Warners dispute. Misinformation, obfuscation and out and out lies were the tactics used.
Re- Fran Walsh… my immediate thoughts too. Just another example of: it is not what you know, but who you know that counts.
There are no doubt some very worthy recipients who deserve all the accolades they will receive but I can't help noticing the number of honours for… Services to Science. ONE.
Apart from a Dr. Marie MCLintock for services to haemotology and obstretics, no other scientist has been honoured. Yet these are among our most intelligent and talented NZers whose research work is frequently internationally recognised, and they have the ability to change or save the lives of many thousands of people.
Even worse was her and Boyens teaming up with John Barnett and Paul "I am a GOOD MAN" Holmes on Q&A to snarl at and belittle Sue Bradford. Peter Jackson was sitting there too, looking extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable. He was almost completely silent throughout.
There was the infamous Q&A Holmes interview with John Barnett and Helen Kelly, but I don't recall Peter Jackson being present. I do remember him being interviewed on other occasions and being disgusted at his attitude. But nobody could see past his Lord of the Rings Hollywood success and were blind to his abysmal behaviour over the reasonable protests of the local artistic community – not the least Holmes himself.
Those swine managed to get onto Q&A several times. Yes, Barnett tried to be extremely intimidating to Helen Kelly, and Holmes was harsh and derogatory towards her as well.
On another episode, Boyens and Walsh and Peter Jackson opposed Sue Bradford. Boyens and Walsh were extremely unpleasant throughout the programme.
That Walsh gets rewarded in spite of that repulsive display—and we can be sure she was even crueler and nastier away from the television cameras—is another reason to scrap these ridiculous "honours".
Saint Sue should never be criticised. Jackson and Walsh who are hard-working entrepreneurs bringing NZ into the world 'stage' are downright cruel and nasty. Creatives like Robyn Malcolm are wonderful and deserve to exist on Cloud 9, where all self-made successful wonders get to be. Comment BAU.
The one person deserving an award was Helen Kelly. She might have refused it. She remains at the peak of my list of Great New Zealanders and her treatment during that dispute by Walsh and the director whose name I refuse to utter, and whose movies I refuse to watch, was quite disgusting
Q+A: Barnett and Holmes meet their match in Helen Kelly
TV1, Sunday Oct. 24, 2010
Preliminary comment by JACK A. NAPES, for Daisycutter Sports Inc. ….
This is billed as an "interview", but it's more of an attempted
mugging. Unfortunately for Barnett and Holmes, Kelly is not
intimidated by their antics. She remains polite and perfectly composed
throughout, unlike her two opponents. Holmes interrupts Helen Kelly
nearly every time she speaks, and Barnett interrupts her three times.
But all this fails to upset her; she's an experienced union
negotiator, and these two are lightweights compared to some business
and union leaders she meets routinely. Barnett gets really angry when
Kelly points out that he's a slack employer: "You yourself don't
comply with the guidelines." Holmes calls her "clueless" twice and he
swears angrily on two occasions. Note the way that Holmes won't let
her speak even at the end, shouting: "No, Helen's had ENOUGH!"
Q+A: Interview with Helen Kelly and John Barnett
Published: 4:12PM Sunday October 24, 2010 Source: Q+A
Related News Paul Holmes interviews Helen Kelly and John Barnett about the saga
surrounding filming of The Hobbit.
PAUL: We are joined by two folk at the heart of negotiations. Helen
Kelly is president of the Combined Trade Unions, and John Barnett is
the managing director of South Pacific Picture – very experienced film
man. Of course, one of the most experienced film people in this
country. So Helen Kelly, we'll start with you first of all. Good
morning. HELEN KELLY: Good morning. PAUL: So, what we've got is the actors now in FULL RETREAT. What we've
seen after last week with your handling of things is a complete
failure for the union movement. That's so, isn't it? HELEN: Well, no, actually, Paul, this dispute wasn't settled last
week. It was settled the week before with encouragement from Peter
Jackson, who sent several emails to me saying, 'I'm encouraging SPADA
to meet and to talk through all the issues and find a resolution.'
That's what I did. I stepped into this dispute only at the end of
September to help the parties find a way through. We've found a way
through. It's completely settled… PAUL: I think… With the greatest respect, Ms Kelly, I think you
might be fantasising. ….
Jesus. I'm not ordinarily one to speak ill of the dead, but Paul Holmes was just a massive partisan arsehole all the way through that 'interview'. Interrupting, badgering, condescension, mockery and accusations of lying. How Helen Kelly kept from lunging across the table and punching him in the gob I don't know. She was a class act, rest her soul.
@aj, +100….' The one person deserving an award was Helen Kelly'…lost our only chance of having a real and relevant Labour back at any time soon when we lost her.
Knighthoods aye? What do you reckon you would need to have done to receive such a thing for "philanthropy" in particular?
I see local Tauranga "businessman" Paul Adams now has one, and as someone from Tauranga I would have said the interests that led to it are far more personal than philanthropic. The Herald story attached says "As chairman of Accessible Properties, Sir Paul has helped to develop social housing in Tauranga, including negotiating to buy more than 1000 Housing New Zealand homes for the city." which reads well but in fact was the only single sale of NZ city or towns's entire – to my knowledge 1138 – Housing NZ stock. The only other one to come close was Invercargill which fell through.
The houses were already here – The Government will transfer ownership and management of 1138 Housing New Zealand properties and tenancies in Tauranga to a new landlord, Accessible Properties from 1 April 2017. https://www.accessibleproperties.co.nz/tauranga-tenants/qas/
So "it" and he "developed" nothing other than to work with the National govt to pusrchase all of Tauranga's Housing NZ stock for an undisclosed amount and with the agreement that the tax payer would continue to meet the bill to bring them up to standard and that incl the flawed "P" testing and any work attached to that.
Having at the end of last year helped a young single working mum get decent accommodation in Tauranga we couldn't even work out if there a Housing NZ office in Tauranga or even who to approach so gave up even considering that – in the end we could fix it and there will be others in more need.
But getting back to "Mr" Adams the majority of his "philanthropic" interest seem to have been in the main local sporting and hobby groups and nothing too "socially" demanding. One thing is for sure that his previous "business" interests were very deep in a lot of ring-fencing land in the area that has benefitted a few rather than the many hopeful homeowners here.
As far and away the largest contributor to local MP Bridges election campaign funds how coincidental is this former award "It is not the first time he has been recognised in the Queen's Honours List after being awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for business and philanthropy in 2015." and I wonder who made this nomination?
At all happened here in Tauranga and scarcely a peep. Maybe, as we do have some good local advocates there is an "upside" in there that the general public don't see but for two or so years I have found the whole thing peculiar that it is painted in this light and comes with a "reward". More than a few "charities" look to me to be personal hobby horses and avenues for networking, and for some a salaried past-time, and are nothing more than that.
Sadly the disability sector is crammed quite solid with such. They attract government funding for "advocacy" and "service provision" and get to sit on all manner of EAGs and TAGs and Consumer Consortiums and the like. The become dependent on the funding from the MOH or MSD or even ACC and the kudos that comes with being called a CEO (because, like, charities have to have a corporate structure) is quite a heady brew.
Their ability to do any real and effective hob-nailed boots advocacy is weakened as they are reluctant to challenge their Government/Ministerial overlords.
Thanks for the reality check and deconstructing the property developer cares more about people than profit BS.
This guy has done handsomely profiting from land development while his community suffers from possibly it's worst housing crisis in history. Not only that, but seeking to profit from our most vulnerable's housing situation is the lowest of the low.
He is no hero. The only heroes in this are people like all of those from Te Puea Marae who gave up their own meagre property/assets and time to house others in their hour of need.
Many knighthoods are bought and paid for, perhaps not in an obvious fashion, but nevertheless. It also helps to be the 'right sort of person', know the 'right sorts of people', have passed through the 'right educational institutions', been employed by the 'right organisations' and have made considerable donations to the 'right political parties'. Quid pro quo and all that. Nothing is unforgivable if you've done right by the 'right people'. You could, for instance, repeatedly assault a waitress in a public place, and as long as you atone for your misdeeds with a weak apology and a couple of bottles of plonk, you're away laughing. Nothing to see here, move along.
Alternatively, you could just be really good at throwing a ball about.
Toxic attitudes – what sort of shit would we find under your bed mr priest.
Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin sparked a backlash beginning on Saturday when he tweeted: "A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ 'Pride Month' events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children."
The posting spurred rebukes by thousands of people who replied on Twitter, including actresses Mia Farrow and Patricia Arquette.
Many invoked the scandals of clergy sexual abuse of children in the church…
…Tobin is a conservative bishop who has said that he was aware of incidents of sexual abuse reported to church officials while working in Pennsylvania, but that it wasn't his job to deal with them. He was auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh from 1992 until 1996.
A Pennsylvania grand jury report last year detailed decades of abuse and cover-up in six dioceses, including the Pittsburgh diocese.
In July 2018, Tobin deleted his Twitter account, calling it a major distraction, an obstacle to his spiritual life and an "occasion of sin" for himself and others. But he resumed tweeting in January, according to his current Twitter account.
You are getting sour Rosemary, try some honey with your lemon drink. There are too many negatives to notice them all without a break for some positives, and things to feel gratitude for.
Donald Trump has said he did not call Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, “nasty” when giving an interview to the Sun, despite an audio recording released by the paper.
Speaking to the tabloid before his visit to the UK, Trump was told that Meghan “wasn’t so nice” about him during the 2016 US presidential campaign, to which he replied: “I didn’t know that. What can I say? I didn’t know that she was nasty.”
However, in a series of early morning tweets on Sunday, the US president said he “never called Meghan Markle nasty” and that the “Fake News Media” had invented his remarks.
Royals to serve as extras in Donald Trump’s victory lap of UK
He said it was “Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will CNN, NY Times and others apologize? Doubt it!”
Spot on Moz, Clinton who supported her rapist husband then jumps on me too movement, Hilary who vaporised her hard drive destroying 30000 emails, then burnt her phones, Hillary who lied about Libya God she even lied about how she got her first name, claiming our Ed. Give Trump his due over Hillary ; he doesn’t pretend to be somebody else than a narcissist bull shitter Likewise some of his policies are ok
"Coltan is Venezuela’s Oro Azul or ‘blue gold’. In 2009, President Hugo Chávezannounced the discovery of reserves worth $100 billion of “the blue gold of the 21st century” in the Amazon region of the country.
The price of this blue gold follows an increasing demand for a high-grade metal known as tantalum, processed from refined coltan. Demand for coltan is so intense, it fetches a higher price on the international market than even gold or diamonds.
Tantalum is the metal used in capacitors that store energy in modern electronics like smart phones and tablets. Tantalum capacitors are also essential in powering modern military weaponry because the metal resists corrosion and can withstand the extreme temperatures generated by the new military applications. Without it, weapons systems would overheat.
The US relies on tantalum to build the basic circuitry in guidance control systems in smart bombs, the on-board navigational systems in drones, anti-tank systems, robots and most weapons systems.
The metal is vital to US defense. Yet, it has no domestic source of coltan. Importing and stockpiling tantalum is its only recourse."
The third tool is exports of certain goods that are critical to some important U.S. industries.
One is rare earth metals, a group of minerals that are vital to advanced electronics and power systems, including smartphones, batteries for many applications including electric vehicles, and high-tech military weapons. China is the source of 80% of the world’s supply and there are signs the country has threatened a potential restriction of rare earth exports to U.S. firms, according to CNBC.
Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals that have a wide variety of uses, including electronics, magnets, lasers, ceramics, batteries, medical equipment, and optics. The name can be misleading, as, in theory, the materials are plentiful. But they are thinly distributed. The rare part is having heavy enough concentrations to make mining economically possible. A complication is environmental impact because processing uses dangerous chemicals and high heat that can release pollutants."
We don't want to see two big powers going head to head – orange and black – too much colour contrast there. Red will be the next colour revealed, and grey, brown?
If the citizens of the USA took their hand off their hearts, which is a required response for saluting the USA and as ubiquitous as an outstretched arm in 1930's Europe (which also excited certain groups in the USA), then they might get a better understanding of the country they live in, and they could go two-handed at making it better. At present the USA is beefing up its wish for dominance in the China seas, which is trying to have a ring of protection around it, just like the USA has had probably since WW1. The USA is perverting the financial system by running a huge deficit for attack weapons of advanced type, threatening everyone's security, because it can – so bugger off everybody who quails and complains.
Mine of info joe 90. Hadn't heard of that – Bellamy salute eh. I must pull myself away from this addictive screen and go take part in the physical world. I will read about Bellamy later. Perhaps this is the modern version of hell, to be able to read all that has happened from which we have never learned, and only be able to watch a new version of the old play – perhaps called Love's Labour Lost or Titus Andronicus with a new name that relates to modern ears.
All the conventions conspire To make this fort assume The furniture of home; Lest we should see where we are, Lost in a haunted wood, Children afraid of the night Who have never been happy or good.
But there is another material from Venezuelan soil that could be extremely valuable. Its name is torio (Thorium), and it has the potential of becoming an ecological nuclear fuel. Professor Eduardo Greaves, an expert in nuclear physics and a professor at Simón Bolívar University, pointed out that Venezuela has “a huge deposit” of Thorium in the Cerro Impacto in the southern state of Amazonas, which is part of the Orinoco Mining Arc, of which China knows all about, having directed the development of the geological and mining map of the Venezuelan territory. Greaves said these reserves could be used in thorium nuclear reactors for at least 300 years.
There is a genuine and exciting rennaisance in the nuclear power game at present, especially around the various forms of molten salt reactors. These designs are completely different from the first generation machines, are much safer in operation, have much less waste and can burn existing waste stockpiles.
There are at least three companies who are within five years of an operating machine. Moltex and Thorcon are two that look very realistic, and this intro is less than five minutes:
A great read on why another Brexit Referendum in itself will not address the woes in England.
“Another referendum may, conceivably, get us out of the worst practical consequences of the Brexit mess. But that will not win the culture war (what, anyway, does victory or defeat look like in a culture war?) and it is certainly fanciful to think that it would “cauterise the gaping national split and confront once and for all the many dark issue that lurk beneath the nativist Brexit idea,,” ”
Can't help wondering if the statement from the floor about our financial system and government issued sovereign currency lies at the heart of a meaningful answer.
I fail to see the imagination let alone the courage for that to happen.
Prof Kelsey and her words on preparing for the changes needed were encouraging.
Can't help wondering if the statement from the floor about our financial system and government issued sovereign currency lies at the heart of a meaningful answer
Social Credit Party Leader, Chris Leitch, told the party’s Canterbury Regional conference Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s budget could have contained an additional $6 billion in spending without costing taxpayers a single cent more.
Leitch said, the Finance Minister could save that amount every year on interest payments on the government’s borrowing.
Finance Ministers in Japan and China access funding from their central bank at no interest and use the money saved on interest payments to benefit their citizens.
Bryan Bruce mced a great town hall type panel and discussion last night
Trotter disappointing but probably to a degree correct.He says too many of us have done well(I'm talking baby boomers here)out of the property bonanza to feel urgency for those who haven't .His "grand old man of the left" routine was a bit too pretentious for my tastes, and I'm usually a fan of his historical offerings
Wayne Hope was impressive, as was Russell Norman, god I miss him as co leader of the Greens.
We could do with more of this stuff. Commentators from the coal face
Yes, we could do with more of this stuff, francesca. Particularly in the mainstream.
And yes, bring back Russell Norman. It was interesting to hear (on the above screening) that it was Shaw that pushed for and succeeded in securing the BRR. Largely aligning the fiscal oversight of the two main parties.
I disagree with Trotter. Improvement doesn't require reducing the wealth of the majority. For example, a CGT wasn't going to apply to the family home. Kiwibuild (which was welcomed from across the political spectrum) objective was to slow the pace of increase, not reduce current values
Annie Newman from the living wage made a good point. And if we take the regional spend that the Government has been dishing out to the private sector as an example, where are the strings attached ensuring jobs the Government is fiscally helping to create are decent jobs that pay a living wage?
As the funding is already being given away, adding these strings wouldn't come at any extra cost to the Government.
Overall, it's well worth a look. It was a good discussion with many good points made.
Disappointing there weren't too many (if any) political faces (Greens, Labour, etc) seen in attendance.
Chris Trotter has to make a living and he has to be able to see the problems from both sides. I think he does well in being able to lift slightly and regularly the cloth of gold curtain of the comfortably off so they can receive peeks at life for the others, and so get some innoculation for the shock of the innovation of some disease-ridden policy that cuts down their supplies of goodies.
Fanatics, cynics, sadists and moral cowards
Exhibit No. 1: The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 1 July 2014
JIM MORA: Now, Julian Assange on the catwalk. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET:[highly amused] Yes! MORA: How’s he going to manage this? ZARA POTTS: Well, it hasn’t stopped him, his asylum claim hasn’t stopped him from doing all sorts of things. Even last week he opened rapper MIA’s New York concert with a ten minute Skype chat, so he’s pretty busy. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: I thought he couldn’t leave though. ZARA POTTS: He does it all on his computer. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Oh, right. ZARA POTTS: This is Vivienne Westwood’s son Ben, and as part of London Fashion Week, he is going to take the catwalk to Julian Assange in the Ecadorian embassy. GRAHAM BELL:[derisive snort] Ha! DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET:[querulous tone] How-w-w-w-w? GRAHAM BELL: Some people will do ANYTHING to get publicity. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Ha ha ha ha ha! ZARA POTTS: Ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, it’s not because he cuts a particularly dashing figure or wears clothes THAT well. The whole thing is a little bit more political than that. Ben Westwood is saying that he wants Julian Assange in his show so that Assange doesn’t slip into obscurity. MORA: There’s not much danger of that though, is there. ZARA POTTS: No. He’s wanting to highlight his plight. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: So he’s going to be modeling the clothes. ZARA POTTS: Yes. GRAHAM BELL: It’ll be the look for the very OILY character. Hm hm hm hm hm. DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Yeowww! GRAHAM BELL: Hm hm hm hm hm. MORA: How do they put a runway into an embassy? It’s basically just a big HOUSE, isn’t it. ZARA POTTS: Maybe they’ve got a big hallway. The collection has been influenced by Clint Eastwood’s Western films and also Assange’s “combat beret look”.
….[General snickering, snorting and guffawing]….
ZARA POTTS: And there is also a garment with Julian Assange’s image printed on it. He he he he he! DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Ha ha ha ha ha! GRAHAM BELL: Ho ho ho ho ho! Can’t WAIT! MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha! ZARA POTTS: The soundtrack is from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, so that will be something to, uh, see….
An assurance of goodwill from a member of the lynch mob
Yesterday one of our resident fools, "The Al1en", interjected himself into a witchburning in order to offer the following assurance of future fair treatment for the bound and gagged victim: "@McFlock I'm sure he'll get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law." In the Deep South not so long ago, similar moral idiots turned to their neighbours and said: "@Travis I'm sure this ni*&er will get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law."
You mentioned me twice today. That caught my eye. Your continued attempts to make the world safe for Assange to commit rape (regardless of whether he actually did anything in 2010) hold my attention.
Apparently one wikileaks is good for at least two abandoned rape investigations, according to your ethical model.
Doubling down on your wild, fantastic allegations doesn't make them one whit more credible. Even if they are officially sanctioned by four rogue states. You know as well as everyone else in the world knows: there is no credible case against Assange—other than the case that he is a dangerous truth-telling journalist.
You should do some reading then, solkta. A lot of reading. And discriminate in your reading. Don't just swallow state media (TheGrauniad, the Murdoch media empire, the BBC, MSNBC) wholesale.
I've seen the kind of bullshit that you call homework.Remember that Skeletons in the Cupboard bollocks. Oh wait, you probably still believe in that. Keep trying.
Just like those foolish lawyers in the Deep South who represented black men accused, with similar rigorous devotion to lawful process, of rape. They were accused of being "rape apologists" by people like you.
You remember when dolt45 said he could shoot someone on 5th avenue and not lose any voters? Yeah, that's you're support for Assange: unquestioning, and oblivious to reality.
You're about one tab of acid away from joining a suicide cult.
You can be as creative and ridiculous in your abuse as you want—comparing me to a Trump supporter, for pity's sake!—but it doesn't change the fact you've been caught out.
But this is also a different topic. I understand that you have difficulty distinguishing between separate issues, but come on, even you should be able to figure that one out.
You and the rest of the woke have been quite pathetic in your assault on Julian Assange and anyone who might defend Assange and the democratic processes that are being trampled on by the U.S. People like me, we hold no ill will against Assange or the alleged rape victims but you and the woke Trying to curse out anyone who understands that the U.S isn't playing ball is just pathetic.
The simple fact you seem incapable of processing is that it is perfectly possible that Assange did wikileaks as well as committing sexual assault. People can be complicated. Do you think the Swedes invented an entire high-profile sexual assault investigation just to get Assange into their custody so they could extradite him to the USA? Because if they did not invent that investigation, he needs to go to Sweden and face it.
It wasn't "the Swedes" who concocted that fantastic allegation, it was some malignant strategist in the State Department. Instead of blaming "the Swedes", we need to be specific and narrow it down to the culprit: one very beleaguered and browbeaten State Persecutor, the Dishonorable Marianne Ny.
Sure: if he did. But fantastical allegations concocted by some evil functionary/functionaries at the U.S. State Department is not a compelling or credible case whatsoever.
Still, you're invested in this as surely as Tony Blair was invested in another campaign of destruction; you're never going to resile from your comments and your allegations now.
Please fire some more "rape apologist" slurs at me; they're as convincing as the case against Assange.
The onus is on the persecutors—-i.e. the people he and Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning exposed as mass murderers—to prove the allegations. They have no evidence whatsoever, and you know that as well as the rest of us do.
My suggestion is that you would defend Assange even if he committed a crime because nothing would convince you that he had committed a crime.
So under what circumstances, as an internet denizen probably located in NZ, how would you know that some prosecutor's claims against Assange were true?
We literally have transcripts and records, and you're still adamant that he did nothing wrong. You refuse to countenance the possibility that they are accurate. So what would it actually take to convince you?
The two women who engaged in consensual sex with Assange both wanted all the proceedings against him stopped. They—just like you—could see that the state prosecutor was trying to fit him up.
“Irrelevant”? How so? The brutal, disrespectful, and witless chatter in that radio studio is a useful example of the intellectual and moral calibre of Assange's persecutors.
It's a matter of public record that the U.S manufactured this whole situation. Could you even imagine how lonely the two alleged rape victims are right now knowing that the U.S is putting pressure on them and the Swedish state to produce results for the U.S. Are you even aware of your own ideology.
Sam, you're wasting your energy—-four generations ago, you would have had similar satisfactioin trying to reason with a Soviet commissar during the Great Terror.
All that comes off of your keyboard, McFlock (lol) is slow learner, bigot, nazi, transphob, apologist for Assad/Putin/Assange/Trump/Rape with some a's Ames and buts mixed in. Although these ideological utterances separates McFlock (lol) and I, he's still debating at a pretty high level. What does separate McFlock and I is McFlock debates with a bit more emotion. This is why McFlock will regularly spam 100 or 200 or 300 comments and regularly pops in some ad homing only to then fain outrage at being retaliated against. While being emotional like this is a weakness a bit like being raped, it is a weakness although probably due to a lack of discipline or experience. When people get overly emotional there IQ falls several points and are not able to think clearly especially in a rape crises where margins of error are basically non existent.
So there you have it guys, too very different debating styles let me know which one you'd prefer. So I'll just allow for the crowds to decide who won, the Pro Assange side (my side) or McFlock.
I prefer commenters who deal with the topic at hand and don’t go off reserve attacking other commenters. Sam, you’re at your best here when you genuinely debate the topic and leave out the personal insults. Just saying.
Calm down Morrissey – you are just spreading hate and vicious talk and hysteria. We are up to our necks in it already. Please desist, take a deep breath, go out into the sun if you can find it, and dig the garden. Soothe yourself and don't exacerbate what we already have to put up with. We know what you know, we don't need to have it again brought up and shoved down our throats in large, violent gobstoppers.
… you are just spreading hate and vicious talk and hysteria.
So it's ME that's shouting "rapist" at a political prisoner and laughing at his suffering?
We know what you know, we don't need to have it again brought up and shoved down our throats in large, violent gobstoppers.
Certainly I'll stop reminding people that these vicious people are moral cowards and flunkies—as soon as they stop posting their lies, smears, and their unfunny jokes about Assange's cat.
Only a fucked up single minded, played out, one trick pony would compare the Swedish judicial system to one lynching black people in the deep south of the fifties and sixties to push a support point for an alleged rapist who fled from justice because he dished shit on the yanks and in particular Hilary Clinton.
Set the narrative however you want, but to borrow a phrase, rape enabling shitheel – Go fuck yourself
You mean this legal system… U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer on Assange…“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time.”
The fuckup above compared the Jim Crow era with the modern day Swedish judiciary. If you want to agree with him on that point, and make excusing arguments for an alleged rapist who has done nothing to answer the allegations but fight extradition, lose, and run off to self imposed exile, so be it.
And please tell us with a straight face: you would have supported those young black men and not backed the "authorities" and their army of media and society backers in calling for what they termed those "animals" to be executed.
Well some determined special little soldier is enjoying setting false narratives.
Me, I don't fall into traps, especially the pointedly obvious ones. I just like to state my point and if others twist it to whatever the see as their advantage, that's what free speech is all about.
You, in between being Mr Angry from Cheam and welded to your warrior keyboard spouting bullshit at those who don't agree with you can stay playing at chief R.E.S, but unlike the incarcerated alleged rapist and you, I'm off outside for a freedom walk in the sunshine.
The ones that I was concerned about was the ones involving U.S military and bureaucrats raping and murdering female adults and minors on a systemic level. Here we have the hypocrisy of the u.s and its apologists going hard out for Julian Assange.
.What you are saying here?…that the UK govt spent millions of pounds watching and monitoring Assange for the sake of a couple of alleged rape cases?
If you actually really believe this has anything whatsoever to do with those two woman in Sweden then (and I hate to be rude) you must be either extremely naive or extremely stupid
… you must be either extremely naive or extremely stupid
He's neither of those, Adrian. He's simply chosen his gang, his mob, and is sticking with it. It's prideful and ornery behaviour, which we see from many others on this forum.
He would indeed be stupid if he had been serious when he said to another member of that baying lynch-mob that he was sure that Assange will "get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law."
But I don't think he believed a word of that statement.
Clearest case of projection you'll ever see on the internet from someone who, along with the same handful of regular Assange supporters/anti American/Clinton hating/Pro Putin bots, attempt to set their own narrative as default, shouting down any dissenting opinion with persistent insults, whataboutisms and an apparent mastery of the 'if you believe this' then 'you must believe that' trope.
I personally don't give a fuck if you want to, by way of your habit, spend your lives trying to make your views the only line The Standard will tolerate airing. I think it's great that you have the ability to push shit uphill in public and long may that last, but you have to realise you're not the tone setter, nor the final word, and as long as you continue exhibiting your agenda, you're always gonna get push back, especially when you’re wrong and nutty as a fruit bar.
As for starting topics with no other reasons apart from trolling, personal aggrandizing and the feel goods they obviously bring to someone like you, as you did here today, then they're just hit outs and no serious value can come from them. No points made, no minds changed, just internet fights for the bored of heart and simple of mind. Excellent to waste a few hours on, but ultimately pointless. Your success at it is also your biggest weakness, and you can’t even see it.
Clearest case of projection you'll ever see on the internet…
"Projection"? Oh, I get it: you mean that the witness becomes the crime he's reporting on. Very hard to understand, I must confess, but I guess you're a philosopher, a thinker of some kind? Zen, is it?
from someone who, along with the same handful of regular Assange supporters/anti American/Clinton hating/Pro Putin bots, ….
Well, yes, I do support the right of journalists to report the crimes of governments. So you got the Assange supporter bit right. But "anti American"? You'll need to justify that charge, but I don't think you have the ability to do that. "Clinton hating"? I'm opposed to the Clintons, certainly—Bill, Hillary, and their foolish daughter; but I don't hate them. Hatred, the foulest vituperation and the most malignant defamation is what we see every day displayed here on this forum towards the world's most famous journalist and political dissident. Of all your allegations, the one that intrigued me the most was the one claiming that I'm a "Pro Putin bot." Боже, помоги мне! Я русский робот!
@ The Al1en, You haven't answered my question… that the UK govt spent millions of pounds watching and monitoring Assange for the sake of a couple of alleged rape cases?
Do you really think so?, you are saying that you actually believe that the UK govt would have spent seven years and millions of pounds watching David Beckham if he had skipped bail?…seriously.
"…who has done nothing to answer the allegations but fight extradition…"
Well that's not quite true, he was happy to be interviewed over the allegations and that only took 6 or 7 years for the authorities to get round to it even though they had the victim statements and the physical evidence. Once interviewed the case was quickly dropped thereafter.
The alarm bells should be ring-a-ding-ling-a-ling that something is quite amiss here.
And much closer to home in Australia we have another whistleblower being abused by the system. Note carefully his description of the debilitating stress of this:
Mr Boyle said he lost his job, had a breakdown, suffered chronic insomnia and has had a series of stress-related heart issues.
"I've had some dark moments," he said. "It's taken a huge toll on my mental health. I couldn't work. I couldn't sleep and my health spiralled into what I describe as a devastating situation."
Holy hell, that is one rough story, first time I have heard of it.
" He alleged that some ATO staff were instructed to use an aggressive debt collection practice known as garnishee notices, which allows the ATO to seize funds from the bank accounts of Australian taxpayers without notice or consideration of their circumstances."
I had business partner (long time ago) who had been audited by the IRD previous to out partnership, he told me it was the worst experience of his life, just under two years they took, said they looked into absolutely every facet of his life, and came up with SFA.
The only thing good to come out of it was that his books where immaculate at the end of the ordeal (that was his joke)..more than can be said of mine!
In my modest experience the most corrosive aspect of this kind of stress is the constant threat, uncertainty and instability. Until you've been through something like it for an extended period, most people have no fucking clue what it's like.
Yes that is true, although in no way as serious, I had a pretty serious burn out about fifteen years ago, brought on by small business stress, financial insecurity, young family, to way much work etc..what I learnt was, that when you step over that invisible line that many people are teetering on, you don't get to step back…it took me many years to fully recover, it was brutal.
That burn out, although terrible has had one very positive effect on my life, it gave me a very real insight into mental health both though my experience and through the reading I did on the subject when I was going through it.
Hence my utter disgust at the treatment of Assange, right out in the open, right in front of our eyes, and what makes it even worse is it is done with the total support of nearly all media, history won't judge this period well I think.
Until you've been through something like it for an extended period, most people have no fucking clue what it's like.
Tell me about it. It isn't a common experience so makes it even harder for people to understand the effects.
And I agree with Adrian thornton. While I don't take sides on the Assange affair, I do have sympathy for his current predicament no matter if he was responsible (in part at least) for bringing it about. The stress of isolation, being surrounded by enemies and the fear for his life is not only hugely debilitating but it is inevitable paranoia will set in as well – something the authorities after his blood are only too well aware.
As the funding has now run out for cleaning up the pollution disaster on the West coast and the volunteers have had to resort to a give a little page to beg for donations to help stem a situation that will take the the next few years and a lot more than $300.000 put up by the government to sort this mess out it points too a larger problem on our back door step the Pacific.
If government wasn't so busy fudging unecployment stats, in concert with OECD, they might make some Task Force Green action groups up from willing workers and give them a West Coast working holiday.
Yesterday we were talking about bringing sexual cases to justice and murder being covered up. I talked about Betty in Canada,
This morning on Radionz doco roundup the reviewer Sarah referred to ROLL RED ROLL is the true story of the Stubenville rape case – and how concerned journalists pulled the story together and pushed for prosecution.
I thought this was an important documentation and a sterling job by journalists to assemble unassailable facts that honour the live taken and dishonour the awful amoral system in Stubenville. So keep an eye out for it.
Sarah McMullan: Doc Edge Film Festival
Film Reviewer Sarah McMullan has checked out Doc Edge 2019: a festival of documentaries and will be talking about her top picks, including THE MENS ROOM, an all male Norwegian choir that prides itself on its beer-drinking ability and beards, who is asked to open for Black Sabbath – but that's not the only surprise they get. A NZ film that picked up two festival awards for its tale of six strangers walking the 800km Camino de Santiago (Camino Skies) Is 2019 the year of the asshole? ASSHOLE: A THEORY attempts to answer that question, while HALF THE PICTURE asks why are there so few women directing film and TV? What's going on and how do we change it?
And ROLL RED ROLL is the true story of the Stubenville rape case – and how concerned journalists pulled the story together and pushed for prosecution.
And how lucky are we that our last govt did not try the same here after the Australian insurance industry turned down the chance to own part of our ACC system.
My search isn't working and I can't find quickly where I said to you to ease up. Thinking about it I still feel the same, but recognise that I am in the same place so am going to follow my advice to you. If I can I will stay away from TS for a while and perhaps the news!
Children left too long on devices can build their own reality inside their head and trying to dissuade them from their beliefs instead of fact can be impossible. It is called Cognitive Dissonance.
Parents under stress, financially and time poor, don't have time to have lovely little conversations with their children. They have to be up early and dump their kids at school while they go to their poorly paid jobs and worry about explaining why their kids can't take part in things because their shoes, equipment are broken, stolen, or whatever.
They aren't meant to enjoy life because if they are strugglers and not getting enough to live on, its probably because they don't try enough. If they are on a benefit, ditto, and the immoral filter is applied to the Welfare view of them and happiness would mean that they were enjoying life on the benefit and the point is for them to get unhappy to get the lazy buggers out in the workforce where it is a cliche' that employment will be the motivator for them to be happy and successful
When I was at school what gave you 'class' was to be good at sport. Reading and expression and comprehension was second to that. So advice from the professionals needs to be more than exhortion – it could be how to initiate discussion on something at the meal table; what happened at school, what was new, how the kids' friends are getting on, whether their child is getting on, something that is coming to town and sounds interesting, ideas for their plot in the garden. My grandchildren often talk garbage at the table, turning it into some sort of game. Talking isn't the problem, they never stop or they sing. It's like being at a circus. Just some time together talking about something that interests them all and keeps them thinking about staying at the table and eating the meal would be good. They could vote for their favourite meal and plan meals for the weekend even.
"We do trust the judiciary to be independent and impartial…. I do trust Lt General’s Mateparae and Jones."
DR. WAYNE MAPP: I am pretty sure that most members of the current government also believe that the UK and Sweden have an independent judiciary. I would have thought it is axiomatic that one of the fundamental principles of our democratic system is that we do trust the judiciary to be independent and impartial, even if they do make mistakes from time to time. Since you mention Afghanistan, it will not have escaped your notice that I thought an independent Inquiry was necessary as soon as it was apparent there were credible allegations of civilian casualties (by Jon Stephenson in 2014 in his programme on Maori TV). But nevertheless, I do trust Lt General’s Mateparae and Jones.
MORRISSEY BREEN: In the 1930s people like you counselled concerned Germans to trust jurists like Roland Freisler.
DR. WAYNE MAPP: The Nazi comparison is offensive, as well you know. But not unsurprising from you.
MORRISSEY BREEN: All right, then: people like you counselled concerned Soviet citizens to trust jurists like Andrey Vyshinsky, and to trust that jury in Florida in 2013.
The ALP has taken a turn right in Australia, they are now pro coal and anti Nauru asylum seekers. And all their climate policies are now under review. Albanese has said that the Australian public are clearly right of the current Labour position, so the ALP must go right to meet them. Not great news for progressives in Australia.
"In Canberra last week I met some Australian members of parliament. It gave me hope, because until I heard them speak I had always thought that Israel’s right wing politicians were the worst. —-(LAUGHTER)— I’ve never heard any Israeli politician speak about the Palestinian people the way that those Australian politicians did. But they are Australia’s problem, not mine. (LAUGHTER) I spoke with the Australian foreign minister; she talked and she was very nice but we could not agree on anything." (LAUGHTER)
—- Gideon Levy, speaking in Auckland, Dec. 3, 2017
"We are at war with Russia!" he rants, hilariously. (Apologies to The Al1en, Andre and all the other conspiracy theorists on this mostly excellent site.)
In Nelson we have had big paper advertisements for energyclub nz offering low this and that on electricity retail. I don't respond to cheapest, I don't trust big business and I haven't caught up with this company yet. Can someone who knows give me a quick low-down?
Chris Trotter says the left can detail the many privations of too-many of our citizens. But they can't figure out why poverty, inequality, homelessness and environmental despoliation are happening, so their political message doesn't connect
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Introduction Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) has revolutionized the field of translation by harnessing the power of technology to assist human translators in their work. This innovative approach combines specialized software with human expertise to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and consistency of translations. In this comprehensive article, we will delve into the ...
In today’s digital age, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Among the vast array of portable computing options available, iPads and tablet computers stand out as two prominent contenders. While both offer similar functionalities, there are subtle yet significant differences between these two devices. This ...
A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to carry out a set of instructions. The basic components of a computer are the processor, memory, storage, input devices, and output devices. The Processor The processor, also known as the central processing unit (CPU), is the brain of the ...
Voice Memos is a convenient app on your iPhone that allows you to quickly record and store audio snippets. These recordings can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as taking notes, capturing ideas, or recording interviews. While you can listen to your voice memos on your iPhone, you ...
Laptop screens are essential for interacting with our devices and accessing information. However, when lines appear on the screen, it can be frustrating and disrupt productivity. Understanding the underlying causes of these lines is crucial for finding effective solutions. Types of Screen Lines Horizontal lines: Also known as scan ...
Right-clicking is a common and essential computer operation that allows users to access additional options and settings. While most desktop computers have dedicated right-click buttons on their mice, laptops often do not have these buttons due to space limitations. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on how to right-click ...
Powering up and shutting down your ASUS laptop is an essential task for any laptop user. Locating the power button can sometimes be a hassle, especially if you’re new to ASUS laptops. This article will provide a comprehensive guide on where to find the power button on different ASUS laptop ...
Dell laptops are renowned for their reliability, performance, and versatility. Whether you’re a student, a professional, or just someone who needs a reliable computing device, a Dell laptop can meet your needs. However, if you’re new to Dell laptops, you may be wondering how to get started. In this comprehensive ...
Two-thirds of the country think that “New Zealand’s economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful”. They also believe that “New Zealand needs a strong leader to take the country back from the rich and powerful”. These are just two of a handful of stunning new survey results released ...
In today’s digital world, screenshots have become an indispensable tool for communication and documentation. Whether you need to capture an important email, preserve a website page, or share an error message, screenshots allow you to quickly and easily preserve digital information. If you’re an Asus laptop user, there are several ...
A factory reset restores your Gateway laptop to its original factory settings, erasing all data, apps, and personalizations. This can be necessary to resolve software issues, remove viruses, or prepare your laptop for sale or transfer. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to factory reset your Gateway laptop: Method 1: ...
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
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. ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
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, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Asia Pacific Report Chief Mandla Mandela, a member of the National Assembly of South Africa and Nelson Mandela’s grandson, has joined the Freedom Flotilla in istanbul as the ships prepare to sail for Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. Mandela is also the ambassador for the Global Campaign to Return to ...
Pacific Media Watch Journalists who report on environmental issues are encountering growing difficulties in many parts of the world, reports Reporters Without Borders. According to the tally kept by RSF, 200 journalists have been subjected to threats and physical violence, including murder, in the past 10 years because they were ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
ACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Pōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Magdalena M.E. Bunbury, Postdoctoral Researcher, James Cook University Burial with a horse at the Rákóczifalva site, Hungary (8th century AD).Sándor Hegedűs, Hungarian National Museum, CC BY How do we understand past societies? For centuries, our main sources of information have been ...
Amanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits.First published in 2021.All my ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathryn Willis, Postdoctoral Researcher, CSIRO Xavier Boulenger/Shutterstock In the two decades to 2019, global plastic production doubled. By 2040, plastic manufacturing and processing could consume as much as 20% of global oil production and use up 15% of the annual carbon ...
With our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...
Principal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...
Never mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff.First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...
I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...
“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...
Until this month, Auckland swimmer Hazel Ouwehand had never met a qualifying time in an Olympic event for a New Zealand team, even as a junior. Now she’s very likely off to the Paris Olympics after swimming well under the qualifying standard in the 100m butterfly twice – both in ...
While Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell.First published in 2022.The high school’s head girl and ...
Australian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association.First published in 2018.When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...
A poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble.Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...
A poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin.My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...
There are three books I have wolfed down in one sitting over the last two years. Colleen Maria Lenihan’s gorgeous and sad debut Kōhine, Noelle McCarthy’s memoir Grand about becoming her mother and then unbecoming her, and now Hine Toa, a staunch yet gentle self-portrait by living legend Ngāhuia te ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 25 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A statement from Matt Blomfield:
It's great that Blomfield can be so objective and magnanimous, but the evil of Slater is not just confined to him.
That p.o.s. Slater has destroyed so many lives with his obsessive hatred, revelling in the hurt and suffering he inflicted on grieving families and systematic attempts to destroy public servants and the undermining of our justice system.
Yes, sociopaths, for clearly that is what he is, can be smart. His blog did a great job with political commentary but sadly now has morphed into conspiracy theories and Islamophobia under the direction of his wife. I detest the childish nonsense of Karma, but his current suffering is well deserved.
This story; read and weep, fellow humans; this is the way we roll.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/112898870/the-aotearoa-chainsaw-massacre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvtJPs8IDgU
"22 trees were cut down along Palmerston North's main street because of complaints about bird poo."
Thus the utter depravity of our feelings of divorce from nature, from OUR nature, leads us to destruction.
Not depravity – it may be that people just don't like sitting in bird poo. Perhaps the seats should have been shifted free of trees.
.
The streets and pavements would still have lots of white spots. But hey in other civilised countries there is a night-time water spray over city streets (they also clean their buildings too), so perhaps some NZ cities could start taking more pride in the civic appearance, Palmerston North leading the way!
Cars receiving droppings could accept it as one-of-life's problems during the day.
At night near twilight when the birds are gathering en masse and letting it all hang out, twittering about the day's events, and people gathering at bars doing the same, cars might be hit then. It would be a good incentive to cut the cackle, down a few beers and go and get some food. There is a way of managing such things without abandoning lots of trees.
In the Palmerston North example (trees along Broadway felled because people complained about birdshit on their cars), the result has been that, in the evenings, the few remaining trees (around the Square) now host all the birds in the central city and God help you if you park your car under one – you won't be able to see out the windows when you return to it. No doubt the city's councillors will apply their awesome problem-solving skills to the issue and cut down the remaining trees.
‘Rigorous’?
Hardly.
Not one mention of climate change as a reason to stop the Adani mega coal mine project
In many ways this mirrors the approval process for coal mines in this country. – Make a big fuss about giant snails or weta but stay a million miles away from any mention of climate change.
Actually, in New Zealand it is illegal for a consent tribunal to allow climate change evidence to be heard in any consent hearings for fossil fuel projects, including coal mines.
I wonder why?
Is it because, if climate change was allowed to raised as an objection, the evidence is so compelling that no new coal mine or oil well would ever win approval?
Extinction: The species your are worrying about, may be your own.
In 2009 250years above the 1750 baseline we were at .85c. Now a mere 10 years later in 2019 we've added another .9c to make 1.75c. We're now in exponential climate change. The Australian government is quite happy to destroy the liveability of the Planet to make more money. We're heading for hot house earth. The old white Oz morons running the show there, Australia is being impacted by climate change severely now, will be long dead when the sh*t really hits the fan. And that wonder of our planet: The great barrier reef is dying ,its beauty could be seen from space.
As to the controversy over the Powelliphanta Snails and the Black Throated Finch prove,
The first rule of climate change denial; Don't say anything about climate change denial.
If the Green Party ever achieve anything meaningful in government about climate change, it would be to strive like hell to raise the issue of getting rid of the iniquitous legislation that makes it illegal for a planning consent tribunal to hear objections based on climate change evidence. And if the rest of the government don't agree, to make it an election issue.
The real tragedy of the so called political consensus between all the political parties around Zero Carbon Act that the Green Party has tried so hard to achieve, and sacrificed real policy for, is that climate change will again not be debated in the elections.
Why would it? They all agree. There is consensus.
It is a consensus to say, (and do), nothing.
The first rule of climate change denial; Don't say anything about climate change denial.
“in the evenings, the few remaining trees (around the Square) now host all the birds in the central city and God help you if you park your car under one”
Fresh photographic evidence from Palmy: https://twitter.com/dairymanNZ/status/1135082969163419648
"God help you" – sounds like a real crisis and your link reveals just how appalling, nay existentially threatening, those birds are! Can they be annihilated, please, for the sake of the children?
Have to wonder where all the other trees in their town centre have gone.
In Vancouver, we walked past some trees near Stanley Park where the Blue Herons nest. There were a shedload of signs pointing out that there were nests above, and that herons (as fish eaters) have smelly and corrosive droppings and you should therefore not park your car underneath these trees. It seemed to work. Unfortunately, thanks to Rodney Hide and the NACT government of the time, the only trees that have any protection are those which are individually scheduled, or those on public land.
Robert – I live near some of these desecrations and though we protested / tried to guard 24 hours daily the processes of law overwhelmed us.
Now we have ticky tacky houses / apartments in the place of once beautiful trees. All they want in Auckand is as many houses on tiny sites as can be built ; the inhabitants live squashed in like lab rats and no lawns or trees nearby. Often no garages either so cars clutter up the roads.
"A meme has gotten loose on this planet the socially equivalent of cancer (in my opinion), and what it is–is capitalism. Capitalism does not serve human beings. It serves itself, in the same way cancer does not serve a human being it serves itself. "
so you were protesting some one going about their perfectly legal activities on their own land?
[Deleted. WTB, you may not think highly of James but please address the topic and don’t attack another commenter with pointless abuse – Incognito]
Yesterday I was examining well placed street trees vs random plantings that will be culled, trying to figure out what the formula is to plant a tree with some reasonable chance of its longevity. After my impromptu study I came home and read that article. I've seen so many trees vanish I've stopped mentioning it.
Avoiding parking areas was one of the first things I thought of. Not because bird shit is a real issue, but preciousness certainly is. Plant away from car parks.
Avoiding power lines. This is a no brainer but you'd be surprised how many fail to look up when they plant things that grow tall. Likewise guttering. I don't mind cleaning mine, and gutter guards work well, but be aware of the previously mentioned preciousness of people.
What's under the ground? Avoiding electrical and plumbing infrastructure is wise, but requires some investigation. Your local council has the details.
To recap – trees are an ever expanding three dimensional structure. They can be pruned but ideally they are left to do their own thing.
Education. People have no idea of the ecosystem services trees provide, or perhaps they're national voters who want the benefits but no leaves on their driveways.
Trees are free. I walk about and see a tree I like in seed I grab some seed and throw it in a pot or two and leave them be. This summer/autumn I've sprouted Coprosmas, Kowhai, Karo, Pohutakawa, Jacaranda, Albizia, Inga, Acacia…
We need to reverse the laws favoring developers and people over nature, or we will also perish.
Plant trees wisely, make them count.
P.S. I grow very wary of going back to edit every post because the software insists on putting all sorts of shit formatting in plain view. The above has already been edited twice.
I've just come inside from planting the seeds of Himalayan Tree Strawberry; lots of them. Also, Sweet Chestnuts, about 200, straight into a sawdust/soil bed. My peach stones have been in for a couple of weeks now. This afternoon, I'll sow the seeds of the Chinese Hawthorn and Cornelian Cherry (really a dogwood). All these trees will go "somewhere", I know nor care not where, just out there, where they are needed. Great gifts, trees.
One thing, WTB, if you accidentally hold down the Crtl/Cmd key while you are typing a space, it turns into a special non-breaking one which the editor then shows as "nbsp".
Australian Doco clearly showing Assange’s innocence and the events that happened-must watch
https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/sex-lies-and-julian-assange/4156420?fbclid=IwAR0MqSZXx58MvlWi9nlM6sfhTQeyEoDXyCDazYmAO_Gt5o7UMA-z3Mps5Vo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgv3fMavE_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B67pBbRFeRk
Basically if the UK had any pretension to being a justice based democracy and upholder of the "rules based order" it would free Assange as per UN rulings, so as to allow him to have urgently needed medical attention , and to prepare his defence in the Swedish case. It would never have without any objection, parcelled up Assange's belongings and handed them over to the US
I think we can see whose "rules" have priority here.
Sweden could assure him that it would not extradite to the US, as per Amnesty International
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2012/09/sweden-should-issue-assurance-it-won-t-extradite-assange-usa/
If the Swedes had done this back in 2012, the Swedish complainants and Assange would have had their day in court, and justice would have been done
Why such intransigence? Didn't the Swedes feel that the most important issue was that the Swedish women have their complaints heard?
Probably not, according to Amnesty International's recent report on sexual violence in the Nordic countries .The courts are notoriously slow to act, sexual violence is widespread, and there are very few convictions compared to complaints. Only 6% of cases resulted in prosecution in 2017!
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/04/rape-and-sexual-violence-in-nordic-countries-consent-laws/
So it seems that the Assange case has been unusual, pursued with far more vigour than any other of similar degree
Frankly , I think its time to give up on the stubborn diehards who assert Assange has brought this on himself.
I'm going with the UN on this one
Some US soldiers murdered citizens and Reuters reporters in cold blood. Assange published it. Who should face justice?
Thankyou for your intelligent and accurate observations which are 100% true, Francesca, 🙂 . The U$K has joined the war criminal enterprise of the U$. And also has committed crimes at home against its own poor people.
130,000 preventable austerity deaths as banquet is laid for trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMoGn14SxY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nxigIRUkcU
Julian Assange Is Being Murdered By The British Because Washington Wants Him Dead But Doesn’t Have A Case Against Him
Caitlin sums it up: https://russia-insider.com/en/are-assanges-jailers-trying-kill-him-hes-so-ill-he-cant-speak-properly/ri27153
“We have been watching the slow-motion assassination of Julian Assange. They have been choking him to death by tactical psyops, siege tactics, and wilful neglect as surely as if they placed a noose tied around his neck, not just in Belmarsh Prison but in the embassy as well. The only difference between his execution and someone on death row is the same as the difference between covert and overt warfare, which makes sense because the intelligence, judicial and military agencies who are carrying out his death sentence operate within the same power structure which carries out war. First came the smears (propaganda), then came the siege (sanctions), and they staged their coup (dragged him out of the embassy) and now they’ve got him in their clutches and they can do what they want behind closed doors. That’s how you kill a nation while still looking like a nice guy, and that’s how they’re killing Assange.”
If the world stands for the US/UK/Swedish judicial murder of an innocent man, the world does not deserve to exist another second.
https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/05/30/julian-assange-is-being-murdered-by-the-british-because-washington-wants-him-dead-but-doesnt-have-a-case-against-him/
Well I followed your links – self referencing and fevered speculation. Waste of my time thanks for nothing.
Your ability to stoically ignore the crushing of democracy is impressive, Marty.
But not in a good way. Mind you, I recall you springing to the defence of “Sir” Mark Solomon’s “leadership” a few years ago, so this latest expression of contempt for democracy, though far uglier and more extreme, is really not a surprise.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/11/kai-tahu-should-demand-better-leaders.html
"Anyone who is pushing the provably fake rape charges as a reason to not support a man dying in prison is a piece of s**t and waste of oxygen" – Twitter comment, and quite correct.
Your ability to get it wrong so much is impressive though minor morrie in the scheme of things – your 3rd rate stenographer skills and outright fabrications as well as your abysmal understanding of our national game put you in a class of your own – sadly that class is no class and a shadow of class – classless I think it is.
That was more than a little incoherent. Could you rephrase?
Here's a bit of advice: Edit, edit, edit.
back into your hutch little bunny
Any criticism is interpreted as 'incoherence'. Long-used survival mechanism, I guess.
"Criticism"? What "criticism"?
You're probably the least appropriate person on this forum to talk about incoherence. Or gullibility.
"ability to get it wrong"
"3rd rate stenographer skills"
"outright fabrications"
"abysmal understanding of our national game"
.. sure seem like criticisms. Never mind, some long-forgotten soviet dude probably has a quote about it you could highlight for us plebs.
None of that is criticism, Sacha. It's merely abuse. Not very pointed or clever abuse, but abuse is what it is.
Our friend Marty's mustering and deployment of as many derogatory adjectives as he could remember has as much relationship to criticism as Judge Michael Snow's words in that kangaroo court on April 11th have to justice.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/11/assange-branded-a-narcissist-by-judge-who-found-him-guilty
I know you're hurting because the truth hurts. My friend, you need a lie down.
The truth might hurt, but lame abuse does not. Do you still proudly support "Sir" Mark Solomon, by the way?
Acting the idiot doesn't really suit you – stop playing the fool and say something worthwhile, if you can,
Marty. Should the war crimes exposed by Manning and Assange be pursued as ruthlessly as both these individuals are. It's clear they are not, why do you think this is? Do you think it is because they have better character than Assange and Manning?
Robert Fisk addresses these questions far better than I.
Related to Assange punitive detention and resulting suffering, at the hands of the vengeful US State Department, is the continued punitive detention and suffering of Chelsea Manning.
Do McFlock and the rest of the mob pour filthy abuse on Chelsea Manning as well? I remember they ridiculed Edward Snowden, deriving a great deal of lynch-mob hilarity from the fact his girlfriend had been a stripper. It was almost as good as Julian Assange's cat as a device to belittle him with unfunny quips.
Notice that most of the same people who buy into this establishment anti Assange at all costs narrative, are also the same people who pushed the Russia conspiracy, go along with intervention in Venezuela etc etc they probably believe Corbyn is anti semitic too…it's like they just can't help but get sucked into every establishment MSM narrative that gets spun to them, almost like they have no defense, broken internal bullshit detectors or something.
they probably believe Corbyn is anti semitic too…
I'm sure they no one actually believes that, Adrian, any more than they believe that concocted story about rape in Sweden.
It doesn't stop them repeating it, however.
Moz, it's one thing to argue that we don't know he's guilty. But every time you call it a concocted story, I'll call you a rape apologist. Because you are.
Actually, Snowden did it right. And I have respect for Manning, too.
More morrissey nuttiness.
That is wrongful incarceration and an utter disgrace. I spit on everyone involved in that process.
Here is British justice for you…they will protect Pinochet but give Assange to the wolves
Margaret Thatcher "The chance of Senator Pinochet receiving anything resembling what Britain would recognise as justice in a Spanish court is minimal, not least because key witnesses for his defence run the risk of immediate arrest if they set foot on Spanish soil. What is planned then is a show trial with a preordained outcome. Lingering death in a foreign land."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7j3N5cCyf8
I think Pinochet was nice to Margaret Thatcher in some way; did he help her during the Falklands War? She knew which side her bread was buttered, with only the best butter of course, and knew who to butter up. On further consideration she could give butter a bad name, so forget I mentioned it.
Yeah probably beutiful imported New Zealand butter no doubt, not besmirching the name of our fine product I hope.
Perhaps he can try showing that in court.
To follow on from the the sentiments expressed by Matt Blomfield (via Pete George, cheers Pete) and Peter Chch's comment.
It's pleasing to see on one got a gong for being a sociopath (Services to Business) in this years Queen's Birthday Honours. But rather people who've selflessly worked to make our society a better place.
Congratulations to them all.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/06/full-queen-s-birthday-2019-honours-list.html
Well congrats to nearly all..
The awarding of a gong to Fran Walsh reminded me of her teary performance (along with Phillipa Boyens) with Kathryn Ryan on Nine To Noon. it was related to the Hobbitt/Warners dispute. Misinformation, obfuscation and out and out lies were the tactics used.
Reading this article, from the other side, bought up an unpleasant time and raises some still unanswered questions:http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1104/S00081/helen-kelly-the-hobbit-dispute.htm
Re- Fran Walsh… my immediate thoughts too. Just another example of: it is not what you know, but who you know that counts.
There are no doubt some very worthy recipients who deserve all the accolades they will receive but I can't help noticing the number of honours for… Services to Science. ONE.
Apart from a Dr. Marie MCLintock for services to haemotology and obstretics, no other scientist has been honoured. Yet these are among our most intelligent and talented NZers whose research work is frequently internationally recognised, and they have the ability to change or save the lives of many thousands of people.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/113179374/cawthron-institute-ceo-named-in-queens-birthday-honours
Even worse was her and Boyens teaming up with John Barnett and Paul "I am a GOOD MAN" Holmes on Q&A to snarl at and belittle Sue Bradford. Peter Jackson was sitting there too, looking extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable. He was almost completely silent throughout.
There was the infamous Q&A Holmes interview with John Barnett and Helen Kelly, but I don't recall Peter Jackson being present. I do remember him being interviewed on other occasions and being disgusted at his attitude. But nobody could see past his Lord of the Rings Hollywood success and were blind to his abysmal behaviour over the reasonable protests of the local artistic community – not the least Holmes himself.
Those swine managed to get onto Q&A several times. Yes, Barnett tried to be extremely intimidating to Helen Kelly, and Holmes was harsh and derogatory towards her as well.
On another episode, Boyens and Walsh and Peter Jackson opposed Sue Bradford. Boyens and Walsh were extremely unpleasant throughout the programme.
That Walsh gets rewarded in spite of that repulsive display—and we can be sure she was even crueler and nastier away from the television cameras—is another reason to scrap these ridiculous "honours".
Brownlee is caught in a lie in the Scoop article.
Saint Sue should never be criticised. Jackson and Walsh who are hard-working entrepreneurs bringing NZ into the world 'stage' are downright cruel and nasty. Creatives like Robyn Malcolm are wonderful and deserve to exist on Cloud 9, where all self-made successful wonders get to be. Comment BAU.
Well, as I said @ 4.1.1:
It is not what you know that counts, but who you know.
To be fair there are some exceptions to that rule.
Jackson can't decide if he's a common man or a rich prick.
A friend visited him he juggled his Oscars to try give the illusion he cares not for such accolades. Then he got in bed with John Key.
The one person deserving an award was Helen Kelly. She might have refused it. She remains at the peak of my list of Great New Zealanders and her treatment during that dispute by Walsh and the director whose name I refuse to utter, and whose movies I refuse to watch, was quite disgusting
Q+A: Barnett and Holmes meet their match in Helen Kelly
TV1, Sunday Oct. 24, 2010
Preliminary comment by JACK A. NAPES, for Daisycutter Sports Inc. ….
This is billed as an "interview", but it's more of an attempted
mugging. Unfortunately for Barnett and Holmes, Kelly is not
intimidated by their antics. She remains polite and perfectly composed
throughout, unlike her two opponents. Holmes interrupts Helen Kelly
nearly every time she speaks, and Barnett interrupts her three times.
But all this fails to upset her; she's an experienced union
negotiator, and these two are lightweights compared to some business
and union leaders she meets routinely. Barnett gets really angry when
Kelly points out that he's a slack employer: "You yourself don't
comply with the guidelines." Holmes calls her "clueless" twice and he
swears angrily on two occasions. Note the way that Holmes won't let
her speak even at the end, shouting: "No, Helen's had ENOUGH!"
Q+A: Interview with Helen Kelly and John Barnett
Published: 4:12PM Sunday October 24, 2010 Source: Q+A
Related News
Paul Holmes interviews Helen Kelly and John Barnett about the saga
surrounding filming of The Hobbit.
PAUL: We are joined by two folk at the heart of negotiations. Helen
Kelly is president of the Combined Trade Unions, and John Barnett is
the managing director of South Pacific Picture – very experienced film
man. Of course, one of the most experienced film people in this
country. So Helen Kelly, we'll start with you first of all. Good
morning.
HELEN KELLY: Good morning.
PAUL: So, what we've got is the actors now in FULL RETREAT. What we've
seen after last week with your handling of things is a complete
failure for the union movement. That's so, isn't it?
HELEN: Well, no, actually, Paul, this dispute wasn't settled last
week. It was settled the week before with encouragement from Peter
Jackson, who sent several emails to me saying, 'I'm encouraging SPADA
to meet and to talk through all the issues and find a resolution.'
That's what I did. I stepped into this dispute only at the end of
September to help the parties find a way through. We've found a way
through. It's completely settled…
PAUL: I think… With the greatest respect, Ms Kelly, I think you
might be fantasising. ….
Read the whole thing….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/01/qa-barnett-and-homes-meet-their-match.html
Jesus. I'm not ordinarily one to speak ill of the dead, but Paul Holmes was just a massive partisan arsehole all the way through that 'interview'. Interrupting, badgering, condescension, mockery and accusations of lying. How Helen Kelly kept from lunging across the table and punching him in the gob I don't know. She was a class act, rest her soul.
@aj Hear hear on Helen Kelly.
I feel compromised on the afore not mentioned director.
I saw Bad Taste at the film festival at the Regent in Palmy.
Still one of my favourites.
I find myself politically disalinged from him on workers rights.
I to loved Jackson's earlier works, however IMO he hasn't made a good movie for a long long time.
@aj, +100….' The one person deserving an award was Helen Kelly'…lost our only chance of having a real and relevant Labour back at any time soon when we lost her.
Knighthoods aye? What do you reckon you would need to have done to receive such a thing for "philanthropy" in particular?
I see local Tauranga "businessman" Paul Adams now has one, and as someone from Tauranga I would have said the interests that led to it are far more personal than philanthropic. The Herald story attached says "As chairman of Accessible Properties, Sir Paul has helped to develop social housing in Tauranga, including negotiating to buy more than 1000 Housing New Zealand homes for the city." which reads well but in fact was the only single sale of NZ city or towns's entire – to my knowledge 1138 – Housing NZ stock. The only other one to come close was Invercargill which fell through.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12235832
The houses were already here – The Government will transfer ownership and management of 1138 Housing New Zealand properties and tenancies in Tauranga to a new landlord, Accessible Properties from 1 April 2017.
https://www.accessibleproperties.co.nz/tauranga-tenants/qas/
So "it" and he "developed" nothing other than to work with the National govt to pusrchase all of Tauranga's Housing NZ stock for an undisclosed amount and with the agreement that the tax payer would continue to meet the bill to bring them up to standard and that incl the flawed "P" testing and any work attached to that.
Having at the end of last year helped a young single working mum get decent accommodation in Tauranga we couldn't even work out if there a Housing NZ office in Tauranga or even who to approach so gave up even considering that – in the end we could fix it and there will be others in more need.
But getting back to "Mr" Adams the majority of his "philanthropic" interest seem to have been in the main local sporting and hobby groups and nothing too "socially" demanding. One thing is for sure that his previous "business" interests were very deep in a lot of ring-fencing land in the area that has benefitted a few rather than the many hopeful homeowners here.
As far and away the largest contributor to local MP Bridges election campaign funds how coincidental is this former award "It is not the first time he has been recognised in the Queen's Honours List after being awarded the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for business and philanthropy in 2015." and I wonder who made this nomination?
Thank you Rapunzel for shining a strong light into that particularly dark place.
For some people, saying someone is involved with IHC is an automatic reputational boost.
It ain't necessarily so.
At all happened here in Tauranga and scarcely a peep. Maybe, as we do have some good local advocates there is an "upside" in there that the general public don't see but for two or so years I have found the whole thing peculiar that it is painted in this light and comes with a "reward". More than a few "charities" look to me to be personal hobby horses and avenues for networking, and for some a salaried past-time, and are nothing more than that.
Quite a few of the murderous troughers seek to sanitise their careers with a spot of whitewashing charity work
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/25/save-the-children-furious-charity-global-legacy-tony-blair
Sadly the disability sector is crammed quite solid with such. They attract government funding for "advocacy" and "service provision" and get to sit on all manner of EAGs and TAGs and Consumer Consortiums and the like. The become dependent on the funding from the MOH or MSD or even ACC and the kudos that comes with being called a CEO (because, like, charities have to have a corporate structure) is quite a heady brew.
Their ability to do any real and effective hob-nailed boots advocacy is weakened as they are reluctant to challenge their Government/Ministerial overlords.
Have you read…https://www.victoria.ac.nz/sacs/pdf-files/Fears-constraints-and-contracts-Grey-and-Sedgwick-2014.pdf
All very depressing.
Thanks for the reality check and deconstructing the property developer cares more about people than profit BS.
This guy has done handsomely profiting from land development while his community suffers from possibly it's worst housing crisis in history. Not only that, but seeking to profit from our most vulnerable's housing situation is the lowest of the low.
He is no hero. The only heroes in this are people like all of those from Te Puea Marae who gave up their own meagre property/assets and time to house others in their hour of need.
Many knighthoods are bought and paid for, perhaps not in an obvious fashion, but nevertheless. It also helps to be the 'right sort of person', know the 'right sorts of people', have passed through the 'right educational institutions', been employed by the 'right organisations' and have made considerable donations to the 'right political parties'. Quid pro quo and all that. Nothing is unforgivable if you've done right by the 'right people'. You could, for instance, repeatedly assault a waitress in a public place, and as long as you atone for your misdeeds with a weak apology and a couple of bottles of plonk, you're away laughing. Nothing to see here, move along.
Alternatively, you could just be really good at throwing a ball about.
Toxic attitudes – what sort of shit would we find under your bed mr priest.
an occasion of sin revisited – sure mate we believe you NOT
Hey Marty, did you see Bishop Tamaki apologising on the tele news last night?
I am pretty sure it was the lead story, I have to admit being quite surprised and heartened.
Heartened, not so much https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113187353/destiny-churchs-apology-to-the-rainbow-community-a-cynical-play-for-votes
The Good Lord giveth and the Good Lord taketh away….occasionally within the same breath.
Blessed be the Name of the Lord.
You are getting sour Rosemary, try some honey with your lemon drink. There are too many negatives to notice them all without a break for some positives, and things to feel gratitude for.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/391053/destiny-church-s-brian-tamaki-says-sorry-to-gay-community-but-still-doesn-t-agree-with-homosexuality
I hope he is sincere – for his sake – his boss don't like insincere.
How to lie for beginners
1. lie
2. Keep lying
3. lie some more
Don't worry his thick supporters will lap it up.
What about the thick ones who voted for Clinton? Which are thicker, do you think?
Spot on Moz, Clinton who supported her rapist husband then jumps on me too movement, Hilary who vaporised her hard drive destroying 30000 emails, then burnt her phones, Hillary who lied about Libya God she even lied about how she got her first name, claiming our Ed. Give Trump his due over Hillary ; he doesn’t pretend to be somebody else than a narcissist bull shitter Likewise some of his policies are ok
Whataboutism is usually a bit more subtle.
Nope, you don't got it.
Are they going to sue him?
"Coltan is Venezuela’s Oro Azul or ‘blue gold’. In 2009, President Hugo Chávezannounced the discovery of reserves worth $100 billion of “the blue gold of the 21st century” in the Amazon region of the country.
The price of this blue gold follows an increasing demand for a high-grade metal known as tantalum, processed from refined coltan. Demand for coltan is so intense, it fetches a higher price on the international market than even gold or diamonds.
Tantalum is the metal used in capacitors that store energy in modern electronics like smart phones and tablets. Tantalum capacitors are also essential in powering modern military weaponry because the metal resists corrosion and can withstand the extreme temperatures generated by the new military applications. Without it, weapons systems would overheat.
The US relies on tantalum to build the basic circuitry in guidance control systems in smart bombs, the on-board navigational systems in drones, anti-tank systems, robots and most weapons systems.
The metal is vital to US defense. Yet, it has no domestic source of coltan. Importing and stockpiling tantalum is its only recourse."
https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11372
"The Rare Earth Threat
The third tool is exports of certain goods that are critical to some important U.S. industries.
One is rare earth metals, a group of minerals that are vital to advanced electronics and power systems, including smartphones, batteries for many applications including electric vehicles, and high-tech military weapons. China is the source of 80% of the world’s supply and there are signs the country has threatened a potential restriction of rare earth exports to U.S. firms, according to CNBC.
Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals that have a wide variety of uses, including electronics, magnets, lasers, ceramics, batteries, medical equipment, and optics. The name can be misleading, as, in theory, the materials are plentiful. But they are thinly distributed. The rare part is having heavy enough concentrations to make mining economically possible. A complication is environmental impact because processing uses dangerous chemicals and high heat that can release pollutants."
http://fortune.com/2019/05/29/rare-earths-bonds-and-permit-hell-three-weapons-china-can-use-to-escalate-the-trade-war/
We don't want to see two big powers going head to head – orange and black – too much colour contrast there. Red will be the next colour revealed, and grey, brown?
If the citizens of the USA took their hand off their hearts, which is a required response for saluting the USA and as ubiquitous as an outstretched arm in 1930's Europe (which also excited certain groups in the USA), then they might get a better understanding of the country they live in, and they could go two-handed at making it better. At present the USA is beefing up its wish for dominance in the China seas, which is trying to have a ring of protection around it, just like the USA has had probably since WW1. The USA is perverting the financial system by running a huge deficit for attack weapons of advanced type, threatening everyone's security, because it can – so bugger off everybody who quails and complains.
The Bellamy salute preceded the hand over heart jobbie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute
Mine of info joe 90. Hadn't heard of that – Bellamy salute eh. I must pull myself away from this addictive screen and go take part in the physical world. I will read about Bellamy later. Perhaps this is the modern version of hell, to be able to read all that has happened from which we have never learned, and only be able to watch a new version of the old play – perhaps called Love's Labour Lost or Titus Andronicus with a new name that relates to modern ears.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titus_Andronicus
All the conventions conspire To make this fort assume The furniture of home; Lest we should see where we are, Lost in a haunted wood, Children afraid of the night Who have never been happy or good.
1/9/1939 whauden
Sorry to wax woebegone.
But there is another material from Venezuelan soil that could be extremely valuable. Its name is torio (Thorium), and it has the potential of becoming an ecological nuclear fuel. Professor Eduardo Greaves, an expert in nuclear physics and a professor at Simón Bolívar University, pointed out that Venezuela has “a huge deposit” of Thorium in the Cerro Impacto in the southern state of Amazonas, which is part of the Orinoco Mining Arc, of which China knows all about, having directed the development of the geological and mining map of the Venezuelan territory. Greaves said these reserves could be used in thorium nuclear reactors for at least 300 years.
https://supchina.com/2019/01/14/venezuela-china-explained-2/
Thorium is relatively abundant everywhere; there is no shortage of it.
https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/thorium.aspx
There is a genuine and exciting rennaisance in the nuclear power game at present, especially around the various forms of molten salt reactors. These designs are completely different from the first generation machines, are much safer in operation, have much less waste and can burn existing waste stockpiles.
There are at least three companies who are within five years of an operating machine. Moltex and Thorcon are two that look very realistic, and this intro is less than five minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju59gcdmdvI
A great read on why another Brexit Referendum in itself will not address the woes in England.
“Another referendum may, conceivably, get us out of the worst practical consequences of the Brexit mess. But that will not win the culture war (what, anyway, does victory or defeat look like in a culture war?) and it is certainly fanciful to think that it would “cauterise the gaping national split and confront once and for all the many dark issue that lurk beneath the nativist Brexit idea,,” ”
http://chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/
The People's Budget
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNCMIjXMK9o
bloody hell Chair
snap!
Speak up, mauī. Why are you giving this (The People's Budget) the thumbs down?
Has Bryan Bruce received a gong? Ever?
Probably too honourable.
TBH, I don't know, Rosemary. But I do like his effort.
I sense he may be working on a doc that is going to hold Jacinda/Labour to account for their big talk and poor delivery.
Thanks chairman, I enjoyed that hour.
Can't help wondering if the statement from the floor about our financial system and government issued sovereign currency lies at the heart of a meaningful answer.
I fail to see the imagination let alone the courage for that to happen.
Prof Kelsey and her words on preparing for the changes needed were encouraging.
Social Credit Party Leader, Chris Leitch, told the party’s Canterbury Regional conference Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s budget could have contained an additional $6 billion in spending without costing taxpayers a single cent more.
Leitch said, the Finance Minister could save that amount every year on interest payments on the government’s borrowing.
Finance Ministers in Japan and China access funding from their central bank at no interest and use the money saved on interest payments to benefit their citizens.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2019/05/21/robertsons-budget-6-billion-short-social-credit/
Bryan Bruce mced a great town hall type panel and discussion last night
Trotter disappointing but probably to a degree correct.He says too many of us have done well(I'm talking baby boomers here)out of the property bonanza to feel urgency for those who haven't .His "grand old man of the left" routine was a bit too pretentious for my tastes, and I'm usually a fan of his historical offerings
Wayne Hope was impressive, as was Russell Norman, god I miss him as co leader of the Greens.
We could do with more of this stuff. Commentators from the coal face
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/
That discussion should replace the complete 6-7pm drivel on TV1 and the country would be better for it. No, it will never happen.
Yes, we could do with more of this stuff, francesca. Particularly in the mainstream.
And yes, bring back Russell Norman. It was interesting to hear (on the above screening) that it was Shaw that pushed for and succeeded in securing the BRR. Largely aligning the fiscal oversight of the two main parties.
I disagree with Trotter. Improvement doesn't require reducing the wealth of the majority. For example, a CGT wasn't going to apply to the family home. Kiwibuild (which was welcomed from across the political spectrum) objective was to slow the pace of increase, not reduce current values
Annie Newman from the living wage made a good point. And if we take the regional spend that the Government has been dishing out to the private sector as an example, where are the strings attached ensuring jobs the Government is fiscally helping to create are decent jobs that pay a living wage?
As the funding is already being given away, adding these strings wouldn't come at any extra cost to the Government.
Overall, it's well worth a look. It was a good discussion with many good points made.
Disappointing there weren't too many (if any) political faces (Greens, Labour, etc) seen in attendance.
Chris Trotter has to make a living and he has to be able to see the problems from both sides. I think he does well in being able to lift slightly and regularly the cloth of gold curtain of the comfortably off so they can receive peeks at life for the others, and so get some innoculation for the shock of the innovation of some disease-ridden policy that cuts down their supplies of goodies.
Trotter is himself 'comfortably off'.
Fanatics, cynics, sadists and moral cowards
Exhibit No. 1: The Panel, RNZ National, Tuesday 1 July 2014
JIM MORA: Now, Julian Assange on the catwalk.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: [highly amused] Yes!
MORA: How’s he going to manage this?
ZARA POTTS: Well, it hasn’t stopped him, his asylum claim hasn’t stopped him from doing all sorts of things. Even last week he opened rapper MIA’s New York concert with a ten minute Skype chat, so he’s pretty busy.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: I thought he couldn’t leave though.
ZARA POTTS: He does it all on his computer.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Oh, right.
ZARA POTTS: This is Vivienne Westwood’s son Ben, and as part of London Fashion Week, he is going to take the catwalk to Julian Assange in the Ecadorian embassy.
GRAHAM BELL: [derisive snort] Ha!
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: [querulous tone] How-w-w-w-w?
GRAHAM BELL: Some people will do ANYTHING to get publicity.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Ha ha ha ha ha!
ZARA POTTS: Ha ha ha ha ha! Yes, it’s not because he cuts a particularly dashing figure or wears clothes THAT well. The whole thing is a little bit more political than that. Ben Westwood is saying that he wants Julian Assange in his show so that Assange doesn’t slip into obscurity.
MORA: There’s not much danger of that though, is there.
ZARA POTTS: No. He’s wanting to highlight his plight.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: So he’s going to be modeling the clothes.
ZARA POTTS: Yes.
GRAHAM BELL: It’ll be the look for the very OILY character. Hm hm hm hm hm.
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Yeowww!
GRAHAM BELL: Hm hm hm hm hm.
MORA: How do they put a runway into an embassy? It’s basically just a big HOUSE, isn’t it.
ZARA POTTS: Maybe they’ve got a big hallway. The collection has been influenced by Clint Eastwood’s Western films and also Assange’s “combat beret look”.
….[General snickering, snorting and guffawing]….
ZARA POTTS: And there is also a garment with Julian Assange’s image printed on it. He he he he he!
DENISE L’ESTRANGE-CORBET: Ha ha ha ha ha!
GRAHAM BELL: Ho ho ho ho ho! Can’t WAIT!
MORA: Ha ha ha ha ha!
ZARA POTTS: The soundtrack is from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, so that will be something to, uh, see….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/graham-bell-continues-to-run-amok-on.html
"Abstaining from the witchhunt would have classed the dissenter as an enemy. Stalin was supported by fanatics, cynics, sadists and moral cowards."
—-Donald Rayfield, Stalin and His Hangmen: An Authoritative Portrait of a Tyrant and Those Who Served Him (Viking, 2004)
Do carry on.
https://twitter.com/HotPockets4All/status/1135206146158075910
An assurance of goodwill from a member of the lynch mob
Yesterday one of our resident fools, "The Al1en", interjected himself into a witchburning in order to offer the following assurance of future fair treatment for the bound and gagged victim: "@McFlock I'm sure he'll get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law." In the Deep South not so long ago, similar moral idiots turned to their neighbours and said: "@Travis I'm sure this ni*&er will get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law."
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-06-2019/#comment-1623641
Get a hobby.
Unfortunately, this is it.
Haven't you got some vitriol to pour over Assange? Why are you wasting your time making facetious little comments like that about me?
Still, it's funnier than your cat joke.
You mentioned me twice today. That caught my eye. Your continued attempts to make the world safe for Assange to commit rape (regardless of whether he actually did anything in 2010) hold my attention.
Apparently one wikileaks is good for at least two abandoned rape investigations, according to your ethical model.
Doubling down on your wild, fantastic allegations doesn't make them one whit more credible. Even if they are officially sanctioned by four rogue states. You know as well as everyone else in the world knows: there is no credible case against Assange—other than the case that he is a dangerous truth-telling journalist.
You know as well as everyone else in the world knows
Fuck, does that include me? Thanks for that, i didn't know that i knew. Now i know what i didn't know that i knew.
Sorry—maybe you're a flat earther and a flying saucer enthusiast. I was talking about people with an I.Q. above room temperature.
Wow, you managed to find two conspiracy theories that you don't believe in. Keep trying.
Ha
Ah! A choosy conspiracy theorist. A selective and discerning one. You believe that Assange is a tool of those cunning Russian masterminds, do you?
I don't believe anything about Assange. I don't have enough information to come to any conclusions. Funny to watch you though.
You should do some reading then, solkta. A lot of reading. And discriminate in your reading. Don't just swallow state media (The Grauniad, the Murdoch media empire, the BBC, MSNBC) wholesale.
See you back here when you've done your homework~
I've seen the kind of bullshit that you call homework.Remember that Skeletons in the Cupboard bollocks. Oh wait, you probably still believe in that. Keep trying.
In your case, the odds are more in favour that you're delusional rather than a liar.
Either way, you're still a rape apologist.
Just like those foolish lawyers in the Deep South who represented black men accused, with similar rigorous devotion to lawful process, of rape. They were accused of being "rape apologists" by people like you.
You remember when dolt45 said he could shoot someone on 5th avenue and not lose any voters? Yeah, that's you're support for Assange: unquestioning, and oblivious to reality.
You're about one tab of acid away from joining a suicide cult.
You can be as creative and ridiculous in your abuse as you want—comparing me to a Trump supporter, for pity's sake!—but it doesn't change the fact you've been caught out.
damn, looks like you popped that tab already.
Abuse away, my friend. You've been caught out, and abuse is all you have left.
Fire away: you haven't called me a Russian bot like one of your compadres did a while ago.
But this is also a different topic. I understand that you have difficulty distinguishing between separate issues, but come on, even you should be able to figure that one out.
“Apparently one wikileaks is good for at least two abandoned rape investigations, according to your ethical model.”
Just be thankful it wasn't Gary Glitter who ran wikileaks
Idiot you are.
So alleged rape is okay but you draw a line at kiddie porn?
lol
You laughed at that?
Well, it was funnier than your cat joke, I guess.
Like the best comedy, it's always based on truth.
I suspect 100% you'd be claiming the files were put on Glitter's hard drive by the cia and complaining conspiracy.
????
You're now claiming I'm a conspiracy theorist. Please carry on.
No, I said you'd be complaining conspiracy.
conspiracy
/kənˈspɪrəsi/
Learn to pronounce
noun
You and the rest of the woke have been quite pathetic in your assault on Julian Assange and anyone who might defend Assange and the democratic processes that are being trampled on by the U.S. People like me, we hold no ill will against Assange or the alleged rape victims but you and the woke Trying to curse out anyone who understands that the U.S isn't playing ball is just pathetic.
The simple fact you seem incapable of processing is that it is perfectly possible that Assange did wikileaks as well as committing sexual assault. People can be complicated. Do you think the Swedes invented an entire high-profile sexual assault investigation just to get Assange into their custody so they could extradite him to the USA? Because if they did not invent that investigation, he needs to go to Sweden and face it.
It wasn't "the Swedes" who concocted that fantastic allegation, it was some malignant strategist in the State Department. Instead of blaming "the Swedes", we need to be specific and narrow it down to the culprit: one very beleaguered and browbeaten State Persecutor, the Dishonorable Marianne Ny.
Is there any circumstance in which Assange could commit sexual assault and you wouldn't proclaim his innocence? I doubt it.
Sure: if he did. But fantastical allegations concocted by some evil functionary/functionaries at the U.S. State Department is not a compelling or credible case whatsoever.
Still, you're invested in this as surely as Tony Blair was invested in another campaign of destruction; you're never going to resile from your comments and your allegations now.
Please fire some more "rape apologist" slurs at me; they're as convincing as the case against Assange.
lol "if he did".
How would you know?
The onus is on the persecutors—-i.e. the people he and Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning exposed as mass murderers—to prove the allegations. They have no evidence whatsoever, and you know that as well as the rest of us do.
That wasn't the question.
My suggestion is that you would defend Assange even if he committed a crime because nothing would convince you that he had committed a crime.
So under what circumstances, as an internet denizen probably located in NZ, how would you know that some prosecutor's claims against Assange were true?
We literally have transcripts and records, and you're still adamant that he did nothing wrong. You refuse to countenance the possibility that they are accurate. So what would it actually take to convince you?
Evidence. There is none.
The two women who engaged in consensual sex with Assange both wanted all the proceedings against him stopped. They—just like you—could see that the state prosecutor was trying to fit him up.
Delusional right there.
I agree with that. Also…
Should he be extradited to the usa for the leaks? – No, even though it's cowardly on his part after Manning served time.
Should he go to Sweden, face up to the rape allegations and clear his name? – Yes.
And if the Swedes don't bring charges and require him in court? – Once his 50 weeks are up, deport him to Australia.
Are you even aware Australia revoked Assanges citizenship?
Are you sure?
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/apr/14/julian-assange-should-be-extradited-to-australia-father-says
“Morrison has previously said Assange, an Australian citizen, would have consular assistance available to him but would not get “special treatment”.”
Scott Morrison, that imbecile.
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/11/three-thoughtful-kiwi-commentatorswell.html
Irrelevant
“Irrelevant”? How so? The brutal, disrespectful, and witless chatter in that radio studio is a useful example of the intellectual and moral calibre of Assange's persecutors.
Because it's about the alleged rapist still being an Australian citizen as outlined in the quote from the link, not what you think of the PM.
It's a matter of public record that the U.S manufactured this whole situation. Could you even imagine how lonely the two alleged rape victims are right now knowing that the U.S is putting pressure on them and the Swedish state to produce results for the U.S. Are you even aware of your own ideology.
If that were the situation, he wouldn't have lost his extradition case.
I don't know what you are talking about. It is still a matter of public record that America orchestrated the whole affair
Sam, you're wasting your energy—-four generations ago, you would have had similar satisfactioin trying to reason with a Soviet commissar during the Great Terror.
I like it when you give sam encouragement.
Something sweet about a delusional encouraging a dunce.
I'll leave Sam to comment on the "dunce" crack against him. Now, how am I "delusional" exactly?
dosnt help prove your theories McFlock
Not my theories. I'm not the one claiming that he is innocent, or that he is guilty.
That's you guys claiming to know it's all a fabrication against poor, innocent Julian.
All that comes off of your keyboard, McFlock (lol) is slow learner, bigot, nazi, transphob, apologist for Assad/Putin/Assange/Trump/Rape with some a's Ames and buts mixed in. Although these ideological utterances separates McFlock (lol) and I, he's still debating at a pretty high level. What does separate McFlock and I is McFlock debates with a bit more emotion. This is why McFlock will regularly spam 100 or 200 or 300 comments and regularly pops in some ad homing only to then fain outrage at being retaliated against. While being emotional like this is a weakness a bit like being raped, it is a weakness although probably due to a lack of discipline or experience. When people get overly emotional there IQ falls several points and are not able to think clearly especially in a rape crises where margins of error are basically non existent.
So there you have it guys, too very different debating styles let me know which one you'd prefer. So I'll just allow for the crowds to decide who won, the Pro Assange side (my side) or McFlock.
I prefer commenters who deal with the topic at hand and don’t go off reserve attacking other commenters. Sam, you’re at your best here when you genuinely debate the topic and leave out the personal insults. Just saying.
Calm down Morrissey – you are just spreading hate and vicious talk and hysteria. We are up to our necks in it already. Please desist, take a deep breath, go out into the sun if you can find it, and dig the garden. Soothe yourself and don't exacerbate what we already have to put up with. We know what you know, we don't need to have it again brought up and shoved down our throats in large, violent gobstoppers.
… you are just spreading hate and vicious talk and hysteria.
So it's ME that's shouting "rapist" at a political prisoner and laughing at his suffering?
We know what you know, we don't need to have it again brought up and shoved down our throats in large, violent gobstoppers.
Certainly I'll stop reminding people that these vicious people are moral cowards and flunkies—as soon as they stop posting their lies, smears, and their unfunny jokes about Assange's cat.
There's only one person here shouting. Get a grip. You are shitting all over this place.
Are you still here? Could you actually compose something intelligent one of these days?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBQvt-t6NcA
Only a fucked up single minded, played out, one trick pony would compare the Swedish judicial system to one lynching black people in the deep south of the fifties and sixties to push a support point for an alleged rapist who fled from justice because he dished shit on the yanks and in particular Hilary Clinton.
Set the narrative however you want, but to borrow a phrase, rape enabling shitheel – Go fuck yourself
You mean this legal system… U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer on Assange…“In 20 years of work with victims of war, violence and political persecution, I have never seen a group of democratic states ganging up to deliberately isolate, demonize and abuse a single individual for such a long time.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErW1taJEPrs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErW1taJEPrs
The fuckup above compared the Jim Crow era with the modern day Swedish judiciary. If you want to agree with him on that point, and make excusing arguments for an alleged rapist who has done nothing to answer the allegations but fight extradition, lose, and run off to self imposed exile, so be it.
I think Morrissey has a point. Iv never heard of the U.S fighting so hard to have some one charged with rape since the Jim Crow days.
You're not familiar with the Central Park five?
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/06/when-they-see-us-shows-cases-impact-us-policy/590779/
Just aired.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7137906/
And please tell us with a straight face: you would have supported those young black men and not backed the "authorities" and their army of media and society backers in calling for what they termed those "animals" to be executed.
Well some determined special little soldier is enjoying setting false narratives.
Me, I don't fall into traps, especially the pointedly obvious ones. I just like to state my point and if others twist it to whatever the see as their advantage, that's what free speech is all about.
You, in between being Mr Angry from Cheam and welded to your warrior keyboard spouting bullshit at those who don't agree with you can stay playing at chief R.E.S, but unlike the incarcerated alleged rapist and you, I'm off outside for a freedom walk in the sunshine.
Me, I don't fall into traps…
?????
So what are you doing in a lynch mob?
The ones that I was concerned about was the ones involving U.S military and bureaucrats raping and murdering female adults and minors on a systemic level. Here we have the hypocrisy of the u.s and its apologists going hard out for Julian Assange.
.What you are saying here?…that the UK govt spent millions of pounds watching and monitoring Assange for the sake of a couple of alleged rape cases?
If you actually really believe this has anything whatsoever to do with those two woman in Sweden then (and I hate to be rude) you must be either extremely naive or extremely stupid
… you must be either extremely naive or extremely stupid
He's neither of those, Adrian. He's simply chosen his gang, his mob, and is sticking with it. It's prideful and ornery behaviour, which we see from many others on this forum.
He would indeed be stupid if he had been serious when he said to another member of that baying lynch-mob that he was sure that Assange will "get more support once he's faced and beaten the rape charges in a court of law."
But I don't think he believed a word of that statement.
Clearest case of projection you'll ever see on the internet from someone who, along with the same handful of regular Assange supporters/anti American/Clinton hating/Pro Putin bots, attempt to set their own narrative as default, shouting down any dissenting opinion with persistent insults, whataboutisms and an apparent mastery of the 'if you believe this' then 'you must believe that' trope.
I personally don't give a fuck if you want to, by way of your habit, spend your lives trying to make your views the only line The Standard will tolerate airing. I think it's great that you have the ability to push shit uphill in public and long may that last, but you have to realise you're not the tone setter, nor the final word, and as long as you continue exhibiting your agenda, you're always gonna get push back, especially when you’re wrong and nutty as a fruit bar.
As for starting topics with no other reasons apart from trolling, personal aggrandizing and the feel goods they obviously bring to someone like you, as you did here today, then they're just hit outs and no serious value can come from them. No points made, no minds changed, just internet fights for the bored of heart and simple of mind. Excellent to waste a few hours on, but ultimately pointless. Your success at it is also your biggest weakness, and you can’t even see it.
Clearest case of projection you'll ever see on the internet…
"Projection"? Oh, I get it: you mean that the witness becomes the crime he's reporting on. Very hard to understand, I must confess, but I guess you're a philosopher, a thinker of some kind? Zen, is it?
from someone who, along with the same handful of regular Assange supporters/anti American/Clinton hating/Pro Putin bots, ….
Well, yes, I do support the right of journalists to report the crimes of governments. So you got the Assange supporter bit right. But "anti American"? You'll need to justify that charge, but I don't think you have the ability to do that. "Clinton hating"? I'm opposed to the Clintons, certainly—Bill, Hillary, and their foolish daughter; but I don't hate them. Hatred, the foulest vituperation and the most malignant defamation is what we see every day displayed here on this forum towards the world's most famous journalist and political dissident. Of all your allegations, the one that intrigued me the most was the one claiming that I'm a "Pro Putin bot." Боже, помоги мне! Я русский робот!
Yeah, yeah, you're only playing with yourself, and I’m not a voyeur.
Come back when you're all kleenexed out.
Here you go, Al1en: an honorable way out for you….
https://media1.tenor.com/images/7227be633ae5578164544ffda8fd337e/tenor.gif?itemid=10882805
@ The Al1en, You haven't answered my question… that the UK govt spent millions of pounds watching and monitoring Assange for the sake of a couple of alleged rape cases?
They would have done the same if it were David Beckham or Elton John who'd skipped bail and hid in an embassy.
Do you really think so?, you are saying that you actually believe that the UK govt would have spent seven years and millions of pounds watching David Beckham if he had skipped bail?…seriously.
Any high profile fugitive would have received similar observation.
Adrian, you're wasting your time with this fellow.
"…who has done nothing to answer the allegations but fight extradition…"
Well that's not quite true, he was happy to be interviewed over the allegations and that only took 6 or 7 years for the authorities to get round to it even though they had the victim statements and the physical evidence. Once interviewed the case was quickly dropped thereafter.
The alarm bells should be ring-a-ding-ling-a-ling that something is quite amiss here.
@maui, "The alarm bells should be ring-a-ding-ling-a-ling that something is quite amiss here"
Yeah so you would think…..but strangely not for some.
He doesn't know what he means, Adrian.
And much closer to home in Australia we have another whistleblower being abused by the system. Note carefully his description of the debilitating stress of this:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-03/ato-whistleblower-facing-prison-says-he-almost-died-from-stress/11167954
And this for just one year.
Holy hell, that is one rough story, first time I have heard of it.
" He alleged that some ATO staff were instructed to use an aggressive debt collection practice known as garnishee notices, which allows the ATO to seize funds from the bank accounts of Australian taxpayers without notice or consideration of their circumstances."
I had business partner (long time ago) who had been audited by the IRD previous to out partnership, he told me it was the worst experience of his life, just under two years they took, said they looked into absolutely every facet of his life, and came up with SFA.
The only thing good to come out of it was that his books where immaculate at the end of the ordeal (that was his joke)..more than can be said of mine!
In my modest experience the most corrosive aspect of this kind of stress is the constant threat, uncertainty and instability. Until you've been through something like it for an extended period, most people have no fucking clue what it's like.
Yes that is true, although in no way as serious, I had a pretty serious burn out about fifteen years ago, brought on by small business stress, financial insecurity, young family, to way much work etc..what I learnt was, that when you step over that invisible line that many people are teetering on, you don't get to step back…it took me many years to fully recover, it was brutal.
That burn out, although terrible has had one very positive effect on my life, it gave me a very real insight into mental health both though my experience and through the reading I did on the subject when I was going through it.
Hence my utter disgust at the treatment of Assange, right out in the open, right in front of our eyes, and what makes it even worse is it is done with the total support of nearly all media, history won't judge this period well I think.
Until you've been through something like it for an extended period, most people have no fucking clue what it's like.
Tell me about it. It isn't a common experience so makes it even harder for people to understand the effects.
And I agree with Adrian thornton. While I don't take sides on the Assange affair, I do have sympathy for his current predicament no matter if he was responsible (in part at least) for bringing it about. The stress of isolation, being surrounded by enemies and the fear for his life is not only hugely debilitating but it is inevitable paranoia will set in as well – something the authorities after his blood are only too well aware.
You "don't take sides"? Why not?
What could possibly go wrong?
https://twitter.com/KPIXtv/status/1134688276542042112
Brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLKvViL8y_E
As the funding has now run out for cleaning up the pollution disaster on the West coast and the volunteers have had to resort to a give a little page to beg for donations to help stem a situation that will take the the next few years and a lot more than $300.000 put up by the government to sort this mess out it points too a larger problem on our back door step the Pacific.
Tipping point for Pacific waste problems – SPREP
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/391106/tipping-point-for-pacific-waste-problems-sprep
If government wasn't so busy fudging unecployment stats, in concert with OECD, they might make some Task Force Green action groups up from willing workers and give them a West Coast working holiday.
Yesterday we were talking about bringing sexual cases to justice and murder being covered up. I talked about Betty in Canada,
This morning on Radionz doco roundup the reviewer Sarah referred to ROLL RED ROLL is the true story of the Stubenville rape case – and how concerned journalists pulled the story together and pushed for prosecution.
I thought this was an important documentation and a sterling job by journalists to assemble unassailable facts that honour the live taken and dishonour the awful amoral system in Stubenville. So keep an eye out for it.
Sarah McMullan: Doc Edge Film Festival
Film Reviewer Sarah McMullan has checked out Doc Edge 2019: a festival of documentaries and will be talking about her top picks, including THE MENS ROOM, an all male Norwegian choir that prides itself on its beer-drinking ability and beards, who is asked to open for Black Sabbath – but that's not the only surprise they get. A NZ film that picked up two festival awards for its tale of six strangers walking the 800km Camino de Santiago (Camino Skies) Is 2019 the year of the asshole? ASSHOLE: A THEORY attempts to answer that question, while HALF THE PICTURE asks why are there so few women directing film and TV? What's going on and how do we change it?
And ROLL RED ROLL is the true story of the Stubenville rape case – and how concerned journalists pulled the story together and pushed for prosecution.
Have to go.
Selling the UK’s National Health Service to US corporations would cap off the grand brexit plan..
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/02/us-wants-access-to-nhs-in-post-brexit-deal-ambassador-to-uk-says
And how lucky are we that our last govt did not try the same here after the Australian insurance industry turned down the chance to own part of our ACC system.
Brexit has always been about opportunities for disaster capitalists.
https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/status/1135149199144771584
Absolutely. There's local's have sold up here just to play their dirty games in UK.
The world doesn't need these assholes anymore their use by date is long gone.
Does Eric Watson come to mind?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111250717/eric-watsons-battles-has-the-high-flyer-been-brought-low
Morrissey
My search isn't working and I can't find quickly where I said to you to ease up. Thinking about it I still feel the same, but recognise that I am in the same place so am going to follow my advice to you. If I can I will stay away from TS for a while and perhaps the news!
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-03-06-2019/#comment-1624129
You have not been 'spreading hate and vicious talk and hysteria' yourself but do enjoy some time away from the keyboard.
Thanks I find it hard to refrain. Bit addicted and look for intelligent comment on everything here. And often find it!
Not just children.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/113198575/children-need-to-learn-to-speak-well-to-function-in-society
Parents under stress, financially and time poor, don't have time to have lovely little conversations with their children. They have to be up early and dump their kids at school while they go to their poorly paid jobs and worry about explaining why their kids can't take part in things because their shoes, equipment are broken, stolen, or whatever.
They aren't meant to enjoy life because if they are strugglers and not getting enough to live on, its probably because they don't try enough. If they are on a benefit, ditto, and the immoral filter is applied to the Welfare view of them and happiness would mean that they were enjoying life on the benefit and the point is for them to get unhappy to get the lazy buggers out in the workforce where it is a cliche' that employment will be the motivator for them to be happy and successful
When I was at school what gave you 'class' was to be good at sport. Reading and expression and comprehension was second to that. So advice from the professionals needs to be more than exhortion – it could be how to initiate discussion on something at the meal table; what happened at school, what was new, how the kids' friends are getting on, whether their child is getting on, something that is coming to town and sounds interesting, ideas for their plot in the garden. My grandchildren often talk garbage at the table, turning it into some sort of game. Talking isn't the problem, they never stop or they sing. It's like being at a circus. Just some time together talking about something that interests them all and keeps them thinking about staying at the table and eating the meal would be good. They could vote for their favourite meal and plan meals for the weekend even.
"We do trust the judiciary to be independent and impartial…. I do trust Lt General’s Mateparae and Jones."
DR. WAYNE MAPP: I am pretty sure that most members of the current government also believe that the UK and Sweden have an independent judiciary. I would have thought it is axiomatic that one of the fundamental principles of our democratic system is that we do trust the judiciary to be independent and impartial, even if they do make mistakes from time to time. Since you mention Afghanistan, it will not have escaped your notice that I thought an independent Inquiry was necessary as soon as it was apparent there were credible allegations of civilian casualties (by Jon Stephenson in 2014 in his programme on Maori TV). But nevertheless, I do trust Lt General’s Mateparae and Jones.
MORRISSEY BREEN: In the 1930s people like you counselled concerned Germans to trust jurists like Roland Freisler.
DR. WAYNE MAPP: The Nazi comparison is offensive, as well you know. But not unsurprising from you.
MORRISSEY BREEN: All right, then: people like you counselled concerned Soviet citizens to trust jurists like Andrey Vyshinsky, and to trust that jury in Florida in 2013.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-02-06-2019/#comment-1623996
Unfortunately, this kind of horrifying expression of faith in the "justice system" is not limited to former Ministers of "Defence"…. https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/chris-trotter-reckons-zimmerman-jury.html
https://twitter.com/KongTsungGan/status/1134997550119784448
http://archive.li/yXt8j
The ALP has taken a turn right in Australia, they are now pro coal and anti Nauru asylum seekers. And all their climate policies are now under review. Albanese has said that the Australian public are clearly right of the current Labour position, so the ALP must go right to meet them. Not great news for progressives in Australia.
"In Canberra last week I met some Australian members of parliament. It gave me hope, because until I heard them speak I had always thought that Israel’s right wing politicians were the worst. —-(LAUGHTER)— I’ve never heard any Israeli politician speak about the Palestinian people the way that those Australian politicians did. But they are Australia’s problem, not mine. (LAUGHTER) I spoke with the Australian foreign minister; she talked and she was very nice but we could not agree on anything." (LAUGHTER)
—- Gideon Levy, speaking in Auckland, Dec. 3, 2017
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2017/12/unbelievable-brutality-day-after-day.html
"SCUM! Russian SCUM!!!" (Keith Olberman going nuts)
"We are at war with Russia!" he rants, hilariously. (Apologies to The Al1en, Andre and all the other conspiracy theorists on this mostly excellent site.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X02gJQZoeFg
Can a moderator please take out the trash. It's stinking up the place.
Suggested course of action for you, Sacha…..
https://media1.tenor.com/images/a3a8ff64e4cffc6673805840fd8b25ef/tenor.gif?itemid=10882889
Turd in aisle three.
?
Either this woman is seriously brain-damaged, or the new vacuum cleaner has arrived.
Sockpuppets are just another variety of the same stench.
Strike out the second option.
'Sockpuppets, the second option'
In Nelson we have had big paper advertisements for energyclub nz offering low this and that on electricity retail. I don't respond to cheapest, I don't trust big business and I haven't caught up with this company yet. Can someone who knows give me a quick low-down?
Chris Trotter at Bryan Bruce's town hall meeting for The People's Budget.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/100017/chris-trotter-says-left-can-detail-many-privations-too-many-our-citizens-they-cant
Chris Trotter says the left can detail the many privations of too-many of our citizens. But they can't figure out why poverty, inequality, homelessness and environmental despoliation are happening, so their political message doesn't connect