What a joke ! No “deliberate” misuse. What it really means – ‘Misuse then ? Well, if you must…..but do remember, this was not my finest hour……’
“In October, she said Mr Key had a “cavalier” approach to the OIA and had shown a “disregard for the law”. Her comments were in relation to Mr Key’s admission that his office sometimes waited 20 days to release information if it was in its political interests. Asked about her comments today, she said they were “not her finest hour.”
That’s a shame. The ‘finest hour’ may come along in the course of the next sinecure.
I am fully expectant that Peter Boshier will be no ones’ poodle.
Another whitewash on the way. And if Departments don’t have the resources to deal with OIA requests, who is it that funds the departments to resource themselves?
Morning Report this morning – 17 and 18 year olds locked down in their cells for 23 out of 24 hours at Serco Mt Eden – Minister of Corrections Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga “declined to comment”.
What the hell is going on ? Are Corrections/Serco actually the Minister of Corrections here ? Peseta Sam the mute titular ?
Oh I get it…….”Responsibility Responsibility Responsibility !”…….National Party style.
That’s old news,
you need to read more foreign media, more often.
For some reason most “international” stuff & herald stories are about 2-3+ days behind the rest of the world.
He said few residents feared coalition airstrikes, although former residents of the city who have fled across the border to Turkey told the Guardian last week of civilian casualties suffered even under carefully targeted bombardment.
While children and elderly people are often startled and disturbed by the sounds of the explosions, activists say the airstrikes tend not to hit civilian areas. Most, however, fear Russian airstrikes as they tend to target civilian neighbourhoods.
Why on erath would he say that if it wasn’t true? You can check out the journo group ‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ for yourselves if you care to smear them, but good luck saying they are ‘fans’ of ISIS or in anyway supporters of them. Video of Russian helicopters dropping dumb bombs on urban areas are also not hard to find, though RT tend to prefer the snazzy pics of jest taking off and cruise missiles. The clusters of 4 heavy bombs smashing into a neighbourhood? not so much airtime on RT for some reason.
There appears to be a lot of opinion in that article, PB.
“Why on erath (earth) would he say that if it wasn’t true?”
Really? I’m gobsmacked that you would even think that.
I have a healthy distrust of the media, mainly because I’ve been working in it for the last 25+ years. (obviously I’m not a journo, my grammer sucks)
Always ask, why am I being told this and who benefits from the outcome.
Russia is going to stay in Syria, Assad will remain in power, Iranian influence in the Middle East will increase, and US/NATO complicity with ISIS and other extremist groups will become increasingly obvious.
Oh great, It’s Captain Know Nothing back with off-topic reckons for the thread.
How did you get on finding an example of a helicopter being shot down by a TOW?
And weren’t you saying just the other day that Putin agrees with you that Assad should go? Yep, you were, but you were just making shit up, coz it’s what you do.
Why would he say that “few residents feared coalition airstrikes”? Or why would he say “Most, however, fear Russian airstrikes…”?
My impression is that nothing quite gels. I mean he also says..
“Britain has a powerful intelligence service and knows where to strike and when, not like the coalition.” (Wide-eyed astonishment at that one from over here)
Who is he?
From the same article Tim Ramadan, the pseudonym of an activist and journalist working clandestinely in the city
No agenda and no line to spin then and…well, what is an activist in the context of a multi faceted war situation?
edit: one fairly reasonable reason for him spinning (if he is) would be if he’s aligned with any of the so-called moderate opposition targeted by Russia but not by ‘the coalition’, yes?
And yes, like much of rebel held Syria they hate Assad, and ISIS.
Which doesn’t make what they are saying ‘not true’, right?
But given what the coalition are doing and demanding, and what the Russians are doing and demanding, what motivation would they have to say what he said.
Why say the new strikes will be pointless in effect, and that the Russian strikes are hitting civilians more often? They want ISIS gone, they really hate ISIS. They are literally risking death doing what they are doing, these activists in Raqqa, some of them have been killed by ISIS.
So if it’s not true that the Russian attacks are more feared by the population than the wetsern attacks why say it?
Does it square with other evidence, like footage of attacks?
I’m not saying that certain claims are either true or not true. And I don’t have any reasonably informed opinion that could be applied to your questions.
Maybe the ‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ site you mention is a reasonable conduit for information – I dunno. What I mean by that is that I haven’t given it more than a cursory glance atm.
My thoughts exactly. With so much misinformation and political points scoring going on, it’s hard to work out what’s actually going on..
But then, that’s the whole idea.
Russia has only one objective in Syria, the preservation of Tartus as it’s only western hemisphere naval base outside of the Crimea. Hey wait a minute, I’m seeing a connection here between russian adventures in the Ukraine and in Syria………
The preservation of their only open water naval base in Europe/Middle East. is their primary strategic goal, everything else, including war crimes and assad’s survival is secondary to this.
Stories in the press that Turkey are delaying Russian traffic through the Bosphorus for “administrative” reasons is an unwelcome power flex by the turks…..
Because he is directly responsible for the death of many hundreds of thousands of people and has no incentive to tell the truth
We live in an age where any media production, be it written word, audio or visual can be ‘created’, and should by default be treated as suspicious, fake or lies
IRONY ALERT: Paul “Kill Them All” Henry gets all serious and
denounces “the mindless rantings of one very nasty piece of work.” Paul Henry, TV3, Thursday 3 December 2015, 7:10 a.m.
hypocriten. 1. a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs; 2. a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.
In a supreme act of projection this morning, Paul “Kill Them All” Henry glared at the camera with his special “serious” expression and intoned: “It’s just the mindless rantings of one very nasty piece of work.”
That’s an odd thing to say for someone who just two months ago was ranting about the “political correctness” gone mad of giving a ferry a Māori name…
anyone see this? My understand of the flag wastage was that anyone could either rank as per preference, or rank as little as one.
However here they say….rank all or ‘it won’t count’
Are they now giving out invalid/false information?
From the letter accompanying the voting paper: Instructions: A: Rank the flag designs in the order that you prefer them. You can rank as few or an many as you wish, from 1 to 5. Write 1 in the box under the flag you prefer most. Write 2 in the box under your next preferred flag, if you have one, and so on. Do not write the same number more than once.
No, what they are saying (I think) is that if you want to put your most hated flag ranked last, start with making it #5, but you then have to vote for #1, #2, #3, #4 as well or your vote will be invalid. Another example would be if you wrote #2 and #3 and nothing else, that would be invalid too. Presumably.
It’s still completely stupid advice from Fair Go given that we still don’t do this kind of voting well, but I think it reflects how fucked up the whole thing is when our state broadcaster feels the need to tell people how to vote based on the most hated design.
Thanks Weka – and I agree. It says something about the whole process/project if people need to be told how to express their hatred of designs in a way that does not invalidate their vote.
Apparently that QR code on your ballot paper contains a unique number that starts out tied to your name and is used to make sure no-one votes twice.
That means it is vital you don’t mark any part of that QR code.
If you do, it won’t be logged as a protest, probably just as an unreadable slip of paper.
You’d hope the Electoral Commission makes sure the names are stripped off the QR codes before that list of numbers is used to validate your voting paper, rendering them anonymous.
I have more than hope, I have a strong certainty, but the Electoral Commission is understandably a bit coy about explaining its internal security measures, so that’s the part we need to take on trust.
That’s alright then, because we really trust this government and its computer data competency.
Every voting paper has a secret number on it. If the same name is crossed off the roll more than once the number on the voting paper is opened so that the person can be checked/interviewed to see if he has voted twice. What he voted is immaterial. Could a dishonest person find out what you voted? Possible but you have to trust the integrity of staff. Works OK so far.
I see no reason why the Electoral Commission cannot be trusted to operate the system honestly and fairly. It would be a very risky proposition for the government of the day to try and interfere with a democratically run voting system such as ours. Voters of all stripes would reject them outright.
I’ve been saying on this board for years that the government can track how people vote and now you’re surprised to find that they can?
as for this bit:
You’d hope the Electoral Commission makes sure the names are stripped off the QR codes before that list of numbers is used to validate your voting paper, rendering them anonymous.
The name wouldn’t be in the QR code itself but the QR code will relate back to the name in the database.
That’s alright then, because we really trust this government and its computer data competency.
Actually, the problem is trusting the competency of the private firm that wrote the software.
Cameron and Key use practically interchangeable slurs when cornered by their opponents. It should remove any doubt as to whether Cameron or Key are cold, calculating sociopaths or a loudmouthed bully boys, because they are obviously both.
As do the Lib/Nats in Australia. Its why we have centre-left referred to as “hard Left” whilst they call themselves “centre Right” – it creeps into the MSM in NZ, Aus and GB within a very short time. Look at the how Tony Abbot’s “Death Cult” description of ISIS is now part of their vocab.
I’ve been waiting to hear JFK start talking about “the New Zealand People”. It started in the US and is common in Australia and GB. Another little gem is “the truth is ……… this or that”.
It’s what the hard Right CT do best, and they have their little disciples like Matty Hooten and Paul Henry doing their best to propagate the spin – consciously or not (going forward).
It’s not unlike those in the banking sector – you know – those expert economists.
The sharemarket always goes up or down “on the back of …… “.
(At this point in time) BEWARE THE BULLSHIT! (going forward)
This government sure seems to be getting a reputation for enabling “modern” slavery. I wish the labour party would make more of a fuss instead of letting NZFirst turn it into an anti-immigration issue. After all it is the LABOUR party. I wonder if the police are much involved in looking into this sort of stuff. Do they have a transnational crime expert there and if so what issues is he focusing on instead… Cocaine? Whipping up fear in the Asia-Pacific over ISIS?
Yet another disgraceful, extreme ten minutes from Dame Ann Leslie.
Why is this ghastly old trout accorded the status of “U.K. correspondent”?
RNZ National, Thursday 3 September 2015, 9:50 a.m.
KATHRYN RYAN: Our U.K. correspondent is Dame Ann Leslie and she is in London. Good morning!
DAME ANN LESLIE: Good morning!
KATHRYN RYAN: Crazy old world it is. Your parliament is having an intense debate tonight on whether to commit to bombing Daesh in Syria.
DAME ANN LESLIE: It’s absolutely unbelievable that this debate is taking one whole day. As is well known, Raqaa is the nerve centre of the bloody attacks on Paris. But our planes are obliged by an earlier decision of our parliament to avoid flying over Syrian air space. Now, you may detect a slight political bias in what I say next, but Labour with its new, rather muddled, faintly loopy, hard left leader Jeremy Corbyn…. [she embarks on a rambling denunciation]… I think Cameron WILL win, but it will be nail-biting. I’ve lived long enough to know how unpredictable war is. There are some things we have to deal with, for example Turkey, which has been slightly pro-ISIL. They used to line their tanks up on the border, watching various factions fighting. Um, the thing is really, one of the main problems is Turkey, because they are aligned with Daesh, allowing Daesh’s oil across the border, which has been illegally acquired, to sell on the secret market. Then of course there is the other issue, which is sectarian basically, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Turkey is making a mess of things, frankly.
KATHRYN RYAN: I’m looking at a comment by William Hague, saying don’t rule out British boots on the ground.
DAME ANN LESLIE:[wearily] Ohhh!
KATHRYN RYAN: Now people are talking about boots on the ground again.
DAME ANN LESLIE: Everybody agrees that this will be a long drawn out conflict. Destroying Daesh won’t work unless there are boots on the ground. The question is WHOSE boots?… I’ve worked a lot in the Middle East and it really is the MOST APPALLING MESS…
KATHRYN RYAN: All right. The question is: does the UK want to be ANYWHERE near it?
DAME ANN LESLIE: Well the thing is, we have been very stupid in the West. We had the idea that if we went into these Godforsaken countries we would be greeted with flowers from the people we had liberated. ….Then you get the appalling business of sectarianism. The Sunnis don’t want the SHIAS involved, and the Shias, especially Iran, don’t want the Sunnis involved…. I feel very depressed by the whole thing.
KATHRYN RYAN: Let’s finish with a festive note. Can festive fairy lights wreck the British Christmas?
DAME ANN LESLIE: Ofcom has said that fairy lights will wreck our traditional family Christmas, because they interfere with wi-fi. ….
Mercifully, the time pips start sounding….
KATHRYN RYAN:[with evident relief] Oh dear! Ten o’clock!
I sent the host of Nine to Noon the following email….
Dear Kathryn,
You allowed your U.K. correspondent Dame Ann Leslie to denounce Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as “rather muddled, faintly loopy, hard left”. That was an extreme and biased comment by any measure, yet you chose not to challenge it, or even to politely ask her to explain why she had used such demeaning language.
Are you not allowed to challenge anything she says? Are you obliged to simply go along with it?
Yours in concern at the standards of public broadcasting,
+100… Dame Ann Leslie is such an obvious right wing Tory toff she is entertaining…she shouldnt be taken seriously…however she shouldnt be allowed blather along unchallenged ….surely Ryan can engage more with her and challenge her monologue occasionally ?
…and why cant we have Ken Livingstone on as a commentator to give the other side?…here he is on Sophie and Co
‘West discredited itself with invasions, able to stop nothing now – ex-mayor of London’
“After Islamic State strikes in the heart of Europe, nations are ramping up their security. Now, the debate rages about whether being secure or being free is the most important. And when jihadists attack, anti-Islamic sentiment gains momentum, with hate crimes threatening to spike out of control. How do you keep heads calm? Is bulk data collection, after all, needed for peace and stability? We pose these questions to a veteran British politician, former mayor of London – Ken Livingstone is on Sophie&Co today.”
She grew up in “the Punjab” dontcha know. She’s ‘very well connected’.
Whilst I admire Kathryn Ryan for much of what she does – she does like to maintain a ‘balanced portfolio’ and maintain an image of fairness and balance.
Challenging bullshit is just not the done thing dontcha know – even amongst those that consider themselves amongst the Kiwi-well-connected-elite (or the Elite Cult).
How else do you explain “The Panel’? (going forward)
Oh ….. btw, I notice The Dame hasn’t been on Dateline London for a very long, long time – perhaps Gav’s not been too kind to her, or his ‘bit of fluff’ doesn’t particularly like her condescension
Mora’s ‘The Panel’ is ghastly…I try never to listen to it!..In fact I find Dame Leslie more congenial ( dare I say it…I find her entertaining like a poncy aunty and I like the way she speaks)
Oh Morissey Darling! What a truly truly monstrous thing to say. Really! That’s horrid – really it is!
Why the Dame has a wealth of life’s experience, and Kathryn has launched a thousand carreers (including a few talking head ‘panelists’ we now hold so very very dear).
How dare you challenge them!
It really is such bad form!
/sarc (as if)
Pharmac have denied terminally ill people with melanoma a promising drug which has benefitted a third to two thirds of people with incurable melanoma. The cost is about $300,000 per person. Australia and the UK fund the drug but not stingy NZ. The cost of the drug would cost the government 30 million per year.
What upsets me the most is that the rich can afford to purchase the drug and a savvy poor person would have to fund raise, (which would require abundant energy).
It must be awful being an oncologist in NZ because of being limited when it comes to prescribing life saving drugs which Pharmac will not fund.
Pharmac, like most other government organisations, could do with a significant funding boost and no political interference (like the Herceptin campaign pledge).
It’s akin to manslaughter, allowing people to die, when they could be helped. Only the super wealthy can afford this drug. You wouldn’t even need to poor to be left to die, if you needed this drug.
There was a young man, just a teenager, with melanoma on telly the other night at yet another fundraiser for this particular drug, Keytruda I think it’s called. He said he has to raise $30K every 3 months. He has a givealittle page and he was at a fundraiser event when he being filmed.
His family and himself work full time on the fundraising. How frightening to be in his shoes, having your life depend on the kindness of strangers, and never knowing if there will be enough money. How do people fare who don’t have a supportive family and don’t have the strength to work out how to get absurd amounts of money out of thin air?
The other name is Pembrolizumab. The bro bit might be the generous people in NZ who donate to try and save a life e.g. the young 22 year old who has a give a little page.
“There is a rapidly emerging consensus that – as we discovered 80 years ago but then forgot – austerity is the wrong response to recession. We are learning that lesson all over again. Even in terms of its own stated objectives, austerity has failed; the supposedly central priority of eliminating the government’s deficit remains a long way from being achieved, while the deficit that really matters – the country’s continuing failure to pay its way – remains unattended to and is getting worse.
In the meantime, poverty and inequality increase, housing is increasingly unaffordable, net investment is virtually zero, the prospect of a revival in manufacturing is non-existent, and an unsustainable consumer boom fuelled by asset inflation underpins our rake’s progress to decline.?
Have to say, I was pretty convinced I was going to spoil my voting paper, but when it comes down to it, I really can’t be bothered even sending the thing in. And I’m a committe voter.
The clearest explanation of the evil of corporate tyranny and the death of democracy I’ve heard so far:
Democracy Sold Out To Greed
The video helps me to bring home that “Western democracy” is a sham, a total lie.
Every Western government and Washington’s Asian vassal states are totally under the control of private corporations and private interest groups. The corporations govern, and they are in the process of institutionalizing their governance with the Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic Partnerships. The purpose of these “partnerships” is to make global corporations higher than the laws of the “sovereign” countries in which they do business.
Anything, whether law, rule, regulation, or moral principle that interferes with corporate profits is outlawed as “a resraint on trade.”
Western civilization is over and done with. Nothing remains except historical achievements that are no longer understood or appreciated.
..where is the NZ Labour Party on opposing this….neolib corporate fascist attempt at takeover of New Zealand democracy and sovereignty?…scarcely a peep!
Hi Comrade Rosie….yes I did see it and I didnt answer because Savenz answered for me…on the reasons why there needs to be a new Labour Mana Party
There are many reasons why the last Election was lost
1.)…Cunliffe was relentlessly attacked by the msm…and not supported by the Labour Party caucus even although he was the grassroots Labour vote….and it would seem that there has been a concerted campaign against him and his supporters on the Left of the Labour Party for some time
( here is what i asked on the Daily Blog)
“Is the ABC faction actually a fifth column?
…I mean looked at it historically, it has been going on at least as long as Shearer
2.) In a stunning move Labour turned against Hone Harawira in the TTT electorate and effectively excluded Left party Mana winning four seats and a Left coalition winning that election…gifting it to Jonkey nactional…Mana was working for the poorest of the poor in New Zealand ….this was unforgivable by the Labour party ….and it does not deserve to be called Labour
( …and it turns out that Lusk was apparently bribing Maori not to vote for Hone Harawira !….Nash has had dealings with Lusk
…”Simon Lusk also claimed on Story he had been instrumental in unseating Mana Party co-leader Hone Harawira in the last election. Unnamed “businessmen” had paid thousands for that, he said. And in conversation with his co-host last Monday, Duncan Garner said money had been paid to get Maori electors to vote in Te Tai Tokerau.
Was political operative Simon Lusk really paying people on behalf of clients to influence an election? Disappointingly, no more was said about this claim.The following day, Duncan Garner posted a statement from Simon Lusk on the websites of TV3’s Story and Radio Live. In it, Simon Lusk said:
Iwi now have extensive databases of members who they can easily mobilise. Assembling a team of 50 or 100 iwi members to get out the vote is straightforward, legal and effective if it is possible to raise some koha.
He added that “if you’re not paying for votes or offering anything in exchange for a vote, or treating,” it is not against the law. But that statement didn’t answer key questions: How much was paid? By whom? And for what purpose? …
…”Duncan Garner also revealed supporters of Labour’s Napier MP Stewart Nash paid Simon Lusk to canvas the option of a new political party…)
Now we have Little’s Labour demoting and shunning Cunliffe and Mahuta yet again….even although Mahuta brought in the Maori seats for Labour and Cunliffe was the Labour grassroots choice for leader ( Little cant even win his own seat, nor ccan Robertson and Adern)
Quite apart from all this, Labour has shown NO leadership in opposing the TPP
So yes I would support another “Labour” Mana Party which is genuinely Labour ( this Labour Party does not deserve the brand name “Labour”…It deserves to be taken off them)
“In a stunning move Labour turned against Hone Harawira in the TTT electorate and effectively excluded Left party Mana winning four seats and a Left coalition winning that election…”
Do you really believe this nonsense Chooky? I feel your heart is in the right place but this is nonsense. I like Hone Harawira very much and believe he is a good person, but he made a very stupid mistake signing up with Kim Dotcom.
He lost a lot of credibility with Māori in Northland because they felt he had sold out – unlike you I actually know many Northland Māori. He lost control of his party. He begged Dotcom not to have the “Moment of Truth” just before the election because Hone is politically astute enough to know that is would be distorted by the media and would lose the left votes, as it inevitably did. I was sitting very close to Hone that night and his unhappiness was obvious.
all Dotcoms fault then?…well Jonkey would certainly agree with you!…but it is a bit simplistic…and Dotcom was up against the corporates too …so whose side are you on?…certainly not Dotcom’s ( is this little Labour policy as well?)
…and I note you have carefully avoided any of the other points
I have been too busy with work to look at the Standard again until now – if I had I would have corrected my last line to “Davis deserved that seat.”
The reason I didn’t deal with your other “points” was that they were too ludicrous to bother with. If you really believe that Lusk had anything to do with Davis winning then you really are very foolish. You are actually doing exactly what Lusk et al want you to do – whether deliberately or through ignorance I have no idea.
If you actually read what I said a bit more carefully you would understand that I am not blaming Dotcom, I am saying when Mana signed up with Dotcom they not only lost a lot of credibility with many of their supporters, but Hone lost control of the party he had co-founded. Sue Bradford could see what would happen but Hone couldn’t.
I have been very impressed with Davis this year – why not look at what people do rather than indulge in ill-informed conspiracy theories.
Hi Chooky. Thanks for the thoughts. Have run out of time to respond in any meaningful way.
Except to say I totally get what you are saying about treatment of Mahuta and DC. I agree. I’m with you on that. I also saw the programme about Simon Lusk, his bribing of Maori voters of TTT and his connection with Nash. But, I’d say ditto to what Karen is saying below. It’s a long bow to draw a connection between Lusk and Kelvin Davis in TTT. Lusk just hated Hone. Fool that Lusk is.
Also, I still don’t think a new party will solve anything, help the left or the people that need left representation.
@ Rosie …i am not saying there is a connection between Davis and Lusk…where did I say that? ( reframing of the issues?)
I am saying Davis and Labour should NOT have stood against Hone Harawira and Mana Party …which were for the poorest of the poor
I am saying it looks as if Lusk paid Maori not to vote for Harawira
I am saying it looks as if there is a connection between Labour’s Nash and Lusk…on a different issue
( It would be very interesting to know exactly what other connections /dealings Lusk has had with New Zealand politicians…and Labour politicians…such connections would be very compromising indeed, I would imagine)
As regards a new Labour Mana Party…well it depends on how much you can stomach from the party which calls itself ‘Labour’ …and it depends on how many people feel there is a need for a new Labour Left (Mana)Party
…certainly there does seem some support for it given the treatment of Cunliffe ( the membership choice) and Mahuta (and the Maori seats)…and Harawira (and Mana)….and the Labour Party leadership non action on TPP
I don’t want to support any status quo Chooky. I’m feeling very uncomfortable /conflicted about being in Labour now. Check out my comments on the “Labour Mayor for Wellington” post if you want to see why I will not be voting for Labour Mayoral candidate Justin Lester.
Theres a shit load of stuff that may or may not happen in the next two years. We might yet be surprised. Holy moly, if David Cunliffe, in some weird twist of alternate reality become leader of the Greens then I’d party vote Green.
I am however, strongly opposed to voting for Labour ticket Justin Lester as Mayor of Wellington.
Cunliffe was born Labour and will die Labour.
He would never ever join another party.
While some Green values overlap or are complimentary to those of Labour the two parties are different.
No no no. Cunliffe is not leaving Labour. All of us should remain and make our best possible contributions to ensuring its values are protected and applied to real lives.
In many ways David Cunliffe is a better fit for the Greens….not least of all because the Greens are to the Left of Labour
( except for Greens idiotic championing of bloody Red Peak corporate flag which i blame on try hard Shaw and that other grinning baby face muggins Gareth Hughes..and a few others who i wont insult)
Just checked the ‘TransTasman’ so called ratings of Politicians.
What a laugh! Act’s noname on top rated highest. Nats good… Labour bad.
Dyson one of the hardest working MPs standing up for her constituents in Redcliffs even though they didn’t support her locally in the elections rated about lowest with the same rating as Nuk Nobody whom she thrashed and has nothing to say about Parata’s attack on the people of his pretend electorate of Port Hills.
Still we can’t expect any real information from a $500+ a year right wing rag started by national MP Hugh Templeton/s brother and bought out by another true blue right winger.
Right up Tracey Watkins alley this nonsense.
I listened to Mark Sainsbury a few times until his panel with the so-called views from the left and right consisted of 2 rightwing commentators. Happened a few times so turned off after that.
The commissioner running the Southern District Health Board will have her term extended under special legislation introduced to Parliament today, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has announced.
It means the promised return to a democratically elected board next year will not happen…
When the team was appointed in June, Dr Coleman said their term would finish on December 2 next year, shortly after the election of a new board.
I’m not surprised; as this slow motion disaster of an underfunded public health system down south has been a long time disintegrating. Also, it was only yesterday (a year to the day before the commissioner’s term was supposed to expire) that:
Auckland District Health Board’s chief medical officer has been named as the final member of the politically appointed group guiding the Dunedin Hospital redevelopment.
Although called the ”Southern Partnership Group”, four of its five members are in the North Island – three of them in Auckland.
What’s up with Stuff.co’s infuriating new recommended stories drop down menu? Hope they get enough feedback to get rid of it asap or give us a way to disable it permanently.
. . . there’s a bit of tweaking required for New Zealand specific sites and for when new “features” are imposed. The new drop down is to encourage clicks on what is euphemistically called “partner content” but, really, is advertising.
The front page of the November 29, 1947 edition of the New York Times read “[General] Assembly Votes Palestine Partition; Margin Is 33 to 13; Arabs Walk Out; Aranha Hails Work as Session Ends.”
Why were the Arabs angry? Because, for the indigenous Palestinians, the deal was a thoroughly bad one. Palestinians comprised approximately two-thirds of the population, yet were offered just 43 percent of their land in the deal.
“Aranha” refers to Osvaldo Aranha, a Brazilian diplomat. As president of the U.N. General Assembly, Aranha lobbied strongly on behalf of the Zionist movement (a settler colonialist Jewish nationalist political movement that called for the creation of the state of Israel). He delayed the vote on resolution 181 by two days in order to give the U.S. and other pro-Israel countries more time to pressure U.N. member states to vote for the plan. Scholar Fred Khouri writes that, in these two days:
“The United States and Zionists led the lobbying efforts of the pro-partition forces. The delegates, as well as the home governments, of Haiti, Liberia, Ethiopia, China, the Philippines, and Greece were swamped with telegrams, telephone calls, letters, and visitations from many sources, including the White House, congressmen, business corporations, and other fields of endeavor. As a result of these tremendous official and nonofficial pressures, Haiti, Liberia, and the Philippines finally agreed to vote for partition.”
These last-minute changes ensured that resolution 181 would have the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass.
The following is the U.N.’s map of the proposed partition. The blue areas comprising roughly 57 percent of the land were to be allotted to Jews; orange areas were to be allotted to Palestinians. Jerusalem was to be left under the governance of the international community, because of its historical and religious importance for numerous religions and cultures.
The Partition Plan was never implemented, however. The very next day after it was voted on, the 1947-1948 war broke out.
In this war, Zionist militias systematically ethnically cleansed large portions of historic Palestine, sacking hundreds of Palestinian villages and expelling more than 750,000 people — around two-thirds of the indigenous Arab population. Prominent Israeli historian Ilan Pappé notes that, in Israel’s Plan Dalet (also known simply as Plan D), “veteran Zionist leaders” created “a plan for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.” They dispatched military orders in March 1948, Pappé explains:
“The orders came with a detailed description of the methods to be employed to forcibly evict the people: large-scale intimidation; laying siege to and bombarding villages and population centres; setting fire to homes, properties and goods; expulsion; demolition; and, finally, planting mines among the rubble to prevent any of the expelled inhabitants from returning.”
Plan D “spelled it out clearly and unambiguously: the Palestinians had to go,” writes Pappé. …..
Denouncing Kylie Jenner took up nearly five minutes on The Panel today;
But not even one second of indignation about today’s decision to bomb Syria.
RNZ National, Thursday 3 December 2015, 4:56 p.m.
Jim Mora, Tony Doe, Annah Stretton, Julie Moffett
hypocrisyn. 1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. 2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. 3. an act or instance of hypocrisy.
JIM MORA: It is International Disabilities Day, which is a terrible coincidence, given the shootings in San Bernardino. And, ahhh, that has made what Kylie Jenner did, ahhh, a topic of discussion, much discussion on the internet. So Kylie Jenner from the Kardashian clan has angered disabled people by posing in a gold wheelchair for a magazine cover. And she’s got some kind of bleak, she’s aiming for a bleak sort of futuristic look, isn’t she, with her—she looks like a robot, she’s trying to look like a—
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah she does, yeah, yeah.
JIM MORA: And the quote going around the world, seeming to come from her but not actually, she didn’t say this, people are assuming she did, is: “Wow! Being in a wheelchair is so fun and fashionable!” So that is the, that is the quote being aired in, ahh, all the reports on this. …[baffled sigh]…. Would you put one of your models in a wheelchair?
ANNAH STRETTON: Snorts to show what she thinks of Kylie Jenner.
JIM MORA: This is the interesting question here.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah I don’t know why we’re giving this any air time. Ummm, y’know the reality of is it’s just stupid, as perhaps this whole thing is around the Kardashians, but, uh, no, no I wouldn’t put one of my models in a wheelchair. There IS a sensitivity around disability, and you know I would sit very uncomfortably with anything like this, and I just, I think this is just bizarre.
JIM MORA: Seventeen year old Ophelia Brown posted her own image and says “I wanted to show her that being in a wheelchair is not glamorous or fashionable or fun. A wheelchair’s a big part of my life. She seemed to be sitting on it for fun, or to look more edgy and cool, and I felt overwhelmed with annoyance and jealousy that she could just get in and out of a wheelchair.” And you can completely understand this reaction. But uh, errrrrmmm, it, it’s been defended as well. Uh errrr, people are saying, Look, you know, she didn’t necessarily mean anything by it, it’s just a shot of her in a wheel—- How do YOU view it, Tony?
TONY DOE:[lengthy pause] Tut. Yeah, “not necessarily meaning anything by it” is, errrr, it’s like “I was only obeying orders” or something like that isn’t it. I mean, you’re sort of INVOLVED, whether you like it or not, and the overall impression is, um, not good and to be fair, I mean these people, the Kardashians, they must have more P.R. advisers than Heaven knows who, and umm, you’d have thought that one of them might have tapped her on the shoulder and said, Oy, that’s not a very good idea doing that. Y’know, don’t because it’s gonna make, it’s bad for your image for a start, and it’s actually a rather crass and insensitive thing to do, so don’t do it.
JIM MORA: Or is the publicity the, is that what is the most important thing now? As with that—I don’t really wanna talk about the Caitlin Jenner billboard in Auckland, I mean, goodness knows it’s on the front pages of the online newspapers anyway. But, errrr, because not necessarily because it gives it oxygen, but ahhh, because media are so reactive now, but is that part of the point? And is it just gonna get worse and worse, so you can’t ignore people making statements, ‘cos they know it’s all, it’s going to cause outrage, it’s going to be reported.
TONY DOE: Y-y-y-yeaaahhh, it, it, it is a deliberately provocative act, and the idea is to get attention, and Mission Accomplished, isn’t it. You know, I mean, it draws attention to that fashion label. This is the, there was the story in the media today, I think, about a men’s accessories place, with rings, men’s hands on naked women—
JIM MORA: Oh yes, I saw, I saw the headline there.
TONY DOE: Yeah, a very similar sort of a thing, where the man’s hand with all these rings on it is on the back of this woman, um, he’s got clothes on, she hasn’t. People are saying it’s misogynist and various other things but the line of rings has sold out.
ANNAH STRETTON:[Guffaws sardonically] Huh.
JIM MORA: That’s the thing.
ANNAH STRETTON: Reacted to it, yeah.
TONY DOE: So, whatever happened, people wanted the rings, and the fact that all that attention was given to that advert drew people to that website and drew people to that product and they actually liked it when they saw it.
JIM MORA: Yeah, and Annah, you say quite reasonably I dunno why we’re discussing this, but presumably it may have the, y’know it’s supposed to educate people and shame them into silence and have billboards taken down and so on, but it may produce a kind of cacophony of constant rudeness, as people try and get edgier and edgier and edgier. That may well be the result.
TONY DOE:
ANNAH STRETTON: I dunno, we’ve got the billboard and we’ve got the wheelchair and they’re both the Jenners, aren’t they, with the—
JIM MORA: Yeah.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah, um, I think a lot of it, they don’t NEED the publicity, so I don’t understand why they had to go into this space to get it, because there’s a lot of other ways that they could, um, yeah, I, I, I, I dunno, I just think that, y’know, people that are forced in to wheelchairs because of a disability, ummmm….
JIM MORA: Don’t appreciate seeing HER sitting in one.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah. She doesn’t need to DO this. I don’t understand it, I really don’t understand it. And I don’t, obviously you can see that I don’t have a lot of time for the Jenners either, so—
TONY DOE: Ha ha!
JIM MORA: No I got that impression—-
ANNAH STRETTON: Heh heh.
JIM MORA: —-from your general tone.
TONY DOE: Yeah.
ANNAH STRETTON: Ah, heh heh.
As Annah Stretton continued her restrained snickering, the welling sounds of “Carmina Burana” signaled that, mercifully, it was time for them all to stop talking.
Straight after that public show of concern for the disabled, I sent the host the following email….
Dear Jim,
I find you and some of your panelists (like Chris Trotter and Lisa Scott) laughing at the plight of political dissidents to be far more offensive than anything Kylie Jenner has said or done.
New Zealand has reinforced its commitment to combating corruption by ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.
The Convention is a legally binding global agreement to address corruption in the private and public spheres.
“While New Zealand already has a strong reputation for having low levels of corruption, we cannot be complacent. We have broadly complied with the Convention for a number of years, but we needed to make a limited number of law changes before we could ratify it,” says Ms Adams.
The necessary changes were made through the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill, which amended 15 Acts and was recently passed by Parliament.
“The changes made by the Bill, along with our formal ratification of the Convention, mean New Zealand’s ability to combat corruption is now stronger than ever.
Benefits of ratifying the Convention include ensuring our domestic anti-corruption measures remain robust and meet international best practice.
“It’s also a clear demonstration that New Zealand values a fair and corruption-free international trading system.
This is important for maintaining New Zealand’s reputation as a trustworthy trading partner with zero-tolerance for corruption.
“As a member of the Convention, New Zealand will be able to better contribute to global anti-corruption efforts by providing a legal basis for extradition and mutual legal assistance between other member countries when dealing with corruption-related crimes,” says Ms Adams.
New Zealand joins 177 other countries as a State Party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The Convention focuses on four key areas: prevention, criminalisation, international cooperation, and recovery of the proceeds of corruption.
The specific amendments made by the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill to enable ratification of the Convention include:
the creation of new corruption offences related to solicitation and acceptance of bribes by foreign public officials, and trading in influence over public officials
increased penalties for private sector
corruption
clarification that no bribes are tax deductible.
_________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
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Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laurie Berg, Associate Professor, University of Technology Sydney defotoberg/Shutterstock Migrant worker exploitation is entrenched in workplaces across Australia. Tragically, a deep fear of immigration consequences means most unlawful employer conduct goes unreported. On Wednesday, however, the government officially launched a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Deputy Director, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Griffith University In the wake of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, there were calls from bothsides of US politics, as well as internationally, to reduce the brutal, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
It’s the deadliest fictional town in the country, but which death has been the most bonkers? Alex Casey looks back at 10 seasons of The Brokenwood Mysteries to find out. Warning: The following ranking story contains famous New Zealand actors appearing to be dead (not alive). The Spinoff has been ...
Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
Opinion: New Health NZ commissioner Lester Levy is authorised to assume operational leadership – chief executive Margie Apa is effectively relegated to his operational deputy The post All-powerful Levy is feudal baron of a $28b fiefdom appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11554715
What a joke ! No “deliberate” misuse. What it really means – ‘Misuse then ? Well, if you must…..but do remember, this was not my finest hour……’
“In October, she said Mr Key had a “cavalier” approach to the OIA and had shown a “disregard for the law”. Her comments were in relation to Mr Key’s admission that his office sometimes waited 20 days to release information if it was in its political interests. Asked about her comments today, she said they were “not her finest hour.”
That’s a shame. The ‘finest hour’ may come along in the course of the next sinecure.
I am fully expectant that Peter Boshier will be no ones’ poodle.
Personal responsibility on display again: It’s all the media’s fault.
I see the word “deliberate” has changed its meaning …
Another whitewash on the way. And if Departments don’t have the resources to deal with OIA requests, who is it that funds the departments to resource themselves?
Morning Report this morning – 17 and 18 year olds locked down in their cells for 23 out of 24 hours at Serco Mt Eden – Minister of Corrections Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga “declined to comment”.
What the hell is going on ? Are Corrections/Serco actually the Minister of Corrections here ? Peseta Sam the mute titular ?
Oh I get it…….”Responsibility Responsibility Responsibility !”…….National Party style.
Wtf have the opoosition been on this as Sam is a very weak puppett in this cabal.
@ North (2) neither the minister, nor Corrections will comment on this matter! Not good enough!
Another big fail for NatzKEY!
Obama admits Turkey is responsible for oil, weapons, and extremist smuggling through its borders to IS controlled areas.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/74678756/Russia-says-it-has-proof-Turkey-involved-in-Islamic-State-oil-trade
That’s old news,
you need to read more foreign media, more often.
For some reason most “international” stuff & herald stories are about 2-3+ days behind the rest of the world.
A bit like Farrar then.
Everytime I hear or read his name I think of the penguin from batman..
Here’s a data point:
He said few residents feared coalition airstrikes, although former residents of the city who have fled across the border to Turkey told the Guardian last week of civilian casualties suffered even under carefully targeted bombardment.
While children and elderly people are often startled and disturbed by the sounds of the explosions, activists say the airstrikes tend not to hit civilian areas. Most, however, fear Russian airstrikes as they tend to target civilian neighbourhoods.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/02/airstrikes-routine-people-raqqa-syria-says-activist?CMP=edit_2221
Why on erath would he say that if it wasn’t true? You can check out the journo group ‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ for yourselves if you care to smear them, but good luck saying they are ‘fans’ of ISIS or in anyway supporters of them. Video of Russian helicopters dropping dumb bombs on urban areas are also not hard to find, though RT tend to prefer the snazzy pics of jest taking off and cruise missiles. The clusters of 4 heavy bombs smashing into a neighbourhood? not so much airtime on RT for some reason.
Whenever you post on the issue it’s jest taking off.
Good one. I’ve always cared more about logic than typos myself, but takes all sorts eh.
There appears to be a lot of opinion in that article, PB.
“Why on erath (earth) would he say that if it wasn’t true?”
Really? I’m gobsmacked that you would even think that.
I have a healthy distrust of the media, mainly because I’ve been working in it for the last 25+ years. (obviously I’m not a journo, my grammer sucks)
Always ask, why am I being told this and who benefits from the outcome.
Good. Me too.
So come on, speculate away, what are your answers to your sceptical questions about that piece?
Or do you mean question in the sense of just throwing up your hands and saying ‘oh noes I can’t know anything’.
Seriously, that group’s work can be found online, really easily, you can make judgements, it’s a data point.
Fill your boots, tell me your reckons.
Russia is going to stay in Syria, Assad will remain in power, Iranian influence in the Middle East will increase, and US/NATO complicity with ISIS and other extremist groups will become increasingly obvious.
Oh great, It’s Captain Know Nothing back with off-topic reckons for the thread.
How did you get on finding an example of a helicopter being shot down by a TOW?
And weren’t you saying just the other day that Putin agrees with you that Assad should go? Yep, you were, but you were just making shit up, coz it’s what you do.
Why would he say what?
Why would he say that “few residents feared coalition airstrikes”? Or why would he say “Most, however, fear Russian airstrikes…”?
My impression is that nothing quite gels. I mean he also says..
“Britain has a powerful intelligence service and knows where to strike and when, not like the coalition.” (Wide-eyed astonishment at that one from over here)
Who is he?
From the same article Tim Ramadan, the pseudonym of an activist and journalist working clandestinely in the city
No agenda and no line to spin then and…well, what is an activist in the context of a multi faceted war situation?
edit: one fairly reasonable reason for him spinning (if he is) would be if he’s aligned with any of the so-called moderate opposition targeted by Russia but not by ‘the coalition’, yes?
Like I said, you can check out ‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ for yourself to find out.
Do I wish all the tv stations and wire services were fully operating in IS controlled territory?
Yes.
Is that a resonable expectation?
No.
Shall we discount everything to zero?
If you want, I’ll get the data points I can and make the best of them.
Sorry. I see you replied before my edit.
He doesn’t have to be a supporter of the daesh to be saying those things.
No he wouldn’t.
And yes, like much of rebel held Syria they hate Assad, and ISIS.
Which doesn’t make what they are saying ‘not true’, right?
But given what the coalition are doing and demanding, and what the Russians are doing and demanding, what motivation would they have to say what he said.
Why say the new strikes will be pointless in effect, and that the Russian strikes are hitting civilians more often? They want ISIS gone, they really hate ISIS. They are literally risking death doing what they are doing, these activists in Raqqa, some of them have been killed by ISIS.
So if it’s not true that the Russian attacks are more feared by the population than the wetsern attacks why say it?
Does it square with other evidence, like footage of attacks?
I’m not being rhetorical here.
Actual questions.
I’m not saying that certain claims are either true or not true. And I don’t have any reasonably informed opinion that could be applied to your questions.
Maybe the ‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ site you mention is a reasonable conduit for information – I dunno. What I mean by that is that I haven’t given it more than a cursory glance atm.
“My impression is that nothing quite gels.”
My thoughts exactly. With so much misinformation and political points scoring going on, it’s hard to work out what’s actually going on..
But then, that’s the whole idea.
+1
Russia has only one objective in Syria, the preservation of Tartus as it’s only western hemisphere naval base outside of the Crimea. Hey wait a minute, I’m seeing a connection here between russian adventures in the Ukraine and in Syria………
The preservation of their only open water naval base in Europe/Middle East. is their primary strategic goal, everything else, including war crimes and assad’s survival is secondary to this.
Stories in the press that Turkey are delaying Russian traffic through the Bosphorus for “administrative” reasons is an unwelcome power flex by the turks…..
The Dardanelles are suddenly a global focus point again.
Why on earth would he say that if it wasn’t true?
Because he is directly responsible for the death of many hundreds of thousands of people and has no incentive to tell the truth
We live in an age where any media production, be it written word, audio or visual can be ‘created’, and should by default be treated as suspicious, fake or lies
IRONY ALERT: Paul “Kill Them All” Henry gets all serious and
denounces “the mindless rantings of one very nasty piece of work.”
Paul Henry, TV3, Thursday 3 December 2015, 7:10 a.m.
hypocrite n. 1. a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs; 2. a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion.
It appears that the malignant spirit of “Sir” Paul Holmes descended on the North Shore Events Centre last night….
https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/30256384/perth-wildcat-nate-jawai-allegedly-abused-in-defeat-to-new-zealand/
In a supreme act of projection this morning, Paul “Kill Them All” Henry glared at the camera with his special “serious” expression and intoned: “It’s just the mindless rantings of one very nasty piece of work.”
That’s an odd thing to say for someone who just two months ago was ranting about the “political correctness” gone mad of giving a ferry a Māori name…
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24092015/#comment-1073941
More mindless rantings of one very nasty piece of work….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27052015/#comment-1021090
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17092015/#comment-1071730
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-10112015/#comment-1093206
anyone see this? My understand of the flag wastage was that anyone could either rank as per preference, or rank as little as one.
However here they say….rank all or ‘it won’t count’
Are they now giving out invalid/false information?
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/can-john-key-find-out-how-i-voted-in-the-flag-referendum
quote:
If there is one flag you hate a lot, give that a five then rank the rest backwards, but make sure you do all the way to one, or again it won’t count.
From the letter accompanying the voting paper: Instructions: A: Rank the flag designs in the order that you prefer them. You can rank as few or an many as you wish, from 1 to 5. Write 1 in the box under the flag you prefer most. Write 2 in the box under your next preferred flag, if you have one, and so on. Do not write the same number more than once.
So we can safely assume than that TVNZ has just misled the public with the statement that I posted above?
It does look like that. Surely we haven’t descended so low that the voting instructions themselves are intended to mislead.
No, what they are saying (I think) is that if you want to put your most hated flag ranked last, start with making it #5, but you then have to vote for #1, #2, #3, #4 as well or your vote will be invalid. Another example would be if you wrote #2 and #3 and nothing else, that would be invalid too. Presumably.
It’s still completely stupid advice from Fair Go given that we still don’t do this kind of voting well, but I think it reflects how fucked up the whole thing is when our state broadcaster feels the need to tell people how to vote based on the most hated design.
Thanks Weka – and I agree. It says something about the whole process/project if people need to be told how to express their hatred of designs in a way that does not invalidate their vote.
Then there’s this,
That’s alright then, because we really trust this government and its computer data competency.
Of course we trust Dear Leaders Government, after all he is the most trusted Dear Leader, most accomplished and such.
Every voting paper has a secret number on it. If the same name is crossed off the roll more than once the number on the voting paper is opened so that the person can be checked/interviewed to see if he has voted twice. What he voted is immaterial. Could a dishonest person find out what you voted? Possible but you have to trust the integrity of staff. Works OK so far.
I see no reason why the Electoral Commission cannot be trusted to operate the system honestly and fairly. It would be a very risky proposition for the government of the day to try and interfere with a democratically run voting system such as ours. Voters of all stripes would reject them outright.
How about WINZ? The Education department? Do we have a BLiP list of all the government departments that have mangled such tech?
LOL
I’ve been saying on this board for years that the government can track how people vote and now you’re surprised to find that they can?
as for this bit:
The name wouldn’t be in the QR code itself but the QR code will relate back to the name in the database.
Actually, the problem is trusting the competency of the private firm that wrote the software.
No, I’m not surprised at that (if it’s happening). I’m surprised at Fair Go saying ‘let’s trust the government’.
The Crosby-Textor playbook is so predictable.
Cameron and Key use practically interchangeable slurs when cornered by their opponents. It should remove any doubt as to whether Cameron or Key are cold, calculating sociopaths or a loudmouthed bully boys, because they are obviously both.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/dec/01/cameron-accuses-corbyn-of-being-terrorist-sympathiser
As do the Lib/Nats in Australia. Its why we have centre-left referred to as “hard Left” whilst they call themselves “centre Right” – it creeps into the MSM in NZ, Aus and GB within a very short time. Look at the how Tony Abbot’s “Death Cult” description of ISIS is now part of their vocab.
I’ve been waiting to hear JFK start talking about “the New Zealand People”. It started in the US and is common in Australia and GB. Another little gem is “the truth is ……… this or that”.
It’s what the hard Right CT do best, and they have their little disciples like Matty Hooten and Paul Henry doing their best to propagate the spin – consciously or not (going forward).
It’s not unlike those in the banking sector – you know – those expert economists.
The sharemarket always goes up or down “on the back of …… “.
(At this point in time) BEWARE THE BULLSHIT! (going forward)
My thoughts too, same style/tactics, dead cat slapped on the table. Pathetic.
This government sure seems to be getting a reputation for enabling “modern” slavery. I wish the labour party would make more of a fuss instead of letting NZFirst turn it into an anti-immigration issue. After all it is the LABOUR party. I wonder if the police are much involved in looking into this sort of stuff. Do they have a transnational crime expert there and if so what issues is he focusing on instead… Cocaine? Whipping up fear in the Asia-Pacific over ISIS?
https://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/peters-immigrant-healthcare-bill-defeated-2015120219
I hate to say it (I mean its Winston) but it sounds like a reasonable idea and I’m not even that fussed about the rebate for the pensioners
Yet another disgraceful, extreme ten minutes from Dame Ann Leslie.
Why is this ghastly old trout accorded the status of “U.K. correspondent”?
RNZ National, Thursday 3 September 2015, 9:50 a.m.
KATHRYN RYAN: Our U.K. correspondent is Dame Ann Leslie and she is in London. Good morning!
DAME ANN LESLIE: Good morning!
KATHRYN RYAN: Crazy old world it is. Your parliament is having an intense debate tonight on whether to commit to bombing Daesh in Syria.
DAME ANN LESLIE: It’s absolutely unbelievable that this debate is taking one whole day. As is well known, Raqaa is the nerve centre of the bloody attacks on Paris. But our planes are obliged by an earlier decision of our parliament to avoid flying over Syrian air space. Now, you may detect a slight political bias in what I say next, but Labour with its new, rather muddled, faintly loopy, hard left leader Jeremy Corbyn…. [she embarks on a rambling denunciation]… I think Cameron WILL win, but it will be nail-biting. I’ve lived long enough to know how unpredictable war is. There are some things we have to deal with, for example Turkey, which has been slightly pro-ISIL. They used to line their tanks up on the border, watching various factions fighting. Um, the thing is really, one of the main problems is Turkey, because they are aligned with Daesh, allowing Daesh’s oil across the border, which has been illegally acquired, to sell on the secret market. Then of course there is the other issue, which is sectarian basically, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Turkey is making a mess of things, frankly.
KATHRYN RYAN: I’m looking at a comment by William Hague, saying don’t rule out British boots on the ground.
DAME ANN LESLIE: [wearily] Ohhh!
KATHRYN RYAN: Now people are talking about boots on the ground again.
DAME ANN LESLIE: Everybody agrees that this will be a long drawn out conflict. Destroying Daesh won’t work unless there are boots on the ground. The question is WHOSE boots?… I’ve worked a lot in the Middle East and it really is the MOST APPALLING MESS…
KATHRYN RYAN: All right. The question is: does the UK want to be ANYWHERE near it?
DAME ANN LESLIE: Well the thing is, we have been very stupid in the West. We had the idea that if we went into these Godforsaken countries we would be greeted with flowers from the people we had liberated. ….Then you get the appalling business of sectarianism. The Sunnis don’t want the SHIAS involved, and the Shias, especially Iran, don’t want the Sunnis involved…. I feel very depressed by the whole thing.
KATHRYN RYAN: Let’s finish with a festive note. Can festive fairy lights wreck the British Christmas?
DAME ANN LESLIE: Ofcom has said that fairy lights will wreck our traditional family Christmas, because they interfere with wi-fi. ….
Mercifully, the time pips start sounding….
KATHRYN RYAN: [with evident relief] Oh dear! Ten o’clock!
More of Dame Ann Leslie’s wit and wisdom….
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-12042012/#comment-458258
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-30052013/#comment-640913
I sent the host of Nine to Noon the following email….
Dear Kathryn,
You allowed your U.K. correspondent Dame Ann Leslie to denounce Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as “rather muddled, faintly loopy, hard left”. That was an extreme and biased comment by any measure, yet you chose not to challenge it, or even to politely ask her to explain why she had used such demeaning language.
Are you not allowed to challenge anything she says? Are you obliged to simply go along with it?
Yours in concern at the standards of public broadcasting,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
+100… Dame Ann Leslie is such an obvious right wing Tory toff she is entertaining…she shouldnt be taken seriously…however she shouldnt be allowed blather along unchallenged ….surely Ryan can engage more with her and challenge her monologue occasionally ?
…and why cant we have Ken Livingstone on as a commentator to give the other side?…here he is on Sophie and Co
‘West discredited itself with invasions, able to stop nothing now – ex-mayor of London’
https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/323903-jihadists-attack-crime-control/
“After Islamic State strikes in the heart of Europe, nations are ramping up their security. Now, the debate rages about whether being secure or being free is the most important. And when jihadists attack, anti-Islamic sentiment gains momentum, with hate crimes threatening to spike out of control. How do you keep heads calm? Is bulk data collection, after all, needed for peace and stability? We pose these questions to a veteran British politician, former mayor of London – Ken Livingstone is on Sophie&Co today.”
She grew up in “the Punjab” dontcha know. She’s ‘very well connected’.
Whilst I admire Kathryn Ryan for much of what she does – she does like to maintain a ‘balanced portfolio’ and maintain an image of fairness and balance.
Challenging bullshit is just not the done thing dontcha know – even amongst those that consider themselves amongst the Kiwi-well-connected-elite (or the Elite Cult).
How else do you explain “The Panel’? (going forward)
Oh ….. btw, I notice The Dame hasn’t been on Dateline London for a very long, long time – perhaps Gav’s not been too kind to her, or his ‘bit of fluff’ doesn’t particularly like her condescension
Mora’s ‘The Panel’ is ghastly…I try never to listen to it!..In fact I find Dame Leslie more congenial ( dare I say it…I find her entertaining like a poncy aunty and I like the way she speaks)
Did you get a reply to your email Morrissey?
No. She seems impervious to criticism.
Oh Morissey Darling! What a truly truly monstrous thing to say. Really! That’s horrid – really it is!
Why the Dame has a wealth of life’s experience, and Kathryn has launched a thousand carreers (including a few talking head ‘panelists’ we now hold so very very dear).
How dare you challenge them!
It really is such bad form!
/sarc (as if)
Pharmac have denied terminally ill people with melanoma a promising drug which has benefitted a third to two thirds of people with incurable melanoma. The cost is about $300,000 per person. Australia and the UK fund the drug but not stingy NZ. The cost of the drug would cost the government 30 million per year.
What upsets me the most is that the rich can afford to purchase the drug and a savvy poor person would have to fund raise, (which would require abundant energy).
It must be awful being an oncologist in NZ because of being limited when it comes to prescribing life saving drugs which Pharmac will not fund.
Pharmac, like most other government organisations, could do with a significant funding boost and no political interference (like the Herceptin campaign pledge).
It’s akin to manslaughter, allowing people to die, when they could be helped. Only the super wealthy can afford this drug. You wouldn’t even need to poor to be left to die, if you needed this drug.
There was a young man, just a teenager, with melanoma on telly the other night at yet another fundraiser for this particular drug, Keytruda I think it’s called. He said he has to raise $30K every 3 months. He has a givealittle page and he was at a fundraiser event when he being filmed.
His family and himself work full time on the fundraising. How frightening to be in his shoes, having your life depend on the kindness of strangers, and never knowing if there will be enough money. How do people fare who don’t have a supportive family and don’t have the strength to work out how to get absurd amounts of money out of thin air?
This drug is fully funded in Australia.
Keytruda, is that when the National government breaks in and steals anything it can lay its hands on that’s worth something?
sorry, couldn’t resist.
I know! What a name! Your thoughts were my thoughts when I first heard of it. The drug goes by another name but I can’t remember what it is.
The other name is Pembrolizumab. The bro bit might be the generous people in NZ who donate to try and save a life e.g. the young 22 year old who has a give a little page.
Bryan Gould on the money as always. Writing about The UK, but equally applicable here.
http://www.bryangould.com/what-really-matters/
“There is a rapidly emerging consensus that – as we discovered 80 years ago but then forgot – austerity is the wrong response to recession. We are learning that lesson all over again. Even in terms of its own stated objectives, austerity has failed; the supposedly central priority of eliminating the government’s deficit remains a long way from being achieved, while the deficit that really matters – the country’s continuing failure to pay its way – remains unattended to and is getting worse.
In the meantime, poverty and inequality increase, housing is increasingly unaffordable, net investment is virtually zero, the prospect of a revival in manufacturing is non-existent, and an unsustainable consumer boom fuelled by asset inflation underpins our rake’s progress to decline.?
Just on 1,000,000 people have posted their flag ballot papers up till 2 December. About the same as the 2013 referendum at the same number of days.
Have to say, I was pretty convinced I was going to spoil my voting paper, but when it comes down to it, I really can’t be bothered even sending the thing in. And I’m a committe voter.
interesting read on rising sea levels.
maybe someone who runs a country or a city with a lot of habitat on coastal areas wants to have a look at it.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/12/02/world/The-Marshall-Islands-Are-Disappearing.html?_r=1
The clearest explanation of the evil of corporate tyranny and the death of democracy I’ve heard so far:
Democracy Sold Out To Greed
The video helps me to bring home that “Western democracy” is a sham, a total lie.
Every Western government and Washington’s Asian vassal states are totally under the control of private corporations and private interest groups. The corporations govern, and they are in the process of institutionalizing their governance with the Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic Partnerships. The purpose of these “partnerships” is to make global corporations higher than the laws of the “sovereign” countries in which they do business.
Anything, whether law, rule, regulation, or moral principle that interferes with corporate profits is outlawed as “a resraint on trade.”
Western civilization is over and done with. Nothing remains except historical achievements that are no longer understood or appreciated.
(http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/12/01/democracy-sold-out-to-greed/)
+100 Johnm…a MUST WATCH!
..where is the NZ Labour Party on opposing this….neolib corporate fascist attempt at takeover of New Zealand democracy and sovereignty?…scarcely a peep!
…time for a new Labour Mana Party
Comrade Chooky did you see my response and question to you on yesterdays open mike re a new party?
Hi Comrade Rosie….yes I did see it and I didnt answer because Savenz answered for me…on the reasons why there needs to be a new Labour Mana Party
There are many reasons why the last Election was lost
1.)…Cunliffe was relentlessly attacked by the msm…and not supported by the Labour Party caucus even although he was the grassroots Labour vote….and it would seem that there has been a concerted campaign against him and his supporters on the Left of the Labour Party for some time
( here is what i asked on the Daily Blog)
“Is the ABC faction actually a fifth column?
…I mean looked at it historically, it has been going on at least as long as Shearer
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/8348590/Dalziel-dropped-from-Labours-top-20
Has the Labour Party been kidnapped?”
– See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/11/30/puppet-on-a-string-has-andrew-little-become-the-plaything-of-labours-dominant-factions/#sthash.jayVFy3W.dpuf )
2.) In a stunning move Labour turned against Hone Harawira in the TTT electorate and effectively excluded Left party Mana winning four seats and a Left coalition winning that election…gifting it to Jonkey nactional…Mana was working for the poorest of the poor in New Zealand ….this was unforgivable by the Labour party ….and it does not deserve to be called Labour
( …and it turns out that Lusk was apparently bribing Maori not to vote for Hone Harawira !….Nash has had dealings with Lusk
‘Dirty Politics players back in the frame’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/mediawatch/audio/201779410/dirty-politics-players-back-in-the-frame
…”Simon Lusk also claimed on Story he had been instrumental in unseating Mana Party co-leader Hone Harawira in the last election. Unnamed “businessmen” had paid thousands for that, he said. And in conversation with his co-host last Monday, Duncan Garner said money had been paid to get Maori electors to vote in Te Tai Tokerau.
Was political operative Simon Lusk really paying people on behalf of clients to influence an election? Disappointingly, no more was said about this claim.The following day, Duncan Garner posted a statement from Simon Lusk on the websites of TV3’s Story and Radio Live. In it, Simon Lusk said:
Iwi now have extensive databases of members who they can easily mobilise. Assembling a team of 50 or 100 iwi members to get out the vote is straightforward, legal and effective if it is possible to raise some koha.
He added that “if you’re not paying for votes or offering anything in exchange for a vote, or treating,” it is not against the law. But that statement didn’t answer key questions: How much was paid? By whom? And for what purpose? …
…”Duncan Garner also revealed supporters of Labour’s Napier MP Stewart Nash paid Simon Lusk to canvas the option of a new political party…)
Now we have Little’s Labour demoting and shunning Cunliffe and Mahuta yet again….even although Mahuta brought in the Maori seats for Labour and Cunliffe was the Labour grassroots choice for leader ( Little cant even win his own seat, nor ccan Robertson and Adern)
Quite apart from all this, Labour has shown NO leadership in opposing the TPP
So yes I would support another “Labour” Mana Party which is genuinely Labour ( this Labour Party does not deserve the brand name “Labour”…It deserves to be taken off them)
“In a stunning move Labour turned against Hone Harawira in the TTT electorate and effectively excluded Left party Mana winning four seats and a Left coalition winning that election…”
Do you really believe this nonsense Chooky? I feel your heart is in the right place but this is nonsense. I like Hone Harawira very much and believe he is a good person, but he made a very stupid mistake signing up with Kim Dotcom.
He lost a lot of credibility with Māori in Northland because they felt he had sold out – unlike you I actually know many Northland Māori. He lost control of his party. He begged Dotcom not to have the “Moment of Truth” just before the election because Hone is politically astute enough to know that is would be distorted by the media and would lose the left votes, as it inevitably did. I was sitting very close to Hone that night and his unhappiness was obvious.
Mana actually deserved that seat.
all Dotcoms fault then?…well Jonkey would certainly agree with you!…but it is a bit simplistic…and Dotcom was up against the corporates too …so whose side are you on?…certainly not Dotcom’s ( is this little Labour policy as well?)
…and I note you have carefully avoided any of the other points
I have been too busy with work to look at the Standard again until now – if I had I would have corrected my last line to “Davis deserved that seat.”
The reason I didn’t deal with your other “points” was that they were too ludicrous to bother with. If you really believe that Lusk had anything to do with Davis winning then you really are very foolish. You are actually doing exactly what Lusk et al want you to do – whether deliberately or through ignorance I have no idea.
If you actually read what I said a bit more carefully you would understand that I am not blaming Dotcom, I am saying when Mana signed up with Dotcom they not only lost a lot of credibility with many of their supporters, but Hone lost control of the party he had co-founded. Sue Bradford could see what would happen but Hone couldn’t.
I have been very impressed with Davis this year – why not look at what people do rather than indulge in ill-informed conspiracy theories.
National HQ cheered the most loudly when Davis beat Harawira.
Hi Chooky. Thanks for the thoughts. Have run out of time to respond in any meaningful way.
Except to say I totally get what you are saying about treatment of Mahuta and DC. I agree. I’m with you on that. I also saw the programme about Simon Lusk, his bribing of Maori voters of TTT and his connection with Nash. But, I’d say ditto to what Karen is saying below. It’s a long bow to draw a connection between Lusk and Kelvin Davis in TTT. Lusk just hated Hone. Fool that Lusk is.
Also, I still don’t think a new party will solve anything, help the left or the people that need left representation.
@ Rosie …i am not saying there is a connection between Davis and Lusk…where did I say that? ( reframing of the issues?)
I am saying Davis and Labour should NOT have stood against Hone Harawira and Mana Party …which were for the poorest of the poor
I am saying it looks as if Lusk paid Maori not to vote for Harawira
I am saying it looks as if there is a connection between Labour’s Nash and Lusk…on a different issue
( It would be very interesting to know exactly what other connections /dealings Lusk has had with New Zealand politicians…and Labour politicians…such connections would be very compromising indeed, I would imagine)
As regards a new Labour Mana Party…well it depends on how much you can stomach from the party which calls itself ‘Labour’ …and it depends on how many people feel there is a need for a new Labour Left (Mana)Party
…certainly there does seem some support for it given the treatment of Cunliffe ( the membership choice) and Mahuta (and the Maori seats)…and Harawira (and Mana)….and the Labour Party leadership non action on TPP
You want to support the status quo…others dont
I don’t want to support any status quo Chooky. I’m feeling very uncomfortable /conflicted about being in Labour now. Check out my comments on the “Labour Mayor for Wellington” post if you want to see why I will not be voting for Labour Mayoral candidate Justin Lester.
Theres a shit load of stuff that may or may not happen in the next two years. We might yet be surprised. Holy moly, if David Cunliffe, in some weird twist of alternate reality become leader of the Greens then I’d party vote Green.
I am however, strongly opposed to voting for Labour ticket Justin Lester as Mayor of Wellington.
+100 Rosie…yes if he were to become leader of the Greens…I too would vote Green
Cunliffe was born Labour and will die Labour.
He would never ever join another party.
While some Green values overlap or are complimentary to those of Labour the two parties are different.
No no no. Cunliffe is not leaving Labour. All of us should remain and make our best possible contributions to ensuring its values are protected and applied to real lives.
well that is the problem with the Labour Party…”was born Labour and will die Labour”…even when Labour is no longer Labour and turns fascist
(John Pilger has some trenchant things to say about the British Labour Party
https://www.rt.com/shows/going-underground/323420-paris-isis-daesh-uk/ )
In many ways David Cunliffe is a better fit for the Greens….not least of all because the Greens are to the Left of Labour
( except for Greens idiotic championing of bloody Red Peak corporate flag which i blame on try hard Shaw and that other grinning baby face muggins Gareth Hughes..and a few others who i wont insult)
🙄
+1
Must listen.
Just checked the ‘TransTasman’ so called ratings of Politicians.
What a laugh! Act’s noname on top rated highest. Nats good… Labour bad.
Dyson one of the hardest working MPs standing up for her constituents in Redcliffs even though they didn’t support her locally in the elections rated about lowest with the same rating as Nuk Nobody whom she thrashed and has nothing to say about Parata’s attack on the people of his pretend electorate of Port Hills.
Still we can’t expect any real information from a $500+ a year right wing rag started by national MP Hugh Templeton/s brother and bought out by another true blue right winger.
Right up Tracey Watkins alley this nonsense.
Old news I know but really really glad that the bitter and graceless right-wing stooge Sean Plunkett has been given his marching orders.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/74697011/mark-sainsbury-replaces-sean-plunket-at-radio-live
Good luck to Mark Sainsbury – at least he has a soul.
+100 Muttonbird …Plunkett did his best to roll David Cunlifffe
They need a differentiator from the rabid rightwing shock jocks and sainsbury has good recognition to boot. Still a race to the bottom though.
I listened to Mark Sainsbury a few times until his panel with the so-called views from the left and right consisted of 2 rightwing commentators. Happened a few times so turned off after that.
Tories have gone ECan on the SDHB:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/365644/commissioner-stay-sdhb
I’m not surprised; as this slow motion disaster of an underfunded public health system down south has been a long time disintegrating. Also, it was only yesterday (a year to the day before the commissioner’s term was supposed to expire) that:
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/365445/criticism-over-city-hospital-role
Predictable, appoint your cronies and control the message.
What’s up with Stuff.co’s infuriating new recommended stories drop down menu? Hope they get enough feedback to get rid of it asap or give us a way to disable it permanently.
‘
I’ll just leave these here . . .
http://adblock-pro.en.softonic.com/
https://www.ghostery.com/
. . . there’s a bit of tweaking required for New Zealand specific sites and for when new “features” are imposed. The new drop down is to encourage clicks on what is euphemistically called “partner content” but, really, is advertising.
Cheers BLiP will check out.
Drop down menu has disappeared today. Maybe too many complaints.
The U.N. voted to partition Palestine 68 years ago, in
an unfair plan made even worse by Israel’s ethnic cleansing
Palestinians were 2/3rds of the population but offered 43% of land. Then, Israel ethnically cleansed it & took more
by BEN NORTON, Salon, Tuesday Dec. 1, 2015
68 years ago yesterday, the United Nations voted to partition Palestine, with General Assembly Resolution 181.
http://media.salon.com/2015/11/nyt-partition-plan.png
The front page of the November 29, 1947 edition of the New York Times read “[General] Assembly Votes Palestine Partition; Margin Is 33 to 13; Arabs Walk Out; Aranha Hails Work as Session Ends.”
Why were the Arabs angry? Because, for the indigenous Palestinians, the deal was a thoroughly bad one. Palestinians comprised approximately two-thirds of the population, yet were offered just 43 percent of their land in the deal.
“Aranha” refers to Osvaldo Aranha, a Brazilian diplomat. As president of the U.N. General Assembly, Aranha lobbied strongly on behalf of the Zionist movement (a settler colonialist Jewish nationalist political movement that called for the creation of the state of Israel). He delayed the vote on resolution 181 by two days in order to give the U.S. and other pro-Israel countries more time to pressure U.N. member states to vote for the plan. Scholar Fred Khouri writes that, in these two days:
“The United States and Zionists led the lobbying efforts of the pro-partition forces. The delegates, as well as the home governments, of Haiti, Liberia, Ethiopia, China, the Philippines, and Greece were swamped with telegrams, telephone calls, letters, and visitations from many sources, including the White House, congressmen, business corporations, and other fields of endeavor. As a result of these tremendous official and nonofficial pressures, Haiti, Liberia, and the Philippines finally agreed to vote for partition.”
These last-minute changes ensured that resolution 181 would have the two-thirds majority vote needed to pass.
The following is the U.N.’s map of the proposed partition. The blue areas comprising roughly 57 percent of the land were to be allotted to Jews; orange areas were to be allotted to Palestinians. Jerusalem was to be left under the governance of the international community, because of its historical and religious importance for numerous religions and cultures.
http://media.salon.com/2015/11/partition-plan-un-map-small.jpg
The Partition Plan was never implemented, however. The very next day after it was voted on, the 1947-1948 war broke out.
In this war, Zionist militias systematically ethnically cleansed large portions of historic Palestine, sacking hundreds of Palestinian villages and expelling more than 750,000 people — around two-thirds of the indigenous Arab population. Prominent Israeli historian Ilan Pappé notes that, in Israel’s Plan Dalet (also known simply as Plan D), “veteran Zionist leaders” created “a plan for the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.” They dispatched military orders in March 1948, Pappé explains:
“The orders came with a detailed description of the methods to be employed to forcibly evict the people: large-scale intimidation; laying siege to and bombarding villages and population centres; setting fire to homes, properties and goods; expulsion; demolition; and, finally, planting mines among the rubble to prevent any of the expelled inhabitants from returning.”
Plan D “spelled it out clearly and unambiguously: the Palestinians had to go,” writes Pappé. …..
Read more….
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/30/u_n_voted_to_partition_palestine_68_years_ago_in_an_unfair_plan_made_even_worse_by_israels_ethnic_cleansing/
https://syria360.wordpress.com/globalist-agenda/
Nothing happens in a vacuum
+100 Morrissey…thanks for reminding us…crimes against the Palestinians and crimes against humanity
Denouncing Kylie Jenner took up nearly five minutes on The Panel today;
But not even one second of indignation about today’s decision to bomb Syria.
RNZ National, Thursday 3 December 2015, 4:56 p.m.
Jim Mora, Tony Doe, Annah Stretton, Julie Moffett
hypocrisy n. 1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess. 2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude. 3. an act or instance of hypocrisy.
JIM MORA: It is International Disabilities Day, which is a terrible coincidence, given the shootings in San Bernardino. And, ahhh, that has made what Kylie Jenner did, ahhh, a topic of discussion, much discussion on the internet. So Kylie Jenner from the Kardashian clan has angered disabled people by posing in a gold wheelchair for a magazine cover. And she’s got some kind of bleak, she’s aiming for a bleak sort of futuristic look, isn’t she, with her—she looks like a robot, she’s trying to look like a—
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah she does, yeah, yeah.
JIM MORA: And the quote going around the world, seeming to come from her but not actually, she didn’t say this, people are assuming she did, is: “Wow! Being in a wheelchair is so fun and fashionable!” So that is the, that is the quote being aired in, ahh, all the reports on this. …[baffled sigh]…. Would you put one of your models in a wheelchair?
ANNAH STRETTON: Snorts to show what she thinks of Kylie Jenner.
JIM MORA: This is the interesting question here.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah I don’t know why we’re giving this any air time. Ummm, y’know the reality of is it’s just stupid, as perhaps this whole thing is around the Kardashians, but, uh, no, no I wouldn’t put one of my models in a wheelchair. There IS a sensitivity around disability, and you know I would sit very uncomfortably with anything like this, and I just, I think this is just bizarre.
JIM MORA: Seventeen year old Ophelia Brown posted her own image and says “I wanted to show her that being in a wheelchair is not glamorous or fashionable or fun. A wheelchair’s a big part of my life. She seemed to be sitting on it for fun, or to look more edgy and cool, and I felt overwhelmed with annoyance and jealousy that she could just get in and out of a wheelchair.” And you can completely understand this reaction. But uh, errrrrmmm, it, it’s been defended as well. Uh errrr, people are saying, Look, you know, she didn’t necessarily mean anything by it, it’s just a shot of her in a wheel—- How do YOU view it, Tony?
TONY DOE: [lengthy pause] Tut. Yeah, “not necessarily meaning anything by it” is, errrr, it’s like “I was only obeying orders” or something like that isn’t it. I mean, you’re sort of INVOLVED, whether you like it or not, and the overall impression is, um, not good and to be fair, I mean these people, the Kardashians, they must have more P.R. advisers than Heaven knows who, and umm, you’d have thought that one of them might have tapped her on the shoulder and said, Oy, that’s not a very good idea doing that. Y’know, don’t because it’s gonna make, it’s bad for your image for a start, and it’s actually a rather crass and insensitive thing to do, so don’t do it.
JIM MORA: Or is the publicity the, is that what is the most important thing now? As with that—I don’t really wanna talk about the Caitlin Jenner billboard in Auckland, I mean, goodness knows it’s on the front pages of the online newspapers anyway. But, errrr, because not necessarily because it gives it oxygen, but ahhh, because media are so reactive now, but is that part of the point? And is it just gonna get worse and worse, so you can’t ignore people making statements, ‘cos they know it’s all, it’s going to cause outrage, it’s going to be reported.
TONY DOE: Y-y-y-yeaaahhh, it, it, it is a deliberately provocative act, and the idea is to get attention, and Mission Accomplished, isn’t it. You know, I mean, it draws attention to that fashion label. This is the, there was the story in the media today, I think, about a men’s accessories place, with rings, men’s hands on naked women—
JIM MORA: Oh yes, I saw, I saw the headline there.
TONY DOE: Yeah, a very similar sort of a thing, where the man’s hand with all these rings on it is on the back of this woman, um, he’s got clothes on, she hasn’t. People are saying it’s misogynist and various other things but the line of rings has sold out.
ANNAH STRETTON: [Guffaws sardonically] Huh.
JIM MORA: That’s the thing.
ANNAH STRETTON: Reacted to it, yeah.
TONY DOE: So, whatever happened, people wanted the rings, and the fact that all that attention was given to that advert drew people to that website and drew people to that product and they actually liked it when they saw it.
JIM MORA: Yeah, and Annah, you say quite reasonably I dunno why we’re discussing this, but presumably it may have the, y’know it’s supposed to educate people and shame them into silence and have billboards taken down and so on, but it may produce a kind of cacophony of constant rudeness, as people try and get edgier and edgier and edgier. That may well be the result.
TONY DOE:
ANNAH STRETTON: I dunno, we’ve got the billboard and we’ve got the wheelchair and they’re both the Jenners, aren’t they, with the—
JIM MORA: Yeah.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah, um, I think a lot of it, they don’t NEED the publicity, so I don’t understand why they had to go into this space to get it, because there’s a lot of other ways that they could, um, yeah, I, I, I, I dunno, I just think that, y’know, people that are forced in to wheelchairs because of a disability, ummmm….
JIM MORA: Don’t appreciate seeing HER sitting in one.
ANNAH STRETTON: Yeah. She doesn’t need to DO this. I don’t understand it, I really don’t understand it. And I don’t, obviously you can see that I don’t have a lot of time for the Jenners either, so—
TONY DOE: Ha ha!
JIM MORA: No I got that impression—-
ANNAH STRETTON: Heh heh.
JIM MORA: —-from your general tone.
TONY DOE: Yeah.
ANNAH STRETTON: Ah, heh heh.
As Annah Stretton continued her restrained snickering, the welling sounds of “Carmina Burana” signaled that, mercifully, it was time for them all to stop talking.
Straight after that public show of concern for the disabled, I sent the host the following email….
Dear Jim,
I find you and some of your panelists (like Chris Trotter and Lisa Scott) laughing at the plight of political dissidents to be far more offensive than anything Kylie Jenner has said or done.
Yours sincerely,
Morrissey Breen
Northcote Point
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-14062013/#comment-648511
At LONG last.
New Zealand FINALLY ratifies the UN Convention Against Corruption.
‘Whistle-blowing’ works?
________________________________
Amy Adams 2 DECEMBER, 2015
NZ ratifies UN Convention Against Corruption
New Zealand has reinforced its commitment to combating corruption by ratifying the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, says Justice Minister Amy Adams.
The Convention is a legally binding global agreement to address corruption in the private and public spheres.
“While New Zealand already has a strong reputation for having low levels of corruption, we cannot be complacent. We have broadly complied with the Convention for a number of years, but we needed to make a limited number of law changes before we could ratify it,” says Ms Adams.
The necessary changes were made through the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill, which amended 15 Acts and was recently passed by Parliament.
“The changes made by the Bill, along with our formal ratification of the Convention, mean New Zealand’s ability to combat corruption is now stronger than ever.
Benefits of ratifying the Convention include ensuring our domestic anti-corruption measures remain robust and meet international best practice.
“It’s also a clear demonstration that New Zealand values a fair and corruption-free international trading system.
This is important for maintaining New Zealand’s reputation as a trustworthy trading partner with zero-tolerance for corruption.
“As a member of the Convention, New Zealand will be able to better contribute to global anti-corruption efforts by providing a legal basis for extradition and mutual legal assistance between other member countries when dealing with corruption-related crimes,” says Ms Adams.
New Zealand joins 177 other countries as a State Party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
The Convention focuses on four key areas: prevention, criminalisation, international cooperation, and recovery of the proceeds of corruption.
The specific amendments made by the Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill to enable ratification of the Convention include:
the creation of new corruption offences related to solicitation and acceptance of bribes by foreign public officials, and trading in influence over public officials
increased penalties for private sector
corruption
clarification that no bribes are tax deductible.
_________________________________
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption / anti-privatisation Public Watchdog’
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
What a joke. Kinda rich isn’t it when the Key National government is the most corrupt government this country has ever had.
<a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1512/S00052/another-26m-for-more-saudi-sheep-barbaric.htm