The orange one always had a very shady past with a German bank, which gave him loans to avoid his bankruptcies, was fined for money laundering via Russia.
The US government is tilting from military +intelligence+business frame to business+military frame with business interests dominant, and will stay there for the remainder of this century.
On Jan 9th a book is coming out claiming that Donald Trump himself met with the Russians following meetings with his son and the Russians. Bannon may well have a axe to grind, but you can hardly fault him as an insider source on Trump:
Most presidential candidates spend their entire careers, if not their lives from adolescence, preparing for the role. They rise up the ladder of elected offices, perfect a public face, and prepare themselves to win and to govern. The Trump calculation, quite a conscious one, was different. The candidate and his top lieutenants believed they could get all the benefits of almost becoming president without having to change their behavior or their worldview one whit. Almost everybody on the Trump team, in fact, came with the kind of messy conflicts bound to bite a president once he was in office. Michael Flynn, the retired general who served as Trump’s opening act at campaign rallies, had been told by his friends that it had not been a good idea to take $45,000 from the Russians for a speech. “Well, it would only be a problem if we won,” Flynn assured them.
Not only did Trump disregard the potential conflicts of his own business deals and real-estate holdings, he audaciously refused to release his tax returns. Why should he? Once he lost, Trump would be both insanely famous and a martyr to Crooked Hillary. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared would be international celebrities. Steve Bannon would become the de facto head of the tea-party movement. Kellyanne Conway would be a cable-news star. Melania Trump, who had been assured by her husband that he wouldn’t become president, could return to inconspicuously lunching. Losing would work out for everybody. Losing was winning.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend — Trump might actually win — seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears—and not of joy.
There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon’s not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States.
Many of those sounding the loudest alarm bells over Russian influence in U.S. politics were curiously silent when far greater concerns were raised about the Clintons.
Had Hillary become prez, no doubt the likes of Trey Gowdy and Chuck Grassley would have spent all their time with serial investigations of Hillary. Indeed, there are active Congressional investigations into Hillary going on right now.
But she’s not prez, and it’s very unlikely she will ever be in a position of authority in the future. The person with decision-making power right now is by far the more important one to be interested in.
That’s long before you even get to considering the merits of the cases against each person. But to address your citation, the opinions published by Schweizer and Fox News against Clinton over the uranium deal have already been thoroughly debunked.
I don’t know why they bother trying to hokey up some reason that sounds plausible for locking her up. They should just be honest and say they want to lock her up coz it will make them feel good. Just because.
The Hawke’s Bay tribe that sought to have a track on Te Mata Peak removed is disappointed the path is proving popular with locals.
Ngāti Kahungunu Trust chair Ngahiwi Tomoana
“ Just because it is popular does not make it right.”
Would have been a whole bunch better to dedicate a cycle lane on the existing road up to the peak. – which Council could have done as the road controlling authority without too much fuss.
Don’t be too hard on Craggy Range. As a local I understand they did what they were told they had to do. I believe the Hastings District Council staff judged the application was non-notifiable and if the finger gets pointed at anyone it should be at them.
After the initial blowback Craggy Range’s reponse was to say they would remove the track and remediate it (good luck with that).
Since then a counter “keep the track” petition has soundly passed the initial “the desecration of Te Mata Peak must be removed” petition.
Latest word is that there will be talks involving the local iwi organisation and possibly the track will stay. I hope it will.
Yes the process was flawed. No it wasn’t Craggy Range’s fault. The initial reaction was knee-jerk. And hopefully we retain a community asset.
It’s on private land. And they obtained resource consent:
“The Hastings District Council approved resource consent for the track in October, pointing out that the track would not include any cuts with overall vertical extent more than 1m, and adding that all cuts would be battered back and regrassed.
The council also pointed out that no trees or significant vegetation would be removed, and there were no known archaeological sites. Nor did the area of work contain a District Plan-mapped waahi tapu site.”
[if you are going to cut and paste, please link to your source. – weka]
Does your work involve vandalising (or hey let’s just say.. any modification) of the most significant regional landmark that is extremely important to local Maori and for local tourism?
There are multiple failings in a system created haphazardly to deal with connections of local iwi to land.
Case in point. Auckland Council has inherited the existing waahi tapu sites all former district councils. Our local one, Franklin District Council, had no comprehensive list of sites. Local iwi were given a short window of opportunity – but no resources – to submit new sites before the amalgamation.
Given the vast area of land that had been confiscated, this burden fell to a few to try and cover the historical aspects of land that had been out of iwi ownership for many years.
I attended a resource consent hearing regarding a local landmark that was taken from local iwi in the 1860s, and has since been subdivided a few times. We were not there in the capacity of local tangata whenua, but did have with us an archived map of the site that showed the land in question was part of a Native Reserve, including urupa. While interest from the panel was shown, the fact that this had not been recorded on the waahi tapu register meant that this consideration was not going to be taken into account.
The original tribe and iwi had scattered and their history – over a century later after their land – is thus removed.
Neighbouring local iwi are burdened with the task of uncovering evidence such as these archives, and even those are not considered evidence enough.
You have a confidence in the system working, but it does not do so. Honest consultation with iwi – whether or not it is required – is at least a step in acknowledging those systematic failures in a genuine way.
There is an economic storm coming in 2018.
Here are some of the first drops.
‘The most notable change was in Auckland, where for the first time since February 2011 it was now a “buyer’s market”, realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said.’
Oh Im sure that the many many many homeowners will be ecstatic that Labour oversaw their house values and equity slashed.
Thats bound to be a vote winner.
Its not being stupid – its that it impacts people and their lives for the worse – might be good for people who are envious, but in the real world it will cost votes.
Tory tactics again there we see with the usual ‘property price slump scare’ from them again eh?
Our home price has ‘slumped after all those increased trucks National Party have ‘encouraged’ to carry freight through our residential communities ruining our health & wellbeing as property values have slumped now.
Because who wants 24/7 hour truck noise vibration & pollution in their lives as living near these horrible “truck roads now”?
Whereas normal political analysis has the electorate perfectly capable of realising that it takes more than one term to repair the things the National Party does.
So while I sympathise somewhat with your need to believe you’re going be returned to government at the next election, in the end, derision wins.
why is it Labours fault when people buy things on credit they actually can’t afford, especially if you were to have another global financial crisis like we had in 2007/8?
Oh because Phil – Housing Allowance Fraud – English would said so?
Question: Leading up to the overheating of the market, what has National done to prevent the market from crashing in the future during their reign of power?
What about all the people who would then be able to buy a house (or upgrade to a more suitable one)? Surely the 10-15% of people who lose out big (because they weren’t smart enough to catch on to the trend early enough) will be overshadowed by the 50-60% who then benefit?
Or do you think everyone has 5 houses, a boat and 5 luxury cars all based on the increasing value of their home they brought in 1960?
They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.
So before that happens James, what should they do to prevent a housing crash in Auckland? What should they do not have it a “buyers market” or are those things mutually exclusive?
> They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.
Hey guys, before we all get too excited, let’s think this through… We all know that a huge problem in recent times has been rising house prices (esp in Auckland). If there was a drop in prices that would actually be a good thing for buyers, especially those who are struggling to cover the extremely inflated costs. (And, btw, buyers vote, too, as do parents and others who care about people trying to buy.)
As it happens, your report of a “buyers’ market” is actually just based on a slight increase in stock and longer time on the market – prices are still up 2.7% in Auckland, with many sellers seemingly having waited for new council valuations before putting their properties on the market. Read past the headline…🙄
Hardly an economic meltdown! And we have to accept that if we want a more equitable, accessible housing market, some people are going to see their houses drop in value. That may be a problem for those people, especially if they’ve been using their property as a proxy superannuation plan, but it’s not armageddon. Plus, the government is trying to be careful about this stuff. Increasing the stock of reasonably priced housing will slow down growth in value, but the market won’t tank because of it.
‘Iran – Early U.S. Support For Rioters Hints At A Larger Plan
In Iran – Regime Change Agents Hijack Economic Protests we looked at the developing U.S.-Israeli operation to instigate a revolt in Iran. What follows are a few more background points and a view on the developments since. A color revolution or revolt in Iran have only little chances of success. But even as the fail they can be used as pretext for additional sanctions and other anti-Iranian measures. The current incidents are thus only one part of a much larger plan.
The “western” democracies are used to distinguish political parties as left or right with fixed combinations of economic and cultural policies. The “left” is seen as preferring a social economy that benefits the larger population and as cultural liberal or progressive. The right is seen as cultural conservative with a preference for a free market economy that favors the richer segments of a nation.
The political camps in Iran are different.
The simplified version: The conservatives, or “principalists”, are cultural conservative but favor economic programs that benefit the poor. Their support base are the rural people as well as the poorer segments of the city dwellers. The last Iranian president near to them was Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. One of his major policies was the implementation of cash payments to the needy as replacement of general and expensive subsidies on oil products and foodstuff. The current Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is a member of the “reformist” camp. His support base are the merchants and the richer parts of the society. He is culturally (relative) progressive but his economic polices are neoliberal. The new budget he introduced for the next year cuts back on the subsidies for the poor Ahmedinejad had introduced. It will increase prices for fuel and basic food stuff up to 30-40%.
The protests on December 28 and 29 were about these and other economic issues. Such protests have regularly occurred in Iran throughout the decades. But the current ones were soon hijacked by small groups which chanted slogans against the Iranian system and against the strong Iranian engagement in Syria and Palestine. These are not majority positions of the 80 million inhabitants of Iran:
According to the poll, 67.9% say Iran should increase backing for anti-IS groups, up from 59.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, a majority of 64.9% backs the deployment of Iranian military personnel to Syria to help the regime of Bashar al-Assad, up slightly from 62.7% a year ago.
The small groups that hijacked the protests against Rouhani’s economic polices were heavily promoted by the usual suspects of U.S. influence operations. Avaaz, the RAND cooperation, Human Rights Watch and others immediately jumped onto the bandwagon…..
Eco likes Prince Philip he has been around for a while and he knows the big picture I know he is laughing at the charade that is going on in OUR WORLD.Many thanks to the Prince.
Ka pai
“This is who he is – and the long panoply of his racist, sexist, elitist, misogynistic, class-privileged and unhinged prejudices is a mobile museum of European bigotry on display.”
This is what you get after 35 years of neoliberalism.
Selfish people.
ME people, not WE people.
People who don’t care about society.
People who don’t care about Maori values.
‘A request from local iwi for visitors to stay away from Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges to stop the spread of kauri dieback appears to be falling on deaf ears.
Hundreds of people are continuing to walk in the ranges, despite Te Kawerau-ā-Maki placing a rāhui over them to try and stop visitors flocking there in the summer months.
At least 500 people are estimated to be walking the popular Kitekite Falls track near Piha every day.’
Often these people claim to care about their families – but even then they show by their actions they don’t care about their children and grandchildren, as they refuse to make any sacrifices to their lifestyles to mitigate climate change.
In your opinion obviously. Just because you don’t like or agree with their actions does not mean that they do not care about their children.
For example – I think if you imposed your ideological eating disorder (vegan) on kids – does that make you uncaring not giving them a full healthy diet ?
Or do you let them grow and make their own mind up (or is that uncaring also)?
NZ Is a country being destroyed by the food industry.
The solution is the way we are dealing with big tobacco.
This article shows how we can deal with this disgraceful and disgusting industry and its pimps like Katherine Rich.
Ban advertising
Tax unhealthy food for its externalities
Limit its sale points
‘Dan Parker, who was a successful advertising executive earning his living promoting Coca Cola and McDonalds, told the Guardian in his first interview that the food industry is behaving like Big Tobacco. “I think what the food industry does now will define where it lands. If it behaves like tobacco it will end up being treated like tobacco. And I think it is behaving like tobacco,” said the former industry insider.
“There are an awful lot of people not very interested in seeing the size of the packaged food industry drop by those kind of figures. The amount of money involved is billions of pounds.” That includes the food industry, the supermarkets, the exchequer and also the media. “Parts are almost entirely propped up by advertising for those unhealthy products. Early Saturday night TV, for example, would struggle without pizzas and fishfingers.”‘
No chocolate fast for me. You must be confusing me with another poster.
I am enjoying a James-free fast though. So far I feel so cleansed. And being a BM-free zone helps as well.
Speaking of cleansing after much humid foreboding the forecast rain had arrived. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. I have a saying about HB weather – it is normally better than predicted and very rarely worse.
Grey for short but not for long. We both get Grey but I am greywarshark. And the chocolate fast is biting me the more that I’m not biting. This is a good test on my eating habits. It won’t last but each New Year it might be a good move.
And good to limit the James-mosquito. The whining is annoying and subverts the blog.
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
A warning – suicide is discussed in this podcast New Zealand’s own long-running soap Shortland Street doesn’t hesitate to kill off its much-loved characters. But would TVNZ dare to kill off our favourite soap? That’s the fear as times get tough in television – even though it’s been pointed out ...
Essay: If the Crown harms children, how do you hold it accountable? Analysis by Aaron Smale in light of the Waitangi Tribunal court decision. The post The Crown versus Māori Children appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are a class of thousands of man-made chemicals used widely in everyday consumer items such as textiles, packaging, and cookware, popular for their water, grease and stain-repellent properties. However, the very properties that make PFAS so attractive to manufacturers are also what ...
NONFICTION 1 The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour & Jude Dobson (Allen & Unwin, $37.99)’ This is the hottest book in New Zealand, number one with a bullet in its first week, selling more than any overseas title, and demand is so huge that it’s already been reprinted. A ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 3 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Asia Pacific Report A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A key part of the Albanese government’s political strategy is to fill the news cycle with its presence and messaging. Ministers are deployed to the maximum, even when they’ve little to say. This week ...
Recent extreme weather events showed the importance of a well-functioning insurance system, says Commerce and Consumer Affairs minister Andrew Bayly. ...
By Jo Moir, RNZ News political editor, and Craig McCulloch, deputy political editor New Zealand’s Labour Party is demanding Winston Peters be stood down as Foreign Minister for opening up the government to legal action over his “totally unacceptable” attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. In an interview on RNZ’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christian Brakenridge, Postdoctoral research fellow at Swinburne University, Centre for Urban Transitions, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute The Conversation, Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock People have a pretty intuitive sense of what is healthy – standing is better than sitting, exercise is great for overall ...
The Wellington-based Reserve Force soldier is now almost three years into his New Zealand Army career with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment. ...
"The Government needs to release the review immediately as this reckless approach to change risks disjointed decision making and creates more distress and uncertainty for staff," Fitzsimons said. ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Jeremiah Manele has been elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, polling 31 votes to 18 over rival candidate and former opposition leader Mathew Wale with one abstention. The final result of the election by secret ballot was announced by the Governor-General, Sir David Vunagi, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Priestley Habru, PhD candidate, public diplomacy, University of Adelaide Former foreign minister Jeremiah Manele has been elected the next prime minister of Solomon Islands, defeating the opposition leader, Matthew Wale, in a vote in parliament. The result is a mixed bag for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shaun Eaves, Senior Lecturer in Physical Geography, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Jamey Stutz, CC BY-SA How often do mountains collapse, volcanoes erupt or ice sheets melt? For Earth scientists, these are important questions as we try ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Flood, Professor of Sociology, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Most young adult men in Australia reject traditional ideas of masculinity that endorse aggression, stoicism and homophobia. Nonetheless, the ongoing influence of those ideas continues to harm men and the people ...
The NZQA proposal released to staff today would involve a net loss of 35 roles. There are 66 roles being disestablished with 13 of those currently vacant, and 31 new roles proposed, said Fleur Fitzsimons Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga ...
Alex Casey talks to Loren Taylor, the writer, director and star of new film The Moon is Upside Down, about assembling her dream ensemble cast, toilet paper pads and turning literal dreams into reality. There’s a moment in The Moon is Upside Down where frazzled anaesthetist Briar (Loren Taylor) gets ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), Research Fellow, Manna Institute, CQUniversity Australia With winter sports swinging into action, adults around the country have volunteered or been volunteered by others (humorously known as being “volun-told”) to coach junior sports teams. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karleen Gribble, Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University richardernestyap/Shutterstock Parents are often advised to burp their babies after feeding them. Some people think burping after feeding is important to reduce or prevent discomfort crying, or to ...
Workers at a major ASB contact centre in Auckland have voted to take strike action and withdraw their labour following disappointing pay negotiations with the employer and an "offer" to workers that would leave them worse off than the previous year. ...
As the government tries to get the country back on track with a school phone ban, Tara Ward has an idea for where they should turn their attention to next.New Zealand students returned to school on Monday morning, but their cellphones did not. The government’s new phone ban began ...
The Labour Party is demanding Peters be stood down, saying "he's embarrassed the country" with a "totally unacceptable" attack on a prominent AUKUS critic. ...
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance, whose members were victims of a China-backed cyber attack, is discussing forming a standing committee to deal with foreign influence. ...
The PSA is concerned that the voluntary redundancies being offered to staff by Stats NZ will impact on the agency’s ability to deliver on its core functions. ...
Results ranged from surprisingly yum to soul-destroying. I love cooking. The kitchen is a hearth of culinary creation, of sensory delights, of gastronomic poetry. I also can’t afford anything nice. Why does a pack of instant noodles and some milk cost ten bucks? I love you, Aotearoa, but I miss ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Police in Solomon Islands are on high alert ahead of the election of the prime minister today. The two candidates for the top job are former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele at the head of the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation, which is ...
He’s fine but it feels like I’m losing a friend and it’s making me bitter. How do I say ‘enough is enough’? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzHey Hera,I’ve recently moved in with a girlfriend, her partner Steve, and his friend. We all live in a lovely little house. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Chartres, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney shutterstockAhmet Misirligul/Shutterstock You go to the gym, eat healthy and walk as much as possible. You wash your hands and get vaccinated. You control your health. This is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacqueline Hendriks, Research Fellow and Lecturer, Curtin University Children and young people may be seeing news headlines about men murdering women or footage of people rallying to call for action. Perhaps they or their friends have even gone to the protests. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Balanzategui, Senior Lecturer in Media, RMIT University ABC “Bluey mania” shows no sign of abating. Bluey’s season finale, The Sign, was the most viewed ABC program of all time on iView. A “hidden” follow-up episode, aptly named The Surprise, created ...
Labour market figures came in softer than the Reserve Bank had forecast, but they won’t be enough to move the needle on interest rates, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Unemployment ...
The campaign will engage the community and encourage submissions on the bill to the New Zealand government by the closing submission deadline of Friday 31st of May 2024 4pm. ...
The paper raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand's political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency plays in that. ...
The Urban Habitat Collective was an attempt to built an innovative new form of apartment building in Wellington. Here’s why it failed, and why the idea could still work, writes co-founder Bronwen Newton. When we started the Urban Habitat Collective in November 2018, we thought we were starting a revolution, ...
Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back.‘Hīkoi, hīkoi,” they chanted by the thousands as the biggest Māori march in a generation ...
Terence O’Brien had the rare and no doubt undesired distinction of rising to one of the most exalted positions in New Zealand diplomacy, then being unceremoniously recalled to Wellington without explanation just when his career was at its zenith. What is perhaps more surprising is that he appears to have ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 2 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Why has New Zealand slipped from third to 12th on Quality of Death Indexes over the past decade or so? Hospice New Zealand Chief Executive Wayne Naylor has a list of reasons. “We don’t have a current national strategy – the Government hasn’t renewed our 2001 strategy, so we don’t ...
While women’s sport is exploding in Aotearoa and around the world, you still don’t hear a lot of talk about athletes and their periods, RED-S, breastfeeding and visible panty-lines. SASS (Suze and Sez Sports)Talk isn’t afraid to have that kōrero.LockerRoom founder Suzanne McFadden and Olympian broadcaster Sarah ...
On an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...
A Labour Party Member’s Bill aims to plug a culpability gap between manslaughter and health and safety breaches The post New push for corporate killing laws appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Russia and the PEEOTUS: follow the money trail. It goes back a long long way.
https://www.vox.com/2017/7/18/15983910/donald-trump-russia-putin-fbi-collusion-fusion-gps
The orange one always had a very shady past with a German bank, which gave him loans to avoid his bankruptcies, was fined for money laundering via Russia.
http://www.newsweek.com/2017/12/29/donald-trump-russia-secret-deutsche-bank-753780.html
He’ll get away with it.
The US government is tilting from military +intelligence+business frame to business+military frame with business interests dominant, and will stay there for the remainder of this century.
They’ve always had that frame. It’s where the phrase Military-industrial-complex comes from.
I’m aware of the origin.
It is being rapidly reshaped.
You said that business was becoming dominant while I contend that business has been dominant in the US since the Robber Barons at the minimum.
Our own sir John Key has closer ties to the dodgy and corrupt german Deutshe bank than any other New Zealander or politician that I am aware of ….
According to our New Zealand companies register he was involved in 7 Deutsche bank fronts ….. https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/individual/search?q=John+Key&start=25&limit=25&entitySearch=&addressKeyword=&postalCode=&country=&addressType=&advancedPanel=false&mode=standard&roleType=ALL&indEntityTypes=ALL&indEntityStatusGroups=ALL&indDirStatus=ALL&sf=&sd=
On Jan 9th a book is coming out claiming that Donald Trump himself met with the Russians following meetings with his son and the Russians. Bannon may well have a axe to grind, but you can hardly fault him as an insider source on Trump:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-bannon-trump-tower_us_5a4cde0be4b0b0e5a7a9fe93?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Adolf Twitler’s response doesn’t disappoint…
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-steve-bannon_us_5a4d200ce4b0b0e5a7aa6f15?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
If former naval officer Bannon said that to a journalist, imagine what he’s said to Mueller.
Bannon is burning Kushner – and there is every reason for him to do it real slow.
I haven’t seen anything that says Mueller has interviewed Bannon yet, and a quick google turned up nothing. You seen anything?
Maybe it’s happened, but been successfully kept quiet …
Haven’t seen anything myself but I reckon he’s conspicuous because of his absence from any coverage about potential interviewees.
Oh boy.
Most presidential candidates spend their entire careers, if not their lives from adolescence, preparing for the role. They rise up the ladder of elected offices, perfect a public face, and prepare themselves to win and to govern. The Trump calculation, quite a conscious one, was different. The candidate and his top lieutenants believed they could get all the benefits of almost becoming president without having to change their behavior or their worldview one whit. Almost everybody on the Trump team, in fact, came with the kind of messy conflicts bound to bite a president once he was in office. Michael Flynn, the retired general who served as Trump’s opening act at campaign rallies, had been told by his friends that it had not been a good idea to take $45,000 from the Russians for a speech. “Well, it would only be a problem if we won,” Flynn assured them.
Not only did Trump disregard the potential conflicts of his own business deals and real-estate holdings, he audaciously refused to release his tax returns. Why should he? Once he lost, Trump would be both insanely famous and a martyr to Crooked Hillary. His daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared would be international celebrities. Steve Bannon would become the de facto head of the tea-party movement. Kellyanne Conway would be a cable-news star. Melania Trump, who had been assured by her husband that he wouldn’t become president, could return to inconspicuously lunching. Losing would work out for everybody. Losing was winning.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Election Night, when the unexpected trend — Trump might actually win — seemed confirmed, Don Jr. told a friend that his father, or DJT, as he calls him, looked as if he had seen a ghost. Melania was in tears—and not of joy.
There was, in the space of little more than an hour, in Steve Bannon’s not unamused observation, a befuddled Trump morphing into a disbelieving Trump and then into a horrified Trump. But still to come was the final transformation: Suddenly, Donald Trump became a man who believed that he deserved to be, and was wholly capable of being, the president of the United States.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html
If anything in this is remotely true the entire party should be gone for a generation.
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/12/15/putins-proxies-helped-funnel-millions-gop-campaigns
But probably won’t even if it is true.
Many of those sounding the loudest alarm bells over Russian influence in U.S. politics were curiously silent when far greater concerns were raised about the Clintons.
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/03/peter-schweizer-trump-vs-clintons-russia-ties-guess-who-always-got-free-pass.html
“She did it too” isn’t going to get the serial rapist off the hook.
Had Hillary become prez, no doubt the likes of Trey Gowdy and Chuck Grassley would have spent all their time with serial investigations of Hillary. Indeed, there are active Congressional investigations into Hillary going on right now.
But she’s not prez, and it’s very unlikely she will ever be in a position of authority in the future. The person with decision-making power right now is by far the more important one to be interested in.
That’s long before you even get to considering the merits of the cases against each person. But to address your citation, the opinions published by Schweizer and Fox News against Clinton over the uranium deal have already been thoroughly debunked.
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/facts-uranium-one/
What, they denied it and have all the facts on their side?
Lock her up! 🙄
I don’t know why they bother trying to hokey up some reason that sounds plausible for locking her up. They should just be honest and say they want to lock her up coz it will make them feel good. Just because.
I think it more likely that they are gullible fuckwits who believe the last thing they were told.
They should lock her up over Libya ….. or better yet make her go and live there with Obama .,…..
They should enjoy the fruits of their creation …
Removing Te Mata Peak track ‘not a cheap thing to do’
Well Craggy Range you should have consulted first.
Pay up.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347432/removing-te-mata-peak-track-not-a-cheap-thing-to-do
The Hawke’s Bay tribe that sought to have a track on Te Mata Peak removed is disappointed the path is proving popular with locals.
Ngāti Kahungunu Trust chair Ngahiwi Tomoana
“ Just because it is popular does not make it right.”
Wise words.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347134/iwi-frustrated-as-locals-take-to-te-mata-peak-track
Would have been a whole bunch better to dedicate a cycle lane on the existing road up to the peak. – which Council could have done as the road controlling authority without too much fuss.
Was it arrogance or ignorance that meant Craggy Range did not consult with iwi?
I’m not familiar enough with the landowner or the Council on iwi relationships (although it generally doesn’t stop me 😉 )
There was and is no requirement to do so. It’s their land.
And the Christchurch Cathedral is owned by the church, so Cantabrians can piss off too because they don’t own that either?
Indeed.
Don’t be too hard on Craggy Range. As a local I understand they did what they were told they had to do. I believe the Hastings District Council staff judged the application was non-notifiable and if the finger gets pointed at anyone it should be at them.
After the initial blowback Craggy Range’s reponse was to say they would remove the track and remediate it (good luck with that).
Since then a counter “keep the track” petition has soundly passed the initial “the desecration of Te Mata Peak must be removed” petition.
Latest word is that there will be talks involving the local iwi organisation and possibly the track will stay. I hope it will.
Yes the process was flawed. No it wasn’t Craggy Range’s fault. The initial reaction was knee-jerk. And hopefully we retain a community asset.
That’s why I asked was it ignorance.
New Zealandees should be aware of Maori values.
Pay up why?
It’s on private land. And they obtained resource consent:
“The Hastings District Council approved resource consent for the track in October, pointing out that the track would not include any cuts with overall vertical extent more than 1m, and adding that all cuts would be battered back and regrassed.
The council also pointed out that no trees or significant vegetation would be removed, and there were no known archaeological sites. Nor did the area of work contain a District Plan-mapped waahi tapu site.”
[if you are going to cut and paste, please link to your source. – weka]
The resource consent checklist must have missed:
Does your work involve vandalising (or hey let’s just say.. any modification) of the most significant regional landmark that is extremely important to local Maori and for local tourism?
James has no concern for Maori values.
I wouldn’t waste your time with him.
Like Trump, he continues to hit new lows.
I love the way you project.
The owners did everything right. Its their land. They sought and obtained permission.
But little the green eyed monster comes out looking for them to “pay up” – based on, well nothing as per usual.
No they didn’t (They should have consulted iwi) and no it’s not (it’s lease-simple and not ownership).
“The owners did everything right.”
Like offend local iwi? Deface the local landmark? Upset many locals? Cause a national controversy?
If it was their land and could do what they liked then why would they need resource consent?
As I’ve said Maori don’t count in James’s world.
Nor do women. ( see Rhythm and Vines thread)
Nor do animals.
Only James counts in James’s world.
He is an Ayn Rand devotee.
This may come as a shock in your tiny mind – but just because you say something it does not make it so.
Thats a 7 on the Ed scale this morning.
Right there Ed,
Doesn’t care about climate change, or future of our rail, community public environmental health, we have seen either Ed.
It is best to always ignore the nonsense he writes
and many locals are very happy with it – seems very popular.
There are multiple failings in a system created haphazardly to deal with connections of local iwi to land.
Case in point. Auckland Council has inherited the existing waahi tapu sites all former district councils. Our local one, Franklin District Council, had no comprehensive list of sites. Local iwi were given a short window of opportunity – but no resources – to submit new sites before the amalgamation.
Given the vast area of land that had been confiscated, this burden fell to a few to try and cover the historical aspects of land that had been out of iwi ownership for many years.
I attended a resource consent hearing regarding a local landmark that was taken from local iwi in the 1860s, and has since been subdivided a few times. We were not there in the capacity of local tangata whenua, but did have with us an archived map of the site that showed the land in question was part of a Native Reserve, including urupa. While interest from the panel was shown, the fact that this had not been recorded on the waahi tapu register meant that this consideration was not going to be taken into account.
The original tribe and iwi had scattered and their history – over a century later after their land – is thus removed.
Neighbouring local iwi are burdened with the task of uncovering evidence such as these archives, and even those are not considered evidence enough.
You have a confidence in the system working, but it does not do so. Honest consultation with iwi – whether or not it is required – is at least a step in acknowledging those systematic failures in a genuine way.
moderation note for you to attend to.
done – thanks.,
Thanks James
Sorry – please find link following: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11957991
There is an economic storm coming in 2018.
Here are some of the first drops.
‘The most notable change was in Auckland, where for the first time since February 2011 it was now a “buyer’s market”, realestate.co.nz spokeswoman Vanessa Taylor said.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11969056
Just ‘conditioning’ ,because sellers expectations are too high.Propert ponzi is the real bitcoin.
Crash coming this year.
That will be good for labour. In government for a year and then allowing a housing crash to happen.
Lots of unhappy voters come next election time.
I don’t think the electorate are all as stupid as you.
Oh Im sure that the many many many homeowners will be ecstatic that Labour oversaw their house values and equity slashed.
Thats bound to be a vote winner.
Its not being stupid – its that it impacts people and their lives for the worse – might be good for people who are envious, but in the real world it will cost votes.
In the real world it’s a Ponzi Scheme that National engineered to make a few people richer and everybody else worse off.
Yes Draco,
Tory tactics again there we see with the usual ‘property price slump scare’ from them again eh?
Our home price has ‘slumped after all those increased trucks National Party have ‘encouraged’ to carry freight through our residential communities ruining our health & wellbeing as property values have slumped now.
Because who wants 24/7 hour truck noise vibration & pollution in their lives as living near these horrible “truck roads now”?
Whereas normal political analysis has the electorate perfectly capable of realising that it takes more than one term to repair the things the National Party does.
So while I sympathise somewhat with your need to believe you’re going be returned to government at the next election, in the end, derision wins.
why is it Labours fault when people buy things on credit they actually can’t afford, especially if you were to have another global financial crisis like we had in 2007/8?
Oh because Phil – Housing Allowance Fraud – English would said so?
Question: Leading up to the overheating of the market, what has National done to prevent the market from crashing in the future during their reign of power?
What about all the people who would then be able to buy a house (or upgrade to a more suitable one)? Surely the 10-15% of people who lose out big (because they weren’t smart enough to catch on to the trend early enough) will be overshadowed by the 50-60% who then benefit?
Or do you think everyone has 5 houses, a boat and 5 luxury cars all based on the increasing value of their home they brought in 1960?
50-60% wont benefit – because when the values drop too much they will either hold on to them – or rent them out to cover the cost.
So the current land owners don’t lose out then… you can’t have it both ways you know
If it happens then it was a crash engineered by National.
perhaps – but overseen by Labour. And guess who the owners will blame come election time ?
You may be right. Depends upon how well it’s framed and the fact that many on the left have been calling property a bubble for a long time.
They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.
So before that happens James, what should they do to prevent a housing crash in Auckland? What should they do not have it a “buyers market” or are those things mutually exclusive?
> They won’t let a housing crash happen in Auckland. They’ll buy every house coming on the market for HousingNZ which would see the demand (and so prices) stay high.
TBH that sounds like a long shot.
A.
The crash is a global crash.
And they’ll have that as Ms Ardern’s fault too!
Hey guys, before we all get too excited, let’s think this through… We all know that a huge problem in recent times has been rising house prices (esp in Auckland). If there was a drop in prices that would actually be a good thing for buyers, especially those who are struggling to cover the extremely inflated costs. (And, btw, buyers vote, too, as do parents and others who care about people trying to buy.)
As it happens, your report of a “buyers’ market” is actually just based on a slight increase in stock and longer time on the market – prices are still up 2.7% in Auckland, with many sellers seemingly having waited for new council valuations before putting their properties on the market. Read past the headline…🙄
Hardly an economic meltdown! And we have to accept that if we want a more equitable, accessible housing market, some people are going to see their houses drop in value. That may be a problem for those people, especially if they’ve been using their property as a proxy superannuation plan, but it’s not armageddon. Plus, the government is trying to be careful about this stuff. Increasing the stock of reasonably priced housing will slow down growth in value, but the market won’t tank because of it.
I do hope we are shielded from the worst of the 2018 economic meltdown. Our dependence on China could cause businesses to fail.
The World Bank are pretty damn confident about China’s prospects for 2018. Do you know something they don’t?
Ken RingMax Keiser predicted it so it must be true.The symptoms have been present for 12-18 months, Horncastle Homes closing up
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/rodney-times/97089754/horncastle-homes-wraps-up-after-40-years
I have had to implement the winding up of 3 builders for failure to pay debts for building supplies, and there are many others that are on limited supplies as they are on agreements to reduce debt.
Building material inflation well above CPI and pay rate increases. This building inflation excludes land
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11789263
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11683028
The timing of when this happens has alot to do with what economic conditions from the recent past.
Very interesting.
I have a sense the banks are doing everything they can to reduce their exposure to bad debt before the oncoming storm.
‘Iran – Early U.S. Support For Rioters Hints At A Larger Plan
In Iran – Regime Change Agents Hijack Economic Protests we looked at the developing U.S.-Israeli operation to instigate a revolt in Iran. What follows are a few more background points and a view on the developments since. A color revolution or revolt in Iran have only little chances of success. But even as the fail they can be used as pretext for additional sanctions and other anti-Iranian measures. The current incidents are thus only one part of a much larger plan.
The “western” democracies are used to distinguish political parties as left or right with fixed combinations of economic and cultural policies. The “left” is seen as preferring a social economy that benefits the larger population and as cultural liberal or progressive. The right is seen as cultural conservative with a preference for a free market economy that favors the richer segments of a nation.
The political camps in Iran are different.
The simplified version: The conservatives, or “principalists”, are cultural conservative but favor economic programs that benefit the poor. Their support base are the rural people as well as the poorer segments of the city dwellers. The last Iranian president near to them was Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. One of his major policies was the implementation of cash payments to the needy as replacement of general and expensive subsidies on oil products and foodstuff. The current Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is a member of the “reformist” camp. His support base are the merchants and the richer parts of the society. He is culturally (relative) progressive but his economic polices are neoliberal. The new budget he introduced for the next year cuts back on the subsidies for the poor Ahmedinejad had introduced. It will increase prices for fuel and basic food stuff up to 30-40%.
The protests on December 28 and 29 were about these and other economic issues. Such protests have regularly occurred in Iran throughout the decades. But the current ones were soon hijacked by small groups which chanted slogans against the Iranian system and against the strong Iranian engagement in Syria and Palestine. These are not majority positions of the 80 million inhabitants of Iran:
According to the poll, 67.9% say Iran should increase backing for anti-IS groups, up from 59.8% a year ago. Meanwhile, a majority of 64.9% backs the deployment of Iranian military personnel to Syria to help the regime of Bashar al-Assad, up slightly from 62.7% a year ago.
The small groups that hijacked the protests against Rouhani’s economic polices were heavily promoted by the usual suspects of U.S. influence operations. Avaaz, the RAND cooperation, Human Rights Watch and others immediately jumped onto the bandwagon…..
Read more here.
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/iran-early-us-support-for-rioters-hints-at-a-larger-plan.html
Is that a whole cut ‘n’ paste job from the linked article with no original content from you, and no formatting for clarity? Again?
Fucking rude.
Cannot remember the selfish posters name on here who happily states to driving on the wrong side of the road in a major gorge “in case a rock falls”.
Thiught of them this morning when I read this
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/100316172/driver-caught-on-camera-in-coromandel-on-wrong-side-of-road
Eco likes Prince Philip he has been around for a while and he knows the big picture I know he is laughing at the charade that is going on in OUR WORLD.Many thanks to the Prince.
Ka pai
Prince Philip is not a nice person.
http://www.aljazeera.com/amp/indepth/opinion/2017/08/priceless-racism-duke-edinburgh-170810082226234.html
http://mashable.com/2017/05/04/prince-philip-gaffes-list.amp
“This is who he is – and the long panoply of his racist, sexist, elitist, misogynistic, class-privileged and unhinged prejudices is a mobile museum of European bigotry on display.”
Sums the matter well.
They show him up to be a cruel father and an unfaithful husband on the Crown as well.
Phil the Greek is a great bloke, funniest great grandad on the planet.
Where to begin!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-04/israel-offers-to-pay-african-migrants-to-leave-threatens-jail/9302960
Aren’t the Royal Family such lovely ordinary people?
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/03/windsor-council-calls-removal-homeless-people-before-royal-wedding
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/670975/prince-harry-meghan-markle-monaco-new-year-celebration-party-france-royal/amp
LOL – you quote the Daily star.
that’s hilarious. But then again – its more reliable that some of the other links he proves.
and just to help you with your comprehension – the first link is somebody else requesting it – The royal family have nothing to do with it at all.
Ed
Sour cream goes with baked potatoes and chives nicely.
This is what you get after 35 years of neoliberalism.
Selfish people.
ME people, not WE people.
People who don’t care about society.
People who don’t care about Maori values.
‘A request from local iwi for visitors to stay away from Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges to stop the spread of kauri dieback appears to be falling on deaf ears.
Hundreds of people are continuing to walk in the ranges, despite Te Kawerau-ā-Maki placing a rāhui over them to try and stop visitors flocking there in the summer months.
At least 500 people are estimated to be walking the popular Kitekite Falls track near Piha every day.’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/347455/they-re-just-making-their-job-more-difficult-and-more-expensive
Often these people claim to care about their families – but even then they show by their actions they don’t care about their children and grandchildren, as they refuse to make any sacrifices to their lifestyles to mitigate climate change.
In extreme case, they deny climate change.
Burn the witches !
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lowres.cartoonstock.com/religion-clergy-popes-bishop-stake-burning-bron2676_low.jpg
In your opinion obviously. Just because you don’t like or agree with their actions does not mean that they do not care about their children.
For example – I think if you imposed your ideological eating disorder (vegan) on kids – does that make you uncaring not giving them a full healthy diet ?
Or do you let them grow and make their own mind up (or is that uncaring also)?
“Selfish people.
ME people, not WE people.
People who don’t care about society.
People who don’t care about Maori values.”
That’s the perception I have of you. Nice to see you come out and admit it.
NZ Is a country being destroyed by the food industry.
The solution is the way we are dealing with big tobacco.
This article shows how we can deal with this disgraceful and disgusting industry and its pimps like Katherine Rich.
Ban advertising
Tax unhealthy food for its externalities
Limit its sale points
‘Dan Parker, who was a successful advertising executive earning his living promoting Coca Cola and McDonalds, told the Guardian in his first interview that the food industry is behaving like Big Tobacco. “I think what the food industry does now will define where it lands. If it behaves like tobacco it will end up being treated like tobacco. And I think it is behaving like tobacco,” said the former industry insider.
“There are an awful lot of people not very interested in seeing the size of the packaged food industry drop by those kind of figures. The amount of money involved is billions of pounds.” That includes the food industry, the supermarkets, the exchequer and also the media. “Parts are almost entirely propped up by advertising for those unhealthy products. Early Saturday night TV, for example, would struggle without pizzas and fishfingers.”‘
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/02/former-advertising-executive-reveals-big-foods-junk-food-pushing-tactics
“NZ Is a country being destroyed by the food industry”
You have anything to back that up? No thought not.
And no – the daily star or vegan news blogs are not reputable links.
You’re doing well hitting the mental ignore button Ed, keep it up. I just wish more would do the same. He brings a sour note to The Standard.
4 days.
And it’s great just scrolling past 😎
How is your chocolate fast going?
No chocolate fast for me. You must be confusing me with another poster.
I am enjoying a James-free fast though. So far I feel so cleansed. And being a BM-free zone helps as well.
Speaking of cleansing after much humid foreboding the forecast rain had arrived. It will be interesting to see how it pans out. I have a saying about HB weather – it is normally better than predicted and very rarely worse.
Grey for short but not for long. We both get Grey but I am greywarshark. And the chocolate fast is biting me the more that I’m not biting. This is a good test on my eating habits. It won’t last but each New Year it might be a good move.
And good to limit the James-mosquito. The whining is annoying and subverts the blog.
Good on you for keeping off the chocolate!
Agreed
4 days and no mosquito shall bother me..
Scrolling past.