There are many subjects, which if critical of lead to instant cries of anti-this, racist-that, phobic-the-other.
Israel and their worldwide lobbies are one of the leading cry babies in this regard… they don't handle criticism. They actively stop criticism. Little precious things they are
I am seriously thinking that in this day and age any such questions should be avoided, lest the authorities see it and place one on some watch list. Very seriously. The US asks for your personal political views when applying for visas now.
This should be frightening. We are already bowed in fear of saying things that are 'not approved'.
And we are already at war. All over the frikkin' place.
In the future, with hindsight, how will the period 2015-2020 be viewed? The same as we now view 1930's Europe???
From Francesca’s above link re Helsinki at #2. “We had to get rid of the night shelters and short-term hostels we still had back then. They had a very long history in Finland, and everyone could see they were not getting people out of homelessness. We decided to reverse the assumptions.”…
“We decided to make the housing unconditional,” says Kaakinen. “To say, look, you don’t need to solve your problems before you get a home. Instead, a home should be the secure foundation that makes it easier to solve your problems.”
(The George Constanza Gambit!)
…But Housing First is not just about housing. “Services have been crucial,” says Helsinki’s mayor, Jan Vapaavuori, who was housing minister when the original scheme was launched. “Many long-term homeless people have addictions, mental health issues, medical conditions that need ongoing care. The support has to be there.”…
Housing First costs money, of course: Finland has spent €250m creating new homes and hiring 300 extra support workers. But a recent study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as €15,000 a year for every homeless person in properly supported housing…
And there, the Finnish capital is fortunate. Helsinki owns 60,000 social housing units; one in seven residents live in city-owned housing. It also owns 70% of the land within the city limits, runs its own construction company, and has a current target of building 7,000 more new homes – of all categories – a year.
In each new district, the city maintains a strict housing mix to limit social segregation: 25% social housing, 30% subsidised purchase, and 45% private sector. Helsinki also insists on no visible external differences between private and public housing stock, and sets no maximum income ceiling on its social housing tenants.
Very interesting. And to others who have dissed The Guardian because of its stand against Jeremy Corbyn I think it is a very worthwhile newspaper with a flaw. Perhaps you should present your arguments against the paper's stand in a numbered list, refined down from broad accusations down to well-founded argument that is sure to win their attention if not their agreement. Let's bring them into line with good thinking.
Also Salt Lake City Subsidised Housing http://www.hacsl.org/rental-assistance
The Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake is pleased to offer four different quality affordable housing programs to low-income and no-income individuals and families: Section 8, Low Income Public Housing, Affordable Housing, and Supportive Housing Programs.
When National were in Govt, at the height of their corrupt arrogance .. non-enforcement for non compliance of regulations became their uber style of rule,…. but only for the rich, corrupt and connected …
Northland is one of the most deprived and neglected areas of New Zealand …. it was being plundered … in a destructive and more often than not in an illegal way.
Documents obtained under the Official Information Act by the NEPS are claimed to show that in fact, mandatory information was missing from some 80 per cent of MPI intention-to-export notices processed in 2013. "
In either case we might wonder why, when Northland is suffering deprivation and economic stagnation, Maraetai Drive millionaires are allowed to strip the province of its natural resources, tear up its wild places and reap outrageous profits "
That one of the prominent speculators in this grey market in taonga happens to be David Wong-Tung, husband of National MP Judith Collins, should rightly raise eyebrows, along with suspicions that her involvement places the Government in an awkward spot – again. Wong-Tung is a director in Kauri Ruakaka Ltd, formerly Oravida Kauri, which has stockpiled an estimated 80,000 tonnes of logs.
Here's a google earth piture from 2015 of the dodgy Kauri stockpile that Judiths hubby and the Oravida octopus had ripped from Northlands wetlands …. one valuation in the Public address thread had the Kauri worth $ 400 Million
Then take a look at the latest google earth pic …. With export of these logs curtailed, due to belated enforcement of regulations …is the vastly grown robbers Kauri pile worth $1 Billion dollars now ?
c.hairman is a concerned little rwnj. Most people here treat him like the creep he is – and now his side eye has spotted our Prime Minister – this won't end well, for him.
For a supposed leftist you peddle a surprising number of right-wing talking points. I wonder why that is?
Also: unless you're their personal friends, it's Robertson and Ardern, not Grant and Jacinda. They're the Finance Minister and Prime Minister, not your mates.
lols the nats inventing something pointless to whinge about isn't a political cost. It's business as usual.
Next you'll be saying "told you so" when Hosking parrots the same talking point.
Here's how it works: something happens, you whinge about it, national make shit up about it, media punters wank about the nat invention, you talk about how you predicted the scandal.
But the thing is that it doesn't matter what the something that happened was. Ardern could walk across Cook Strait, you'd call it a major political problem, national will point out that she didn't use the ferry despite her professed support for NZ businesses, Hosks will turn it into a rant against cycleways, and you'd then ejaculate a "told you so".
This is like that time the Labour Party President bullshited about some dumb shit only the door is still wide open for Roberston to have the treasury secretary's resignation on his desk by tonight.
Who is hurting who exactly. Simon is taking the piss, he spent all his political capital on Jamie Lee Ross and getting a couple list places for a donor. That was me being sarcastic. Robertson has to begin acting like he is in charge of the treasury. For to long those wonks have been interfering in the affairs of the state and going against GCSB recommendations to call in police to investigate is a corrupt practice. The Secretary tried to cover his ass. He's meant to be the smartest guy in the room, not the dumbest. It's either the treasury secretary (forgot how to spell his name) or Robertson. If this budget had of been a wellbeing budget, Y'know? Things may have been different. But it's not.
Nah they'd be no different. Let it slowly burn out the time. Hell, by the time the investigation comes back, even if it fully says the nat version, the dude could well be gone by then anyway. From a purely political perspective, there's no need to waste effort on it. From an organisational perspective, the guy who apparently fucked up is gone.
And if they determine the search indexing security hole existed before the last nat budget, Bridges looks like even more of a dick than he already does.
nah not that treasury wonk. How hard is it really to give em a thorough clean out? Whaaaaaaat. What eh? Is Robertson on recruit difficulty is something.
Sam, can I suggest that you make the subjects of your sentences and comments a bit more clear?
At best guess, it seems you are indicating that the Treasury web development team should be fired? That depends entirely on whether they fulfilled the agreed terms of the development request. If they did, then the people who signed off on the request are in the gun. Unless it was a systemic issue that was not the result of any individual decision or omission, in which case the project managers are the ones to blame.
This is why there is an investigation, and the priority should be prevention of future errors rather than recrimination.
To be perfectly clear I'd make all them treasury wonks reapply for there jobs by writing essays. Any of them praise SOE sales, deregulation, welfare reform, what else? Asset speculation. Any of them praise neoliberalism wouldn't be offered work from me. Okay?
Y'know revolutionising religious financial philosophy is very difficult to do when bonuses are not the prime motivating factor, Y'know? These guys are no friend of left wing politics you know that don't you, don't you?
These guys literally believe there own bullshit. They are meant to be men of the world, all knowing. But they lied anyway and didn't have too. This is how they've always operated.
We have a well being budget architiure. The rules of the game has changed. The quicker Roberston begins clearing these mushrooms out the better because old habits die hard.
Y'know you're just not going to get any sympathy out of me for treasury, McFlock (it's still gets me).
"going against GCSB recommendations to call in police to investigate"
You are just lying there. The advice to Treasury from the national cybersecurity team was that the actions against the website did not fall within their remit, so to take it to the Police who could establish any illegality. That has been reported since the beginning.
Why do you even bother commenting. Try and follow the the piece of string all the way to the end. The cops chucked out the report as well. The was no click yes to say you've read the privacy agreement before accessing Google cache for fucks sake. Y'know?
Meh. Think I read somewhere on pundant that the state services commissions has responsibility for hiring and firing the Treasury Secretary and that it would be an employment issue of the Prime Minister or Finance minister demanded a resignation. Then it went on to say the Helen Clark would have had his resignation on her desk anyway.
If I was advising Roberston, the word on the street is stand the Secretary down pending the results of the investigation because tbh I just want utu for neoliberalism and I'd be willing to burn the whole thing to the ground, ya feel me ?
Yes. Which is why you shouldn't be allowed within a light year of giving policy, political, or economic advice to anyone in power. The breathtaking incompetence that resulted would put a search cache oversight to shame.
And you may remember McFlock. Next on my wellbeing policy perscription would be to give every one at WINZ and the rest of MSD a UBI so I could check how dedicated they all are to the pursuit of humanities studies.
Nope. That's why the unemployment benefit was introduced.
The only reasons to introduce a UBI are to eliminate cracks in who gets appropriate income support, and to reduce the administrative costs of income support.
Choosing to pay MSD employees a UBI isn't actually "universal", but if it were universally applied within MSD then that would involve a pay cut for highly specialised frontline staff as well as bureaucratic support staff. Or are you going to set the MSD "UBI" at a rate equivalent to the current salary for an experienced social worker? Or even negotiators for multimillion dollar facility contracts to be paid fuckall? Because that's a way to have almost all experienced staff in most aspects of the organisation go either overseas or into the private sector.
What rubbish, perhaps when they start delivering the outcomes on the inquiries they had underway more NZers might take them seriously again. They are desperately trying to maintain some momentum from being so "maligned" and that wore thin some time back.
So we've got he said/she said a torn condom with no one's DNA,some txt messages…unless these have been "lost" and no one left on earth who hasn't heard of "Assange The Rapist"
Just my opinion but the sex accusations are nothing more than the man-woman snafus that are inevitable in sex relations. They are frankly mad!!! I beginning to believe it's been a set up all along. How much has the CIA sent their way?
The rape allegation against Julian Assange, explained
The story of his asylum and arrest is about more than WikiLeaks.
More rape apologia. If you think doing things to women without their consent is just an "inevitable snafu," you're a threat and should take a good look at yourself.
Just give us the news about Julian Assange and what we can do to help him. Please listen to this – we have a treacle pit here about his sex life and You will achieve nothing good if you try and enter it. Those of us who are concerned about him would like good info. Let the protagonists get on with the cock fight on their own.
Can we rely on you to just stay on task and keep us informed of his wellbeing please. Three pleases – is that enough? Cheers. Thanks for info so far. Just to reiterate what is the best thing to do – write (whom to and how), donate – same, anything else?
Honestly, Grey, if he is as stressed and incapacitated as the UN torture guy says, he may not be up to replying, but gestures of goodwill would be gratefully accepted I imagine
Yes I made a note about the address but got stuck on the advice about sending paper and a UK stamped addressed envelope for reply. I think you are right and not to worry. He isn't going to feel like replying. But maybe a card, with something positive on it. I have got one of the WW2 ones that says about Keeping Calm and Carry On on or something. I don't think that's quite the thing either.
I don't know about a card though, now I think further, the info that JohnM put up said no postcards. I don't understand that, because I reckon the authorities would censor mail anyway.
By the way anyone else reading this and wondering, NZ Post have dropped the idea of providing a full postal service, which we all sort of know (someone this a.m. spoke about some government service being 'managed down'). So there isn't a way of sending a stamped self-addressed envelope, either by buying stamp coupons, or buying a stamped envelope – asked about both.
So Milt you are saying here that you actually really believe that the UK govt has spent seven years and millions of pounds on this over 2 alleged rape cases?
You really are quite delusional, or maybe as others have pointed out something worse..wilfully ignorant?…one would have thought that if the UK govt was so interested in bringing rapists to justice that they would have used that man power and money pursuing the thousands of unsolved rape cases that remain open in their own country…
…Thousands of rape cases remain unsolved
THOUSANDS of unsolved rapes have left victims traumatised across the North East. Over the past 10 years more than 2,380 rapes reported to Northumbria Police and Durham Constabulary remain classified as undetected. Across Tyneside, Northumbria Police dealt with 2,874 reported rape offences with 945 classified as detected, meaning someone was charged to appear in court.
But that leaves 1,929 victims, almost 70%, waiting to see justice.
so you can imagine the UK govt spending and wasting time and money on this?
Governments are shit, they do shit, they say shit and they shit on people innocent and guilty. That is the 101 starting position for any discussion not whether this or that particular govt is shittier than another – yes it is and so what.
Equally interesting to claim this is about a rape case in light of "Amnesty International Sweden has the highest incidence of reported rapes in Europe but the lowest conviction rate".
This compares to the 78 convictions for 1,504 reported rapes in Norway in 2016 (5 percent), 94 convictions for 890 reported rapes in Denmark (10 percent), and 209 convictions for 1,245 reported rapes in Finland (16 percent).
It would seem that 'normally' Sweden isn't that focused or determined to get convictions on rape cases anyway. Gee..I wonder what makes this case different?
(Unless of course you are 'foreign'…rape statistics in Sweden show that 58% of men convicted of rape and attempted rape over the past five years were born outside of the European Union: Southern Africans, Northern Africans, Arabs, Middle Easterns, and Afghans.)
The fact that it consists of a simple extradition request so an alleged rapist can be questioned. The subsequent expenditure of a lot of time and money (mostly by the UK) is down to Assange, not the Swedish prosecutor.
"The subsequent expenditure of a lot of time and money (mostly by the UK) is down to Assange"…this is exactly why I addressed the comment to Adrian T. and generally do not comment on TS when the topic is Assange…your argument is ridiculous, and, quite frankly, offensive.
The UK decided to spend vast amounts of money on this one accused rapist..meanwhile they choose to allow 1000's of UK rape accusations and rape prevention programs floundering.
That's their choice..it is not 'down' to Assange.
Unless, ofcourse, you are arguing that not spending money following up all those floundering UK rape cases is somehow 'down' to the choices and behaviour of those accused perpetrators. That somehow the accused is in control of the authorities decisions and priorities.
The above comment in response to PM who asserts the difference is an extradition request to question an alleged rapist . No extradition necessary after all it seems Milt!
Bit late now, isn't it? The cases were heard, the bail jumped, the seven years' worth of police monitoring of the embassy carried out and paid for, the 50 weeks' sentence for jumping bail passed and enacted. Unfortunately, the fact they've decided they don't need him extradited now doesn't change the past.
Seems to me it all comes down to the aftermath of the interview.
The prosecutors probably don't see how he can come up with anything that would prevent an arrest on the basis of evidence already in hand, so can't see a point to interviewing him if they can't arrest him and take him to trial ASAP, as is their process.
If that's the case, it seems the Swedish courts believe that he should still have the opportunity to pull the theoretically-possible but highly unrealistic exonerating evidence out of his arse before being extradited, rather than his during opportunity at the first interview, during the first extradition hearings, or any time in the last seven years.
They never needed to extradite him, thats the point.
McFlock, there is no new evidence, all parties have been interviewed, all physical evidence in hand
Why have they not moved on with charging him after the several interviews he’s already given them, the statements from SW, the texts, and whatever physical evidence there is.The torn condom sulpplied by AA has no DNA, and is not useful for the SW complaint.
No new allegations have been made, no other woman has stepped up to add her complaints
He doesn’t have to pull evidence out of his arse as you so coarsely put it, they have to prove whatever charge they come up with , when ,and if , after 9 years they do
Why have they not moved on with charging him after [etc]
Because in Sweden he still gets one more interview before charging. Swedish procedures were actually a key point in the appeals to the original extradition order. I'm therefore surprised you're not familiar with the differences between the UK and Swedish systems.
So Milt you are saying here that you actually really believe that the UK govt has spent seven years and millions of pounds on this over 2 alleged rape cases?
Nope, not saying that at all. Any incredulity about the amount of money spent on "2 alleged rape cases" has to do the book-keeping on how much of it was spent because Assange jumped bail and spent 7 years as a fugitive from justice in a known location the cops then had to monitor 24/7 so they could feel his collar if he left it.
…Thousands of rape cases remain unsolved
Your implied argument is that, because UK police have done so poorly at investigating rapes in the UK, it's unreasonable for them to have made efforts in this extradition and bail-jumping case. That's a non-sequitur.
No your position that this has little or nothing to do with Assange/Wikileaks exposing govt secrets is fucking inane beyond belief and quite bizarre.
But I suppose centrists are well known for their fanatical support of the status quo, and supporting without question whatever bullshit is shovelled down their throats, so I guess I am wasting my time on this one with you….quickly go back to the Guardian and get confirmation.
Except yours and your band of Assange haters make no logical sense, it is like you lot heard the word rape, lost all reason and have turned into a bunch of pitch fork, witch burners from some corny Hammer House of Horrors flick.
Lol, you know what pushes my buttons alright! Buttons duly locked.
I don't have any beliefs about Assange, other than that he has the same right to due process as anyone else and that letting the Americans get their mitts on him would be a bad idea from a human rights perspective. I just don't share your conspiracy theories about the allegations against him made by a couple of Swedish women, is all. And I definitely don't share the rape apologia views peddled by some of his fans on this blog's comments threads.
Careful, Adrian, next label he hauls out will be something equally fabulous—he’s quite likely to start calling people "anti-Semites", or Russian bots, or running dogs, or Trump supporters.
As we see with the persecution of Julian Assange, the smearing and the destruction of reputation is what counts, and anything—no matter how fantastical or obscene—is permitted against the prisoner designated for obliteration.
I do not think I have seen one comment that could even have been remotely considered to be ' rape apologia'
Seriously, wtf? You've missed all the comments explaining why the female complainants have been duped by conspirators, how their complaints don't really constitute rape, or (the ne plus ultra of the genre) how Sam doesn't see any reason why he shouldn't fuck a fertile, red-blooded woman without a condom? Maybe try actually reading threads occasionally?
I didn't see "2 starfuckers who compared notes and were…pissed off."as Milt had just pointed me to Sam's comments..of course I would never condone anything like that, and would have called out the person in no uncertain terms myself had I seen it.
The centre exist for a reason as it is proven best unless shown otherwise and change is often difficult because of , the extremes the domain of loonies with the odd insight, but 99pc just loons, conspiracy theorist and ideologoues
Back to talk radio for you, our incoherent friend. Over at Magic Talk or NewstalkZzzzzzzB nobody cares if you sound drunk and your sentences make little or no sense.
Interesting observation, bewildered. I've often noticed how those hanging on to the extreme edge of the fringe of outsider politics always have problems when their marginality is pointed out. Always it's the fault of others why their preferred policies are soundly rejected by the overwhelming majority of the voting public. It must seem like a bizarre world that you can't get what you want without a willing constituency behind you. That's probably why it's easier for those rim clingers to get aggressive and spout hatred towards those who won't have a bar of them.
Don't forget two prosecutors have already dropped the case and we're onto the third one now… But we must look at this as a straight forward rape case. Yeah right!
Former President of the Swedish Bar Association Bengt Ivarsson:
"I share the opinion that the District Court was correct in its decision not to detain Assange. The only reasonable thing to do would be to drop this investigation, once and for all."
Not speaking fluent Swedish, I had to rely on Google Translate. But it seems this might be difficult to mistranslate:
Forward late afternoon, the judge returned and read the decision. Assange should not be detained.
The decision brought some surprise, but was very reasonable. The prosecutor has tried to get him detained because of a flight danger.
As if Assange were able to escape the high security prison in London where he currently serves a 50-week penalty for violating the British bailiff rules.
It is difficult to get rid of the suspicion that the prosecutor has a completely different impetus. In order to compete with the United States, who also wants to get the founder of Wikileaks, a European arrest warrant must be issued. Which in turn requires arrest.
But Uppsala's district court did not go on fine. The decision states the obvious. Assange sits where he sits and it is possible to pursue the investigation without being deprived of liberty by Sweden.
To recap: the request for arrest was on the grounds he was a flight risk. Which he can't be, because he's in gaol. So no grounds for an EAW. So no way to get him extradited to Sweden instead of the USA.
No rape apology there, just an apparent situation where as long as he's locked up, the yanks are first in the queue.
As I keep saying on this forum, if someone actually believes that this travesty has anything whatsoever to do with those two girls in Sweden then one can only conclude that whomever believes that could only be extremely naive and/or extremely stupid.
I reckon Mozza got it right yesty in one of his dressing downs.
Round these parts, folk get into their tribes and akin to soccer fans, seem to revel in the repeating of taunts as opposed to engaging in a meeting of the minds. When the willy waving really gets going it is so off-putting.
I am sure a political junkie can sort people into their groups with acknowledged names eg authoritarian, liberal etc.
Adrian sums it up – agree with him or be considered 'extremely naive or stupid". That is the special place he comes from and he is not alone in his extreme fundamentalism.
No, drawing lines in the sand and saying enough and no further is what you do when you really believe in something..do you remember what that feels like?,actually I think you do, I see you doing just that all the time on TS.
Yes I am a ideologue, and am proud of it, the big joke with you centrists is that you really think that you aren't, like you have moved past ideology… that is just total bullshit, you are all just as entrenched as me, so why not stop pretending and just being honest with yourself and us. .
Don't call me a centralist you rude shit – I'm LEFT. Always have been and always will be. You just have stopped thinking and have started chucking insults all the time – you ain't as righteous as you think.
Agree with both – strongly agree with Adrian re "drawing lines in the sand" on issues you really believe in, particularly evidence-based matters of principle.
Nevertheless, re Marty’s “extreme fundamentalism” and “rigidity” concerns, on some contentious issues I might harbour private doubts.
I think it is more interesting to live not knowing answers than to have answers that might be wrong. I have approximate answers, possible beliefs, and different degrees of certainty about different things, but I'm not absolutely certain of anything, and there's some things I know nothing about at all – like whether it means anything to ask,'Why are we here?' I might think about it for a little while, but if I can't figure it out then I'll go to something else. I'm not afraid of being lost in a mysterious universe with no purpose, which is the way it is, possibly. It doesn't frighten me. – Richard Feynman.
@ Drowsy M. Kram, I agree with the last half of Freynman's thoughts, but personally, as far as the first half goes, I like thinking that at least some of my beliefs slowly formed over the past fifty years through my life experiences, readings, debating and observations are pretty solid, I like knowing that I would get into the trenches and fight for some of them.
If that makes me a fundamentalist in the eyes of some, well then so be it.
I am sorry for calling that fundamentalism – that was not correct – I don't think that word applies to you – sorry.
For me – as I get old I see that the black and white is always gray. What I believe in is just that, my beliefs. And I believe and defend them with gusto.
In not so many years it will matter not a jot. This is good I think.
No worries, I have got a real thick hide, but thanks.
" In not so many years it will matter not a jot. This is good I think."
Well I hope not. What you believe and defend and promote in the ways that you can, do matter imo, and the people around you can see and feel that, and maybe some small seeds are planted, and maybe some of those ideas and beliefs are taken forward and grown by another generation, or even just one person, and who knows what that person might end up doing with those ideas we helped to plant?
As you well know our beliefs on the Left are the way of the future, well at least they are the one way that would be fairer and have more equal outcomes for all citizens, and lead to a healthier planet, so these ideas are very important, and are worth fighting for…and without constant compromise to the centre.
Adrian, admit to having some "pretty solid" beliefs myself – could part of what Feynman is saying be that it's important not to forget that they are 'beliefs', and that that's how they may be perceived by (some) others?
Maybe put this into the category of reflecting on our beliefs from other points of view, if only to understand ‘the opposition’?
And it doesn’t even have to be oppositional. I don’t believe there is a God, but respect the beliefs of believers and appreciate (to the extent that I can) the value and contribution of such belief.
Mordechai Vanunu was released from Ashkelon prison to open air captivity in east Jerusalem on April 21, 2004 after 18 years-most all in solitary.
In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu was clubbed, drugged, bound and kidnapped from Rome by the Mossad essentially because he told the truth and provided the photographic proof of their clandestine 7-story underground WMD facility in the Negev. In the case of Mordechai Vanunu, Americans need to know that the restrictions that have held him captive after 18 years behind bars come from the Emergency Defense Regulations, which were implemented by Britain against Palestinians and Jews after World War II.
The Jerusalem Post’s archive has one mention of a meeting between Corbyn and a member of Knesset in Israel, on April 19, 1998.
At that time, Corbyn was deeply involved in efforts to secure the early release of Vanunu, who was imprisoned in 1987 for revealing Israeli nuclear secrets to The Sunday Times of London.
Corbyn, who was a joint vice-chairman of the Human Rights Group of the British Parliament, met with then-Knesset State Control Committee chairman and Labor MK Yossi Katz.
In 2005, eileen fleming began a series of interviews with Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's Nuclear Whistle Blower, that culminated in her third book, "BEYOND NUCLEAR: Mordechai Vanunu's FREEDOM of SPEECH Trial and My Life as a Muckraker" http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.p…
This interview was taped in east Jerusalem, a few weeks after Vanunu's FREEDOM OF SPEECH Trial began in the 'democracy' of Israel. MY latest FAX to Obama @ http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?o…
Thanks for those links, I will do some more research on this tonight.
You are right the Jewish lobby has really done a job on Corbyn, they can now pretty much say up is down, white is black, and the MSM press will print their lies and slander verbatim.
Yes please note that Adrian, referring to the Jewish lobby is incorrect, and Israeli is close to the truth but is it the Zionists in particular? How many Israelis would regard themselves as Zionists?
Zionism is a broad church, to coin a phrase. Zionism to some people means the revival of Jewish culture, Jewish art, Jewish religion, and so on. Noam Chomsky calls himself a Zionist.
The violent, repressive state of Israel is an authoritarian, anti-democratic outlaw state with some Zionists in its ruling elite.
Ah. Helpful comment on this matter thanks. Matches with what I have read and seen. It can't be a good well-run people's state because I am sure Jewish people respect older people. When I see a young settler woman bad mouthing a group of old Palestinian women and possibly spitting at them, and young men harassing a humble street cart owner I know that is not the true Jewish culture and spirit.
The National Party through Simon Bridges, has announced to every New Zelander that they may grab any information or any material they want. At any time, anywhere.! Without any permission.
No wonder New Zealanders see National as "Grab for greed". No wonder National has enforced Poverty on massive numbers of New Zealand Citizens.
National does its dirty work outside Democracy. But abuses Democracy constantly.
As our Nation becomes more and more aware of the Anti- Democracy of Simon Bridges and Mrs Bennett, the more National will slither down its own dishonest Slum.
Has the election campaign started already or is Mike Hosking just stuck in a mid-term hysteria attack. I see the Herald headline today "Hosking: Red alert – this Govt's in danger of plunging into deficit." He seems to be in perpetual attack mode at the moment, a drama queen who unfortunately has a stage. Mind you there are desperate morons ready to fawn at his feet.
I hope the medical profession know about this. When someone gets into A&E after having a seizure and their partner explains that the patient has had an epiphany, they might be very puzzled.
Yes, A&E specialists know about this and they immediately give an intra-arterial infusion of Kool-Aid Blue. It won’t stop the seizures but deals with the epiphany and associated hallucinations.
No surprises. You could present Mike Hosking with a budget that cures cancer, feeds the Third World and reverses climate change, and he'd still find something to piss and moan about. He needs to bite the bullet and just become a National Party MP. He's three quarters of the way there already.
This would be interesting. The trouble with violence in males often comes from lower income families that have a basic attitude to education and would scorn as perhaps 'sissy' the ideas of understanding psychology and fitting their approaches to child raising within known psychological guidelines.
The reading I have encountered is that lower income families tend to an authoritarian approach. I saw an example of an older Maori man speaking angrily and sharply to get his son or nephew to come and get in a car. I had encountered the man before at an op shop and got an impression of his circumstances; he seemed an uptight person, I felt he might have been in the army at one time. The youngster, about twelve, came to him but head down and mouth set in an angry line. So if he complained about this attitude of the adult role model, and was told to Toughen up, I don't think that would have been a useful approach for friction in the future. The ability to deal with anger is an essential one for civilised behaviour, not to deny it, but very probably to place the source of it, which is usually quite different than the person who receives the outburst of it, verbally or physically.
Learning about handling yourself, your emotions, your self-respect and self-understanding, practising empathy in school workshops, regularly, should be part of education. It is more important than the general education received, being part of every aspect of life and actions personal, and in others; understanding guides the best way of say three possibilities to handle difficulties over personalities, tone etc.
I have mentioned transactional analysis – excellent kit of psychology tools to understand yourself and others and why you do what you do and vice versa.
NZs failed revolution of capitalist economics. What happens when we mass and protest? Depends. We must have achieved some good change. But so little compared to what we perceive as needed. What if we got serious as we did in 1981 for the South Africans? Do we only care about downtrodden people in other countries, other countries' anguish; don't we care about each other? Don't baby boomers care about the young, except their own nuclear family?
Chris Trotter identifies the need for affordable and secure housing at the base of all the problems. It's hard to get a job if you are couch-surfing, sleeping in a car with your kids!! If you have one, how do you manage to get to work looking neat, ready and clean, with all 'home' responsibilities attended to.
…the wish that our publicly-owned television network contained, within its administrative and creative ranks, broadcasters who burn with the same fiery passion to let the voters know what is really happening in their country that consumes Bryan Bruce.
Passion, however, is not enough – not when the game you are playing is politics. It is a perennial failing of the Left that they allow themselves to become consumed with outrage at WHAT is happening on the meanest streets of their nation; paying far too little (if any) heed to WHY it is happening. Challenged on this, they will glibly attach the ‘why’ of poverty, inequality, homelessness and environmental despoliation to “Neoliberalism”. In much the same way did the religious scholars of the Middle Ages explain the ills of the world by pointing triumphantly in the direction of the Devil….
The truth which emerged most clearly from the testimony put before the Otahuhu Town Hall meeting is that the unavailability and inordinate cost of decent housing lies at the very heart of the economic and social crises afflicting New Zealand’s poorest communities. An all-out effort on the housing front is, therefore, urgently required if even a tiny fraction of the Coalition’s “wellbeing” promises are to be fulfilled.
And yet, Robertson’s Wellbeing Budget is almost silent on the issue of housing. Almost, but…[a] line in the 2019 Budget predicts a 21 percent rise in house prices over the next four years.
Please don't forget to refer regularly to the How to get there post on Sundays. Interesting useful practical and philosophical things get put there, and it may be added to during the next week with other stuff.
Thoughts from UKs Nuffield Trust 2017 "…from the Nuffield Trust The Nuffield Trust is an independent health think tank. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.
2018? https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/impact-of-brexit-on-the-nhs.aspx The impact of Brexit on the NHS has been a source of debate and controversy since the figure of £350million appeared on the side of a bus during the EU referendum in 2016. As we get closer to 29th March 2019 – the official date the UK is due to leave the EU – what will the impact of Brexit really look like for the NHS, its staff and its patients?
(Also: Quantum Technologies Developing the use of sensors and clocks in innovative, ground-breaking technologies to change the future landscapes of healthcare, transport, defence, civil engineering and more.)
The European parliament this week opened an investigation into revelations made by Channel 4 that the insurance tycoon Arron Banks funded a lavish lifestyle for Farage in the year of the Brexit referendum. In 2016, Farage received expenses of about £450,000, including rent on a Chelsea home, furniture, security and promotional trips to the US, where he attended the Republican national convention.
The Cons' options appear to be a unceremonial hard brexit, a hard brexit with a deal with one of the greatest US president salesman ever, a new referendum, or a election, by end of October.
PM far too slow off the mark on Treasury with SSC having to step in before she did.
Weak.
If only this government would see it for what is: the only opportunity they will get to clear Treasury senior staff out and get fresh friendly bureaucrats in there.
God forbid the SSC actually look at personnel issues in the state services. /sarc
The pollies are doing their part by demanding answers to the leak. The SSC is doing its part by examining individual actions from an employment perspective. Dunno the exact terminology, but it's governance vs operations.
I very much doubt the Treasury Sec'y clearly fucked up or misled anyone (wouldn't be the dumbest thing to ever happen, though), but it's the SSC's role to find out.
Budgetgate was entirely manufactured by National. It was a set-up from the word go. It caused major confusion and perhaps even a slight panic when they were already under heavy pressure because of Budget Day. I’m sure mistakes were made but some allege a level of deliberation in these mistakes for political advantage. I think this shows National’s thinking and they’re protesting a wee bit too much IMO.
A mother has appeared in court for breaking a broom across the back of her seven-year-old son. The 34-year-old woman was sentenced to 12 months intensive supervision and 40 hours community work, at Pukekohe District Court on May 8 for a charge of assaulting a child with a weapon.
Is it better that she be shamed in front of her child and neighbourhood and receive intensive supervision plus 40 hours of community work. What does intensive supervision mean – be watched all the time. Is the 40 hours community work to spend learning a few things, like working out what to do when you feel very angry, what to do with the child when it won't do what it is asked to, ask sympathetically what she could do to relieve herself of some of the pressure she feels. The emphasis should be on habilitation, and breaking the cycle, as it may have been a punishment she received.
She may be bearing a large burden in the household with no-one to care for her and little co-operation from other adults.
Workshops on anger management, a free child care while she goes to night school to learn something she enjoys, outdoor camp weekends with her children to give change of scene and mood. All positive things more than the punitive finger-pointing would go far.
Along with the sentence of supervision and community work the mother was also ordered to undergo drug and alcohol treatment, along with any anger management courses ordered by the court.
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 ...
“The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
David Farrar writes – Kata MacNamara reports: Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
RNZ reports – It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
Buzz from the BeehiveTolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
David Farrar writes – Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
Don Brash writes – There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
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 ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Teo, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of Southern Queensland ABC Much has been written and produced about white men’s fetishisation of Asian women (crudely nicknamed “yellow fever”). The ABC’s comedy series White Fever breaks new ground by exploring an ...
The children’s minister could have been legally brought before the tribunal after all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The end of ...
Seen comments on social media about eating bugs? Byron Clark explains the short history of our latest conspiracy. “No, Bill Gates nor Klaus Schwab has not funded the research done here,” reads an August 2023 Facebook post from Otago Locusts, the first farm in Aotearoa rearing insects for human consumption. ...
Rural post is essential but expensive, and residents are worried about its future. It’s 9.30am on a Monday morning in rural Manawatū, and farmer Mairi Whittle is on an all-terrain vehicle with her two young sons. After moving sheep from one slope to another, she swings by the letterbox. Opening ...
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, Tuesday 14 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
More than 160 languages are spoken in New Zealand. Week-long events celebrate the unique languages heard across the country, and this week the focus is on the Rotuman language. According to Unesco, the Rotuman language is listed as endangered along with four other Pacific languages – Tokelauan, Niuean, Cook Islands ...
China’s massive military buildup and aggressive actions in the South China Sea are creating “volatility” that the controversial Aukus pact can help counter, the UK’s top diplomat in New Zealand says. British High Commissioner Iona Thomas will deliver a speech to the NZ Institute of International Affairs on Tuesday evening, ...
Remediating Mt Ruapehu if things go pear-shaped could cost more than $80m – and the new operators aren’t on the hook for any of it The post DoC responsible for $87.5m Ruapehu remediation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Unfortunately, the term ‘woke’ is back in the news and for the most stupid of reasons: Act leader David Seymour is now designating certain types of food as ‘woke’ or not. As the Government makes cuts to school lunches, let us consider what ‘woke’ might mean here. ...
Analysis: The Government’s decision to return to a mega-style prison seems to be missing a clear business case The post Mega-prison’s missing business case appeared first on Newsroom. ...
New Zealand authors hate houseplants. They are frightened of them, have nightmares about them, regard them as bad omens; they are afraid, too, of the responsibility of caring for them, and think of them as an alien species that will take over the selfish planet of their interior lives. There ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The third Chalmers’ budget will deliver a surplus of $9.3 billion for this financial year – the second successive surplus of the Albanese government. This will be the first time there have been back-to-back ...
RNZ News A New Zealand pro-Palestinian protester who climbed onto the roof of the Christchurch City Council building has been handcuffed and taken away in a police car. About 20 protesters gathered near the Christchurch Art Gallery today. Officers were called to the scene near Worcester Boulevard about 11.20am, and ...
The Council for International Development (CID) presented a compelling case to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committees this week at Parliament, urging the New Zealand Government to significantly boost its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Greenhow, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Bond University In recent years, a growing number of professional athletes are medically retiring from sport, particularly in some of Australia’s most popular football codes. In April, Collingwood player Nathan Murphy, 24, medically retired ...
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george Galloway sacked For anti-Semitic tweet
http://www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-politics-48498010
good start to the day
That's classic. How many times has Galloway got the fired before. It must be like Israel lobby: 3
Galloway: 2, with a quarter left on the clock.
Whatever floats your boat …
Criticising Israel is not anti-Semitic.
Really Professor Longhair?
There are many subjects, which if critical of lead to instant cries of anti-this, racist-that, phobic-the-other.
Israel and their worldwide lobbies are one of the leading cry babies in this regard… they don't handle criticism. They actively stop criticism. Little precious things they are
Vicious stompers on democracy and human rights they are.
Agree… operating the world's largest prison a.k.a. Gaza. How is this not a repeat of what they themselves suffered in 1930's Germany?
edit: is this criticism, or anti-semitism, this question?
I am seriously thinking that in this day and age any such questions should be avoided, lest the authorities see it and place one on some watch list. Very seriously. The US asks for your personal political views when applying for visas now.
This should be frightening. We are already bowed in fear of saying things that are 'not approved'.
And we are already at war. All over the frikkin' place.
In the future, with hindsight, how will the period 2015-2020 be viewed? The same as we now view 1930's Europe???
My guess is yes, without doubt.
What’s Jacinda doing about this?
True?
social media accounts required, yes
You mean they ask for your Twitter and Facebook accounts, etc? in the Land of the Free?
Are you sure we are not talking about China, Russia? /sarc
Here is a bit of classic Galloway…
The really annoying host is like the UK version of Kim Hill,
So it can be done
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/03/its-a-miracle-helsinkis-radical-solution-to-homelessness
Good article. ISTR a US city (Salt Lake City?) implemented a similar plan, also with good results.
From Francesca’s above link re Helsinki at #2. “We had to get rid of the night shelters and short-term hostels we still had back then. They had a very long history in Finland, and everyone could see they were not getting people out of homelessness. We decided to reverse the assumptions.”…
“We decided to make the housing unconditional,” says Kaakinen. “To say, look, you don’t need to solve your problems before you get a home. Instead, a home should be the secure foundation that makes it easier to solve your problems.”
(The George Constanza Gambit!)
…But Housing First is not just about housing. “Services have been crucial,” says Helsinki’s mayor, Jan Vapaavuori, who was housing minister when the original scheme was launched. “Many long-term homeless people have addictions, mental health issues, medical conditions that need ongoing care. The support has to be there.”…
Housing First costs money, of course: Finland has spent €250m creating new homes and hiring 300 extra support workers. But a recent study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as €15,000 a year for every homeless person in properly supported housing…
And there, the Finnish capital is fortunate. Helsinki owns 60,000 social housing units; one in seven residents live in city-owned housing. It also owns 70% of the land within the city limits, runs its own construction company, and has a current target of building 7,000 more new homes – of all categories – a year.
In each new district, the city maintains a strict housing mix to limit social segregation: 25% social housing, 30% subsidised purchase, and 45% private sector. Helsinki also insists on no visible external differences between private and public housing stock, and sets no maximum income ceiling on its social housing tenants.
Very interesting. And to others who have dissed The Guardian because of its stand against Jeremy Corbyn I think it is a very worthwhile newspaper with a flaw. Perhaps you should present your arguments against the paper's stand in a numbered list, refined down from broad accusations down to well-founded argument that is sure to win their attention if not their agreement. Let's bring them into line with good thinking.
Also Salt Lake City Subsidised Housing
http://www.hacsl.org/rental-assistance
The Housing Authority of the County of Salt Lake is pleased to offer four different quality affordable housing programs to low-income and no-income individuals and families: Section 8, Low Income Public Housing, Affordable Housing, and Supportive Housing Programs.
The lazy greed and looting goes on …. https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/69497644/
When National were in Govt, at the height of their corrupt arrogance .. non-enforcement for non compliance of regulations became their uber style of rule,…. but only for the rich, corrupt and connected …
The Public address blog had a very good example of this https://publicaddress.net/envirologue/swamp-monsters-the-looting-of-northlands/
Northland is one of the most deprived and neglected areas of New Zealand …. it was being plundered … in a destructive and more often than not in an illegal way.
Here's a google earth piture from 2015 of the dodgy Kauri stockpile that Judiths hubby and the Oravida octopus had ripped from Northlands wetlands …. one valuation in the Public address thread had the Kauri worth $ 400 Million
https://d3nd7i493f0o21.cloudfront.net/assets/upload/342293/1260009865/swamp-kauri-stockpile-ruakaka_david-wong-tung.jpg
Then take a look at the latest google earth pic …. With export of these logs curtailed, due to belated enforcement of regulations …is the vastly grown robbers Kauri pile worth $1 Billion dollars now ?
https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B052'07.9%22S+174%C2%B027'52.5%22E/@-35.8688611,174.4623946,498m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x0!8m2!3d-35.8688611!4d174.4645833
If the google earth link does not work, enter the co-ordinates
35°52'07.9"S 174°27'52.5"E … into the search bar on the google-earth page.
https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/3518811/detail
https://app.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/individual/search?roleType=ALL&q=BLACKWELL%2C++James+William&advancedPanel=true&mode=advanced&indDirStatus=ALL&indShrStatus=ALL
The political cost of backing Grant has now led to questions being sought on Jacinda's role.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/113202969/budget-inquiry-needs-to-go-further-says-national
Who gives a toss. Go find some other drivel to repeat.
The left, the right and some in between. I see there is a thread on it (snowflakes). It's Jacinda they are now gunning for.
Grant is looking arrogant at the least, reflecting badly on his leader.
No just silly shit stirring media, silly shit stirring politicians, and overly concerned bloggers care a toss.
To the rest of us, it's simply more tossing.
You are a total fraud. But I'm sure other readers have cottoned to that long ago.
c.hairman is a concerned little rwnj. Most people here treat him like the creep he is – and now his side eye has spotted our Prime Minister – this won't end well, for him.
For a supposed leftist you peddle a surprising number of right-wing talking points. I wonder why that is?
Also: unless you're their personal friends, it's Robertson and Ardern, not Grant and Jacinda. They're the Finance Minister and Prime Minister, not your mates.
lol so everyone cares, but the only "questions" you repeat come from the nats.
Repeat?
Get it right. As you well know, I was forewarning about the political cost (of Jacinda backing Grant) last week.
lols the nats inventing something pointless to whinge about isn't a political cost. It's business as usual.
Next you'll be saying "told you so" when Hosking parrots the same talking point.
Here's how it works: something happens, you whinge about it, national make shit up about it, media punters wank about the nat invention, you talk about how you predicted the scandal.
But the thing is that it doesn't matter what the something that happened was. Ardern could walk across Cook Strait, you'd call it a major political problem, national will point out that she didn't use the ferry despite her professed support for NZ businesses, Hosks will turn it into a rant against cycleways, and you'd then ejaculate a "told you so".
Find something real to whinge about.
This is like that time the Labour Party President bullshited about some dumb shit only the door is still wide open for Roberston to have the treasury secretary's resignation on his desk by tonight.
Except he already has it. Bring forward the date it takes effect is simply more ammo for the nats.
Who is hurting who exactly. Simon is taking the piss, he spent all his political capital on Jamie Lee Ross and getting a couple list places for a donor. That was me being sarcastic. Robertson has to begin acting like he is in charge of the treasury. For to long those wonks have been interfering in the affairs of the state and going against GCSB recommendations to call in police to investigate is a corrupt practice. The Secretary tried to cover his ass. He's meant to be the smartest guy in the room, not the dumbest. It's either the treasury secretary (forgot how to spell his name) or Robertson. If this budget had of been a wellbeing budget, Y'know? Things may have been different. But it's not.
"going against GCSB recommendations to call in police"
Naturally you have a link to back up that claim..
I meant to say that GCSB agents told treasury secretary it wasn't a hack. Anyone with half a brain could see treasury was using Google cache.
"Anyone with half a brain could see…"
Careful, Sam: look who you're talking to.
Nah they'd be no different. Let it slowly burn out the time. Hell, by the time the investigation comes back, even if it fully says the nat version, the dude could well be gone by then anyway. From a purely political perspective, there's no need to waste effort on it. From an organisational perspective, the guy who apparently fucked up is gone.
And if they determine the search indexing security hole existed before the last nat budget, Bridges looks like even more of a dick than he already does.
I meant to say that GCSB agents told treasury secretary it wasn't a hack.
Link needed for that one too.
nah not that treasury wonk. How hard is it really to give em a thorough clean out? Whaaaaaaat. What eh? Is Robertson on recruit difficulty is something.
Sam, can I suggest that you make the subjects of your sentences and comments a bit more clear?
At best guess, it seems you are indicating that the Treasury web development team should be fired? That depends entirely on whether they fulfilled the agreed terms of the development request. If they did, then the people who signed off on the request are in the gun. Unless it was a systemic issue that was not the result of any individual decision or omission, in which case the project managers are the ones to blame.
This is why there is an investigation, and the priority should be prevention of future errors rather than recrimination.
Suggest away muh boi, suggest a way.
To be perfectly clear I'd make all them treasury wonks reapply for there jobs by writing essays. Any of them praise SOE sales, deregulation, welfare reform, what else? Asset speculation. Any of them praise neoliberalism wouldn't be offered work from me. Okay?
And then the personal grievance expenditure goes through the roof. They might be Treasury wonks, but they're also workers. In a strong union lol
Y'know revolutionising religious financial philosophy is very difficult to do when bonuses are not the prime motivating factor, Y'know? These guys are no friend of left wing politics you know that don't you, don't you?
These guys literally believe there own bullshit. They are meant to be men of the world, all knowing. But they lied anyway and didn't have too. This is how they've always operated.
We have a well being budget architiure. The rules of the game has changed. The quicker Roberston begins clearing these mushrooms out the better because old habits die hard.
Y'know you're just not going to get any sympathy out of me for treasury, McFlock (it's still gets me).
"going against GCSB recommendations to call in police to investigate"
You are just lying there. The advice to Treasury from the national cybersecurity team was that the actions against the website did not fall within their remit, so to take it to the Police who could establish any illegality. That has been reported since the beginning.
What happens next is another matter.
Why do you even bother commenting. Try and follow the the piece of string all the way to the end. The cops chucked out the report as well. The was no click yes to say you've read the privacy agreement before accessing Google cache for fucks sake. Y'know?
Sympathy is one thing. I suspect the political outrage over a ballooning constructive dismissal bill would be worse than simply following due process.
Meh. Think I read somewhere on pundant that the state services commissions has responsibility for hiring and firing the Treasury Secretary and that it would be an employment issue of the Prime Minister or Finance minister demanded a resignation. Then it went on to say the Helen Clark would have had his resignation on her desk anyway.
If I was advising Roberston, the word on the street is stand the Secretary down pending the results of the investigation because tbh I just want utu for neoliberalism and I'd be willing to burn the whole thing to the ground, ya feel me ?
Yes. Which is why you shouldn't be allowed within a light year of giving policy, political, or economic advice to anyone in power. The breathtaking incompetence that resulted would put a search cache oversight to shame.
And you may remember McFlock. Next on my wellbeing policy perscription would be to give every one at WINZ and the rest of MSD a UBI so I could check how dedicated they all are to the pursuit of humanities studies.
You do realise that means cutting the pay of social workers?
Good luck with selling that policy.
The only reason the government would implement a UBI is if the economy couldn't produce enough payed employment. I get that, do you?
Nope. That's why the unemployment benefit was introduced.
The only reasons to introduce a UBI are to eliminate cracks in who gets appropriate income support, and to reduce the administrative costs of income support.
Choosing to pay MSD employees a UBI isn't actually "universal", but if it were universally applied within MSD then that would involve a pay cut for highly specialised frontline staff as well as bureaucratic support staff. Or are you going to set the MSD "UBI" at a rate equivalent to the current salary for an experienced social worker? Or even negotiators for multimillion dollar facility contracts to be paid fuckall? Because that's a way to have almost all experienced staff in most aspects of the organisation go either overseas or into the private sector.
I must say McFlock (😌) that is the first Iv ever come across a concept like minimum wage laws creating jobs. I may aswell put my dog into payed work.
Once again, the connection between your comment and the previous thread seems highly tangential.
How lucky Labour is to have someone so concerned about them.
What rubbish, perhaps when they start delivering the outcomes on the inquiries they had underway more NZers might take them seriously again. They are desperately trying to maintain some momentum from being so "maligned" and that wore thin some time back.
I’m sure you would have handled it differently but that really is a moot point, isn’t it?
Isn't James Shaw Deputy Finance Minister?
Associate
David Clark
David Parker
Shane Jones
James Shaw
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/ministers
James Shaw is not allowed to say or do anything unless Marama lets him.
And so can this
Apparently now the Swedes find no impediment to questioning Assange in the UK
What is it now? the 4th round of questioning ?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/julian-assange-extradition-sweden-detention-ruling-court-judge-a8942066.html
So we've got he said/she said a torn condom with no one's DNA,some txt messages…unless these have been "lost" and no one left on earth who hasn't heard of "Assange The Rapist"
Just my opinion but the sex accusations are nothing more than the man-woman snafus that are inevitable in sex relations. They are frankly mad!!! I beginning to believe it's been a set up all along. How much has the CIA sent their way?
The rape allegation against Julian Assange, explained
The story of his asylum and arrest is about more than WikiLeaks.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/4/12/18306901/julian-assange-arrest-wikileaks-rape-sweden-embassy
The whole affair is SICK!
More rape apologia. If you think doing things to women without their consent is just an "inevitable snafu," you're a threat and should take a good look at yourself.
Please JohnM
Just give us the news about Julian Assange and what we can do to help him. Please listen to this – we have a treacle pit here about his sex life and You will achieve nothing good if you try and enter it. Those of us who are concerned about him would like good info. Let the protagonists get on with the cock fight on their own.
Can we rely on you to just stay on task and keep us informed of his wellbeing please. Three pleases – is that enough? Cheers. Thanks for info so far. Just to reiterate what is the best thing to do – write (whom to and how), donate – same, anything else?
Julian Assange
Belmarsh prison address
https://writejulian.com/
Honestly, Grey, if he is as stressed and incapacitated as the UN torture guy says, he may not be up to replying, but gestures of goodwill would be gratefully accepted I imagine
Yes I made a note about the address but got stuck on the advice about sending paper and a UK stamped addressed envelope for reply. I think you are right and not to worry. He isn't going to feel like replying. But maybe a card, with something positive on it. I have got one of the WW2 ones that says about Keeping Calm and Carry On on or something. I don't think that's quite the thing either.
I don't know about a card though, now I think further, the info that JohnM put up said no postcards. I don't understand that, because I reckon the authorities would censor mail anyway.
By the way anyone else reading this and wondering, NZ Post have dropped the idea of providing a full postal service, which we all sort of know (someone this a.m. spoke about some government service being 'managed down'). So there isn't a way of sending a stamped self-addressed envelope, either by buying stamp coupons, or buying a stamped envelope – asked about both.
And thanks francesca for further link.
And the following site is useful for information and to donate
https://defend.wikileaks.org/
So Milt you are saying here that you actually really believe that the UK govt has spent seven years and millions of pounds on this over 2 alleged rape cases?
You really are quite delusional, or maybe as others have pointed out something worse..wilfully ignorant?…one would have thought that if the UK govt was so interested in bringing rapists to justice that they would have used that man power and money pursuing the thousands of unsolved rape cases that remain open in their own country…
…Thousands of rape cases remain unsolved
THOUSANDS of unsolved rapes have left victims traumatised across the North East. Over the past 10 years more than 2,380 rapes reported to Northumbria Police and Durham Constabulary remain classified as undetected. Across Tyneside, Northumbria Police dealt with 2,874 reported rape offences with 945 classified as detected, meaning someone was charged to appear in court.
But that leaves 1,929 victims, almost 70%, waiting to see justice.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/thousands-rape-cases-remain-unsolved-1393253
you keep saying that line but it is silly – do you think the UK government is competent enough NOT to have done something fucked up like that?
The Swedish record is worse , in 2017 less than 6% of rape cases ended in prosecution
Not quite the upholder of women’s rights they pretend to be.
;
so you can imagine the UK govt spending and wasting time and money on this?
Governments are shit, they do shit, they say shit and they shit on people innocent and guilty. That is the 101 starting position for any discussion not whether this or that particular govt is shittier than another – yes it is and so what.
Equally interesting to claim this is about a rape case in light of "Amnesty International Sweden has the highest incidence of reported rapes in Europe but the lowest conviction rate".
It would seem that 'normally' Sweden isn't that focused or determined to get convictions on rape cases anyway. Gee..I wonder what makes this case different?
Gee..I wonder what makes this case different?
The fact that it consists of a simple extradition request so an alleged rapist can be questioned. The subsequent expenditure of a lot of time and money (mostly by the UK) is down to Assange, not the Swedish prosecutor.
"The subsequent expenditure of a lot of time and money (mostly by the UK) is down to Assange"…this is exactly why I addressed the comment to Adrian T. and generally do not comment on TS when the topic is Assange…your argument is ridiculous, and, quite frankly, offensive.
The UK decided to spend vast amounts of money on this one accused rapist..meanwhile they choose to allow 1000's of UK rape accusations and rape prevention programs floundering.
That's their choice..it is not 'down' to Assange.
Unless, ofcourse, you are arguing that not spending money following up all those floundering UK rape cases is somehow 'down' to the choices and behaviour of those accused perpetrators. That somehow the accused is in control of the authorities decisions and priorities.
No The Swedish court says different
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/julian-assange-extradition-sweden-detention-ruling-court-judge-a8942066.html
"The ruling by the Uppsala District Court does not mean a preliminary investigation in Sweden should be abandoned.
It states Assange would not be extradited and could be questioned in Britain, where he is currently in prison."
So it has been possible all along to question Assange in the UK .He was under house arrest for something like 18 months
It was Sweden dragging the chain after all
The above comment in response to PM who asserts the difference is an extradition request to question an alleged rapist . No extradition necessary after all it seems Milt!
Bit late now, isn't it? The cases were heard, the bail jumped, the seven years' worth of police monitoring of the embassy carried out and paid for, the 50 weeks' sentence for jumping bail passed and enacted. Unfortunately, the fact they've decided they don't need him extradited now doesn't change the past.
Seems to me it all comes down to the aftermath of the interview.
The prosecutors probably don't see how he can come up with anything that would prevent an arrest on the basis of evidence already in hand, so can't see a point to interviewing him if they can't arrest him and take him to trial ASAP, as is their process.
If that's the case, it seems the Swedish courts believe that he should still have the opportunity to pull the theoretically-possible but highly unrealistic exonerating evidence out of his arse before being extradited, rather than his during opportunity at the first interview, during the first extradition hearings, or any time in the last seven years.
They never needed to extradite him, thats the point.
McFlock, there is no new evidence, all parties have been interviewed, all physical evidence in hand
Why have they not moved on with charging him after the several interviews he’s already given them, the statements from SW, the texts, and whatever physical evidence there is.The torn condom sulpplied by AA has no DNA, and is not useful for the SW complaint.
No new allegations have been made, no other woman has stepped up to add her complaints
He doesn’t have to pull evidence out of his arse as you so coarsely put it, they have to prove whatever charge they come up with , when ,and if , after 9 years they do
Because in Sweden he still gets one more interview before charging. Swedish procedures were actually a key point in the appeals to the original extradition order. I'm therefore surprised you're not familiar with the differences between the UK and Swedish systems.
So Milt you are saying here that you actually really believe that the UK govt has spent seven years and millions of pounds on this over 2 alleged rape cases?
Nope, not saying that at all. Any incredulity about the amount of money spent on "2 alleged rape cases" has to do the book-keeping on how much of it was spent because Assange jumped bail and spent 7 years as a fugitive from justice in a known location the cops then had to monitor 24/7 so they could feel his collar if he left it.
…Thousands of rape cases remain unsolved
Your implied argument is that, because UK police have done so poorly at investigating rapes in the UK, it's unreasonable for them to have made efforts in this extradition and bail-jumping case. That's a non-sequitur.
No your position that this has little or nothing to do with Assange/Wikileaks exposing govt secrets is fucking inane beyond belief and quite bizarre.
But I suppose centrists are well known for their fanatical support of the status quo, and supporting without question whatever bullshit is shovelled down their throats, so I guess I am wasting my time on this one with you….quickly go back to the Guardian and get confirmation.
You're entitled to feel and express whatever you like about my failure to share your beliefs. Likewise, I'm entitled not to share them.
Except yours and your band of Assange haters make no logical sense, it is like you lot heard the word rape, lost all reason and have turned into a bunch of pitch fork, witch burners from some corny Hammer House of Horrors flick.
So arrogant that you cannot be wrong or adjust your view ever – you act like those you so rail against.
Except yours [beliefs]…make no logical sense…
Lol, you know what pushes my buttons alright! Buttons duly locked.
I don't have any beliefs about Assange, other than that he has the same right to due process as anyone else and that letting the Americans get their mitts on him would be a bad idea from a human rights perspective. I just don't share your conspiracy theories about the allegations against him made by a couple of Swedish women, is all. And I definitely don't share the rape apologia views peddled by some of his fans on this blog's comments threads.
I do not think I have seen one comment that could even have been remotely considered to be ' rape apologia' please refer me to those posts.
Careful, Adrian, next label he hauls out will be something equally fabulous—he’s quite likely to start calling people "anti-Semites", or Russian bots, or running dogs, or Trump supporters.
As we see with the persecution of Julian Assange, the smearing and the destruction of reputation is what counts, and anything—no matter how fantastical or obscene—is permitted against the prisoner designated for obliteration.
I do not think I have seen one comment that could even have been remotely considered to be ' rape apologia'
Seriously, wtf? You've missed all the comments explaining why the female complainants have been duped by conspirators, how their complaints don't really constitute rape, or (the ne plus ultra of the genre) how Sam doesn't see any reason why he shouldn't fuck a fertile, red-blooded woman without a condom? Maybe try actually reading threads occasionally?
As I asked, point me to a couple…maybe you are right, I must of missed them, I aren't on here as much as you.
Can't remember which thread Sam's comment was on, but the threads on Assange in these two Open Mike's are illustrative:
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-05-2019/
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-21-04-2019/
I think it is a bit unfair using Sam as your example, I can't follow most of his arguments at the best of time.
But I did follow the first link you put up, I still think using the term ' rape apologia ' for what was said is a bit over the top.
Really?
There's outright assertion that the facts stated in court are false (e.g. Moz's claim that it's "state lies").
Then there was minimisation, calling it a "no no but not rape", and Blazer calling them "2 starfuckers who compared notes and were…pissed off."
Those three seem to me to qualify as "rape apology" to me.
I didn't see "2 starfuckers who compared notes and were…pissed off."as Milt had just pointed me to Sam's comments..of course I would never condone anything like that, and would have called out the person in no uncertain terms myself had I seen it.
well, now you know.
Maybe take a bit more care reading threads when the topic next comes up.
Easy way of looking at it is "would Brock Turner's mates or daddy have said similar things"?
The centre exist for a reason as it is proven best unless shown otherwise and change is often difficult because of , the extremes the domain of loonies with the odd insight, but 99pc just loons, conspiracy theorist and ideologoues
Back to talk radio for you, our incoherent friend. Over at Magic Talk or NewstalkZzzzzzzB nobody cares if you sound drunk and your sentences make little or no sense.
Please go there, now.
Interesting observation, bewildered. I've often noticed how those hanging on to the extreme edge of the fringe of outsider politics always have problems when their marginality is pointed out. Always it's the fault of others why their preferred policies are soundly rejected by the overwhelming majority of the voting public. It must seem like a bizarre world that you can't get what you want without a willing constituency behind you. That's probably why it's easier for those rim clingers to get aggressive and spout hatred towards those who won't have a bar of them.
The centre is best… so strange of you to spend an inordinate amount of time here on loons and conspiracies theories then…
"….fugitive from justice"
That was a joke. Right?
Loon
You did not understand the Professor's point, bewildered. Possibly this forum is a little…. beyond your comfort zone.
edit – can’t be bothered
Hopeless.
sock puppet fail morrie – try another one you minor flea.
A very insightful Doco on the whole business.
Sex, Lies and Julian Assange
https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/sex-lies-and-julian-assange/4156420?fbclid=IwAR12S3UJnlELilxRkFP4JJVdjVMr_mf-TUT4tMLo6_fJs2BmtdtYCDZ1jN4
Don't forget two prosecutors have already dropped the case and we're onto the third one now… But we must look at this as a straight forward rape case. Yeah right!
As well
Former President of the Swedish Bar Association Bengt Ivarsson:
"I share the opinion that the District Court was correct in its decision not to detain Assange. The only reasonable thing to do would be to drop this investigation, once and for all."
https://twitter.com/BengtIvarsson/status/1135658231471251457
He's a rape enabler Brigid, at the very least, or an
Assange fanboy
Thanks for that , very interesting!
Ah yes. He must be. As I guess we all are who spurn the mainstream media dis-information.
We should whip ourselves as John Cleese did his car.
By the way, Jonathan Cook is worth reading.
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/
Yes, thanks, I'm a great fan of Jonathan Cook after reading "intellectual cleansing" in Media lens
Not speaking fluent Swedish, I had to rely on Google Translate. But it seems this might be difficult to mistranslate:
To recap: the request for arrest was on the grounds he was a flight risk. Which he can't be, because he's in gaol. So no grounds for an EAW. So no way to get him extradited to Sweden instead of the USA.
No rape apology there, just an apparent situation where as long as he's locked up, the yanks are first in the queue.
Conspiracy theorist
As I keep saying on this forum, if someone actually believes that this travesty has anything whatsoever to do with those two girls in Sweden then one can only conclude that whomever believes that could only be extremely naive and/or extremely stupid.
Or wilfully ignorant?
I reckon Mozza got it right yesty in one of his dressing downs.
Round these parts, folk get into their tribes and akin to soccer fans, seem to revel in the repeating of taunts as opposed to engaging in a meeting of the minds. When the willy waving really gets going it is so off-putting.
I am sure a political junkie can sort people into their groups with acknowledged names eg authoritarian, liberal etc.
yes – glass houses eh
I am often bewildered by what drives all of us to coagulate around the issues that we do.
I don't get the agitation that arises for the 'other' either,
Adrian sums it up – agree with him or be considered 'extremely naive or stupid". That is the special place he comes from and he is not alone in his extreme fundamentalism.
Rigidity is the ruin of everything imo.
No, drawing lines in the sand and saying enough and no further is what you do when you really believe in something..do you remember what that feels like?,actually I think you do, I see you doing just that all the time on TS.
Yes I am a ideologue, and am proud of it, the big joke with you centrists is that you really think that you aren't, like you have moved past ideology… that is just total bullshit, you are all just as entrenched as me, so why not stop pretending and just being honest with yourself and us. .
Don't call me a centralist you rude shit – I'm LEFT. Always have been and always will be. You just have stopped thinking and have started chucking insults all the time – you ain't as righteous as you think.
So how does that square with your support for the Ngai Tahu leader and private prison enthusiast "Sir" Mark Solomon?
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/11/kai-tahu-should-demand-better-leaders.html
the day I have to justify anything to a dim like you is never – take your racist shit and piss off morrie longfears
Hey, calm down, I just assumed you were, judging by what I have read of yours…no offense intended…well not that kind anyway.
It's all good just don't call me the 'c' word lol – I am LEFT, yesterday, today and tomorrow – activist LEFT.
I get your passion and I'm a bit like that with some stuff too. Kia kaha.
Agree with both – strongly agree with Adrian re "drawing lines in the sand" on issues you really believe in, particularly evidence-based matters of principle.
Nevertheless, re Marty’s “extreme fundamentalism” and “rigidity” concerns, on some contentious issues I might harbour private doubts.
@ Drowsy M. Kram, I agree with the last half of Freynman's thoughts, but personally, as far as the first half goes, I like thinking that at least some of my beliefs slowly formed over the past fifty years through my life experiences, readings, debating and observations are pretty solid, I like knowing that I would get into the trenches and fight for some of them.
If that makes me a fundamentalist in the eyes of some, well then so be it.
I am sorry for calling that fundamentalism – that was not correct – I don't think that word applies to you – sorry.
For me – as I get old I see that the black and white is always gray. What I believe in is just that, my beliefs. And I believe and defend them with gusto.
In not so many years it will matter not a jot. This is good I think.
No worries, I have got a real thick hide, but thanks.
" In not so many years it will matter not a jot. This is good I think."
Well I hope not. What you believe and defend and promote in the ways that you can, do matter imo, and the people around you can see and feel that, and maybe some small seeds are planted, and maybe some of those ideas and beliefs are taken forward and grown by another generation, or even just one person, and who knows what that person might end up doing with those ideas we helped to plant?
As you well know our beliefs on the Left are the way of the future, well at least they are the one way that would be fairer and have more equal outcomes for all citizens, and lead to a healthier planet, so these ideas are very important, and are worth fighting for…and without constant compromise to the centre.
I'll meet you in the trenches.
Turn Labour Left!
Adrian, admit to having some "pretty solid" beliefs myself – could part of what Feynman is saying be that it's important not to forget that they are 'beliefs', and that that's how they may be perceived by (some) others?
Maybe put this into the category of reflecting on our beliefs from other points of view, if only to understand ‘the opposition’?
And it doesn’t even have to be oppositional. I don’t believe there is a God, but respect the beliefs of believers and appreciate (to the extent that I can) the value and contribution of such belief.
Loon
????
Could you justify that rather coarse imprecation for the rest of us, please?
They want to silence Assange like they've silenced this Israeli dissident….
https://twitter.com/vanunumordechai/status/1135260140381384705
And just to mention Mordechai Vanunu.
https://thearabdailynews.com/2019/02/09/what-americans-need-to-know-about-mordechai-vanunu-updated/
In 2009, this American published “What Americans Need to Know about Mordechai Vanunu”, which follows because most Americans still do not know who Mordechai Vanunu is and it matters to USA taxpayers.
Mordechai Vanunu was released from Ashkelon prison to open air captivity in east Jerusalem on April 21, 2004 after 18 years-most all in solitary.
In 1986, Mordechai Vanunu was clubbed, drugged, bound and kidnapped from Rome by the Mossad essentially because he told the truth and provided the photographic proof of their clandestine 7-story underground WMD facility in the Negev.
In the case of Mordechai Vanunu, Americans need to know that the restrictions that have held him captive after 18 years behind bars come from the Emergency Defense Regulations, which were implemented by Britain against Palestinians and Jews after World War II.
And Jeremy Corbyn's efforts for Vanunu which may have angered Israel and been behind the slurs about him recently.
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jeremy-Corbyn-visited-Knesset-to-free-nuclear-secret-seller-Vanunu-565035
The Jerusalem Post’s archive has one mention of a meeting between Corbyn and a member of Knesset in Israel, on April 19, 1998.
At that time, Corbyn was deeply involved in efforts to secure the early release of Vanunu, who was imprisoned in 1987 for revealing Israeli nuclear secrets to The Sunday Times of London.
Corbyn, who was a joint vice-chairman of the Human Rights Group of the British Parliament, met with then-Knesset State Control Committee chairman and Labor MK Yossi Katz.
Mordechai Vanunu (whistleblower) video :
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32yPWfsWBKo
Mordechai Vanunu- Chain Reaction (film by Shmuel Kalderon)
30 Minutes with Vanunu
In 2005, eileen fleming began a series of interviews with Mordechai Vanunu, Israel's Nuclear Whistle Blower, that culminated in her third book, "BEYOND NUCLEAR: Mordechai Vanunu's FREEDOM of SPEECH Trial and My Life as a Muckraker" http://www.wearewideawake.org/index.p…
This interview was taped in east Jerusalem, a few weeks after Vanunu's FREEDOM OF SPEECH Trial began in the 'democracy' of Israel. MY latest FAX to Obama @ http://wearewideawake.org/index.php?o…
Thanks for those links, I will do some more research on this tonight.
You are right the Jewish lobby has really done a job on Corbyn, they can now pretty much say up is down, white is black, and the MSM press will print their lies and slander verbatim.
It's the Israeli lobby, not the Jewish lobby.
Yes please note that Adrian, referring to the Jewish lobby is incorrect, and Israeli is close to the truth but is it the Zionists in particular? How many Israelis would regard themselves as Zionists?
Zionism is a broad church, to coin a phrase. Zionism to some people means the revival of Jewish culture, Jewish art, Jewish religion, and so on. Noam Chomsky calls himself a Zionist.
The violent, repressive state of Israel is an authoritarian, anti-democratic outlaw state with some Zionists in its ruling elite.
Ah. Helpful comment on this matter thanks. Matches with what I have read and seen. It can't be a good well-run people's state because I am sure Jewish people respect older people. When I see a young settler woman bad mouthing a group of old Palestinian women and possibly spitting at them, and young men harassing a humble street cart owner I know that is not the true Jewish culture and spirit.
The Bridges Way
The National Party through Simon Bridges, has announced to every New Zelander that they may grab any information or any material they want. At any time, anywhere.! Without any permission.
No wonder New Zealanders see National as "Grab for greed". No wonder National has enforced Poverty on massive numbers of New Zealand Citizens.
National does its dirty work outside Democracy. But abuses Democracy constantly.
As our Nation becomes more and more aware of the Anti- Democracy of Simon Bridges and Mrs Bennett, the more National will slither down its own dishonest Slum.
Has the election campaign started already or is Mike Hosking just stuck in a mid-term hysteria attack. I see the Herald headline today "Hosking: Red alert – this Govt's in danger of plunging into deficit." He seems to be in perpetual attack mode at the moment, a drama queen who unfortunately has a stage. Mind you there are desperate morons ready to fawn at his feet.
Mike had an epiphany when he heard that the Budget had been presented in and to Parliament last week. He’s still catching up.
I hope the medical profession know about this. When someone gets into A&E after having a seizure and their partner explains that the patient has had an epiphany, they might be very puzzled.
Yes, A&E specialists know about this and they immediately give an intra-arterial infusion of Kool-Aid Blue. It won’t stop the seizures but deals with the epiphany and associated hallucinations.
I've never been back to the Herald since the paywall. Brilliant move even their headlines were utter shite.
If only we all abandoned them, Hosking might have to trade in the maserati for a Lada.
That paywall will slowly ease off, just like last time. News from inside reports the fish wrap is struggling.
No surprises. You could present Mike Hosking with a budget that cures cancer, feeds the Third World and reverses climate change, and he'd still find something to piss and moan about. He needs to bite the bullet and just become a National Party MP. He's three quarters of the way there already.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018697429/dads-don-t-tell-your-sons-to-toughen-up
This would be interesting. The trouble with violence in males often comes from lower income families that have a basic attitude to education and would scorn as perhaps 'sissy' the ideas of understanding psychology and fitting their approaches to child raising within known psychological guidelines.
The reading I have encountered is that lower income families tend to an authoritarian approach. I saw an example of an older Maori man speaking angrily and sharply to get his son or nephew to come and get in a car. I had encountered the man before at an op shop and got an impression of his circumstances; he seemed an uptight person, I felt he might have been in the army at one time. The youngster, about twelve, came to him but head down and mouth set in an angry line. So if he complained about this attitude of the adult role model, and was told to Toughen up, I don't think that would have been a useful approach for friction in the future. The ability to deal with anger is an essential one for civilised behaviour, not to deny it, but very probably to place the source of it, which is usually quite different than the person who receives the outburst of it, verbally or physically.
Learning about handling yourself, your emotions, your self-respect and self-understanding, practising empathy in school workshops, regularly, should be part of education. It is more important than the general education received, being part of every aspect of life and actions personal, and in others; understanding guides the best way of say three possibilities to handle difficulties over personalities, tone etc.
I have mentioned transactional analysis – excellent kit of psychology tools to understand yourself and others and why you do what you do and vice versa.
NZs failed revolution of capitalist economics. What happens when we mass and protest? Depends. We must have achieved some good change. But so little compared to what we perceive as needed. What if we got serious as we did in 1981 for the South Africans? Do we only care about downtrodden people in other countries, other countries' anguish; don't we care about each other? Don't baby boomers care about the young, except their own nuclear family?
Chris Trotter identifies the need for affordable and secure housing at the base of all the problems. It's hard to get a job if you are couch-surfing, sleeping in a car with your kids!! If you have one, how do you manage to get to work looking neat, ready and clean, with all 'home' responsibilities attended to.
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/100017/chris-trotter-says-left-can-detail-many-privations-too-many-our-citizens-they-cant Chris Trotter went to Bryan Bruce's town hall meeting at Otahuhu to talk about The Peoples Budget, and writes about his observations and feelings:
…the wish that our publicly-owned television network contained, within its administrative and creative ranks, broadcasters who burn with the same fiery passion to let the voters know what is really happening in their country that consumes Bryan Bruce.
Passion, however, is not enough – not when the game you are playing is politics. It is a perennial failing of the Left that they allow themselves to become consumed with outrage at WHAT is happening on the meanest streets of their nation; paying far too little (if any) heed to WHY it is happening. Challenged on this, they will glibly attach the ‘why’ of poverty, inequality, homelessness and environmental despoliation to “Neoliberalism”. In much the same way did the religious scholars of the Middle Ages explain the ills of the world by pointing triumphantly in the direction of the Devil….
The truth which emerged most clearly from the testimony put before the Otahuhu Town Hall meeting is that the unavailability and inordinate cost of decent housing lies at the very heart of the economic and social crises afflicting New Zealand’s poorest communities. An all-out effort on the housing front is, therefore, urgently required if even a tiny fraction of the Coalition’s “wellbeing” promises are to be fulfilled.
And yet, Robertson’s Wellbeing Budget is almost silent on the issue of housing. Almost, but…[a] line in the 2019 Budget predicts a 21 percent rise in house prices over the next four years.
Trotsker doesn't like being outglibbed.
Oh Glabby you will never do that.
Please don't forget to refer regularly to the How to get there post on Sundays. Interesting useful practical and philosophical things get put there, and it may be added to during the next week with other stuff.
Brexit backstop vid – short plus a few more.
It is dragging on but the issues there from the first are still there aren't they? So a few basic reminders of the ordure that Brits are in.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-45880401/brexit-basics-what-is-the-backstop
Brexit and NHS
2017
https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/preparing-for-the-unpredictable?gclid=Cj0KCQjwitPnBRCQARIsAA5n84ke2nbiWT88Jt7dG6iicRitpvuxwe_mlkq3oJ-TbDUlOvl_OUniH2oaAq29EALw_wcB
Thoughts from UKs Nuffield Trust 2017 "…from the Nuffield Trust
The Nuffield Trust is an independent health think tank. We aim to improve the quality of health care in the UK by providing evidence-based research and policy analysis and informing and generating debate.
2018?
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/perspective/impact-of-brexit-on-the-nhs.aspx
The impact of Brexit on the NHS has been a source of debate and controversy since the figure of £350million appeared on the side of a bus during the EU referendum in 2016. As we get closer to 29th March 2019 – the official date the UK is due to leave the EU – what will the impact of Brexit really look like for the NHS, its staff and its patients?
(Also: Quantum Technologies Developing the use of sensors and clocks in innovative, ground-breaking technologies to change the future landscapes of healthcare, transport, defence, civil engineering and more.)
October 2018
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/oct/13/brexit-doctors-and-nurses-nhs-will-get-worse 13/10/2018
The survey by YouGov also suggests that opposition to Brexit has grown among doctors and nurses, with 75% saying they would now vote to remain in the EU, up from 66% who said they voted that way in 2016.
2 June 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/02/us-wants-access-to-nhs-in-post-brexit-deal-ambassador-to-uk-says 2/6/2019
Asked if the NHS was likely to form part of trade negotiations, Johnson told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I think the entire economy, in a trade deal, all things that are traded would be on the table.” Asked if that specifically meant healthcare, he said: “I would think so.”
Investigation into Farage – how far did he go?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/25/eu-watchdog-considering-nigel-farage-investigation-arron-banks
The European parliament this week opened an investigation into revelations made by Channel 4 that the insurance tycoon Arron Banks funded a lavish lifestyle for Farage in the year of the Brexit referendum. In 2016, Farage received expenses of about £450,000, including rent on a Chelsea home, furniture, security and promotional trips to the US, where he attended the Republican national convention.
The Cons' options appear to be a unceremonial hard brexit, a hard brexit with a deal with one of the greatest US president salesman ever, a new referendum, or a election, by end of October.
British democracy will decide…
Expert level trolling.
https://twitter.com/travisakers/status/1135560022342213632
This is a brilliant move. Someone in marketing needs to hire this teen.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/trump-uk-visit-penis-stansted-airport-protest-climate-change-real-essex-a8941271.html?amp&__twitter_impression=true
Wow Joe 90 Sound and light show? Would put the Don into the shade.
If you haven't already found it – SadandUseless has some brilliant protest signs
This is one of my favourites!
(With apologies to Pink Floyd.)
"All in all your just another Prick with no wall!"
https://sadanduseless.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/trump-protest1.jpg
Lots more here:
https://www.sadanduseless.com/donald-meets-england-funny/
The Glaswegian ones are of course exceptional:
Heh.
Surely the met police will demand that this stop (in the interests of public order and safety dewnchnew).
They are very busy at the moment with the zombie outbreak,(people wondering around looking at their hands).
https://twitter.com/MPSTowerHam/status/1135479864650338304
Lol
"A pickled intestine in a suit, with shitty feather egg hair"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7yRHQtMQnk
PM far too slow off the mark on Treasury with SSC having to step in before she did.
Weak.
If only this government would see it for what is: the only opportunity they will get to clear Treasury senior staff out and get fresh friendly bureaucrats in there.
Seriously. Treasury and the government came under a concerted attack led out of Chris Bishop's office.
The PM, the Finance Minister and the Secretary of Treasury have absolutely nothing to apologise for. Doing so would be weak.
God forbid the SSC actually look at personnel issues in the state services. /sarc
The pollies are doing their part by demanding answers to the leak. The SSC is doing its part by examining individual actions from an employment perspective. Dunno the exact terminology, but it's governance vs operations.
I very much doubt the Treasury Sec'y clearly fucked up or misled anyone (wouldn't be the dumbest thing to ever happen, though), but it's the SSC's role to find out.
Budgetgate was entirely manufactured by National. It was a set-up from the word go. It caused major confusion and perhaps even a slight panic when they were already under heavy pressure because of Budget Day. I’m sure mistakes were made but some allege a level of deliberation in these mistakes for political advantage. I think this shows National’s thinking and they’re protesting a wee bit too much IMO.
James Flynn exNZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vpqilhW9uI
Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents' | James Flynn
Some details of a mother's violence to her son.
A mother has appeared in court for breaking a broom across the back of her seven-year-old son. The 34-year-old woman was sentenced to 12 months intensive supervision and 40 hours community work, at Pukekohe District Court on May 8 for a charge of assaulting a child with a weapon.
Is it better that she be shamed in front of her child and neighbourhood and receive intensive supervision plus 40 hours of community work. What does intensive supervision mean – be watched all the time. Is the 40 hours community work to spend learning a few things, like working out what to do when you feel very angry, what to do with the child when it won't do what it is asked to, ask sympathetically what she could do to relieve herself of some of the pressure she feels. The emphasis should be on habilitation, and breaking the cycle, as it may have been a punishment she received.
She may be bearing a large burden in the household with no-one to care for her and little co-operation from other adults.
Workshops on anger management, a free child care while she goes to night school to learn something she enjoys, outdoor camp weekends with her children to give change of scene and mood. All positive things more than the punitive finger-pointing would go far.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/113164245/mother-snaps-broom-across-sevenyearold-son-for-messing-up-his-bed
Intensive supervision.
Community work.
If the courts don't sentence her to classes and camping trips, who would?