” the White Helmets in Syria have been filmed on numerous occasions working alongside terrorist groups and that members of the White Helmets have participated in executions, torture, driving vehicles for terrorists, providing propaganda for jihadist groups, conducting false flags and brandishing weapons in combat.”
“Two young Sunni Syrian soldiers from Aleppo were beaten and executed by Jaish Al Fattah rebels in Aleppo. Jaish Fattah, a coalition of US backed rebel groups and al-Qaeda (Jabhat al- Nusra). The video of the soldiers being humiliated was posted by a member of the White Helmets, which the US supplied $23 million dollars to through the USAID program, as stated by US State Department spokesperson John Kirby”.
The u.s.a has a long long history of training and working with the most brutal & perverse killers and death squads in modern history ….. “The UN Truth Commission found that the units guilty of the worst atrocities, like the Atlacatl Battalion which conducted the infamous El Mozote massacre, were precisely the ones most closely supervised by American advisers. The American role in this campaign of state terrorism is now hailed by senior U.S. military officers as a model ….” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHEI603bF4
This documentary shows how the savagery they cultivated in South America was brought down on the poor people of Iraq …. Death squads and torture, fueling hatred and helping Isis recruitment https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=BxHEI603bF4
This doco shows the u.s.a war effort in Afghanistan includes very evil stuff …..such as protecting Local police units which rape and murder young boys, kidnap and rob from civilians, and get off their faces on Heroin while firing machine and other weapons blindly in the direction of children …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja5Q75hf6QI ……
On a slightly more positive note here’s a shorter doco on foreign fighters who have come to help the Kurds in their battle for survival against Isis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoqds4LV9RI ….. I do hope the Kurds do not get shafted when peace finally comes …….as they were the first fighters to start inflicting defeats and rolling back Isis.
Horrible powerful Foreign leaders prepared to extend the fighting until the last Syrian is dead are now the biggest problem in stopping the killing …………
Syria needs a huge effort for peace and justice ………. not death squads and surface to air missiles in the hands of terrorists ….
The u.s.a has a long long history of training and working with the most brutal & perverse killers and death squads in modern history …
Funny you should mention that, as the USA’s appalling activities in central America in the early 1980s were an exact match with CV’s position:
I support the rule of international law therefore I recognise the Assad led government as the legitimate sovereign government of Syria, and I recognise that the foreign (US/Saudi/Qatar/Turkey) sponsored proxy war against that government as totally illegal.
Those governments the USA was helping in central America were the “legitimate, sovereign governments” of those countries and the foreign (Soviet Union and China) sponsored proxy wars against those governments were totally illegal. Funnily enough, history isn’t on the side of the USA’s “assistance” of those “legitimate, sovereign governments,” any more than it will be on the side of Russia and Iran’s assistance of the Assad regime.
Have you been hitting yourself in the head with a big thick stupid stick Psycho ? …. are you seriously saying u.s.a sponsored coups make legitimate governments ? ????
Afghanistan: In the 1980s, the U.S. worked with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to overthrow Afghanistan’s socialist government.
Argentina: … soon after the military junta seized power in Argentina. Kissinger explicitly approved the junta’s “dirty war,” in which it eventually killed up to 30,000, most of them young people, and stole 400 children from the families of their murdered parents …
Brazil: …In 1964, General Castelo Branco led a coup that sparked 20 years of brutal military dictatorship……. Like other victims of U.S.-backed coups in Latin America, the elected President Joao Goulart was a wealthy landowner, not a communist,
Cambodia:….. When President Nixon ordered the secret and illegal bombing of Cambodia in 1969, American pilots were ordered to falsify their logs to conceal their crimes. They killed at least half a million Cambodians, …. the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency provided the Khmer Rouge with satellite intelligence, while U.S. and British special forces trained them to lay millions of land mines across Western Cambodia which still kill or maim hundreds of people every year.
Chile: …. After General Pinochet seized power, the CIA kept Chilean officials on its payroll and worked closely with Chile’s DINA intelligence agency as the military government killed thousands of people and jailed and tortured tens of thousands more.
El Salvador: … “During the morning, they proceeded to interrogate, torture, and execute the men in several locations.[8] Around noon, they began taking the women and older girls in groups, separating them from their children and machinegunning them after raping them.[9] Girls as young as 10 were raped, with soldiers reportedly heard bragging how they especially liked the 12-year-old girls.[10] Finally, they killed the children at first by slitting their throats, then by hanging them from trees, with one child as young as two years old.[11] After killing the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings…….The American role in this campaign of state terrorism is now hailed by senior U.S. military officers as a model for “counter-insurgency” in Colombia and elsewhere as the U.S. war on terror spreads its violence and chaos across the world.
El Salvador is very closely linked to Iraq …. and the u.s.a trained murder/rape/torture squads almost necessitated a Isis like organization to protect the Sunni population …
I notice you do not mention anything about possible peace solutions in your reply …. which makes me think you do not really give a stuff about the poor people of Syria …. or Iraq …. or Libya
Have you been hitting yourself in the head with a big thick stupid stick Psycho ? …. are you seriously saying u.s.a sponsored coups make legitimate governments ? ????
If you try actually reading the comment, it referred to Colonial Viper’s claim that he recognises the Assad regime as the “legitimate, sovereign government” of Syria because international law says it is. International law says a lot of very unpleasant dictatorships have been legitimate, sovereign governments, so if you don’t like CV recognising and supporting them all, take it up with him.
“I support the rule of international law therefore I recognise the Assad led government as the legitimate sovereign government of Syria,…..”
Colonial Viper
National Socialists think the sanctity of the nation is sacrosanct.
International Socialists think the idea of nations is a social construct and of little value.
National Socialists believe that nation and race are imutable.
International Socialists believe that concepts like nation and race are fluid and changeable.
National socialists advocate war to protect the interests of a nation from its (internal, and external) enemies.
International Socialists advocate the abolition of the nation state, and the end of war.
John Lennon sang: “Imagine there is no countries” “Nothing to kill or die for”
But what does all this idealistic theory mean in practice in the real world we live in, where nation states are a political reality?
Firstly; it means that socialists oppose all wars of imperial invasion and aggression, (like the invasion of Iraq by the US and its allies, for instance).
Secondly, it means that socialists support all people attempting to libererate themselves from oppression from their own nation state, and support their right to overthrow that state. And also support their right to work with whoever they choose to help them achieve that end.
The example of Roger Casement comes to mind. Roger Casement was an Irishman who worked for the British Empire in the Foreign Civil Service mainly in Africa for twenty years and even gained a British Knighthood for his work. But over this long period witnessing the affects of imperialism first hand he slowly grew to hate and despise it.
On returning to his homeland Casement used his diplomatic contacts to get the German Empire, which was at war with the British Empire, to supply the Irish rebels with 20 thousand rifles. Unfortunately in attempting to land these vitally needed arms in Ireland, Casement was captured by the RIC and handed over to the British and was hanged for treason.
British propaganda depicted Casement as an agent of the Germans. A charge Casement strongly denied in his trial for treason against “The British Crown”.
The other case that comes to mind is that of the Russian Bolshevik leader VI Lenin. When the 1917 revolt first broke out, Lenin was still in exile in Europe, prevented from traveling to Russia by the French and British allies of the Russian Empire, Lenin made a deal with the Germans, who agreed to transport Lenin through German lines and into Russia. The German interest was to weaken the British and Russian Empires from within. The trade off for Lenin in particular was that he was accused just like Casement was of being a German agent. Lenin was able to stare down these accusations and gained the trust of the Russian people and successfully led the Revolution to its victory over the Russian Tsarist, Lenin;s first move was to pull Russia out of the war, which helped bring that Imperialist conflict to conclusion.
There was echoes of this propaganda back here in New Zealand. Princess Te Puea was leading her Tainui people in a campaign against conscription for same Imperialist conflict. Te Puea was also accused of being a German agent, on the flimsy evidence that her grandfather was a German. Even though her Granfather had died when Te Puea was still a child.
So what has all this got to do with Syria and Colonial Viper, which is what I was leading up to?
CV is comfortable and accepts the fact that the regime of Bashar Assad detains and tortures and kills (in his own words) “scores of Syrians a year”. CV also supports the aerial genocide being carried out by the regime against the Syrian people because he alleges (with little proof) that the regime is the victim of US and NATO invasion and regime change.
CV condemns and attacks the rebels for accepting money and weapons from some of the funda mentalist Arab States like Saudi Arabia which is allied with the US.
Singled out by CV and other Assadists for their particular hate, and marked for death, is the volunteer search and rescue organisation known as the White Helmets, because the White Helmets receive funding from US sources.
This is why I determine Colonial Viper to be a National Socialist or fascist.
But really he makes this determination for himself.
More Godwinism.
No doubt there are many good reasons for criticizing Trump, but his apparent intention of establishing a good relationship with Putin is probably worthy of praise.
Two rightwing strongmen cosying up is hardly worthy of praise. Thinking about Trump’s rapprochement with Putin, it is certainly potentially the death of NATO. NATO, as a German friend of mine put it, is a three leg stool about “…keeping the Germans down, the Americans in and the Russians out”.
Angela Merkel (who is popular now but will be very harshly judged by history IMHO) wrecked the first leg with her rigid neoliberalism and the turning of the common currency into a giant Ponzi scheme with Germany at the top, in the process destablising the EU (the beginning of the roll for Brexit was the shock amongst both conservative and liberal intellectuals in the UK at the ruthless German crushing of the Greeks. The British have a long romantic attachment to the Greeks and the Aegean from Shelley to Churchill, and being an island they have a long, bloody minded history of not taking orders from continentals) which has made Germany much richer but has badly weakened the EU and therefore NATO as collateral damage. The result of Merkel’s economic policies may be Germany having to confront the Russians alone.
The election of Trump has at least called the second leg into question. Trump is probably right to question the extension of the US-NATO nuclear guarantee to the Balts and the unstable ex-Warsaw pact countries. Estonia or Bulgaria or Slovakia are not so important to US security as to trigger a nuclear war if attacked by Russia. That has been common sense real politik since Yalta. The Swedes, at least, have worked this out and are reintroducing conscription from 2018. NATO should NEVER have expanded east.
So all that is left is keeping the Russians out. That is what makes the Baltic countries such a flash point. If Russia can over run those countries Crimea style (About a third of the population of Estonia and half of Latvias is ethnic Russians) with just an ineffectual NATO response, NATO’s credibility will collapse. So if the Americans under Trump won’t defend the Balts, that means the Germans will have to – I see in the 2016 budget they have increased defense spending by 15% and set aside 10 billion Euros for new weapons and another 10 billion for arming neighbours. 4,000 NATO troops are already in Estonia.
My pick is before the end of the decade is Putin will try in on in a Baltic country, probably Latvia, and the Russians will be easily defeated by the Germans, Germany will form a Nordic alliance (Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland the Balts and possibly Poland and the Dutch and French) outside NATO and NATO will become a relic.
Why is an assumption that present day Russia covets “the Baltic” states embedded in your comment Sanctuary? Any, even circumstantial evidence to underpin that?
btw – I don’t think you can reasonably throw Crimea into the mix (if you were going to) any more than you can throw the US’s major naval base in Bahrain into the mix if looking at US territorial designs. My point being that the US and EU turned a blind eye to a swift military incursion by Saudi Arabia into Bahrain to quell that country’s ‘Arab Spring back in 2011… (whereas Russia didn’t have a proxy to use in Crimea)
Well, first you should acquaint yourself with a map of the Baltic. Once equipped with this handy tool, I suggest you take a look at how Russia might obtain access to the Baltic sea (let alone further afield), should the entire fucking coastline of it’s near abroad be controlled by it’s rivals.
Why, pray tell, do you think Putin invaded the Crimea? Because he likes the wine? Or because he wanted to get back the huge ex-Soviet naval base at Sevastopol? What, do you think, is behind Russia playing footsies with the hardline regime in Turkey? I’ll give you a hint: it is wet, salty and runs past Istanbul all the way to the Mediterranean.
Putin saw the fall of the USSR from the KGB HQ in Dresden, and he drew all the wrong lessons. He is an old school Russian expansionist who has gone back to the autocratic, democracy hating, reactionary Tsarist ways of the past. He wants a new Russian Empire.
Via both Baltiysk (ice free) and Kronshtadt offer access.
Crimea was to secure access to the Med just as, from a US perspective, the ‘green lighting’ of Saudi Arabia’s invasion of Bahrain was to secure the 5th Fleet’s base.
If Russia is to be condemned for ‘playing footsie’ with Turkey, what then of the EU’s courting and what of the fact Turkey’s a NATO member state? The motivations and what not behind those things somehow to be judged differently? If so, why?
And again, what evidence is there to suggest present day Russia is seeking empire? Is there a shopping list of expansionist invasion and military adventurism I’m not familiar with?
You, my friend, are a naive fool. This isn’t a zero sum game of equally bad people. Unlike you, I visited Eastern Europe when the Soviet Union controlled it. Trust me, you’ll prefer western liberal democracy and that means supporting those countries that practice it against kleptocrats, thugs and dictators like Putin, Duerte, Erdoğan, Xi Jinping and all the rest of them.
Did I voice some preference or hankering to live in a reincarnated USSR?
The rest of your comment looks to be wandering towards an intellectual and moral morass. And on another day I’d have ventured, but not today. Gotta be off.
you’ll prefer western liberal democracy and that means supporting those countries that practice it against klepotcrats, thugs and dictators like Putin
The problem being that the countries that are against Putin happen to be controlled by kleptocrats, dictators, and thugs. That’s what Western democracy pretty much means now.
Even Ceaser was popular to some degree because the loot that his armies stole from the periphery was reasonably well distributed out in the centre. It’s how empires have always worked and how the US Empire works now.
Why is an assumption that present day Russia covets “the Baltic” states embedded in your comment Sanctuary? Any, even circumstantial evidence to underpin that?
Er, the last few centuries? The fact that it’s invaded those states twice now to re-incorporate them into the empire? The fact that it colonised them with ethnic Russians to try and overcome the ethnic basis for their independence? The fact that it’s attacked Estonia as recently as 2007? Those seem like pretty strong bases for that assumption to me.
There was no military ‘attack’ by Russia on Estonia in 2007. And as for equating Tzarsist Russia with the USSR with present day Russia when the comment only referred to current day Russia…as per usual you show yourself up to be an intellectually scoured and deflated sad sac that was only ever full of shit back in your good old days.
The 2007 attack was a cyber one, not a military one.
You seem to be claiming that the fact that both Tsarist Russia and Soviet Russia found the Baltic states to be assets worth having has no bearing on how present-day Russia regards those states. Well, the reasons for wanting them in earlier times still apply now, so historical precedent very much has a bearing on the present-day outlook for those states. The people who live there certainly know it, even if you don’t.
Sanctuary, Bill has it right. Why would Russia want to add the resource poor, economically backward and European mindset infested elite of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the responsibilities and problems that they currently have internally?
Russia already has the management problems of 11 time zones and dozens of ethnic groups. Why would Russia want to bother with more.
Actually. Now that I have your attention…remember that stoush over Duterte sanctioning the ‘knocking off’ of drug dealers in the Philippines?
I came across this interesting and provocative piece by Andre Vltchek. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s no slouch and well regarded if a little bloody angry.
I highly recommend it for anyone looking to get a handle on both the internal politics of the Philippines and the country’s position on the US, China and Russia.
That was some impressive article…read through all of it.
Social progress is evident in the city of Davao, where Duterte served for 22 years as a mayor. Once a crime-ridden hellhole with collapsed social structure, Davao now is a modern and forward looking city, with relatively good social services and improving infrastructure, as well as new public parks and green areas.
“So many things got better for the poor people here”, explains the driver, taking me from the Municipality to my hotel. “In just two decades, the city became unrecognizable. We are now proud to be living here.”
But but but According to WaPo, the NYT, and the Guardian, Duterte is just a MURDEROUS THUG!!! REEEEEEEE!!!
A long and thoughtful piece from a highly regarded source is linked, that in part, speaks directly to that kind of reporting and you throw up…did you even read the article?
The sooner you figure out that the 21st century is the Eurasian Century, the better I think.
The deeply hypocritical transnational corporate Anglo-US empire, will of course remain a *very* powerful player on the international stage.
But it can no longer sustain the degree of economic, financial and military power deferential relative to other nations needed to sustain unquestioned hegemonic dominance. (The goal of the New American Century types).
It will have to slowly relearn the art of diplomacy and negotiation once again, as opposed to relying on demanding, demeaning, accusatory rhetoric and undemocratic and illegal covert/overt programmes of regime change.
The sooner you figure out that the 21st century is the Eurasian Century, the better I think.
Meh. We saw off totalitarianism in the 20th Century and we’ll see off its bastard children this century, no matter how much you’d prefer to see nationalist authoritarianism become the new normal.
Asia is turning (has turned, it’s done) towards Asia, and quickly demoting relations with the war mongering, exploiting colonial nations to the basement, where they will remain indefinately
I hold no position of authority to speak for anyone. However, I do have a nationality (x two), an ethnicity and a philosophy, all of which are shared by many others I’m entitled to refer to as “we.” I get that authoritarian nationalism is appealing to the loonier fringes of both the right and the left in western democracies, but it’s not appealing to the great majority of us and we’d rather see liberal democracy succeed than be superseded by totalitarian dictatorships like the People’s Republic of China or mafia states like the Russian Federation.
Asia is turning (has turned, it’s done) towards Asia, and quickly demoting relations with the war mongering, exploiting colonial nations to the basement, where they will remain indefinately
What does that even mean? There are warmongering, exploiting colonial nations in Asia and have been for as long as anyone’s been in a position to write down what’s happening. And which Asia is turning towards Asia? Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea are effectively western democracies themselves, and most of the south-east Asian countries have a well-justified lack of trust in China. Wishful thinking doesn’t actually get you anywhere.
Actually, taking out people like Duerte is what the CIA exists for. I’d rather have a Western aligned dictator who professed some adherence to norms of decent behaviour in Manila than some crazy old dude who boasts about how many people he has murdered and cuddles up to the equally murderous Xi Jinping. Why? Because having a western aligned dictator in Manila (and Suva, for that matter) keeps the murderous Chinese regime contained that much further away from us.
Colonial, anti-democratic illiberal liberals make me puke.
Let’s treat a nation of 100 million Asians like a vassal state colony which exists primarily for our own privileged security and convenience. Fuck their sovereignty and agency.
Because, left wing liberal values.
Guess what mate, coloured people all over the world have cottoned on to your game.
keeps the murderous Chinese regime contained that much further away from us.
Tell me, how many poor brown coloured foreigners and Muslims has the Chinese regime murdered over the last 20 years, compared to the deaths caused by the morally precious US-Anglo empire directly and via its proxies?
Shall we do a body count? You know, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, the list goes on and on.
They will probably try and launch a people’s revolution and install neo-liberal hatchet man Fidel Ramos as leader or a provisional ‘unity coalition’ to restore order until fresh elections are called with suitably screened elitist candidates.
Not mentioned in the media is the fact that Duterte wasnts to emulate the Cuban healthcare system, give out free contraceptives, strengthen LGBT rights, opposes mining, etc.
And let’s face it, if someone in NZ promised to send the army into South Auckland or Murupara and execute every P dealer and gang kingpin I guarantee you they will win election after election.
The whitewashing of the sudden increase in deaths of suspects was pretty vile: a combination of “can’t prove nuffin'”, “what about their victims”, and “the ends justify the means”.
Nowhere was there actually a denial that murder was now government policy.
I don’t think that “establishing a good relationship” is quite the same as the more perjoritive term “cosying up”. And ” strongmen” also seems somewhat loaded.
And the downside of this over-priced market, is people not being able to afford places to live. Rents for safe, secure, affordable housing are above many people’s financial capabilities.
Last night TV1 News had an item about a man in his 80s leaving a sub-standard rental in Auckland. Video and print report here.
I suspect it was Phil Twyford who went to the media on this as he features in the story.
Frederick Shimmen has left his rental of six months in the city’s west fearing for his own safety.
“Health wise, safety wise, it’s not acceptable not in this day and age in this country,” says Mr Shimmen.
Mr Shimmen, a navy veteran, was paying $120 per week for a room which is part of a shed containing cooking, toilet and washing facilities for those also living in two buses and a caravan on the site.
He decided to leave this week, increasingly worried by the recent arrival of even more tenants.
“The set up for the lighting of the buses, all just extension cords, holes in the floors, an outdoor toilet. When the wind blows and the rain, it would all come in,” says Mr Shimmen.
Local MP and Labour’s Housing spokesperson Phil Twyford says Mr Shimmen’s situation is not out of the ordinary.
“There are thousands of people in this situation find themselves living in the most appalling slum conditions. It just shouldn’t be allowed to happen,” he says.
“WELL is this ever an exercise in self promotion / sensationalism , I was most interested to read the words on her scoop post
“The targeting of Ms Dawson led to serious threats against and endangerment of her life and those of her children.”
suddenly I connected the two and indeed in early 2013 I had had dealings with one and the same Ms Dawson when she published defamatory and blatantly incorrect material about me and I simply asked her to remove it from her blog and when I was ignored served a notice on her as required by the act.
I had phoned her as first point of contact and her daughter had answered the phone, I asked for Suzie Dawson and when she got on the phone she hurled a barrage of abuse at me and a claim that I was stalking her.
Eventually she did remove the material from her post but it wold appear that she also made a false complaint that I was stalking her.
Knowing what I know about Suzie Dawson and having interacted with her, I do hope that she gets asylum in Russia and may her stay be a lengthy one.
I personally would not believe a thing she says as to me ,on the evidence I have, I can conclude that she is prone to gross exaggeration and paranoia.
She calls herself a journalist but she is not one.
If she is one of the 88 new Zealanders the government is looking at then the government is wasting tax payers funds, it is my opinion that she does nothing more than regurgitates information which she finds on the web and publishes as her own.
[deleted, content is in link supplied by Sacha below]
[learn how to attribute properly and how to make it clear what are your words and what are a quote. Your comment was a nightmare to read on a phone. Count this as a warning – weka]
Have you been following the recent investigative articles in the NBR about corruption in the NZ roading industry?
You may find them interesting.
Also – the 225 page Judgment of Justice Sally Fitzgerald in the recent bribery and corruption conviction of two (former) Auckland Transport officials and one corrupt contractor, is a fascinating read, in my opinion.
The website seems somewhat feverish at first glance. And no, I do not have a subscription to NBR.
From my reading of the full judgement so far, the successful prosecution hinged on properly maintained public records (falsely-completed Conflict of Interest forms).
It is pretty typical over the end of the holiday period and even more so when coming into an election year. It always get a bit crazy and I start doing more moderation to stop the bad behaviors on the site from going exponential..
(counts on his fingers – 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 yep… The site went public in August 2007)
This is my 9th new year on the site and 4th time coming into an election. I’m getting pretty familiar with the patterns now.
You know what I am like and what the policy states. If it is about this site (or is ambiguous about which site), then the sysop (me) is likely to notice it and sometimes answer.
Funny thing, i had never heard of suzie until yesterdays post, I followed up the links and watched her person of interest video, I found it all interesting but was feeling that perhaps she was maby slightly over egging it,….. then penny and others started in with the organised character assisination and i realised she was not. Penny your posts yesterday and today have convinced me that suzie is genuine and you are a bitter old piece of ….
This whole business regarding Suzie Dawson is crazy conspiracy theory stuff peddled by societies fringe merchants and the left does itself no favours by entertaining any sort of debate on their innuendos and paranoid insinuations. We need to be focussing on the main enemy, triumphant neo-fascism, not faffing around with the delusions of the activist far fringe.
The left’s mission in 2017 is to ensure it rebrands itself well away from the elitist scam that is liberal identity politics and establishes a persuasive narrative that offers a clear alternative to right wing populism. The left devoting its time to the various conspiratorial combinations of the likes of Bradbury, Dawson or Penny Bright is simply to indulge in a distraction from the fringes that it can ill afford to concern itself with and definitely cannot afford to allow itself to be associated with if it wants to be taken seriously.
If “2TB of explosive data” exists, release it and let it be judged. Otherwise, i don’t see any need for the left to bother itself any further with this ridiculous diversion.
“rebranding” is the language and MO of neoliberalism and superficial marketing exercises.
The left needs to regroup and re-build with a strong focus on both the current context and the past histories of the left and society – and by left, I mean the flax roots left, and not something led from above by political parties.
For me, this means engaging with and listening to the flax roots groups; aiming for a collaborative approach between groups within the broader left; acknowledging and discussing differences, while embracing things/actions on which we agree.
Poor old Carolyn trying to para phrase a hipster anarchist, out with old hierarchy in with horizontal decision making and society, meaningless, do nothing, talkfest clap trap, everyone at cross purposes, reason occupy movement lasted all of one summer
Ah, not really. I had in mind something in between anarchism, and a totally autocratic left where some group with the most political power on the left dictates what the left stands for.
The latter has been the case of Labour parties internationally during the neoliberal era.
The future direction of the left, IMO, needs to come from the people – and there does need to be more collaboration between left groups. But that doesn’t mean each group will be into leaderless structures – some will be, but others will have a more formal structure. Some will be trade unions, some will be green campaigners – with some ideas arising out of actions. So not just a talk-fest, either.
Some examples: the Glenn Innes state house campaign, Pike River protests, campaigns by unions for a living wage, Green Peace protests against fossil fuel companies’ activities, etc – basically a broad left where people on the ground generate ideas, some of it coming through action.
“The left’s mission in 2017 is to ensure it rebrands itself well away from the elitist scam that is liberal identity politics and establishes a persuasive narrative that offers a clear alternative to right wing populism.”
Short version: FFS stop the craziness and come up with something that works.
Someone should tell Chris Trotter to stop posting before the prozac kicks in, his latest bit of depressed nonsense shows an aging man completely out of touch with anyone on the political left who doesn’t still brood about the Douglas era. Seriously, the left ought to tell him it is over having a Greek chorus of crusty old defeatist Cassandras wailing about what awful fate awaits us.
Chris needs to get out there and meet someone on the active left under 30, it’ll do his dreary old heart the world of good. Why, he might even open the curtains and clean up some cobwebs in his intellectual world view.
Mental health issues like depression are serious and impact the lives of many. It shouldn’t be used as an insult or false claim in reply to someone who writes something you disagree with.
As someone who is had a family member with depression and some other issues – it’s something I’ve always taken seriously- so not a concerned troll on this matter. And hey – if you think it’s ok to joke about it – then that says more about you than anything else.
Kind of misses the point that if 2016 delivered us the spectacle of liberalism squirming and screaming, then 2017 might (hopefully from my perspective) deliver us its death rattle.
Apart from that ‘mere detail’, his musings on NZ positioning regards US and China aren’t so unreasonable. The myopia on display with regards the machinations of various dull NZ political actors is kind of dim. But like I say, he assumes a continuation of this somewhat discredited and untrusted status quo that many of us, it has to be said, are now merely enduring.
Most often these annual predictions say more about the predictors than about what will actually happen.
I do think he is right, though, that the current NZ government will face a conflict between their commercial/financial support for China and intelligence/military allegiance to the US.
I think there is a possibility of a Nat-NZF-Mp coalition alliance forming the next government – but that is one of the possibilities. Trotter seems to be one of those uncritically praising Zoe Swarbrick.
Do folks not ‘get’ just how vulnerable this National Government is on the issue of corruption?
Do folks not get how potentially HUGE the issue of corruption is going to be over these next two months?
31 January 2017
Transparency International 2016 ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is published.
In my considered opinion, New Zealand will continue to slide down this scale.
22 February 2017, the corrupt ‘public official’ and corrupt contractor will be sentenced in the Auckland High Court.
I predict that both these ‘white collar’ criminals will receive ‘blue collar’ sentences, and both will be sentenced to jail for at least 2 years.
25 February 2017 – the date of the Mt Albert by-election.
In between – I predict more publicity on corruption, as more ‘whistle-blowers’ come forward, and more politically ‘dynamite’ OIA information is revealed regarding corrupt ‘conflicts of interest’.
In between – I shall be addressing the Auckland Transport Board, where I hope to encourage them to comply with their statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005, and provide the details of ALL awarded contracts, including all those sub-contracted, and those worth less than $50,000.
Once AT provide that information – there will be no excuse for Auckland Council, or other Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs) to equally provide this information.
There will be other Auckland Council meetings at which these issues will be raised.
The sooner other political parties ‘pick up the ball’ on this issue – the better.
Why?
Because the contracting out (privatisation) of public services formerly provided ‘in house’ has been proven to be TWICE as expensive.
It isn’t a possibility, it is the most likely outcome. Everyone is going to get a shock at NZ First’s support in the provinces next election. National have used massed immigration to juke the GDP figures, a policy they neither campaigned on or consulted the public on. As in Europe and the USA, the use of a globalised Labour market to repress the pay of the local wage class will become an election issue (albeit framed through a lens of anti-immigration) that will totally blindside the insulated liberal elites of the media establishment, and mark the beginning of the end of neoliberalism in its current form.
So what will happen here will be the same political outcome as the UK after Brexit. The right wing ruling class that dominate the establishment right wing political vehicle (here, the National party) with use the populist right as an excuse to pivot harder to the right while using populist anti-foreign sentiment as a smoke screen. In the short term, this will shore up the wealth and power grab of the local 1% elites but the long term result will be much more political polarisation and political destabilisation.
” Trotter seems to be one of those uncritically praising Zoe Swarbrick.”
Trotter lazily continues the assumption that people who voted Chloe for Mayor were young. He’s not “praising” her, just presuming her base and mistaking quite how many are put off by mouthy old men with moustaches and leather jackets.
Thanks for the link – I particularly liked this part:
“It is, however, highly doubtful that sufficient young people will participate in the 2017 general election to significantly offset the emotionally powerful appeal of an unabashedly nationalistic, Sinophobic and pro-American coalition of National, NZ First and the Maori Party. Neither conservative fish nor progressive fowl, Labour is likely to see its party vote plummet into the teens – and with it any hope of reclaiming major party status. The baton of progressive politics will pass to the Greens. Real political power, however, will remain with the National Party and its allies.”
NZ First with National – which I have said several times. and Labour plummeting – although he sees it being worse (for them) than I expect – I do hope he is right.
This could be the year that the Greens really start looking like the main party of the left.
I pick Little will not look back on the MOU fondly.
‘Blowing the whistle’ against privatisation via Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) and corruption, is not an easy task 🙂
But imagine the HARD questions I’ll be able to ask in the House, if electors in the Mt Albert electorate ‘seize the moment’ and give this Government a message against against corruption, and for transparency in the spending of public monies, that simply can’t be ignored?
(Upon which none of the other ‘declared’ candidates have (yet) made a stand?)
The foul spirit of “Sir” Paul Holmes lives on:
Is the Mad Butcher going to run for ACT this year?
If you can force yourself to the end of this article, you’ll find the old fool says:
“The irony is that I was with my own granddaughter, who is herself of Ngapuhi heritage.”
That’s exactly the same argument that Cameron Slater wheels out whenever he is nailed as a racist: how can I be racist, he whines, when I was born in Fiji and my father is dating a woman from the Philippines?
Mad Butcher Sir Peter Leitch says Waiheke Island comments weren’t racist but ‘misinterpreted’ after woman’s video goes viral New Zealand Herald, Wednesday 4 January 2017
Sir Peter Leitch says a woman “misinterpreted some light-hearted banter” after she claimed he made racist remarks yesterday.
Auckland woman Lara Bridger posted a video on social media this afternoon claiming Sir Peter – the Mad Butcher – told her Waiheke Island was a “white man’s island”.
She last night took down the video, saying “people were going a bit overboard with threats and racist comments” at Sir Peter in response to her post.
The 23-year-old Maori woman said she was wine tasting with her mother and sister at Stonyridge Vineyard when they spotted Sir Peter eating lunch with his family.
The group waved to him before heading outside, she said.
She says Sir Peter came out and approached them and began making conversation.
Bridger said Sir Peter had warned the group not to drink and drive before going on to say they must not be local.
“I go ‘Yeah, I’m actually born here’. That’s when he said ‘Well this is a white man’s island and you should acknowledge that’,” she said. ….
Before rushing to judgement, it would pay to look a little deeper than a single Herald article. There are other accounts that paint a very different picture to the one in the Herald.
My point is – do you know what both parties actually said? I have heard reports she said she was ‘Tangata Whenua’ in response to his question about their drinking and driving. If that is the case, his response is entirely appropriate. In fact she’s playing the race card by claiming exemption from the law for being Maori.
I have also heard reports that she approached him, not the other way around.
Also, have you seen the full version of her video? I have, and frankly it paints her as pathetic. No wonder she took it down.
Both parties agree that the “white man’s island” comments were said. They disagree on the “tangata whenua” ones. But I wouldn’t pick you to try and provide an honest depiction of events.
1. I didn’t say the ‘white man’s island’ comment was denied by PL.
2. For the record, she HAS admitted the Tangata Whenua remark:
“Record straight I did NOT say ‘I could do what I like’ he came at us with a whole you’re not a local in which I responded “yeah I’m tangata whenua born here mate 23 years ago”.
If you look at her video (since deleted as she probably woke up with a hangover and was mortified), it is clear for all to see that she is hammered and having a crack for the sake of having a crack.
Silly little girl. Why the Herald has to chase this sort of nonsense is completely beyond me.
It’s a pretty weak defense to say that calling Waiheke (such a Pākehā name?) Island a “white man’s island” was a joke – light hearted banter.
This morning on Summer Report, Mihingarangi Forbes ‘ report on it included a clip from the original FB video Forbes ended by adding some context: basically, there’s many Māori and Pākehā feeling pushed off the island because of increased gentrification. I can see how that would cause some ill-feeling towards some of the wealthy incomers.
Actually, it was a pretty balanced report. If you listen, she says both sides give a different description of what happened. She is trying to get an interview with Leitch, and is hopeful of one this afternoon.
The assertion that he said Waiheke was a ‘white man’s Island’ is disputed. SPL claims he said white man’s law applied to Waiheke after she claimed she was ‘Tangata Whenua’ (the implication being she was above the law).
The one she posted on Facebook and has since been removed (I wonder why). Where she says “fuck” 20 times in the first three minutes of her rant. Potty mouth. “Victim blaming”. Whatever.
BOOOM. Who the frak cares what a possibly out of touch 0.1%’er “Sir Peter” might or might not have said. Just another instance of the Herald distracting from the real issues facing the people of Waiheke. But, certain types have to get wound up over someone’s supposed a-hole comments.
Carolyn_nth got it by commenting on the underlying context by Forbes:
basically, there’s many Māori and Pākehā feeling pushed off the island because of increased gentrification. I can see how that would cause some ill-feeling towards some of the wealthy incomers.
It has gentrified pretty quickly in the past 20 or so years.
In 1999-2000 I was penpals (yes they were still a thing that recently) with a young lady who lived there. She was pretty much an average kiwi who had an average upbrining like myself, and from what she told me, her mates were all the same.
Nowadays, I cannot help but thinking all the 19-20 year olds up there are all rich kids.
I watched the video and didn’t consider her to be “hammered” at all. She was upset yes, not sure why you have jumped to the conclusion she was drunk. She has explained the reason why she removed the video, her explanation is vastly different from your factually devoid assumption. I also didn’t see a “silly little girl” as you have patronisingly labeled her. Maybe it’s just you having a crack for the sake of having a crack.
The Herald chasing that sort of nonsense is completely beyond you? They will be disappointed it wasn’t an All Black and the exchange wasn’t in a toilet for the disabled.
And everyone has consent, through freedom to comment, on what happened, what was said and make conclusions.
The only ones who know exactly what was said were those who were there. They also are the only ones who know the order of what was said, by whom, the tones of voices and the postures and other body language. All of those are pertinent to the interaction. All of those are part of the conversation not just the words.
And the people there, minutes afterwards, undoubtedly would not have been able to give exact accounts of what happened. The basis of points of views in the wider world then becomes supposition, suspicion, and motivation. And ignorance.
Which ends in a neat and tidy “an old fool making racist remarks.”
My comment was about the Herald only being interested in the incident for its potential to be sensational. Its potential to be sensationalised is based on there bits of information, different perspectives of the incident, emotion and jumping to conclusions.
For all the complaints about the Herald they deserve credit for knowing what the market is. (I look at their site. I most definitely refused to play their game by clicking on that story.)
Also, while reading about this unfortunate incident I couldn’t help being reminded of the similarity between this defence, and Upston’s defence of John Key’s sexual harassment of a cafe worker.
Sir Peter said he was “extremely disappointed that a young woman had misinterpreted some light-hearted banter”.
As the Prime Minister has said his actions were intended to be light-hearted. It was never his intention to make her feel uncomfortable.
A racist is a racist – here are some comments from brown-buttabean on how he as a person has been treated by Leitch – actions speak louder than someone moaning on factbook:
“As i said last night on Facebook @sirmadbutcher has done a lot for me and others . I’ve been busy organising wedding and I’ve missed all this mad butcher stuff. All I will say is he’s always been good to me and has supported a lot of south Auckland Polynesian and Maori athletes and league clubs since I was a young in . These are not the actions of a racists person . I might piss some people off but that’s how I feel . I train his grand son and am friends with his daughter and son in law . They have even let us use their house as part of our wedding . I’ll leave you all with a couple of verses to reflect on – Proverbs 10:12English Standard Version (ESV) 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Stay safe team and God bless #teambuttabean”
isnt it terrible how this “racist” does a lot for people – regardless of their colour. supports Polynesian and Maori athletes, and lends his house to someone who is brown for part of their wedding.
No you are right – someone posted something on facebook – lets hang him. /sarc
“A racist is a racist” – true, but obviously not recognised as such by some of us. Patronising jokes ( the sexist equivalent is Key’s ponytail incident) designed, perhaps subconsciously, to humiliate in order to feel superior are a part of what I’d call ‘casual racism’. It is common for people to offer charity to those they see as inherently inferior.
There is also (and probably always was) some sexism creeping into this argument. The victim blaming thing that’s going on is the old ‘she asked for it’ argument that is too often a feature of rape trials and the like.
‘Victim blaming’ is a label designed to stop any questioning of the alleged victim. This lady has made some serious accusations. Her story has been told in a very visceral and public manner. That was her choice. Now her story, and her credibility with it, needs to be questioned so we can know the truth.
It’s designed to stop investigation of the incident and destroy the person reporting it. It may be used in a valid way to tease out the truth, but is more often misused as power play. In this case there is no need, as there seems to be ample evidence
Evidence of what? The evidence seems to me to be of two slightly differing accounts of a brief conversation that one party has decided to publish via social media.
Many on this forum seek outrage and offence to simply justify the world as they see it, not what it is The mad butcher in context of his life is clearly not a racist and to justify as such on the testimony of a silly little hyper sensitive and slightly thick snow flake says more about Milsy and company than Peter Leitch
Leitch’s most grievous error is having a shrieking loon like Michelle Boag as his PR person. I mean, of all the possible candidates… Boag? It’s like Pope Francis selecting as his spokesperson the reanimated corpse of Tomas de Torquemada.
Maori/Polys are OK as long as they stay in South Auckland where they belong, and not venture over to the white mans paradise of Waiheke Island.
I think that was what Sir Mad Butcher was inferring. Though I have the feeling he should have just said ‘rich man’s island’. Would have saved him a lot of bother.
I think Te Ururoa Flavell has nailed this rather well (from Stuff)
“Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell said he respected Leitch for the work he has done benefiting Maori and Pacific Island communities.
But he said he also respected Bridger for speaking out on what she believed was offensive.
“What this incident highlights is that despite there being no intention to cause offence, it has,” he said.
“The lesson here is no matter how you dress it up, making comments directed at someone else because of their ethnicity is racist and you’ll be called on it.
“For that, we respect the actions of the young woman and her whanau, who have made their point and who now wish to move on.”
Bollocks you don’t have the right to slander somebody on a public medium that 100000 people read because you choose to be offended Leitch should sue her for every thing she has if not to just to put the snow flake generation in thier place what you can and can’t say on line Can you imagine if the herald or TV one made such and accusation. This should have been dealt with privately been a private conversation and obviously the two groups miss communicating with no malice at least on the side of one party
Really Jan, can I suggest you engage your little wee brain a bit deeper beyond the immediate topic and ask yourself if some one posted and accusation in a public forum (face book) about you that you felt slandered your good name that 100000 people read , you don’t think you would have a civil case for slander
I don’t think there’s a law about slander in NZ. It’s defamation.
But one element that needs to be proved is that the statement was untrue. Leitch has agreed he said Waiheke is a “white man’s island”. The two people differ as to the intent of the statement.
A defense against being charged with defamation is that the person stated something as an “honest opinion”. That does seem to be the case with respect to the woman.
The lesson from all this is that it is impossible for someone to do good things AND sometimes do stupid things. You are either a perfect saint or a filthy sinner, there is no middle ground to be a human.
🙄
“Uh, Matt, I’m not going to get into colloquy on this one.”
The U.S. has been mocking democracy long before Trump oozed into power.
Contrary to what you might think, there ARE some intelligent and ethical reporters in the United States. One of the best is the indomitable Matt Lee of the Associated Press….
“…Colonial, anti-democratic illiberal liberals make me puke…”
Well then CV you picked a pretty stupid country to live in then, didn’t you. Perhaps you ought to consider relocating to somewhere more aligned to your tastes?
And for someone who professes to prefer the bracing honesty of dictators and thugs to the politics of hypocritical neo-colonial liberal democracies, you sure quickly turn into a quivering blancmange of outraged emotional crisis when the bracing honesty comes the other way.
Norightturn points out Bill English’s Achilles heel – an incompetent Nick Smith who instead of sacking, he goes on holiday with. If I were a Labour MP, I would spend my entire time imaging Nick Smith with a giant bullseye stick to his arse. A juicy, juicy target in election year!
Generally speaking, politicians and big business love things that are deeply unethical, but technically legal. For them, it’s the latter that really matters. Usually, there’s only an apology and an attempt to makes amends when they realise the catastrophic public relations meltdown that will inevitably result once their indiscretions are publicised.
They don’t genuinely feel guilt or shame about what they’re doing. It’s all about reelection and returns to shareholders.
English’s Achilles heel is the same as most of us – his arrogance. He’s become obsessed with this investment approach to social issues and it’s already driven him to fiscal foolishness with more to come.
IMO when (if ) the general public get to hear what price he really sold the Tauranga State houses for he can start packing his bags. National can spin and swing asset sales to a long suffering public, what they can’t get away with is selling public assets for only a fraction of their worth.
Unfortunately, in 2014 National showed it can get away with anything. This will continue to happen as long as we have the “opposition” party led by someone who called Nicky Hager’s revelations “a distraction.”
In the news; Authorities in the occupied territories are on the search for a suspected Palestinian man who stormed into a Synagogue in Jerusalem and started whipping the worthshippers. Witnesses interviewed later, reported that the man was heard loudly shouting, accusing them of being money changers.
Before storming off, the man was heard to mutter something about going to start his own religion.
Other witnesses of the events said that it they could get hold of the man they felt like crucifying him.
Oops. Sorry I picked up the wrong piece of paper, that was the story of Jesus driving the money changers from the temple. Mathew 21:12-13
And in other news; Kim Dotcom says that he is planning a release of 2 terabytes of data, two days before the next election, iImplicating departing PM John Key and the Nationa….
I don’t think any Jewish people would write it, Israeli or non-Israeli, unless they were teenagers on the piss. It smells of people trying to ratchet up tensions/get sympathy for the National party.
You might be thinking of the Law Of Return, under which Israel grants most Jews worldwide the right to move to Israel and then become citizens after a short period of residency.
Sadly, not all Israelis are people of the moral fibre of Gideon Levy, Amira Hass, Jeff Halpin or Ilan Pappé. Israel is probably the most paranoid and heavily propagandized country in the world. It’s not “teenagers on the piss” who have destroyed the lives of Palestinians for the last 68 years, and are still destroying them. The culprits are middle-aged, sober desk murderers like these….
Yeah… McCully et al should’ve seen that coming. The northern parts of the Shore is home to a few wacky religions, South Africans and extreme right wingers – and Colin Craig. Having said that, there are still normal people living there too. I know because I’ve met them – including Sth Africans. 😈
Edit: OMG, I’m not accusing CC of being the culprit. Given his taste for litigation… 😯
This should be an election issue for the Labour/Green government in waiting. Our rivers are dying before our eyes at the hands of farmers and it’s something ordinary rural people know because it’s happening within even a child’s memory.
Someone here suggested the other day that the election should be fought on housing an climate change. I agree with housing but climate change is too inaccessible an issue and is global. Non Green voters won’t be moved by climate change campaigning, but the state of our rivers is an environmental topic, and a disaster, and a really good way to get ordinary people to think about environmental issues.
I have said the same thing a few times, climate change is too macro, the greens, especially need to focus on more of this sort of stuff, this is where hay can be made.
But it’s got to be pitched in a helping positive way, not a punishing way.
I realise that sort of thinking rubs the left wings fur the wrong way, but it’s the most effective approach to getting people on board and enthusiastic about what you’re saying.
Anyone else breaking the law would have the book thrown at them but not farmers. Massive breaches of already weak environmental protections are occurring and the consequences are light to non-existent.
I propose the actual enforcement of very heavy fines for breaches of local and national protections on discharge and irrigation along with further encouragement/regulation for farmers to both remove stock from nearby waterways and to plant near waterways. Perhaps local youth could be employed in the planting scheme to be jointly paid for by landowners and the taxpayer. If the farmers can’t comply – tough shit, sell up and get out.
Why should respect for our environment be sugar-coated, when disrespect never is? I do not care whether corporate dairying interests are ‘enthusiastic’. They’ve had their lazy time in the sun under this feckless government. Time to pull their socks up and behave like respectful citizens again.
We could play a fun game out of Nationals poisoning of our rivers…..
Called “right direction”, it involves drinking Nationals river-water …. wearing a blindfold ……….. and finding the toilet with the help of team mates who call out instructions.
It’s an educational game on the danger of cowboys in charge …….
The Green party have consistently campaigned for many years on clean rivers rather than climate change. Many New Zealand voters can remember swimming in and drinking from our streams, rivers and lakes without the slightest hesitation.
+1. I would have thought being on the wrong side of One Nation is a good thing. It’s probably the only good thing the current government has done in eight years.
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
The pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like.‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...
Thank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
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And there in, lies the difference between a National Socialist, and an International Socialist.
Never have a couple of syllables held such portent.
There’s nothing like a spot of Godwinism to settle an argument , eh.
” the White Helmets in Syria have been filmed on numerous occasions working alongside terrorist groups and that members of the White Helmets have participated in executions, torture, driving vehicles for terrorists, providing propaganda for jihadist groups, conducting false flags and brandishing weapons in combat.”
“Two young Sunni Syrian soldiers from Aleppo were beaten and executed by Jaish Al Fattah rebels in Aleppo. Jaish Fattah, a coalition of US backed rebel groups and al-Qaeda (Jabhat al- Nusra). The video of the soldiers being humiliated was posted by a member of the White Helmets, which the US supplied $23 million dollars to through the USAID program, as stated by US State Department spokesperson John Kirby”.
” In the video a White Helmet member can be seen wearing a White Helmet shirt while conducting operations ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with al-Zinki terrorists. This is the same group that beheaded a 12 year old Palestinian boy in the back of a truck in July 2016. The White Helmet member is visible at the 2:27 mark. http://jackpineradicals.com/boards/topic/huge-video-and-data-cache-on-the-fake-ngo-syrian-white-helmet-jihadists/
The u.s.a has a long long history of training and working with the most brutal & perverse killers and death squads in modern history ….. “The UN Truth Commission found that the units guilty of the worst atrocities, like the Atlacatl Battalion which conducted the infamous El Mozote massacre, were precisely the ones most closely supervised by American advisers. The American role in this campaign of state terrorism is now hailed by senior U.S. military officers as a model ….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHEI603bF4
This documentary shows how the savagery they cultivated in South America was brought down on the poor people of Iraq …. Death squads and torture, fueling hatred and helping Isis recruitment https://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=BxHEI603bF4
This doco shows the u.s.a war effort in Afghanistan includes very evil stuff …..such as protecting Local police units which rape and murder young boys, kidnap and rob from civilians, and get off their faces on Heroin while firing machine and other weapons blindly in the direction of children …. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja5Q75hf6QI ……
On a slightly more positive note here’s a shorter doco on foreign fighters who have come to help the Kurds in their battle for survival against Isis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoqds4LV9RI ….. I do hope the Kurds do not get shafted when peace finally comes …….as they were the first fighters to start inflicting defeats and rolling back Isis.
Horrible powerful Foreign leaders prepared to extend the fighting until the last Syrian is dead are now the biggest problem in stopping the killing …………
Syria needs a huge effort for peace and justice ………. not death squads and surface to air missiles in the hands of terrorists ….
Reconstruction not destruction ….
The u.s.a has a long long history of training and working with the most brutal & perverse killers and death squads in modern history …
Funny you should mention that, as the USA’s appalling activities in central America in the early 1980s were an exact match with CV’s position:
I support the rule of international law therefore I recognise the Assad led government as the legitimate sovereign government of Syria, and I recognise that the foreign (US/Saudi/Qatar/Turkey) sponsored proxy war against that government as totally illegal.
Those governments the USA was helping in central America were the “legitimate, sovereign governments” of those countries and the foreign (Soviet Union and China) sponsored proxy wars against those governments were totally illegal. Funnily enough, history isn’t on the side of the USA’s “assistance” of those “legitimate, sovereign governments,” any more than it will be on the side of Russia and Iran’s assistance of the Assad regime.
Have you been hitting yourself in the head with a big thick stupid stick Psycho ? …. are you seriously saying u.s.a sponsored coups make legitimate governments ? ????
Afghanistan: In the 1980s, the U.S. worked with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to overthrow Afghanistan’s socialist government.
Argentina: … soon after the military junta seized power in Argentina. Kissinger explicitly approved the junta’s “dirty war,” in which it eventually killed up to 30,000, most of them young people, and stole 400 children from the families of their murdered parents …
Brazil: …In 1964, General Castelo Branco led a coup that sparked 20 years of brutal military dictatorship……. Like other victims of U.S.-backed coups in Latin America, the elected President Joao Goulart was a wealthy landowner, not a communist,
Cambodia:….. When President Nixon ordered the secret and illegal bombing of Cambodia in 1969, American pilots were ordered to falsify their logs to conceal their crimes. They killed at least half a million Cambodians, …. the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency provided the Khmer Rouge with satellite intelligence, while U.S. and British special forces trained them to lay millions of land mines across Western Cambodia which still kill or maim hundreds of people every year.
Chile: …. After General Pinochet seized power, the CIA kept Chilean officials on its payroll and worked closely with Chile’s DINA intelligence agency as the military government killed thousands of people and jailed and tortured tens of thousands more.
El Salvador: … “During the morning, they proceeded to interrogate, torture, and execute the men in several locations.[8] Around noon, they began taking the women and older girls in groups, separating them from their children and machinegunning them after raping them.[9] Girls as young as 10 were raped, with soldiers reportedly heard bragging how they especially liked the 12-year-old girls.[10] Finally, they killed the children at first by slitting their throats, then by hanging them from trees, with one child as young as two years old.[11] After killing the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings…….The American role in this campaign of state terrorism is now hailed by senior U.S. military officers as a model for “counter-insurgency” in Colombia and elsewhere as the U.S. war on terror spreads its violence and chaos across the world.
El Salvador is very closely linked to Iraq …. and the u.s.a trained murder/rape/torture squads almost necessitated a Isis like organization to protect the Sunni population …
I notice you do not mention anything about possible peace solutions in your reply …. which makes me think you do not really give a stuff about the poor people of Syria …. or Iraq …. or Libya
War pigs give me the shits ……………
You could negotiate a Wayne Mapp style trade deal …… This is what he offers from NZ as bargaining chips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8veOzd39VWI
Have you been hitting yourself in the head with a big thick stupid stick Psycho ? …. are you seriously saying u.s.a sponsored coups make legitimate governments ? ????
If you try actually reading the comment, it referred to Colonial Viper’s claim that he recognises the Assad regime as the “legitimate, sovereign government” of Syria because international law says it is. International law says a lot of very unpleasant dictatorships have been legitimate, sovereign governments, so if you don’t like CV recognising and supporting them all, take it up with him.
National Socialists think the sanctity of the nation is sacrosanct.
International Socialists think the idea of nations is a social construct and of little value.
National Socialists believe that nation and race are imutable.
International Socialists believe that concepts like nation and race are fluid and changeable.
National socialists advocate war to protect the interests of a nation from its (internal, and external) enemies.
International Socialists advocate the abolition of the nation state, and the end of war.
John Lennon sang: “Imagine there is no countries” “Nothing to kill or die for”
But what does all this idealistic theory mean in practice in the real world we live in, where nation states are a political reality?
Firstly; it means that socialists oppose all wars of imperial invasion and aggression, (like the invasion of Iraq by the US and its allies, for instance).
Secondly, it means that socialists support all people attempting to libererate themselves from oppression from their own nation state, and support their right to overthrow that state. And also support their right to work with whoever they choose to help them achieve that end.
The example of Roger Casement comes to mind. Roger Casement was an Irishman who worked for the British Empire in the Foreign Civil Service mainly in Africa for twenty years and even gained a British Knighthood for his work. But over this long period witnessing the affects of imperialism first hand he slowly grew to hate and despise it.
On returning to his homeland Casement used his diplomatic contacts to get the German Empire, which was at war with the British Empire, to supply the Irish rebels with 20 thousand rifles. Unfortunately in attempting to land these vitally needed arms in Ireland, Casement was captured by the RIC and handed over to the British and was hanged for treason.
British propaganda depicted Casement as an agent of the Germans. A charge Casement strongly denied in his trial for treason against “The British Crown”.
The other case that comes to mind is that of the Russian Bolshevik leader VI Lenin. When the 1917 revolt first broke out, Lenin was still in exile in Europe, prevented from traveling to Russia by the French and British allies of the Russian Empire, Lenin made a deal with the Germans, who agreed to transport Lenin through German lines and into Russia. The German interest was to weaken the British and Russian Empires from within. The trade off for Lenin in particular was that he was accused just like Casement was of being a German agent. Lenin was able to stare down these accusations and gained the trust of the Russian people and successfully led the Revolution to its victory over the Russian Tsarist, Lenin;s first move was to pull Russia out of the war, which helped bring that Imperialist conflict to conclusion.
There was echoes of this propaganda back here in New Zealand. Princess Te Puea was leading her Tainui people in a campaign against conscription for same Imperialist conflict. Te Puea was also accused of being a German agent, on the flimsy evidence that her grandfather was a German. Even though her Granfather had died when Te Puea was still a child.
So what has all this got to do with Syria and Colonial Viper, which is what I was leading up to?
CV is comfortable and accepts the fact that the regime of Bashar Assad detains and tortures and kills (in his own words) “scores of Syrians a year”. CV also supports the aerial genocide being carried out by the regime against the Syrian people because he alleges (with little proof) that the regime is the victim of US and NATO invasion and regime change.
CV condemns and attacks the rebels for accepting money and weapons from some of the funda mentalist Arab States like Saudi Arabia which is allied with the US.
Singled out by CV and other Assadists for their particular hate, and marked for death, is the volunteer search and rescue organisation known as the White Helmets, because the White Helmets receive funding from US sources.
This is why I determine Colonial Viper to be a National Socialist or fascist.
But really he makes this determination for himself.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=roger+casement+song&&view=detail&mid=8161BACE9A7A1FFD4ACE8161BACE9A7A1FFD4ACE&rvsmid=63D2E6337448E4D97C9C63D2E6337448E4D97C9C&fsscr=0&FORM=VDQVAP
Heil Trump
http://bipartisanreport.com/2017/01/01/incoming-white-house-press-secretary-thinks-americans-need-to-start-praising-donald-trump/
One nation, one people, one leader.
More Godwinism.
No doubt there are many good reasons for criticizing Trump, but his apparent intention of establishing a good relationship with Putin is probably worthy of praise.
Two rightwing strongmen cosying up is hardly worthy of praise. Thinking about Trump’s rapprochement with Putin, it is certainly potentially the death of NATO. NATO, as a German friend of mine put it, is a three leg stool about “…keeping the Germans down, the Americans in and the Russians out”.
Angela Merkel (who is popular now but will be very harshly judged by history IMHO) wrecked the first leg with her rigid neoliberalism and the turning of the common currency into a giant Ponzi scheme with Germany at the top, in the process destablising the EU (the beginning of the roll for Brexit was the shock amongst both conservative and liberal intellectuals in the UK at the ruthless German crushing of the Greeks. The British have a long romantic attachment to the Greeks and the Aegean from Shelley to Churchill, and being an island they have a long, bloody minded history of not taking orders from continentals) which has made Germany much richer but has badly weakened the EU and therefore NATO as collateral damage. The result of Merkel’s economic policies may be Germany having to confront the Russians alone.
The election of Trump has at least called the second leg into question. Trump is probably right to question the extension of the US-NATO nuclear guarantee to the Balts and the unstable ex-Warsaw pact countries. Estonia or Bulgaria or Slovakia are not so important to US security as to trigger a nuclear war if attacked by Russia. That has been common sense real politik since Yalta. The Swedes, at least, have worked this out and are reintroducing conscription from 2018. NATO should NEVER have expanded east.
So all that is left is keeping the Russians out. That is what makes the Baltic countries such a flash point. If Russia can over run those countries Crimea style (About a third of the population of Estonia and half of Latvias is ethnic Russians) with just an ineffectual NATO response, NATO’s credibility will collapse. So if the Americans under Trump won’t defend the Balts, that means the Germans will have to – I see in the 2016 budget they have increased defense spending by 15% and set aside 10 billion Euros for new weapons and another 10 billion for arming neighbours. 4,000 NATO troops are already in Estonia.
My pick is before the end of the decade is Putin will try in on in a Baltic country, probably Latvia, and the Russians will be easily defeated by the Germans, Germany will form a Nordic alliance (Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland the Balts and possibly Poland and the Dutch and French) outside NATO and NATO will become a relic.
Why is an assumption that present day Russia covets “the Baltic” states embedded in your comment Sanctuary? Any, even circumstantial evidence to underpin that?
btw – I don’t think you can reasonably throw Crimea into the mix (if you were going to) any more than you can throw the US’s major naval base in Bahrain into the mix if looking at US territorial designs. My point being that the US and EU turned a blind eye to a swift military incursion by Saudi Arabia into Bahrain to quell that country’s ‘Arab Spring back in 2011… (whereas Russia didn’t have a proxy to use in Crimea)
Well, first you should acquaint yourself with a map of the Baltic. Once equipped with this handy tool, I suggest you take a look at how Russia might obtain access to the Baltic sea (let alone further afield), should the entire fucking coastline of it’s near abroad be controlled by it’s rivals.
Why, pray tell, do you think Putin invaded the Crimea? Because he likes the wine? Or because he wanted to get back the huge ex-Soviet naval base at Sevastopol? What, do you think, is behind Russia playing footsies with the hardline regime in Turkey? I’ll give you a hint: it is wet, salty and runs past Istanbul all the way to the Mediterranean.
Putin saw the fall of the USSR from the KGB HQ in Dresden, and he drew all the wrong lessons. He is an old school Russian expansionist who has gone back to the autocratic, democracy hating, reactionary Tsarist ways of the past. He wants a new Russian Empire.
Via both Baltiysk (ice free) and Kronshtadt offer access.
Crimea was to secure access to the Med just as, from a US perspective, the ‘green lighting’ of Saudi Arabia’s invasion of Bahrain was to secure the 5th Fleet’s base.
If Russia is to be condemned for ‘playing footsie’ with Turkey, what then of the EU’s courting and what of the fact Turkey’s a NATO member state? The motivations and what not behind those things somehow to be judged differently? If so, why?
And again, what evidence is there to suggest present day Russia is seeking empire? Is there a shopping list of expansionist invasion and military adventurism I’m not familiar with?
You, my friend, are a naive fool. This isn’t a zero sum game of equally bad people. Unlike you, I visited Eastern Europe when the Soviet Union controlled it. Trust me, you’ll prefer western liberal democracy and that means supporting those countries that practice it against kleptocrats, thugs and dictators like Putin, Duerte, Erdoğan, Xi Jinping and all the rest of them.
Did I voice some preference or hankering to live in a reincarnated USSR?
The rest of your comment looks to be wandering towards an intellectual and moral morass. And on another day I’d have ventured, but not today. Gotta be off.
Have a good one.
The problem being that the countries that are against Putin happen to be controlled by kleptocrats, dictators, and thugs. That’s what Western democracy pretty much means now.
Even Ceaser was popular to some degree because the loot that his armies stole from the periphery was reasonably well distributed out in the centre. It’s how empires have always worked and how the US Empire works now.
The insult says you are a speculator, a slogger of personal opinion without the confidence
Evidence:” Unlike you I visited Eastern Europe….”
Trust you or your insult laced opinion?
That would be foolishly naive!
Why is an assumption that present day Russia covets “the Baltic” states embedded in your comment Sanctuary? Any, even circumstantial evidence to underpin that?
Er, the last few centuries? The fact that it’s invaded those states twice now to re-incorporate them into the empire? The fact that it colonised them with ethnic Russians to try and overcome the ethnic basis for their independence? The fact that it’s attacked Estonia as recently as 2007? Those seem like pretty strong bases for that assumption to me.
There was no military ‘attack’ by Russia on Estonia in 2007. And as for equating Tzarsist Russia with the USSR with present day Russia when the comment only referred to current day Russia…as per usual you show yourself up to be an intellectually scoured and deflated sad sac that was only ever full of shit back in your good old days.
The 2007 attack was a cyber one, not a military one.
You seem to be claiming that the fact that both Tsarist Russia and Soviet Russia found the Baltic states to be assets worth having has no bearing on how present-day Russia regards those states. Well, the reasons for wanting them in earlier times still apply now, so historical precedent very much has a bearing on the present-day outlook for those states. The people who live there certainly know it, even if you don’t.
An interesting piece, albeit from the NYT, from 2001 making predictions about Russia and its relations with the ‘near abroad’.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/25/weekinreview/the-world-learning-to-fear-putin-s-gaze.html
Sanctuary, Bill has it right. Why would Russia want to add the resource poor, economically backward and European mindset infested elite of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the responsibilities and problems that they currently have internally?
Russia already has the management problems of 11 time zones and dozens of ethnic groups. Why would Russia want to bother with more.
Sanctuary, Bill has it right
Well. As ever CV…as ever 😉
Actually. Now that I have your attention…remember that stoush over Duterte sanctioning the ‘knocking off’ of drug dealers in the Philippines?
I came across this interesting and provocative piece by Andre Vltchek. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s no slouch and well regarded if a little bloody angry.
I highly recommend it for anyone looking to get a handle on both the internal politics of the Philippines and the country’s position on the US, China and Russia.
https://off-guardian.org/2016/12/28/president-duterte-of-the-philippines-for-dummies/
That was some impressive article…read through all of it.
But but but According to WaPo, the NYT, and the Guardian, Duterte is just a MURDEROUS THUG!!! REEEEEEEE!!!
It is fine to personally throw people out of a helicopter, as long as it isn’t you being thrown, eh CV?
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/rodrigo-duterte-helicopter-161229062349259.html
Oh the irony.
A long and thoughtful piece from a highly regarded source is linked, that in part, speaks directly to that kind of reporting and you throw up…did you even read the article?
He doesn’t give a damn what some cozy soft in the middle, middle class westerners think about his outrageous mutterings. That’s what I am fine with.
Meanwhile a CIA wet team has probably already reconned how they would take him and his lieutenants out.
Do you hear that sound? The PR drum beat of western regime change has just ratcheted up tempo.
You must be so unhappy.
The sooner you figure out that the 21st century is the Eurasian Century, the better I think.
The deeply hypocritical transnational corporate Anglo-US empire, will of course remain a *very* powerful player on the international stage.
But it can no longer sustain the degree of economic, financial and military power deferential relative to other nations needed to sustain unquestioned hegemonic dominance. (The goal of the New American Century types).
It will have to slowly relearn the art of diplomacy and negotiation once again, as opposed to relying on demanding, demeaning, accusatory rhetoric and undemocratic and illegal covert/overt programmes of regime change.
The sooner you figure out that the 21st century is the Eurasian Century, the better I think.
Meh. We saw off totalitarianism in the 20th Century and we’ll see off its bastard children this century, no matter how much you’d prefer to see nationalist authoritarianism become the new normal.
We, we’ll?
Who or what are you speaking for?
And in case I’m right about your obvious issues…
Asia is turning (has turned, it’s done) towards Asia, and quickly demoting relations with the war mongering, exploiting colonial nations to the basement, where they will remain indefinately
Will your ‘issues’ allow you to deal with that?
Who or what are you speaking for?
I hold no position of authority to speak for anyone. However, I do have a nationality (x two), an ethnicity and a philosophy, all of which are shared by many others I’m entitled to refer to as “we.” I get that authoritarian nationalism is appealing to the loonier fringes of both the right and the left in western democracies, but it’s not appealing to the great majority of us and we’d rather see liberal democracy succeed than be superseded by totalitarian dictatorships like the People’s Republic of China or mafia states like the Russian Federation.
Asia is turning (has turned, it’s done) towards Asia, and quickly demoting relations with the war mongering, exploiting colonial nations to the basement, where they will remain indefinately
What does that even mean? There are warmongering, exploiting colonial nations in Asia and have been for as long as anyone’s been in a position to write down what’s happening. And which Asia is turning towards Asia? Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea are effectively western democracies themselves, and most of the south-east Asian countries have a well-justified lack of trust in China. Wishful thinking doesn’t actually get you anywhere.
Actually, taking out people like Duerte is what the CIA exists for. I’d rather have a Western aligned dictator who professed some adherence to norms of decent behaviour in Manila than some crazy old dude who boasts about how many people he has murdered and cuddles up to the equally murderous Xi Jinping. Why? Because having a western aligned dictator in Manila (and Suva, for that matter) keeps the murderous Chinese regime contained that much further away from us.
Colonial, anti-democratic illiberal liberals make me puke.
Let’s treat a nation of 100 million Asians like a vassal state colony which exists primarily for our own privileged security and convenience. Fuck their sovereignty and agency.
Because, left wing liberal values.
Guess what mate, coloured people all over the world have cottoned on to your game.
Tell me, how many poor brown coloured foreigners and Muslims has the Chinese regime murdered over the last 20 years, compared to the deaths caused by the morally precious US-Anglo empire directly and via its proxies?
Shall we do a body count? You know, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, the list goes on and on.
The fucking reeking moral hypocrisy.
“I’d rather have a Western aligned dictator who professed some adherence to norms of decent behaviour in Manila
Marcos more your preference on behalf of the people in [another]country you don’t live in, and know little to nothing about?
It’s not about you or your flacid opinions, Sanctuary
They count for nothing, but they do expose you!
They will probably try and launch a people’s revolution and install neo-liberal hatchet man Fidel Ramos as leader or a provisional ‘unity coalition’ to restore order until fresh elections are called with suitably screened elitist candidates.
Not mentioned in the media is the fact that Duterte wasnts to emulate the Cuban healthcare system, give out free contraceptives, strengthen LGBT rights, opposes mining, etc.
And let’s face it, if someone in NZ promised to send the army into South Auckland or Murupara and execute every P dealer and gang kingpin I guarantee you they will win election after election.
Got halfway through that article.
The whitewashing of the sudden increase in deaths of suspects was pretty vile: a combination of “can’t prove nuffin'”, “what about their victims”, and “the ends justify the means”.
Nowhere was there actually a denial that murder was now government policy.
Seems that the reason that the West is attacking Duterte is because he’s actually bringing prosperity to the people by displacing the rich.
Or, he’s murdering people.
So’s our own government by putting in place policies that increase suicide but we don’t see the MSM attacking them for it.
Yes, he is not a good little neo-liberal technocrat like Fidel Ramos.
Draco – tyrants have no place in governance no matter who or what they are doing. Duterte is a tyrant by any definition and he needs to go. There are some brave persons in the Philippines already trying to impeach this self confessed murderer – their lives are in danger and he has already seen to one of his accusers.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/22/philippines-journalist-killed-after-criticising-officials-over-illegal-drug-lab
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/20/un-rights-chief-calls-for-investigation-into-duterte-claims
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/14/philippines-president-rodrigo-duterte-personally-killed-criminals
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/852731/impeach-duterte-aguirre-asks-what-trust-did-the-president-betray
Correct.
But how do we remove them?
Because it’s obvious that representative democracy doesn’t.
And as much as we don’t like it the people of the Philippines do because the majority of them are better off.
I don’t think that “establishing a good relationship” is quite the same as the more perjoritive term “cosying up”. And ” strongmen” also seems somewhat loaded.
More (though not) ‘Goldstein’ than Godwin I’d have thought. 😉
Donald Trump, greatest American president since Reagan, puts North Korea on notice:
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/816057920223846400
take a look at this chart from the telegraph nz tops the list for most expensive houses
http://www.telegraph.co
take a look at this chart from the telegraph nz tops the list for most expensive houses
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/01/02/fears-massive-global-property-price-crash-amid-dangerous-conditions/
And the downside of this over-priced market, is people not being able to afford places to live. Rents for safe, secure, affordable housing are above many people’s financial capabilities.
Last night TV1 News had an item about a man in his 80s leaving a sub-standard rental in Auckland. Video and print report here.
I suspect it was Phil Twyford who went to the media on this as he features in the story.
There is another side to the story about the alleged harassment of Suzette Maree Dawson.
Have you seen this?
http://www.transparency.net.nz/
dawson-seeks-asylum
“WELL is this ever an exercise in self promotion / sensationalism , I was most interested to read the words on her scoop post
“The targeting of Ms Dawson led to serious threats against and endangerment of her life and those of her children.”
suddenly I connected the two and indeed in early 2013 I had had dealings with one and the same Ms Dawson when she published defamatory and blatantly incorrect material about me and I simply asked her to remove it from her blog and when I was ignored served a notice on her as required by the act.
I had phoned her as first point of contact and her daughter had answered the phone, I asked for Suzie Dawson and when she got on the phone she hurled a barrage of abuse at me and a claim that I was stalking her.
Eventually she did remove the material from her post but it wold appear that she also made a false complaint that I was stalking her.
Knowing what I know about Suzie Dawson and having interacted with her, I do hope that she gets asylum in Russia and may her stay be a lengthy one.
I personally would not believe a thing she says as to me ,on the evidence I have, I can conclude that she is prone to gross exaggeration and paranoia.
She calls herself a journalist but she is not one.
If she is one of the 88 new Zealanders the government is looking at then the government is wasting tax payers funds, it is my opinion that she does nothing more than regurgitates information which she finds on the web and publishes as her own.
Please don’t give her money , in doing so you will be supporting a potential fraud. her web sites are https://twitter.com/HelpSuzi3D , https://twitter.com/Suzi3D, contraspin.co.nz,www. endarken.co.nz, http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sp9co7, suziedawson.co.nz, spinbin.co.nz, occupysavvy.wordpress.com , https://vimeo.com/181517859, https://winstonclose.me/2016/06/19/the-oppression-of-the-internet-is-global-by-suzie-dawson/, https://twitter.com/ redstar309z, @endarken
[deleted, content is in link supplied by Sacha below]
[learn how to attribute properly and how to make it clear what are your words and what are a quote. Your comment was a nightmare to read on a phone. Count this as a warning – weka]
Copy and paste of an entire blogpost from here: http://www.transparency.net.nz/2016/11/29/suzie-dawson-a-blast-from-the-past-may-she-fare-well-in-russia/
I note that the site has no relationship with the recognised organisation Transparency International New Zealand.
Exactly right Sacha.
THIS website actually helps expose corruption.
Have you been following the recent investigative articles in the NBR about corruption in the NZ roading industry?
You may find them interesting.
Also – the 225 page Judgment of Justice Sally Fitzgerald in the recent bribery and corruption conviction of two (former) Auckland Transport officials and one corrupt contractor, is a fascinating read, in my opinion.
Kind regards
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
2017 Mt Albert by-election Independent candidate.
The website seems somewhat feverish at first glance. And no, I do not have a subscription to NBR.
From my reading of the full judgement so far, the successful prosecution hinged on properly maintained public records (falsely-completed Conflict of Interest forms).
It is pretty typical over the end of the holiday period and even more so when coming into an election year. It always get a bit crazy and I start doing more moderation to stop the bad behaviors on the site from going exponential..
(counts on his fingers – 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 yep… The site went public in August 2007)
This is my 9th new year on the site and 4th time coming into an election. I’m getting pretty familiar with the patterns now.
I was talking about the site Penny pasted a post from. 🙂
You know what I am like and what the policy states. If it is about this site (or is ambiguous about which site), then the sysop (me) is likely to notice it and sometimes answer.
@Penny Bright Why do you insist on dragging this sad story onto today’s open mike?
Please refrain from having us endure any more of this very tragic non news.
And if you can’t control your urge to bang on about it, why not at least use the post that was actually about it….
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-return-of-kim-dotcom-and-the-internet-party-and-the-nz-journalist-seeking-asylum-in-russia/
Anyone who might be interested in train wrecks can then follow it there.
if it helps penny – I’m sure just as many people trust and believe Suzie as they do yourself.
Hopefully those who can think and research for themselves will not be sucked in by, in my view, the phoney Suzette Maree Dawson?
In my view – I’d think very carefully before sending Suzette Maree Dawson any money.
Up to you.
Kind regards
Penny Bright
@James ….although more believe Penny than you James.
Funny thing, i had never heard of suzie until yesterdays post, I followed up the links and watched her person of interest video, I found it all interesting but was feeling that perhaps she was maby slightly over egging it,….. then penny and others started in with the organised character assisination and i realised she was not. Penny your posts yesterday and today have convinced me that suzie is genuine and you are a bitter old piece of ….
Silly you?
This whole business regarding Suzie Dawson is crazy conspiracy theory stuff peddled by societies fringe merchants and the left does itself no favours by entertaining any sort of debate on their innuendos and paranoid insinuations. We need to be focussing on the main enemy, triumphant neo-fascism, not faffing around with the delusions of the activist far fringe.
The left’s mission in 2017 is to ensure it rebrands itself well away from the elitist scam that is liberal identity politics and establishes a persuasive narrative that offers a clear alternative to right wing populism. The left devoting its time to the various conspiratorial combinations of the likes of Bradbury, Dawson or Penny Bright is simply to indulge in a distraction from the fringes that it can ill afford to concern itself with and definitely cannot afford to allow itself to be associated with if it wants to be taken seriously.
If “2TB of explosive data” exists, release it and let it be judged. Otherwise, i don’t see any need for the left to bother itself any further with this ridiculous diversion.
“rebranding” is the language and MO of neoliberalism and superficial marketing exercises.
The left needs to regroup and re-build with a strong focus on both the current context and the past histories of the left and society – and by left, I mean the flax roots left, and not something led from above by political parties.
For me, this means engaging with and listening to the flax roots groups; aiming for a collaborative approach between groups within the broader left; acknowledging and discussing differences, while embracing things/actions on which we agree.
Please, spare me your nit picking rubbish.
Poor old Carolyn trying to para phrase a hipster anarchist, out with old hierarchy in with horizontal decision making and society, meaningless, do nothing, talkfest clap trap, everyone at cross purposes, reason occupy movement lasted all of one summer
Ah, not really. I had in mind something in between anarchism, and a totally autocratic left where some group with the most political power on the left dictates what the left stands for.
The latter has been the case of Labour parties internationally during the neoliberal era.
The future direction of the left, IMO, needs to come from the people – and there does need to be more collaboration between left groups. But that doesn’t mean each group will be into leaderless structures – some will be, but others will have a more formal structure. Some will be trade unions, some will be green campaigners – with some ideas arising out of actions. So not just a talk-fest, either.
Some examples: the Glenn Innes state house campaign, Pike River protests, campaigns by unions for a living wage, Green Peace protests against fossil fuel companies’ activities, etc – basically a broad left where people on the ground generate ideas, some of it coming through action.
All good to the productive side of society tell them to take a running jump or these is nothing left to redistribute
“The left’s mission in 2017 is to ensure it rebrands itself well away from the elitist scam that is liberal identity politics and establishes a persuasive narrative that offers a clear alternative to right wing populism.”
Short version: FFS stop the craziness and come up with something that works.
Someone should tell Chris Trotter to stop posting before the prozac kicks in, his latest bit of depressed nonsense shows an aging man completely out of touch with anyone on the political left who doesn’t still brood about the Douglas era. Seriously, the left ought to tell him it is over having a Greek chorus of crusty old defeatist Cassandras wailing about what awful fate awaits us.
Chris needs to get out there and meet someone on the active left under 30, it’ll do his dreary old heart the world of good. Why, he might even open the curtains and clean up some cobwebs in his intellectual world view.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/87999450/chris-trotter-2017-in-the-shadow-of-trump
Mental health issues like depression are serious and impact the lives of many. It shouldn’t be used as an insult or false claim in reply to someone who writes something you disagree with.
PC trolling and attempted derailing fail.
As someone who is had a family member with depression and some other issues – it’s something I’ve always taken seriously- so not a concerned troll on this matter. And hey – if you think it’s ok to joke about it – then that says more about you than anything else.
What do you think of the current government’s underfunding and running down of mental health services?
Kind of misses the point that if 2016 delivered us the spectacle of liberalism squirming and screaming, then 2017 might (hopefully from my perspective) deliver us its death rattle.
Apart from that ‘mere detail’, his musings on NZ positioning regards US and China aren’t so unreasonable. The myopia on display with regards the machinations of various dull NZ political actors is kind of dim. But like I say, he assumes a continuation of this somewhat discredited and untrusted status quo that many of us, it has to be said, are now merely enduring.
Most often these annual predictions say more about the predictors than about what will actually happen.
I do think he is right, though, that the current NZ government will face a conflict between their commercial/financial support for China and intelligence/military allegiance to the US.
Yes – he appears absolutely fixated, doesn’t he – and his attitude to Andrew Little is so negative you’d have to start suspecting it’s personal!
I’m picking Andrew Little didn’t fall over in his haste to kiss Trotter’s anointed feet at some point in time…
I think there is a possibility of a Nat-NZF-Mp coalition alliance forming the next government – but that is one of the possibilities. Trotter seems to be one of those uncritically praising Zoe Swarbrick.
It’s Chloe Swarbrick.
Who supports privatisation via Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs).
Since when has it been ‘left’ to support privatisation via PPPs?
Is this now Green Party policy?
Penny Bright
Who has actively opposed privatisation via PPPs for years.
2017 Mt Albert by-election Independent candidate.
[lprent: Didn’t I see an identical comment yesterday? Use your brain Penny. Do that too often and I will ban you for being a parrot trolling. ]
Do folks not ‘get’ just how vulnerable this National Government is on the issue of corruption?
Do folks not get how potentially HUGE the issue of corruption is going to be over these next two months?
31 January 2017
Transparency International 2016 ‘Corruption Perception Index’ is published.
In my considered opinion, New Zealand will continue to slide down this scale.
22 February 2017, the corrupt ‘public official’ and corrupt contractor will be sentenced in the Auckland High Court.
I predict that both these ‘white collar’ criminals will receive ‘blue collar’ sentences, and both will be sentenced to jail for at least 2 years.
25 February 2017 – the date of the Mt Albert by-election.
In between – I predict more publicity on corruption, as more ‘whistle-blowers’ come forward, and more politically ‘dynamite’ OIA information is revealed regarding corrupt ‘conflicts of interest’.
In between – I shall be addressing the Auckland Transport Board, where I hope to encourage them to comply with their statutory duties arising from the Public Records Act 2005, and provide the details of ALL awarded contracts, including all those sub-contracted, and those worth less than $50,000.
Once AT provide that information – there will be no excuse for Auckland Council, or other Council-Controlled Organisations (CCOs) to equally provide this information.
There will be other Auckland Council meetings at which these issues will be raised.
The sooner other political parties ‘pick up the ball’ on this issue – the better.
Why?
Because the contracting out (privatisation) of public services formerly provided ‘in house’ has been proven to be TWICE as expensive.
http://www.pogo.org/our-work/reports/2011/co-gp-20110913.html
“Bad Business: Billions of Taxpayer Dollars Wasted on Hiring Contractors”
Not to mention to have helped ‘breed’ corruption, as has been categorically proven in the above-mentioned recent High Court decision.
Penny Bright
2017 Mt Albert by-election Independent candidate.
It isn’t a possibility, it is the most likely outcome. Everyone is going to get a shock at NZ First’s support in the provinces next election. National have used massed immigration to juke the GDP figures, a policy they neither campaigned on or consulted the public on. As in Europe and the USA, the use of a globalised Labour market to repress the pay of the local wage class will become an election issue (albeit framed through a lens of anti-immigration) that will totally blindside the insulated liberal elites of the media establishment, and mark the beginning of the end of neoliberalism in its current form.
So what will happen here will be the same political outcome as the UK after Brexit. The right wing ruling class that dominate the establishment right wing political vehicle (here, the National party) with use the populist right as an excuse to pivot harder to the right while using populist anti-foreign sentiment as a smoke screen. In the short term, this will shore up the wealth and power grab of the local 1% elites but the long term result will be much more political polarisation and political destabilisation.
” Trotter seems to be one of those uncritically praising Zoe Swarbrick.”
Trotter lazily continues the assumption that people who voted Chloe for Mayor were young. He’s not “praising” her, just presuming her base and mistaking quite how many are put off by mouthy old men with moustaches and leather jackets.
“… mistaking quite how many are put off by mouthy old men with moustaches and leather jackets….”
Ah, the quote of the day.
He might think Andy is an actual uncouth grubby-fingernailed worker-type person.
Thanks for the link – I particularly liked this part:
“It is, however, highly doubtful that sufficient young people will participate in the 2017 general election to significantly offset the emotionally powerful appeal of an unabashedly nationalistic, Sinophobic and pro-American coalition of National, NZ First and the Maori Party. Neither conservative fish nor progressive fowl, Labour is likely to see its party vote plummet into the teens – and with it any hope of reclaiming major party status. The baton of progressive politics will pass to the Greens. Real political power, however, will remain with the National Party and its allies.”
NZ First with National – which I have said several times. and Labour plummeting – although he sees it being worse (for them) than I expect – I do hope he is right.
This could be the year that the Greens really start looking like the main party of the left.
I pick Little will not look back on the MOU fondly.
Totally agree with Chris, I think Labour lost its heart in 1984
and has never found it’s way back.
Sheesh!
‘Blowing the whistle’ against privatisation via Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) and corruption, is not an easy task 🙂
But imagine the HARD questions I’ll be able to ask in the House, if electors in the Mt Albert electorate ‘seize the moment’ and give this Government a message against against corruption, and for transparency in the spending of public monies, that simply can’t be ignored?
(Upon which none of the other ‘declared’ candidates have (yet) made a stand?)
Kind regards
Penny Bright
2017 Mt Albert by-election Independent candidate.
The foul spirit of “Sir” Paul Holmes lives on:
Is the Mad Butcher going to run for ACT this year?
If you can force yourself to the end of this article, you’ll find the old fool says:
That’s exactly the same argument that Cameron Slater wheels out whenever he is nailed as a racist: how can I be racist, he whines, when I was born in Fiji and my father is dating a woman from the Philippines?
Mad Butcher Sir Peter Leitch says Waiheke Island comments weren’t racist but ‘misinterpreted’ after woman’s video goes viral
New Zealand Herald, Wednesday 4 January 2017
Sir Peter Leitch says a woman “misinterpreted some light-hearted banter” after she claimed he made racist remarks yesterday.
Auckland woman Lara Bridger posted a video on social media this afternoon claiming Sir Peter – the Mad Butcher – told her Waiheke Island was a “white man’s island”.
She last night took down the video, saying “people were going a bit overboard with threats and racist comments” at Sir Peter in response to her post.
The 23-year-old Maori woman said she was wine tasting with her mother and sister at Stonyridge Vineyard when they spotted Sir Peter eating lunch with his family.
The group waved to him before heading outside, she said.
She says Sir Peter came out and approached them and began making conversation.
Bridger said Sir Peter had warned the group not to drink and drive before going on to say they must not be local.
“I go ‘Yeah, I’m actually born here’. That’s when he said ‘Well this is a white man’s island and you should acknowledge that’,” she said. ….
Read more about this sad old racist if you can bear it….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11776258
Before rushing to judgement, it would pay to look a little deeper than a single Herald article. There are other accounts that paint a very different picture to the one in the Herald.
but he is a successful, rich, white male – of course hes racist and lives off the blood of others. /sarc.
Hes the perfect target – apart from the fact he’s about as far from racist as you can get (imo) – Ive bet the guy a dozen or so times.
So he didn’t make a racist jibe to a family that he knew were Māori?
I think that the context impacts on this – and that is being completely overlooked by people who want it to be racist.
I’m struggling to think of an appropriate context for his comments..
My point is – do you know what both parties actually said? I have heard reports she said she was ‘Tangata Whenua’ in response to his question about their drinking and driving. If that is the case, his response is entirely appropriate. In fact she’s playing the race card by claiming exemption from the law for being Maori.
I have also heard reports that she approached him, not the other way around.
Also, have you seen the full version of her video? I have, and frankly it paints her as pathetic. No wonder she took it down.
Both parties agree that the “white man’s island” comments were said. They disagree on the “tangata whenua” ones. But I wouldn’t pick you to try and provide an honest depiction of events.
1. I didn’t say the ‘white man’s island’ comment was denied by PL.
2. For the record, she HAS admitted the Tangata Whenua remark:
“Record straight I did NOT say ‘I could do what I like’ he came at us with a whole you’re not a local in which I responded “yeah I’m tangata whenua born here mate 23 years ago”.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11776531
Another patronising old git doing his ‘born to rule’ thing 🙁
Another clown on social media jumping to unfounded conclusions.🙁
another SJW doing her “im a victim” thing – Fixed it for you.
What an absolute load of shit this is.
If you look at her video (since deleted as she probably woke up with a hangover and was mortified), it is clear for all to see that she is hammered and having a crack for the sake of having a crack.
Silly little girl. Why the Herald has to chase this sort of nonsense is completely beyond me.
It got a lot of attention on twitter and facebook last night. I was waiting to hear what Mr Leitch had to say before jumping to conclusions.
Several MSM outlets covered it, including RNZ.
It’s a pretty weak defense to say that calling Waiheke (such a Pākehā name?) Island a “white man’s island” was a joke – light hearted banter.
This morning on Summer Report, Mihingarangi Forbes ‘ report on it included a clip from the original FB video Forbes ended by adding some context: basically, there’s many Māori and Pākehā feeling pushed off the island because of increased gentrification. I can see how that would cause some ill-feeling towards some of the wealthy incomers.
Yeah, Mihi Forbes is really objective when it comes to Maori issues. She’s perpetually offended, poor mite.
Actually, it was a pretty balanced report. If you listen, she says both sides give a different description of what happened. She is trying to get an interview with Leitch, and is hopeful of one this afternoon.
If you had the slightest knowledge of this country’s past, you’d be perpetually offended, too.
Could I suggest you lay off the internet and set aside a few days for reading—serious reading, not the Herald—instead?
There’s a good fellow.
The assertion that he said Waiheke was a ‘white man’s Island’ is disputed. SPL claims he said white man’s law applied to Waiheke after she claimed she was ‘Tangata Whenua’ (the implication being she was above the law).
What video were you watching?? Nice victim blaming there.
The one she posted on Facebook and has since been removed (I wonder why). Where she says “fuck” 20 times in the first three minutes of her rant. Potty mouth. “Victim blaming”. Whatever.
So she isnt allowed to say ‘fuck’? But Sir Meat Chopper is allowed to tell her and her mother to get off ‘his’ island.
Is that what “Sir Meat Chopper” is said to have said/said to the silly little girl? No, not even close. Stop making shit up.
There was a heavy dose of implication in what he said.
Implied on your part.
No, it was implied in the sinister overtones of the words used by that silly old man.
Were you there were you? No, I thought not.
“stop making shit up” lol, says the person who made up shit like implying the woman was drunk on the video and is a “silly little girl”.
That is a lie – pure and simply.
It’s what they do these days. In lieu of real journalism.
BOOOM. Who the frak cares what a possibly out of touch 0.1%’er “Sir Peter” might or might not have said. Just another instance of the Herald distracting from the real issues facing the people of Waiheke. But, certain types have to get wound up over someone’s supposed a-hole comments.
Carolyn_nth got it by commenting on the underlying context by Forbes:
It has gentrified pretty quickly in the past 20 or so years.
In 1999-2000 I was penpals (yes they were still a thing that recently) with a young lady who lived there. She was pretty much an average kiwi who had an average upbrining like myself, and from what she told me, her mates were all the same.
Nowadays, I cannot help but thinking all the 19-20 year olds up there are all rich kids.
I watched the video and didn’t consider her to be “hammered” at all. She was upset yes, not sure why you have jumped to the conclusion she was drunk. She has explained the reason why she removed the video, her explanation is vastly different from your factually devoid assumption. I also didn’t see a “silly little girl” as you have patronisingly labeled her. Maybe it’s just you having a crack for the sake of having a crack.
The Herald chasing that sort of nonsense is completely beyond you? They will be disappointed it wasn’t an All Black and the exchange wasn’t in a toilet for the disabled.
Aaron Smith’s ridiculous little peccadillo was consensual. In stark contrast to that, no one gave this old fool consent to make racist remarks.
And everyone has consent, through freedom to comment, on what happened, what was said and make conclusions.
The only ones who know exactly what was said were those who were there. They also are the only ones who know the order of what was said, by whom, the tones of voices and the postures and other body language. All of those are pertinent to the interaction. All of those are part of the conversation not just the words.
And the people there, minutes afterwards, undoubtedly would not have been able to give exact accounts of what happened. The basis of points of views in the wider world then becomes supposition, suspicion, and motivation. And ignorance.
Which ends in a neat and tidy “an old fool making racist remarks.”
My comment was about the Herald only being interested in the incident for its potential to be sensational. Its potential to be sensationalised is based on there bits of information, different perspectives of the incident, emotion and jumping to conclusions.
For all the complaints about the Herald they deserve credit for knowing what the market is. (I look at their site. I most definitely refused to play their game by clicking on that story.)
..”She says Sir Peter came out and approached them and began making conversation.
Bridger said Sir Peter had warned the group not to drink and drive before going on to say they must not be local.
“I go ‘Yeah, I’m actually born here’. That’s when he said ‘Well this is a white man’s island and you should acknowledge that’,” she said. ….”
If this comment doesn’t have a sinister tone to it, then I do not know what is.
“She says.”
If that comment doesn’t have a sinister tone to it, then I do not know what is.
Noted National Party stalwart Michelle Boag reckons Leitch can’t have been racist because Bridger is, “barely coffee coloured”.
Now that is racist.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/01/04/thank-you-michelle-boag-now-thats-what-i-call-racism-we-will-get-72-hours-out-of-this/
Haha. Boag has done a terrible job of being Leitch’s PR person. The “barely coffee coloured” meme has now hit the mainstream.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11776797
Also, while reading about this unfortunate incident I couldn’t help being reminded of the similarity between this defence, and Upston’s defence of John Key’s sexual harassment of a cafe worker.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/67981595/minister-for-women-standing-by-prime-minister-after-ponytail-incident
Light hearted banter is all very well until it turns to shit.
Lesson for middle aged men. Do not approach young women and attempt humour. You will fail.
A racist is a racist – here are some comments from brown-buttabean on how he as a person has been treated by Leitch – actions speak louder than someone moaning on factbook:
“As i said last night on Facebook @sirmadbutcher has done a lot for me and others . I’ve been busy organising wedding and I’ve missed all this mad butcher stuff. All I will say is he’s always been good to me and has supported a lot of south Auckland Polynesian and Maori athletes and league clubs since I was a young in . These are not the actions of a racists person . I might piss some people off but that’s how I feel . I train his grand son and am friends with his daughter and son in law . They have even let us use their house as part of our wedding . I’ll leave you all with a couple of verses to reflect on – Proverbs 10:12English Standard Version (ESV) 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Stay safe team and God bless #teambuttabean”
isnt it terrible how this “racist” does a lot for people – regardless of their colour. supports Polynesian and Maori athletes, and lends his house to someone who is brown for part of their wedding.
No you are right – someone posted something on facebook – lets hang him. /sarc
“A racist is a racist” – true, but obviously not recognised as such by some of us. Patronising jokes ( the sexist equivalent is Key’s ponytail incident) designed, perhaps subconsciously, to humiliate in order to feel superior are a part of what I’d call ‘casual racism’. It is common for people to offer charity to those they see as inherently inferior.
There is also (and probably always was) some sexism creeping into this argument. The victim blaming thing that’s going on is the old ‘she asked for it’ argument that is too often a feature of rape trials and the like.
‘Victim blaming’ is a label designed to stop any questioning of the alleged victim. This lady has made some serious accusations. Her story has been told in a very visceral and public manner. That was her choice. Now her story, and her credibility with it, needs to be questioned so we can know the truth.
You’re not interested in the truth.
Read my response to your previous post. You clearly aren’t even looking for the truth here.
It’s designed to stop investigation of the incident and destroy the person reporting it. It may be used in a valid way to tease out the truth, but is more often misused as power play. In this case there is no need, as there seems to be ample evidence
Evidence of what? The evidence seems to me to be of two slightly differing accounts of a brief conversation that one party has decided to publish via social media.
This is not the first time Leitch has angered people on this forum….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-26042013/#comment-624745
Many on this forum seek outrage and offence to simply justify the world as they see it, not what it is The mad butcher in context of his life is clearly not a racist and to justify as such on the testimony of a silly little hyper sensitive and slightly thick snow flake says more about Milsy and company than Peter Leitch
Many on this forum seek outrage and offence to simply justify the world as they see it, not what it is
??? What does that MEAN?
The mad butcher in context of his life is clearly not a racist…
So why did he do his Paul Holmes impression on Waiheke Island?
Leitch’s most grievous error is having a shrieking loon like Michelle Boag as his PR person. I mean, of all the possible candidates… Boag? It’s like Pope Francis selecting as his spokesperson the reanimated corpse of Tomas de Torquemada.
Maori/Polys are OK as long as they stay in South Auckland where they belong, and not venture over to the white mans paradise of Waiheke Island.
I think that was what Sir Mad Butcher was inferring. Though I have the feeling he should have just said ‘rich man’s island’. Would have saved him a lot of bother.
I think Te Ururoa Flavell has nailed this rather well (from Stuff)
“Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell said he respected Leitch for the work he has done benefiting Maori and Pacific Island communities.
But he said he also respected Bridger for speaking out on what she believed was offensive.
“What this incident highlights is that despite there being no intention to cause offence, it has,” he said.
“The lesson here is no matter how you dress it up, making comments directed at someone else because of their ethnicity is racist and you’ll be called on it.
“For that, we respect the actions of the young woman and her whanau, who have made their point and who now wish to move on.”
Bollocks you don’t have the right to slander somebody on a public medium that 100000 people read because you choose to be offended Leitch should sue her for every thing she has if not to just to put the snow flake generation in thier place what you can and can’t say on line Can you imagine if the herald or TV one made such and accusation. This should have been dealt with privately been a private conversation and obviously the two groups miss communicating with no malice at least on the side of one party
Sadly, Red, I don’t think you have the faintest idea what you’re talking about
Really Jan, can I suggest you engage your little wee brain a bit deeper beyond the immediate topic and ask yourself if some one posted and accusation in a public forum (face book) about you that you felt slandered your good name that 100000 people read , you don’t think you would have a civil case for slander
I don’t think there’s a law about slander in NZ. It’s defamation.
But one element that needs to be proved is that the statement was untrue. Leitch has agreed he said Waiheke is a “white man’s island”. The two people differ as to the intent of the statement.
A defense against being charged with defamation is that the person stated something as an “honest opinion”. That does seem to be the case with respect to the woman.
exactly !!
Hear, hear.
Brown Buttabean is, as his fatuous nickname suggests, a bit of an idiot.
Do you disagree with his comments – most of them are easily provable facts.
Shutting down someone you disagree with by calling him an idiot just shows you as someone with a bias and a chip on their shoulder.
The lesson from all this is that it is impossible for someone to do good things AND sometimes do stupid things. You are either a perfect saint or a filthy sinner, there is no middle ground to be a human.
🙄
What a stupid piece of clickbait
Jesus wept – we finally agree on something.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/03/news/economy/ford-700-jobs-trump/index.html
A vote of confidence in Trump by Ford.
That’s odd; a business man who knows how to talk to business. Who wudda thunk.
How much will that end up costing taxpayers? Deals done.
“Uh, Matt, I’m not going to get into colloquy on this one.”
The U.S. has been mocking democracy long before Trump oozed into power.
Contrary to what you might think, there ARE some intelligent and ethical reporters in the United States. One of the best is the indomitable Matt Lee of the Associated Press….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flbzqFLrnoU
Thinking back to a happier time, when Jenny and the rest of us
were all on the same page. Four long years ago….
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-26042013/#comment-624726
“…Colonial, anti-democratic illiberal liberals make me puke…”
Well then CV you picked a pretty stupid country to live in then, didn’t you. Perhaps you ought to consider relocating to somewhere more aligned to your tastes?
And for someone who professes to prefer the bracing honesty of dictators and thugs to the politics of hypocritical neo-colonial liberal democracies, you sure quickly turn into a quivering blancmange of outraged emotional crisis when the bracing honesty comes the other way.
Norightturn points out Bill English’s Achilles heel – an incompetent Nick Smith who instead of sacking, he goes on holiday with. If I were a Labour MP, I would spend my entire time imaging Nick Smith with a giant bullseye stick to his arse. A juicy, juicy target in election year!
http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2017/01/nick-smith-strikes-again.html
Bill English’s double-dipping (i.e., fraud) scandal means he is just as much the Achilles heel of Nick Smith and the National Party….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2711246/Bill-English-defends-taxpayer-cash-for-house
Where is the fraud ?
You say it like it’s a fact. But he’s within the rules, and it’s perfectly legal.
Referring to it as fraud when it so obviously isn’t makes you look like a Tin foil hat wearer.
Where is the fraud ?
You’re joking, surely?
You say it like it’s a fact.
It is a fact, and English apologised for defrauding the taxpayer. Sadly, that little exercise of pride-swallowing was his only punishment.
But he’s within the rules, and it’s perfectly legal.
Then why did he pay back the money?
Generally speaking, politicians and big business love things that are deeply unethical, but technically legal. For them, it’s the latter that really matters. Usually, there’s only an apology and an attempt to makes amends when they realise the catastrophic public relations meltdown that will inevitably result once their indiscretions are publicised.
They don’t genuinely feel guilt or shame about what they’re doing. It’s all about reelection and returns to shareholders.
I’ll tell you what – you post a link where English “apologised for defrauding the taxpayer” – I’ll apologize
You make the claim he apologizes for “defrauding” – now back it up?
English’s Achilles heel is the same as most of us – his arrogance. He’s become obsessed with this investment approach to social issues and it’s already driven him to fiscal foolishness with more to come.
IMO when (if ) the general public get to hear what price he really sold the Tauranga State houses for he can start packing his bags. National can spin and swing asset sales to a long suffering public, what they can’t get away with is selling public assets for only a fraction of their worth.
Unfortunately, in 2014 National showed it can get away with anything. This will continue to happen as long as we have the “opposition” party led by someone who called Nicky Hager’s revelations “a distraction.”
In the news; Authorities in the occupied territories are on the search for a suspected Palestinian man who stormed into a Synagogue in Jerusalem and started whipping the worthshippers. Witnesses interviewed later, reported that the man was heard loudly shouting, accusing them of being money changers.
Before storming off, the man was heard to mutter something about going to start his own religion.
Other witnesses of the events said that it they could get hold of the man they felt like crucifying him.
Oops. Sorry I picked up the wrong piece of paper, that was the story of Jesus driving the money changers from the temple. Mathew 21:12-13
And in other news; Kim Dotcom says that he is planning a release of 2 terabytes of data, two days before the next election, iImplicating departing PM John Key and the Nationa….
Jenny those two items are related. It was later reported that one of those being whipped was a certain John Key.
The Jews are going off the deep end on the North Shore. They want their settlements!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/321760/foreign-minister's-electorate-office-vandalised
Israel is an outlaw state, condemned by the civilized world. Israel is not “the Jews”.
I’m pretty sure Israelis didn’t write it.
I don’t think any Jewish people would write it, Israeli or non-Israeli, unless they were teenagers on the piss. It smells of people trying to ratchet up tensions/get sympathy for the National party.
Aren’t all Jews Israeli citizens?
You might be thinking of the Law Of Return, under which Israel grants most Jews worldwide the right to move to Israel and then become citizens after a short period of residency.
Sadly, not all Israelis are people of the moral fibre of Gideon Levy, Amira Hass, Jeff Halpin or Ilan Pappé. Israel is probably the most paranoid and heavily propagandized country in the world. It’s not “teenagers on the piss” who have destroyed the lives of Palestinians for the last 68 years, and are still destroying them. The culprits are middle-aged, sober desk murderers like these….
http://embassies.gov.il/hanoi-vi/Hanoipicture/1528099007.jpg
It was probably some fundie calling himself/herself “Steadfast” a few days ago… can’t find the exact comment as search is borken 🙁
Yeah… McCully et al should’ve seen that coming. The northern parts of the Shore is home to a few wacky religions, South Africans and extreme right wingers – and Colin Craig. Having said that, there are still normal people living there too. I know because I’ve met them – including Sth Africans. 😈
Edit: OMG, I’m not accusing CC of being the culprit. Given his taste for litigation… 😯
Having met and taught with many immigrant south african and zimbabwean teachers I have found them all to be outstanding additions to the country.
The thugs who vandalized that office are supporters of Israel. They quite possibly are extreme Christians, and not Jews.
Yes, from what I know of them I think that’s quite likely
It smells of being a false flag op. There’s just no precedent for it.
Tell you what though. That resolution censuring Israel was the only half decent thing this government has done.
And it was done immediately after Key had run off…
…coincidence?
This should be an election issue for the Labour/Green government in waiting. Our rivers are dying before our eyes at the hands of farmers and it’s something ordinary rural people know because it’s happening within even a child’s memory.
Someone here suggested the other day that the election should be fought on housing an climate change. I agree with housing but climate change is too inaccessible an issue and is global. Non Green voters won’t be moved by climate change campaigning, but the state of our rivers is an environmental topic, and a disaster, and a really good way to get ordinary people to think about environmental issues.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/01/the-selwyn-river-s-unbelievable-decline.html
I have said the same thing a few times, climate change is too macro, the greens, especially need to focus on more of this sort of stuff, this is where hay can be made.
But it’s got to be pitched in a helping positive way, not a punishing way.
I realise that sort of thinking rubs the left wings fur the wrong way, but it’s the most effective approach to getting people on board and enthusiastic about what you’re saying.
And how do you propose that is done?
This is what is happening right now…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11774246
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/81191467/Millions-of-litres-of-water-illegally-taken-Is-ECan-doing-enough
Anyone else breaking the law would have the book thrown at them but not farmers. Massive breaches of already weak environmental protections are occurring and the consequences are light to non-existent.
I propose the actual enforcement of very heavy fines for breaches of local and national protections on discharge and irrigation along with further encouragement/regulation for farmers to both remove stock from nearby waterways and to plant near waterways. Perhaps local youth could be employed in the planting scheme to be jointly paid for by landowners and the taxpayer. If the farmers can’t comply – tough shit, sell up and get out.
That’s a stick and carrot approach.
You need to get Fonterra and all the other milk companies on board.
There’s too much animosity between the left wing and the farming sector, there has to be a go-between to get any sort of scheme to fly.
Get the profit makers to do something about the damage they do in making that profit?
Now there’s a thought.
you make it sound as if no one in NZ other then the ‘left wing’ has an issue with water pollution.
so at a minimum it would be good to define the ‘left wing’.
You’re glossing over the discomfort of genuine conservatives who tend to vote right and also treasure our environment.
Why should respect for our environment be sugar-coated, when disrespect never is? I do not care whether corporate dairying interests are ‘enthusiastic’. They’ve had their lazy time in the sun under this feckless government. Time to pull their socks up and behave like respectful citizens again.
We could play a fun game out of Nationals poisoning of our rivers…..
Called “right direction”, it involves drinking Nationals river-water …. wearing a blindfold ……….. and finding the toilet with the help of team mates who call out instructions.
It’s an educational game on the danger of cowboys in charge …….
White disco pants optional ………….. 🙂
The Green party have consistently campaigned for many years on clean rivers rather than climate change. Many New Zealand voters can remember swimming in and drinking from our streams, rivers and lakes without the slightest hesitation.
When are we going to ban some One Nation politicians from entering NZ. For some reason they are offended by probably the best action by a National government.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/appalled-one-nation-senator-malcolm-roberts-seeks-punitive-stance-against-kiwi-settlements-in-australia-20170104-gtlskt.html
+1. I would have thought being on the wrong side of One Nation is a good thing. It’s probably the only good thing the current government has done in eight years.
Is that waste of space “Sir” Geoffrey Palmer now working for the Myanmar government?
This is the most farcical “report” since the beyond-farcical Palmer-Uribe “report”….
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38505228