Open mike 04/03/2011

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 4th, 2011 - 91 comments
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91 comments on “Open mike 04/03/2011 ”

  1. Bored 1

    A weather eye on the helm, where will our navigator lead us now? The waves of Brent Crude wash our decks at US$116, the storm clouds gather. What safe haven will we be promised to strike out for? We are rowing to the beat of a drummer who has no compass, across a sea of unreason.

    When will we mutiny?

    • ZeeBop 1.1

      Cheap oil means that government expanded industry and the economy, this however came at the expense of free time and what middle and working class people do in their free time – chatter. So as western government moved to squash ‘socialism’ for neo-liberalism economic activity (why aren’t you working politics – work will set you free) the old paradigms were put away. Now we enter peak times why would our economy need to keep young people who cannot find jobs busy? Seen the middle east? The answer is clear, pay them to chatter to each other, if they middle eastern leadership let go of its iron grip for a moment and just paid for young Arabs to put on plays, to read works of world and Arabic literature, keep their young people active then they would not have riots. Would we in NZ have gangs? No, idle hands. Simply put more tax on oil and use the money to stimulate chatter, leisure, players, the arts, and the carbon crisis abates. Why? because if young people aren’t driving around in cars, are in fact prancing around on a stage, or sitting attentively reading or listening to others, then they are not wasting fuel. Duh. So why are our elites taking so long to realize what they need to do and risk losing control, and their countries becoming uncontrollable? Simple they think they are Gods, that the boom times wasn’t cheap oil and cheap credit, but was them and their creepy fiscal-nazi-like-ideology (that made nazi leaders also feel like Gods). The only crisis we have is a crisis of leadership, a crisis of a mismatched neo-right idealism that needs to die like a flock of dodos. Humans have being living on this planet for hundreds of thousands of years and all without gushing amounts of cheap energy to keep them amused, raise the taxes on oil already, pump the money into the arts and stand back and watch carbon usage drop.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1

        Seen the middle east? The answer is clear, pay them to chatter to each other, if they middle eastern leadership let go of its iron grip for a moment and just paid for young Arabs to put on plays, to read works of world and Arabic literature, keep their young people active then they would not have riots.

        Actually, they probably would as a major driver of the riots is the price/availability of food.

        • Bored 1.1.1.1

          Red and Zeb, I think we are watching our leaders back bravely into the future blindfolded, but with a firm conceptual grasp of the past. If they do the same again it will all be well…..what storm?

          I heard a comment somewhere recently that I have not been able to refute, basically that no courtier class (i.e our leadership and elite) anywhere ever in history has been able to transform itself from blood sucking parasites to something socially useful.

          They must and will go, if we are to survive the future we must copy the Arabs.

          • ZeeBop 1.1.1.1.1

            All courtier classes have a use by date, they however can prolonger their control by not growing to plague proportions. Oops, oh wait, wall to wall neo-liberals everywhere. We can basically speculate (hehe) that the generation if boomer courtier are unusually stupid, self-assured arrogant know it alls. Free markets need no regulation hahahaha. There is no such thing as society, hahahaha.

          • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1.2

            They must and will go, if we are to survive the future we must copy the Arabs.

            Right. How many wives each was that again?

            • Jum 1.1.1.1.2.1

              And if you think you get the 72 virgins when you get rid of the leaders, forget it!

        • ZeeBop 1.1.1.2

          Nothing ventured nothing changes and nothing probably gained.

  2. And in America there is developing an intense debate about the “banning” of the poor old incandescent lightbulb! What do socialists have against the poor wee things?

    Could it be that the energy companies, fearful of a drop in profits are rallying the troops?

    Where else in the world has this debate occurred?

    • Lanthanide 2.1

      The problem with moving to low energy use lightbulbs is that they often do not work in many older sockets (common in American houses) and generally don’t work with dimmers either (again common in American houses) unless you buy very expensive ones, and even then I’ve hard people say that they didn’t work or died after a couple of months as well.

      It’d say it’s more about a republican “individuals rights” thing than it is to do with power companies.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1

        There are modernised incandescents around which are 40-50% more energy efficient than the traditional ones.

      • Vicky32 2.1.2

        “and even then I’ve hard people say that they didn’t work or died after a couple of months as well.”
        It’s true. My son insisted we get them, and they died within weeks. Considering the swingeing cost, I felt truly had.

        • Drakula 2.1.2.1

          There are some people who can only work under the old incandescent bulbs I have met one woman who suffered terrible headaches under the flourescant bulbs.

          The energy saving bulbs that I have a lot are really small compact flourescent bulbs, I don’t think that they are all that healthy as they flicker a lot and that can cause epileptic seizures as well.

          The boffs need to go back to the drawing board maybe LED’s?

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.2.1.1

            Yeah there are LED incandescents coming on to the market.

            And I wouldn’t rule out a return to coal gas lamps in the future…hehehehe

    • weka 2.2

      Plus they’ve got mercury in them, and we don’t have systems of retrieving that mercury before it reaches the landfills.

      Energy saving light bulbs are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. They may save some power generation, but they cause problems as well. In another decade we’ll be biffing all the CFCs and changing to LEDs, creating another stream of wasted resources.

      Weren’t incandescents meant to be banned here?

      • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1

        No, they weren’t banned here – there was an introduction for energy efficiency same as what the US is doing. NACT repealed that bill.

        BTW, the mercury isn’t actually that much of a problem.

        • Herodotus 2.2.1.1

          I heard (no links) that we lose more power in transmission than any form of saving at the user level. If that is the case then why do we not investigate a more efficient means of transmission- or better produce energy closer to the location where it is sourced. Still think that Jafalands best form of generation will come from tidal and the Kaipara harbour and all those channels in the Manukau (if it is the case good reason for DSIR to be gifted some $ ). Just watch the flow under the motorway by Karaka (on the passanger side of course). I also heard that in some European countries there is power generation from cannel locks.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.1.1

            Last time I looked, we are but there are complications to over come especially with tidal. Seawater is massively corrosive (accelerates oxidisation), causes electrolysis between submerged metals and also happens to filled with salt which increases wear. All of this needs to be overcome economically to make it work.

            Yes, Auckland needs to generate more power itself to save on power loss over long reaches of cable but it’s not exactly the easiest thing to do.

        • weka 2.2.1.2

          Why isn’t the mercury a problem?

  3. Tigger 3

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10710011

    There is often talk of the split in Labour between centre-left and left but the real split coming is the right and religious right in National. There are signs of the relgious right mobilising again in New Zealand and certainly a dire economic situation will assist in their creep and I wonder how much longer Key will be able to keep them in the tent. There is much disgust for them within National and as soon as there is a better alternative, the religious voters will go elsewhere.

    On that note – billboard has been up in Petone for months advertising this site – http://www.familyradio.com/index2.html Interesting to see yet another fundie US group making a major push into NZ… Key, of course, comes off as secular (well, he cites being Christian and Jewish when it suits) but his morals are fundie religious – I would put money on the fact he’s working with US religious groups behind the scenes…

    • ianmac 3.1

      “But then it was discovered that there are exactly 722,500 days from April 1, 33 A.D. until May 21, 2011. This fact gives us another infallible, absolute proof that May 21, 2011 is the date of the Rapture.” (Website from Tigger.)
      Well there you are. That settles it. You can forget about the Election or the WRC. Phew! But I will miss my next birthday! What will they do if the World still staggers on as usual after 21 May?

      • Rosy 3.1.1

        “But I will miss my next birthday”

        It’s the day after mine so that is going to be my theme to make it a really good one! Thanks for that 🙂

      • Mac1 3.1.2

        History is littered with the failed predictions of the Rapture.

        I have the theory that predicting a Rapture in one’s own life-time is really the expression of some deep psychological need to have meaning in one’s life. Sad, really.

        • RedLogix 3.1.2.1

          Funny part is that the “end of the world” theme does have useful and valid meaning if you don’t take it literally.

          If there is one thing that most of the regulars around here would agree upon in one way or another… it is that the political, economic and social institutions of the world as we currently know them, cannot continue as they are.

          At some point there the multiple crisis’ that loom over the world will catch up with us…bringing to an end the status quo.

        • prism 3.1.2.2

          Just reminding of the end of the world skit of The Mighty Wind – where all the believers gather on the mountaintop and pressure the leader to make a definite date and description. Think it was Pythons. I do remember Rowan Atkinson.

          • Mac1 3.1.2.2.1

            Yes, prism, I had visions of Monty Pythonesque dialogues.

            “Bloody Brian, him and his bloody second-hand abacus.”
            “I told them that they didn’t have to include the extra days for the leap years.”
            “But that would have meant Rapture would have already come.”
            “Shut up!”
            “You realise, don’t you, that continued failure to predict the correct date for the Rapture is causing massive strains on our belief in your leadership?’
            “Shut up! Shut up!”
            “I shall have to consider moving my allegiance to the West Judean Front. They at least got the Roman Invasion right!”
            “Right then. Go on! If Mr Smarty Pants, computer-literate, can count to ten, goody two shoes wants to do the math then let him. Do you realise what I have to go through to keep you lot in order, let alone calculate……….”

            • ianmac 3.1.2.2.1.1

              Brilliant Mac. John Clease is on tonight on the Norton Show and he would enjoy your take.

      • Lanthanide 3.1.3

        Why is 722,500 important? Why not 722,555, that looks prettier. We use an Arabic number system and Gregorian calendar anyway, so why is this particular date relevant because of those two systems we use; what would it look like in a Chinese calendar for example?

        Another point, when they moved from the Julian to the Gregorian calender sometime in the 1600’s, they effectively moved the date forward by 6 or 7 days. So one day it was the 2nd of October and the next was 8th, for example. So the calendar has ‘counted’ days that didn’t exist. Did he consider that?

        • Rosy 3.1.3.1

          Maybe they’re trying to get their rapture in before the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012…. and 777,555 is way prettier, but then I can’t plan my birthday theme around it . 😉

          • ianmac 3.1.3.1.1

            Wonder what sort of church service will they hold the day after the Rapture? Remember those who trekked to the top of Mt Herbert, Banks Peninsula to watch the dawn on the Last Day of the World and the Coming of Jesus. We wondered what they were talking about as they de-trekked.

            • Colonial Viper 3.1.3.1.1.1

              We wondered what they were talking about as they de-trekked.

              Probably a hot shower and a cup of tea… 🙂

              • mcflock

                A year or two back a prophet in South Korea was prosecuted for fraud. He was one of these “money is evil, let make take the evil for you before the end of the world” folk. Apparently he’d predicted the end of the world in 8 months, but had invested the loot in 3-year bonds.

                • Drakula

                  I think that you are all wrong; it is in fact 777,666 you have to have the mark of the beast in there some where.

                  My birthday is on the 20th of may so I should squeeze in before Ianmac’s prediction.

                  mc flock is right they are nothing but a bunch of con artists even the fore fathers of the mainstream religions. I wish I could dig up the quote of the Roman governer of Knossas about St. John I think it was something of the effect of “nice sort of fellow but a bit troubled in the head”

                  And for those who think that Joshua (Jesus) ascended into heaven, well sorry it is very likely they found th body see ‘The Jesus Family Tomb’ Pellegrino and ?

                  There is plenty of circumstantial eveidence that it was standard practice for Roman soldiers to ‘seduce’ princesses of high rank to secure loyalty(by blackmail); hence the marked increase in ‘virgin’ births.

                  Google Celsus’s account of Tiberious Panthera.(interesting reading)

                  In conclusion I say bring on Monty Python hell I thought the world was going to end in 1999 wasn’t it? (note the upsidedown beast) It would make a bloody good film.

                  • ianmac

                    Drakula. A bit of research that my son was doing last year showed that “virgin” at that time was in general use as meaning no children so far.
                    He also found that the translation eventually into English showed how likely it was that “on” was actually “by” as in “walking on water.”
                    And hey. Not my prediction! My birthday is on 22 May so have a heart!

                    • Mac1

                      According to Bishop John Spong, ‘virgin’ actually means a ‘young woman’ in the original language.

    • Good poiunt Tigger . Key is Jewish ie.mother Jewish one is born a Jew like it or not . However he seems to have forgotten his Jewish background.
      In the East End of London they have a special name for such a person.
      I have no doubt that Key and the Nats have connections with the Religious Right . This would be through their membership of the International Democratic Union . Also their partnership with Crosby /Textor . Both organizations where the US Republican Party is the senior member.
      Past chairperson of the IDU and also connected with C/T is Lord Ashcroft Keys very good friend ,remember the covert meeting they had just before the last election?
      Muldoon also recieved help from the Republican Party with the shocking “Cossack ” adverts , A bit of delving Tigger and you will be amazed at what the Tories are up to. What amazes me is that even my Lefty friends have no idea who or what IDU and C/T are ,its a bit of a worry.

  4. todd 4

    A Toxic Legacy

    http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/03/toxic-legacy.html

    Carter Holt Harvey believes that because the substances are released into the environment away from the populace, that the word “toxic” should not apply. Now I’m not one to nit pick but the word Toxic, is exactly the correct descriptive terminology.

  5. RedLogix 5

    Apparently the blood money-sucking squid thinks asset sales are a good idea.

    This tells any sane person all they need to know.

    • RedLogix 6.1

      Yeah….from the most loathsome hated pack of parasitic jackals in the world.

      If these are people you admire sycofisi ….

      Even if we take the analysis at face value.. the govt’s books are improved a bare 267m pa. Completely overlooking to mention that the other 49% of the asset would likely see at least an extra $200m pa profit flow overseas, worsening the structural currency exchange deficit… a problem far more damaging to the NZ economy than the level of govt debt, (which S&P and others have said is not really a serious problem).

      Besides.. restoring the 39% tax cut would improve the govt books by far more.

      • Fisiani 6.1.1

        A bare 267 million………bare? 267,000,000

        Raising tax to a punitive 60% would improve the govt books even more then. Only problem is that people are not slaves. They can move.
        Boosting the NZ economy allows Kiwis to invest overseas and reap profits flowing in.
        Red Yes Loxix No

        • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1

          Only problem is that people are not slaves. They can move.

          Yeah where are they gonna move to brainiac? And why should NZ not just copy Australia’s 45% top income tax rate.

          (Accepting that it is land, estates and capital gains we actually have to introduce taxes for)

          It seems that you have forgotten that all those workers on the minimum wage are essentially wage slaves facing deteriorating spending power, negotiating power and reduced employment mobility.

          The people who can move are the ones with means.

          Boosting the NZ economy allows Kiwis to invest overseas and reap profits flowing in.

          When you say Kiwis you mean the top 5% of earners of course. Ignoring everyone else, as usual.

    • Fisiani 6.2

      Forgoing $240 million earnings to save $540 million in interest.

      • Colonial Viper 6.2.1

        Ha your non-math is amusing.

        I guess your backing English selling off our power stations even though we earn more from them than from reducing interest payments from the debt.

      • Bunji 6.2.2

        $9 billion seems a massive over-valuing of what you’d get for Meridian + Mighty River Power – it’s more likely the value of all 4 Energy SOEs. I doubt anyone would hoe in that vast amount of cash for Meridian and MRP for a <3% return (your $240 million) which is what Goldman Sachs seems to be suggesting. You'd be better off keep your cash in the bank.

        We can borrow money at a cheaper rate than what the power companies can make. It's good business sense, it's what most companies do.

        If the Energy SOEs are sold off their rate of return may improve as foreign corporations insist on an even better rate of return by gouging NZ consumers, but that'll just be worsening the current account deficit.

      • Deadly_NZ 6.2.3

        Hey Doofus. And after your rich mates Shonkey and co have squandered the money they get from the sale of the 49%, and Billions of what would have been profits for NZ start going overseas. What are they going to do when they need more money??? Sell the other 51% ??? I suppose we should be lucky you can type and spell because you sure as hell cant count.

        • Jum 6.2.3.1

          New Zealanders, surely must know that if these Energy SOEs are privatised, in any way, the money will go in tax cuts to those that don’t need it, don’t spend it in NZ and pay little or no tax to start with!

    • Fisiani 6.3

      Forgoing $240 million to reap $540 million in interest savings.
      Honest John Key knows more about the economy than anone on this blog obviously.

    • Tigger 6.4

      Ha ha Fisi – first line “The government’s finances would be 39 percent better off if it sold minority stakes in state-owned enterprises, Goldman Sachs has calculated.”

      You really think Goldman Sachs is going to give unbiased and trustworthy advice? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldman_Sachs#Controversies

      If you think that’s believable then I suggest you check out the Family Radio link above – the info there is probably just as reliable.

      • RedLogix 6.4.1

        Exactly.. how the hell does anyone suggest that a $267m pa improvement in cash flow (and even that is exceedingly debatable) in a total govt cash flow in the order of $60b ….represent anything like a 39% improvement?

        Yes fisi $267m is a pitifully small sum in the larger scheme of things….the govt is currently borrowing that each week.

        Especially when the entire history of selling off state assets has been one of the public being ripped off … often to the benefit of the likes of parasites like Goldman Sachs.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.5

      Fisi, Goldman Sachs is probably the most corrupt institution in the entire world. They sold investment vehicles (CDOs etc) to their clients knowing that their clients would lose on the deal. In fact, they were so certain that their clients would lose that they bet on the clients loss in such a way that when the client did lose Goldman Sachs would win.

      Considering their previous illegal and immoral behaviour if they’re supporting asset sales it probably means that they’re planning to take NZ to the cleaners if we do sell.

  6. lprent 7

    I finally got around to fixing the search functionality.

  7. Sanctuary 8

    Has anyone asked John Key how he feels about having Cehill Pienaar as a National Party branch president in a safe National seat?

    And of he is comfortable with that, how does that make Pita and Tariana feel?

  8. BOTANY BY-ELECTION 5 MARCH 2011

    [deleted]

    You can read the entire previous contents of this comment here

    Penny is making a pitch for Labour party supporters to vote for her as a candidate for the Botany by election tomorrow. It looks better on the linked page and is really only relevant for voters in that electorate

    [lprent: Penny – copy’n’paste isn’t what this site is for. If you want to publish stuff here, then put in a teaser and a link. I’ve cut it down to something more acceptable. ]

    • Herodotus 9.1

      For some of us you may be a very good option – especially as senior members of Lab are doing their best efforts in treating us as crap – especially as Trevor has my contact details and no one has rung. Is this the start of undertakings by Lab that are not going to be carried out $5k tax free threashold anyone?). And here I was almost given up on Nat. Then find Lab has created a self inflicted wound.
      “If you are really resident there send me a phone number by email and I will arrange for someone to canvas your doorstep – otherwise I will just assume you are a lying troll.”
      http://blog.labour.org.nz/index.php/2011/02/19/petone-fair-nat-free-zone
      All the best Penny and you were well worth a tuesday night to listen to 😉

      • Bill 9.1.1

        That was a bizarre and kind of brilliant response from those MP’s….in a really bad way. “Send proof of identity or you’re banned” In bold. As an over write to your deleted comment. Shi-i-ite!

    • chris73 9.2

      This is why I keep coming back to this site 🙂

      • lprent 9.2.1

        Yeah, I hate that type of copy’n’paste. Just gets in the way of discussion.

        • Herodotus 9.2.1.1

          Penny needs some help- without many opportunities to let her voice ring out. But LP has found a very workable solution. Perhaps all us users requier is some ed of the tools available. I still dont know how to itallics or underline only caps (which is not displaying manners and respect towards blogging and a few 🙂 !! haha)
          We don’t want to suffocate anyones passion

          • Draco T Bastard 9.2.1.1.1

            Perhaps all us users requier is some ed of the tools available.

            In the FAQ

          • lprent 9.2.1.1.2

            We don’t object to people putting their material in. Just don’t want the bulk in the discussion area.
            I will have another look at the comment editors and see if they have improved.

  9. Vicky32 10

    TV3 and Fatty Garner talks about workers who’ve lost their jobs “Gone forever” as Hil’ry says. So does Garner interview a worker? An employer? No, but he interviews a businessman. (I have some limited sympathy for the businessman even though Garner poimts out that we wasn’t doing all that well before the earthquake, but I’d be a lot more interested in hearing from an actual employee, rather than a man in the CBD…
    (The guy had made ‘only’ $110.00 in the 4 hours before the quake. My heart bleeds. That’s around 75% of what I get a week in my UB).

    • Jum 10.1

      Someone I know said the only news she saw on TV when she watched was the earthquake harm in the CBD. There was no coverage of the suburbs, so she assumed it wasn’t bad. We know people there. And the east area; that’s beginning to remind me of Florida i.e. if there’s no vote in it why bother to rush in to help, thinks Key.

  10. todd 11

    Is the Kiwi Extinct?

    http://thejackalman.blogspot.com/2011/03/is-kiwi-extinct.html

    So we’ve all heard of the brain drain right! Let’s look at a few related issues; in particular the skilled Kiwi residing in New Zealand who is by necessity drawn overseas to pay their student loans because they cannot find work here. Perhaps they just want a better standard of living that New Zealand can no longer offer them. Whatever the reasons, you cannot be blind to the exodus from our shores.

  11. todd 12

    So instead of a story about the nine Afghanistan children aged 9 to 15 who while gathering firewood to heat their homes, were killed by NATO helicopter gunners who mistook them for insurgents… we have a story about Liam Tasker, a soldier and his dog being killed. I must say that there is a new low to media coverage in this country, when a story about a soldier dying in the line of fire trumps a story about nine children being murdered.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/world/asia/03afghan.html

    • Vicky32 12.1

      You’re right Todd, it’s disgusting, predictable but disgusting.
      Deb

    • Draco T Bastard 12.2

      A few years ago someone made the same comparison re Israel. Huge amounts of reporting about the ~200 Israelis killed by terrorist acts over the year and almost no mention of the ~4000 Palestinian killed by Israel in the same year.

      According to our MSM some people just aren’t as important as others.

    • Colonial Viper 12.3

      Don’t worry Todd, it will sorta even out in the end. As a result of the incident with the children being killed, we are sure to get far more stories of Allied soldiers dying in Afghanistan.

      • Drakula 12.3.1

        And Murdock is putting in a bid that will monopolise 75% of the British media!!!!

  12. Colonial Viper 13

    Deborah Hill Cone takes a swipe at John Key’s “bromance” with the CEO class

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10710077

    There has been a bit of a group-hug going on in the business world after the Christchurch earthquake. Which is sort of luffly.

    It seems horribly churlish to complain about this outbreak of humanity or the nation’s bromance with John Key at a time of tragedy. But, someone’s got to be a seedy mean bitch and it may as well be me.

    John Key seems to be becoming Muldoon-lite. Oh, he is still keeping up his “smile and wave” act, not grimacing or being “Piggy”. But when it comes to business, it is starting to look a bit too darn cosy the way he mothers the big end of town.

    • RedLogix 13.1

      The rest of the article drew more of my attention:

      Correct me if I’m wrong, but I am not sure that being palsy-walsy and sympathetic is the way you create internationally competitive and innovative companies.

      The way to make our businesses productive is more like the red-in-tooth-and-claw bloodiness you see on Sir David Attenborough’s current wildlife documentary, Life.

      Contrary to Ms DHC’s juvenile notions about evolution, humans evolved to be a co-operative species. We actually do better when we help one another, not compete.

      Anyone watching the enormous outpouring in instinctive selflessness in ChCh might have learned this if they had been paying attention.

      • Armchair Critic 13.1.1

        There’s good news at the end of the article, though.
        “This is my last column for a bit. I am taking some time off to be a bit earth mothery…”

  13. Jum 14

    That woman really is a bxtch. An Act love-in with Rodney and Roger would suit her much better. She’s just miffed because Key isn’t doing what he promised her heroes – the sell-off NOW.

    She should just be patient. He’ll do all that if he gets back in, or just leave it to the vultures after the TPPA is signed.

    Why do people think this guy is the bro’ next door? He’s an arch-conservative, with some very neo-conservative connections in America and Britain.

    I also watched the tape recently where she brazenly lied on Agenda pre 2008 election about Helen Clark saying mothers would be forced out to work and their babies thrown into childcare, when in reality the possibility was available if the mothers wanted to. NAct attacked Labour on that – yet here they are doing much worse with the help of Paula Rebstock.

    The woman’s a liar.

    [lprent: a context about who you are talking about would be useful. ]

    • Jum 14.1

      Sorry Lprent.

      Deborah Hill Cone – Act acolyte.
      John Key – Act acolyte
      Rodney Hide – Act
      Roger Douglas – Act

      The gang of 4.

      • lprent 14.1.1

        Yeah, I found the comment it was meant to be attached to further down the comment queue. But that comment was unattached

  14. Drakula 15

    Jum I just googled Keys past employment history and when he was working for Merrrill Lynch he earned the reputation as the ‘smiling assassin’ by his work mates for sacking hundreds of employees and smiling!!!

    I thought that was Hone Harawera’s quote; well of course I don’t blame him for researching his ‘coleagues’ I can well understand his concern.

    • Jum 15.1

      Drakula,

      And it was so easy to find it too. What does that tell you about the average voter in New Zealand? What does that tell you about the complete black out by media of any sort of objective reporting in New Zealand?

      Apart from the blackout of media in 1951, this is pretty damned close.

      Some journalists are more objective than others, yet an easy quote like this about the character of the leader of New Zealand isn’t even out there.

      Maybe the voters think that if Key is that ruthless he will make great deals for New Zealanders; we already know he’s useless at defending New Zealand, because that was his plan all along.

      Is this country of men and women so greedy and so selfish that we can ignore the psychopathic nature of this man?

  15. gobsmacked 16

    The latest opinion poll:

    http://www.roymorgan.com/news/polls/2011/4639/

    Labour MPs have been invisible in the media (understandably), Parliament has been in recess (again, as you’d expect), and so Labour have gone up 2%. Could be the makings of a good strategy there!

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  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 hours ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    10 hours ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    11 hours ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    21 hours ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    2 days ago
  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    2 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    2 days ago
  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    2 days ago
  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 days ago
  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    4 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    4 days ago
  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    4 days ago
  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    5 days ago
  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    5 days ago
  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    5 days ago
  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    6 days ago
  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    1 week ago
  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    1 week ago
  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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