“In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake.
“We are stateless, imprisoned, or powerless. No, the Obama administration is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised — and it should be.”
So, James, if you worked for a government department that consistently broke the law and monitored all communications you’d do what exactly? Justify it to yourself? Work harder to enable it? Get excited at your poweriness?
A whistleblower is someone who despite having signed a confidentiality or secrecy agreement, goes ahead and publicly reveals evidence of significant wrong doing or malfaesence.
Therefore, Snowden is a whistleblower, both in the letter of the definition and the spirit of the definition.
That he sought to put himself into a position where he could gain additional evidence of that significant wrong doing or malfaesence – that’s besides the point.
Also note the power imbalance here: Clapper, who is a very senior official now proven to have lied directly to Congress several times i.e. each count being a felony, is still running around scot free in charge of his empire, while they hunt down a very junior 30 year old analyst in an attempt to crucify him.
Its like the old pricks have decided to wage a generational war on the young adults of conscience in their own country.
Signing an agreement to perform illegal acts does not make them legal.
If I join an organisation indulging in illegal activity and participate in it, I am guilty. If I do not participate but remain silent, I am possibly guilty as an accomplice.
It seems that the correct slogan is no longer “Arbeit Macht Frei”, but “Schuld Macht Frei.”
What he deserves is a medal, at the very least. Justice would be served if Obama’s Peace Prize were revoked and given to Snowden. I also hope (not think) he gets what he deserves.
Yup, you said it, Putake. He is no longer a member of the Liberal Party. He is well connected in Melbourne and further abroad. I am not sure how much to read into it at the moment, but it could be a straw in the wind.
By today’s standards , the Second Liberal government was pretty left wing. Tariffs, public ownership and even a youth radio network! Even with hardcore right winger John Howard as Treasurer 🙂
meanwhile (“it’s all about the economy), 😉
Aussie sharemarkets have been down 2% as investors shed resource stocks in the wake of China slowdown and the Aussie dollar slides against most currencies
Hopefully this goes pretty smoothly, with elections by the end of the year.
And what amazed me during the news reports last night was how many women were in the protests on both sides. While not that many, during the 2011 protests rapes and assaults were common so by the end you rarely saw any women. Seems the reporting of such fell acts spurred some changes for the better.
[edit] Nope – 91 rapes reported over the last 4 days :/
Also:
“They have beards! They have beards! There are beards inside!” shouted one of those anti-government demonstrators, Mohamed Mustafa, as a minibus approached the gate, packed with more than a dozen Brotherhood supporters.
Lawl.
I wonder when we’re going to hear reports of forced beard-shavings 👿
This morning’s Herald cartoon is a cracker and it raises an interesting comparison.
Remember back in 2011 when a well publicised chat over a cup of Tea in a Newmarket cafe which was inadvertently recorded resulted in police charges, search warrants on media outlets and condemnation from the International Federation of Journalists? The insistence on rights of privacy and the use agents of the state appeared to be a bit extreme to preserve privacy in a very public setting.
Fast track to now when our intrepid Prime Minister is so incredibly relaxed at the potential for all of our metadata being recorded and handed over to the Americans. And he considers that Peter Dunne’s rights of privacy are usurped by his role as a Minister.
Why was Key’s and Banks’ rights of privacy considered sacrosanct but Dunne’s and Vances rights ignored?
“Why was Key’s and Banks’ rights of privacy considered sacrosanct but Dunne’s and Vances rights ignored?”
Because in the world that Key envisions, it’s the people with the right kind of power that get protected. It’s not even the very rich (hence KDC), and it’s not politicians on the right side (hence Dunne), it’s those that have the right connections at the right time, and are working for the right paymasters. As far as I can tell, that’s an indictor of fascism.
The scary thing here is that NZers won’t protest until it starts affecting them directly eg food shortages, high unemployment etc. So it makes sense to change all the other things that can be before then. By the time we start protesting seriously, it will be very much harder, because we will have lost so much sovereignty and democracy, and handed so much over to the proto-fascists.
And does anyone here seriously expect Labour to do anything useful to solve this should they get to form the next government?
Footage of the opening moments of the Dotcom raid – over the gates, the second operative comically less nimble than the first – the target unceremoniously cuffed and speedily bundled away. Said target having made the crucial tactical error of cordially meeting a handshake.
I know, I know, bigger issues and all that, but for those who may be interested in the Lone Ranger and the very poor portrayal of Native Americans within it including depp’s bit this analysis is great.
Hamfisted handling of another’s culture and history is par for the course Marty but this below – I doubt I could imagine how much distress it must cause.
Fascinating comment on the DotCom sage, Key, and privacy – there is so much going on, its almost impossible to keep up with what this Govt is trying to do to us.
They’re now trying to undermine local government on GMOs – just because those councils don’t think the current rules and regulations go far enough to protect the environment.
Environment Minister Amy Adams says she’ll change the RMA to make sure Govt makes the rules about GMOs, not local govt which has to deal with the mess left behind. NZ Herald 26 June 2013.
“And if councils have concerns about the way GM regulation in New Zealand works, they should raise those with the [Environment Protection Agency] and attempt to address the legislation on a national basis… …” she said. Yeah – right !
But “Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said it was unfair for councils to cop the potential costs of contamination when they did not make the decisions to approve a trial or release of GM organisms.
Mr Yule, who is Mayor of Hastings, said his region wanted to to put a moratorium on GM for ten years because it believed this would give its wine and food products a greater advantage in export markets. Under Ms Adam’s proposals, the council would not be able to reject a GM trial or release in their region which was approved by the Environment Protection Agency.
Auckland Council was also considering a ban on GM releases and also a policy of making organisations prove they could cover the cost of a GE contamination before a trial was approved.
And imagine — while this much at least is out in the open, what on earth can be going on secretly with TPPA arrangements? Observing Key’s true incompetence and lack of intellectual heft in the hearing yesterday, I deeply fear what is going on hidden from us all, especially with Monsanto et al.
The scariest thing I’ve seen in all of the Dotcom saga is the eyes of John Key on the front page of today’s DomPost. The shivers are still running up my spine.
I’d say Key won’t be making any noises towards the Cons, private or otherwise, before they get a few straight months above the margin of error in some polls, surely?
Reading through the posting of the last couple of days I get the impression that because Key’s partners are currently f… this means dead and buried. I don’t know how any of them can come back, but in political history there are some lessons:
…. Obama in 2010 was dead in the polls, the republicans picked a real f…w…, Obama got into election mode, and in 2012 Americans started to think about the options, and Obama won
…. After the 2002 NZ elections the Nats were history for least a couple of terms, they then went with a ‘one tick pony’ who only had one speech and came bloody close to rolling Clarke.
We should not dismissed out of hand that the real blue voters of Epsom and Ohariu are faced with this choice of either
1. Two ticks for Nats but this could result in a Labour/Green/Others government
2. If Dunne and Banks/New ACT candidate or even a new RW party stand then hand the electoral seat over and maybe providing the numbers for a Nats lead government. These voters have been voting like this for a couple of elections – they know they have two votes.
Why I don’t dismiss this happening and with Epsom voters wanting Banks out I see Blue voters of either electorate today saying No to both option but come polling having to make a choice between a Labour or Nats lead government.
Let’s also charge money to people to go and stare at them. And they could be used as test subjects for cosmetics and drugs. And the chopped up for pies. Problems solved!
I’m devasted, the day I thought would never come has arrived. The day when Labour would unviel the game changer, the guaranteed election winner and its finally here. All the planning, all the misdirection by Labour and Its what the people of NZ are most worried about, have been clamouring for and Labour have delivered:
New Rule 289A. For the 2014 election the Moderating Committee shall, in determining the list, ensure that for any percentage of party vote likely to be obtained, and taking into account the electorate MPs likely to be elected with that level of Labour support, the resultant Caucus will comprise at least 45% women. For the 2017 and subsequent elections the percentage shall be at least 50%.
New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
I hope this is an elaborate hoax for I fear for the future of the National if this goes ahead…well played Labour, well played
I’m sorry to hear that you’re devastated by the thought of women with power.
Here’s what I find interesting. From poison dwarf Farrar: “No more having to compete on merit.”
If you acknowledge that women have the same inherent merit as men, then in positions of power in a meritocracy you’d expect to see roughly equal gender distribution.
If you see a gender imbalance, then either you don’t have a meritocracy at all, or one gender has less inherent merit.
To believe that we currently have a meritocracy, in which women are under-represented, you have to believe that women have less inherent merit than men. This is the unspoken position that Farrar at Kiwiblog, Lusk at Whaleoil, and their little friend above are all taking.
No no you misunderstand, I certainly don’t have a problem with women with power (I’m looking forward to the day Judith Collins leads this country :)), I’m devasted because this is a brilliant play by Labour, they’ve shown they’re more progressive than the Greens (co-leaders…pfft we’ll have a co-party!) and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen
I especially like the New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
Maybe Labour could rebrand as the She-Woman Man Haters Club..?
Winston gets outraged at the thought that any organisation refuses to allow idiots like him to saunter into positions of power purely on the basis of their privileged status, rather than having to display merit.
Winston, you obviously have a problem with rule 248A. Why don’t you just say what the problem is? I know you are trying to do something witty and clever, but you’re failing, so just make your point straight.
I suspect Winston’s not quite sure what the point is, hence he’s reduced to meaningless gibberish. That’s what happens if you only read the headlines on Kiwiblog.
I suspect that position is only unspoken when no one outside their circle jerk is listening, felix. The women they do accept gain acceptance on the basis of overemphasising the traits which those guys see as masculine. Hence Thatcher, Collins, Bennett…….. Those who are “one of the boys” and fully prepared to attack other women in particular, especially poor ones and single mothers.
1. decline preceded financial crises by 2 to 3 years [but that crisis intensified it]
2. US Vehicle Miles Travelled is now 9% below peak and equivalent to 1995 percent level per capita.
3. it definitely reflects a generational shift:
4. and seems to be related to new technology:
Perhaps Joyce’s investment in Ultra Fast Broadband will be the complete undoing of the longed for great economic outcomes from his other and much much more expensive idea; The RoNs programme?!
But the most interesting fact was this:
Basically, and I bet almost 99% of westerners will be shocked at this thought, but people in China, India, and, yes, Iran, are increasingly more able to do what we used to do without thinking about it: They are outbidding us for oil.
And yet this government is building roads – roads that won’t be used because we won’t be able to afford to use them.
Oh dear, I’ve been co-opted by a southern neanderthal:
“Mission: To preserve New Zealand sovereignty and maintain our heritage and history TRP will stand up for Western traditions, morals and values. We will not kow-tow to foreign pressure, government intimidation, or guilt-based media propaganda We must preserve our nation from mass immigration, over population, and the destruction of our way of life.”
The above is from this year’s iteration of Kyle Chapman’s two decade long white power army fantasy, The Resistance Party (TRP). The immigration policy is particularly clever:
“Anyone from an alien culture such as those from the savage parts of Africa, Asian dictatorships and any country who has shown a hatred or disrespect for our Nation and our way of life, such as Middle eastern countries must be stoped.”
Dunno what stoping is, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be effective, Kyle.
stope, v.
Pronunciation: /stəʊp/
Etymology: < stope n.2
1. trans. To cut (mineral ground) in stopes; to excavate horizontally, layer after layer; to extract (ore) by this process. Also with out. Also absol.
KC wants to stripmine aliens, apparently.
Personally, I love the fact that every organisation he forms ends up having a schism between its dozen or so members, so he goes of and forms another one.
and wotta ’bout the price of petrol? prices equaling record highs with 91 at $2.23, 7c more per litre than last week; according to BP spokesman, in line with overall trend of declining NZ Dollar.
But what does it all mean 😀
Parliamentary QT.
Oi notice that mole on Soimun Brudgizz left cheek is getting bigger. Does Collodi have an explanation? Gepetto’s screaming blue murder and daddy KeyS is worrying about the size of his shhnozz.
Meanwhile Obama is still worrying about the size of his ears. (Don’t you wish!)
Whaleoil had it on his site before it was made public, someone in the Labour camp doesn’t like where Labours heading and is leaking like a sieve to Whaleoil
Wonder who it is and what more information will come to light…
(Party secretary Tim Barnett) said the proposed rule changes were circulated to members yesterday, and were to be released to the media later today but were provided early after a copy was obtained by Right-wing blogger Cameron Slater.
Source: stuff.co.nz
So a fan of whaleoil is on the Labour Party’s members mailing list. Big deal. Hardly a ‘scoop’.
lol
I almost sarcastically wrote that lusk will “uncover” that some unions donate funds to left wing parties (when someone “leaks” him the party returns web address), but then recalled that yes, they do periodically make a big deal out of this like it exposes some conspiracy.
It’s a sad day when one can’t even exaggerate the stupidity or duplicity of tories. Such an indictment of humanity.
Fucking hell, great way to alienate the vast majority of the voting population.
Not only do you piss off all the Men but you piss off a great proportion of female voters as well.
What Labour is saying to Women is that you’re not good enough to compete with the Men so we are going to change the rules to make it easier for you.
Women HATE to be patronized.
Utter stupidity.
The current stuff article and poll on this which this is currently headlining is 80% against.
Do we currently have a society which selects for the top positions on the basis of merit? A society in which, given an equal distribution of merit between genders, we should expect to see an equal distribution of gender in positions of power?
Why aren’t there equal number of male/female teachers or male/female nurses.
Answer: these professions tend to attract a lot more women, they appeal to women so you get a lot more women than men.
Being a politician of business manager appeals much more to men than what is does women, guys love the competitive, in your face environment of business and politics a hell of a lot more than what women do which is the reason why you see more men than women.
Being a politician of business manager appeals much more to men than what is does women, guys love the competitive, in your face environment of business and politics a hell of a lot more than what women do which is the reason why you see more men than women.
Lolz, I thought you said women hated to be patronised. I’m surprised you didn’t put something in there about menstruation.
Thanks BM, that perfectly illustrates why the Labour party has to regulate itself to reach gender equity – because too many men will be patronising, and run self-serving arguments before they will share (my apologies to the many fine men who get why gender equity is important and why it needs to be structured in).
I’m a bit surprised that you think you have explained it. All you’ve done is state it as fact!
Still, good to see you think for yourself and contradict Farrar for a change. He thinks the current system is a meritocracy and this will be the end of it.
These emails go out far and wide. As far as I am aware they are sent to all members. So the chances of the information being forwarded to Slater is exceedingly good.
The information was always going to be made public. In fact if you go to http://www.labour.org.nz/about-us you will see all sorts of stuff.
It is pretty weird that suggesting that Parliamentary representation should reflect society. The bigger issue for me is that Parliament is not reflective of Aotearoa as a whole.
I must say that my opinion of Slater today went down and I did not think this was possible. His misogynist streak is really strong and his post about Te Reo is frankly stomach turning.
Being that his blog is more popular then this blog, martyn brabdburys blog and red alert put together its not suprising he reads it, in fact it’d be more suprising if he didn’t
And faux news might be the most viewed “news” organisation in the states, but I’d still be surprised if an otherwise intelligent human being admitted to watching it regularly.
Slater’s hate blog reminds me of Health and Efficiency in the old days – all the fuckwits would buy it for the nude pictures but they knew it wasn’t real porn and had heard that the real good stuff came from Sweden. But Stormfront, like Hustler, isn’t work safe.
I try not to but I had a look today. I am still trying to hold onto my stomach …
EDIT I also meant to say above that “It is pretty weird that suggesting that Parliamentary representation should reflect society receives such a negative response. The bigger issue for me is that Parliament is not reflective of Aotearoa as a whole.”
WO is calling it a “man ban”. I personally don’t see this going down well with male voters and plenty of female ones. Selection should be on merit – if I think of a party that needs this it would be National as it is very much an old boy’s club.
The NZ murder case before the privy council has one person in the frame, with motive, having had the chance to plead insanity, self-defense, etc, now cut to TV3 and yet another Bain exposure. The simple facts are that Bain did not have adequate legal council at his first trial, there were other potential murder suspects, he could have pleaded insanity or even self-defence had the evidence been there, and then what was his motive. Now add on top the Police forensics, missing basics like firearm residues, etc and the court could not even tell who killed whom. Because its obvious that in any act of self-defense there would be a scuffle, I just wont believe any journalist who says they know his guilty and then proceed to explain why, that’s pure journalism, its not even due process of law, starting with a conclusion is so gutter journalistic. Now precisely because the state cannot adequately make a case, due in large part to failures of its own resources, implicitly demands that the motto be applied, ‘innocent until proven by a fair court’. David Bain proven he did not get a fair trial, that’s enough for anyone who believes in justice for him to receive compensation, and its a damn shame so few in the media believe in justice.
David Bains guilty and he can consider himself fortunate that a travesty occured at the retrial. He wants compensation then he needs to put himself up for questioning so he can answer some questions.
No he doesn’t. The state, with all its resources available to the prosecution, needs to answer some questions. It particularly needs to answer questions about how such a cavalier attitude can be taken to issues which result in life imprisonment. It needs to answer why Teina Pora is still in prison, why a top police officer can think integrity only ends well past the level of planting cartridge cases, why the GCSB and police routinely use powers they will only have rubber stamped by later legislation, and so on. That’s the real travesty here.
Bain, like everyone, has the right to a fair trial, and when not presented with one must be afforded the same right as everyone, you included, that of innocence until proven otherwise. Not as some have been claiming, the right to be guilty until proven beyond the balance of probabilities innocent.
Look I don’t blame the Police for botching the case, its obvious that for decades to come that the most inept commentators will fail to provide a motive, will dismiss the likelihood of self-defense or insanity, will appreciate even less the argument that all the deaths were attributed to just one murder, or that David Bain was setup. And, let’s not forget that David Bain will not get those 13 years in jail back, so its not like he’s walking away smiling. So the question becomes why are so many, so self-assured, so rancid in their firm belief of the mans guilt. Guilt by association, the act of walking in on a murder scene, the attempt to save your loved ones, and then the realization that all you’ve done is put yourself in the frame and so made it easy for armchair windbags to opine.
Take out the evidence, take out the personalities, and ask yourself the simple question, does innocent until proven in a fair court of law count so little in your beliefs. A fair trial has yet to find David Bain guilty, and that should be good enough for all of us.
One of the changes Labour are making to their Rules:
A6 Concerning the improvement of women’s representation in electorate seats
New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
Is that a typo, that should read “only women may be nominated”? (rather than nominate).
Weka, I think it is saying that the potential candidate nominates herself for the seat. Possibly not the best wording, and somewhat contradicted by the last sentence, but technically correct because, as I recall, it is the candidate that nominates themselves, with seconders.
I really need a low orbital anvil cannon for shit like this.
Funny too how the libertarians treat this as a free speech issue when victims are usually harassed to stay quiet. But hey, what can you expect from the bunch of sheltered, delusion, mostly male douchebags most college libertarians are?
Pete George has raised a concern that the GCSB was used for gathering the communications and security data of Peter Dunne and Andrea Vance.
“And also of extreme concern is what data [to the Henry Investigation] was provided by the GCSB. Appendix Three of the Henry report states that the GCSB provided “substantial assistance, particularly in the gathering of records”.
That rings alarm bells. What “authority” did Key give the GCSB to gather data? Whatever it takes? And what data did the GCSB gather, and from where?”
If it didn’t happen directly to you personally it can have no effect on you ever. Which is why Native Americans today are hunky-dory, US slavery didn’t impact the present lives of African-Americans, Australian Aborigines enjoy equal participation in society with whites, and South African inequality was eradicated the day Mandela was released.
Just once I’d like one of these fuckers – BM, chris, Winston et al – to say out loud what their alternate hypothesis for this astounding series of coincidences is.
Wow, went over to Kiwiblog for a short time, to see what there take was on the KDC vs. JK battle. Found myself almost agreeing with redbaiter! Had to come back here to save my sanity. I should have taken the blue pill.
Huh! John Key is a “leftist” who, from the GCSB hearings, clearly should be in the Labour Party? It took a while for the penny to drop. So RB sees John Key as “leftist” because of his support of invasive surveillance by the GCSB. I guess that means RB is thinking “St@lisim” and thus Key is totally like Helen Clark.
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Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
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 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
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Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
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The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
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Barack Obama: You visited Mandela’s cell;
now make a public visit to Bradley Manning’s
A petition:
http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/barack-obama-you-visited-mandela-s-cell-now-make-a-televised-visit-to-bradley-manning-s-2
Will it happen? No. But hopefully exposes the hypocrisy, and undermines the saintly glow, of his most recent publicity stunt.
In other words, Jenny, the Obama regime is as radically anti-democratic as its predecessor.
.. and part of the post-9/11 Ascendancy.
I hate the whistleblower tag he is getting – simply put he is not.
To me he deliberately set out to deceive, with the predetermined objective to leak. All agreements he signed were done with the intent to break.
I personally think he gets what he deserves.
“My position with Booz Allen Hamilton granted me access to lists of machines all over the world the NSA hacked,” he told the Post.
“That is why I accepted that position about three months ago.”
The newspaper said when he was asked if he specifically went to Booz Allen Hamilton to gather evidence of surveillance, he replied: “Correct on Booz.”
He knew what Booz had b/c he’d been working elsewhere.
This line of argument goes nowhere really.
But explain to me why it means he wasn’t a whistleblower.
Because he knew what was going on from a previous job, and took a new job to get the dox to prove it?
Try harder, coz that’s still whistleblowing.
So, James, if you worked for a government department that consistently broke the law and monitored all communications you’d do what exactly? Justify it to yourself? Work harder to enable it? Get excited at your poweriness?
A whistleblower is someone who despite having signed a confidentiality or secrecy agreement, goes ahead and publicly reveals evidence of significant wrong doing or malfaesence.
Therefore, Snowden is a whistleblower, both in the letter of the definition and the spirit of the definition.
That he sought to put himself into a position where he could gain additional evidence of that significant wrong doing or malfaesence – that’s besides the point.
Also note the power imbalance here: Clapper, who is a very senior official now proven to have lied directly to Congress several times i.e. each count being a felony, is still running around scot free in charge of his empire, while they hunt down a very junior 30 year old analyst in an attempt to crucify him.
Its like the old pricks have decided to wage a generational war on the young adults of conscience in their own country.
Its not going to end well.
Signing an agreement to perform illegal acts does not make them legal.
If I join an organisation indulging in illegal activity and participate in it, I am guilty. If I do not participate but remain silent, I am possibly guilty as an accomplice.
It seems that the correct slogan is no longer “Arbeit Macht Frei”, but “Schuld Macht Frei.”
What he deserves is a medal, at the very least. Justice would be served if Obama’s Peace Prize were revoked and given to Snowden. I also hope (not think) he gets what he deserves.
er ist sich keiner Schuld bewusst?
I hate the whistleblower tag he is getting – simply put he is not.
You are out of your depth, fool.
How’s the Arab Spring going in Egypt? Another military sponsored coup? 2 in 2 years?
There is a flurry of activity across the Tasman before Rudd has to face an interesting general election. Shades of Gough Whitlam ..
It makes the NZ political scene look sclerotic by comparison .. the Melbourne establishment’s Malcolm Fraser campaigning with the Greens.
http://news.google.com.au/news/rtc?ncl=d2mydW6RYMtzRMMa8v4BBpSBymONM&topic=n&siidp=0ffc78ac29139290494b2c31d54cc3bd2001
http://news.google.com.au/news/rtc?ncl=dxGvHUfc7Ulmm2MqBL9vyZyf8gMlM&topic=n&siidp=0ffc78ac29139290494b2c31d54cc3bd2001
http://news.google.com.au/news/rtc?ncl=dqolhq14ntSwgqMTC0XedR6E0qc5M&topic=n&siidp=0ffc78ac29139290494b2c31d54cc3bd2001
http://news.google.com.au/news/rtc?ncl=dxqxuN3Q-O_rn3MP2UQ1jK2OvcncM&topic=n&siidp=0ffc78ac29139290494b2c31d54cc3bd2001
http://news.google.com.au/news/rtc?ncl=do5f2beILPPKLgMrh2qeHujZb0a-M&topic=h&siidp=0ffc78ac29139290494b2c31d54cc3bd2001
Fraser’s an interesting character, Tom. He seems to have moved significantly to the centre in the last decade. No fan of Tony Abbott either.
Yup, you said it, Putake. He is no longer a member of the Liberal Party. He is well connected in Melbourne and further abroad. I am not sure how much to read into it at the moment, but it could be a straw in the wind.
‘Rudd puts NSW Labor into administration’
Perhaps we could request Rudd’s intervention over here as an honest broker between various factions .. but I hear he’s a busy man at the moment.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-04/federal-labor-party-to-overtake-nsw-alp-in-bid-to-stamp-out-cor/4798382
I don’t think Fraser has changed at all. The centre of the political spectrum has been dragged a long way to the right.
By today’s standards , the Second Liberal government was pretty left wing. Tariffs, public ownership and even a youth radio network! Even with hardcore right winger John Howard as Treasurer 🙂
meanwhile (“it’s all about the economy), 😉
Aussie sharemarkets have been down 2% as investors shed resource stocks in the wake of China slowdown and the Aussie dollar slides against most currencies
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/485921/20130703/kevin-rudd-chris-bowen-australia-economy-reserve.htm#.UdTVJjtHLTo outlook uncertain
http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/stevens-puts-dollar-in-tailspin-20130703-2pann.html
Egyptian military ousts Morsi, suspends constitution
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/egypts-morsi-defiant-under-pressure-as-deadline-looms/2013/07/03/28fda81c-e39d-11e2-80eb-3145e2994a55_story.html
Hopefully this goes pretty smoothly, with elections by the end of the year.
And what amazed me during the news reports last night was how many women were in the protests on both sides. While not that many, during the 2011 protests rapes and assaults were common so by the end you rarely saw any women. Seems the reporting of such fell acts spurred some changes for the better.
[edit] Nope – 91 rapes reported over the last 4 days :/
Also:
Lawl.
I wonder when we’re going to hear reports of forced beard-shavings 👿
Good. Never really keen on the Allah-botherers. Nasser had the right idea – string them up.
This morning’s Herald cartoon is a cracker and it raises an interesting comparison.
Remember back in 2011 when a well publicised chat over a cup of Tea in a Newmarket cafe which was inadvertently recorded resulted in police charges, search warrants on media outlets and condemnation from the International Federation of Journalists? The insistence on rights of privacy and the use agents of the state appeared to be a bit extreme to preserve privacy in a very public setting.
Fast track to now when our intrepid Prime Minister is so incredibly relaxed at the potential for all of our metadata being recorded and handed over to the Americans. And he considers that Peter Dunne’s rights of privacy are usurped by his role as a Minister.
Why was Key’s and Banks’ rights of privacy considered sacrosanct but Dunne’s and Vances rights ignored?
+1 there Mickey
“Why was Key’s and Banks’ rights of privacy considered sacrosanct but Dunne’s and Vances rights ignored?”
Because in the world that Key envisions, it’s the people with the right kind of power that get protected. It’s not even the very rich (hence KDC), and it’s not politicians on the right side (hence Dunne), it’s those that have the right connections at the right time, and are working for the right paymasters. As far as I can tell, that’s an indictor of fascism.
The scary thing here is that NZers won’t protest until it starts affecting them directly eg food shortages, high unemployment etc. So it makes sense to change all the other things that can be before then. By the time we start protesting seriously, it will be very much harder, because we will have lost so much sovereignty and democracy, and handed so much over to the proto-fascists.
And does anyone here seriously expect Labour to do anything useful to solve this should they get to form the next government?
They are going to hold an inquiry. It might be a short inquiry and it might be a long inquiry but Shearer boy says they are going to hold an inquiry!
Yeah, that should sort it.
Someone should make a list of the things that need undoing by the next L/GP govt.
Nope, they’ll just ring their hands and whinge that it’s too hard and that we can’t afford it.
Footage of the opening moments of the Dotcom raid – over the gates, the second operative comically less nimble than the first – the target unceremoniously cuffed and speedily bundled away. Said target having made the crucial tactical error of cordially meeting a handshake.
Gotcha !
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8870216/Kim-Dotcom-arrives-for-GCSB-hearing
Extraordinary. Now a “Police Academy XIV” how not to training video. KeyStonedCops. ShonKey Python’s SikorsKey Flying Circus.
No wonder Ben Affleck shredded the “Argo” script submitted by the PM’s office.
Now to the more recent event – the select committee – PM owned by Sir Kiwi Kim Dotcom. Cringe making for all New Zealanders !
I know, I know, bigger issues and all that, but for those who may be interested in the Lone Ranger and the very poor portrayal of Native Americans within it including depp’s bit this analysis is great.
http://nativeappropriations.com/2013/07/i-saw-the-lone-ranger-so-you-dont-have-to.html
You may also like to read the balance.
http://entertainment.time.com/2013/07/03/johnny-depp-as-tonto-is-the-lone-ranger-racist/
and the public are speaking – it is bombing at the box office.
Hamfisted handling of another’s culture and history is par for the course Marty but this below – I doubt I could imagine how much distress it must cause.
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/07/01/2241261/tulsa-is-using-the-trail-of-tears-to-market-its-bid-for-the-2024-olympics/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears
thanks marty.
“It really should have been called ‘Tonto’ “, pronounced Letterman to Depp.
Fascinating comment on the DotCom sage, Key, and privacy – there is so much going on, its almost impossible to keep up with what this Govt is trying to do to us.
They’re now trying to undermine local government on GMOs – just because those councils don’t think the current rules and regulations go far enough to protect the environment.
Environment Minister Amy Adams says she’ll change the RMA to make sure Govt makes the rules about GMOs, not local govt which has to deal with the mess left behind. NZ Herald 26 June 2013.
“And if councils have concerns about the way GM regulation in New Zealand works, they should raise those with the [Environment Protection Agency] and attempt to address the legislation on a national basis… …” she said. Yeah – right !
But “Local Government New Zealand president Lawrence Yule said it was unfair for councils to cop the potential costs of contamination when they did not make the decisions to approve a trial or release of GM organisms.
Mr Yule, who is Mayor of Hastings, said his region wanted to to put a moratorium on GM for ten years because it believed this would give its wine and food products a greater advantage in export markets. Under Ms Adam’s proposals, the council would not be able to reject a GM trial or release in their region which was approved by the Environment Protection Agency.
Auckland Council was also considering a ban on GM releases and also a policy of making organisations prove they could cover the cost of a GE contamination before a trial was approved.
And imagine — while this much at least is out in the open, what on earth can be going on secretly with TPPA arrangements? Observing Key’s true incompetence and lack of intellectual heft in the hearing yesterday, I deeply fear what is going on hidden from us all, especially with Monsanto et al.
Hmm…
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2013/07/tale-re-routed-bolivian-presidents-plane-falling-apart/66838/
http://news.yahoo.com/snowden-case-france-denies-blocking-bolivia-plane-090257428.html
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10894619
John Armstrong … on setting the rodent trap (with noose even) for Slippery.
The scariest thing I’ve seen in all of the Dotcom saga is the eyes of John Key on the front page of today’s DomPost. The shivers are still running up my spine.
pse can you post it somehow ? not on Stuff website .. thx
Sorry. I looked on Stuff site but not there.
I’ve inserted it into the bottom of my post on “John Key’s disdain for democracy” (my limited skills, don’t know how else to put it up on this site)
thx karol … just saw this now.
From the article:
WTF, Armstrong? That’s the opposite of what happened!
Norman sought leave to ask that the committee grant further time, and Key, Banks and Ryall refused it.
FFS is there no-one editing this shit at the herald at all?
len brown and john key have come up with a new ‘brilliant!’ solution to the problem of aucklands’ beggars..
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/satire-len-brown-and-john-key-welcome-innovative-solution-to-beggar-problem/
(excerpt::
“..the solution?:..it involves the gearing up of a failed wildlife park..
..and the rounding up of all of aucklands’ beggars and street-people..(the ‘unsightly-ones’..)
..and re-homing them in tents in the ex-animal compounds..
..len brown said that of course there would be some extra expenses from strengthening the perimeter-fence/ramping up security/guards..
..(‘but we can save money by utilising existing troughs for feeding’..said brown..)..”
phillip ure..
Daily Blog:
Will Maori Party, ACT and United Future meltdowns open door for a cup of tea with Colin Craig?
I’d say Key won’t be making any noises towards the Cons, private or otherwise, before they get a few straight months above the margin of error in some polls, surely?
Well you’d hope so, I’m sure memories of the bretheren debacle are still reasonably fresh
He doesn’t recall anythying about those emails which he deleted without reading. Shame on you.
and jokes, too!
Reading through the posting of the last couple of days I get the impression that because Key’s partners are currently f… this means dead and buried. I don’t know how any of them can come back, but in political history there are some lessons:
…. Obama in 2010 was dead in the polls, the republicans picked a real f…w…, Obama got into election mode, and in 2012 Americans started to think about the options, and Obama won
…. After the 2002 NZ elections the Nats were history for least a couple of terms, they then went with a ‘one tick pony’ who only had one speech and came bloody close to rolling Clarke.
We should not dismissed out of hand that the real blue voters of Epsom and Ohariu are faced with this choice of either
1. Two ticks for Nats but this could result in a Labour/Green/Others government
2. If Dunne and Banks/New ACT candidate or even a new RW party stand then hand the electoral seat over and maybe providing the numbers for a Nats lead government. These voters have been voting like this for a couple of elections – they know they have two votes.
Why I don’t dismiss this happening and with Epsom voters wanting Banks out I see Blue voters of either electorate today saying No to both option but come polling having to make a choice between a Labour or Nats lead government.
Let’s also charge money to people to go and stare at them. And they could be used as test subjects for cosmetics and drugs. And the chopped up for pies. Problems solved!
Don’t be disgusting, I don’t want any of those smelly oiks near my pies!
I’m devasted, the day I thought would never come has arrived. The day when Labour would unviel the game changer, the guaranteed election winner and its finally here. All the planning, all the misdirection by Labour and Its what the people of NZ are most worried about, have been clamouring for and Labour have delivered:
New Rule 289A. For the 2014 election the Moderating Committee shall, in determining the list, ensure that for any percentage of party vote likely to be obtained, and taking into account the electorate MPs likely to be elected with that level of Labour support, the resultant Caucus will comprise at least 45% women. For the 2017 and subsequent elections the percentage shall be at least 50%.
New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
I hope this is an elaborate hoax for I fear for the future of the National if this goes ahead…well played Labour, well played
I’m sorry to hear that you’re devastated by the thought of women with power.
Here’s what I find interesting. From poison dwarf Farrar: “No more having to compete on merit.”
If you acknowledge that women have the same inherent merit as men, then in positions of power in a meritocracy you’d expect to see roughly equal gender distribution.
If you see a gender imbalance, then either you don’t have a meritocracy at all, or one gender has less inherent merit.
To believe that we currently have a meritocracy, in which women are under-represented, you have to believe that women have less inherent merit than men. This is the unspoken position that Farrar at Kiwiblog, Lusk at Whaleoil, and their little friend above are all taking.
Is there another explanation I’ve missed?
No no you misunderstand, I certainly don’t have a problem with women with power (I’m looking forward to the day Judith Collins leads this country :)), I’m devasted because this is a brilliant play by Labour, they’ve shown they’re more progressive than the Greens (co-leaders…pfft we’ll have a co-party!) and they’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen
I especially like the New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
Maybe Labour could rebrand as the She-Woman Man Haters Club..?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBIC8JTQMMQ
Then what’s your explanation for what I wrote above?
Do women have less inherent merit than men or do we not currently have a meritocracy?
Winston gets outraged at the thought that any organisation refuses to allow idiots like him to saunter into positions of power purely on the basis of their privileged status, rather than having to display merit.
And fair enough too. It must be bloody terrifying for him.
Again you misunderstand me, I’m filled with admiration for the bravery Labour are showing
To paraphrase KDC, you know I know exactly where you’re coming from.
Noooo, I don’t know what you’re referring to 🙂
Well then, you’re either a liar or an idiot or (most likely) a misbegot unregenerate combination of the two.
Thats quite a mouthful for a Thursday afternoon
nah, but you’d need to take your foot from your mouth and stop talking shit before attempting it.
Women have as much merit as men as evidenced by Helen Clark and Judith Collins
Then you’re acknowledging that we don’t have a meritocracy.
Winston, you obviously have a problem with rule 248A. Why don’t you just say what the problem is? I know you are trying to do something witty and clever, but you’re failing, so just make your point straight.
No problem at all, I think its quite brave to legistimise sexism in this day and age
So that’s a big fat “no way” to weka’s request that you make a straight point.
I suspect Winston’s not quite sure what the point is, hence he’s reduced to meaningless gibberish. That’s what happens if you only read the headlines on Kiwiblog.
Yeah, he figures if Farrar and Lusk are both crowing about it simultaneously, it must be something he’s supposed to be saying something about.
He just has no idea yet what his position is supposed to be.
Another scoop for Whaleoil but more worrying for Labour is that theres a mole and they’re sending stuff Whaleoils way…
Wonder who the whistleblower is 🙂
The information is in the public domain.
“Another scoop for Whaleoil”
Sounds like a good one for the front page of Truth. Oh yeah.
I suspect that position is only unspoken when no one outside their circle jerk is listening, felix. The women they do accept gain acceptance on the basis of overemphasising the traits which those guys see as masculine. Hence Thatcher, Collins, Bennett…….. Those who are “one of the boys” and fully prepared to attack other women in particular, especially poor ones and single mothers.
The Decline of Car Culture in the West
But the most interesting fact was this:
And yet this government is building roads – roads that won’t be used because we won’t be able to afford to use them.
Oh dear, I’ve been co-opted by a southern neanderthal:
“Mission: To preserve New Zealand sovereignty and maintain our heritage and history TRP will stand up for Western traditions, morals and values. We will not kow-tow to foreign pressure, government intimidation, or guilt-based media propaganda We must preserve our nation from mass immigration, over population, and the destruction of our way of life.”
The above is from this year’s iteration of Kyle Chapman’s two decade long white power army fantasy, The Resistance Party (TRP). The immigration policy is particularly clever:
“Anyone from an alien culture such as those from the savage parts of Africa, Asian dictatorships and any country who has shown a hatred or disrespect for our Nation and our way of life, such as Middle eastern countries must be stoped.”
Dunno what stoping is, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be effective, Kyle.
OED:
KC wants to stripmine aliens, apparently.
Personally, I love the fact that every organisation he forms ends up having a schism between its dozen or so members, so he goes of and forms another one.
That’ll show them savages! btw, funny that he should have a problem with dictatorships, eh. It’s just the Asian ones he finds distasteful, apparently.
q. did you hear the one about the NSA guy spying on New Zealand.
a. he got bored to death.
and wotta ’bout the price of petrol? prices equaling record highs with 91 at $2.23, 7c more per litre than last week; according to BP spokesman, in line with overall trend of declining NZ Dollar.
But what does it all mean 😀
But what does it all mean
That gvt stealth taxes are higher in 2013 then 2008.
it’s a growth industry, along with ‘small government’.
the stealth tax ( funding of motorways) has a significant constraint in the forecasting scenario peak cars.
a hypothesis that usage of vehicles in a number of industrialised countries has peaked and will continue to reduce over the coming years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_car
seems to concurs with Draco’s buzz.
Parliamentary QT.
Oi notice that mole on Soimun Brudgizz left cheek is getting bigger. Does Collodi have an explanation? Gepetto’s screaming blue murder and daddy KeyS is worrying about the size of his shhnozz.
Meanwhile Obama is still worrying about the size of his ears. (Don’t you wish!)
At Weka
Whaleoil had it on his site before it was made public, someone in the Labour camp doesn’t like where Labours heading and is leaking like a sieve to Whaleoil
Wonder who it is and what more information will come to light…
Whatever. You still haven’t answered the merit question.
Source: stuff.co.nz
So a fan of whaleoil is on the Labour Party’s members mailing list. Big deal. Hardly a ‘scoop’.
There’ll be more to come no doubt 🙂
Yeah, next time the Labour party publishes a newsletter or a press release, Lusk will have his next big scoop.
Fuck off back to his site Winston, you’re no use to yourself or anyone else here.
lol
I almost sarcastically wrote that lusk will “uncover” that some unions donate funds to left wing parties (when someone “leaks” him the party returns web address), but then recalled that yes, they do periodically make a big deal out of this like it exposes some conspiracy.
It’s a sad day when one can’t even exaggerate the stupidity or duplicity of tories. Such an indictment of humanity.
all will out.
You didn’t understand the point of my comment at all, did you?
Fucking hell, great way to alienate the vast majority of the voting population.
Not only do you piss off all the Men but you piss off a great proportion of female voters as well.
What Labour is saying to Women is that you’re not good enough to compete with the Men so we are going to change the rules to make it easier for you.
Women HATE to be patronized.
Utter stupidity.
The current stuff article and poll on this which this is currently headlining is 80% against.
“What Labour is saying to Women is that you’re not good enough to compete with the Men”
No, that’s what you’re saying. And Winston, and The Poison Dwarf, and Lusk.
It’s the way the vast majority will interpret this.
How about your interpretation, BM?
Do we currently have a society which selects for the top positions on the basis of merit? A society in which, given an equal distribution of merit between genders, we should expect to see an equal distribution of gender in positions of power?
Or not?
Hurry up BM, you’ve had plenty of time to check what Farrar thinks.
Of course not.
Why aren’t there equal number of male/female teachers or male/female nurses.
Answer: these professions tend to attract a lot more women, they appeal to women so you get a lot more women than men.
Being a politician of business manager appeals much more to men than what is does women, guys love the competitive, in your face environment of business and politics a hell of a lot more than what women do which is the reason why you see more men than women.
Bit surprised I have to explain this.
Being a politician of business manager appeals much more to men than what is does women, guys love the competitive, in your face environment of business and politics a hell of a lot more than what women do which is the reason why you see more men than women.
Lolz, I thought you said women hated to be patronised. I’m surprised you didn’t put something in there about menstruation.
I’m a man, it just comes naturally.
You are an idiot of a little man.
How do you know woman don’t enjoy the ” competitive, in your face environment of business and politics” ?
I’m not, I’m just saying there’s not as many of them proportionally when compared to Men.
Which is why you find more men than women in Parliament.
“I’m a man, it just comes naturally.”
Thanks BM, that perfectly illustrates why the Labour party has to regulate itself to reach gender equity – because too many men will be patronising, and run self-serving arguments before they will share (my apologies to the many fine men who get why gender equity is important and why it needs to be structured in).
Indeed weka.
Those who scoff at gender equity measures unwittingly make the best arguments in favour.
“Bit surprised I have to explain this.”
I’m a bit surprised that you think you have explained it. All you’ve done is state it as fact!
Still, good to see you think for yourself and contradict Farrar for a change. He thinks the current system is a meritocracy and this will be the end of it.
Just to help its currently running at: No, it seems one-sided 78.3% 🙂
These emails go out far and wide. As far as I am aware they are sent to all members. So the chances of the information being forwarded to Slater is exceedingly good.
The information was always going to be made public. In fact if you go to http://www.labour.org.nz/about-us you will see all sorts of stuff.
It is pretty weird that suggesting that Parliamentary representation should reflect society. The bigger issue for me is that Parliament is not reflective of Aotearoa as a whole.
I must say that my opinion of Slater today went down and I did not think this was possible. His misogynist streak is really strong and his post about Te Reo is frankly stomach turning.
holy shit, you still bother to read his b[
l]og?Being that his blog is more popular then this blog, martyn brabdburys blog and red alert put together its not suprising he reads it, in fact it’d be more suprising if he didn’t
“…more popular…”
[citation needed]
Hit mining may be a good way to get advertising but it renders all claims of “popularity” moot.
Yep keep running that line, I’m sure someone probably believes it 🙂
You’re the one making the assertions, fool. If you’d been talking about The Penguin you might have had a point.
How are the sales of the Whale-oil branded merch going btw?
I’ve never seen any of it around, which seems weird for the most popular blog in the country dontchareckon?
Beats me but I do know that his views are published in other papers, he gets invited onto various radio shows and pops up on tv programs
But hey as you say his merch probably isn’t selling too well 🙂
So you’re not really seriously arguing that he has the most popular blog in the country then, just that he gets on the telly now and then.
At least I think that’s what you’re saying, it’s hard to tell when you haven’t made a straight statement all day.
lol
shame one can’t hit-mine a hardcopy newspaper.
And faux news might be the most viewed “news” organisation in the states, but I’d still be surprised if an otherwise intelligent human being admitted to watching it regularly.
Slater’s hate blog reminds me of Health and Efficiency in the old days – all the fuckwits would buy it for the nude pictures but they knew it wasn’t real porn and had heard that the real good stuff came from Sweden. But Stormfront, like Hustler, isn’t work safe.
lolz
I try not to but I had a look today. I am still trying to hold onto my stomach …
EDIT I also meant to say above that “It is pretty weird that suggesting that Parliamentary representation should reflect society receives such a negative response. The bigger issue for me is that Parliament is not reflective of Aotearoa as a whole.”
Well that’d be a nice change for your hand.
Ouch, lol
smurfed you have all the charm and sophistication of Slater himself.
The quality of wingnuts is definitely on the decline.
Shouldnt the labour party sue Cameron Slater?
Obviously not even labour is going to have electorals when only woman can stand for them.
What is the real story?
WO is calling it a “man ban”. I personally don’t see this going down well with male voters and plenty of female ones. Selection should be on merit – if I think of a party that needs this it would be National as it is very much an old boy’s club.
The NZ murder case before the privy council has one person in the frame, with motive, having had the chance to plead insanity, self-defense, etc, now cut to TV3 and yet another Bain exposure. The simple facts are that Bain did not have adequate legal council at his first trial, there were other potential murder suspects, he could have pleaded insanity or even self-defence had the evidence been there, and then what was his motive. Now add on top the Police forensics, missing basics like firearm residues, etc and the court could not even tell who killed whom. Because its obvious that in any act of self-defense there would be a scuffle, I just wont believe any journalist who says they know his guilty and then proceed to explain why, that’s pure journalism, its not even due process of law, starting with a conclusion is so gutter journalistic. Now precisely because the state cannot adequately make a case, due in large part to failures of its own resources, implicitly demands that the motto be applied, ‘innocent until proven by a fair court’. David Bain proven he did not get a fair trial, that’s enough for anyone who believes in justice for him to receive compensation, and its a damn shame so few in the media believe in justice.
David Bains guilty and he can consider himself fortunate that a travesty occured at the retrial. He wants compensation then he needs to put himself up for questioning so he can answer some questions.
No he doesn’t. The state, with all its resources available to the prosecution, needs to answer some questions. It particularly needs to answer questions about how such a cavalier attitude can be taken to issues which result in life imprisonment. It needs to answer why Teina Pora is still in prison, why a top police officer can think integrity only ends well past the level of planting cartridge cases, why the GCSB and police routinely use powers they will only have rubber stamped by later legislation, and so on. That’s the real travesty here.
Bain, like everyone, has the right to a fair trial, and when not presented with one must be afforded the same right as everyone, you included, that of innocence until proven otherwise. Not as some have been claiming, the right to be guilty until proven beyond the balance of probabilities innocent.
Look I don’t blame the Police for botching the case, its obvious that for decades to come that the most inept commentators will fail to provide a motive, will dismiss the likelihood of self-defense or insanity, will appreciate even less the argument that all the deaths were attributed to just one murder, or that David Bain was setup. And, let’s not forget that David Bain will not get those 13 years in jail back, so its not like he’s walking away smiling. So the question becomes why are so many, so self-assured, so rancid in their firm belief of the mans guilt. Guilt by association, the act of walking in on a murder scene, the attempt to save your loved ones, and then the realization that all you’ve done is put yourself in the frame and so made it easy for armchair windbags to opine.
Take out the evidence, take out the personalities, and ask yourself the simple question, does innocent until proven in a fair court of law count so little in your beliefs. A fair trial has yet to find David Bain guilty, and that should be good enough for all of us.
One of the changes Labour are making to their Rules:
A6 Concerning the improvement of women’s representation in electorate seats
New Rule 248A. An LEC may request that NZ Council determine that only women may nominate for the position of Labour candidate for their electorate. Such approval overrides the right granted in Rule 251 for any member to be eligible for nomination.
Is that a typo, that should read “only women may be nominated”? (rather than nominate).
I assume that if 50% of selected candidates are already women, then any remaining positions will automatically go to Men?
Weka, I think it is saying that the potential candidate nominates herself for the seat. Possibly not the best wording, and somewhat contradicted by the last sentence, but technically correct because, as I recall, it is the candidate that nominates themselves, with seconders.
Thanks TRP, that makes more sense.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/03/2248421/mccain-doj-college-harassment/
T_T
I really need a low orbital anvil cannon for shit like this.
Funny too how the libertarians treat this as a free speech issue when victims are usually harassed to stay quiet. But hey, what can you expect from the bunch of sheltered, delusion, mostly male douchebags most college libertarians are?
I quite like listening to Julie Borowski for her views on things libertarian
AKA McNasty.
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html
edit: scroll down, the article renders half way down the page.
Pete George has raised a concern that the GCSB was used for gathering the communications and security data of Peter Dunne and Andrea Vance.
“And also of extreme concern is what data [to the Henry Investigation] was provided by the GCSB. Appendix Three of the Henry report states that the GCSB provided “substantial assistance, particularly in the gathering of records”.
That rings alarm bells. What “authority” did Key give the GCSB to gather data? Whatever it takes? And what data did the GCSB gather, and from where?”
http://yournz.org/2013/07/03/key-gave-henry-inquiry-extraordinary-authority-including-gcsb/
How many nephews does Hone Harawira have, and why are they all violent thugs?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8879069/Harawira-nephews-guilty-of-iPod-bashing
1. Probably a few
2. Upbringing
Nah, it’ll be society’s fault.
I’m thinking colonization…
Your joke is funny, because colonisation never has any effect, ever! 🙄
If it didn’t happen directly to you personally it can have no effect on you ever. Which is why Native Americans today are hunky-dory, US slavery didn’t impact the present lives of African-Americans, Australian Aborigines enjoy equal participation in society with whites, and South African inequality was eradicated the day Mandela was released.
Just once I’d like one of these fuckers – BM, chris, Winston et al – to say out loud what their alternate hypothesis for this astounding series of coincidences is.
As if we didn’t know…
lolz, you guys usually discount the environment people are brought up in and instead attribute all failings to personal morality.
You know, it doesn’t matter where you come from if you’ve got the right attitude even a kid from a state house can be prime minister etc etc
What’s changed?
Your right, Felix, individuals are not responsible for anything they do.
Which is exactly what I said 🙄
Wow, went over to Kiwiblog for a short time, to see what there take was on the KDC vs. JK battle. Found myself almost agreeing with redbaiter! Had to come back here to save my sanity. I should have taken the blue pill.
Crikey. Just did the same and yep, Redbaiter.
ps the best blue pill to take for reading kiwiblog is a 10mg diazepam.
Linky? (to save us the excess slime)
1. http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/07/pm_v_dotcom.html#comment-1168117
2. http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/07/pm_v_dotcom.html#comment-1168122
3. http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/07/pm_v_dotcom.html#comment-1168131
Of course you have to ignore all the “leftist progressive devils” stuff, RB thinks everyone is one of those.
Oh and after these three relatively cogent comments is a rapid descent into his usual paranoia.
Huh! John Key is a “leftist” who, from the GCSB hearings, clearly should be in the Labour Party? It took a while for the penny to drop. So RB sees John Key as “leftist” because of his support of invasive surveillance by the GCSB. I guess that means RB is thinking “St@lisim” and thus Key is totally like Helen Clark.
Thanks felix.
“low information left wing voters”
Is that a euphemism?
They only give them out in yellow 5mgs now – so will require 2.
One News were reporting that there may be a sweetener to sell the Meridian shares, they gave an example where one may buy $3000 worth, pay 2 grand up front, the other grand 18 months later, but still receive their dividends for the 3 grand figure in the meantime. Interest free I presume.
Farking Key ain’t half relaxed with bribes.
From Youtube: Is the discovery of global warming our greatest scientific achievement?
Interesting video.