“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.
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.
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Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
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Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
A Tai Rāwhiti mill that ran for 30 years before it was shut down in late 2023 is set to re-open in the coming months, which will eventually see nearly 300 new jobs in the region. A new report from Massey University shows that pensioners are struggling with rising costs. ...
As support continues to fall, Luxon also now faces his biggest internal ructions within the coalition since the election, with David Seymour reacting badly to being criticised by the PM. File photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Not since 1988 when Richard Prebble openly criticised David Lange have we seen such a challenge to a Prime Minister as that of David Seymour to Christopher Luxon last night. Prebble suggested Lange had mental health issues during a TV interview and was almost immediately fired. Seymour hasn’t gone quite ...
Three weeks in, and the 24/7 news cycle is not helping anyone feel calm and informed about the second Trump presidency. One day, the US is threatening 25% trade tariffs on its friends and neighbours. The reasons offered by the White House are absurd, such as stopping fentanyl coming in ...
This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
The last good thing at the supermarket is gone. Mad Chapman mourns the Cadbury mini egg cartons. When life is overwhelming and it feels like every story around you is a bad news story, there are a few things that can be relied upon to instil a sense of calm, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Parker, Honorary Professorial Fellow, Melbourne CSHE, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Judges in Australian courtrooms have a lot of power. They can decide on someone’s guilt and the punishment for it, including lengthy prison time. But what if they get ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Birrell, Researcher, Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock Australians are waiting an average of 12 years to seek treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, our new research shows. While ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justine Bell-James, Professor, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland Almost 200 nations have signed an ambitious agreement to halt and reverse biodiversity loss but none is on track to meet the crucial goal, our new research reveals. The agreement, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Collin, Professor, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University Australian school students’ civics knowledge is the lowest it has been since testing began 20 years ago, according to new national data. Results have fallen since the last assessment in 2019 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Buckley, Senior Research Fellow, Education Research, Policy and Development Division, Australian Council for Educational Research Michael Jung/ Shutterstock There is a persistent gender gap in Australian schools. Boys, on average, outperform girls in maths. We see this in national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Deane, Professor, Queensland University of Technology Australian beef exports to the United States are GST-free and should not be subject to any retaliatory tariff. William Edge/Shutterstock The latest round of proposed tariffs from US President Donald Trump includes a response ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 36-year-old tertiary adviser and bartender shares her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female. Age: 36. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Tertiary adviser, ...
The change allows for devices that do screening, similar to at drink-drive checkpoints, rather than having to test oral fluid to an evidentiary standard. ...
Almost 40% of those departing NZ long-term are aged 18 to 30. What sort of country will they leave behind, asks Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Young people leading the charge out the door Last year saw ...
New Health Minister Simeon Brown is presiding over a list of resignations from high-ranking health officials that some say is a "bloodbath". What's going on? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Rickerby, Lecturer, School of Product Design, University of Canterbury The Poly-1. MOTAT , CC BY-NC Some 45 years ago, a team of staff and students at Wellington Polytechnic designed and built a desktop computer with an operating system customised for ...
The Forum has raised concerns regarding the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill and the Regulatory Standards Bill, which, if enacted, will radically undermine existing human rights protections, Indigenous rights, and constitutional safeguards ...
The passage of time hasn’t been kind to Ngāi Tahu.When its High Court hearing over wai māori (freshwater) commenced last week, 52 months after the claim was filed, the tribe mourned the loss of two named first plaintiffs – Bishop Richard Wallace, of Makaawhio, and Theo Bunker, of Wairewa – ...
Margie Apa, Nicholas Jones, Diana Sarfati, the board of Health New Zealand … and will Lester Levy be next?The biggest names in our health service are tumbling like dominos.It’s been called a bloodbath and a crisis.What’s going on?Every day there’s a new story about shortages, patients having to wait for ...
Opinion: The coalition Government’s recent revisions to the business investor visa, officially the Active Investor Plus but commonly known as the ‘golden visa’, has put pay-for-residency back in the headlines. While many object to the commodification of citizenship implicit in this policy, questions should be asked about its potential as ...
One Christmas, to thank him for helping me hugely with my writing (on a mentor scheme), I sent Michael King a dark blue cashmere scarf. I chose it with the awful knowledge that he was battling cancer, and I somehow thought it might keep him warm and make him feel ...
Comment: Readers may recall the commentaries from academics that appeared on these pages as well as on many media outlets, alarmed and appalled by the disbanding of the Marsden panels for humanities and the social sciences.The Marsden Fund is a “blue skies” initiative established by Simon Upton in the 1990s. ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard seven hours of submissions. Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.An “insult to every one of our tīpuna” was the first advice the Justice Committee heard on the Treaty principles bill ...
The same councillors who decry excessive spending on pet projects just voted to pump millions of dollars into a greenhouse for flowers. On Thursday last week, Wellington City Council voted to consult on repairing Begonia House, the greenhouse for exotic flowers in Wellington Botanic Garden. The options for repairs range ...
It’s important to respect people’s right to free speech and peaceful assembly, but how much political deference is due when it isn’t peaceful? Commenting on Destiny Church members storming a children’s event at the Te Atatū library and community centre on Saturday, prime minister Christopher Luxon said it’s important to ...
Comment: US is capitulating to Moscow’s demands before negotiations over Ukraine even begin The post The day the West died appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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Asia Pacific Report Two Palestinian resistance groups have condemned “the brutal assault” on prisoners at Ofer Prison, saying it was “barbaric criminal behaviour that reflects the fascist and terrorist nature of” Israel. In the joint statement, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) called the attack a “miserable attempt” by Israel ...
By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist in Avarua, Rarotonga Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown hopes to have “an opportunity to talk” with the New Zealand government to “heal some of the rift”. Brown returned to Avarua on Sunday afternoon (Cook Islands Time) following his week-long state visit to China, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sonia R. Grover, Clinical Professor of Gynaecology, The University of Melbourne Polina Zimmerman/Pexels Menstruation, or a period, is the bleeding that occurs about monthly in healthy people born with a uterus, from puberty to menopause. This happens when the endometrium, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ella Barclay, Senior Lecturer, School of Art and Design, Australian National University Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan Nasrallah in his 2007 work You, Australian art has long made subjects of outlaws and questionable figures. And it is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Louise Pryke, Honorary Research Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney Lisa Tomasetti/Opera Australia “It’s an old song”, Hermes (Christine Anu) sings at the opening of Hadestown, but “we’re gonna sing it again and again”. Based on a ...
An additional $13 million will be invested in tourism infrastructure, including upgrading huts and resolving the backlog in Milford Sound concessions. ...
The reality is that we have no obligation to tolerate the intolerant. They are using violence to shut down and silence others. The result of tolerating intolerant views is the loss of everyone’s freedom of speech except for the one who most effectively ...
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..?
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.