Kiwi journo Anita McNaught gets into premier Syrian city of Aleppo, investigates the summary executions on Tuesday cited by the shrill Assad supporter and extremist climate change apologist Colonial Viper
In addition to al-Qaeda, there are independent jihadi groups, like the al-Noor Brigades, and Muslim Brotherhood units linked with the rebel Free Syrian Army – all of which have the same methods and agenda. They also share the same sponsors – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, figures in the United Arab Emirates and fundamentalists elsewhere.
The fundamentalists have been encouraged by the emergence from the underground through the Arab Spring of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots in North Africa, and of various Salafi groups in these countries.
Of course, some naive people might still think that the conflict in Syria is “of the people, for the people, by the people”, but they must be stupid, in the face of the rapidly mounting evidence, to still believe so.
Of course, some naive people might still think that the conflict in Syria is “of the people, for the people, by the people”, but they must be stupid, in the face of the rapidly mounting evidence, to still believe so.
In the ransacked and burnt-out remains of various security headquarters in al-Bab lie many clues to the means used by Bashar al-Assad’s government to stay in power, revealing why life under the regime had become increasingly intolerable for its citizens. ….
…. the cupboards are still stuffed with manila files and brown envelopes containing years of records documenting government-condoned snooping. Mostly handwritten, the files are the fruits of an East German style surveillance state.
Anita McNaught Al Jazeera
Who to believe, Colonial Viper, sitting safely at home in front of his keyboard stupidly parroting the propaganda of the Assad regime.
Or respected journalist Anita McNaught putting her life at risk to seek the truth?
The Guardian UK: Al-Qaida Iraq bomb masters turn tide for rebels
According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. “We meet almost every day,” he said. “We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations.” Abu Khuder’s men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.
Hey Jenny, check that Guardian article out. There’s a cute header photo of a Free Syrian Army fighter spray painting the slogan “There is no Islam without Jihad” on a wall.
Playing to the racist and Islamaphobic seats to justify your support for this monstrous regime, CV?
The regime and it’s supporters like you, are doing your very best to stir up sectarian divisions to keep this bloody and monstrous dictatorship in power.
Point of note, the Syrian situation is NOT like the PoAL, where it was basically Union v Contracting, it is far more complicated, and multi faceted than that relatively straight forward situation you commented on so regularly.
Taking such a staunchly simplistic one-sided position is frankly juvenille, and is reaching the stage where your posts and thus your mind set seem to be now struggling against some personal crusade, which while being well indented is, through your words becoming disrespectful of the ever decending seriousness of the situaiton.
Saying someone must be a supprter of the “monsterous dictatorship” because they understand that the situation is complicated, and not what it is presented as to the sheep who follow along, and offer evidence contrary to your personal belief, is limiting!
Its appropriate to accept a situation is complicated, and thus beyond ones capabilities to get their head around. The first step is to realise that it is a mature approach to not back oneself into a corner!
Edit: STOP accusing people of rac*sm incorrectly, continued accusations and use of the term totally disrespect those who suffer genuine rac*sm.
Tel Aviv’s agenda is clear; a weakened Syrian government, an overextended army in disarray, sectarian hatred all around and a relentless slouching towards balkanization. The ultimate goal; not only the Lebanonization, but the Somalization of Syria and environs.
Turkey’s agenda remains incredibly murky – apart from the wishful thinking of post-Assad Syria becoming a mild, civilized version of the AKP reign in Ankara (it won’t happen).
As reported by ATol for months now, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) until a while ago was running a command and control center in Iskenderun, in Hathay province. Recently, it was finally leaked to Reuters the news of a joint Turkey-Qatar-Saudi Arabia “secret” base in Adana, 100 kilometers from the Syrian border. Adana happens to be the home of Incirlik, the immense NATO base. A local ATol source for weeks has been reporting of frantic cargo movements at Incirlik.
It was Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud who requested, in person, for the base to be set up, to Ankara’s delight
Ankara-Riyadh-Doha; talk about a triangle of death. Yet the spin from Qatar is once again of the “leading from behind” variety. Turkey is doing the military heavy lifting; the CIA is “hands off”; and Qatar is just taking pictures like an innocent tourist (while directing operations via its military intelligence). The heavy-duty guys are all unspecified “middlemen”.
In an ideal world, the struggle of people against any/all forms of tyranny would have altruistic intervention, indeed in an ideal world, there would not be wars or struggle to intervene in!
Thats not the world we have allowed to be created for us, and its not the world we will ever see, not as long as the species allows itself to be exterminated. With science and technology entrapping the planet further, while crisis after crisis of man made control grid is forced upon the worlds peoples, with the middle east simply one of the manufactured crises.
Your intentions seem to be well meaning, but by having been so fooled into what you believe in happening in Syria, your well meaning is in fact a hugely negative energy force, because you are in fact supporting, what you deny is going on.
Does this mean you should stop supporting the innocent caught up in these manufactured uprisings, absolutely not, but it does mean that you should cover all angles and at least factor in the evidence which states numerously that Syria, like Libya is being destroyed by NATO intervention, using mercenaries and other assorted sponsored criminals, all with the end game pre planned, and using the transparent overused “arab spring” lie, as cover.
Oh and Anita worked of the BBC who have been outed with multiple lies and cover ups over many decades, so I would question Ms McNaughts ability of be , lets call it “independent”
“Oh and Anita worked of the BBC who have been outed with multiple lies and cover ups over many decades, so I would question Ms McNaughts ability of be , lets call it “independent””
Jeez, that’s weak, Muzza. The BBC remains the worlds leading independent news source and I’ll bet you’ll be struggling to back up your daft comment about them. And if you’d bothered to look at Jenny’s link, you’d have spotted that McNaught, who appears to be about a million times braver than you or me, reports for Al Jazeera.
The BBC lost credibility a very long time ago Voice, they have been caught out too many times. No need for me to link anything, go find it for yourslf…Start with Dr David Kelly, though as a tip!
Al Jazeera, LOL again showing how little you know about this Qatari, sponsored Anglo Saxon, pseudo Arab puppet media outlet, where most of its “important employees” are from the UK, many worked for the BBC, just like Anita. Hey Qatar, got the FIFA world cup because they deserved it eh bro!
Oh and refer only to your own cowardice when posting nonsense, do not speak on my behalf!
I didn’t make any comment about Al Jazeera, Muzza, just pointed out that you were being ignorantly insulting to a reporter who is actually risking her life to report the news, while you sit on the couch in your underpants.
Nice to see you can’t back up your claims about the BBC, too.
You pointed out I was being ignorantly insulting did you….that really is ironic!
Can’t see where you read that in my original post, I said “Anita worked OF the BBC”, a typo, I meant to say “worked FOR the BBC”, either way, use of the word WORKED indicated past tense didn’t it!
I also don’t see where I questioned her aledged bravery, only her ability to be an “independent”, reporter, given the association to the BBC, and now to Al Jazeera, both of which I have given an opinion on, and if you want the links to read up on those media outlets, go find them for yourself, they are plentiful!
Warning, it might throw up some questions about “The BBC remains the worlds leading independent news source “, which could open you up to exposing mental frailties when challenged.
You’re not up for that though, I already know that mental challenges are not something you have the chops for!
🙄 Did you not read the comment where Red rings the bell for a halt to personal attacks, f**k off over to the Sewer if you cannot help but indulge in such…
( 🙄 ) It is in fact as easy to see why you are the recipient of regular bans from the Standard as it is to see that you have failed to learn from such bans,
My proposal to those who put the effort into giving us this site so as to further discussion of the things that matter to the Left in New Zealand society and politics is that where a particular commenter has deserved to be the subject of such banning that each time the length of the ban be extended by double the amount of the previous banning…
If it’s me your calling stupid it’s a wasted effort as i just do not care, if it’s a reference to he who we bestow ^ 🙄 ^ upon i am presently unarmed with any facts that would allow me to debate otherwise…
Actually, I know several left wing Brits who think that the BBC news is no longer as independent as it was – I think since the Kelly incident under Blair’s watch. I tend to agree. For instance, it particularly favours a pro-Israel government line and tends to demonise Palestine. I understand that the news on BBC channels broadcast in the UK in the main news slots, is more biased than, say BBC’s international broadcasts.
In contrast, writer and journalist John Pilger has frequently accused the BBC of a right-wing bias, a view shared by the left-wing Media Lens website. The editors’ of Media Lens claim that the BBC acts to narrow the range of thought and like most commercial broadcasters it inherently portrays the opinions of the powerful.[18] Former Director General of the BBC, Greg Dyke, has criticised the BBC as part of a “Westminster conspiracy” to maintain the British political system.[19] Respect MP George Galloway has referred to it as the “Bush and Blair Corporation”.[20]
Also, I used to think Al Jazeera was pretty good at providing critiques from different viewpoints. I watch it quite a bit, but in the last year or two, it has become much more like mainstream western media in mirroring viewpoints of the western power blocs. Although, it still has some good critical pieces, ditto the BBC.
Yes North, she was ’embedded’ – as the saying went – by Fox News when Iraq Invasion no.2 was in progress. She was quite defensive of them at the time. That’s my recollection anyway.
More findings from that Ipsos/Fairfax poll, involving interviews with a relatively small number of people (1000). Not surprisingly Nat supporters are more positive about the future than those who support opposition parties – UF & ACT supporters are too small in number to register anything much, except they seem to be ambivalent about the future (maybe they are just always ambivalent?).
People were asked a range of questions to ascertain how they feel about the future compared with a year ago. Views about the economy seem to have been the strongest influence on people’s feelings about the future:
One in three believes their financial security has lessened over the past 12 months, compared with 23 per cent who felt their situation had improved.
[..]
Some of the survey findings are surprising – young men are more likely than older New Zealanders to feel positive and optimistic about the country’s direction, while those in their 40s and 50s – children largely of the 1960s – are comfortable financially, and optimistic about their own prospects, but less positive about the direction of the economy in general.
They also worry about the protection of the environment and New Zealand’s core values.
But most interesting is the growing sense of resentment of the wealthy elite:
Across 1000 interviews, one of the themes that emerged was a growing sense of “us and them”.
STAY-AT-HOME dad Matthew West, 35, from Taupo, agrees there seems to be a growing undercurrent of resentment in New Zealand toward those who have made it financially.
“You see that in higher tax rates for the rich. If you’re rich – which I’m not even if I’d like to be – you pay more tax anyway just because you earn more money. But it creates that sort of environment – people think ‘Oh, that person’s rich, he gets this and that, he can dodge his tax’ etc.
“I think the whole system is set up to breed that resentment. I do think that’s becoming a big issue.”
Dr Lloyd says some of that sense of “us and them” has been fuelled by worldwide events and the growing transfer of wealth to just a few, which has spawned the likes of the Occupy movement. But National’s asset sales plan is the sort of issue that also helped drive that feeling.
So, Labour and Greens, take note. it’s time for a change of focus and to jettison the remnants of the neoliberal scam. There’s a growing tide of sentiment that would support a focus on fairness and possibly for what is beneficial to the wider community.
However, there are some signs of retreat to social isolation as a defense, except in Auckland, where apparently the community spirit is quite strong. There needs to be some strong leadership on drawing people together to work towards the best for society as a whole, so that retreat from community doesn’t take hold.
Well, I certainly despair when I see that the government is playing musical houses with state/subsidised housing, shunting the available low cost housing around amongst the poor. Meanwhile they are also trying to push as many people as possible out of state houses and into the rental market:
The group she is working for, He Korowai Trust, has received a $720,000 grant from the Government’s social housing programme towards buying 20ha on the edge of Kaitaia where it will eventually install 27 Glen Innes houses for families that must have at least two children and be living in “substandard, unhealthy or unreliable living conditions”.
[…]
But housing Kaitaia’s homeless is coming at a serious cost in Glen Innes, where Housing NZ is removing or renovating 156 houses to make way for 78 new or renovated state units, 39 homes for community providers and about 140 privately owned homes.
Meanwhile the wealthier classes are continuing to spend on buying houses in Auckland, as if there was no recession, paying high dollar to buy up the available housing. No doubt many will take advantage of the struggle to find rental accommodation amongst the less well-off, raising rents so that some will just not be able to afford anywhere to live.
Carol The bubble will burst Ollie Newland has said it won’t be pretty.
Australian eastern state cities are experiencing a major downturn after a post GFC bubble.
Just like last time New Zealand will follow suit. its just a matter of time.
Doesn’t the Babble in that Herald article just do your head in, there’s three strands in the Herald story that are best dealt with as separate issues,
*First we have Paula Benefit,hardly one for presenting either deep or evidential based analysis of any ‘problem’ She has encountered in Her Social development portfolio, giving a good spray and walk away line in the vein of ‘i thunk it therefor it is’,
How many beneficiaries are there boarding in State Houses, paying board to the main State House tenant who only pays 25% of income, while the boarder claims from Income Support an accommodation supplement???,
The Minister (as usual) gives NO figures for the numbers of people supposedly involved and as such i can only assume that Paula Benefit and Phil Heatley have spent an hour together, (focus grouping), creating in their minds the supposed problem,
Even so,IF there is a problem of this sort occurring,and, My belief is that HousingNZ rents out it’s property’s on the basis of 25% of the TOTAL income of the HOUSEHOLD,it is in fact a simple ‘fix’, and theoretically at least seeing as HousingNZ has just had a $90 Million computer upgrade, an easily accomplished one , where the ‘rule’ of 25% of HOUSEHOLD income be firmly established while changing the rules so that NO accommodation supplement can be paid to anyone living in a HousingNZ tenancy,
That along with some data matching between Paula and Phil’s fiefdoms of Housing and Social Development so as to have those who make the decisions on Accommodation Supplements know which are and which are not State Houses,
* Second, really i can only say What The F**k, private providers of Social Housing cannot compete with HousingNZ because the HousingNZ tenants pay 25% of income and the best the private providers of social housing can achieve is 70-80% of market rent,
As in Wah f**king Wah, the Loony’s having taken over the Asylum now want a ‘Level Playing Field’ to be imposed upon Social Housing because ‘it’s not fair’ that they cannot compete with HousingNZ,
In all seriousness there is i fear only 2 logical solutions that could be applied here, rule changes aplenty would have to occur as i fear that such people are way to far gone to be swayed by logical argument and my diagnosis would be either to put them up against the wall or provide them a psychiatric institution within which they could indulge in a game of doctors,nurses, and, patients to take turns at solving their own various problems,
* Third, as Minister of Housing Phil Heatley has given us all an in depth analysis of the problem He,and He appears to be mostly alone here, sees in the HousingNZ rental policy, Phills in depth analysis, ‘we can’t afford it’,
Annette King makes sport of Phil in the House at question time and you can almost see the mousy Housing Minister looking for a bolt hole every time King skewers Him with another query over matters within His portfolio that amount to slow death by a thousand small cuts,
Phill has the unenviable task of rack renting HousingNZ tenants most of whom are beneficiaries simply because National have always hated State Housing, nothing more nothing less,
The whole Herald article really comes down to making up a whole lot of s**t which the tame press will print verbatim which attempts to find some logical justification for National to give Beneficiaries (especially the ones in State Housing who Nationals core voters cannot profit from), another financial kicking in order to satisfy its red-neck core vote…
As an economic afterthought to my long winded comment above, there is absolutely NOTHING to be gained in an economic sense from any changes that national propose to make to the 25% of income rental regime as applied to it’s HousingNZ stock of social housing,
The reverse is in fact true,simply rack-renting those who by lack of income are reliant upon the State does nothing but move monies between the various agencies of State in some warped attempt at book balancing,
For the ‘Real Economy’ the reality simply means that while the State is indulging in fits of ‘give with the left hand’, and, ‘take back with the right’ there is a nett loss in revenue from the State House tenants negatively effected by such stupidity doing what such revenue is supposed to do in the wider economy,
Money from tenants so negatively affected by such proposed changes simply stops going around in the economy, strangely enough, Nationals core vote in the business sector who benefit by competing for a slice of such money being spent into local economy’s by HousingNZ tenants will also suffer negatively as the money will now simply transit from one Government account to another,
Thus National is simply proposing to deepen further the ongoing recession and while concentrating upon micro-economics of the Government social spend is blind to the negative impact upon that local economy, (or more to the point seems to just not give a f**k)…
“No doubt many will take advantage of the struggle to find rental accommodation amongst the less well-off, raising rents so that some will just not be able to afford anywhere to live.”
That is what the direct consequence of the changes to state housing will be.
And I thought the purpose of social housing was to keep rents down? It seems to me that the social housing providers want the government to subsidize their rent?
some of that sense of “us and them” has been fuelled by worldwide events and the growing transfer of wealth to just a few
How much of the this generated by political campaigning? Greens in particular keep promoting terminology like”the growing transfer of wealth to just a few”.
It’s ironic that those most adversly affected by the wealth gap don’t have any wealth to transfer, in fact it’s tax paid by the more wealthy that enable them to receive state assistance.
The “transfer of wealth” term is a misnomer, especially when Greens promote transferring more wealth from rich to poor by raising taxes.
So publicly owned amenties such as health, education, parks, libaries are not wealth, and that these things are being closed down so the rich get cuts in rates and taxes.
Had a thought — correct term is actually transfer the wealth from the wider community to the rich. The closure of hospitals around the country to pay for Bill Birch’s tax cuts in 1996 is an example, as well as Porirua City Council’s closure of the Plimmerton libaray to keep rates down.
BTW: I have put in an OIA request to get a list of hospitals closed between 1990 and 1999 and 1999 and 2008. We shall then see the effect of tax cuts on health services 🙂
Pete, just when I had developed some sympathy for you because of what could be identified as bullying behaviour against you, you come out with this ignorant gem. My sympathy has now evaporated completely. You are a delusional and annoying waste of bandwidth.
“…So, Labour and Greens, take note. it’s time for a change of focus and to jettison the remnants of the neoliberal scam…”
The problem is the serious generational lag we have in our political/media elites. Key is a neo-liberal by choice but outside a small but powerful business lobby that Key represents everyone in the rest of the real world has long moved on from neo-liberalism. But our media/political elite is still heavily infested with 1980s and 90s neo-liberal supporters and apologists. English, Roughan, Holmes, Ralston, half the Labour front bench, swags of the Nats (McCully and Williamson for a start) etc etc etc are all left over neo-liberals who are far, far past their use by date. Hopefully Labour will take the opportunity in 2014 to clean out the likes of Mallard, Dyson, King and Goff and bring in a generation of politicians who at least formed some of their ideas in this century….
I don’t think we should have term limits in parliament. Some experience is beneficial – Lockwood Smith as Speaker a good example.
But there’s nothing to stop parties from having their own term limits, or at least encouraging retirement of MPs past their best and past their value to the party. Have any parties considered term restrictions?
And if they don’t get the message then leadership could reinforce it by dropping them down the rankings.
The obvious problem is long serving MPs have too much self serving influence.
Not sure why Colin Craig gets so much coverage for a non-politician, I guess money talks.
But in his case he’s talking all over the place, as one argument gets demolished he moves to another. Ah, marriage convention has changed quite a bit over the last few thousand years. It’s changed quite a bit in my lifetime.
On The Nation this morning he ended up pleading for his last hope, a referendum. No chance of that either.
In contrast Louisa Walls impressed with facts and forceful points.
Peter Dunne (Ohariu) 14,357
Colin Craig (Rodney) 8,031
The Conservative Party had probably 10 times the UF budget and got more media coverage. They also tried to push shoddy polls to promote their support. They got a creditable number of votes but in the end failed under MMP.
But that’s all history. Dunne is an MP (and a Minister). Craig is neither.
And it’s all irrelevant, it’s got nothing to do with my commentt, most of what I talk about is non-UF. More: The Colin Craig Craze.
I was proposing a reason for why he gets media attention even though he’s not a politician: because he and his party got significantly more support in the election than two of the politicians who are in parliament.
Regardless of how you define “politician” (and I’m sure we can can all think of a few quite different but quite legitimate variations) the crux is he’s a “political actor”.
A referendum on marriage would pass the legislation. Personally, if there was a referendum the questions should be:
Do you think you should have the right to marry? Do you think other people should be able to prevent you from marrying?
I’m reasonably certain that we would get back a 100% Yes/No response.
Leave it to Craig and other deniers of basic human rights and we’ll probably get some weaselly question that would be more confusing than informative – just like the question on smacking.
It’s a moot point anyway, there won’t be a referendum on it – although I agree that if there was it would agree with what MPs are likely to pass.
It’s possible Craig will try a CIR on this but I think he’s using the issue to raise profile rather than thinking he has any chance of success at stopping the Marriage bill.
Louisa Wall presented her case impressively on The Nation, and Colin Craig kept moving from one smackdown to another.
This one is similar to the sorts of reports that were coming out of Iraq in late 04 and through 05, with what national identity that had existed falling away in the face of sectarian group dynamics:
The Iraqi government still hasn’t finalised it’s constitution with regard to the Kurds. The govts, new and old, in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria may well have many differences but you can bet they’ll all agree that the Kurds won’t be getting anything like a homeland. If western peeps want something simple to get pissed off about with a clear cut right and wrong side, that’s about as close a one as I can see in this mess. Good luck convincing our governments to do anything but.
An interesting piece on the coverage from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya http://t.co/M1AGvnqa
But if you really want nightmare visions. Read the press coming out of Lebanon. Whose up for picking sides in a Hezbollah vs Al-Qaeda fight? And think about the stakes of that.
As is obvious, this is a fight that has nothing to do with us. Putting ‘what we think ought to happen’ into the mix is a recipe for blowback. And it’s messy enough already for mind.
It’s awful, but that doesn’t mean that anything we can do will make it better.
Finally some in that useless UN have grown some gonads, even if it is non binding.
The UN has been for a long time to me replicating its parent, The League of Nations in its inability at doing anything but allow its delegates and support staff the lifestyle that New York offers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19106250
The UN has been for a long time to me replicating its parent, The League of Nations in its inability at doing anything but allow its delegates and support staff the lifestyle that New York offers.
No additional world wars since the UN was founded. That’s something.
BTW the delegates to the UN and various support staff don’t have a say in whether the UN continues or not, so their “lifestyle” convenience has nothing to do with it.
Tell that to the 40.968 million who have been killed in various wars since WWII, I am sure they take consolation that there was No WW War III. http://www.cissm.umd.edu/papers/files/deathswarsconflictsjune52006.pdf
From a financial point of view why have the UN based in New York. I am sure we could find a developing nation that would benefit from the economic activity. Perhaps such an idea JK could take aboard to fix our countries economic woes and the msm would believe,take and run with this perhaps a great diversion just like making NZ a financial hub. 😉 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10691438
The UN in it’s current form is not permitted to grow gonads. It is still fundamentally limited by the G8 nations unwilling to give it enough power to act effectively.
And most especially not to act against their own hegemonic ambitions.
That would not be lawful if he were the Prime Minister of Australia.
Seen this?
John Key publicly admits his Bank of America shareholding at a Grey Power public meeting in February 2011.
Remember – when he worked for Merrill Lynch – he was the Head of Derivatives – and at the time the Glass Steagall Act (which kept separate boring safe commercial banking and risky dangerous investment banking) was repealed – November 1999 – John Key was a Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve.
So – what role did shonky John Key play in the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act?
Why is this important?
Because the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act helped to leave the dodgy derivatives market completely unregulated.
Which is the main reason why the world is facing an international financial meltdown?
Because of the collapse of the dodgy derivatives market – which shonky John Key helped to set up?
Penny the price of BofA ML shares will be worthless.
Not unlike Keys promises.
Bof A suffered huge loss’s because of more dodgy dealings at ML.
They also facing legal action on many fronts and the US government is in no mood for a second bail out.
yes and now the reserve bank of new zealand is in the process of allowing the uncovered bonds act to go through so there will be even less control of the issuers of shonky derivatives.
“yes and now the reserve bank of new zealand is in the process of allowing the uncovered bonds act to go through so there will be even less control of the issuers of shonky derivatives.”
I wonder how well this is supported in the Green Party:
Greens would support military intervention in Syria
The Green Party says New Zealand should vote for military intervention in Syria at the United Nation if the fighting there reaches the point where crimes against humanity are being committed.
Green MP Kennedy Graham, who met Syrian refugees six weeks ago in camps near the border with Jordan, says the General Assembly should pass economic sanctions on Syria and take military action if the circumstances warrant it.
It does make me wonder just how far to the right the Greens have actually slipped when there are Green MP’s calling for military intervention in any conflict, let alone one where it’s becoming more than a little apparent the US is intervening via proxy,
Someone else mentioned the other day the fact that it seems that the right stages ‘take-overs’ of the political party’s on the left with consumate ease, and, i have also been feeling uneasy about certain aspects of the Greens ‘going straight’ for the purposes of electoral success,
The modern Left in New Zealand and in particular supporting the Parliamentary Left has felt increasingly akin to some nomadic journey, a gypsy circus trodden with more disappointment than hope,
My thought is though, give the Greens at least a term of Government with at least my vote at the 2014 election, but, i have already begun the where to from here type thought…
Lol. Mostly at the idea that Pete F. George think he is in any position to be questioning what Kennedy Graham knows or does not know about International Relations.
Read what he is saying. Closely.
If their are crimes against humanity taking place what is the Green party’s longstanding position on that sort of thing? Bear in mind that crimes against humanity is not a synoym for ‘shit I don’t like’.
Next think about what he is saying we should do, and by implication shouldn’t do.
Is Graham saying we should join in any ‘coalition of the willing’ style clusterfuck?
Or is he saying that that sort of adventure would be illegal and that we should not only have no part in it but that we should be doing something else.
What should the International community do about Crimes against humanity?
That’s the question he’s asking, and he’s putting the govt in a box with regard to requests to join ad hoc illegal coalitions.
According to the RNZ article he’s advocating economic sanctions which always hit the people at the bottom of the pyramid while the people at the top, the people that the santions are supposed to stop, don’t feel a thing. Please also note that the people at the top are already shooting at the people at the bottom (which I’m pretty sure is already a Crime Against Humanity).
Chances of sanctions doing anything? Around zero.
He then says that if sanctions don’t work (pretty much guaranteed) in containing (not stopping) the slaughter then military intervention is required.
Basically, IMO, he’s advocating a default position of military intervention.
Now, preventing arms being delivered to the current government is probably a valid option and one I would support but not full sanctions and definitely no military intervention. I think we’ll probably see both though.
–No but he is the brother of Doug Graham, so Ill say it again.
The Greens are not what people wish them to be, thats not what they exist for, and have ben taken over some time ago, its all too easy to control politics, you just have to do a little digging into the backgrounds of these people.
Labour gone towards the right, Greens headed the same way. Just control a few key people inside each entity, and its job done, the coutry and the people get screwed, and most either have no idea, or actually vote for those who screw them!
Why are the Greens are making this call now, when it looks like the victory of the rebellion is all but guaranteed, and a Western intervention now, would only act to steal the people’s victory?
The Green Party says New Zealand should vote for military intervention in Syria at the United Nation if the fighting there reaches the point where crimes against humanity are being committed.
Kennedy Graham Radio NZ report
What is crazy about this, about this call for Western intervention from the Greens is that crimes against humanity are already being committed, and have been for some time. From the firing on unarmed protesters, to the detention, torture and murder of deserters wives and children, to the aerial bombardment of civilian centres resulting in the mass deaths of civilians.
I am sure that regime defenders of this monstrous regime like Colonial Viper would welcome any attempt to snatch victory from the resistance.
Have the Greens been ignorantly swallowing the propaganda from pro regime supporters in this country?
B12 Yep I did wonder before the last election whether closet blue green was was infiltrating the Greens- something felt a little off key but couldn’t really put my finger on it.Noticed a lot of the old guard retired all at once and none of them seemed to be morphing into the older party statesperson type role which nade me wonder if they are still welcome through the door. Also the “we may do a deal with the Nats line.”
And are we getting a strong media slant on Green party actions when it lines up with Nact aspirations. Lots of attention on Norman none really on Meretai.
Different subject entirely – our revered leader isn’t swanning around at the Olympics for the photo ops. So unlike him what’s wrong – is he ill, unwelcome or something else?
And again – I wondered if we will continue to win at the Olypics as we do now? Child poverty destroys early sporting chances (?) I suspect, so is there any correlation between left wing governments and sucess some years later.
I see the Aussies are trying for an exchange rate/gold medal correlation oh dear ………..
Nah, safer to wait and see what comes home and sort photo-ops then if it’s worth it.
Yeah well, the C/T trained PR team will be in full motion organising a shindig at parliament as we speak. My suggestion is: the opposition stake out the possible venues inside the Beehive for the Key photo op. and gatecrash it at the last minute. Oh how hilarious to see Shearer/ Mallard/Norman/Turei grinning cheesily from the sidelines. That would make my week. Harawira (grinning cheesily) could appear over the top of Key. That would make my month.
It’s very important because he is the parliamentary moral leader of Maori. That’s the guts on the street now. People can forget their bullshit stuff about manners and so on.
And for them who’ll come up “Nah, he’s a prick or whatever……….” – damn it, they’re all older. Young people are receptive, even if subliminally, to the relative deprivation and need that is very pervasive now.
So go away Tariana and Pita. You’re not relevant anymore. You have sat at the table while Maori have suffered and still you’re saying all is as sweet, as sweet as it can be.
A part of this morning's transport announcement which hasn't got a lot of attention yet: biofuels are back: “Our Government has agreed in principle to mandate a lower emitting biofuel blend across the transport sector. Over time this will prevent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of emissions from cars, ...
After almost twenty years of ignoring the Māori vote, National may run in the Māori seats again: A former National MP is excited the party could stand a candidate in the Māori electorate seats for the first time since 2002. One News reported last night that National's leader Judith ...
If one stubbornly clings to the Elimination strategy (I don’t support it, but that will have to wait for another occasion) then try to get it right. You need secure borders. We have attempted this with a very large measure of success. It has not been perfect as the Covid-19 Response ...
Diaspora: perception departs from reality In this collection of articles are two papers currently captivating the attention of people following the science and emergence of climate change, especially the rapid variety we've accidentally unleashed and which is now unfolding around us. The synthesis and review article Earth's Ice Imbalance by Slater ...
The ultra-rich have done very, very well out of the pandemic. Globally, the wealth of the ten richest people rose by US$540 billion last year, enough money to pay for the pandemic in its entirity. And in New Zealand, local billionaire Graeme Hart saw his wealth increase by almost NZ$3.5 ...
Postmodernism has long been looked upon as an indecipherable ideology and a source of amusement. In 1996 Alan Sokal, a physics professor at New York University, had a hoax article published in ‘Social Text’ an academic journal of postmodern cultural studies. In ‘Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Anew study in Nature Sustainability incorporates the damages that climate change does to healthy ecosystems into standard climate-economics models. The key finding in the study by Bernardo Bastien-Olvera and Frances Moore from the University of California at Davis: The models have been underestimating the ...
In a recent interview with RNZ (14th of January), NZ Council of Civil Liberties Chair Thomas Beagle, in response to Simon Bridges condemnation of the post-Trump Twitter purge of local far Right and other accounts, said the following: “Cos the thing about freedom of expression is that it’s not just ...
Let’s be clear: if Trump is not politically killed off once and for all, he will become a MAGA Dracula, rising from the dead to haunt US politics for years to come and giving inspiration to his wretched family of grifters and thousands of deplorables well into the next decade. ...
Since its demise as an imperial power, and especially its deindustrialisation under Thatcher, the UK's primary economic engine has been its role as a money laundry, using its network of overseas territories as tax havens to enable rich people around the world to steal from the societies they live in. ...
Last month OMV quit the Great South Basin and surrendered its offshore exploration permits outside of Taranaki. This month, Australian-owned Beach Energy has done the same: Beach Energy Resources New Zealand has decided to abandon all of its oil and gas exploration permits off the South Island coast, including ...
The new Northland case has been linked to the South African strain of Covid-19, one of a number of new, more contagious Covid variants. Here’s how they emerge and why. Let’s start with the basics. The genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for Covid-19 is a strand of RNA ...
MARVIN HUBBARD, US citizen by birth, New Zealand citizen by choice, Quaker and left-wing activist, has been broadcasting his show, "Community or Chaos", on Otago Access Radio for the best part of 30 years. On 24 November last year, I spoke with him about the outcome of the 2020 General ...
This is a guest blog post by Daniel Tamberg, Potsdam, co-founder and director of SCIARA GmbH. The non-profit organisation SCIARA is developing and operating a flexible software platform for scientific simulation games that allows thousands of players to explore, design and understand possible climate futures together. Decision-makers in politics, business, ...
Yesterday's Gone: Cold shivers are running up and down the spines of conservatives everywhere. Donald Trump may have gone, but all the signs point to there being something much more momentous in the wind-shift than a simple return to the status quo ante. A change is gonna come. ONE COULD ...
Is it possible to live and let live in the post-Trump era? The online campaign to vilify Christopher Liddell, ex-White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to Trump, makes for an interesting case study. Liddell is a New Zealander whose illustrious career in corporate America once earned him plaudits ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 17, 2021 through Sat, Jan 23, 2021Editor's Choice12 new books explore fresh approaches to act on climate changeAuthors explore scientific, economic, and political avenues for climate action ...
This discussion is from a Twitter thread by Martin Kulldorff on 20 December 2020. He is a Professor at Harvard Medical School specialising in disease surveillance methods, infectious disease outbreaks and vaccine safety. His Twitter handle is @MartinKulldorff #1 Public health is about all health outcomes, not just a single ...
The Treasury forecasts suggest the economy is doing better than expected after the Covid Shock. John Kenneth Galbraith was wont to say that economic forecasting was designed to make astrology look good. Unfair, but it raises the question of the purpose of economic forecasts. Certainly the public may treat them ...
Q: Will the COVID-19 vaccines prevent the transmission of the coronavirus and bring about community immunity (aka herd immunity)? A: Jury not in yet but vaccines do not have to be perfect to thwart the spread of infection. While vaccines induce protection against illness, they do not always stop actual ...
Joe Biden seems to be everything that Donald Trump was not – decent, straightforward, considerate of others, mindful of his responsibilities – but none of that means that he has an easy path ahead of him. The pandemic still rages, American standing in the world is grievously low, and the ...
Keana VirmaniFrom healthcare robots to data privacy, to sea level rise and Antarctica under the ice: in the four years since its establishment, the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund has supported over 30 projects.Rebecca Priestley, receiving the PM Science Communication Prize (Photo by Mark Tantrum) Associate Professor ...
Nothing more from me today - I'm off to Wellington, to participate in the city's annual roleplaying convention (which has also eaten my time for the whole week, limiting blogging despite there being interesting things happening). Normal bloggage will resume Tuesday. ...
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponscame into force today, making the development, possession, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons illegal in international law. Every nuclear-armed state is now a criminal regime. The corporations and scientists who design, build and maintain their illegal weapons are now ...
"Come The Revolution!" The key objective of Bernard Hickey’s revolutionary solution to the housing crisis is a 50 percent reduction in the price of the average family home. This will be achieved by the introduction of Capital Gains, Land, and Wealth taxes, and by the opening up of currently RMA-protected ...
by Daphna Whitmore Twitter and Facebook shutting down Trump’s accounts after his supporters stormed Capitol Hill is old news now but the debates continue over whether the actions against Trump are a good thing or not. Those in favour of banning Trump say Twitter and Facebook are private companies and ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Democrats now control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives for the first time in a decade, albeit with razor thin Congressional majorities. The last time, in the 111th Congress (2009-2011), House Democrats passed a carbon cap and trade bill, but it died ...
Session thirty-three was highly abbreviated, via having to move house in a short space of time. Oh well. The party decided to ignore the tree-monster and continue the attack on the Giant Troll. Tarsin – flying on a giant summoned bat – dumped some high-grade oil over the ...
Last night I stayed up till 3am just to see then-President Donald Trump leave the White House, get on a plane, and fly off to Florida, hopefully never to return. And when I woke up this morning, America was different. Not perfect, because it never was. Probably not even good, ...
Watching today’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the United States’ 46th president, there’s not a lot in common with the inauguration of Donald Trump just four destructive years ago. Where Trump warned of carnage, Biden dared to hope for unity and decency. But the one place they converge is that ...
Dan FalkBritons who switched on their TVs to “Good Morning Britain” on the morning of Sept. 15, 2020, were greeted by news not from our own troubled world, but from neighboring Venus. Piers Morgan, one of the hosts, was talking about a major science story that had surfaced the ...
Sara LutermanGrowing up autistic in a non-autistic world can be very isolating. We are often strange and out of sync with peers, despite our best efforts. Autistic adults have, until very recently, been largely absent from media and the public sphere. Finding role models is difficult. Finding useful advice ...
Doug JohnsonThe alien-like blooms and putrid stench of Amorphophallus titanum, better known as the corpse flower, draw big crowds and media coverage to botanical gardens each year. In 2015, for instance, around 75,000 people visited the Chicago Botanic Garden to see one of their corpse flowers bloom. More than ...
Getting to Browser Tab Zero so I can reboot the computer is awfully hard when the one open tab is a Table of Contents for the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and every issue has more stuff I want to read. A few highlights: Gugler et al demonstrating ...
Michael Cowling, CQUniversity AustraliaWe’ve probably all been there. We buy some new smart gadget and when we plug it in for the first time it requires an update to work. So we end up spending hours downloading and updating before we can even play with our new toy. But ...
Timothy Ford, University of Massachusetts Lowell and Charles M. Schweik, University of Massachusetts AmherstTo mitigate health inequities and promote social justice, coronavirus vaccines need to get to underserved populations and hard-to-reach communities. There are few places in the U.S. that are unreachable by road, but other factors – many ...
Israel chose to pay a bit over the odds for the Pfizer vaccine to get earlier access. Here’s The Times of Israel from 16 November. American government will be charged $39 for each two-shot dose, and the European bloc even less, but Jerusalem said to agree to pay $56. Israel ...
Orla is a gender critical Marxist in Ireland. She gave a presentation on 15 January 2021 on the connection between postmodern/transgender identity politics and the current attacks on democratic and free speech rights. Orla has been active previously in the Irish Socialist Workers Party and the People Before Profit electoral ...
. . America: The Empire Strikes Back (at itself) Further to my comments in the first part of 2020: The History That Was, the following should be considered regarding the current state of the US. They most likely will be by future historians pondering the critical decades of ...
Nathaniel ScharpingIn March, as the Covid-19 pandemic began to shut down major cities in the U.S., researchers were thinking about blood. In particular, they were worried about the U.S. blood supply — the millions of donations every year that help keep hospital patients alive when they need a transfusion. ...
Sarah L Caddy, University of CambridgeVaccines are a marvel of medicine. Few interventions can claim to have saved as many lives. But it may surprise you to know that not all vaccines provide the same level of protection. Some vaccines stop you getting symptomatic disease, but others stop you ...
Back in 2016, the Portuguese government announced plans to stop burning coal by 2030. But progress has come much quicker, and they're now scheduled to close their last coal plant by the end of this year: The Sines coal plant in Portugal went offline at midnight yesterday evening (14 ...
The Sincerest Form Of Flattery: As anybody with the intestinal fortitude to brave the commentary threads of local news-sites, large and small, will attest, the number of Trump-supporting New Zealanders is really quite astounding. IT’S SO DIFFICULT to resist the temptation to be smug. From the distant perspective of New Zealand, ...
RNZ reports on continued arbitrariness on decisions at the border. British comedian Russell Howard is about to tour New Zealand and other acts allowed in through managed isolation this summer include drag queen RuPaul and musicians at Northern Bass in Mangawhai and the Bay Dreams festival. The vice-president of the ...
As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop focusing on our managed isolation and quarantine system and instead protect the elderly so that they can ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 10, 2021 through Sat, Jan 16, 2021Editor's ChoiceNASA says 2020 tied for hottest year on record — here’s what you can do to helpPhoto by Michael Held on Unsplash ...
Health authorities in Norway are reporting some concerns about deaths in frail elderly after receiving their COVID-19 vaccine. Is this causally related to the vaccine? Probably not but here are the things to consider. According to the news there have been 23 deaths in Norway shortly after vaccine administration and ...
Happy New Year! No, experts are not concerned that “…one of New Zealand’s COIVD-1( vaccines will fail to protect the country” Here is why. But first I wish to issue an expletive about this journalism (First in Australia and then in NZ). It exhibits utter failure to actually truly consult ...
All nations have shadows; some acknowledge them. For others they shape their image in uncomfortable ways.The staunch Labour supporter was in despair at what her Rogernomics Government was doing. But she finished ‘at least, we got rid of Muldoon’, a response which tells us that then, and today, one’s views ...
Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Zero emission buses, cleaner cars and environmentally-friendly biofuels will soon be hitting New Zealand’s roads, as the Government delivers on its election promise to make our transport network more sustainable. ...
The Green Party is already delivering on its commitment for cleaner, climate-friendly transport through our Cooperation Agreement with the Government. ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
Prudence Steven QC, barrister of Christchurch has been appointed as an Environment Judge and District Court Judge to serve in Christchurch, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Steven has been a barrister sole since 2008, practising in resource management and local government / public law. She was appointed a Queen’s ...
The Government is delivering on its first tranche of election promises to take action on climate change with a raft of measures that will help meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. “This will be an ongoing area of action but we are moving ...
The Government is investing up to $10 million to support 30 of the country’s top early-career researchers to develop their research skills. “The pandemic has had widespread impacts across the science system, including the research workforce. After completing their PhD, researchers often travel overseas to gain experience but in the ...
A Waitomo-based Jobs for Nature project will keep up to ten people employed in the village as the tourism sector recovers post Covid-19 Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “This $500,000 project will save ten local jobs by deploying workers from Discover Waitomo into nature-based jobs. They will be undertaking local ...
Minister for Climate Change, James Shaw spoke yesterday with President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. “I was delighted to have the opportunity to speak with Mr. Kerry this morning about the urgency with which our governments must confront the climate emergency. I am grateful to him and ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Nanaia Mahuta today announced three diplomatic appointments: Alana Hudson as Ambassador to Poland John Riley as Consul-General to Hong Kong Stephen Wong as Consul-General to Shanghai Poland “New Zealand’s relationship with Poland is built on enduring personal, economic and historical connections. Poland is also an important ...
Work begins today at Wainuiomata High School to ensure buildings and teaching spaces are fit for purpose, Education Minister Chris Hipkins says. The Minister joined principal Janette Melrose and board chair Lynda Koia to kick off demolition for the project, which is worth close to $40 million, as the site ...
A skilled and experienced group of people have been named as the newly established Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis today. The Board will provide independent advice and assurance to the Minister for Children across three key areas of Oranga Tamariki: relationships with families, whānau, and ...
The green light for New Zealand’s first COVID-19 vaccine could be granted in just over a week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said today. “We’re making swift progress towards vaccinating New Zealanders against the virus, but we’re also absolutely committed to ensuring the vaccines are safe and effective,” Jacinda Ardern said. ...
The Minister for ACC is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to join the Board of ACC on 1 February 2021. “All three bring diverse skills and experience to provide strong governance oversight to lead the direction of ACC” said Hon Carmel Sepuloni. Bella Takiari-Brame from Hamilton ...
The Government is investing $9 million to upgrade a significant community facility in Invercargill, creating economic stimulus and jobs, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene have announced. The grant for Waihōpai Rūnaka Inc to make improvements to Murihiku Marae comes from the $3 billion set ...
[Opening comments, welcome and thank you to Auckland University etc] It is a great pleasure to be here this afternoon to celebrate such an historic occasion - the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is a moment many feared would never come, but ...
The Government is providing $3 million in one-off seed funding to help disabled people around New Zealand stay connected and access support in their communities, Minister for Disability Issues, Carmel Sepuloni announced today. The funding will allow disability service providers to develop digital and community-based solutions over the next two ...
Border workers in quarantine facilities will be offered voluntary daily COVID-19 saliva tests in addition to their regular weekly testing, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. This additional option will be rolled out at the Jet Park Quarantine facility in Auckland starting on Monday 25 January, and then to ...
The next steps in the Government’s ambitious firearms reform programme to include a three-month buy-back have been announced by Police Minister Poto Williams today. “The last buy-back and amnesty was unprecedented for New Zealand and was successful in collecting 60,297 firearms, modifying a further 5,630 firearms, and collecting 299,837 prohibited ...
Upscaling work already underway to restore two iconic ecosystems will deliver jobs and a lasting legacy, Conservation Minister Kiri Allan says. “The Jobs for Nature programme provides $1.25 billion over four years to offer employment opportunities for people whose livelihoods have been impacted by the COVID-19 recession. “Two new projects ...
The Government has released its Public Housing Plan 2021-2024 which outlines the intention of where 8,000 additional public and transitional housing places announced in Budget 2020, will go. “The Government is committed to continuing its public house build programme at pace and scale. The extra 8,000 homes – 6000 public ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated President Joe Biden on his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States of America. “I look forward to building a close relationship with President Biden and working with him on issues that matter to both our countries,” Jacinda Ardern said. “New Zealand ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The New Zealand public sector and judiciary has again been ranked the least corrupt in the world. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by global anti-corruption organization Transparency International ranks New Zealand first equal ...
New Zealand is again ranked first equal with Denmark in the Transparency International annual index of perceived levels of public sector corruption. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier has welcomed New Zealand’s position in the 2020 index. He says New Zealand’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute The federal government’s A$23.9 million COVID-19 vaccination information campaign, launchedyesterday, aims to reassure the public about vaccine safety and effectiveness. It will also provide information about the vaccine rollout. We’ve ...
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Hongi Luo, brand director at TikTok.In terms of cultural reach and impact, the ...
After Covid devastated its 2020, Basement Theatre comes roaring into 2021 with its Summer Season. Here’s the rundown of shows in-store, with some comments from programmer Nisha Madhan.Pre-FringeLust IslandWhen’s it on: February 2-6, 8pmWho’s involved: The women of improv troupe Hearthrobs (McKenzie’s Daughters, Salem Bitch Trials), including Brynley Stent, Alice ...
The whānau of Te Ahikaiata Turei supported by Māori and non-Māori staff at Unitec will take back a portrait of the Tūhoe leader who led the establishment of Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae and the values that brought the institute back from the brink of ...
A poll across the Early Childhood Education community found 93% in favour of pausing the ‘lunchbox rules’, or the Ministry of Education’s new Food Safety/choking changes to the Licensing Criteria, which came into effect on 25 January. “The message ...
Cycling advocates are calling for the transformation of urban transport, as New Zealand races to cut carbon. The Climate Change Commission will release its initial advice on Sunday 31 January. “Bikes and e-bikes are perfect for many local trips, ...
Three Ministers, led by the PM, joined in chorus today to warble about a bunch of measures aimed at helping to meet New Zealand’s 2050 carbon neutral target, create new jobs and boost innovation. Mind you, the measures mentioned seem to be more matters of decisions yet to be made ...
Michelle Kidd defines her role at Auckland’s specialist family violence court as te kaiwhakatere – the navigator. It’s a one-of-a-kind job, helping guide defendants through the court system. And there’s no one better suited to it than Whaea Michelle.First published November 24, 2020.Whaea Michelle is part of Frame, a series of short ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sallie Yea, Associate professor & Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe University Each year, thousands of men and boys labour under extremely exploitative conditions on commercial fishing vessels owned by Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean companies. The Taiwanese fleet, which operates in all ...
Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis believes the Crown should maintain responsibility for the care and protection of at-risk and vulnerable children, regardless of their race. Moreover, he is confident his all-Maori team of advisers will not be taking race into account as they help to improve Oranga Tamariki’s care and protection of ...
It’s easy to sacrifice John Banks. It’s a lot harder for brands, sports organisations and government to truly stop funding racism. Are they willing to try?Yesterday John Banks, the former Auckland mayor and MP, became subject to one of the fastest firings in media history when audio covering his approving ...
A community is outraged after Auckland Council granted consent for a row of trees planted by local kids to be removed along a revitalised waterway in South Auckland, reports Justin Latif. An Auckland Council decision to give contractors the all-clear to chop down 12 mānuka and kānuka trees shading Māngere’s Tararata ...
Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu hopes that the recent changes to Oranga Tamariki leadership present an opportunity for a long overdue paradigm shift that will place whānau at the heart of the child welfare sector. Pouārahi Helen Leahy says that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Rice, Professor of Management, University of New England Elon Musk is now the world’s richest person, edging out previous title holder Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. His rocketing fortune is due to the booming share price of Tesla, the maker of electric vehicles ...
There are now three returnees who contracted the virus in the Auckland isolation facility then left into the community while positive. These are some of the questions that need to be resolved. At 10.20pm last night the Ministry of Health confirmed that the two cases they’d been treating as probable ...
Having a hard time remembering to scan in on the NZ Covid Tracer app when you’re out and about? Get this song stuck in your head and you’ll never forget again.Learn the lyrics:Aotearoa, it’s time to get scanning!I mean if you think about it, it never really wasn’t time we ...
We conclude our week-long examination of New Zealand writer Roderick Finlayson with a review of his stories by John Newton Roger Hickin’s Cold Hub Press is one of the small miracles of contemporary New Zealand publishing. Over the last decade, on what can only be a shoe-string budget, the ...
Thursday 28th January, AUCKLAND: Drive Electric, the not-for-profit with one mission – making electric vehicle uptake in New Zealand mainstream, welcomes the announcement by the Government today as a sign of what’s to come through 2021, and we are confident ...
The Government announced today key policy decisions on the proposed clean car policies. The MIA has stated on many occasions that we support well thought out and constructive policies that will lead to an increased rate in the reduction of CO2 emissions from ...
Get wild, get cultured, get fed and then get to bed: the essential guide to a perfect few days in the southern city. There’s one thing that preoccupies the staff of The Spinoff almost as much as arranging popular food items into arbitrary lists, and that’s Dunedin. A quite remarkable ...
John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback controversies. Donna Chisholm has the receipts.John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk1972: On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches a “Punch a Pom ...
*This article first appeared on RNZ and is republished with permission.Two new community Covid-19 cases have been identified as the more infectious South African variant, but Auckland Mayor Phil Goff sayit would be "premature to go into lockdown now". The two new cases of Covid-19 identified in the ...
Today, for the second time in two months Dunedin climate protectors have locked themselves to the railway tracks outside the Dunedin Railway station to stop the KiwiRail coal train from Bathurst Resources’ Takitimu mine in Southland to Fonterra’s ...
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Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 28, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nzOur members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us ...
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Kiwi journo Anita McNaught gets into premier Syrian city of Aleppo, investigates the summary executions on Tuesday cited by the shrill Assad supporter and extremist climate change apologist Colonial Viper
Many religious fundamentalist groups, including ultra-orthodox foreign Salafi fighters and Al-Qaida Iraq, seeking to oust Assad in Syria
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/0727/1224320884188.html
Of course, some naive people might still think that the conflict in Syria is “of the people, for the people, by the people”, but they must be stupid, in the face of the rapidly mounting evidence, to still believe so.
Some of Colonial Viper’s “mounting evidence”.
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/assads-storyline-a-war-led-and-fought-by-foreigners/
Talk about “naive”. Who could possibly swallow this crap?
Compare this to New Zealand’s own Anita McNaught, reporting on the reality of the Syrian regime, see above or below as revealed in captured files.
http://kiaoragaza.wordpress.com/2012/08/04/secret-police-files-show-assad-regimes-culture-of-spying/
Who to believe, Colonial Viper, sitting safely at home in front of his keyboard stupidly parroting the propaganda of the Assad regime.
Or respected journalist Anita McNaught putting her life at risk to seek the truth?
The Guardian UK: Al-Qaida Iraq bomb masters turn tide for rebels
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/30/al-qaida-rebels-battle-syria
Hey Jenny, check that Guardian article out. There’s a cute header photo of a Free Syrian Army fighter spray painting the slogan “There is no Islam without Jihad” on a wall.
Warms the heart, eh.
Playing to the racist and Islamaphobic seats to justify your support for this monstrous regime, CV?
The regime and it’s supporters like you, are doing your very best to stir up sectarian divisions to keep this bloody and monstrous dictatorship in power.
Jenny,
Point of note, the Syrian situation is NOT like the PoAL, where it was basically Union v Contracting, it is far more complicated, and multi faceted than that relatively straight forward situation you commented on so regularly.
Taking such a staunchly simplistic one-sided position is frankly juvenille, and is reaching the stage where your posts and thus your mind set seem to be now struggling against some personal crusade, which while being well indented is, through your words becoming disrespectful of the ever decending seriousness of the situaiton.
Saying someone must be a supprter of the “monsterous dictatorship” because they understand that the situation is complicated, and not what it is presented as to the sheep who follow along, and offer evidence contrary to your personal belief, is limiting!
Its appropriate to accept a situation is complicated, and thus beyond ones capabilities to get their head around. The first step is to realise that it is a mature approach to not back oneself into a corner!
Edit: STOP accusing people of rac*sm incorrectly, continued accusations and use of the term totally disrespect those who suffer genuine rac*sm.
As for the Mossad’s “low profile”, the spin in Tel Aviv is that Israel is able to “control” the swarm of hardcore Wahhabis and Salafi-jihadis now infesting Syria. Even if that is manifest nonsense, one juicy point is clear; Israel is in bed with al-Qaeda-style Islamists.
Jenny,
In an ideal world, the struggle of people against any/all forms of tyranny would have altruistic intervention, indeed in an ideal world, there would not be wars or struggle to intervene in!
Thats not the world we have allowed to be created for us, and its not the world we will ever see, not as long as the species allows itself to be exterminated. With science and technology entrapping the planet further, while crisis after crisis of man made control grid is forced upon the worlds peoples, with the middle east simply one of the manufactured crises.
Your intentions seem to be well meaning, but by having been so fooled into what you believe in happening in Syria, your well meaning is in fact a hugely negative energy force, because you are in fact supporting, what you deny is going on.
Does this mean you should stop supporting the innocent caught up in these manufactured uprisings, absolutely not, but it does mean that you should cover all angles and at least factor in the evidence which states numerously that Syria, like Libya is being destroyed by NATO intervention, using mercenaries and other assorted sponsored criminals, all with the end game pre planned, and using the transparent overused “arab spring” lie, as cover.
Oh and Anita worked of the BBC who have been outed with multiple lies and cover ups over many decades, so I would question Ms McNaughts ability of be , lets call it “independent”
“Oh and Anita worked of the BBC who have been outed with multiple lies and cover ups over many decades, so I would question Ms McNaughts ability of be , lets call it “independent””
Jeez, that’s weak, Muzza. The BBC remains the worlds leading independent news source and I’ll bet you’ll be struggling to back up your daft comment about them. And if you’d bothered to look at Jenny’s link, you’d have spotted that McNaught, who appears to be about a million times braver than you or me, reports for Al Jazeera.
The BBC lost credibility a very long time ago Voice, they have been caught out too many times. No need for me to link anything, go find it for yourslf…Start with Dr David Kelly, though as a tip!
Al Jazeera, LOL again showing how little you know about this Qatari, sponsored Anglo Saxon, pseudo Arab puppet media outlet, where most of its “important employees” are from the UK, many worked for the BBC, just like Anita. Hey Qatar, got the FIFA world cup because they deserved it eh bro!
Oh and refer only to your own cowardice when posting nonsense, do not speak on my behalf!
I didn’t make any comment about Al Jazeera, Muzza, just pointed out that you were being ignorantly insulting to a reporter who is actually risking her life to report the news, while you sit on the couch in your underpants.
Nice to see you can’t back up your claims about the BBC, too.
If I wanted to read this sort of divisive, insulting crap where no-one listens to anyone … I’d be at the sewer.
Where they do it better.
Yeah, fair call, RL. I’m off to footie, so no more smart arsery from me.
You pointed out I was being ignorantly insulting did you….that really is ironic!
Can’t see where you read that in my original post, I said “Anita worked OF the BBC”, a typo, I meant to say “worked FOR the BBC”, either way, use of the word WORKED indicated past tense didn’t it!
I also don’t see where I questioned her aledged bravery, only her ability to be an “independent”, reporter, given the association to the BBC, and now to Al Jazeera, both of which I have given an opinion on, and if you want the links to read up on those media outlets, go find them for yourself, they are plentiful!
Warning, it might throw up some questions about “The BBC remains the worlds leading independent news source “, which could open you up to exposing mental frailties when challenged.
You’re not up for that though, I already know that mental challenges are not something you have the chops for!
So illiterate and completely unable to provide evidence at all to back up your claims? Not your best work, Muzza!
Is illiterate a pejorative on TS? Really?
TRP: “unable to provide evidence at all to back up your claims?
Te hypocrisy.
m: “You pointed out I was being ignorantly insulting did you….that really is ironic!”
Āna.
🙄 Did you not read the comment where Red rings the bell for a halt to personal attacks, f**k off over to the Sewer if you cannot help but indulge in such…
bad12 – did you not read the comment where Red rings the bell for a halt to personal attacks? Maybe your irony is accidental.
( 🙄 ) It is in fact as easy to see why you are the recipient of regular bans from the Standard as it is to see that you have failed to learn from such bans,
My proposal to those who put the effort into giving us this site so as to further discussion of the things that matter to the Left in New Zealand society and politics is that where a particular commenter has deserved to be the subject of such banning that each time the length of the ban be extended by double the amount of the previous banning…
poroheahea
If it’s me your calling stupid it’s a wasted effort as i just do not care, if it’s a reference to he who we bestow ^ 🙄 ^ upon i am presently unarmed with any facts that would allow me to debate otherwise…
Kaua koe e whai atu i ngā mahi a te hukehuke rā, kei raru kōrua tahi
Actually, I know several left wing Brits who think that the BBC news is no longer as independent as it was – I think since the Kelly incident under Blair’s watch. I tend to agree. For instance, it particularly favours a pro-Israel government line and tends to demonise Palestine. I understand that the news on BBC channels broadcast in the UK in the main news slots, is more biased than, say BBC’s international broadcasts.
See also here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_BBC
Also, I used to think Al Jazeera was pretty good at providing critiques from different viewpoints. I watch it quite a bit, but in the last year or two, it has become much more like mainstream western media in mirroring viewpoints of the western power blocs. Although, it still has some good critical pieces, ditto the BBC.
I have noticed that, sadly… 🙁
Wasn’t Anita working for FoxNews at some point ?
I really do apologise if I’m wrong.
LOL how about apologising for being so transparent
Yes North, she was ’embedded’ – as the saying went – by Fox News when Iraq Invasion no.2 was in progress. She was quite defensive of them at the time. That’s my recollection anyway.
More findings from that Ipsos/Fairfax poll, involving interviews with a relatively small number of people (1000). Not surprisingly Nat supporters are more positive about the future than those who support opposition parties – UF & ACT supporters are too small in number to register anything much, except they seem to be ambivalent about the future (maybe they are just always ambivalent?).
People were asked a range of questions to ascertain how they feel about the future compared with a year ago. Views about the economy seem to have been the strongest influence on people’s feelings about the future:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/7411347/Pulse-of-the-Nation-How-we-see-ourselves
But most interesting is the growing sense of resentment of the wealthy elite:
So, Labour and Greens, take note. it’s time for a change of focus and to jettison the remnants of the neoliberal scam. There’s a growing tide of sentiment that would support a focus on fairness and possibly for what is beneficial to the wider community.
However, there are some signs of retreat to social isolation as a defense, except in Auckland, where apparently the community spirit is quite strong. There needs to be some strong leadership on drawing people together to work towards the best for society as a whole, so that retreat from community doesn’t take hold.
Problem is, political parties just think that it is time to join in the neoliberal scam.
Well, I certainly despair when I see that the government is playing musical houses with state/subsidised housing, shunting the available low cost housing around amongst the poor. Meanwhile they are also trying to push as many people as possible out of state houses and into the rental market:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10824497
Meanwhile the wealthier classes are continuing to spend on buying houses in Auckland, as if there was no recession, paying high dollar to buy up the available housing. No doubt many will take advantage of the struggle to find rental accommodation amongst the less well-off, raising rents so that some will just not be able to afford anywhere to live.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10824355
The lack of sufficient affordable, safe and secure housing is a disgrace, and still the government does everything to make it worse.
Will a real opposition PLEASE stand-up and show up this rentier scam!?
Carol The bubble will burst Ollie Newland has said it won’t be pretty.
Australian eastern state cities are experiencing a major downturn after a post GFC bubble.
Just like last time New Zealand will follow suit. its just a matter of time.
Doesn’t the Babble in that Herald article just do your head in, there’s three strands in the Herald story that are best dealt with as separate issues,
*First we have Paula Benefit,hardly one for presenting either deep or evidential based analysis of any ‘problem’ She has encountered in Her Social development portfolio, giving a good spray and walk away line in the vein of ‘i thunk it therefor it is’,
How many beneficiaries are there boarding in State Houses, paying board to the main State House tenant who only pays 25% of income, while the boarder claims from Income Support an accommodation supplement???,
The Minister (as usual) gives NO figures for the numbers of people supposedly involved and as such i can only assume that Paula Benefit and Phil Heatley have spent an hour together, (focus grouping), creating in their minds the supposed problem,
Even so,IF there is a problem of this sort occurring,and, My belief is that HousingNZ rents out it’s property’s on the basis of 25% of the TOTAL income of the HOUSEHOLD,it is in fact a simple ‘fix’, and theoretically at least seeing as HousingNZ has just had a $90 Million computer upgrade, an easily accomplished one , where the ‘rule’ of 25% of HOUSEHOLD income be firmly established while changing the rules so that NO accommodation supplement can be paid to anyone living in a HousingNZ tenancy,
That along with some data matching between Paula and Phil’s fiefdoms of Housing and Social Development so as to have those who make the decisions on Accommodation Supplements know which are and which are not State Houses,
* Second, really i can only say What The F**k, private providers of Social Housing cannot compete with HousingNZ because the HousingNZ tenants pay 25% of income and the best the private providers of social housing can achieve is 70-80% of market rent,
As in Wah f**king Wah, the Loony’s having taken over the Asylum now want a ‘Level Playing Field’ to be imposed upon Social Housing because ‘it’s not fair’ that they cannot compete with HousingNZ,
In all seriousness there is i fear only 2 logical solutions that could be applied here, rule changes aplenty would have to occur as i fear that such people are way to far gone to be swayed by logical argument and my diagnosis would be either to put them up against the wall or provide them a psychiatric institution within which they could indulge in a game of doctors,nurses, and, patients to take turns at solving their own various problems,
* Third, as Minister of Housing Phil Heatley has given us all an in depth analysis of the problem He,and He appears to be mostly alone here, sees in the HousingNZ rental policy, Phills in depth analysis, ‘we can’t afford it’,
Annette King makes sport of Phil in the House at question time and you can almost see the mousy Housing Minister looking for a bolt hole every time King skewers Him with another query over matters within His portfolio that amount to slow death by a thousand small cuts,
Phill has the unenviable task of rack renting HousingNZ tenants most of whom are beneficiaries simply because National have always hated State Housing, nothing more nothing less,
The whole Herald article really comes down to making up a whole lot of s**t which the tame press will print verbatim which attempts to find some logical justification for National to give Beneficiaries (especially the ones in State Housing who Nationals core voters cannot profit from), another financial kicking in order to satisfy its red-neck core vote…
As an economic afterthought to my long winded comment above, there is absolutely NOTHING to be gained in an economic sense from any changes that national propose to make to the 25% of income rental regime as applied to it’s HousingNZ stock of social housing,
The reverse is in fact true,simply rack-renting those who by lack of income are reliant upon the State does nothing but move monies between the various agencies of State in some warped attempt at book balancing,
For the ‘Real Economy’ the reality simply means that while the State is indulging in fits of ‘give with the left hand’, and, ‘take back with the right’ there is a nett loss in revenue from the State House tenants negatively effected by such stupidity doing what such revenue is supposed to do in the wider economy,
Money from tenants so negatively affected by such proposed changes simply stops going around in the economy, strangely enough, Nationals core vote in the business sector who benefit by competing for a slice of such money being spent into local economy’s by HousingNZ tenants will also suffer negatively as the money will now simply transit from one Government account to another,
Thus National is simply proposing to deepen further the ongoing recession and while concentrating upon micro-economics of the Government social spend is blind to the negative impact upon that local economy, (or more to the point seems to just not give a f**k)…
In the broadness of my relatively old age I must say I’m invariably invigorated by Annette King.
She’s like a terrier, pitbullish if necessary, dog with a bone when she’s riled by bullshit answers.
“No doubt many will take advantage of the struggle to find rental accommodation amongst the less well-off, raising rents so that some will just not be able to afford anywhere to live.”
That is what the direct consequence of the changes to state housing will be.
And I thought the purpose of social housing was to keep rents down? It seems to me that the social housing providers want the government to subsidize their rent?
FIFY
The accommodation supplement is a government subsidy to the rentiers already.
The new joint venture between “The Crown & Council”, will not be a CCO but will be run like one.
Board with salaries, and a multi million dollar budget, was registered on July 24.
Purpose is to oversee the GI development, initially, and will have the HQ’s based in East Tamaki
I thought a similar thing – now that they are confident that have a Labour Party moulded to their taste, they can do what they bloody like.
some of that sense of “us and them” has been fuelled by worldwide events and the growing transfer of wealth to just a few
How much of the this generated by political campaigning? Greens in particular keep promoting terminology like”the growing transfer of wealth to just a few”.
It’s ironic that those most adversly affected by the wealth gap don’t have any wealth to transfer, in fact it’s tax paid by the more wealthy that enable them to receive state assistance.
The “transfer of wealth” term is a misnomer, especially when Greens promote transferring more wealth from rich to poor by raising taxes.
🙄
🙄
🙄
So publicly owned amenties such as health, education, parks, libaries are not wealth, and that these things are being closed down so the rich get cuts in rates and taxes.
Had a thought — correct term is actually transfer the wealth from the wider community to the rich. The closure of hospitals around the country to pay for Bill Birch’s tax cuts in 1996 is an example, as well as Porirua City Council’s closure of the Plimmerton libaray to keep rates down.
BTW: I have put in an OIA request to get a list of hospitals closed between 1990 and 1999 and 1999 and 2008. We shall then see the effect of tax cuts on health services 🙂
Pete, just when I had developed some sympathy for you because of what could be identified as bullying behaviour against you, you come out with this ignorant gem. My sympathy has now evaporated completely. You are a delusional and annoying waste of bandwidth.
What I want to know is why they published that ignorant crap from that idiot in Taupo?
“…So, Labour and Greens, take note. it’s time for a change of focus and to jettison the remnants of the neoliberal scam…”
The problem is the serious generational lag we have in our political/media elites. Key is a neo-liberal by choice but outside a small but powerful business lobby that Key represents everyone in the rest of the real world has long moved on from neo-liberalism. But our media/political elite is still heavily infested with 1980s and 90s neo-liberal supporters and apologists. English, Roughan, Holmes, Ralston, half the Labour front bench, swags of the Nats (McCully and Williamson for a start) etc etc etc are all left over neo-liberals who are far, far past their use by date. Hopefully Labour will take the opportunity in 2014 to clean out the likes of Mallard, Dyson, King and Goff and bring in a generation of politicians who at least formed some of their ideas in this century….
Or we should have term limits.
I don’t think we should have term limits in parliament. Some experience is beneficial – Lockwood Smith as Speaker a good example.
But there’s nothing to stop parties from having their own term limits, or at least encouraging retirement of MPs past their best and past their value to the party. Have any parties considered term restrictions?
And if they don’t get the message then leadership could reinforce it by dropping them down the rankings.
The obvious problem is long serving MPs have too much self serving influence.
🙄
“The obvious problem is long serving MPs have too much self serving influence.”
Like Peter Dunne.
Yup. Bit of an own goal from Pete there.
Well it is Saturday morning so waffle is definitely on the menu.
Poor attempt at diversion. And there are very obvious differences.
Peter Dunne has been essential for United Future’s survival and probably also will be in 2014 if he has another go..
The retirement of the likes of Goff, Mallard, King, Cosgrove is essential for Labour’s survival. Note that recently Mallard claimed to be mid-career.
Apt observation Lanth, which PG ignored and tried to pivot to political parties.
United Future has been essential for Peter Dunne’s survival
FIFY
Edit needed:
“Electorate deal making with the National party has been essential for Dunne’s survival”
Seems less … snappy.
obsessive deluded fans included
Not sure why Colin Craig gets so much coverage for a non-politician, I guess money talks.
But in his case he’s talking all over the place, as one argument gets demolished he moves to another. Ah, marriage convention has changed quite a bit over the last few thousand years. It’s changed quite a bit in my lifetime.
On The Nation this morning he ended up pleading for his last hope, a referendum. No chance of that either.
In contrast Louisa Walls impressed with facts and forceful points.
“Not sure why Colin Craig gets so much coverage for a non-politician, I guess money talks.”
He got more votes than UF and Peter Dunne did.
Peter Dunne (Ohariu) 14,357
Colin Craig (Rodney) 8,031
The Conservative Party had probably 10 times the UF budget and got more media coverage. They also tried to push shoddy polls to promote their support. They got a creditable number of votes but in the end failed under MMP.
But that’s all history. Dunne is an MP (and a Minister). Craig is neither.
And it’s all irrelevant, it’s got nothing to do with my commentt, most of what I talk about is non-UF. More: The Colin Craig Craze.
I was proposing a reason for why he gets media attention even though he’s not a politician: because he and his party got significantly more support in the election than two of the politicians who are in parliament.
The election is history and was over 8 months ago.
although surprisingly, Election performance has a few ongoing consequences for NZ politics 🙄
lol
“The election is history and was over 8 months ago.”
Oops, there goes that mandate. 🙄
perhaps you don’t have to be in elected office to be a politician; merely seeking elected office will do it.
Regardless of how you define “politician” (and I’m sure we can can all think of a few quite different but quite legitimate variations) the crux is he’s a “political actor”.
And that’s why he’s news.
Having said that, he’s a twat for referring to himself as “a representative” when he hasn’t been elected.
Also, that “Austrian dictator” moustache on tv today; well done whoever at tv3 was responsible for lighting the backwards little fucker: http://www.3news.co.nz/Craig-and-Wall-gay-marriage-debate-heats-up/tabid/1356/articleID/264093/Default.aspx
Seriously people, this bullshit stat has been sitting here ALL DAY.
It’s MMP, Pete. Use a stat that fucking counts.
Party Vote 2011:
Conservative Party – 59,237
United Future – 13,443
SHA-ZAMM!
Actually in terms of statistics this one is also good:
Peter Dunne (Ohariu) 14,357
Colin Craig (Rodney) 8,031
Peter George (Dunedin North) 176
A referendum on marriage would pass the legislation. Personally, if there was a referendum the questions should be:
Do you think you should have the right to marry?
Do you think other people should be able to prevent you from marrying?
I’m reasonably certain that we would get back a 100% Yes/No response.
Leave it to Craig and other deniers of basic human rights and we’ll probably get some weaselly question that would be more confusing than informative – just like the question on smacking.
It’s a moot point anyway, there won’t be a referendum on it – although I agree that if there was it would agree with what MPs are likely to pass.
It’s possible Craig will try a CIR on this but I think he’s using the issue to raise profile rather than thinking he has any chance of success at stopping the Marriage bill.
Louisa Wall presented her case impressively on The Nation, and Colin Craig kept moving from one smackdown to another.
Few links on Syria.
This one is similar to the sorts of reports that were coming out of Iraq in late 04 and through 05, with what national identity that had existed falling away in the face of sectarian group dynamics:
http://nyti.ms/RnM63z
In light of that, I suspect that these guys are dreaming:
http://wapo.st/OG3GQn
Poor bloody Kurds. As ever. http://f24.my/Rsl1MM
The Iraqi government still hasn’t finalised it’s constitution with regard to the Kurds. The govts, new and old, in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria may well have many differences but you can bet they’ll all agree that the Kurds won’t be getting anything like a homeland. If western peeps want something simple to get pissed off about with a clear cut right and wrong side, that’s about as close a one as I can see in this mess. Good luck convincing our governments to do anything but.
An interesting piece on the coverage from Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya http://t.co/M1AGvnqa
But if you really want nightmare visions. Read the press coming out of Lebanon. Whose up for picking sides in a Hezbollah vs Al-Qaeda fight? And think about the stakes of that.
As is obvious, this is a fight that has nothing to do with us. Putting ‘what we think ought to happen’ into the mix is a recipe for blowback. And it’s messy enough already for mind.
It’s awful, but that doesn’t mean that anything we can do will make it better.
Bingo.
The only thing we can realistically do is let them sort themselves out. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any hope of that happening.
Finally some in that useless UN have grown some gonads, even if it is non binding.
The UN has been for a long time to me replicating its parent, The League of Nations in its inability at doing anything but allow its delegates and support staff the lifestyle that New York offers.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19106250
No additional world wars since the UN was founded. That’s something.
BTW the delegates to the UN and various support staff don’t have a say in whether the UN continues or not, so their “lifestyle” convenience has nothing to do with it.
Tell that to the 40.968 million who have been killed in various wars since WWII, I am sure they take consolation that there was No WW War III.
http://www.cissm.umd.edu/papers/files/deathswarsconflictsjune52006.pdf
From a financial point of view why have the UN based in New York. I am sure we could find a developing nation that would benefit from the economic activity. Perhaps such an idea JK could take aboard to fix our countries economic woes and the msm would believe,take and run with this perhaps a great diversion just like making NZ a financial hub. 😉
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10691438
The UN in it’s current form is not permitted to grow gonads. It is still fundamentally limited by the G8 nations unwilling to give it enough power to act effectively.
And most especially not to act against their own hegemonic ambitions.
‘Aussie Rules’ to help prevent corrupt Ministerial ‘conflicts of interest’.
How come – if New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – we don’t have these legislative safeguards?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-12-06/rudd-announces-ministerial-code-of-conduct/979880
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Because having and enforcing them would show up just how corrupt NZ has become.
John Key is a shareholder in the Bank of America.
That would not be lawful if he were the Prime Minister of Australia.
Seen this?
John Key publicly admits his Bank of America shareholding at a Grey Power public meeting in February 2011.
Remember – when he worked for Merrill Lynch – he was the Head of Derivatives – and at the time the Glass Steagall Act (which kept separate boring safe commercial banking and risky dangerous investment banking) was repealed – November 1999 – John Key was a Foreign Exchange Advisor for the New York Federal Reserve.
So – what role did shonky John Key play in the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act?
Why is this important?
Because the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act helped to leave the dodgy derivatives market completely unregulated.
Which is the main reason why the world is facing an international financial meltdown?
Because of the collapse of the dodgy derivatives market – which shonky John Key helped to set up?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
Penny the price of BofA ML shares will be worthless.
Not unlike Keys promises.
Bof A suffered huge loss’s because of more dodgy dealings at ML.
They also facing legal action on many fronts and the US government is in no mood for a second bail out.
Love it Penny.
yes and now the reserve bank of new zealand is in the process of allowing the uncovered bonds act to go through so there will be even less control of the issuers of shonky derivatives.
“yes and now the reserve bank of new zealand is in the process of allowing the uncovered bonds act to go through so there will be even less control of the issuers of shonky derivatives.”
Got a link to that Bill, Captain Hook?
And the ‘Regulatory Impact Report / Statement’?
Anybody?
Cheers!
Penny Bright
‘Anti-corruption campaigner’
http://www.dodgyjohnhasgone.com
I wonder how well this is supported in the Green Party:
And I wonder if they support a quick hit, or an occupation for a few years.
Disastrous. I don’t think that they have thought the military goals through at all. We vote for it, we’ll have to commit troops to the ground.
Yeah, well, there’s a reason why I’m going off the Greens.
It does make me wonder just how far to the right the Greens have actually slipped when there are Green MP’s calling for military intervention in any conflict, let alone one where it’s becoming more than a little apparent the US is intervening via proxy,
Someone else mentioned the other day the fact that it seems that the right stages ‘take-overs’ of the political party’s on the left with consumate ease, and, i have also been feeling uneasy about certain aspects of the Greens ‘going straight’ for the purposes of electoral success,
The modern Left in New Zealand and in particular supporting the Parliamentary Left has felt increasingly akin to some nomadic journey, a gypsy circus trodden with more disappointment than hope,
My thought is though, give the Greens at least a term of Government with at least my vote at the 2014 election, but, i have already begun the where to from here type thought…
Lol. Mostly at the idea that Pete F. George think he is in any position to be questioning what Kennedy Graham knows or does not know about International Relations.
Read what he is saying. Closely.
If their are crimes against humanity taking place what is the Green party’s longstanding position on that sort of thing? Bear in mind that crimes against humanity is not a synoym for ‘shit I don’t like’.
Next think about what he is saying we should do, and by implication shouldn’t do.
Is Graham saying we should join in any ‘coalition of the willing’ style clusterfuck?
Or is he saying that that sort of adventure would be illegal and that we should not only have no part in it but that we should be doing something else.
What should the International community do about Crimes against humanity?
That’s the question he’s asking, and he’s putting the govt in a box with regard to requests to join ad hoc illegal coalitions.
He is not an idiot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Graham
According to the RNZ article he’s advocating economic sanctions which always hit the people at the bottom of the pyramid while the people at the top, the people that the santions are supposed to stop, don’t feel a thing. Please also note that the people at the top are already shooting at the people at the bottom (which I’m pretty sure is already a Crime Against Humanity).
Chances of sanctions doing anything? Around zero.
He then says that if sanctions don’t work (pretty much guaranteed) in containing (not stopping) the slaughter then military intervention is required.
Basically, IMO, he’s advocating a default position of military intervention.
Now, preventing arms being delivered to the current government is probably a valid option and one I would support but not full sanctions and definitely no military intervention. I think we’ll probably see both though.
“He is not an idiot”
–No but he is the brother of Doug Graham, so Ill say it again.
The Greens are not what people wish them to be, thats not what they exist for, and have ben taken over some time ago, its all too easy to control politics, you just have to do a little digging into the backgrounds of these people.
Labour gone towards the right, Greens headed the same way. Just control a few key people inside each entity, and its job done, the coutry and the people get screwed, and most either have no idea, or actually vote for those who screw them!
Why are the Greens are making this call now, when it looks like the victory of the rebellion is all but guaranteed, and a Western intervention now, would only act to steal the people’s victory?
What is crazy about this, about this call for Western intervention from the Greens is that crimes against humanity are already being committed, and have been for some time. From the firing on unarmed protesters, to the detention, torture and murder of deserters wives and children, to the aerial bombardment of civilian centres resulting in the mass deaths of civilians.
I am sure that regime defenders of this monstrous regime like Colonial Viper would welcome any attempt to snatch victory from the resistance.
Have the Greens been ignorantly swallowing the propaganda from pro regime supporters in this country?
B12 Yep I did wonder before the last election whether closet blue green was was infiltrating the Greens- something felt a little off key but couldn’t really put my finger on it.Noticed a lot of the old guard retired all at once and none of them seemed to be morphing into the older party statesperson type role which nade me wonder if they are still welcome through the door. Also the “we may do a deal with the Nats line.”
And are we getting a strong media slant on Green party actions when it lines up with Nact aspirations. Lots of attention on Norman none really on Meretai.
Different subject entirely – our revered leader isn’t swanning around at the Olympics for the photo ops. So unlike him what’s wrong – is he ill, unwelcome or something else?
And again – I wondered if we will continue to win at the Olypics as we do now? Child poverty destroys early sporting chances (?) I suspect, so is there any correlation between left wing governments and sucess some years later.
I see the Aussies are trying for an exchange rate/gold medal correlation oh dear ………..
National Party strategists will have examined in detail whether or not a confidence and supply arrangement with the Greens is possible.
They will also have examined in detail the likelihood of winning a bunch of gold medals for Key to pose in front of.
If he’s on the spot, he might have to be seen with losers. And Key doesn’t do losers, it doesn’t fit the brand.
Nah, safer to wait and see what comes home and sort photo-ops then if it’s worth it.
Yeah, that’s likely too.
Nah, safer to wait and see what comes home and sort photo-ops then if it’s worth it.
Yeah well, the C/T trained PR team will be in full motion organising a shindig at parliament as we speak. My suggestion is: the opposition stake out the possible venues inside the Beehive for the Key photo op. and gatecrash it at the last minute. Oh how hilarious to see Shearer/ Mallard/Norman/Turei grinning cheesily from the sidelines. That would make my week. Harawira (grinning cheesily) could appear over the top of Key. That would make my month.
I look forward to the moment Hone will pick.
It’s very important because he is the parliamentary moral leader of Maori. That’s the guts on the street now. People can forget their bullshit stuff about manners and so on.
And for them who’ll come up “Nah, he’s a prick or whatever……….” – damn it, they’re all older. Young people are receptive, even if subliminally, to the relative deprivation and need that is very pervasive now.
So go away Tariana and Pita. You’re not relevant anymore. You have sat at the table while Maori have suffered and still you’re saying all is as sweet, as sweet as it can be.
The gaps have widened since Tari and Pit have been sitting at the tepu, building relationships and going through processes.
That’s all Hone needs to say.
It’s also all Labour needs to say.
But the press will never report it, so the 10% masterchef watchers who decide our future will never hear it.
Unless they’re told in weird and unusual ways.
Big ups to you bake-sale and nudie acitivists. Looks like fun too.