To the MPs that come on here asking for unity or whatever so they can concentrate on the ‘real enemy’.
I’m prepared to publicly concede I had it wrong all along when you hit 40% in the polls.
At what point between now and the next election campaign when you don’t reach that number, will you be prepared to say we got it wrong, DS isn’t the right man for the job, you were spot on Al1?
Way I see it, at least 22 caucus members don’t know they arses from elbows.
What do you think you know that I don’t?
Did you hear Shearer on RNZ this morning on Waitangi and the Te Karere Digipol? Not only was he inarticulate as to explaining how Labour were working for Maori, he also could not pronounce his mps names, what they were doing, and entirely forgot to mention Nanaia. Precursor to the reshuffle?
hush minx: Well, how would you “perform”, after a night with lots of beer to “celebrate” your “overwhelming” victory of sorts? Maybe that is why he dropped in performance again? Just a thought, but he may send Annette around to answer and clarify this for us shortly.
Mr Shearer has not yet convinced the voters that he is a plausible prime minister, even if his caucus has backed him. He is desperately inarticulate, unable to deliver a sound bite without a lot of rehearsal or an auto-cue. ..He can look tough and decisive when his back is to the wall, but mostly he still just blunders.
Trevor Mallard likens Mr Shearer to Norman Kirk, which is laughable… Mr Shearer has a long way to go before he and his party look like winners.
I caught this little gem at the end of the editorial to which you linked hush minx. “Labour is exploring new ideas- on monetary policy and tax and on a tougher welfare policy – but its image remains blurred.” This is the first I’ve heard of the “tougher welfare policy” and I don’t know if its true. Can anyone shed light on this?
Maybe ask “Jacinda Dear”, or the more senior “expert” “(Marie Antoi-)Anette” ?
I have had high suspicions about Labour’s true welfare agenda for a long time now, this only adds to it!!! They have in general been FAR TOO SILENT on the reforms that NatACT with the front person Bennett are launching, so one must wonder, wonder and wonder.
As Shearer will feel reassured now, I do not rule out a “slightly more moderate” harder line welfare policy by Labour, as the public have through a totally biased, misinforming MSM been largely conditioned and turned into benefit enviers and haters. So that is the wrongly “nurtured” public sentiment now, that exists, and Shearer would be prone to exploit public sentiment to gain votes.
His “sickness benefit roofpainter story” at the start of a “Heartland Speech” in Nelson (and I believe elsewhere) may have been the first signal to the public he gave, for what he really wants Labour to stand for!
Do NOT forget, they (Labour) brought in a Dr David Bratt, a staunch “pro work ability” “Principal Health Advisor” comparing benefit dependence to drug dependence in 2007. They have never explained that man’s appointment or bizarre claims in his public presentations to GPs and others.
Shearer never apologised for – or explained his “bene roof painter” dog whistle comments.
Shearer is displaying a clean lack of imagination, kiwi voters hate capable PMs. Ever since Lange gave it such a bad name – aka – neobliberalism. Why do you think Key is so desperate to look like a spoit brat, the longer he stays in office the harder it is to not look capable. He’s got a whole horrendous history of bad policy, reshuffles, outsourcing, and dithering over the economy under his belt but its never enough,
competence capable keep dogging his legacy.
NZ is rich and its essential for NZ not to get tagged as rich, and the best way is to just hand over our assets, deregulate, gear the economy to export its profit centers and just hate the idea of productivity. Government generosity is a crime against the economy damn it.
Kiwis are
just not taught simple ethics like beware people bearing gifts, that priests who are too good to be true are diddling their wards, that men selling ponsi schemes so pander to
investors personal weaknesses, that saving the economy by laxly taxes and deregulating the commercial arena will breed world winning companies (wow lol, what, the heavy slap on the bum is only good for children).
Being nice to the private sector will not make a resilient growing prosperous NZ.
We are this way, as a Nation, because our media is so weak and subservient to Australian bankers and Australian media barons, because they all want to work in OZ eventually and so make it easy to exploit NZ to gain points in the eyes of future employers.
Hi Olwyn – there have been a small number of us on this site who’ve been talking about this for a while now, xtasy for example, but it’s really hard to show people on the Left how nasty Labour’s welfare policy has been since 1999. Nobody sees the detail and neither, I believe, does anyone on the Left want to. Labour has been asked time and time again about this but they will not say a word. bad12 had a crack at me yesterday about having a go at Annette King, rushing to her defence ahead of taking notice of the real issue, which is that Labour’s history on welfare reform since 1999 and its silence when asked if this is still its policy is clear evidence it has every intention of continuing from wherever National leaves off, just as it did from 1999. Everyone’s saying “give Labour a chance to develop its welfare policy before you slag it”, but it’s been six years now since its last attack, the 2007 amendment Act, and they said nothing to suggest things had changed leading up to the last election. The only conclusion we can arrive at is it’s going to be more of the same. We can’t keep giving Labour the benefit of the doubt when there’s nothing to suggest things have changed – just silence which we can only take as meaning nothing’s changed. We trusted Labour in 1999 and they pooed all over us. For that I say fuck them.
Labour’s approach to welfare has been pretty nasty since 1984. They brought in GST and income taxes on benefits, instantly cutting into the standard of living. They brought in the monetarist culture of greed, which ordains that it’s easy to get rich and anyone who doesn’t is beneath contempt. They’ve never said sorry or admitted the huge shift to the right and they throw anyone who tries to give a minor nudge to the left under the bus. I’m afraid I can only see them as a party which exists to give the illusion of choice and democracy, especially with Shearer as leader.
hush minx – I didn’t hear it but your description is so good I don’t need to. Tangata whenua are cannon fodder for that useless nobody and his cohorts.
What was that olde world yank tea party thing about no representation, no taxes?
How about no accountability, no sermons or lectures.
Stand by your secret votes and give a date and a poll figure when you’ll know for sure the fight can’t be won. Draw on memory from 2008-11 if you’re stuck.
Labour got in the order of 23% in a RM poll a week from the election. Result: NACT get 64 seats including three parties with 5 electorate-only seats.
To be that close to victory when labour is that low, I’m not completely certain I’d make that call if labour are at 30% a week out from the election. I wouldn’t be comfortable, but I sure wouldn’t be predicting defeat as a certainty.
It’s a simple enough couple of questions question, yet the nature of politics dictates it won’t get an answer from those it’s really asked, but in the real world away from the house, when they’re human like the rest of you, they’ll know what I’m on about, and that’s what I’m all about.
Devastating political scandal for key or the nats aside, or a last minute game changer than comes from left field (won’t be from Labour then 😉 ) and surprises everyone, as we are all repeatedly told by the media during campaigns that voters minds are already made up well in advance of a poll date, there’s a time when at least 22 of caucus who won’t even be aware of my challenge will sit and think, shit.
I don’t know whether it’s the night before, a week out a month or even dare I suggest those in caucus who voted for a vote for leader who can already tell this far out, but even though you probably won’t care too much (depending on your list ranking), I told you so, losers. 😆
Biggest laugh at my expense is if Shearer slashes at Key’s poll rating and storms to a landslide election, winning by fighting for the NZ public on a platform of equality and opportunity for all kiwis.
Someone best make a record and post on election night to compound my ignorance. 😀
It’s a fair cop, guvnor, :thumbsup:
But just like what’s the point in having a heart and a sleeve if you don’t wear one on the other?
What’s the point in having money and a mouth if you won’t/can’t put them together?
Death and taxes – Fact.
Words without action – Not.
They are putting in place charter schools, by the time National leaves office I wouldn’t be surprised if thousands more of kids come out of school with no qualifications and no future. Just the perfect slave labour for their corporate mates.
The papers show improving the system is the Treasury’s highest priority and emphasise raising the quality of teaching.
And just what the hell does Treasury know about teaching?
Oh, that’s right, absolutely nothing. That’s why we have a Ministry of Education.
Overall, they show the Treasury has a strong interest in the school system and little faith in increased competition as a way of improving performance.
Paula Bennett was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan of Radio New Zealand National yesterday morning (04 Feb., 09:05 am) on welfare numbers, the welfare reforms to be pushed through by her government, whether they were justified, correct and representative, and more.
On the nine to noon program there were also Alan Johnson, Salvation Army social policy analyst and Susan St John from Auckland Uni, elaborating on controversial figures, why the mainstream media misrepresents the truth about beneficiaries, the numbers of them, the reasons for being on benefits and rather just tends to high-light and present the extreme, bizarre, very unusual cases to the public.
It is well worth a listen and to do some good, critical thinking about it.
Bennett was again, as so often, getting a lot of figures wrong, confusing some, and naturally did “not have them before her” in too many cases. So she continues to create a lot of “mist”, uncertainties, she is distracting and full of ambiguities and misrepresentation.
Of course the program once again only scratched the very surface of a whole range of issues, that will become very clear to the many that will be very adversely and seriously affected, yes harmed, by the reforms that will be pushed through by way of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’, presently before the Social Services Committee of Parliament.
Also, do not forget, where Bennett comes from, and what her speech revealed, that she held to medical professionals (who will be instrumental in part, to force sick, injured and disabled into some forms of work) on 26 Sept. 2012. Read between the lines, and realise the absolute focus on the supposed UK findings, that are supposed to be the “international” evidence that work is kind of “remedial” to all people.
I have not found much of other “international” evidence though that supports the extreme, bizarre and perverted interpretation of a so-called “bio psycho-social model” for assessing and re-integrating disabled and sick into work, that a Professor Sir Mansel Aylward (from a partly private insurance financed department at Cardiff University), who also helped develop and introduced tough work ability assessments at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK (first under Thatcher), did bring in there.
The true agenda is about these “reforms” is all about cost savings, and nothing else!!!
The UK model is seriously considered as a foundation upon the Ministry of Social Development and Work and Income are planning to change the whole medical assessment and work testing regime for sickness and invalid’s beneficiaries. THIS ALL IS COMING HERE AND DUE TO BECOME THE NORM FOR NZ.
This is a space to watch, as NZ is in danger of making serious mistakes that have been made already by following similar, draconian reforms and bizarre work-testing regimes in the UK over recent years. Already many there died through trying to work while they really could not, or were in extreme cases driven to commit suicide. Grim stuff this is.
‘Grim stuff this is.’, aye it’s what the NACT do best.
Bennett shows that’s it’s all about ideology, facts are to be dismissed if they don’t support your case or twisted if possible with a few slogans to spin and confuse.
Bennett is a hypocrite who is pulling the ladder up behind her and being applauded by that other beneficiary of welfare John Key.
As the Labour/Green/NZFirst? coalition, noticeably surpass National in popularity, (polls indicating that move now) we will see those vote gaining tactic’s of welfare/benefit attacks. Maori will cop the usual ‘what more do they want slurs.’ which is a reliable vote earner also.
Keep up the good work Xtasy.
I’m feeling pretty despondant about affecting positive change. I don’t know if TS will go ahead with brainstorming policy given our powerlessness in getting Labour to pay attention, but maybe someone who has some influence will pause for thought over something they read here, sometime, and that will make it worthwhile.
It’s not up to us on TS to get Labour to pay attention. It really is up to them to engage the community and so far, from what I can make out, they’re failing miserably.
Thanks for the links X, this needs much more coverage than it is getting. The system is ALREADY damaging for disabled persons and the able bodied (eg access difficulties, lack of understanding, overworked staff not informing people of their full and correct entitlement which IMHO is a key driver of poverty in this country).
Paula’s only idea is to stick with the main ideas behind the British model which caused and continues to cause such great social harm.
People with disabilities struggled under Labour, now they are denied basic human rights under National. When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks, who if the government had just given teacher aids and sufficient resources could have been productive members of society. National doesn’t care about those with disabilities, it believes in eugenics i.e. letting the worst off members of society starve, kill themselves or end up homeless on the street.
Edit: So yeah you are right. 😉
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 3.4.1.1
NO, your book is cracked, same as your mind seems to be “cracked”.
Common sense, reading real information and understanding what is behind stuff is not your strenghth, it seems. Well, to be honest, you do not really care, as you are just one of the few frequenting TS to stir up crap, but contribute little of substance.
Enjoy your little space in narrow mind, the smaller it gets.
Like some time long before Christmas (to 2 email addresses at RNZ) – again yesterday substantial information on some of what is already happening at the hands of MSD and WINZ in this regards, was sent to Kathryn Ryan at Radio NZ National yesterday afternoon.
My expectation is – it will just be put aside as too much and too complex information to bother looking at, so it will NOT be reported on.
Lead story today is the football fraud scandal exposed by Europol, that has spread world-wide and is being exposed now. So most that are interested in sports and other matters will pay attention to that, rather than what really matters.
The media (mainstream that is) does not give a damn about beneficiaries or sick and disabled, unless they are cases that can be presented as sob or pity story material – to gain in viewing and listening quotas – that will also enable to sell yet more advertising.
That is what Campbell Live and others are doing. Sorry to upset the ones that may think he is doing some “good work”. Yes, it may be for a good cause, some of it, but it never seems to be without ulterior goals.
Two very contrasting blog posts, Chris Trotter’s a sting in the tail on why Labour needs to commit to helping the poorest amongst us.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum in both compassion, understanding and comprehension Josie Pagani posts on, at least I think she is posting on, why Labour needs to be more right wing and why beneficiaries should only be tolerated and Labour needs to get tougher on crime.
The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.
Pagani acting as the last, distant colonial outpost of Blairism would be funny, except that I suspect her thinking is close to the feeble ideology at the top of the parliamentary Labour party. As such, I think she provides a fascinating insight into the sort of arguments that seem to under pin much of Labour’s policy at the moment.
It reminds me very much of what I heard from Phil Goff, when a minister many years ago. Cracking down on crime, doing this and that, supporting the military and what else comes to mind.
Pagani is stuck in the Blairite Bubble, I must say, she will likely never get out of it, because once it pops, she will drop and hurt herself, thus ending in a personality crisis.
I heard also yesterday (on the BBC World Service that was), that the French may not just have gone to deal to “islamist extremist threats” in Mali, but perhaps also bore in mind the rich uranium and other resources found there!?
That makes it look a bit more like “a little Iraq style invasion” then.
Maybe Shearer will invest his UN and strategic thinking skills by suggesting to send NZ troops to sort out Fiji, in order to “restore democracy”?
The interesting bits on that page are to be found in the comment section at the bottom of the page,
The best that can be said for the writer of that piece is in the nature of revelation, it appears that being a ‘political contortionist’ allows Her to suck the air She breathes out of Her own anus…
if the left can’t debate crime and welfare with more depth than saying ‘but look over there! At the economy!’, then it is repudiating its own principles.
I don’t see anyone on the left doing that. See it plenty on the right though as they work to distract from their failed policies that come directly from their failed ideology.
Other than that, I don’t think she managed to say anything.
As compared to the absolutely fabulous concoction on the contemporary Left of Deconstructionist Intellectual Fraudsters/Feminist Man Hating/Neo Marxist mumbo jumbo.
Unenlightened people often are damned to work very, very hard, so some keep trying here, working very, very hard, repeating the same all over again, as some know no better, to get somewhere.
Whether it pays off is not relevant, as the exercise of banging the head against the brick wall sets off endless flows of adrenalin, that give some hormonal feelings of “encouragement” or stoicism, it will end up feeling quite “good” of sorts for the endless head banger. So add the dots together perhaps.
What you notice about Pagani and the whole Neo-lib tribe that currently occupies ‘the middle ground’ is that the ‘problem’ is always framed as being ‘WELFARE’,
That of course allows them to concentrate solely upon a narrow line of dialogue, and thus ‘reforms’ become acceptable in that ‘middle ground’,
It is in fact ‘the economy’ and ’employment’ where the focus should be, it is obvious to everyone except the most blatant of LIARS that there are more people available for work than there is work in the economy,
Thus continually whipping those reliant upon welfare to even ‘look’ for work is simply BULLSHIT,(as a commenter pointed out Pagani’s comments were),
As Pagani is firmly mired in the middle class when She talks of Socialism, She is talking of the Socialism of the middle classes where that class is continually pandered to by the political class…
Pagani would seem to argue that Blair invaded other countries for good reasons, while his partner in crime, Bush, was invading the same countries for bad reasons. I have a real love/hate relationship with the way these fake lefties are able to contort their ideas to suit any actions whatsoever. It’s frightening and enetertaining at the same time.
Just listened to the first part of the interview….in the first minute or so Ryan reveals the number of people on the unemployment benefit for 15 years or more? TWELVE PEOPLE.
The number of people on the dole for 20 years or more? FOUR.
Citing extreme examples to illustrate we have an issue that only they (National) have the guts to solve has been the approach to welfare.
That was the good part of the whole interview, how Bennett and the government on one hand are exposed as exploiting and abusing figures to portray a “dramatic” “crisis” kind of scenario asking for urgent action, and how especially the MSM totally mis-report, misrepresent and basically LIE to the public about what is happening in the area of benefit dependence, needs and challenges.
It is all only about headlines about selected, bizarre, totally out of the ordinary EXTREME cases, that they report on, NOT FACTS and balanced figures and details!
This must be exposed more, for sure, as the MSM appear to be complicit in the war on the welfare system and affected beneficiaries this government is leading now. That is NOT what the so-called “4th estate” is there for.
What interested me was the bloke up Gizzy way that had been on the dole for 25 years, now that man should be given a gold watch,
By being a well behaved citizen over that 25 years, he has quite heroically in my opinion given up the pursuit of more money so as to enable others to take up any work on offer,
In a province of economic decline this man has selflessly gone without on the doles meager income allowing others to earn those higher wages,
Should this man have entered the workforce at any time in those 25 years in a province with a declining economy someone else would have had to take the position previously occupied by that bloke,
While the above is a little out of left field it is in ‘fact’ the truth, in a declining economy for a person to gain employment there is every chance that someone in another part of that economy will have stopped being employed…
Jeez, KP, I thought you were keen on the entrepeneurial spirit? Why are you putting the boot into a man you believe to be running an effective small business for quarter of a century?
Y’know, in that 25 years, the bloke will have seen various welfare administrations, maybe ten Ministers of Employment, several name changes at the DOSS/Social Welfare/WINZ/MOBIE and countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could.
Presumably he has been getting the benefit for 25 years for dinkum reasons. That’s fine by me.
So is there some difference in 1 person ‘doing nothing’ for 25 years as you put it and 10 people over the same period spending 18 months each doing nothing,
i realize that your a ‘wing-nut’ so have to take into account your limited ability to actually ‘think’ but in a Gisborne type situation with an economy in continual decline someone ‘has’ to be unemployed,
Given that little ‘fact’ our ‘gold watch’ beneficiary would have to take someone else’s employment or if a newly created employment position appeared in the local economy deny someone else that employment position,
Which simply means that should that Bloke in Gizzy have ‘got a job’ someone else in Gizzy wouldn’t have one…
Engaging in sophistry there, bad12 – not that you would know what the word means without looking it up first.
The idea that the long term unemployed are taking one for the team is so self evidently absurd, I can only respond with the same question re Draco T below, why don’t any of the Left parties use your brilliant dazzling argument in their public statements on the issue?
What is exactly misleading or wrong about the above statement you sexually self-fulfilling, pathetic T thing that resides under a bridge, aint a goat, but in all probability has the odor of one,
Because you have attached to the above the label of sophism means little, nay nothing, without first having provided a narrative which proves the sophism,
Or perhaps you like Paula believe in the magic of the word ‘seeking’ and thus the more people seeking work the more people will have work which is in fact the real sophism,
Of course you also believe that the free market rules in which case the 175,000-185,000 currently seeking work are simply part of a natural market lead pool of available labour,
To believe in both tho is to simply point out that you are in all likely-hood a sufferer of Schizophrenia or some other disease of the mind a fact that none here would find surprising about you…
I don’t like her. I’m not a right winger. I’m not a neo-con.
I like old skool Left Liberalism plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
For example, Gareth Morgan’s take on the Welfare System – Health, Pension etc. It’s in a crisis, his Big Kahuna idea deals with the issues and makes an interesting proposal for a solution.
I don’t like Feminist Man Haters/Deconstructionists/Anti-white, anti-Western Multiculturalists.
The Left has crashed and burned thanks to those idiots.
AAAAAH dummy lift your game, ”perhaps you like Paula” is obviously a reference to you being ‘alike’ in attitude even a 4 year old could have figured that,
I see no narrative which proves the sophism of your accusation and changing the subject at 100 k an hour just does not cut it,
I don’t much care what or who you are, your comments reek of SCUM, therefor you shall be known by your comments…
In fact, if he was growing dope he couldn’t possibly have been sitting on his arse and he would have been providing a service that the community wants. It’s not his fault that the laws are so stupid as to outlaw a service that the community wants forcing him to declare himself unemployed (that’s if he was growing dope which we’re only speculating upon).
Really, what it comes down to is the simple fact that you’re an idiot. You didn’t even realise that you contradicted yourself.
The idea that growing dope is necessarily a busy full time occupation is one you are assuming in order to create your straw man argument.
So you are the idiot.
‘providing a service that the community wants.’
Too bad David Shearer and the Labour Party don’t put that in their speeches, eh? Guess you think that just goes to show the Labour Party are a bunch of neo liberal sell outs and have betrayed the true Leftists like your enlightened self.
Regardless of whatever you think about cannabis use it’s self-evidently a high demand product. I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service any more than you could argue that neither do tomato growers or parsley growers or broccoli growers.
“I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.”
I realise that, you fraggle. However you did quote the phrase and then made a vague attempt to ridicule the bearer of it, so I think it’s fair to assume that you have an opinion on the matter.
I’m just trying to provide you with an opportunity to express it.
There was quite a lengthy interview with David Shearer on the Larry Williams show on Newstalk ZB yesterday, about 8 minutes. All the important questions were asked. Highly recommend it. Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
In the Newstalk ZB clip, it’s interesting that Shearer brought up the reshuffle himself when asked what would happen to Cunliffe, while remaining non-committal. I wonder if he’s planning to offer Cunliffe a front-bench portfolio in exchange for a public pledge of loyalty/endorsement?
And in true talkback style, I’d like to know what others think.
That’s exactly what I thought. You have to pinch yourself and say “My God, this really is the leader of the opposition!”, not dotty Don from Dargaville at 3 a.m.
This is why Shearer’s defenders on here totally miss the point. The number of “negative” comments on the Standard is dwarfed by the audience for Newstalk ZB.
Shearer cocks up in front of millions, every week.
But if we point out his cock-ups, apparently we’re the real problem?
I’ve just read a quote from one of John Buchan’s books. He was a great Empire man, strong on duty and colonial exploration and resource hunting and became Governor General of Canada.
This from The Runagates Club published 1928.
It has relevance for today in English speaking countries with the move to the right and desire for excess and self rather than the national and people’s interest and service with good governance.
From the Bath, in its most exotic form, degenerate patrician youth passed to the coarse delights of the Circus, and thence to that parody of public duties which it was still the fashion of their class to patronise.
Von Letterbeck: Imperial Rome>/i>
The Green Party has had for quite a number of years now had ‘it’s engines running’ and this is evidenced by the number of ‘hits’ scored on the Slippery lead National Government in the House at question time, and the ‘fact’ that when seeking comment on any issue of the day the media are just as likely to ask the Green Party for comment as they are to ask Labour,
The Green Party Housing policy in content and intent shows that the Green Party is well ahead in developing policy which directly benefits those most in need in our society and i believe that in the next 18 months we will see much more of this intelligent policy released to the electorate…
Lolz, bloody good on you then, the constant flow of what i see as negativity which flows through the pages of the Standard toward Labour is in my view counter-productive,
Labour at present(this is opinion), as a party are mostly middle class people, probably in the main well educated and comfortable in their employment,
Socialism has in the main been educated out of the psyche of such people as they have embraced the newer culture of ‘what’s in it for me’,
Labour, as in the last Labour lead Government and the present Labour Opposition simply reflect this comfortable middle class and the continuous venting of anger at them hasn’t as far as i can see changed that one iota,
There may be a ‘mood’ within the Labour Party it’self to change that but my view is that such a ‘mood’ from within the Party will take 10 years to translate into a change in the attitude of the Party’s MP’s,
Given that, there are 2 choices activist member of the broad left have, the first being to become even more active within the Party, not necessarily as a means to gain immediate change in the make-up and attitude of the Labour MP’s, but as a 10 year plan to transform the Party back if you will excuse the use of the word to expressing the core of Labour values,
Option 2 of course is to simply walk away from Labour and give both our monetary and electoral support to the Party which best expresses at this point in time our political and economic values…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10
Comment from the Sewer that is factually incorrect, now who would have thunk that???,
Annette King was commenting on the Standard weeks befor the Leadership vote held yesterday, while Annette cannot as She is bound to support the Caucus and the Party’s policies stray far from simply stating those policies much ‘Could’ be changed by commentor’s here at the Standard putting up comments that highlight any flaws perceived in Labour Party policy while proposing well thought out alternatives…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1
The Gormless Fool, the name suits you and when applied to you is obviously correct, which is about the only thing you have ever got right in your brief occupation of the skin you are in,
What the f**k is that comment supposed to mean, other than a display of your abject stupidity that is???…
The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 10.1.1.1.1
Folks, we are in a real crisis here. Wealthy right-wing interest groups and sectarian lobbies are waging an all-out war on public schools. They want to destroy the public school system and move to a market-driven system where taxpayers are forced to support religious and other private schools of all sorts.
Unemployment is this- Having cut the civil service to the bare minimum needed to operate such a service the present Slippery lead National Government has ‘defined’ for us what a market lead economy will deliver to us as a nation in terms of the number of actual jobs in the economy,
So given that there are currently 175,000-185,000 unemployed in this country we can ‘see’ that this is a ‘true’ reflection of the market economies ability to employ people,
OK, another given is that we are currently in the midst of a economic depression we can also ‘see’ that given an ‘upturn’ the actual number of those the market economy has the ability to employ would still leave us with 125,000-135,000 souls who that market does not have the ability to employ,
It then also becomes obvious to us all that to continually require those who the market economy has FAILED to find an economic use for to seek work which does not exist and prove that they have actually been seeking this non-existent employment would at the least require a belief in ‘magic’ in that anyone who believes that a person simply seeking such employment will radically alter what is a ‘fact’ of that market economy,
The truth of the little ‘fact’ above is to be found in the numbers of those who are unemployed and currently receiving the unemployment benefit attached to which is the requirement to seek work,
Obviously if the act of simply ‘seeking’ work radically changed the ‘market economy’ there would be a radical decline in the numbers of those receiving that particular benefit,
Until such time as Politicians begin to tell the truth about how many of us can be employed by the market economy unemployment is always going to be addressed from the narrow confines of dialogue where the reality is ignored in favor of a belief in magic solutions and further denigration of those the market economy has FAILED to be capable of employing,
I would suggest that as a first step that those politicians which have shown a propensity to believe in such magic solutions to the ‘problem’ of unemployment while claiming the ‘market economy’ is working as it should be should be examined by a medical professional for signs of Schizophrenia as any belief in both is in fact a belief in 2 propositions at the same point on the same subject that are diametrically opposed to each other…
There is a cartoon on the herald which it tags ‘Next time,Mr Shearer’
‘Just appoint yourself to the roll and they will take it on the chin,works
for me every time’
Eludes to Titewhai Harawira at Te tii Marae happenings.
The Wit of Graham Bell
The Panel, National Radio, Tuesday 5 February 2013
Jim Mora, Graham Bell, David Slack
JIM MORA: Noelle, what is the world talking about?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, a story that has caught our attention is one from right here in New Zealand, about a kea in the South Island. It stole one thousand dollars from a Scottish tourist who left the money on the front seat of his car.
GRAHAM BELL: That’s unusual for a Scotsman! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
According to the Waikato Times today, the Waikato town of Pokeno will be home to the first Chinese milk processing plant in New Zealand if Chinese company Yashili International, is given the green light (by the Overseas Investment Office) to buy land for its planned $210 million baby formula operation – creating 100 local jobs. Yashili International, one of China’s biggest baby formula and soymilk powder makers, has a conditional agreement to buy land in Pokeno’s Gateway business park.
Here we go again! NZ is becoming a soft touch for this type of deal and it appears it is now open season to all comers to establish this type of operation in one of our key industries on land we are prepared to sell for this purpose.
It appears that Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin (buyer of the Crafar Farms), may have been the pathfinder in setting a template for this operation currently under consideration. It goes something like this – establish a NZ registered company and then appoint a New Zealander to front it to legitimise it. It appears these moves into NZ are being encouraged by the Chinese government’s decision to substantially reduce import tariffs on finished milk formula.
What are we doing in this country? We must not continue to sell our land to allow major overseas players to establish in our key industries and compete against us.
That just highlights a major failure of Fonterra’s business model, while making adult milk formula and milk formula for small children other than babies Fonterra has failed it’s share-holders by it’s lax attitude to the baby milk formula market in the Asian economies,
Fonterra chose instead to simply supply the raw product to another company i have forgotten the name of under contract which has lad in turn to Fonterra supplying a major competitor, Nestle, as that company has now purchased that company and the supply contracts,
My belief is that the ‘internationalists’ in control of Fonterra will at some stage have removed from the farmer share-holders enough ‘power’ to be able to on-sell Fonterra on the global market,
That as the Chinese are at present seriously building what will eventually become a huge dairy herd will be at a heavily discounted price…
PREPARE for the influx of “specially skilled” employees under the China NZ FTA, as in that plant, it will be likely that Mandarin and/or Cantonese will at least be the “official” language of instructions, so any staff working there, will naturally require sufficient language skills, to be able to understand such instructions and to communicate.
NZ Immigration is always very helpful and works together with other agencies and stakeholders and employers to find the most suitable solutions to help everyone involved.
Take it then, there will be the clause used, to get as many Mainland Chinese workers in as they can, to also work “efficiently” and according to “cultural” and other just economic, social and scientific requirements, that are specific to meeting the very needs of the Mainland Chinese consumer. Particular recipes, mixtures and whatever, to get the end product, will be highly commercially sensitive, and this will only be able to be entrusted to, and handled by, competent, knowledgeable, suitably skilled and qualified, also Mandarin or Cantonese literate employees.
And to think that peoples from Arab countries now living in New Zealand have anything to do with such destruction a world away makes you-(search for big word), just scum..
What are you on about, got a problem? Arabs, non arabs, all other nationalities get on with their lives, you just start arguing about something I cannot even decipher. It is nonsensical what you last wrote.
Your really ‘on’ the ball tonight X, read, take a deep breath and read again, yes my habit of not naming the persona i am replying to could be confusing…
Let me get someone from “Anonymous” onto you while you wait, we will soon find out, who you are, what you do, where you live and the rest of it. That will make you feel very trusting, I am sure, as I trust you fully, and as you can trust me fully, that is if that can all work, aye?!
The demise of Western civilization, perlease!!!, that nearly fucking got my heart to stop, the laughter at you for inserting such a phrase into a comment that is,
Can you please, please, please expand upon this destruction of western civilization for me, fuck i love a laugh and your a hoot, the biggest one in town,
It’s all a Muslim conspiracy right KP, out of 20 households in my small street there are 2 that are definitely from the Arab countries, do you think i should bar the windows and put extra locks on the door against the time they break out screaming Allah Akbar whilst mowing down the neighborhood cats with the un-stashed AK47’s,
Actually you useless piece of cum-stain they just do normal things the same as what everyone else in the street does, they pretty much keep to themselves which shock-horror the white folks majority of the street does as well…
bad12: You do NOT understand that you must forthwith conform and convert to ISLAM. That is the ONLY “true” religion. I fyou cannot convert, the devil will get you! That is the truth about religion. Get a fear of the devil now, I tell, you for Jesus Muhammed and others.
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Yes, Muslims didn’t bring their problems with them…Muslim problems in Western Europe developed in Western Europe and also involve a Western Europeans…as well as economic, social and political inequality.
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
No, there are multiple reasons for this, including: the incoming culture, the existing culture, economic issues, political issues etc
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
Yes, if we continue to deal with it in the same way that Europe has.
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
Yes, but not complete erosion. Just until one civilisation is no longer dominant to the point that it oppresses another cilivilisation.
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Iwi forging closer relationship with Stats NZ over Māori data solutions The Data Iwi Leaders Group supports the findings of an independent review into the 2018 New Zealand Census – but says its failings provide a unique opportunity to co-design ...
“Any justification for paying exorbitant salaries to senior managers in business has just been buried in the Fonterra debacle” said Peter Malcolm spokesperson for Income Equality Aotearoa New Zealand Inc---“Closing the Gap” ...
Good on their own, even better with cheese – these crisp, moreish crackers are destined to become your new go-to savoury snack.These crackers have been on high rotation in our household – they’ve filled lunchboxes, accompanied fine cheeses on evening platters and been eaten by the fistful straight from the jar. ...
Lists are good and so are Sundays. We combine both those things in a new Spinoff feature. This week: Headlines from the past six months about the the Reserve Bank governor, Adrian OrrRBNZ prepares to stick its Orr inASB, March 29Banks Orr-struck yet againThe Australian, April 10Big banks brace for ...
Over 300 hours of interviews condensed into five episodes that cover the entirety of New Zealand’s comedy history – how do you even start to approach that? Sam Brooks interviews Paul Horan, the documentarian behind the show.It’s one of those projects that sounds utterly futile – how does one cover ...
Judgement prevents understanding, which in itself is a barrier to preventing unsafe behaviour. Are different approaches to harm reduction in the Rainbow community needed? Sex. Drugs. Carly Rae Jepsen. This is the iconography that tends to be massaged into mainstream conceptions of gay culture. Depictions in TV/film see us railing lines ...
The Spinoff is covering local elections across the country with a new pop-up section. To kick things off, Hayden Donnell went to a mayoral debate at Grey Power on the North Shore of Auckland.John Tamihere walked into the mayoral debate at North Shore Grey Power on Friday just minutes after ...
The Spinoff is covering local elections across the country with a new pop-up section. To kick things off, Hayden Donnell went to a mayoral debate at Grey Power on the North Shore of Auckland.John Tamihere walked into the mayoral debate at North Shore Grey Power on Friday just minutes after ...
Things I Learned at Art School is a new series featuring artists discussing how they do what they do and know what they know. In the second instalment, Megan Dunn talks to Berlin-based New Zealander Simon Denny about Michael Parekowhai, teaching and technology, and an idea involving the online shoe ...
With the acquisition of global rugby streaming leader RugbyPass, Sky might have just secured its future, writes Trevor McKewen.For several months now, the war between Sky and Spark Sport for the peerless prize of All Blacks and New Zealand rugby rights from 2021 onwards has been escalating. Every week, one ...
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Jamie Cashmore, co-founder of Auckland-based edible packaging company Twiice. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Twiice.Twiice is a company making edible coffee cups with plans to progress into other areas ...
The recent discovery of a fossil parrot the size of a human toddler is even more reason for Foulden Maar to be protected, writes the chairperson of Save Foulden Maar, Kimberley Collins.Last week, scientists discovered a new species of extinct parrot in the St Bathans Fauna. Weighing in at seven ...
Could a new hybrid of all the government’s major media holdings solve multiple media and government problems? Duncan Greive assesses the case.The media industry, despite what some of us might like to believe, really doesn’t matter all that much economically. Doesn’t employ all that many people. Relatively low wage. ...
The three governing parties are turning their attention to next year’s general election. RNZ‘s Jo Moir surveys the field.The night New Zealand First formed a government with Labour and the Greens, its leader Winston Peters quoted the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.Almost two years later all three ...
Analysis: The botched census brings down a chief executive, there's another wave of speculation about Christopher Luxon standing for National and NZ First could sink an attempt to reverse the ban on prisoner voting. ...
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Wording has played a crucial role in a reportedly “fierce” Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu with Australia allegedly managing to alter documental terms to downplay its commitment to climate change mitigation. According to RNZ Pacific, a communiqué and separate statement on climate change was released ...
Australia’s coal policy and its use of carry over credits to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement have come under fire and been major points of contention at this year’s 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Meeting in Funafuti, Tuvalu. READ MORE: ‘We should have done more for our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael O’Keefe, Head of Department, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University The Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Tuvalu this week has ended in open division over climate change. Australia ensured its official communique watered down commitments to respond to climate change, gaining ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xanthe Mallett, Forensic Criminologist, University of Newcastle Even in death, the voice of Carl Williams is louder than that of his victims. Intimate prison letters written by the convicted murderer and drug trafficker to his ex-wife, Roberta – herself arrested this month ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna Chesser, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, RMIT University In September 2018, a prominent Melbourne surgeon and academic was charged with rape and sexual assault for alleged offences committed a year earlier against a male doctor. The surgeon and doctor had ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Dearnaley, Associate Professor, University of Southern Queensland The blotched butterfly orchid (Sarcochilus weinthalii) looks fairly unremarkable when it’s not flowering, generally resembling the far more common orange blossom orchid. But when it flowers, it is exquisite. Dark purple blotches stand out ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Cropper, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne Almost every person throughout the existence of humankind has looked up at the night sky and seen more than just a random scattering of light. Constellations of stars have helped ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Desbrow, Associate Professor, Nutrition and Dietetics, Griffith University A recent study published in the journal Depression and Anxiety has attracted widespread media attention. Media reports said eating chocolate, in particular, dark chocolate, was linked to reduced symptoms of depression. Unfortunately, we ...
He’s the artist who launched a million memes and over a billion streams. Sam Brooks picks out Bazzi’s best moments so far, from his career-making breakthrough to his mature new mixtape Soulsearching.1. ‘Mine’“You’re so fuckin’ precious when you smile.”It’s the line that didn’t just launch a million memes, it’s the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Crosby, Professor, Monash University Since President Trump tweeted about imposing new tariffs on China, global equity markets have gone into a tailspin. Trump’s more recent announcement that the new tariffs would be delayed has not calmed the markets, with recent days ...
A new poem by Waikato poet Loren Thomas.to convince myself we’re dreamingwe were walking through suburbia houses kissing front lawns copied one after anotheryou tasted like mint leaves and chlorophyll that’s been pissed on by catsI held your hand and we walked towards the ocean dodging planks from dead train ...
The ancient Australian shock-jock yesterday targeted Jacinda Ardern, urging Australia’s PM to ‘shove a sock down her throat’. It’s all in keeping with a substantial history of being an arse.The plucky nation of Australia excels in a range of endeavours, but nowhere more than the angry, anguished howls of bloated, ...
Today, TVNZ released its latest findings on who is watching what on TVNZ OnDemand. Sam Brooks analyses the results.Today, TVNZ released the 2019 figures for who is watching TVNZ OnDemand, what they’re watching and in what kind of numbers. The big numbers are hopeful – over 1.4 million people reached ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jock Collins, Professor of Social Economics, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney The federal government wants to boost the number of migrants moving to regional areas in Australia to fill job vacancies and reduce the pressure on our cities. That’s why ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Associate Professor, Criminology and Justice Studies, RMIT University There can be no doubt violence against women is a national crisis. On average in Australia, one woman every week is killed. A 2016 survey found one in four women experienced violence ...
One dignified resignation was a bouquet in a sea of brickbats this week as low levels of accountability had eyes rolling. James Elliott has the news of the week. ...
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein on the band’s ninth studio album, working with St Vincent, and the departure of bandmate and drummer, Janet Weiss.It’s been almost five years since Sleater-Kinney broke their decade-long hiatus with an album that received almost near-universal praise. It was “raw”, “bristling”, “emotive”, “taut” – all adjectives you’d ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Colleen Murrell, Associate Professor, Journalism, Swinburne University of Technology When news of the stabbings in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon came through, one of the first tweets about the incident came from Sky News reporter Laura Jayes. Immediately it got retweeted and sent ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Normal People by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $23)Sally Rooney Sally Rooney Sally Rooney Sally Rooney2 An ...
When Emily Writes reviewed a life-changing sex toy, the response from orgasm-starved women was huge. So why are so many having so few orgasms, and what can be done?For the last two years I’ve been running a pretty small – about 600-odd member – group for mostly New Zealand women ...
When Josie Adams broke her laptop last week, she knew she’d never find love like that again. Can the Asus Chromebook Flip C213SA offer a new kind of technological relationship? She reviews how it stands up to everyday use and the cosmic forces that seek to destroy her.Last Thursday I ...
Wine should be fun, not intimidating, all you need is a little knowledge. Yvonne Lorkin co-founder and chief tasting officer of WineFriend provides some simple tips to help you empower your palate. Even I can get scared by wine. I’m usually super-meek and a tad feeble at high-brow, ‘industry’ wine tastings. ...
Pacific Media Watch NewsdeskBy Makereta Komai in Funafuti, Tuvalu Tonga’s Prime Minister, ‘Akilisi Pohiva, has delivered a stinging attack against regionalism and the Pacific Islands Forum’s stance of leaving no one behind, for failing to amicably resolve the issue of West Papua. Pohiva admitted the issue has divided ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Corrections, Christchurch mosque shootings Chris Trotter (Daily Blog): Upholding The Accused’s Right To Write Mark Daalder ...
Open mike 05/02/2013 
In the previous two posts, I laid out the context and set the theoretical framework to answer a question: whether indigenous economies should take the LEAP. This final part outlines ways to conceive of practicing mana motuhake within the existing legal system by carving out special jurisdictions that enable Indigenous ...2 hours ago
Fully Informed? Labour’s 2017 promises raised expectations that were little short of revolutionary. Unfortunately, they were never adequately shaken through the fiscal sieve. The hard economic work was not done – and it shows. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s critics have long complained that her grasp of the way the New ...7 hours ago
You cannot expect to pound communities into the ground day after day, year after year, decade after decade and just expect them to take it lying down. There’s a point at which the place will explode. And we’re faced with some very big ructions on both sides of the Atlantic ...2 days ago
Back in May, Destiny Church leaders Brian and Hannah Tamaki launched another political party. Despite consisting entirely of followers of their religion, they grandly called it "Coalition New Zealand", in a vain effort to suggest it was something broader. But when they applied for registration, submitters opposed the name, as ...2 days ago
The following article is excerpted and translated from two articles in recent issues of Lutte de Classe (Class Struggle), the magazine of Lutte Ouvrière (Workers Struggle), the revolutionary workers group active in France. We don’t necessarily agree with everything in it – for instance, the 1956-62 war for independence involved rather more revolutionary forces than ...2 days ago
2 days ago
Going Down? Once truth and propaganda become fused in the minds of one’s followers, debate and discussion become redundant. If one’s opponents are all outrageous liars, then engaging with them in any way is pointless. Rather than waste its time, a political party should, instead, target all its messages at ...2 days ago
We need to fundamentally reframe our systems settings to address the drivers causing and underpinning inequality; structural change in systems especially financial. The Equality Network Hui was held in Wellington on 27 June 2019. The hui covered important topics such as child poverty; a living wage; taxation; public health; mental ...4 days ago
The views-per-page for some of my recent postings:Depressing, isn't it? Provide thoughtful and wise commentary on the mainstream of British politics and no-one notices. Make a passing reference to Tommy DICKHEAD Robinson in a thread title and you get hundreds of views. Write something about anti-Semitism and you get another ...4 days ago
The government has announced plans to move the Treaty of Waitangi and other taonga to a new site. Great news! So where are they going? Right next to the old one:The new plan will see a new 22,000-square-metre archive built on the former site of Defence House - the former ...4 days ago
Back in June, StatsNZ went public about a project to track population data on an hourly level by using people's cellphones. It wasn't as bad as it initially looked - they were receiving no individual data, only counts by suburb - but there was still a huge consent problem, so ...4 days ago
Most economists agree that a currently slowing economy could do with some stimulus – and they would also agree that there is no shortage of infrastructure projects which could be brought to productive fruition with help from that stimulus. In view of the current practice of sub-contracting economic policy decisions ...4 days ago
I did an interview on the TVNZ Breakfast Show about the situation in Hong Kong. I tried to frame the issue as a collective action problem between two sides with very different end games. The video is here. Because of time constraints we could not discuss the fact that the ...4 days ago
Image Credit: Wild Rose College A new study reporting the ranges of values for kidney and liver parameters in a healthy population is being actively misrepresented by anti-fluoride campaigners. The Fluoride Action Network’s (FAN) latest ... 4 days ago
Alone, Alone. All, All Alone: Will it be a good or a bad thing, when humanity’s bright blue spacecraft is stricken by the civilisation-destroying problem of Climate Change, that no Huston Control will be standing-by to rescue the crew?“WE HAVE A PROBLEM, HUSTON.” These were the words used by the ...5 days ago
Divided Loyalties: Can the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, be relied upon? That’s what the boys and girls at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon needed to be reassured about. Because, from the perspective of Washington, it’s looking more and more like Jacinda Ardern and her Labour Party comrades are getting ready ...6 days ago
This handy Queer Theory Glossary is from thetranswidow.com In case you’ve had trouble keeping up with the spate of new queer theory terms, here’s a handy glossary for your reference. Queer – A straight person with an interesting haircut. Non-binary/genderqueer – A chubby young female, typically 16-28, who has ...1 week ago
The winter grazing issue is becoming a highly sensitised one that I hope will not become so politicised that it delays solutions and results in the suicides of some very stressed farmers.Winter grazing has hit the headlines after a determined campaign, including the release of a video of some very ...1 week ago
The Green Part has been accused of lack of transparency in two recent situations. The first was the claimed media lockdown during Green's annual conference and the second was Julie Ann Genter's refusal to release a letter she had sent to Phil Twyford.I do get frustrated when journalist's succumb to ...2 weeks ago
Blowing-Up The House: Is Winston Peters planning to put himself at the head of all those New Zealanders who refuse to countenance the Coalition Government caving-in to the Ihumatao protesters? The most effective way of doing this would be to issue Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with an ultimatum. If she ...2 weeks ago
A Cult, that many actors, politicians, and those with a low IQ are joining is sweeping across civilisation, with one main intention – ending humans reign on Earth. Starting as a well meaning though deeply flawed theory, that the Earth was warming due to mankind emitting greenhouse gasses, it was ...2 weeks ago
There is a military phrase: “Full spectrum dominance”. It refers to the all-encompassing policy to dominate across all spheres of war. Lately, that has come to include the internet – in other words, cyberwarfare initiatives. That is in addition to land, sea, air and the like. Now, if ...2 weeks ago
The IMF issued a Report on the state of the Economy as it is at present. Some of it points out significant issues that certainly warrant attention, but that we know already exist. Some of it is very much tied to the very obvious context of global concerns, that everyone ...2 weeks ago
I'm glad to see the Lib Dems won.I had a moment of terror yesterday thinking that the Conservatives might cling on, due to a combination of Johnson's elevation to the premiership, the apparent uselessness of the Lib Dem candidate (who had failed to be elected in other constituencies) and the ...2 weeks ago
. . Current Leader of the National Party, Simon Bridges gave the usual rah-rah speech to the Loyal & Faithful in Christchurch today (27 July). With National’s party polling and his own personal popularity sliding steadily in the polls, Mr Bridges has not much left to reverse his fortunes. ...2 weeks ago
Those concerned for Langridge’s wellbeing say they hope he’ll change his mind when he sees the ocean coming. The protester who has vowed to stand outside Parliament every day until the Government announces a climate emergency says he accepts that his quest will most likely end in drowning. Ollie Langridge, ...2 weeks ago
Image Credit: How To Start a Blog – Beginner’s Guide for 2019 I notice a few regulars no longer allow public access to the site counters. This may happen accidentally when the blog format is altered. ... 2 weeks ago
Opportunities to dodge tax are shrinking with the completion of a new tax agreement with Switzerland, Revenue Minister Stuart Nash announced today. Mr Nash and the Swiss Ambassador David Vogelsanger have today signed documents to update the double tax agreement (DTA). The previous DTA was signed in 1980. “Double tax ...1 week ago
Sunday, 18 August, 2019 - Environmental groups and well known New Zealanders are preparing to deliver a 55,000 strong petition to the steps of Parliament tomorrow, calling on the Government to protect the world’s smallest dolphin. ...2 hours ago
The government will spend $54 million on fresh initiatives aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness. ...3 hours ago
The debate over cancer drug funding us further complicated by lobby groups and opaque agenda. ...3 hours ago
Good on their own, even better with cheese – these crisp, moreish crackers are destined to become your new go-to savoury snack.These crackers have been on high rotation in our household – they’ve filled lunchboxes, accompanied fine cheeses on evening platters and been eaten by the fistful straight from the jar. ...9 hours ago
Over 300 hours of interviews condensed into five episodes that cover the entirety of New Zealand’s comedy history – how do you even start to approach that? Sam Brooks interviews Paul Horan, the documentarian behind the show.It’s one of those projects that sounds utterly futile – how does one cover ...13 hours ago
Judgement prevents understanding, which in itself is a barrier to preventing unsafe behaviour. Are different approaches to harm reduction in the Rainbow community needed? Sex. Drugs. Carly Rae Jepsen. This is the iconography that tends to be massaged into mainstream conceptions of gay culture. Depictions in TV/film see us railing lines ...13 hours ago
The Spinoff is covering local elections across the country with a new pop-up section. To kick things off, Hayden Donnell went to a mayoral debate at Grey Power on the North Shore of Auckland.John Tamihere walked into the mayoral debate at North Shore Grey Power on Friday just minutes after ...1 day ago
The Spinoff is covering local elections across the country with a new pop-up section. To kick things off, Hayden Donnell went to a mayoral debate at Grey Power on the North Shore of Auckland.John Tamihere walked into the mayoral debate at North Shore Grey Power on Friday just minutes after ...1 day ago
The three parties in the coalition have to negotiate compromises, concessions and conquests week after week. ...1 day ago
Things I Learned at Art School is a new series featuring artists discussing how they do what they do and know what they know. In the second instalment, Megan Dunn talks to Berlin-based New Zealander Simon Denny about Michael Parekowhai, teaching and technology, and an idea involving the online shoe ...1 day ago
With the acquisition of global rugby streaming leader RugbyPass, Sky might have just secured its future, writes Trevor McKewen.For several months now, the war between Sky and Spark Sport for the peerless prize of All Blacks and New Zealand rugby rights from 2021 onwards has been escalating. Every week, one ...1 day ago
Today, a short story from the late 1920s, published in a posthumous new collection by Marlborough writer Eileen Duggan. Photo by Peter Black. ...1 day ago
The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Jamie Cashmore, co-founder of Auckland-based edible packaging company Twiice. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Twiice.Twiice is a company making edible coffee cups with plans to progress into other areas ...1 day ago
Black Fern Aleisha-Pearl Nelson was told by doctors, twice, that her rugby days were over - after serious horse-riding accidents. ...1 day ago
The recent discovery of a fossil parrot the size of a human toddler is even more reason for Foulden Maar to be protected, writes the chairperson of Save Foulden Maar, Kimberley Collins.Last week, scientists discovered a new species of extinct parrot in the St Bathans Fauna. Weighing in at seven ...2 days ago
The three governing parties are turning their attention to next year’s general election. RNZ‘s Jo Moir surveys the field.The night New Zealand First formed a government with Labour and the Greens, its leader Winston Peters quoted the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.Almost two years later all three ...2 days ago
Protests in Hong Kong have attracted worldwide attention - but are we ignoring a more serious situation across the sea? ...2 days ago
Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk Wording has played a crucial role in a reportedly “fierce” Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu with Australia allegedly managing to alter documental terms to downplay its commitment to climate change mitigation. According to RNZ Pacific, a communiqué and separate statement on climate change was released ...2 days ago
Australia’s coal policy and its use of carry over credits to fulfill its obligations under the Paris Agreement have come under fire and been major points of contention at this year’s 50th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Meeting in Funafuti, Tuvalu. READ MORE: ‘We should have done more for our ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael O’Keefe, Head of Department, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University The Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Tuvalu this week has ended in open division over climate change. Australia ensured its official communique watered down commitments to respond to climate change, gaining ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Xanthe Mallett, Forensic Criminologist, University of Newcastle Even in death, the voice of Carl Williams is louder than that of his victims. Intimate prison letters written by the convicted murderer and drug trafficker to his ex-wife, Roberta – herself arrested this month ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brianna Chesser, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Justice, RMIT University In September 2018, a prominent Melbourne surgeon and academic was charged with rape and sexual assault for alleged offences committed a year earlier against a male doctor. The surgeon and doctor had ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Dearnaley, Associate Professor, University of Southern Queensland The blotched butterfly orchid (Sarcochilus weinthalii) looks fairly unremarkable when it’s not flowering, generally resembling the far more common orange blossom orchid. But when it flowers, it is exquisite. Dark purple blotches stand out ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Cropper, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne Almost every person throughout the existence of humankind has looked up at the night sky and seen more than just a random scattering of light. Constellations of stars have helped ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Desbrow, Associate Professor, Nutrition and Dietetics, Griffith University A recent study published in the journal Depression and Anxiety has attracted widespread media attention. Media reports said eating chocolate, in particular, dark chocolate, was linked to reduced symptoms of depression. Unfortunately, we ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Crosby, Professor, Monash University Since President Trump tweeted about imposing new tariffs on China, global equity markets have gone into a tailspin. Trump’s more recent announcement that the new tariffs would be delayed has not calmed the markets, with recent days ...2 days ago
Today, TVNZ released its latest findings on who is watching what on TVNZ OnDemand. Sam Brooks analyses the results.Today, TVNZ released the 2019 figures for who is watching TVNZ OnDemand, what they’re watching and in what kind of numbers. The big numbers are hopeful – over 1.4 million people reached ...2 days ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jock Collins, Professor of Social Economics, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney The federal government wants to boost the number of migrants moving to regional areas in Australia to fill job vacancies and reduce the pressure on our cities. That’s why ...2 days ago
One dignified resignation was a bouquet in a sea of brickbats this week as low levels of accountability had eyes rolling. James Elliott has the news of the week. ...2 days ago
Corrections has referred a letter written by the alleged Christchurch terrorist to police for further investigation. ...2 days ago
Sky Television is purchasing online rugby streaming service RugbyPass for $US40 million ($NZ62m). ...2 days ago
Jewellery retailer Michael Hill International has reported a lift in profit but is feeling the pinch of lower sales and squeezed margins. ...2 days ago
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein on the band’s ninth studio album, working with St Vincent, and the departure of bandmate and drummer, Janet Weiss.It’s been almost five years since Sleater-Kinney broke their decade-long hiatus with an album that received almost near-universal praise. It was “raw”, “bristling”, “emotive”, “taut” – all adjectives you’d ...2 days ago
When Emily Writes reviewed a life-changing sex toy, the response from orgasm-starved women was huge. So why are so many having so few orgasms, and what can be done?For the last two years I’ve been running a pretty small – about 600-odd member – group for mostly New Zealand women ...2 days ago
Wine should be fun, not intimidating, all you need is a little knowledge. Yvonne Lorkin co-founder and chief tasting officer of WineFriend provides some simple tips to help you empower your palate. Even I can get scared by wine. I’m usually super-meek and a tad feeble at high-brow, ‘industry’ wine tastings. ...2 days ago
Pacific Media Watch Newsdesk By Makereta Komai in Funafuti, Tuvalu Tonga’s Prime Minister, ‘Akilisi Pohiva, has delivered a stinging attack against regionalism and the Pacific Islands Forum’s stance of leaving no one behind, for failing to amicably resolve the issue of West Papua. Pohiva admitted the issue has divided ...2 days ago
To the MPs that come on here asking for unity or whatever so they can concentrate on the ‘real enemy’.
I’m prepared to publicly concede I had it wrong all along when you hit 40% in the polls.
At what point between now and the next election campaign when you don’t reach that number, will you be prepared to say we got it wrong, DS isn’t the right man for the job, you were spot on Al1?
Way I see it, at least 22 caucus members don’t know they arses from elbows.
What do you think you know that I don’t?
Did you hear Shearer on RNZ this morning on Waitangi and the Te Karere Digipol? Not only was he inarticulate as to explaining how Labour were working for Maori, he also could not pronounce his mps names, what they were doing, and entirely forgot to mention Nanaia. Precursor to the reshuffle?
hush minx: Well, how would you “perform”, after a night with lots of beer to “celebrate” your “overwhelming” victory of sorts? Maybe that is why he dropped in performance again? Just a thought, but he may send Annette around to answer and clarify this for us shortly.
Hmmm – and then I saw this in today’s Dom post:
Mr Shearer has not yet convinced the voters that he is a plausible prime minister, even if his caucus has backed him. He is desperately inarticulate, unable to deliver a sound bite without a lot of rehearsal or an auto-cue. ..He can look tough and decisive when his back is to the wall, but mostly he still just blunders.
Trevor Mallard likens Mr Shearer to Norman Kirk, which is laughable… Mr Shearer has a long way to go before he and his party look like winners.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/editorials/8261563/Editorial-Faltering-leader-versus-government-in-rut
Sigh
I caught this little gem at the end of the editorial to which you linked hush minx. “Labour is exploring new ideas- on monetary policy and tax and on a tougher welfare policy – but its image remains blurred.” This is the first I’ve heard of the “tougher welfare policy” and I don’t know if its true. Can anyone shed light on this?
Maybe ask “Jacinda Dear”, or the more senior “expert” “(Marie Antoi-)Anette” ?
I have had high suspicions about Labour’s true welfare agenda for a long time now, this only adds to it!!! They have in general been FAR TOO SILENT on the reforms that NatACT with the front person Bennett are launching, so one must wonder, wonder and wonder.
As Shearer will feel reassured now, I do not rule out a “slightly more moderate” harder line welfare policy by Labour, as the public have through a totally biased, misinforming MSM been largely conditioned and turned into benefit enviers and haters. So that is the wrongly “nurtured” public sentiment now, that exists, and Shearer would be prone to exploit public sentiment to gain votes.
His “sickness benefit roofpainter story” at the start of a “Heartland Speech” in Nelson (and I believe elsewhere) may have been the first signal to the public he gave, for what he really wants Labour to stand for!
Do NOT forget, they (Labour) brought in a Dr David Bratt, a staunch “pro work ability” “Principal Health Advisor” comparing benefit dependence to drug dependence in 2007. They have never explained that man’s appointment or bizarre claims in his public presentations to GPs and others.
Shearer never apologised for – or explained his “bene roof painter” dog whistle comments.
Shearer is displaying a clean lack of imagination, kiwi voters hate capable PMs. Ever since Lange gave it such a bad name – aka – neobliberalism. Why do you think Key is so desperate to look like a spoit brat, the longer he stays in office the harder it is to not look capable. He’s got a whole horrendous history of bad policy, reshuffles, outsourcing, and dithering over the economy under his belt but its never enough,
competence capable keep dogging his legacy.
NZ is rich and its essential for NZ not to get tagged as rich, and the best way is to just hand over our assets, deregulate, gear the economy to export its profit centers and just hate the idea of productivity. Government generosity is a crime against the economy damn it.
Kiwis are
just not taught simple ethics like beware people bearing gifts, that priests who are too good to be true are diddling their wards, that men selling ponsi schemes so pander to
investors personal weaknesses, that saving the economy by laxly taxes and deregulating the commercial arena will breed world winning companies (wow lol, what, the heavy slap on the bum is only good for children).
Being nice to the private sector will not make a resilient growing prosperous NZ.
We are this way, as a Nation, because our media is so weak and subservient to Australian bankers and Australian media barons, because they all want to work in OZ eventually and so make it easy to exploit NZ to gain points in the eyes of future employers.
Hi Olwyn – there have been a small number of us on this site who’ve been talking about this for a while now, xtasy for example, but it’s really hard to show people on the Left how nasty Labour’s welfare policy has been since 1999. Nobody sees the detail and neither, I believe, does anyone on the Left want to. Labour has been asked time and time again about this but they will not say a word. bad12 had a crack at me yesterday about having a go at Annette King, rushing to her defence ahead of taking notice of the real issue, which is that Labour’s history on welfare reform since 1999 and its silence when asked if this is still its policy is clear evidence it has every intention of continuing from wherever National leaves off, just as it did from 1999. Everyone’s saying “give Labour a chance to develop its welfare policy before you slag it”, but it’s been six years now since its last attack, the 2007 amendment Act, and they said nothing to suggest things had changed leading up to the last election. The only conclusion we can arrive at is it’s going to be more of the same. We can’t keep giving Labour the benefit of the doubt when there’s nothing to suggest things have changed – just silence which we can only take as meaning nothing’s changed. We trusted Labour in 1999 and they pooed all over us. For that I say fuck them.
Yes Mary I too have mistrusted that silence, which is what drew my attention to that short sentence in the first place.
Labour’s approach to welfare has been pretty nasty since 1984. They brought in GST and income taxes on benefits, instantly cutting into the standard of living. They brought in the monetarist culture of greed, which ordains that it’s easy to get rich and anyone who doesn’t is beneath contempt. They’ve never said sorry or admitted the huge shift to the right and they throw anyone who tries to give a minor nudge to the left under the bus. I’m afraid I can only see them as a party which exists to give the illusion of choice and democracy, especially with Shearer as leader.
@hush minx. I’m just waiting for TS to be blamed for this as well
Yep the replacement for Mike Smith.
Probably celebrated round at Hooton’s place.
hush minx – I didn’t hear it but your description is so good I don’t need to. Tangata whenua are cannon fodder for that useless nobody and his cohorts.
What was that olde world yank tea party thing about no representation, no taxes?
How about no accountability, no sermons or lectures.
Stand by your secret votes and give a date and a poll figure when you’ll know for sure the fight can’t be won. Draw on memory from 2008-11 if you’re stuck.
lol
Labour got in the order of 23% in a RM poll a week from the election. Result: NACT get 64 seats including three parties with 5 electorate-only seats.
To be that close to victory when labour is that low, I’m not completely certain I’d make that call if labour are at 30% a week out from the election. I wouldn’t be comfortable, but I sure wouldn’t be predicting defeat as a certainty.
It’s a simple enough couple of questions question, yet the nature of politics dictates it won’t get an answer from those it’s really asked, but in the real world away from the house, when they’re human like the rest of you, they’ll know what I’m on about, and that’s what I’m all about.
Devastating political scandal for key or the nats aside, or a last minute game changer than comes from left field (won’t be from Labour then 😉 ) and surprises everyone, as we are all repeatedly told by the media during campaigns that voters minds are already made up well in advance of a poll date, there’s a time when at least 22 of caucus who won’t even be aware of my challenge will sit and think, shit.
I don’t know whether it’s the night before, a week out a month or even dare I suggest those in caucus who voted for a vote for leader who can already tell this far out, but even though you probably won’t care too much (depending on your list ranking), I told you so, losers. 😆
Biggest laugh at my expense is if Shearer slashes at Key’s poll rating and storms to a landslide election, winning by fighting for the NZ public on a platform of equality and opportunity for all kiwis.
Someone best make a record and post on election night to compound my ignorance. 😀
hah – I’ve lost the link where I gave a timeframe for when I’d expect labour to get a 35% poll or two, before calling it another goff term.
But I reckon your penultimate sentence wouldn’t be so much of at the expense of yourself, or the country. 🙂
It’s a fair cop, guvnor, :thumbsup:
But just like what’s the point in having a heart and a sleeve if you don’t wear one on the other?
What’s the point in having money and a mouth if you won’t/can’t put them together?
Death and taxes – Fact.
Words without action – Not.
Maybe this is why Key wants to hang onto Parata a bit longer, she’s got to be the fall-guy
a bit longer:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/127323/govt-poised-to-make-big-school-reforms,-papers-show
Yep
“Treasury documents indicate that the Government is considering major reforms of the school system.
The papers show improving the system is the Treasury’s highest priority and emphasise raising the quality of teaching.”
The highest priority is creating more upheaval in the school system? Not housing, not child poverty, not the chronic shortage of doctors.
They are putting in place charter schools, by the time National leaves office I wouldn’t be surprised if thousands more of kids come out of school with no qualifications and no future. Just the perfect slave labour for their corporate mates.
but they’ll have certificates in “bible knowledge” or “burger dynamics”.
And just what the hell does Treasury know about teaching?
Oh, that’s right, absolutely nothing. That’s why we have a Ministry of Education.
Now will they apply that to the economy as well?
Not bloody likely.
Paula Bennett was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan of Radio New Zealand National yesterday morning (04 Feb., 09:05 am) on welfare numbers, the welfare reforms to be pushed through by her government, whether they were justified, correct and representative, and more.
On the nine to noon program there were also Alan Johnson, Salvation Army social policy analyst and Susan St John from Auckland Uni, elaborating on controversial figures, why the mainstream media misrepresents the truth about beneficiaries, the numbers of them, the reasons for being on benefits and rather just tends to high-light and present the extreme, bizarre, very unusual cases to the public.
It is well worth a listen and to do some good, critical thinking about it.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20130204
Bennett was again, as so often, getting a lot of figures wrong, confusing some, and naturally did “not have them before her” in too many cases. So she continues to create a lot of “mist”, uncertainties, she is distracting and full of ambiguities and misrepresentation.
Of course the program once again only scratched the very surface of a whole range of issues, that will become very clear to the many that will be very adversely and seriously affected, yes harmed, by the reforms that will be pushed through by way of the ‘Social Security (Benefit Categories and Work Focus) Amendment Bill’, presently before the Social Services Committee of Parliament.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/20130204
Also, do not forget, where Bennett comes from, and what her speech revealed, that she held to medical professionals (who will be instrumental in part, to force sick, injured and disabled into some forms of work) on 26 Sept. 2012. Read between the lines, and realise the absolute focus on the supposed UK findings, that are supposed to be the “international” evidence that work is kind of “remedial” to all people.
http://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-medical-professionals
I have not found much of other “international” evidence though that supports the extreme, bizarre and perverted interpretation of a so-called “bio psycho-social model” for assessing and re-integrating disabled and sick into work, that a Professor Sir Mansel Aylward (from a partly private insurance financed department at Cardiff University), who also helped develop and introduced tough work ability assessments at the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK (first under Thatcher), did bring in there.
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2013/01/11/new-zealand-british-style-work-tests-concern-tests-were-developed-by-disability-expert-prof-sir-mansel-aylward/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/05/31/a-tale-of-two-models-disabled-people-vs-unum-atos-government-and-disability-charities-by-debbie-jolly-dpac/
http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/10/31/government-use-might-of-american-insurance-giant-to-destroy-uk-safety-net-by-mo-stewart-update/
The true agenda is about these “reforms” is all about cost savings, and nothing else!!!
The UK model is seriously considered as a foundation upon the Ministry of Social Development and Work and Income are planning to change the whole medical assessment and work testing regime for sickness and invalid’s beneficiaries. THIS ALL IS COMING HERE AND DUE TO BECOME THE NORM FOR NZ.
This is a space to watch, as NZ is in danger of making serious mistakes that have been made already by following similar, draconian reforms and bizarre work-testing regimes in the UK over recent years. Already many there died through trying to work while they really could not, or were in extreme cases driven to commit suicide. Grim stuff this is.
‘Grim stuff this is.’, aye it’s what the NACT do best.
Bennett shows that’s it’s all about ideology, facts are to be dismissed if they don’t support your case or twisted if possible with a few slogans to spin and confuse.
Bennett is a hypocrite who is pulling the ladder up behind her and being applauded by that other beneficiary of welfare John Key.
Ryan’s too lightweight, that’s why they go on.
As the Labour/Green/NZFirst? coalition, noticeably surpass National in popularity, (polls indicating that move now) we will see those vote gaining tactic’s of welfare/benefit attacks. Maori will cop the usual ‘what more do they want slurs.’ which is a reliable vote earner also.
Xl you make some good points.
Keep up the good work Xtasy.
I’m feeling pretty despondant about affecting positive change. I don’t know if TS will go ahead with brainstorming policy given our powerlessness in getting Labour to pay attention, but maybe someone who has some influence will pause for thought over something they read here, sometime, and that will make it worthwhile.
It’s not up to us on TS to get Labour to pay attention. It really is up to them to engage the community and so far, from what I can make out, they’re failing miserably.
Thanks for the links X, this needs much more coverage than it is getting. The system is ALREADY damaging for disabled persons and the able bodied (eg access difficulties, lack of understanding, overworked staff not informing people of their full and correct entitlement which IMHO is a key driver of poverty in this country).
Paula’s only idea is to stick with the main ideas behind the British model which caused and continues to cause such great social harm.
It’s almost a form of eugenics/social cleansing.
People with disabilities struggled under Labour, now they are denied basic human rights under National. When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks, who if the government had just given teacher aids and sufficient resources could have been productive members of society. National doesn’t care about those with disabilities, it believes in eugenics i.e. letting the worst off members of society starve, kill themselves or end up homeless on the street.
Edit: So yeah you are right. 😉
When Labour and the Greens take over the books in 2014 they will find thousands of children that have fallen in the cracks…
There will be children in the cracks of the books?
You’re a book crack.
Good one.
NO, your book is cracked, same as your mind seems to be “cracked”.
Common sense, reading real information and understanding what is behind stuff is not your strenghth, it seems. Well, to be honest, you do not really care, as you are just one of the few frequenting TS to stir up crap, but contribute little of substance.
Enjoy your little space in narrow mind, the smaller it gets.
Like some time long before Christmas (to 2 email addresses at RNZ) – again yesterday substantial information on some of what is already happening at the hands of MSD and WINZ in this regards, was sent to Kathryn Ryan at Radio NZ National yesterday afternoon.
My expectation is – it will just be put aside as too much and too complex information to bother looking at, so it will NOT be reported on.
Lead story today is the football fraud scandal exposed by Europol, that has spread world-wide and is being exposed now. So most that are interested in sports and other matters will pay attention to that, rather than what really matters.
The media (mainstream that is) does not give a damn about beneficiaries or sick and disabled, unless they are cases that can be presented as sob or pity story material – to gain in viewing and listening quotas – that will also enable to sell yet more advertising.
That is what Campbell Live and others are doing. Sorry to upset the ones that may think he is doing some “good work”. Yes, it may be for a good cause, some of it, but it never seems to be without ulterior goals.
Two very contrasting blog posts, Chris Trotter’s a sting in the tail on why Labour needs to commit to helping the poorest amongst us.
And at the opposite end of the spectrum in both compassion, understanding and comprehension Josie Pagani posts on, at least I think she is posting on, why Labour needs to be more right wing and why beneficiaries should only be tolerated and Labour needs to get tougher on crime.
The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.
Pagani acting as the last, distant colonial outpost of Blairism would be funny, except that I suspect her thinking is close to the feeble ideology at the top of the parliamentary Labour party. As such, I think she provides a fascinating insight into the sort of arguments that seem to under pin much of Labour’s policy at the moment.
MS – I saw Trotter’s story last night, but did not yet read it in detail.
That link works, but the other hyperlink you put in for Pagani does not lead to the story.
# xtasy
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/how-political-parties-get-stuck-in-opposition
Thanks Joe90. Apologies for rushing it.
Thanks for that.
It reminds me very much of what I heard from Phil Goff, when a minister many years ago. Cracking down on crime, doing this and that, supporting the military and what else comes to mind.
Pagani is stuck in the Blairite Bubble, I must say, she will likely never get out of it, because once it pops, she will drop and hurt herself, thus ending in a personality crisis.
I heard also yesterday (on the BBC World Service that was), that the French may not just have gone to deal to “islamist extremist threats” in Mali, but perhaps also bore in mind the rich uranium and other resources found there!?
That makes it look a bit more like “a little Iraq style invasion” then.
Maybe Shearer will invest his UN and strategic thinking skills by suggesting to send NZ troops to sort out Fiji, in order to “restore democracy”?
The interesting bits on that page are to be found in the comment section at the bottom of the page,
The best that can be said for the writer of that piece is in the nature of revelation, it appears that being a ‘political contortionist’ allows Her to suck the air She breathes out of Her own anus…
Quoting Article:
I don’t see anyone on the left doing that. See it plenty on the right though as they work to distract from their failed policies that come directly from their failed ideology.
Other than that, I don’t think she managed to say anything.
What drivel – whatever point she was trying to make was lost in a sea of dross. She must be Special Adviser to Shearer.
” their failed ideology”
As compared to the absolutely fabulous concoction on the contemporary Left of Deconstructionist Intellectual Fraudsters/Feminist Man Hating/Neo Marxist mumbo jumbo.
Yep, k_p still fails to make any sense whatsoever.
Tell, were you born that stupid or did you have to work at it?
Unenlightened people often are damned to work very, very hard, so some keep trying here, working very, very hard, repeating the same all over again, as some know no better, to get somewhere.
Whether it pays off is not relevant, as the exercise of banging the head against the brick wall sets off endless flows of adrenalin, that give some hormonal feelings of “encouragement” or stoicism, it will end up feeling quite “good” of sorts for the endless head banger. So add the dots together perhaps.
“The next time she advertised as being “of the left” should be met with a complaint that it is misleading.”
She was on Larry Williams’ show last night with Cameron Slater. She agreed with everything he said.
Well, she does work for him.
What you notice about Pagani and the whole Neo-lib tribe that currently occupies ‘the middle ground’ is that the ‘problem’ is always framed as being ‘WELFARE’,
That of course allows them to concentrate solely upon a narrow line of dialogue, and thus ‘reforms’ become acceptable in that ‘middle ground’,
It is in fact ‘the economy’ and ’employment’ where the focus should be, it is obvious to everyone except the most blatant of LIARS that there are more people available for work than there is work in the economy,
Thus continually whipping those reliant upon welfare to even ‘look’ for work is simply BULLSHIT,(as a commenter pointed out Pagani’s comments were),
As Pagani is firmly mired in the middle class when She talks of Socialism, She is talking of the Socialism of the middle classes where that class is continually pandered to by the political class…
Pagani would seem to argue that Blair invaded other countries for good reasons, while his partner in crime, Bush, was invading the same countries for bad reasons. I have a real love/hate relationship with the way these fake lefties are able to contort their ideas to suit any actions whatsoever. It’s frightening and enetertaining at the same time.
Just listened to the first part of the interview….in the first minute or so Ryan reveals the number of people on the unemployment benefit for 15 years or more? TWELVE PEOPLE.
The number of people on the dole for 20 years or more? FOUR.
Citing extreme examples to illustrate we have an issue that only they (National) have the guts to solve has been the approach to welfare.
That was the good part of the whole interview, how Bennett and the government on one hand are exposed as exploiting and abusing figures to portray a “dramatic” “crisis” kind of scenario asking for urgent action, and how especially the MSM totally mis-report, misrepresent and basically LIE to the public about what is happening in the area of benefit dependence, needs and challenges.
It is all only about headlines about selected, bizarre, totally out of the ordinary EXTREME cases, that they report on, NOT FACTS and balanced figures and details!
This must be exposed more, for sure, as the MSM appear to be complicit in the war on the welfare system and affected beneficiaries this government is leading now. That is NOT what the so-called “4th estate” is there for.
What interested me was the bloke up Gizzy way that had been on the dole for 25 years, now that man should be given a gold watch,
By being a well behaved citizen over that 25 years, he has quite heroically in my opinion given up the pursuit of more money so as to enable others to take up any work on offer,
In a province of economic decline this man has selflessly gone without on the doles meager income allowing others to earn those higher wages,
Should this man have entered the workforce at any time in those 25 years in a province with a declining economy someone else would have had to take the position previously occupied by that bloke,
While the above is a little out of left field it is in ‘fact’ the truth, in a declining economy for a person to gain employment there is every chance that someone in another part of that economy will have stopped being employed…
He’s a lazy good for nothing.
Probably grows dope, deals and sits on his fat bum, stoned most of the time.
A quarter century doing nothing?
Jeez, KP, I thought you were keen on the entrepeneurial spirit? Why are you putting the boot into a man you believe to be running an effective small business for quarter of a century?
Y’know, in that 25 years, the bloke will have seen various welfare administrations, maybe ten Ministers of Employment, several name changes at the DOSS/Social Welfare/WINZ/MOBIE and countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could.
Presumably he has been getting the benefit for 25 years for dinkum reasons. That’s fine by me.
“…countless case managers who would all have bounced him off the dole in a heartbeat if they could. ”
As you well know the stories of incompetency are endless coming out of the welfare system.
Maybe he’s got a few “cussie brews” in that little country town branch.
Pathetic use of a popularism of language you dick-head, even a 5 year old knows that its cuzzy-bro…
Yeah but the way you spell it isn’t phonetic, lol.
I can’t even understand half what most Maoris say their English pronunciation is so poor.
So is there some difference in 1 person ‘doing nothing’ for 25 years as you put it and 10 people over the same period spending 18 months each doing nothing,
i realize that your a ‘wing-nut’ so have to take into account your limited ability to actually ‘think’ but in a Gisborne type situation with an economy in continual decline someone ‘has’ to be unemployed,
Given that little ‘fact’ our ‘gold watch’ beneficiary would have to take someone else’s employment or if a newly created employment position appeared in the local economy deny someone else that employment position,
Which simply means that should that Bloke in Gizzy have ‘got a job’ someone else in Gizzy wouldn’t have one…
Engaging in sophistry there, bad12 – not that you would know what the word means without looking it up first.
The idea that the long term unemployed are taking one for the team is so self evidently absurd, I can only respond with the same question re Draco T below, why don’t any of the Left parties use your brilliant dazzling argument in their public statements on the issue?
because of bigoted voters like you?
What is exactly misleading or wrong about the above statement you sexually self-fulfilling, pathetic T thing that resides under a bridge, aint a goat, but in all probability has the odor of one,
Because you have attached to the above the label of sophism means little, nay nothing, without first having provided a narrative which proves the sophism,
Or perhaps you like Paula believe in the magic of the word ‘seeking’ and thus the more people seeking work the more people will have work which is in fact the real sophism,
Of course you also believe that the free market rules in which case the 175,000-185,000 currently seeking work are simply part of a natural market lead pool of available labour,
To believe in both tho is to simply point out that you are in all likely-hood a sufferer of Schizophrenia or some other disease of the mind a fact that none here would find surprising about you…
Paula?
I don’t like her. I’m not a right winger. I’m not a neo-con.
I like old skool Left Liberalism plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
For example, Gareth Morgan’s take on the Welfare System – Health, Pension etc. It’s in a crisis, his Big Kahuna idea deals with the issues and makes an interesting proposal for a solution.
I don’t like Feminist Man Haters/Deconstructionists/Anti-white, anti-Western Multiculturalists.
The Left has crashed and burned thanks to those idiots.
AAAAAH dummy lift your game, ”perhaps you like Paula” is obviously a reference to you being ‘alike’ in attitude even a 4 year old could have figured that,
I see no narrative which proves the sophism of your accusation and changing the subject at 100 k an hour just does not cut it,
I don’t much care what or who you are, your comments reek of SCUM, therefor you shall be known by your comments…
plus any ideas that are free from too much ideological constraint.
Lol…your ‘white is right’ is the most powerful ideology we’ve ever had…shame for you it went out of fashion in the 80s
How do you know he was doing nothing?
In fact, if he was growing dope he couldn’t possibly have been sitting on his arse and he would have been providing a service that the community wants. It’s not his fault that the laws are so stupid as to outlaw a service that the community wants forcing him to declare himself unemployed (that’s if he was growing dope which we’re only speculating upon).
Really, what it comes down to is the simple fact that you’re an idiot. You didn’t even realise that you contradicted yourself.
There is no contradiction.
The idea that growing dope is necessarily a busy full time occupation is one you are assuming in order to create your straw man argument.
So you are the idiot.
‘providing a service that the community wants.’
Too bad David Shearer and the Labour Party don’t put that in their speeches, eh? Guess you think that just goes to show the Labour Party are a bunch of neo liberal sell outs and have betrayed the true Leftists like your enlightened self.
Sigh.
Regardless of whatever you think about cannabis use it’s self-evidently a high demand product. I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service any more than you could argue that neither do tomato growers or parsley growers or broccoli growers.
I suppose that’s why you didn’t bother.
I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.
Fish fingers or chicken nuggets? And get off the computer or you can’t watch Glee :nob:
“I haven’t argue he is not providing a service, you muppet.”
I realise that, you fraggle. However you did quote the phrase and then made a vague attempt to ridicule the bearer of it, so I think it’s fair to assume that you have an opinion on the matter.
I’m just trying to provide you with an opportunity to express it.
“I don’t see how you can argue that cannabis growers are not providing a service”
You are contradicting yourself, are you are Deconstructionist Feminist?
Please show the contradiction.
“Deconstructionist Feminist?”
😆
If it’s a labelling contest, beat Elephantine phallustistic and I’ll let you watch Glee afterall.
So, according to you, farmers aren’t busy full time workers?
So you are trying to equate some useless bum doing some small time growing or dealing to supplement his indolent lifestyle with a farmer.
Well done. Are you a Deconstructionist?
Useless bum? That’s no way to address the entrepreneurial spirit. Shame on you, falling for the tall poppy (hemp) syndrome.
Wow KP, is that the lifestyle you’d choose if you could?
You sound kind of bitter for a hippy.
Maybe on planet McFlock it works that way, but back in the real world, yeah there are plenty of slackers.
most of them are slack in thought, rather than industry.
Well you are definitely guilty of the first.
See? No creativity, man.
You took the obvious gimme and added nothing.
Did you write for Melody Rules?
“Did you write for Melody Rules?”
Is that your idea of creative is it, lol?
you’re almost there. Wake up those lazy neurons…
If he’s the same bloke I read a story about in the paper a while ago then he gets about $10 a week because his earnings don’t reach the cut off point.
There was quite a lengthy interview with David Shearer on the Larry Williams show on Newstalk ZB yesterday, about 8 minutes. All the important questions were asked. Highly recommend it. Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/player/ondemand/1540088868-david-shearer-to-prove-he-can-lead-the-nation
Also for anyone who hasn’t seen it: Matthew Hooton’s NBR piece which suggests that Shearer should freeze Cunliffe out completely: http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/cunliffes-throat-must-now-be-cut-ck-135370
In the Newstalk ZB clip, it’s interesting that Shearer brought up the reshuffle himself when asked what would happen to Cunliffe, while remaining non-committal. I wonder if he’s planning to offer Cunliffe a front-bench portfolio in exchange for a public pledge of loyalty/endorsement?
And in true talkback style, I’d like to know what others think.
Does it remind anyone else of overnight talkback?
That’s exactly what I thought. You have to pinch yourself and say “My God, this really is the leader of the opposition!”, not dotty Don from Dargaville at 3 a.m.
This is why Shearer’s defenders on here totally miss the point. The number of “negative” comments on the Standard is dwarfed by the audience for Newstalk ZB.
Shearer cocks up in front of millions, every week.
But if we point out his cock-ups, apparently we’re the real problem?
heh
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-04/economic-forecasts-no-better-than-a-random-walk/4499098
yep. That’s why economists are so dangerous.
I’ve just read a quote from one of John Buchan’s books. He was a great Empire man, strong on duty and colonial exploration and resource hunting and became Governor General of Canada.
This from The Runagates Club published 1928.
It has relevance for today in English speaking countries with the move to the right and desire for excess and self rather than the national and people’s interest and service with good governance.
From the Bath, in its most exotic form, degenerate patrician youth passed to the coarse delights of the Circus, and thence to that parody of public duties which it was still the fashion of their class to patronise.
Von Letterbeck: Imperial Rome>/i>
The Greens should get their engines running and all their ducks in a row,because i
am picking there will be an influx of left wing voters in 2014.
The Green Party has had for quite a number of years now had ‘it’s engines running’ and this is evidenced by the number of ‘hits’ scored on the Slippery lead National Government in the House at question time, and the ‘fact’ that when seeking comment on any issue of the day the media are just as likely to ask the Green Party for comment as they are to ask Labour,
The Green Party Housing policy in content and intent shows that the Green Party is well ahead in developing policy which directly benefits those most in need in our society and i believe that in the next 18 months we will see much more of this intelligent policy released to the electorate…
Agreed bad12,that’s why i am now getting their e-mails, i have seen the light.
Lolz, bloody good on you then, the constant flow of what i see as negativity which flows through the pages of the Standard toward Labour is in my view counter-productive,
Labour at present(this is opinion), as a party are mostly middle class people, probably in the main well educated and comfortable in their employment,
Socialism has in the main been educated out of the psyche of such people as they have embraced the newer culture of ‘what’s in it for me’,
Labour, as in the last Labour lead Government and the present Labour Opposition simply reflect this comfortable middle class and the continuous venting of anger at them hasn’t as far as i can see changed that one iota,
There may be a ‘mood’ within the Labour Party it’self to change that but my view is that such a ‘mood’ from within the Party will take 10 years to translate into a change in the attitude of the Party’s MP’s,
Given that, there are 2 choices activist member of the broad left have, the first being to become even more active within the Party, not necessarily as a means to gain immediate change in the make-up and attitude of the Labour MP’s, but as a 10 year plan to transform the Party back if you will excuse the use of the word to expressing the core of Labour values,
Option 2 of course is to simply walk away from Labour and give both our monetary and electoral support to the Party which best expresses at this point in time our political and economic values…
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2013/02/a_standard_strategy.html
Comment from the Sewer that is factually incorrect, now who would have thunk that???,
Annette King was commenting on the Standard weeks befor the Leadership vote held yesterday, while Annette cannot as She is bound to support the Caucus and the Party’s policies stray far from simply stating those policies much ‘Could’ be changed by commentor’s here at the Standard putting up comments that highlight any flaws perceived in Labour Party policy while proposing well thought out alternatives…
…Annette cannot as She is bound…
Is she divine?
The Gormless Fool, the name suits you and when applied to you is obviously correct, which is about the only thing you have ever got right in your brief occupation of the skin you are in,
What the f**k is that comment supposed to mean, other than a display of your abject stupidity that is???…
Why don’t you explain the system, as you understand it, for the capitalisation of nouns. Let’s then see who is gormless.
I profess to having not an iota of adherence to any such system as you inquire about,
Gormless we all already know who is gormless around here the fact of which you continually prove beyond a doubt…
Well done on title case. Punctuation still needs work, however.
That comment is as limp as every appendage attached to you torso…
Cause I have a small penis. Geddit?
The long game,
Folks, we are in a real crisis here. Wealthy right-wing interest groups and sectarian lobbies are waging an all-out war on public schools. They want to destroy the public school system and move to a market-driven system where taxpayers are forced to support religious and other private schools of all sorts.
http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2013/02/seven-days-of-deception-school-choice-week-is-over/
lol – wonder if anyone will take up shearers idea of saying, “Happy Waitangi Day” – what a fuckwit he is.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8262156/Shearer-urges-honours-on-Waitangi-Day
He may as well say “happy wankers day”, referring to the day he “won” over Carcass Caucus.
Unemployment is this- Having cut the civil service to the bare minimum needed to operate such a service the present Slippery lead National Government has ‘defined’ for us what a market lead economy will deliver to us as a nation in terms of the number of actual jobs in the economy,
So given that there are currently 175,000-185,000 unemployed in this country we can ‘see’ that this is a ‘true’ reflection of the market economies ability to employ people,
OK, another given is that we are currently in the midst of a economic depression we can also ‘see’ that given an ‘upturn’ the actual number of those the market economy has the ability to employ would still leave us with 125,000-135,000 souls who that market does not have the ability to employ,
It then also becomes obvious to us all that to continually require those who the market economy has FAILED to find an economic use for to seek work which does not exist and prove that they have actually been seeking this non-existent employment would at the least require a belief in ‘magic’ in that anyone who believes that a person simply seeking such employment will radically alter what is a ‘fact’ of that market economy,
The truth of the little ‘fact’ above is to be found in the numbers of those who are unemployed and currently receiving the unemployment benefit attached to which is the requirement to seek work,
Obviously if the act of simply ‘seeking’ work radically changed the ‘market economy’ there would be a radical decline in the numbers of those receiving that particular benefit,
Until such time as Politicians begin to tell the truth about how many of us can be employed by the market economy unemployment is always going to be addressed from the narrow confines of dialogue where the reality is ignored in favor of a belief in magic solutions and further denigration of those the market economy has FAILED to be capable of employing,
I would suggest that as a first step that those politicians which have shown a propensity to believe in such magic solutions to the ‘problem’ of unemployment while claiming the ‘market economy’ is working as it should be should be examined by a medical professional for signs of Schizophrenia as any belief in both is in fact a belief in 2 propositions at the same point on the same subject that are diametrically opposed to each other…
There is a cartoon on the herald which it tags ‘Next time,Mr Shearer’
‘Just appoint yourself to the roll and they will take it on the chin,works
for me every time’
Eludes to Titewhai Harawira at Te tii Marae happenings.
The Wit of Graham Bell
The Panel, National Radio, Tuesday 5 February 2013
Jim Mora, Graham Bell, David Slack
JIM MORA: Noelle, what is the world talking about?
NOELLE McCARTHY: Well, a story that has caught our attention is one from right here in New Zealand, about a kea in the South Island. It stole one thousand dollars from a Scottish tourist who left the money on the front seat of his car.
GRAHAM BELL: That’s unusual for a Scotsman! A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Long, awkward silence. Nobody else laughs. Nobody.]
Just before the news, an item about gender-based driving aptitude leads to another unleashing of the finely honed Bell wit….
GRAHAM BELL: That will be good news for men, because women are always teaching us how to drive.
[Long silence]
GRAHAM BELL: A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
[Awkward silence]
JIM MORA: Oh! I see what you mean. Ha.
DAVID SLACK: [uneasily] Hur hur hur.
[Awkward silence]
MORA: Okay, time for the four o’clock news.
Brain disease is slow and gradual, Alzheimers is one of them, hardly noticed at first.
According to the Waikato Times today, the Waikato town of Pokeno will be home to the first Chinese milk processing plant in New Zealand if Chinese company Yashili International, is given the green light (by the Overseas Investment Office) to buy land for its planned $210 million baby formula operation – creating 100 local jobs. Yashili International, one of China’s biggest baby formula and soymilk powder makers, has a conditional agreement to buy land in Pokeno’s Gateway business park.
Here we go again! NZ is becoming a soft touch for this type of deal and it appears it is now open season to all comers to establish this type of operation in one of our key industries on land we are prepared to sell for this purpose.
It appears that Chinese company Shanghai Pengxin (buyer of the Crafar Farms), may have been the pathfinder in setting a template for this operation currently under consideration. It goes something like this – establish a NZ registered company and then appoint a New Zealander to front it to legitimise it. It appears these moves into NZ are being encouraged by the Chinese government’s decision to substantially reduce import tariffs on finished milk formula.
What are we doing in this country? We must not continue to sell our land to allow major overseas players to establish in our key industries and compete against us.
That just highlights a major failure of Fonterra’s business model, while making adult milk formula and milk formula for small children other than babies Fonterra has failed it’s share-holders by it’s lax attitude to the baby milk formula market in the Asian economies,
Fonterra chose instead to simply supply the raw product to another company i have forgotten the name of under contract which has lad in turn to Fonterra supplying a major competitor, Nestle, as that company has now purchased that company and the supply contracts,
My belief is that the ‘internationalists’ in control of Fonterra will at some stage have removed from the farmer share-holders enough ‘power’ to be able to on-sell Fonterra on the global market,
That as the Chinese are at present seriously building what will eventually become a huge dairy herd will be at a heavily discounted price…
Chinese majority owned Synlait already have more than one milk plant planned/up and running.
PREPARE for the influx of “specially skilled” employees under the China NZ FTA, as in that plant, it will be likely that Mandarin and/or Cantonese will at least be the “official” language of instructions, so any staff working there, will naturally require sufficient language skills, to be able to understand such instructions and to communicate.
NZ Immigration is always very helpful and works together with other agencies and stakeholders and employers to find the most suitable solutions to help everyone involved.
Take it then, there will be the clause used, to get as many Mainland Chinese workers in as they can, to also work “efficiently” and according to “cultural” and other just economic, social and scientific requirements, that are specific to meeting the very needs of the Mainland Chinese consumer. Particular recipes, mixtures and whatever, to get the end product, will be highly commercially sensitive, and this will only be able to be entrusted to, and handled by, competent, knowledgeable, suitably skilled and qualified, also Mandarin or Cantonese literate employees.
Permits granted!
HOOTON, and Fran O Sullivan, now you come!
But…but..NZ is multicultural!
Multiculturalism will only make NZ culture richer!
You are just privileged, white male, heteronormative, cisgender, rape culture promoting, racist, colonialist, imperialistic, essentialist scumbags!!!
If you have any economic points to make in-between your irrelevant ranting, please feel free.
The world owes an awful lot to Abba Alhadi and his friends.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/people-timbuktu-save-manuscripts-invaders
And to think the multiculturalists are happy to let as many Muslims into New Zealander as want to come.
That may be “multiculturalist muslims” though. KPee
And to think that peoples from Arab countries now living in New Zealand have anything to do with such destruction a world away makes you-(search for big word), just scum..
What are you on about, got a problem? Arabs, non arabs, all other nationalities get on with their lives, you just start arguing about something I cannot even decipher. It is nonsensical what you last wrote.
I probably misuderstood you in a wrong way, as you may have been more worked up with commenter “above”, sorry.
Your really ‘on’ the ball tonight X, read, take a deep breath and read again, yes my habit of not naming the persona i am replying to could be confusing…
But I got one more bone to pick with you on the other thread!
Oh good, chewing up bones is one of my favorite occupations…
Got it chewed now, got da message?
Yeah, the problem being that the message i get from you is that you are a childish simpleton prone to paranoid delusions..
Really?
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
KPee – you love Breivik, it seems, or at least agree with his “philosophy”, right, yeah right, I should say and ask?!
KPee I am perhaps also a JIHADEE, so what are you going to do about it, hypothetically???
Let me get someone from “Anonymous” onto you while you wait, we will soon find out, who you are, what you do, where you live and the rest of it. That will make you feel very trusting, I am sure, as I trust you fully, and as you can trust me fully, that is if that can all work, aye?!
So that’s how it works around here, you threaten and intimidate anyone who doesn’t go along with your nonsense.
You are just as crazy as any ideologue of Left or Right
KPee Have thou any fear???
The demise of Western civilization, perlease!!!, that nearly fucking got my heart to stop, the laughter at you for inserting such a phrase into a comment that is,
Can you please, please, please expand upon this destruction of western civilization for me, fuck i love a laugh and your a hoot, the biggest one in town,
It’s all a Muslim conspiracy right KP, out of 20 households in my small street there are 2 that are definitely from the Arab countries, do you think i should bar the windows and put extra locks on the door against the time they break out screaming Allah Akbar whilst mowing down the neighborhood cats with the un-stashed AK47’s,
Actually you useless piece of cum-stain they just do normal things the same as what everyone else in the street does, they pretty much keep to themselves which shock-horror the white folks majority of the street does as well…
bad12: You do NOT understand that you must forthwith conform and convert to ISLAM. That is the ONLY “true” religion. I fyou cannot convert, the devil will get you! That is the truth about religion. Get a fear of the devil now, I tell, you for Jesus Muhammed and others.
So the massive flood of Muslims into Western Europe hasn’t brought their problems with them?
Yes, Muslims didn’t bring their problems with them…Muslim problems in Western Europe developed in Western Europe and also involve a Western Europeans…as well as economic, social and political inequality.
Multiculturalism has been a resounding success in Europe has it?
No, there are multiple reasons for this, including: the incoming culture, the existing culture, economic issues, political issues etc
And you think we can look forward to the same wondrous effects in NZ, right?
Yes, if we continue to deal with it in the same way that Europe has.
You are in self denial or maybe you welcome the erosion of Western Civilization.
Yes, but not complete erosion. Just until one civilisation is no longer dominant to the point that it oppresses another cilivilisation.
Yes, so did say, the master before, to warn of vermin, Adolfus Hitlerius.
Are email notifications likely to ever work for me again?