Silly me. For years I’ve taken Margaret Thatcher’s claim – “there is no such thing as society” – as a mark of her moral corruption. No no no ! All the time it was a beautiful “tapestry” of which she spoke.
morena everyone,
here is an idea for those who will be at waitangi.
to simply demonstrate your disapproval of mr key and his governments’ action/inaction on:
inequality,
child poverty,
the environment,
the economy,
sending troops to someone elses war,
housing etc.
when he speaks, quietly turn your back.
when his vehicle goes past, turn your back.
i have to leave the laptop shortly and in case this idea gets questions asked of it, there is this.
youtube.com/watch?v=koC04cuCc3E
You’re counseling spitting to register effective protest then are you PG ?
So that you can clutch your fucking pearls all weekend thereafter ?
As though it were you got it in the eye ?
Yeah I know you’re not counseling spitting.
You’d rather there were no protest.
Protest challenges YourGodKey.
And the Settled Order – Hue George.
Quibble as much as you like.
That’s your truth.
Snap! Yesterday I began a comment suggesting this but the day got away on me… thank goodness for like minds.
– A Mexican wave of turning backs as the cavalcade passes
– Simple to do, action without violence, or speaking (impossible?)
– Visual gold for the cameras if enough people do it
– as good as a wave of laughing and pointing…
Yes, people must turn their backs on the prying and lying twit.
Do it not just for the cameras but for the country, our increasingly unequal society, our environment, our families, our squeezed communities, and our future generations. And most importantly, do it for ourselves for willing to make a stand on ethics, integrity and the public (not corporate, bankster or casino) interest.
hi kiwiri and jo and others,
the most important aspect of this, imo, is the power it gives to those in the group who turn their backs.
they dont see the news, they dont know what mr key thinks…
they get the feeling of being a part of a community and experience what happens when we cooperate.
i am not a twitterer nor a face booker but anyone is welcome to run with this.
there is no logic, no morality, no credibility to be seen
the US created this mess, let them sort it out. let them remain the targets of their own creation.
you know who should be arming themselves and going – the Bush family.
Get the f$#^&g Bush family to deal with it, not our children in whanganui, te kaha, kerikeri, gore, seddon and masterton – we have nothing to do with it
If NZ must be forced to be involved by dear leader’s subservience to the yanks, how about bringing back conscription; the pool to consist solely of males aged 45–65 years, residing in Parnell and Remuera, Auckland.
They would come down here but not because of us. They would come down here for the strategic geographical position close to Antartica and Australia and for our natural resources.
And who they fuck are they helping to defend us from? Is Fiji looking to invade NZ? Honestly we sit in the bottom of the pacific with so many nations between us and any conceivable threat that any attack that might reach us is going to have to go through the US or Australia anyway. If it did come to us being under attack then the US, AUS, and all those pretty allies are already gone. We probably would have lost our defence force fighting with them long before the threat reached NZ.
The problem is that the hypothetical is the exact reason used be people trying to push us into war. i.e if we want them to be there for us when we are under attack we have to be there for them when they are attacking. It is just unbelievable.
NZ needs to have its own independent highly capable area defence forces, as well as the ability to project military power into the nearby Pacific and southern oceans.
Actually North, if you think about it my view is completely patriotic and it is those like yourself who are unpatriotic whores..(but I suspect you’re pulling my tit)
You may wish to consider a further view I have, from yesterdays “Now its family?” thread….
“Is this the same “family” that refused to stand by us when the French committed an act of terrorism in Auckland in the 1980’s?… yet demanded we stand by it over Salman Rushdie?
Is this the same “family” that sent us to our certain deaths at Gallipoli in WWI?
Is this the same “family” that refused to provide support for us in WWII?
Is this the same “family” that has been an imperial and occupying and invading army in the middle east for god knows how long, causing misery and destruction and death?
Is this the same “family” that nuked the shit out of our part of the world in the 1950s and later?
Is this the same “family” that has totally shat on Te Tiriti and its partner thereof?
Is this the same “family” that has completely shat on my own true family in parts of the world in recent centuries? To such an extent we were driven out?
Is this fuckwit for real?
FUCK OFF BRITISH WANKERS… don’t you realise some of us came here to escape you cunts. Piss off
You got it right in the last few words of your first paragraph VTO – your tit should be stinging like hell ! Well and passisonately said the rest of your comment – “family” indeed !
Justice Lowell Goddard (NZ JUdge) has been appointed to head an inquiry into sex abuse claims in the UK ahead of 149 other candidates.
If their equivalent of their Justice Minister doesn’t like what she concludes will he/she just publicly rubbish hers like our former Justice Minister did with Canadian Judge Binnie? Would “we” be outraged?
Over 100,000 survivors, the inquiry will go on for years. I have also heard in the media that a paedophile ring operated within the government in the 1980’s. This week there were mass sackings within the Birmingham City Council (over the last 4 years sackings as well) due to failing to protect children who were sexually assaulted.
The structure in Britain appears to be different as social workers work for the city council.
I want justice and recognition for historical sexual assault/abuse survivors. This will help current cases, by not making the inexcusable errors made in the past.
Thanks for the additional information I will read it.
See Judge Lowell answered British MPs questions overnight our time. The inquiry is expected to last 4 years and will recommence in April, (not sure if a restart).
On Monday 9 February just after the 9am news on NZ National Radio, Judge Henwood (head of the panel into hearing the accounts of those abused while in welfare state care during childhood), Garth Young (in charge of management of claims for MSD) and Sonya Cooper (has hundreds of cases to settle) were interviewed by Kathryn Ryan.
Justice is too slow for many claimants, some with major health problems settled for less, the hearing panel will wind up in June 2015, not sure of the date when it happened but the hearing panel had to turn people away, obtaining historical records has been differcult…
Other countries e.g. Canada and Australia have a Royal Commission going or a tribunal. I do not like the way that MSD has dragged their heels and that they are investigating themselves (formerly being Social Welfare).
The government has millions for Sky City, but not to settle historical sexual assault claims while being a ward of the state. Some of these children have lived with PTSD for decades, the perpetrator/s were not stopped or charged. A government disgrace of many decades.
Other nations relying on oil such as Norway and Saudi Arabia aren’t suffering as badly. The question is also why is Venezuela so heavily dependent on a single industry (more so now than before the Chavist regime took over)? Surely the Socialist revolution would have unleashed to potential of the poor and downtrodden and they can make their own toilet paper and medicines and not rely on imports. Instead they are more dependent on importing essentials now than ever. That suggests a serious failure of economic management.
Why is New Zealand so reliant on the dairy industry? Surely this capitalist nation should have allowed compition to unlock high tech high value markets.
New Zealand does not rely on Dairying for 95% of export income. It is well under 40%.
New Zealand’s Dairy industry increased production during the Dairying boom. Venezuela’s oil production was static during the boom over the past 5 or 6 years.
Are you saying that if there was a crash in the dairy market it would have no major negative effect on our economy? If the answer to that is no then you other two points in no way counter what I said. If the answer to that is yes you are delusional.
It would have an impact it is true. Indeed we are seeing that recently as the price of Milk has dropped by around the same percentage as the price of oil. I don’t notice a shortage of toilet paper and condoms in NZ though.
Venezuela is able to trade with nations other than the US. It is also not prohibited from trading with the US.
Your link was about targeted sanctions on certain individuals not on trade between the two nations generally. I also note it has yet to be signed in to law.
BTW Zimbabwe blamed their economic collapse on the same thing back in the early 2000’s
The problem in venezuala is actually corruption. Not socialism, not capitilism, not the US. The government is a corrupt cabal of cronies who enrich themselves at the expense of wider society. They wrap themselves in the language of socialism but are no different to the politiciians who run every failed or failing state around the world. Corrupt.
Depends on how you define corruption. The issue with shortages in the Venezuelan economy is to do with an official exchange rate that does not reflect market reality and price controls.
The Venezuelan currency is seriously overpriced and as such it makes sense to use it to buy USD if you are lucky enough to get the official rate. This leads to a shortage of USD for people who need them like importers. As such they then have to buy their items using the unofficial rate (i.e. black market rate). The items are sold in Venezuela using the usual mark up values but if you converted them to USD at official rates they look prohibitively expensive.
Price controls mean that suppliers stop stocking items that have little of no margin for profit. That is why staples tend to disappear far faster than luxury items as they are the items governments slap price controls on. Also items that can be purchased at the controlled price and can be easily transported tend to disappear out of the country and appear in neighbouring countries next door or on the black market where the price cannot be controlled by the government.
In both those countries laws are being broken and therefore it could be argued corruption is taking place. However the laws themselves are at odds with economic reality so it is corruption born of wrong headed leftist policies.
The issue with shortages in the Venezuelan economy is to do with an official exchange rate that does not reflect market reality and price controls.
Despite or because of the ruling classes nothing has really changed in the seventy years since John Gunther wrote about shortages, costs and inflation in Venezuela.
crashcart: the entire NZ agriculture, forestry and fishing industry contributes 5.6% to NZ GDP. We aren’t as reliant on dairy as popular misconceptions would have you believe.
Right so when the trade price drops and we see the governments much vaunted surplus dissapear it is in no way a reflection upon how reliant we have become on dairy.
You bought selective facts as did I. GDP is made up af all transactions within an economy. So yes in terms of GDP it may be low. Here is where you left it. As a percentage of exports it is high. Even if it is just under 40% that is still a large amount. An amount that if reduced would have a very negative effect on our terms of trade as well as the amount of liquidity in our economy. Of course I am just going on feeling so thanks for the education.
I don’t want to further confuse you crashcart, but in 2014 dairy made up 29% of merchandise exports. So add in non-merchandise exports (tourism, services etc) and you can see that dairy makes up a surprisingly low amount of exports.
Sorry to keep on giving you unhelpful facts. I’d just ignore them and focus on your gut feelings.
Sorry my % was missinformed as I was going of what Gossman put up. No one to blame for that but myself.
Of course it was double the nearest export sector and nearly 4 times that of the third in 2013. I wasn’t able to pull up the figures for 2014 so won’t speculate on what they were. Although by your figures it is increasing. I guess you are right and it is not a major influencer of our export sector.
I actually stated it was well below 40% of total exports. I was aware of the 29% figure but wanted to give some leeway and still show that NZ is far less dependent on a single export item than Venezuela.
Love the way you spend so much time trying to find anything wrong with what you think is the left wings socialist dream. Perhaps everytime you come up with one of these people should bring up a link to an issue in a capatilist nation.
More their attitude to gun control. Hardly reflective of their economic system.
Does your comment mean you don’t think the Venezuelan government is attempting to implement a Socialist set of policies? Interesting if you do think that because it is seemingly at odds with other leftists who support the Chavista regime and what they are attempting to do.
Your link provided no direct causation between the price of condoms and the socialist governmetns policies. It ignored the fact that external factors have actively worked to undermine the country and this could just as easily be a result of that. In the same way mine provided no causation.
I am glad you have solved the US issues of gun violence by putting it down to their attitude to gun control. Of course it ignores Canada who are just as liberal on their gun control laws and have even higher gun ownership rates. Do feel free to let the US administration know that all you have the answer to their gun violence and it has nothing to do with inequality bought on by their capatalist system.
China manufacturers Condoms. What possible reason would China have not selling to Venezuela? In fact Venezuela has oil that China desperately wants so it would be extremely beneficial to trade.
A recent survey in the US states with the highest gun ownership a least gun controls,have the highest murder rates and highest gun violence rates.
Gossamer making a dick of himself again.
Ummm… are you stating high gun ownership and lack of strong gun control laws lead to increased gun violence? If so, then you are agreeing with my position.
No he was stating that it is a contributor. Yes I think he thought you were arguing against gun control as that is the normal RWNJ stance. However as usual the fact that there may be multiple influences to a hugely difficult social issue seems to be beyond you.
These have been steadily getting worse over the time the Chavista regime has been in power. Curiously income inequality in the country has fallen sharply over that period as well which is at odds with what many leftists think should happen.
I think you missed the point that you can go and find something wrong with every country. You however seem to spend an inordinant amount of time trying to prove that Venezuela is flawed and that this means that socialisim does not work.
Well here is where you little crusade becomes stupid:
1) Venezuela is not in a little planet of its own. It has to operate with countries who have an active interest in ensureing it fails. When the US doesn’t want a country so close to work then that country will not work. So to point to them and say “look socialisim doesn’t work I has proofs” whilst completeing ignoring the influence that Capitalist nations have on their performance is ignorance at its worst.
2) I don’t think I have every seen any one here hold Venezuela up as their idea of a socialist utopia. So you are trying to use a classic straw man. It would be like me turning around and pointing to Somalia that tried to operate as a 0 tax small govenment and use that as an example of why capitalisim doesn’t work. That of course would be ignoring a huge number of factors that also contribute to the shit hole it is.
How can the US impact the cost of Condoms in Venezuela?
I choose to highlight the failures of Venezuela because it is interesting to note the responses of many leftists to a situation which seemingly shows that adopting a far left set of policies leads to economic ruin. What I find is many just can’t accept this unpleasant fact and blame the issues on anything but the Venezuelan government.
How would the US Condom maker cause the price of their Condoms to be as high as $750 USD? Why wouldn’t the Venezuelan importer of the product not just buy cheaper brands from other nations if they did? Why don’t they just reimport it from neighbouring countries where I suspect it is not the equivalent of $750 USD?
Perhaps the manufacturer has contracts with their suppliers that prevents them onselling them to Venezuela. Its not like you just send someone across the border to buy a few boxes of Joey’s and that will solve the issue of their cost.
Let me get this clear. You are stating the Us manufacturer of Trojan Condoms has decided that it will sell the item for the equivalent of $750 USD in the Venezuelan market (less mark up from the distributors) and has also stopped neighbouring nations from on-selling in to the Venezuelan market- Is that correct?
Here’s an alternative for you. The price of the Condoms aren’t really the equivalent of $750 USD. Indeed they are much less if you use the black market rate. The problem for the distributor in Venezuela is they can’t access the USD to buy them at the official rate so they have to use black market sourced US dollars to get them in.
Nope. The price in equivalent USD is using official rates. The point is the supplier is unlikely to be using the official rate to purchase the stock so hence why the value is high using that measure. Using the unofficial rate it is still high but more affordable (at least to those with cash).
Come on Gossy – lets not complain about condoms – lets encourage other forms of sex apart from penetration.
I can think of heaps of Adult playtime things to do in the bedroom which don’t require condoms. Massage, whips, chains, cream and the like. The world does not need to fret about condoms Gossy – and neither do you.
Gossamer nothing to do with the trade sanctions or the fact very few countries have advanced petrochemical industries.
Any country that has opposing economic or political ideas to the US become targeted especially if they have oil.
A country that has oil reserves is 100× more likely to suffer foriegn intervention.
If Venezuela didn’t have oil it would be
left alone.
And Gossamer wouldn’t have to be a propaganda tool making a dick of himself!
Venezuela is still able to trade with the US and pretty much any other nation it chooses on the planet. Trade sanctions are not the cause of the economic difficulties in that country.
Venezuela is still able to trade with the US and pretty much any other nation it chooses on the planet. Trade sanctions are not the cause of the economic difficulties in that country.
ROFL
Sure, it’s even possible that trade sanctions by the US are designed to HELP the Venezuelan people, right?
Interesting that the Zanu-PF government in Zimbabwe used the same excuse for their economic collapse. The very limited sanctions imposed on certain individuals was the cause of hyperinflation and shortages of goods apparently and not the fact they destroyed their productive sector, slapped price controls on and printed money to fund their excessive government spending. Similar to what is happening in Venezuela.
I do have a simple question for you. Please show me one product that has been unable to be brought by Venezuela as a result of any trade sanctions imposed? Just one would suffice.
LOL the Zimbabwe example, out of 170 countries in the world, more idiocy. Venezuela is a full democracy which once again, the USA is trying its hardest to destabilise.
Who are the players denying Venezuela access to foreign capital?
Why would a nation like China (which has plenty of US currency in reserve) deny Venezuela access to US currency?
Where did all of Venezuela’s currency reserves go considering they had tens of billions not so many years ago?
BTW once again the argument you put forward is exactly the same as that put forward by Zanu-PF to explain their problems. I find it especially funny considering the respective governments of Venezuela and Zimbabwe spend much of their time banging on about how evil the foreign financiers are then complain that all their woes are caused by them not lending them any money.
Fuck off with teh Zimbabwe example it’s utterly irrelevant. Venezuela is a thriving democracy where people have been empowered not driven off their land. The US wants to see Venezuela fail, and wants to put in a regime which will allow them to take their oil for free.
You are free to ignore my comparisons to Zimbabwe. It would be useful to answer my questions in regard to these terrible restrictions and financial capital strike Venezuela is subject to.
How is this financial capital strike manifested exactly and why doesn’t Venezuela circumvent it via use of foreign currency from other sources?
That is for the people who choose voluntarily to take out the debt to answer. I presume they do so for a reason and I also presume they are aware they need to pay interest on the money they are leant. If they aren’t aware then they are either stupid or have been lied to and therefore have a good case not to pay back the money or at least the interest component of the debt. Either way why should I care?
Venezuela is a full* democracy** that enables the government to intimidate, censor and prosecute critics, use arbitrary detention, subjugate the judiciary, aggressively close down alternative media sources, revoke licences of internet providers that allow the publication of criticism of the government, allow and encourage extra-judicial killings by security forces, fire public workers who do not vote for the incumbent, and of course vote against the recent UN human rights report on North Korea.
* Full may contain nothing
** democracy may not mean actual democracy
Can you help me understand what “Full Democracy” means again CR? Unless of course Human Rights Watch is a front for the CIA.
Old friends getting together for a pre Waitangi party.
Yes there beeming live into homes nationwide were former Labour leaders Phil Goff & David Shearer partying the night away with former wannabe Labour leader & MP Shane Jones. Shearer putting in a cameo performance as front man singing and strumming his guitar.
While my partner snarled and said “that’s it with Labour.” I started laughing saying Shane Jones is just abiding by his employment contract with his employer the National Government.
When they crossed back later in the show I could have sworn Goff & Shearer were milling around Murray McCully signing some paperwork.
Just wondering if Matt Mc Carten is drafting up some paperwork for them to sign today?
Loved it! Jones still can’t speak without using 40 words when four would do, but it was great to see Shearer and Billy TK Jnr jamming. Overall, a pretty positive piece. Labour: Good Times!
Hone hinted at Shane Jones running in the by election this morning and the reporter asked him for which party , that would be a twist if jones ran for the nats.
I was hoping Shearer and Goff would hold up a slab of marlin each that Jones was blowing his arse about having caught. We all know what happened last time Shearer held up fish. Gone by lunch time!
But Dr Morgan’s latest adopted cause is different, he has come around to a modern reading of the Treaty of Waitangi. He admits he is a latecomer to the idea of bicultural nationhood but that has not inhibited his willingness to antagonise any Pakeha who have not reached his stage of enlightenment.
Why be antagonised ?
Few Maori or Pakeha enthusiasts for the Treaty would dare speak of its modern meaning as definitively as Dr Morgan does. It is an idea that is constantly developing and open to experiment from both sides. The Maori Party has been one such experiment. It arose from resentment of the previous Labour Government’s response to the foreshore and seabed claim but when their independent party went into a National-led Government, it was too much for the most radical Maori. They formed the Mana Party with left-wing Pakeha, demonstrating that class politics was more important than a separate identity after all.
That last line is a doozy
instead Maori voters have largely returned to a mainstream party, puts their identity in perspective. Biculturalism does not seem to need independent political expression. It needs recognition and consultation by a party in power.
identity in perspective – NZH editor following a very well known line there.
For me I welcome Gareth Morgan working to educate Pākehā – some may move their ideas. I also like that he is talking to Pākehā from both marae and RSA Hall (or wherever it was). The editorial is entitled – “Biculturalism doesn’t need late convert” – I think it does.
Bloody great that someone stood up and gave a significant response to Don Brash’s divisive Orewa diatribe. It’s a shame that it had to be someone outside politics.
Wasn’t it Key’s position, several years ago now, that it isn’t the government’s role to create jobs, but that of business? This was back when he was being blasted for an increase in unemployment. I can’t seem to find the original quote anywhere, only references to it, but I imagine someone here will have a link.
Can’t have it both ways, Key. You’re either responsible for (un)employment levels, or you’re not.
We all knew this is on the agenda…
***ALERT – LEAKED DOCUMENTS***
TISA – Leaked document reveals secret talks to privatize and raise health costs
The following release contains a paper discussed in the framework of the secretive Trade in Services Agreement (TISA). Up to 23 countries plus all EU members are participating in the negotiations, which aim to deregulate up to 70% of world trade in services. Until now, what little is known about TISA has been through leaked information.
The proposal titled ‘A concept paper on health care services within TISA Negotiations’ states there is ‘huge untapped potential for the globalisation of healthcare services’ mainly because ‘health care services is (sic) funded and provided by state or welfare organisations and is of virtually no interest for foreign competitors due to lack of market-orientated scope for activity’.
I had a good sleep last night, the first in ages – so today I was very early for work – So I took the opportunity to ride under every bridge in New Lynn – West Auckland.
And as I has though, every bridge in New Lynn had people sleeping under it – even the rail bridge. (This is the very noisy one) And not just one or two but under one – at least 6 or 7 all huddled together.
So if Mr Key and co, think they have a good country and they are doing their best – then I call them liar’s and deceivers. They are oblivious, to the reality of the suffering their poor economic choices causes.
Liberalism is not economic common sense – it is a vicious nasty ideology.
I’ve taken my daily constitutional around Wellington too Adam in the early morning. A similar situation exists here!
And that doesn’t take account of those living in the town belt.
I remember in the early 2000’s I lived in central Auckland, I use to see the homeless wake up in around where I lived, and that was a substantial number then.
It seems to me that the homes migrating towards the centre of the city towards to social services is a thing of the past.
I see soup kitchens all over Auckland now – this economy has falling apart for many – no matter how much these Muppet’s try to spin everything is fine and dandy.
She’s lifting her game sometimes – must be all that generous leave entitlement she seems to have negotiated.
She’s even dropping the affectations a lot more recently.
No more ” I halve ” ( I have ) etc. ….. in order not to sound too tupicle Koiwoi
That is 100% evidence of US economic ideology failing its society.
fail fail fail
I see gosman hanging around like a bad smell today – maybe gosman would like to explain how this phenomenon is indicative of success ……. look forward to today’s great and amazing hair-split trick.
classic Mr Meech – “Recent research has emerged that a bunch of discarded old stones found in the corner of a field near Hokianga are conclusive proof that Polynesians were once ruled by a Celtic master race. There is no conceivable way in which ancient Polynesians, renowned for world class feats of sea navigation, warfare and oral mastery, could possibly have randomly put stones on top of one another”.
Do you know how to sumit to the standard as a guest post? It’s a worthy read.
Look putting it bluntly Maori just need to buck up. Like their friendly British-based real estate franchisees and colonial roastbusters, they need to formulate wordy European-type verbal and ideological constructs which launch far up and away into the air soaring high and right over (and barely recognising or relating to) the relevant facts or detail pertaining to the historical issues of our time.
So let’s just bloody well build a bridge and get over it.
Short Guardian column about compulsive liars .. Lance Armstrong is the main character … but many key points, so to speak ….
“Habits can become addictions. There is a thrill in deceiving others – it underlines your superiority as you managed to fool them. And you might get hooked on that thrill. But, like all addictions, it can go wrong as it traps and entangles you.”
and this key comment below the article … an awful truth for us in NZ …
“He only sees things through the black and white prism of “Winning” and “Losing”. To admit to any weakness/mistake/fallacy is losing. The value that the rest of us apply to being truthful or having integrity is irrelevant to him – lying is merely a tool he uses to get what he wants and “win” which he will do at any cost. I think that he believes that people who tell the truth and admit their mistakes are fools.”
and those around them dare not contemplate the reality because it amounts to an admission they have been fooled and made fools of. That is one reason many do not want to confront the PMs deceit, both in media and the public, because of what it reveals about themselves. Others go further and devise excuses, rationalisations and justifications for his behaviour to keep them from acknowledging their foolishness.
Israeli intransigence seems to be increasingly undermining those supporting a two-state ‘solution’ to the Palestinian liberation struggle.
However, there are also differences among those who oppose the existence of Israel. One of the most interesting debates has been between two Marxists in Britain with long records of organising in support of the Palestinian cause and against the Israeli state: Moshe Machover, a veteran Israeli Marxist and a founder of the Israeli Socialist Organisation (ISO) in the early 1960s, and Tony Greenstein, a longtime solidarity activist and veteran working class fighter.
We’ve run some of the material from this (fairly comradely) ongoing debate on Redline.
John Key’s speech at Waitangi is going down really well at the marae. He is winning hearts and minds and I presume votes with his candour and sense. A masterful delivery with minimal fuss. Great to see.
you’ve still got a wee speck of his cum on the corner of your mouth
[lprent: That is getting close to the edge of toleration. Both in terms of “pointless abuse” and causing to make me laugh out loud in the middle of the workroom. However it could get tiresome fast. Be warned. ]
🙂
Thank Christ you’re edgy and that edginess is still tolerated. Has P.G. got an opinion? I wonder what Jamie Lee would think of such a comment McFlock.
OOOOOO u r awful! But I like you
But it is a service that would not be performed on someone so blatantly undeserving of my affection as a prime minister who can’t even monitor a department, or indeed what goes on in his own office.
Well, he did have to eschew secret service oversight cos it was beyond his capabilities. That’s a big admission, even if the media failed to understand it as such.
“We are a country that stands for human rights and I don’t know about you but when people are being burned with petrol I find it difficult to look the other way.”
I don’t know about you Key, but when we trade with a country with an appalling history of human rights abuses, and that country is one of our biggest traders, I find it difficult to look the other way.
I don’t know about you Key, but when we stand by and watch as one country tortures and kills the children living in another country in an occupied land, with outlawed white phosphorous, I find it difficult to look the other away.
I don’t know about you Key, but when we turn a blind eye to our Pacific neighbours in Kiribas as their land drowns because of rising sea levels, because we along with other western nations refuse to address climate change, I find it difficult to look the other way.
I could go on, and on, and on.
What a fucking hypocrite. There is so much fucking snake oil work going on that somebody had better put the “danger wet floor” sign out, so no has an accident and slides over.
Yep, feel free to add to the wall of hypocrisy. There’s plenty of examples. (Boko Haram anyone?), Usually ones that don’t involve the Club, or The Family
The Guardian forecasts that the SNP would win 54 out of the 59 seats in Scotland. The Lib Dems would retain one, Labour four. The Tories would lose their one and only seat. Labour won 41 in 2010.
Meanwhile Alex Salmond has been compared in Westminster by Bill Cash (loony end of the Tory Party) to Charles Stewart Parnell, the great Irish Home Rule Leader. It was intended to frighten the English voters! As commentators have said: Liberal Prime Minister Asquith described Parnell as “one of the three or four greatest men of the 19th century”, while Lord Haldane described him as” the strongest man the House of Commons had seen in 150 years” William Gladstone described Parnell as “the most remarkable person” he had ever met.
They just lost a referendum on independence. It is unlikely they will have another go so soon. If they do they will be justifiably criticised for attempting to achieve independence regardless of peoples views.
The Polls are also showing that many people who voted NO did so on the basis of the last minute “Vow” of home rule and near federalism promised by George Brown on behalf of the Tories/Labour NO campaign.
What has materialised in draft legislation that give Scotland contol over only 30% of revenue and 15% if welfare. Cameron and Hague have announced that Scottish MPs will be reduced to 2nd class statue in Westminster.
These people are now disgusted and will now never forgive Labour for siding with Thatcher’s party. The majority are now saying that they want Independence.
IMHO this is the last UK General Election.
Sadly the GB Labour crowd went hand in hand with the Tories in the IndyRef.
They said things and behaved in ways which crossed a line: there is no going back to Labour for a huge number of people.
Making Jim Murphy Leader was the final nail in the coffin. Fill internment will take place on the 7th May.
R.I.P. Labour in Scotland
No flowers at the internment service, please. Nobody from Labour’s Scottish Branch Office will be around to accept.
ISIL Beheading, burning alive, throwing a gay man off a 7 story building and then on surviving being stoned to death and also crucifying.
We should do nothing for fear of reprisal. Really???????
When the decision to send troops is announced I await the torrent of hand wringing do nothing defeatism typical of the Left. And you wonder why the Left is unelectable.
I wouldn’t overdose on Fox News fisiani. There are varied opinions on the “Left” as I’m sure you know.
The actions of ISIL are despicable, but we should not rush into another war (and likely quagmire) without UN mandate at least. The US/UK aren’t exactly trustworthy partners in Middle East military adventures.
Thank you for your concern, especially for homosexuals who your leader can never quite decide if he supported or not and who previous right wing leaders criminalised for so many years.
As for ISIS, why do we need to reprise when Jordan is executing ISIS prisoners at will now?
I agree with your sentiments against NZ troops heading off to war, but feel uncomfortable with the occasional cries regarding John Key’s son.
He is not responsible for the misguided and inexcusable actions of his father, and did not ask to be the son of the worst PM we have had. That is punishment enough, and any fans of John Key will fixate on the “terrible calls for his son to enlist” and miss again the point.
I didn’t notice TheGaucheKey being terribly sensitive about Phillip Smith’s (living) victim and his family when he actually fucking giggled to foreign television about Smith’s escape to South America. Some shit about who’s not invited to dinner or some such.
I didn’t notice any cautions from the sensitive folk that it might be unwise and too hard on the boy for TheSelfieDaddyKey to contrive the plastering of selfies of senior and junior in a targa top in Hawaii all over regular and social media.
I didn’t notice any particular sensitivity from the GodKey about young woman Tania Billingsley.
I didn’t notice any wish not to play the game when SpawnOfTheDaddyKey howlingly photoshopped himself with a financial gangster man.
I do notice that it would be meet were the TheLittleChurchillKey to look past other peoples’ sons and offer his own when rushing to join “the family”.
Meanwhile, I am not Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey and I will not be clutching my pearls aghast. I note Molly that in any event your concerns seem not to be principally for junior.
You are right, I’m not concerned for Max. He is not relevant.
John Key has not the integrity, knowledge, or even competency to be the one making the decision about where our troops go.
Even if he had a child that was in our Defence Force, the decision to enter a conflict zone should be made critically and with understanding of the likely outcomes of that deployment.
However, John Key doesn’t make independent choices, he pays “club fees”.
I don’t need to speculate about unlikely events concerning his children.
I consider this decision to be bad enough to be criticised on it’s own merit.
Yes, if you stay logged in.
Which is what most people do.
If you read the end user agreement – it says whilst you are logged into Google, they will keep track of what you do. A cloud service. Easy done though, if you have a gmail account – use youtube or google+ bookmarks etc..
“What I am able to reveal from my visit to the library is that I left without any sense of reassurance either that the process of negotiating this trade deal is democratic, or that the negotiators are operating on behalf of citizens.”
All we can do is add this to the ever growing pile of stern concern being expressed around the world. Week after week there are warnings from people who have seen the details, saying the same thing that our own Tim Groser refuses to.
These ‘agreements’ are nothing more than corporate entities devouring global resources with no regard to the individuals, sovereignties or democracies that will be consumed by the avarice required to formulate such plans and eventually assimilated by the processes that drive them.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) , The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), The Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) and of course The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement are all the same thing. Very bad news.
The thing that newsagents sell that makes people suddenly want to vote Tory is lottery tickets. Labour voters who suddenly win the lottery are likely to change their political opinions and become Conservative voters. This is known as “Sudden Wealth Syndrome”
Lotto and lottery’s in general are vulgar, and puissant thrills which bring out the worst in people. We should not have them, bit like slot machine machines – destructive and vulgar. Burn them all.
Eula Bliss is being interviewed by Kim Hill on Sat. Here’s a Q and A from last year on Gawker, after the release of her book On Immunity, about vaccination and, well, a whole bunch of social and political complexities.
You have, with this book, intervened in that public debate in a pretty anti-pundit way, though.
In this area, I feel really strongly that’s what we need. More and more, it seems like both sides are getting really reductive, and ironing out the nuances of the conversation. There seems to be a proliferation of pundits.
Obviously on what I’m just gonna call the Jenny McCarthy side, the reduction is a lack of attention to the science. What about the other side?
On the pro-vaccine side — and not everyone does this but I saw it enough for it to make me really uncomfortable — is a tendency to accuse people who are wary of vaccination of being stupid and not understanding science. For most people who are hesitant about vaccination, a lot more is going on. I talked to lots of people who are vaccine-hesitant, and I actually was one myself until I got further into this project, and most of them actually are in my demographic: so well-educated people with advanced degrees, who are upper middle-class and have read quite a bit on the subject.
So not only is it reductive, I think it’s also wrong. I think if we’re really concerned about stopping falling vaccination rates, we also need to be concerned about the actual reasons why those rates are falling, and not just write it off to stupidity.
Because I enjoy your balanced and thoughtful comments and would like to hear where the interest exists for you on the subject matter of the book you linked to
There are a number of angles of interest which could be possible
Examples
1. The author and or the subject matter
2. The writing style of the author and approach taken to the discussion around the subject
3. The book and why it attracted critical acclaim
4. The interview approach which Kim Hill employs
etc
You mentioned social and political complexities and this is where I have interest in hearing perspectives of balanced commentators
The subject comes up from time to time and has frequently of late with abuse and derogatory comments the usual responses that I have questioned in recent days
By your comments here I would anticipate that you could elucidate a neutral balanced opinion regardless of your preference
That is the style of comment I would like to hear on the subject should you like to share
You don’t actually know what I need, but I’m suspecting that it’s not possible to have a conversation with you about it irrespective of whether I listen or not.
Sharing my thoughts before you have listened to the interview would prevent you from having an original experience of your own
When I said ” you need ” I was pointing out what should be abundantly clear regarding having your own experience without my thoughts involved
If you would like to back out of your own suggested approach to how we were to discuss the link you posted that is your prerogative but don’t do so using unconvincing tactics of transference and deflection
translation a) I totes have an opinion on it, but can’t tell you because spoilers.
translation b) I’m so awesome that if I tell you my opinion first, you’ll just agree with me rather than me educating you with a pseudo-Socratic dialogue that I’m not good enough to maintain so it turns into an interminable series of pointless questions to which I offer no answers. Besides, you’ve only read up to book four and don’t even know that dragon glass can kill the White Walkers.
“Sharing my thoughts before you have listened to the interview would prevent you from having an original experience of your own”
I’ve already read a Q and A with the author, so I’m not a clean slate. But even if what you imply is true, why would that matter if I hear your thoughts before the interview and thus don’t have an ‘original experience’?
“When I said ” you need ” I was pointing out what should be abundantly clear regarding having your own experience without my thoughts involved”
It sounds like you have a need to have me engage in a certain way. Or you want to control me. Either way, it’s not about my needs, it’s about yours.
“If you would like to back out of your own suggested approach to how we were to discuss the link you posted that is your prerogative but don’t do so using unconvincing tactics of transference and deflection”
I’m not backing out. There is nothing in my suggestion that commits us to not talking before we’ve both listened to the interview, and we can still talk after I’ve heard it. I haven’t had time to listen yet, so I’m suggesting that you start the ball rolling. This is a normal enough thing for me to do, no deflection or transference or amateur psychology needed.
I’ve already read a Q and A with the author, so I’m not a clean slate. But even if what you imply is true, why would that matter if I hear your thoughts before the interview and thus don’t have an ‘original experience’?
Q. Did you find fault with your own suggestion ?
Perhaps it matters perhaps it won’t but we’re not on the same field which is why I’m happy to go with your suggestion of waiting until we have both listened to the interview as it made sense
It sounds like you have a need to have me engage in a certain way. Or you want to control me. Either way, it’s not about my needs, it’s about yours.
Q. Are you deliberately forgetting I ‘m requesting to keep to your suggested approach ?
It was your suggestion which I am requesting to adhere to ergo it can’t be about anyone’s needs or control other than your own so the term for that comment is projection
There is nothing in my suggestion that commits us to not talking before we’ve both listened to the interview
You could say that but it’s lurching deep into the realms of making things up shifting goal posts and unbalanced
I haven’t had time to listen yet, so I’m suggesting that you start the ball rolling. This is a normal enough thing for me to do, no deflection or transference or amateur psychology needed
Q. Is it normal for you to change the conditions of your own suggestions ?
No worries take your time or not at all there is no compulsion to listen to the interview you linked to and highlighted
Should you choose to listen to the interview and comment on it I shall look forward to reading your thoughts and will be happy to keep to your suggestion by sharing mine
I still haven’t listened to it. I’m curious though, how you expect the conversation to go when you are dictating the terms of the conversation. It’s one thing to say, nah I’d rather wait. It’s another thing to try and use my suggestion to bind me into something which I clearly don’t consider to be binding. Or to make out that you know more about my intentions in the suggestion than I do. I’ll take that as a reasonable sign of bad faith.
Q. Why do you so intensely wish to project such odious interpretations onto my comments ?
I have been saying “nah I’d rather wait” and have not indicated I expect anything through my comments
That you appear to have become offended (?) in my position of appreciating your suggestion and perceived balance and thoughtfulness via twisting my comments is on you
I acknowledge and accept my error of judgement in your ability to be balanced or thoughtful and that is on me
I acknowledge and accept my error of judgement in your ability to be balanced or thoughtful and that is on me
lol
Your error in judgement was to assume that you could get away with not presenting an opinion of your own for an indefinite period of time.
Why so coy about presenting your own opinion? Do you really think you are so awesome that expressing your own thoughts would skew everyone else’s opinion?
BTW I read the link and listened to the interview.
Sunday morning on RNZ looking interesting too, including this,
7:08 Current Affairs – Call to Keep the Coal in the Hole
Christophe McGlade from University College London talks to Wallace about his study, recently published in the journal Nature, which says much of the world’s fossil fuels must be left in the ground in order to keep the global temperature rise under the 2-degree safety limit agreed by the world’s nations.
Aaron Packard, Oceania region co-ordinator for 350.org will talk about the grassroots global climate movement’s Global Divestment Days Feb 13 and 14, encouraging investors to pull out of fossil fuel companies.
Then Wallace speaks to Chris Baker, the chief executive of Straterra, an organisation that represents the NZ minerals and mining sector, about how the industry is meeting these challenges.
Finally, Simon Bridges, Minister of Energy and Resources and Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues talks about New Zealand’s response to the competing demands to both extract fossil fuels – and tackle global warming.
Joyce in UNACT newsletter : Average wages are also showing healthy growth, lifting 2.6 per cent over the year – well ahead of the 0.8 per cent inflation rate – and New Zealand continues to fare better than most of the OECD.
The other striking element of the new data is the record high participation in the labour market, of 69.7 per cent. This increase means unemployment rises slightly to 5.7 per cent despite the strong job growth.
Some questions Joyce might like to attempt a factual answer to:
1 0.8% inflation sounds like deflation. Is it only housing providing significant rising prices and revenues..
2 What are median wages at present?
3 And what was % the rise on them over the year?4
Is the OECD comparison useful? Can we have an actual concrete comparison as to which country are we compatible with – slightly above Nigeria and Tibet and Greece? Which?
4 What is the equivalent full time job percentage of total employment?
5 What are the % of four divisions of employment, full time (old style 40 hrs per week),
Full time (new style 30 hours per week), between 10-30 hours and under 10 hours per week.
6 What number of workers have less than 10 hours work per week.
7 How many workers are working into the old classification of anti-social hours, say outside of 8.00 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Housing is not included in the CPI, so no, housing is not providing significant rising prices to the CPI. Raw materials used in building new houses are included, but not house or land prices.
4. You should compare with countries that are similar to us, but everyone defines similar differently. Perhaps similar PPP GDP per capita? On this ranking (yay #46!) we are just below Saudi Arabia (Uneployment rate 11.7%) and Faroe islands (cant find it but Denmark 4.0%), just above Spain (23.7%) and UAE (4.2%). Or this ranking (GDP Per Capita) we are #26 just below France (8.0%) and UK (5.8%), just above Japan (3.5%) and Brunei (2.7%).
4 again. See 5 below – answer is there. The Full time Equivalent stat is a bit dicey. It is arbitrarily calculate as # full time jobs + 0.5 part time jobs. The calculation below I think makes more sense.
5. I think what you really trying to find is the number of under-employed i.e., those currently working but available for more work: 112,800 out of total workforce 2,518,000 = 4.5%
Part time employees- these are those happy to be part time, not looking for extra work: 534,200 /2,518,000= 22.3%
Unemployed = 143,000/2,518,000 = 5.7%
So employed full time = 1,585,000/2,518,000 =62.9% of workforce.
6. Don’t think they gather stats by “< 10 hours". But the better measure anyway would be currently working but looking for more work. That is 112,800 people or 4.5% of workforce.
7. That's tougher to find data on, but also a bit misleading. Many people choose to work those hours i.e., restaurant and bar staff, police, some industrial workers, nurses etc. Again what I think you're looking for is people working anti-social hours who are forced to. Not sure where to find that but I think the number would be relatively low.
There you go – wasn't hard to find. Took me 10 minutes. Next time don't be lazy and do it yourself.
@ nadis
Thank you for the info. And no thank you for the homily and sneer at the end.
I actually have never found it easy to find the info that i wanted for stats and spent hours fiddling round. And even you with all your expertise could not find some that I think is important and should be stated. So save dumping your shit on me.
Just ignore my comments in future- I don’t want someone so superior to feel they must put themselves out. Do it gladly, politely or not at all.
Lets have ago THE BISHOP and there are alot of old kiwi slang terms and objects that tell the truth about that
Brian Tamaki or Temi or Tero Tero excuse me if my spelling is wrong if you know what they are ,arch right winger from the land of “God Home Mother and Apple Pie” to quote Dave Crosby (The Byrds) where homosexuals, kids can be beaten to death by law, blacks and any other coloured people are pegged as religiously destitute in need of spiritual enlightenment of the type that went with the conquistadors
His fascist stance a few years ago marching down Queen St I believe, here he is now with a gun in one hand pig hunting ,and probably a bible in the other, a cover for his belief in the afore mentioned surely he could be taxed out of existence if we had some sort of morality in the value of these sort of people to actually expand the understanding of human spirituality but I fear only to the size of a pigs brain
The rest is thought of your own
He said nothing while his friend spewed anti-Māori invective for years;
Mike Hosking is the LAST person who should talk about “acrimony”.
Television One, Thursday 5 February 2015
On Seven Sharp tonight, host Mike Hosking gurned sardonically at the camera and burbled how there was far less “acrimony” at Waitangi this year.
What unbelievable cheek this fellow has. What unmitigated gall. What brass-plated, industrial-grade hypocrisy from this poseur, this imposter, this fawning toady to the powerful and the wealthy, this corrupt and cynical booster of casinos, this contemptible and vacuous lightweight of lightweights in the pathetic, anxious sea of lightweights that constitutes Television One’s dire and ever-diminishing “talent pool”.
Waitangi Day has (rightly) been the focus of serious political protest for decades now. But any acrimony has come almost entirely from the extreme right wing—and one person stands out in particular.
One of the vilest, most acrimonious racist harangues in living memory was unleashed on readers of the Herald three years ago by Paul Holmes—- one of Hosking’s friends and colleagues at NewstalkZB. Holmes raved insanely for 21 hate-filled paragraphs. Here’s a taster, if you can bear it….
…hateful, hate-fuelled weirdos who seem to exist in a perfect world of benefit provision… irrational Maori ghastliness with spitting, smugness, self-righteousness and the usual neurotic Maori politics… it’s a bullshit day, Waitangi… It is loony Maori fringe self-denial day…. it’s all the Pakeha’s fault. It’s all about hating whitey… Forget it. It is too awful and nasty and common. It is no more New Zealand day than Halloween…. Nor would I take my Uncle Ken who died in a Wellington bomber, then try and tell him Waitangi Day was anything but filth…. Let them go and raid a bit more kai moana than they need for the big, and feed themselves silly, speak of the injustices heaped upon them by the greedy Pakeha and work out new ways of bamboozling the Pakeha to come up with a few more millions….
Holmes then veers off into another mad frenzy, this one directed at “the breast feeding fascists” and then he has an obscene—and ignorant—spray about Syria. But what really excites his fevered brain is the bloody end of Mrs Assad…
He’s married to a very beautiful British woman, Bashir, a real English rose. One report suggested she and her family had tried to leave Syria last week but the convoy had been seen and turned back. She must know what’s coming. Armageddon is what’s coming. One dreads to imagine what they’ll do to her pretty face.
Mike Hosking never said a word about that download of acrimonious filth from his friend and colleague, who was beyond doubt one of this country’s more notorious racists.
Nobody with any sense takes Mike Hosking seriously on any topic, of course; to give any credence to what he has to say on race relations one would need to have one’s head examined.
Now Holmes was a vile little man. His behaviour towards family after Aramoana, was bestial – it was then I realised, the right wing in this country are a bunch of self serving, nasty, little creeps. He sat like king muck telling us what was going to happen, when we’d had family and friends die. His fake pathos made everyone in the room sick – he was not invited back – he got no interview. And no one in that room watched, or listened to him again.
You declaim very eloquently Morrissey…….I am a relatively vulgar. Hosking, the skinny jeans, the boy-hairdo, the mutton-dressed-up-as-lamb, the ‘poseur’ (thank you Morrissey), the archetypal Cafe Society git though self-elevated above that prosaic , bought and paid for by SkyCity – Hosking the up-himself big fish in a small pond. Such a pity really. He’s endowed intellectually but oh how he abuses that in favour of narcissism and cheap vanity. And Parnell BBQ tickets. Does his wife get a look-in ?
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TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Photo by Jari Hytönen on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
“Show us the bird,” I found myself muttering at times while reading Hard by the Cloud House by Peter Walker, a deeply thoughtful, often hilarious, at times rambling – but somehow delightfully so – search for the story of a big bird. But not just any bird: the bird. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK edition DPVUE .images/Shutterstock Your home was probably designed for a climate that no longer exists. As long as humanity continues to burn fossil fuel, padding the heat-trapping blanket of gases in Earth’s atmosphere, the ...
A senior lawyer has filed a complaint about tikanga becoming a required law school module. Law lecturer Carwyn Jones explains what he’s getting wrong. “…the first law of Aotearoa, a law that served the needs of tangata whenua for a thousand years before the arrival of tauiwi.”– Ani Mikaere ...
In 2019, an Auckland woman woke up from surgery to find that she had undergone a treatment she didn’t consent to. She tells Alex Casey about her experience. From her very first period at the age of 14, Laura experienced “debilitating” levels of pain that forced her to withdraw from ...
In the gloom following director-general Al Morrison’s job cuts in 2013, the Department of Conservation restructured its operations arm. Eleven conservancy districts were whittled into six new “conservation delivery” regions, under which the Rēkohu/Wharekauri/Chatham Islands area, comprising 40 scattered islands more than 800km east of Christchurch, was tethered to the ...
One of th e country’s top litigation lawyers says New Zealand is seeing a lift in court action between companies. Chapman Tripp partner Justin Graham, who oversees a team of around 80 litigation specialists, says the courts are now so log-jammed that it’s taking over two years to get cases ...
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Comment: Concerns about the state of the economy are creeping up to the top of firms’ list of challenges. That’s evident in both surveys and the tone of our recent client discussions. Skimming the past few weeks of eco-news, it’s not hard to see why. – Retail card spending fell ...
Opinion: Could former co-leader James Shaw still make a difference to working with National? The post How the Greens could be contenders appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: What if we got rid of our existing drug laws and replaced them with a new law that legalised and carefully regulated all psychoactive substances, from cannabis to MDMA, methamphetamine and LSD to magic mushrooms? And which also included legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine. “Wow,” you might ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel “through to 2050 and beyond”. In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuel’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Next week the government will again next try to get its legislation through to deal with non-citizens who won’t cooperate with efforts to deport them. The bill, which the opposition and crossbench refused to rush ...
A long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bree Hurst, Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Law, QUT, Queensland University of Technology TK Kurikawa/Shutterstock A much-awaited report into Coles and Woolworths has found what many customers have long believed – Australia’s big supermarkets engage in price gouging. What started ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Ghezelbash, Associate Professor and Deputy Director, Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW Sydney The Albanese government wanted to avoid an inquiry into its migration amendment bill. The report, handed down yesterday by a senate committee that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne Lobbying is at the heart of government. Who has access to and influence over key government officials shapes the decisions governments make – and how they make them. The ability to influence ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Myfany Turpin, Associate Professor, Ethnomusicology, Linguistics and Ethnobiology, University of Sydney The act representing Australia at this year’s Eurovision contest has sadly not qualified for the grand final. Yet for Zaachariaha Fielding and Michael Ross, the duo that makes up Electric Fields, ...
In announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...
The Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Minglu Chen, Senior Lecturer, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney Robert Way/Shutterstock As the past few years have illustrated so clearly, the Australia-China relationship is complicated. As such, it is crucial for Australians to develop a more nuanced understanding of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mariana Campbell, Research Lecturer, Conservation, Charles Darwin University Marilyn Connell Australian freshwater turtles are facing an alarming trend. Almost half of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The Mary River turtle (Elusor macrurus) is one of Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debbie Passey, Digital Health Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Algorithms have become integral to our lives. From social media apps to Netflix, algorithms learn your preferences and prioritise the content you are shown. Google Maps and artificial intelligence are nothing without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Josephine Barbaro, Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, Psychologist, La Trobe University Unsplash We’ve come a long way in terms of understanding that everyone thinks, interacts and experiences the world differently. In the past, autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactive disorder ...
PNG Post-Courier Papua New Guinea’s deputy opposition leader James Nomane has accused the government of “reckless economic management” that has forced devaluation to manage loan repayments in foreign currency and placate the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prime Minister James Marape “must stop lying to the people of Papua New Guinea”, ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books.The book I wish I’d writtenI have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...
The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to ...
RNZ News As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”. Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations ...
With funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anna Cooke, Honorary Fellow, School of the Environment, The University of Queensland We feel ecological grief when we lose places, species or ecosystems we value and love. These losses are a growing threat to mental health and wellbeing globally. We all see ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shauna Brail, Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto A shift to hybrid and remote work continues to affect worker presence in Toronto’s downtown.(Shutterstock) Downtown Toronto, the core of Canada’s largest city, continues to reel from the lingering ...
Responding to an Auditor-General's report slamming failures in the administration of the 2023 General Election, Taxpayers’ Union Policy and Public Affairs Manager, James Ross, said: ...
Productivity apps now make up a big chunk of the software market. But do they work? And why do they all have AI integrations?Despite being firmly on the record as a physical planner fan, I sometimes dream of something better than my pretty diary and its scrawled, ugly, interior ...
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Silly me. For years I’ve taken Margaret Thatcher’s claim – “there is no such thing as society” – as a mark of her moral corruption. No no no ! All the time it was a beautiful “tapestry” of which she spoke.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/08/context-for-margaret-thatcher-s-there-is-no-such-thing-as-society-remarks.html#
I guess her close insider Sir Peter Morrison and the toff-shy police force of the day reflected that beautiful tapestry.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11323146/Thatcher-confidant-raped-boy-and-police-covered-crime-up.html
And what a howler the lashings of exhortation to personal responsibility !
morena everyone,
here is an idea for those who will be at waitangi.
to simply demonstrate your disapproval of mr key and his governments’ action/inaction on:
inequality,
child poverty,
the environment,
the economy,
sending troops to someone elses war,
housing etc.
when he speaks, quietly turn your back.
when his vehicle goes past, turn your back.
i have to leave the laptop shortly and in case this idea gets questions asked of it, there is this.
youtube.com/watch?v=koC04cuCc3E
A reasonable approach to protest but reasonable does not usually equal results.
a) Key is unlikely to care if he happens to notice
b) The media are unlikely to care and they dictate what gets attention.
‘Ten people turned their backs’ is far less likely to attract interest than ‘one person spat’. A sad fact of media dominated politics.
Nearly lost the New York Mayor his job.
And it is exceedingly televisual, which is all that counts in Waitangi.
Nearly lost the New York Mayor his job.
The only reaction I saw in the media was “fuck those disrespectful fucks and fuck whatever it is they’re complaining about”
You’re counseling spitting to register effective protest then are you PG ?
So that you can clutch your fucking pearls all weekend thereafter ?
As though it were you got it in the eye ?
Yeah I know you’re not counseling spitting.
You’d rather there were no protest.
Protest challenges YourGodKey.
And the Settled Order – Hue George.
Quibble as much as you like.
That’s your truth.
“That’s your truth.”
That’s kinda funny when all you’ve done is make things up.
🙄
You and everyone else know full well what I mean PG. Not cute.
“..‘Ten people turned their backs’ is far less likely to attract interest than ‘one person spat’. ..”
fact one:..there are far more than ten people..
fact two:..a mass turning of backs as a means of non-violent protest..
..is powerful both practically and visually…
..and one the media/cameras wd record/report on..
..as usual..p.g..u.r. full of shit..
…yes, group back turning is strongly symbolic; as was Journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi’s shoe throwing at Dubya Bush in 2008…
and for an attention hua like key it would actually rattle him IMO
🙄
What would you recommend? Chat to their local MP at Waitangi?
It’s a good idea Gsays – the beige parrot has no more clue about effective politics than he does of effective fact checking.
I’m starting to think that describing PG as beige is an insult to beige.
It is a good idea and needs to go out via ttwitter amongst other things. I don’t DO twitter so cannot help in this regard.
Even if the media dont catch it in time they will simply get the people to re create the moment for them to film.
+1
What a brilliant idea.
Effective, simple, and very Martin Luther King.
and it utterly neuters any “violent bloody maaaris!” whines
I believe Maori have a more demonstrative way of turning their backs on people they dislike.
took me a while – but i got there in the end 🙂
Snap! Yesterday I began a comment suggesting this but the day got away on me… thank goodness for like minds.
– A Mexican wave of turning backs as the cavalcade passes
– Simple to do, action without violence, or speaking (impossible?)
– Visual gold for the cameras if enough people do it
– as good as a wave of laughing and pointing…
Yes, people must turn their backs on the prying and lying twit.
Do it not just for the cameras but for the country, our increasingly unequal society, our environment, our families, our squeezed communities, and our future generations. And most importantly, do it for ourselves for willing to make a stand on ethics, integrity and the public (not corporate, bankster or casino) interest.
hi kiwiri and jo and others,
the most important aspect of this, imo, is the power it gives to those in the group who turn their backs.
they dont see the news, they dont know what mr key thinks…
they get the feeling of being a part of a community and experience what happens when we cooperate.
i am not a twitterer nor a face booker but anyone is welcome to run with this.
the one aspect of this handwringing/we must go to help them! drive to war..
..is that these countries’ neighbours are oil-rich/armed to the teeth..
..why do we have to go and fight there ‘to protect them’..?
..are you fucken kidding me..?
..they have the means/arms to help themselves..to sort out their own problem.
..and if we were in some strife down here..
..would they come down here to help us…?
..we all know the answer to that is:..’no’…
..so i repeat..
..why the fuck is there this (supposed) imperative for us to make those financial/human-sacrifices..
..we are going to fight to protect oil-rich/human-rights-abusing dictators..
..for why..?
hi phil, it’s time for anyone in favour of this move to have nicky hager’s other people’s wars read to them.
read to them
😆
+ 1..’heh!’..
hi..
..i wd really like someone in the mainstream/corporate-media to ask those questions..
..those why the fuck are we going to fight to ‘protect’ oil-rich/armed-to-the-teeth/human-rights-abusing dictators-questions..
..they are big/ugly/armed-up enough to take care of their own business..
..but i’m not holding my breath..waiting for those questions from our m.s.m./corporate-media shills..
..they just seem to nod-along to the war-mongering spin/bullshit being fed them by key..
..unthinking/unquestioning-fools/corporate-tools…that most of them are..
mushrooms phil mushrooms
being kept in the dark and fed bullshit
everyone has been on mushrooms
there is no logic, no morality, no credibility to be seen
the US created this mess, let them sort it out. let them remain the targets of their own creation.
you know who should be arming themselves and going – the Bush family.
Get the f$#^&g Bush family to deal with it, not our children in whanganui, te kaha, kerikeri, gore, seddon and masterton – we have nothing to do with it
If NZ must be forced to be involved by dear leader’s subservience to the yanks, how about bringing back conscription; the pool to consist solely of males aged 45–65 years, residing in Parnell and Remuera, Auckland.
@ t.m..
..+ 1..
..heh..!
..aye..!
“..would they come down here to help us…?”
Be interesting to make a list of countries that would.
US
Australia
UK
Canada
PI Nations
SIngapore (small maybe)
Malaysia (big maybe)
?
China
i think you are being very optimistic there..nadis..
..even when we were in that military-treaty thing with the u.s..
..there were no guarantees in that treaty that america wd automatically come to help us were we facing some danger..
..it was carefully worded to avoid committing america to that..
..i think the only/main factor to drive america to move..
..wd be to protect their scummy five-eyes kit/infrastructure..
..their guantanamo bay here..
..and certainly not to just ‘help’ us because of any moral/historical-imperatives..
..anyone who believes counter to that – is deluding themselves..
They would come down here but not because of us. They would come down here for the strategic geographical position close to Antartica and Australia and for our natural resources.
That
is
all
strategic geographical position close to Antartica
My geologist friend said something similar.
NZ is very strategically important to influence or control because it is the stepping stone to the resources of Antarctica.
Yep exactly. And colonial rawshark below has it right about the importance of us having the right sort of defence / protection capabilities ……..
The bottom of the world is rapidly increasing in value to humanity
And who they fuck are they helping to defend us from? Is Fiji looking to invade NZ? Honestly we sit in the bottom of the pacific with so many nations between us and any conceivable threat that any attack that might reach us is going to have to go through the US or Australia anyway. If it did come to us being under attack then the US, AUS, and all those pretty allies are already gone. We probably would have lost our defence force fighting with them long before the threat reached NZ.
er…. it was a hypothetical. sorry to get you so worked up.
The problem is that the hypothetical is the exact reason used be people trying to push us into war. i.e if we want them to be there for us when we are under attack we have to be there for them when they are attacking. It is just unbelievable.
NZ needs to have its own independent highly capable area defence forces, as well as the ability to project military power into the nearby Pacific and southern oceans.
that’s ok nadis..
..you did well in helping expose that rent in the official war-story…
..a special (involuntary)-assistant-award will be couriered to you..
..(you should treasure it..nadis..it is rare for rightwingers to get these..
..one to keep/show the grandkids..eh..?..)
..keep up the good work..!
I don’t even know what you are talking about. Not sure if it is the lack of grammatical structure or the pot. Could be both.
You’re an unpatriotic hua VTO. I say let’s exercise some personal responsibility and give it the Max.
Actually North, if you think about it my view is completely patriotic and it is those like yourself who are unpatriotic whores..(but I suspect you’re pulling my tit)
You may wish to consider a further view I have, from yesterdays “Now its family?” thread….
“Is this the same “family” that refused to stand by us when the French committed an act of terrorism in Auckland in the 1980’s?… yet demanded we stand by it over Salman Rushdie?
Is this the same “family” that sent us to our certain deaths at Gallipoli in WWI?
Is this the same “family” that refused to provide support for us in WWII?
Is this the same “family” that has been an imperial and occupying and invading army in the middle east for god knows how long, causing misery and destruction and death?
Is this the same “family” that nuked the shit out of our part of the world in the 1950s and later?
Is this the same “family” that has totally shat on Te Tiriti and its partner thereof?
Is this the same “family” that has completely shat on my own true family in parts of the world in recent centuries? To such an extent we were driven out?
Is this fuckwit for real?
FUCK OFF BRITISH WANKERS… don’t you realise some of us came here to escape you cunts. Piss off
I offer you NOTHING ….
Stephanie Rogers suggests its about time we told the “family” to get off our backs !
https://bootstheory.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/a-reader-asks-how-do-i-tell-my-pushy-colonial-parents-no/
@ vto..
..+1..
..well/sturdily-said/put..
You got it right in the last few words of your first paragraph VTO – your tit should be stinging like hell ! Well and passisonately said the rest of your comment – “family” indeed !
Justice Lowell Goddard (NZ JUdge) has been appointed to head an inquiry into sex abuse claims in the UK ahead of 149 other candidates.
If their equivalent of their Justice Minister doesn’t like what she concludes will he/she just publicly rubbish hers like our former Justice Minister did with Canadian Judge Binnie? Would “we” be outraged?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/65805093/nzs-justice-lowell-goddard-to-head-uk-sex-abuse-inquiry
Over 100,000 survivors, the inquiry will go on for years. I have also heard in the media that a paedophile ring operated within the government in the 1980’s. This week there were mass sackings within the Birmingham City Council (over the last 4 years sackings as well) due to failing to protect children who were sexually assaulted.
The structure in Britain appears to be different as social workers work for the city council.
I want justice and recognition for historical sexual assault/abuse survivors. This will help current cases, by not making the inexcusable errors made in the past.
New Zealand judge Lowell Goddard to lead abuse inquiry
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31130805
> I have also heard in the media that a paedophile ring operated within the government in the 1980’s
It is also thought that a number of British government figures are connected to the murdering of children:
http://exaronews.com/articles/5409/operation-midland-investigates-tory-mp-over-boy-s-murder
And it’s not just the British government; it’s the British/NZ monarchy, too:
http://exaronews.com/articles/5419/buckingham-palace-drawn-into-scandal-over-paedophile-ring
https://www.scribd.com/doc/246043736/Paedophiles-and-the-Palace-56-reasons-why-the-Royal-Family-must-answer-urgent-questions-for-the-UK-s-Inquiry-into-Child-Sexual-Abuse
Thanks for the additional information I will read it.
See Judge Lowell answered British MPs questions overnight our time. The inquiry is expected to last 4 years and will recommence in April, (not sure if a restart).
On Monday 9 February just after the 9am news on NZ National Radio, Judge Henwood (head of the panel into hearing the accounts of those abused while in welfare state care during childhood), Garth Young (in charge of management of claims for MSD) and Sonya Cooper (has hundreds of cases to settle) were interviewed by Kathryn Ryan.
Justice is too slow for many claimants, some with major health problems settled for less, the hearing panel will wind up in June 2015, not sure of the date when it happened but the hearing panel had to turn people away, obtaining historical records has been differcult…
Other countries e.g. Canada and Australia have a Royal Commission going or a tribunal. I do not like the way that MSD has dragged their heels and that they are investigating themselves (formerly being Social Welfare).
The government has millions for Sky City, but not to settle historical sexual assault claims while being a ward of the state. Some of these children have lived with PTSD for decades, the perpetrator/s were not stopped or charged. A government disgrace of many decades.
Socialist policies contributing to unsafe sex.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/condoms-cost-750-in-venezuela-2015-2
gossman being a predictable time waster and cherry picker
http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-05022015/#comment-963552
All to do with the price of oil Gosman and nothing to do with the quality of the Government.
Other nations relying on oil such as Norway and Saudi Arabia aren’t suffering as badly. The question is also why is Venezuela so heavily dependent on a single industry (more so now than before the Chavist regime took over)? Surely the Socialist revolution would have unleashed to potential of the poor and downtrodden and they can make their own toilet paper and medicines and not rely on imports. Instead they are more dependent on importing essentials now than ever. That suggests a serious failure of economic management.
Why is New Zealand so reliant on the dairy industry? Surely this capitalist nation should have allowed compition to unlock high tech high value markets.
Two points.
New Zealand does not rely on Dairying for 95% of export income. It is well under 40%.
New Zealand’s Dairy industry increased production during the Dairying boom. Venezuela’s oil production was static during the boom over the past 5 or 6 years.
Are you saying that if there was a crash in the dairy market it would have no major negative effect on our economy? If the answer to that is no then you other two points in no way counter what I said. If the answer to that is yes you are delusional.
It would have an impact it is true. Indeed we are seeing that recently as the price of Milk has dropped by around the same percentage as the price of oil. I don’t notice a shortage of toilet paper and condoms in NZ though.
Nothing to do with trade sanctions by the USA to punish Venezuela for electing a dreaded socialist?
Venezuela is able to trade with nations other than the US. It is also not prohibited from trading with the US.
Your link was about targeted sanctions on certain individuals not on trade between the two nations generally. I also note it has yet to be signed in to law.
BTW Zimbabwe blamed their economic collapse on the same thing back in the early 2000’s
The problem in venezuala is actually corruption. Not socialism, not capitilism, not the US. The government is a corrupt cabal of cronies who enrich themselves at the expense of wider society. They wrap themselves in the language of socialism but are no different to the politiciians who run every failed or failing state around the world. Corrupt.
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21583252-evidence-huge-rip-offs-heart-bolivarian-revolution-has-unleashed-political
http://elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/26/inenglish/1380217098_793793.html
https://news.vice.com/article/venezuelas-drug-running-generals-may-be-who-finally-ousts-maduro
Depends on how you define corruption. The issue with shortages in the Venezuelan economy is to do with an official exchange rate that does not reflect market reality and price controls.
The Venezuelan currency is seriously overpriced and as such it makes sense to use it to buy USD if you are lucky enough to get the official rate. This leads to a shortage of USD for people who need them like importers. As such they then have to buy their items using the unofficial rate (i.e. black market rate). The items are sold in Venezuela using the usual mark up values but if you converted them to USD at official rates they look prohibitively expensive.
Price controls mean that suppliers stop stocking items that have little of no margin for profit. That is why staples tend to disappear far faster than luxury items as they are the items governments slap price controls on. Also items that can be purchased at the controlled price and can be easily transported tend to disappear out of the country and appear in neighbouring countries next door or on the black market where the price cannot be controlled by the government.
In both those countries laws are being broken and therefore it could be argued corruption is taking place. However the laws themselves are at odds with economic reality so it is corruption born of wrong headed leftist policies.
Despite or because of the ruling classes nothing has really changed in the seventy years since John Gunther wrote about shortages, costs and inflation in Venezuela.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/1860766?zoomLevel=1
crashcart: the entire NZ agriculture, forestry and fishing industry contributes 5.6% to NZ GDP. We aren’t as reliant on dairy as popular misconceptions would have you believe.
Right so when the trade price drops and we see the governments much vaunted surplus dissapear it is in no way a reflection upon how reliant we have become on dairy.
just giving you some hard facts, but if you’d prefer to rely on your feelings then fine.
You bought selective facts as did I. GDP is made up af all transactions within an economy. So yes in terms of GDP it may be low. Here is where you left it. As a percentage of exports it is high. Even if it is just under 40% that is still a large amount. An amount that if reduced would have a very negative effect on our terms of trade as well as the amount of liquidity in our economy. Of course I am just going on feeling so thanks for the education.
I don’t want to further confuse you crashcart, but in 2014 dairy made up 29% of merchandise exports. So add in non-merchandise exports (tourism, services etc) and you can see that dairy makes up a surprisingly low amount of exports.
Sorry to keep on giving you unhelpful facts. I’d just ignore them and focus on your gut feelings.
Sorry my % was missinformed as I was going of what Gossman put up. No one to blame for that but myself.
Of course it was double the nearest export sector and nearly 4 times that of the third in 2013. I wasn’t able to pull up the figures for 2014 so won’t speculate on what they were. Although by your figures it is increasing. I guess you are right and it is not a major influencer of our export sector.
I actually stated it was well below 40% of total exports. I was aware of the 29% figure but wanted to give some leeway and still show that NZ is far less dependent on a single export item than Venezuela.
I was wondering Mickysavage – if it was more to do with Gossey needing to get laid. And laid well.
Love the way you spend so much time trying to find anything wrong with what you think is the left wings socialist dream. Perhaps everytime you come up with one of these people should bring up a link to an issue in a capatilist nation.
Allow me to be the first. Capatalist policies contributing to the murder of children in schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States
More their attitude to gun control. Hardly reflective of their economic system.
Does your comment mean you don’t think the Venezuelan government is attempting to implement a Socialist set of policies? Interesting if you do think that because it is seemingly at odds with other leftists who support the Chavista regime and what they are attempting to do.
Your link provided no direct causation between the price of condoms and the socialist governmetns policies. It ignored the fact that external factors have actively worked to undermine the country and this could just as easily be a result of that. In the same way mine provided no causation.
I am glad you have solved the US issues of gun violence by putting it down to their attitude to gun control. Of course it ignores Canada who are just as liberal on their gun control laws and have even higher gun ownership rates. Do feel free to let the US administration know that all you have the answer to their gun violence and it has nothing to do with inequality bought on by their capatalist system.
Care to explain why external factors cause the price of a packet of 36 Condoms to cost the equivalent of $750 USD on the official rate?
Condoms are made out of petroleum byproducts are they not? What is the one resource that Venezuela has an abundance of?
Condoms are imported there from capatalist countries. Care to tell me how that is not an external factor that would have an effect upon their price.
China manufacturers Condoms. What possible reason would China have not selling to Venezuela? In fact Venezuela has oil that China desperately wants so it would be extremely beneficial to trade.
Most condoms are latex, which is made of (natural) rubber. Trojan FAQs
Some are made from polyurethane, but those are mainly for people with latex allergies.
Don’t try and bring facts to an argument with Gossy.
Fair enough. I stand corrected on that point.
A recent survey in the US states with the highest gun ownership a least gun controls,have the highest murder rates and highest gun violence rates.
Gossamer making a dick of himself again.
Ummm… are you stating high gun ownership and lack of strong gun control laws lead to increased gun violence? If so, then you are agreeing with my position.
Who is making the dick out of them self again?
No he was stating that it is a contributor. Yes I think he thought you were arguing against gun control as that is the normal RWNJ stance. However as usual the fact that there may be multiple influences to a hugely difficult social issue seems to be beyond you.
Since you mentioned Violent crime and murder here are some interesting statistics about Venezuela
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/30/venezuela-homocide-rate-2014_n_6395960.html
These have been steadily getting worse over the time the Chavista regime has been in power. Curiously income inequality in the country has fallen sharply over that period as well which is at odds with what many leftists think should happen.
Since you mentioned condoms.
http://www.livescience.com/48100-sexually-transmitted-infections-50-states-map.html
I think you missed the point that you can go and find something wrong with every country. You however seem to spend an inordinant amount of time trying to prove that Venezuela is flawed and that this means that socialisim does not work.
Well here is where you little crusade becomes stupid:
1) Venezuela is not in a little planet of its own. It has to operate with countries who have an active interest in ensureing it fails. When the US doesn’t want a country so close to work then that country will not work. So to point to them and say “look socialisim doesn’t work I has proofs” whilst completeing ignoring the influence that Capitalist nations have on their performance is ignorance at its worst.
2) I don’t think I have every seen any one here hold Venezuela up as their idea of a socialist utopia. So you are trying to use a classic straw man. It would be like me turning around and pointing to Somalia that tried to operate as a 0 tax small govenment and use that as an example of why capitalisim doesn’t work. That of course would be ignoring a huge number of factors that also contribute to the shit hole it is.
How can the US impact the cost of Condoms in Venezuela?
I choose to highlight the failures of Venezuela because it is interesting to note the responses of many leftists to a situation which seemingly shows that adopting a far left set of policies leads to economic ruin. What I find is many just can’t accept this unpleasant fact and blame the issues on anything but the Venezuelan government.
The brand of Condom in your original link is Trojan a US brand. Of course they can effect the price are you being deliberately dumb on this point.
So you admit that you use Venezuela as a straw man to attack. Like I said I could say the same about Somalia, or Mexico, or Honduras, or Nigeria.
To your above point about China. I don’t know why China are not supporting Venezuela … oh wait they are you are full of shit again.
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-12-12/with-oil-prices-falling-venezuela-needs-china-more-than-ever
How would the US Condom maker cause the price of their Condoms to be as high as $750 USD? Why wouldn’t the Venezuelan importer of the product not just buy cheaper brands from other nations if they did? Why don’t they just reimport it from neighbouring countries where I suspect it is not the equivalent of $750 USD?
Perhaps the manufacturer has contracts with their suppliers that prevents them onselling them to Venezuela. Its not like you just send someone across the border to buy a few boxes of Joey’s and that will solve the issue of their cost.
Let me get this clear. You are stating the Us manufacturer of Trojan Condoms has decided that it will sell the item for the equivalent of $750 USD in the Venezuelan market (less mark up from the distributors) and has also stopped neighbouring nations from on-selling in to the Venezuelan market- Is that correct?
Here’s an alternative for you. The price of the Condoms aren’t really the equivalent of $750 USD. Indeed they are much less if you use the black market rate. The problem for the distributor in Venezuela is they can’t access the USD to buy them at the official rate so they have to use black market sourced US dollars to get them in.
Actually Gos I suspect that they aren’t importing any at all, so the price has risen to reflect the value of their remaining limited stock.
Although in this case I seriously doubt anyone would see value in a condom at that price.
Nope. The price in equivalent USD is using official rates. The point is the supplier is unlikely to be using the official rate to purchase the stock so hence why the value is high using that measure. Using the unofficial rate it is still high but more affordable (at least to those with cash).
Come on Gossy – lets not complain about condoms – lets encourage other forms of sex apart from penetration.
I can think of heaps of Adult playtime things to do in the bedroom which don’t require condoms. Massage, whips, chains, cream and the like. The world does not need to fret about condoms Gossy – and neither do you.
Gossamer nothing to do with the trade sanctions or the fact very few countries have advanced petrochemical industries.
Any country that has opposing economic or political ideas to the US become targeted especially if they have oil.
A country that has oil reserves is 100× more likely to suffer foriegn intervention.
If Venezuela didn’t have oil it would be
left alone.
And Gossamer wouldn’t have to be a propaganda tool making a dick of himself!
Venezuela is still able to trade with the US and pretty much any other nation it chooses on the planet. Trade sanctions are not the cause of the economic difficulties in that country.
Goss said it so it must be true.
So Gossamer their has been no retaliation to the nationalization of the Oil industry!
You are a tool of the propaganda machine Gossamer!
ROFL
Sure, it’s even possible that trade sanctions by the US are designed to HELP the Venezuelan people, right?
Moronic.
Interesting that the Zanu-PF government in Zimbabwe used the same excuse for their economic collapse. The very limited sanctions imposed on certain individuals was the cause of hyperinflation and shortages of goods apparently and not the fact they destroyed their productive sector, slapped price controls on and printed money to fund their excessive government spending. Similar to what is happening in Venezuela.
I do have a simple question for you. Please show me one product that has been unable to be brought by Venezuela as a result of any trade sanctions imposed? Just one would suffice.
LOL the Zimbabwe example, out of 170 countries in the world, more idiocy. Venezuela is a full democracy which once again, the USA is trying its hardest to destabilise.
I will ask you once again,
Please show me one product that has been unable to be brought by Venezuela as a result of any trade sanctions imposed?
FFS do you not understand the problem? Which is Venezuela is being deprived of hard foreign currency through a financial capital strike.
How is this financial capital strike playing out?
Who are the players denying Venezuela access to foreign capital?
Why would a nation like China (which has plenty of US currency in reserve) deny Venezuela access to US currency?
Where did all of Venezuela’s currency reserves go considering they had tens of billions not so many years ago?
BTW once again the argument you put forward is exactly the same as that put forward by Zanu-PF to explain their problems. I find it especially funny considering the respective governments of Venezuela and Zimbabwe spend much of their time banging on about how evil the foreign financiers are then complain that all their woes are caused by them not lending them any money.
Fuck off with teh Zimbabwe example it’s utterly irrelevant. Venezuela is a thriving democracy where people have been empowered not driven off their land. The US wants to see Venezuela fail, and wants to put in a regime which will allow them to take their oil for free.
You are free to ignore my comparisons to Zimbabwe. It would be useful to answer my questions in regard to these terrible restrictions and financial capital strike Venezuela is subject to.
How is this financial capital strike manifested exactly and why doesn’t Venezuela circumvent it via use of foreign currency from other sources?
hey mr gosman, speaking of capital where does the money come from to pay the interest on the ever-increasing pile of debt in the world?
That is for the people who choose voluntarily to take out the debt to answer. I presume they do so for a reason and I also presume they are aware they need to pay interest on the money they are leant. If they aren’t aware then they are either stupid or have been lied to and therefore have a good case not to pay back the money or at least the interest component of the debt. Either way why should I care?
Venezuela is a full democracy
LOL!
Let me re-write that sentence for you CR:
Venezuela is a full* democracy** that enables the government to intimidate, censor and prosecute critics, use arbitrary detention, subjugate the judiciary, aggressively close down alternative media sources, revoke licences of internet providers that allow the publication of criticism of the government, allow and encourage extra-judicial killings by security forces, fire public workers who do not vote for the incumbent, and of course vote against the recent UN human rights report on North Korea.
* Full may contain nothing
** democracy may not mean actual democracy
Can you help me understand what “Full Democracy” means again CR? Unless of course Human Rights Watch is a front for the CIA.
http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2014/country-chapters/venezuela
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/venezuela/report-2012
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/apr/16/children-clothing-survey-bikini-heels
Capitalism corporatism materialism consumerism creates oversexualised children
Who watched Campbell last night?
Old friends getting together for a pre Waitangi party.
Yes there beeming live into homes nationwide were former Labour leaders Phil Goff & David Shearer partying the night away with former wannabe Labour leader & MP Shane Jones. Shearer putting in a cameo performance as front man singing and strumming his guitar.
While my partner snarled and said “that’s it with Labour.” I started laughing saying Shane Jones is just abiding by his employment contract with his employer the National Government.
When they crossed back later in the show I could have sworn Goff & Shearer were milling around Murray McCully signing some paperwork.
Just wondering if Matt Mc Carten is drafting up some paperwork for them to sign today?
Loved it! Jones still can’t speak without using 40 words when four would do, but it was great to see Shearer and Billy TK Jnr jamming. Overall, a pretty positive piece. Labour: Good Times!
http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/campbelllive/pre-waitangi-day-party-at-shane-jones-2015020420#axzz3QoE9NMRf
Oh gawd welcome to the free market imperial wing of the Labour Party. No wonder they signed that bloody surveillance bill.
Hone hinted at Shane Jones running in the by election this morning and the reporter asked him for which party , that would be a twist if jones ran for the nats.
Disregard that one Jones counted him self out
going to the seychelles this man of the people…
That’s a great description of them. I liked Alf’s Imperial Army better.
Oh gawd welcome to the free market imperial wing of the Labour Party. No wonder they signed that bloody surveillance bill.
When shall we be rid of this loathsome toad? Jones’ dissembling doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
I was hoping Shearer and Goff would hold up a slab of marlin each that Jones was blowing his arse about having caught. We all know what happened last time Shearer held up fish. Gone by lunch time!
NZH editor not happy with Gareth Morgan
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11396761
Why be antagonised ?
That last line is a doozy
identity in perspective – NZH editor following a very well known line there.
For me I welcome Gareth Morgan working to educate Pākehā – some may move their ideas. I also like that he is talking to Pākehā from both marae and RSA Hall (or wherever it was). The editorial is entitled – “Biculturalism doesn’t need late convert” – I think it does.
yes..the whole premise of that editorial is total racist-bullshit..
Bloody great that someone stood up and gave a significant response to Don Brash’s divisive Orewa diatribe. It’s a shame that it had to be someone outside politics.
In the Otago Daily Times today, “The Government highlighted that it had continued “to crank out strong job growth”…’
Wasn’t it Key’s position, several years ago now, that it isn’t the government’s role to create jobs, but that of business? This was back when he was being blasted for an increase in unemployment. I can’t seem to find the original quote anywhere, only references to it, but I imagine someone here will have a link.
Can’t have it both ways, Key. You’re either responsible for (un)employment levels, or you’re not.
A new British play about working in a job centre sounds eerily familiar. Brownie points for cruelty could be a Paula Bennett motivational mantra.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/04/jobcentre-adviser-play-benefit-sanctions-angela-neville
“..U.S. Surgeon General Says Marijuana ‘Can Be Helpful’ For Some Medical Conditions..
..Dr. Vivek Murthy – the nation’s newest surgeon general-
– says that marijuana ‘can be helpful’ for some medical conditions –
– and wants science to dictate policy on the federally banned substance..”
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/04/vivek-murthy-marijuana_n_6614226.html?ref=topbar
“..Colorado is making so much money from cannabis – it’s having to give some back to citizens..
..Colorado’s marijuana experiment has been an empirically rousing success thus far –
– with crime down and tourism up –
– and now the state has collected so much money in tax from sales of pot –
– that it might be legally obliged to give some back.
The state constitution puts a cap on the amount of tax money that can be taken in before some has to be returned-
– meaning Coloradans could see a share of the $50 million generated by sales of recreational cannabis..”
(cont..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/colorado-is-making-so-much-money-from-cannabis-its-having-to-give-some-back-to-citizens-10020466.html
“..Why smoking pot feels so good: New neuroscience explains marijuana and the brain..
..Might marijuana actually prevent age-related memory loss?
New science suggests we have lots to learn about pot..”
(cont..)
http://www.salon.com/2015/02/01/why_smoking_pot_feels_so_good_new_neuroscience_explains_marijuana_and_the_brain/
We all knew this is on the agenda…
***ALERT – LEAKED DOCUMENTS***
TISA – Leaked document reveals secret talks to privatize and raise health costs
The following release contains a paper discussed in the framework of the secretive Trade in Services Agreement (TISA). Up to 23 countries plus all EU members are participating in the negotiations, which aim to deregulate up to 70% of world trade in services. Until now, what little is known about TISA has been through leaked information.
The proposal titled ‘A concept paper on health care services within TISA Negotiations’ states there is ‘huge untapped potential for the globalisation of healthcare services’ mainly because ‘health care services is (sic) funded and provided by state or welfare organisations and is of virtually no interest for foreign competitors due to lack of market-orientated scope for activity’.
https://data.awp.is/international/2015/02/04/22.html
The other reason that the far right love to send other people to war, is that they then get to get to sneak through their other main agendas …..
Cartoons on
Everything You Should, But Don’t, Know About “Free Trade”
http://www.exposingtruth.com/everything-dont-know-free-trade/
Could be a good one for the politicians out there….
A nice easy to follow graphic of the timeline relating to sabin
http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=2345
Good articles coming from Mana News – I wonder if they could be added to the feeds for TS
I thought Sabin got made chair of the select committee after the election?
“After the election, Mr Sabin was made chairman of the law and order select committee over more senior MPs – a sign he could have been on the way to the ministerial benches”.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11394367
I had a good sleep last night, the first in ages – so today I was very early for work – So I took the opportunity to ride under every bridge in New Lynn – West Auckland.
And as I has though, every bridge in New Lynn had people sleeping under it – even the rail bridge. (This is the very noisy one) And not just one or two but under one – at least 6 or 7 all huddled together.
So if Mr Key and co, think they have a good country and they are doing their best – then I call them liar’s and deceivers. They are oblivious, to the reality of the suffering their poor economic choices causes.
Liberalism is not economic common sense – it is a vicious nasty ideology.
thanks adam.
I’ve taken my daily constitutional around Wellington too Adam in the early morning. A similar situation exists here!
And that doesn’t take account of those living in the town belt.
I remember in the early 2000’s I lived in central Auckland, I use to see the homeless wake up in around where I lived, and that was a substantial number then.
It seems to me that the homes migrating towards the centre of the city towards to social services is a thing of the past.
I see soup kitchens all over Auckland now – this economy has falling apart for many – no matter how much these Muppet’s try to spin everything is fine and dandy.
Very interesting and skilled interviews by Kathryn Ryan this morning:
…on Isis ( resolving Syria’s problems is the key to a solution)
….and quad bike accidents ( interview with farmer Andrew Fleming….author of
‘Change the Chanel’
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon
this is very good too from Kathryn Ryan
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20166151/travel-writer-pico-iyer-on-how-to-stay-still
She’s lifting her game sometimes – must be all that generous leave entitlement she seems to have negotiated.
She’s even dropping the affectations a lot more recently.
No more ” I halve ” ( I have ) etc. ….. in order not to sound too tupicle Koiwoi
NYC empty $100M apartments with low rates – and more than 60,000 homeless
No wonder the city is creating new police units with military assault weapons.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-04/face-oligarch-recovery-luxury-skyscrapers-empty-nyc-homeless-population-hits-record-
That is 100% evidence of US economic ideology failing its society.
fail fail fail
I see gosman hanging around like a bad smell today – maybe gosman would like to explain how this phenomenon is indicative of success ……. look forward to today’s great and amazing hair-split trick.
This is my take on Waitangi day attitudes. No-one will publish it, so in the spirit of liberte d’expression I’m sticking it here. Buggar.
http://jafacentral.com/2015/01/28/hello-world/
[Well put. Do you want/consent to it being a guest post? – MS]
+100 …thanks interesting!…much good tongue- in- cheek, ribbing fodder there…. for bickering about over the Waitangi Day picnic rug on the beach
…everyone loves Waitangi Day!
classic Mr Meech – “Recent research has emerged that a bunch of discarded old stones found in the corner of a field near Hokianga are conclusive proof that Polynesians were once ruled by a Celtic master race. There is no conceivable way in which ancient Polynesians, renowned for world class feats of sea navigation, warfare and oral mastery, could possibly have randomly put stones on top of one another”.
http://jafacentral.com/2015/01/28/hello-world/
Do you know how to sumit to the standard as a guest post? It’s a worthy read.
Look putting it bluntly Maori just need to buck up. Like their friendly British-based real estate franchisees and colonial roastbusters, they need to formulate wordy European-type verbal and ideological constructs which launch far up and away into the air soaring high and right over (and barely recognising or relating to) the relevant facts or detail pertaining to the historical issues of our time.
So let’s just bloody well build a bridge and get over it.
FYI folks – seeking and distributing information which should help to SINK the proposed Wellington ‘Supercity’ …
http://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2015/02/COU_20150203_MAT_5665.PDF
Date: Tuesday 3 February 2015
Time: 9.00am
Meeting Room: Level 26
Venue: 135 Albert Street
Council Controlled Organisations Governance and Monitoring Committee
OPEN MINUTE ITEM ATTACHMENTS
5.1 Public Input – Penny Bright – Cost Effectiveness of the Auckland Super City Amalgamation
A. 3 February 2015, CCO Governance & Monitoring Committee, Item 5.1 –
Penny Bright Tabled Information 3
…………..
______________________________________________________________________________________
Kind regards
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Keep up the good work Penny! As an Aucklander I am doing everything I can to convince my Wellington friends to say NO to their supercity.
Thanks Penny – Good to see your web page too.
+100 Penny is a real activist for good…I do so hope my beloved Wellington does not follow in the corrupt footsteps of Auckland ‘Supercity’ NOT
Short Guardian column about compulsive liars .. Lance Armstrong is the main character … but many key points, so to speak ….
“Habits can become addictions. There is a thrill in deceiving others – it underlines your superiority as you managed to fool them. And you might get hooked on that thrill. But, like all addictions, it can go wrong as it traps and entangles you.”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/04/lance-armstrong-liar-no-other-way
and this key comment below the article … an awful truth for us in NZ …
“He only sees things through the black and white prism of “Winning” and “Losing”. To admit to any weakness/mistake/fallacy is losing. The value that the rest of us apply to being truthful or having integrity is irrelevant to him – lying is merely a tool he uses to get what he wants and “win” which he will do at any cost. I think that he believes that people who tell the truth and admit their mistakes are fools.”
scarey how some people think…and operate
and those around them dare not contemplate the reality because it amounts to an admission they have been fooled and made fools of. That is one reason many do not want to confront the PMs deceit, both in media and the public, because of what it reveals about themselves. Others go further and devise excuses, rationalisations and justifications for his behaviour to keep them from acknowledging their foolishness.
Israeli intransigence seems to be increasingly undermining those supporting a two-state ‘solution’ to the Palestinian liberation struggle.
However, there are also differences among those who oppose the existence of Israel. One of the most interesting debates has been between two Marxists in Britain with long records of organising in support of the Palestinian cause and against the Israeli state: Moshe Machover, a veteran Israeli Marxist and a founder of the Israeli Socialist Organisation (ISO) in the early 1960s, and Tony Greenstein, a longtime solidarity activist and veteran working class fighter.
We’ve run some of the material from this (fairly comradely) ongoing debate on Redline.
Here’s Tony’s main piece (I admire Moshe but I happen to agree more with Tony): Israel, Palestine: the one-state solution and the issue of Israeli-Jewish nationhood https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/israel-palestine-the-one-state-solution-and-the-issue-of-israeli-jewish-nationhood/
Here’s a couple of interesting pieces by Moshe about the problems Zionism is having:
Zionism’s ongoing quest for legitimacy https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/zionisms-ongoing-quest-for-legitimacy/
Does Israel have a future? https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/does-israel-have-a-future/
We also have a much larger selection of articles on Palestine at https://rdln.wordpress.com/category/palestine/
and a substantial number of articles on the PFLP: https://rdln.wordpress.com/category/pflp/
(Obviously many articles turn up in our Israel, Palestine and PFLP categories)
Phil
John Key’s speech at Waitangi is going down really well at the marae. He is winning hearts and minds and I presume votes with his candour and sense. A masterful delivery with minimal fuss. Great to see.
you’ve still got a wee speck of his cum on the corner of your mouth
[lprent: That is getting close to the edge of toleration. Both in terms of “pointless abuse” and causing to make me laugh out loud in the middle of the workroom. However it could get tiresome fast. Be warned. ]
🙂
Thank Christ you’re edgy and that edginess is still tolerated. Has P.G. got an opinion? I wonder what Jamie Lee would think of such a comment McFlock.
OOOOOO u r awful! But I like you
🙂
Fisi’s unabashed idolatry for dunnokeyo is so extreme very few alternative comparisons come to mind, as it were.
LimpCock always swallows all the evidence
’tis the courteous thing to do.
But it is a service that would not be performed on someone so blatantly undeserving of my affection as a prime minister who can’t even monitor a department, or indeed what goes on in his own office.
Well, he did have to eschew secret service oversight cos it was beyond his capabilities. That’s a big admission, even if the media failed to understand it as such.
thanks for proving you know SFA about marae protocols and behaviour
you must go through a lot of paper towels and hand lotion
Always impressive to see you engaging your razor-sharp critical skills, Fisi. Certainly no one could ever accuse you of being a mindless cheerleader,
Or, to put it another way: “you’ve still got a wee speck of his cum on the corner of your mouth”
charismatic ideologue appeals to mass psychosis, promotes war and lebensraum for his followers
Fizzer. You mean this bit?
“We are a country that stands for human rights and I don’t know about you but when people are being burned with petrol I find it difficult to look the other way.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/65824443/prime-minister-lets-help-iraq
I don’t know about you Key, but when we trade with a country with an appalling history of human rights abuses, and that country is one of our biggest traders, I find it difficult to look the other way.
I don’t know about you Key, but when we stand by and watch as one country tortures and kills the children living in another country in an occupied land, with outlawed white phosphorous, I find it difficult to look the other away.
I don’t know about you Key, but when we turn a blind eye to our Pacific neighbours in Kiribas as their land drowns because of rising sea levels, because we along with other western nations refuse to address climate change, I find it difficult to look the other way.
I could go on, and on, and on.
What a fucking hypocrite. There is so much fucking snake oil work going on that somebody had better put the “danger wet floor” sign out, so no has an accident and slides over.
The illegal torture of prisoners by the USA could be added to the list of things keys turned a blind eye to.
Yep, feel free to add to the wall of hypocrisy. There’s plenty of examples. (Boko Haram anyone?), Usually ones that don’t involve the Club, or The Family
The Guardian forecasts that the SNP would win 54 out of the 59 seats in Scotland. The Lib Dems would retain one, Labour four. The Tories would lose their one and only seat. Labour won 41 in 2010.
Ashcroft Polling has done a 16,000 phone call survey of the 14 electorates in which Labour won with the highest margins five years ago – and the swing in these is even greater than the one implied in Scotland-wide polls.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/datablog/2015/feb/04/scotland-poll-shows-a-nation-on-the-verge-of-abandoning-labour
Meanwhile Alex Salmond has been compared in Westminster by Bill Cash (loony end of the Tory Party) to Charles Stewart Parnell, the great Irish Home Rule Leader. It was intended to frighten the English voters! As commentators have said: Liberal Prime Minister Asquith described Parnell as “one of the three or four greatest men of the 19th century”, while Lord Haldane described him as” the strongest man the House of Commons had seen in 150 years” William Gladstone described Parnell as “the most remarkable person” he had ever met.
Scotland is blessed with a great leadership team in the SNP at present. Sturgeon, Hosie, Swinney, Robertson, Murrell and Salmond are the team that can successfully lead Scotland into early Independence. The SNP are a truly Social Democratic Party.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/wider-political-news/tory-mp-compares-alex-salmond-to-maverick-irish-nationalist.117786091
They just lost a referendum on independence. It is unlikely they will have another go so soon. If they do they will be justifiably criticised for attempting to achieve independence regardless of peoples views.
The Polls are also showing that many people who voted NO did so on the basis of the last minute “Vow” of home rule and near federalism promised by George Brown on behalf of the Tories/Labour NO campaign.
What has materialised in draft legislation that give Scotland contol over only 30% of revenue and 15% if welfare. Cameron and Hague have announced that Scottish MPs will be reduced to 2nd class statue in Westminster.
These people are now disgusted and will now never forgive Labour for siding with Thatcher’s party. The majority are now saying that they want Independence.
IMHO this is the last UK General Election.
Shurely you meant Gordon Brown, the great Blairite, rather than George Brown, the great piss-head.
the tories and others lied to voters? Say it isnt so.
Tory scum know no other way Tracy, they know no other way.
Sadly the GB Labour crowd went hand in hand with the Tories in the IndyRef.
They said things and behaved in ways which crossed a line: there is no going back to Labour for a huge number of people.
Making Jim Murphy Leader was the final nail in the coffin. Fill internment will take place on the 7th May.
R.I.P. Labour in Scotland
No flowers at the internment service, please. Nobody from Labour’s Scottish Branch Office will be around to accept.
Ben Ambridge: 10 myths about psychology: Debunked
The bit about people detecting lies near the end is certainly applicable to NZ ATM.
(one for (fellow) ‘the dude’ fans..)
“..Jeff Bridges releases sleep album – to help the world’s stressed-out dudes gets some shut-eye..
..I went to bed with The Dude last night.
And you can too.
I should make it clear that Jeff Bridges hasn’t fallen on hard times – and gone all Midnight Cowboy on us.
The Oscar-winning actor has simply released an album designed for you to play while you snooze.
Well more precisely – it is actually meant to send you to sleep –
– his deep, rich mutterings the vehicle that will deliver you to the land of nod..”
(cont..)
(ed:..heh..!..didn’t see that one coming..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/jeff-bridges-releases-sleep-album-to-help-the-worlds-stressedout-dudes-gets-some-shuteye-10024338.html
ISIL Beheading, burning alive, throwing a gay man off a 7 story building and then on surviving being stoned to death and also crucifying.
We should do nothing for fear of reprisal. Really???????
When the decision to send troops is announced I await the torrent of hand wringing do nothing defeatism typical of the Left. And you wonder why the Left is unelectable.
I wouldn’t overdose on Fox News fisiani. There are varied opinions on the “Left” as I’m sure you know.
The actions of ISIL are despicable, but we should not rush into another war (and likely quagmire) without UN mandate at least. The US/UK aren’t exactly trustworthy partners in Middle East military adventures.
their neighbours should take care of it..
..are you aware of the state-be-headings – in retaliation..?
..are you aware there have been over 116 air-strikes on isis..?
..get some context/nuance..eh..?
..yes..they are barbaric/evil-shits..
..then again so are most of the leaders/regimes in the region..
..(especially americas’ ‘friends’..eh..?
..y’know..!..saudi arabia beheading women..and all that stuff..?..)
..so we should pick a less ‘evil/barbaric’-side..and wade in there..eh..boots and all..eh..?
..we should rush to war..
..as i said..calm yr hysterics..
…and get some context/nuance..eh..?
..and as far as context 4 u is concerned..
..you would have wanted clark to sign us up for the bush-led invasion of iraq..eh..?
..so why the fuck should we listed to a word you say..?..
..eh..?
or we could just sit around and misrepresent the entire argument on the internet
your being a troll fisti – a very boring troll
@ fisi..
‘defeatism’..eh..?
..gonna be breaking out the white-feathers soon..then..?
Thank you for your concern, especially for homosexuals who your leader can never quite decide if he supported or not and who previous right wing leaders criminalised for so many years.
As for ISIS, why do we need to reprise when Jordan is executing ISIS prisoners at will now?
When the decision to send troops is announced, I await the sight of you Fisiani, signing up along with Max Key!
I agree with your sentiments against NZ troops heading off to war, but feel uncomfortable with the occasional cries regarding John Key’s son.
He is not responsible for the misguided and inexcusable actions of his father, and did not ask to be the son of the worst PM we have had. That is punishment enough, and any fans of John Key will fixate on the “terrible calls for his son to enlist” and miss again the point.
I didn’t notice TheGaucheKey being terribly sensitive about Phillip Smith’s (living) victim and his family when he actually fucking giggled to foreign television about Smith’s escape to South America. Some shit about who’s not invited to dinner or some such.
I didn’t notice any cautions from the sensitive folk that it might be unwise and too hard on the boy for TheSelfieDaddyKey to contrive the plastering of selfies of senior and junior in a targa top in Hawaii all over regular and social media.
I didn’t notice any particular sensitivity from the GodKey about young woman Tania Billingsley.
I didn’t notice any wish not to play the game when SpawnOfTheDaddyKey howlingly photoshopped himself with a financial gangster man.
I do notice that it would be meet were the TheLittleChurchillKey to look past other peoples’ sons and offer his own when rushing to join “the family”.
Meanwhile, I am not Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey and I will not be clutching my pearls aghast. I note Molly that in any event your concerns seem not to be principally for junior.
Hi North,
You are right, I’m not concerned for Max. He is not relevant.
John Key has not the integrity, knowledge, or even competency to be the one making the decision about where our troops go.
Even if he had a child that was in our Defence Force, the decision to enter a conflict zone should be made critically and with understanding of the likely outcomes of that deployment.
However, John Key doesn’t make independent choices, he pays “club fees”.
I don’t need to speculate about unlikely events concerning his children.
I consider this decision to be bad enough to be criticised on it’s own merit.
You should volunteer,as you seem so keen for others to fight.
(do you know what facebook has signed all of its’ users up to..?…
..you (i am presuming you are all on facebook..?..)..have now agreed to letting them track you even when you are not on facebook..
..choice..!..eh..?..who knew..?..)
“..Facebook signs users up to privacy policy – that allows it to track you everywhere on the internet..
..A new Facebook privacy policy allows the site to track your activity even after you’ve left it —
– and all users have automatically signed up to it.
The change enables it to gather data from activity across the internet –
– as well as the normal data it gathers on information you and your friends have added to the site.
It also allows the site to pass on that information with its other branches – including Instagram.
The company said in November that the change would come into effect – when it mentioned that it would be implemented on January 30.
Facebook says that it showed notifications to users – and sent them emails – informing them that the change was coming into effect..”
(cont..)
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/facebook-signs-users-up-to-privacy-policy-that-allows-it-to-track-you-everywhere-on-the-internet-10022530.html
I wouldn’t trust facebook as far as I could kick them, yet some people get all bent out of shape over the GCSB.
Glad I’m not on fb. One of the many reason is security, and well, here’s proof of those fears.
Use chrome, and go incognito. Facebook canny follow. Use a proxy server. Or just log out of facebook, and don’t stay logged in all the time…
Doesn’t using chrome just hand everything over to google?
Yes, if you stay logged in.
Which is what most people do.
If you read the end user agreement – it says whilst you are logged into Google, they will keep track of what you do. A cloud service. Easy done though, if you have a gmail account – use youtube or google+ bookmarks etc..
I had a do not follow thingy on Firefox for while, but disabled it as it made my computer do weird things.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/04/secrets-ttip-corporations-not-citizens-transatlantic-trade-deal?CMP=twt_gu
“What I am able to reveal from my visit to the library is that I left without any sense of reassurance either that the process of negotiating this trade deal is democratic, or that the negotiators are operating on behalf of citizens.”
All we can do is add this to the ever growing pile of stern concern being expressed around the world. Week after week there are warnings from people who have seen the details, saying the same thing that our own Tim Groser refuses to.
These ‘agreements’ are nothing more than corporate entities devouring global resources with no regard to the individuals, sovereignties or democracies that will be consumed by the avarice required to formulate such plans and eventually assimilated by the processes that drive them.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) , The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), The Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) and of course The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement are all the same thing. Very bad news.
Being an avid watcher of QI (arise Lord Stephen Fry!) this seemed pertinent and amusing (sorry couldn’t find it on youtube)
http://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/qi/episodes/12/13/
The thing that newsagents sell that makes people suddenly want to vote Tory is lottery tickets. Labour voters who suddenly win the lottery are likely to change their political opinions and become Conservative voters. This is known as “Sudden Wealth Syndrome”
http://theconversation.com/lottery-wins-make-people-more-likely-to-vote-conservative-22909
Lotto and lottery’s in general are vulgar, and puissant thrills which bring out the worst in people. We should not have them, bit like slot machine machines – destructive and vulgar. Burn them all.
(what many suspected was happening..is confirmed as happening..
..no..you are not paranoid..)
“..Editor Of Major Newspaper Says He Planted Stories For CIA..
..Dr. Udo Ulfkotte – the editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung – one of Germany’s largest newspapers –
– said in an interview that he accepted news stories written and given to him by the CIA –
– and published them under his own name.
Ulfkotte said the aim of much of the deception –
– was to drive nations toward war.
Dr. Ulfkotte says the corruption of journalists and major news outlets by the CIA is routine – accepted – and widespread in the western media –
– and that journalists who do not comply either cannot get jobs at any news organization –
– or find their careers cut short..”
(cont..)
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40886.htm
Yes, this was covered in the Guardian recently as well. Mainstream ‘news’ has long been a tool of the state, but especially in times of war.
Eula Bliss is being interviewed by Kim Hill on Sat. Here’s a Q and A from last year on Gawker, after the release of her book On Immunity, about vaccination and, well, a whole bunch of social and political complexities.
http://review.gawker.com/are-anti-vaccinators-stupid-or-disingenuous-a-q-a-with-1640375068
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/saturday/20150207
Q. Would you be seeking to learn anything from Eula ?
yes.
Q. Can you share what that might be ?
why?
Don’t bother, weka. Furphey’s from the PG school of pointless questions.
Are you spoiling my fun, TRP?
LOL, sorry! (Pictures kitten with rubber mouse)
Because I enjoy your balanced and thoughtful comments and would like to hear where the interest exists for you on the subject matter of the book you linked to
I think my interest is pretty obvious from my original comment. Can you tell what it is?
There are a number of angles of interest which could be possible
Examples
1. The author and or the subject matter
2. The writing style of the author and approach taken to the discussion around the subject
3. The book and why it attracted critical acclaim
4. The interview approach which Kim Hill employs
etc
You mentioned social and political complexities and this is where I have interest in hearing perspectives of balanced commentators
The subject comes up from time to time and has frequently of late with abuse and derogatory comments the usual responses that I have questioned in recent days
By your comments here I would anticipate that you could elucidate a neutral balanced opinion regardless of your preference
That is the style of comment I would like to hear on the subject should you like to share
How about we both listen to the interview and have a conversation afterwards?
Or you could read the Q and A and we could have a conversation afterwards.
1. The author and or the subject matter
2. The writing style of the author and approach taken to the discussion around the subject
3. The book and why it attracted critical acclaim
4. The interview approach which Kim Hill employs
That might be true if I’d just dropped a link, but why would I quote that particular part of the Q and A?
That’s not possible for me to know Weka there are any number of factors you may well be interested in other than the focal point of your original post
I have read the Q and A but won’t be able to listen to the interview on the day
Would be happy to hear your perspective and to share thoughts next week if you’re interested
Q. Have you listened to the interview Weka ?
not yet. Have you?
Yes
What did you think?
Q. How about once we have both listened to the interview we have a conversation about it ?
I haven’t listened to it yet, so we can’t do that. I”m asking you what you think having listened to it now.
You need to have your own experience listening to the interview
Let me know once you have listened to it and we can go from there
You don’t actually know what I need, but I’m suspecting that it’s not possible to have a conversation with you about it irrespective of whether I listen or not.
Sharing my thoughts before you have listened to the interview would prevent you from having an original experience of your own
When I said ” you need ” I was pointing out what should be abundantly clear regarding having your own experience without my thoughts involved
If you would like to back out of your own suggested approach to how we were to discuss the link you posted that is your prerogative but don’t do so using unconvincing tactics of transference and deflection
translation a) I totes have an opinion on it, but can’t tell you because spoilers.
translation b) I’m so awesome that if I tell you my opinion first, you’ll just agree with me rather than me educating you with a pseudo-Socratic dialogue that I’m not good enough to maintain so it turns into an interminable series of pointless questions to which I offer no answers. Besides, you’ve only read up to book four and don’t even know that dragon glass can kill the White Walkers.
“Sharing my thoughts before you have listened to the interview would prevent you from having an original experience of your own”
I’ve already read a Q and A with the author, so I’m not a clean slate. But even if what you imply is true, why would that matter if I hear your thoughts before the interview and thus don’t have an ‘original experience’?
“When I said ” you need ” I was pointing out what should be abundantly clear regarding having your own experience without my thoughts involved”
It sounds like you have a need to have me engage in a certain way. Or you want to control me. Either way, it’s not about my needs, it’s about yours.
“If you would like to back out of your own suggested approach to how we were to discuss the link you posted that is your prerogative but don’t do so using unconvincing tactics of transference and deflection”
I’m not backing out. There is nothing in my suggestion that commits us to not talking before we’ve both listened to the interview, and we can still talk after I’ve heard it. I haven’t had time to listen yet, so I’m suggesting that you start the ball rolling. This is a normal enough thing for me to do, no deflection or transference or amateur psychology needed.
@ McFlock 😛
I’ve already read a Q and A with the author, so I’m not a clean slate. But even if what you imply is true, why would that matter if I hear your thoughts before the interview and thus don’t have an ‘original experience’?
Q. Did you find fault with your own suggestion ?
Perhaps it matters perhaps it won’t but we’re not on the same field which is why I’m happy to go with your suggestion of waiting until we have both listened to the interview as it made sense
It sounds like you have a need to have me engage in a certain way. Or you want to control me. Either way, it’s not about my needs, it’s about yours.
Q. Are you deliberately forgetting I ‘m requesting to keep to your suggested approach ?
It was your suggestion which I am requesting to adhere to ergo it can’t be about anyone’s needs or control other than your own so the term for that comment is projection
There is nothing in my suggestion that commits us to not talking before we’ve both listened to the interview
You could say that but it’s lurching deep into the realms of making things up shifting goal posts and unbalanced
I haven’t had time to listen yet, so I’m suggesting that you start the ball rolling. This is a normal enough thing for me to do, no deflection or transference or amateur psychology needed
Q. Is it normal for you to change the conditions of your own suggestions ?
No worries take your time or not at all there is no compulsion to listen to the interview you linked to and highlighted
Should you choose to listen to the interview and comment on it I shall look forward to reading your thoughts and will be happy to keep to your suggestion by sharing mine
Lolz.
I still haven’t listened to it. I’m curious though, how you expect the conversation to go when you are dictating the terms of the conversation. It’s one thing to say, nah I’d rather wait. It’s another thing to try and use my suggestion to bind me into something which I clearly don’t consider to be binding. Or to make out that you know more about my intentions in the suggestion than I do. I’ll take that as a reasonable sign of bad faith.
Q. Why do you so intensely wish to project such odious interpretations onto my comments ?
I have been saying “nah I’d rather wait” and have not indicated I expect anything through my comments
That you appear to have become offended (?) in my position of appreciating your suggestion and perceived balance and thoughtfulness via twisting my comments is on you
I acknowledge and accept my error of judgement in your ability to be balanced or thoughtful and that is on me
Chok Dee
lol
Your error in judgement was to assume that you could get away with not presenting an opinion of your own for an indefinite period of time.
Why so coy about presenting your own opinion? Do you really think you are so awesome that expressing your own thoughts would skew everyone else’s opinion?
BTW I read the link and listened to the interview.
dammit McFlock, I hadn’t seen that reply.
Hey, ho, it was getting tedious anway.
Sunday morning on RNZ looking interesting too, including this,
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/20150208
Not sure Bridges will be interesting.
I thought it might be interesting to hear him after all the others, for context. Probably can’t bring myself to actually do that though.
Tova O’Brien has been pushing the national can’t lose bullshit regarding the by election twice today why can’t reporters just fucken report .
Because they are bought and compromised sock puppets.
Joyce in UNACT newsletter :
Average wages are also showing healthy growth, lifting 2.6 per cent over the year – well ahead of the 0.8 per cent inflation rate – and New Zealand continues to fare better than most of the OECD.
The other striking element of the new data is the record high participation in the labour market, of 69.7 per cent. This increase means unemployment rises slightly to 5.7 per cent despite the strong job growth.
Some questions Joyce might like to attempt a factual answer to:
1 0.8% inflation sounds like deflation. Is it only housing providing significant rising prices and revenues..
2 What are median wages at present?
3 And what was % the rise on them over the year?4
Is the OECD comparison useful? Can we have an actual concrete comparison as to which country are we compatible with – slightly above Nigeria and Tibet and Greece? Which?
4 What is the equivalent full time job percentage of total employment?
5 What are the % of four divisions of employment, full time (old style 40 hrs per week),
Full time (new style 30 hours per week), between 10-30 hours and under 10 hours per week.
6 What number of workers have less than 10 hours work per week.
7 How many workers are working into the old classification of anti-social hours, say outside of 8.00 a.m. and 5 p.m.
I can help with some answers:
1. 0.8% inflation is not deflation. Deflation needs to have one of these “-” in front of the number.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_number
Housing is not included in the CPI, so no, housing is not providing significant rising prices to the CPI. Raw materials used in building new houses are included, but not house or land prices.
2. In Dec 2014, $1101 per week.
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/employment_and_unemployment/LabourMarketStatistics_HOTPDec14qtr.aspx
3. Up 2.3% yoy
http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/employment_and_unemployment/LabourMarketStatistics_HOTPDec14qtr.aspx (all the data below can be found here)
4. You should compare with countries that are similar to us, but everyone defines similar differently. Perhaps similar PPP GDP per capita? On this ranking (yay #46!) we are just below Saudi Arabia (Uneployment rate 11.7%) and Faroe islands (cant find it but Denmark 4.0%), just above Spain (23.7%) and UAE (4.2%). Or this ranking (GDP Per Capita) we are #26 just below France (8.0%) and UK (5.8%), just above Japan (3.5%) and Brunei (2.7%).
4 again. See 5 below – answer is there. The Full time Equivalent stat is a bit dicey. It is arbitrarily calculate as # full time jobs + 0.5 part time jobs. The calculation below I think makes more sense.
5. I think what you really trying to find is the number of under-employed i.e., those currently working but available for more work: 112,800 out of total workforce 2,518,000 = 4.5%
Part time employees- these are those happy to be part time, not looking for extra work: 534,200 /2,518,000= 22.3%
Unemployed = 143,000/2,518,000 = 5.7%
So employed full time = 1,585,000/2,518,000 =62.9% of workforce.
6. Don’t think they gather stats by “< 10 hours". But the better measure anyway would be currently working but looking for more work. That is 112,800 people or 4.5% of workforce.
7. That's tougher to find data on, but also a bit misleading. Many people choose to work those hours i.e., restaurant and bar staff, police, some industrial workers, nurses etc. Again what I think you're looking for is people working anti-social hours who are forced to. Not sure where to find that but I think the number would be relatively low.
There you go – wasn't hard to find. Took me 10 minutes. Next time don't be lazy and do it yourself.
@ nadis
Thank you for the info. And no thank you for the homily and sneer at the end.
I actually have never found it easy to find the info that i wanted for stats and spent hours fiddling round. And even you with all your expertise could not find some that I think is important and should be stated. So save dumping your shit on me.
Just ignore my comments in future- I don’t want someone so superior to feel they must put themselves out. Do it gladly, politely or not at all.
Lets have ago THE BISHOP and there are alot of old kiwi slang terms and objects that tell the truth about that
Brian Tamaki or Temi or Tero Tero excuse me if my spelling is wrong if you know what they are ,arch right winger from the land of “God Home Mother and Apple Pie” to quote Dave Crosby (The Byrds) where homosexuals, kids can be beaten to death by law, blacks and any other coloured people are pegged as religiously destitute in need of spiritual enlightenment of the type that went with the conquistadors
His fascist stance a few years ago marching down Queen St I believe, here he is now with a gun in one hand pig hunting ,and probably a bible in the other, a cover for his belief in the afore mentioned surely he could be taxed out of existence if we had some sort of morality in the value of these sort of people to actually expand the understanding of human spirituality but I fear only to the size of a pigs brain
The rest is thought of your own
Bishop?
hasn’t he had himself ordained pope yet?
Or I suspect he’ll just skip that step and declare himself the god of hair grease.
He said nothing while his friend spewed anti-Māori invective for years;
Mike Hosking is the LAST person who should talk about “acrimony”.
Television One, Thursday 5 February 2015
On Seven Sharp tonight, host Mike Hosking gurned sardonically at the camera and burbled how there was far less “acrimony” at Waitangi this year.
What unbelievable cheek this fellow has. What unmitigated gall. What brass-plated, industrial-grade hypocrisy from this poseur, this imposter, this fawning toady to the powerful and the wealthy, this corrupt and cynical booster of casinos, this contemptible and vacuous lightweight of lightweights in the pathetic, anxious sea of lightweights that constitutes Television One’s dire and ever-diminishing “talent pool”.
Waitangi Day has (rightly) been the focus of serious political protest for decades now. But any acrimony has come almost entirely from the extreme right wing—and one person stands out in particular.
One of the vilest, most acrimonious racist harangues in living memory was unleashed on readers of the Herald three years ago by Paul Holmes—- one of Hosking’s friends and colleagues at NewstalkZB. Holmes raved insanely for 21 hate-filled paragraphs. Here’s a taster, if you can bear it….
Holmes then veers off into another mad frenzy, this one directed at “the breast feeding fascists” and then he has an obscene—and ignorant—spray about Syria. But what really excites his fevered brain is the bloody end of Mrs Assad…
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10784735
Mike Hosking never said a word about that download of acrimonious filth from his friend and colleague, who was beyond doubt one of this country’s more notorious racists.
Nobody with any sense takes Mike Hosking seriously on any topic, of course; to give any credence to what he has to say on race relations one would need to have one’s head examined.
A sock puppet.
A very irritating sock puppet. The most annoying sock puppet since this guy….
http://jam.canoe.ca/Television/TV_Shows/C/Citytv/2008/06/25/pf-5978941.html
Now Holmes was a vile little man. His behaviour towards family after Aramoana, was bestial – it was then I realised, the right wing in this country are a bunch of self serving, nasty, little creeps. He sat like king muck telling us what was going to happen, when we’d had family and friends die. His fake pathos made everyone in the room sick – he was not invited back – he got no interview. And no one in that room watched, or listened to him again.
You declaim very eloquently Morrissey…….I am a relatively vulgar. Hosking, the skinny jeans, the boy-hairdo, the mutton-dressed-up-as-lamb, the ‘poseur’ (thank you Morrissey), the archetypal Cafe Society git though self-elevated above that prosaic , bought and paid for by SkyCity – Hosking the up-himself big fish in a small pond. Such a pity really. He’s endowed intellectually but oh how he abuses that in favour of narcissism and cheap vanity. And Parnell BBQ tickets. Does his wife get a look-in ?
Anyone else feeling the cold?
http://earth.nullschool.net/#2015/02/05/0900Z/wind/surface/level/orthographic=175.07,-50.75,512
cool site.
heater on for first time in weeks 🙂
I’ve got the fire going.
double duvet time in the bay
not in auckland…
Another blanket tonight.
High Temperature 21.4 °C at 13:00
Low Temperature 13.9 °C at 20:47
http://wiritoawoolshed.netai.net/today.php
that’s a cool site too.
Will you get this big polar blast coming through tonight? Snow in the Alps down to 600m.
The forecast from a station about half way between here and Wiritoa.
Tomorrow we expect plus 15—16 °C, rain, moderate breeze. The day after tomorrow plus 12—18 °C, without precipitation, light breeze.
http://rp5.co.nz/Weather_in_Gonville