News today that Hahei motor camp is on the market, as is the Whangamata one is bad news for those who cannot afford $2mil beach houses, the less well-off missing out on what used to be a seemingly Gods-own right of a beachfront summer holiday.
What happened to the policy of the Gummint buying these last remaining refuges to save them for the people ?.
It must have been a Labour policy, it obviously doesen’t fit in with “the market will provide”, for the few.
Council/DOC owned camping grounds are on reserve land that cant be sold without revocation of reserve status and that needed to be signed off by the minister of conservation*
They tend to be either leased to a mum and dad operator or run by the council/DOC itself.
* = unfortunately the government sneaked through a law change enabling councils to revoke reserve status without needing ministerial permission, meaning Tory-led councils can flog off parks and reserves with government ‘encouragement’.
I started reading it under the impression it was about how 9-11 troofers could maintain bizarre ideas in the face of evidence. Then I realised it was positing the troofers were right and the rest of us (the sane people) were the ones with the bizarre ideas. So I stopped reading it.
So, yeah, I let my prejudices get the better of me. Because I’ve wasted far too much time investigating the claims of troofer types and they never amount to anything more than paranoid fantasies.
Maybe you could provide a bullet point summary of the key information that will change my mind?
WTC7.
I’ve never heard one of the people on this website who personally attack those who apply critical thinking to the events of 9/11 explain WTC7.
Until they do, I remain sceptical to the official conspiracy theory about 9/11
hi paul,
the thing that strikes me is the abusive reaction that occurs when this subject comes up.
so far: deranged, paranoid fantasies, stfu, parroting drivel.
i am waiting to be accused of being right wing for daring to question the status quo version of events re wtc t7
ten years ago people probably had a bit more tolerance. But since then no new evidence has been presented, and many lies have been debunked (no airplane debris around the pentagon, “within its own footprint”, “freefall speeds”, yadda yadda). In contrast, the official story still stands up.
So I for one am a bit bored with nutbars making a stupid nutbar hobby around the deaths of 3000 people. Oh, and if you’re worried about being called right wing, I’m worried that a legitimate critic of the US can be silenced by comparing them with people who think mini-nukes or nanothermite demolished any of the WTC buildings.
It’s boredom. You all repeat the same long-debunked zombie arguments, and you haven’t produced a scrap of evidence in fourteen years, and not a single member of the conspiracy has come forward, and you all can’t even agree which tune to sing.
It’s like a multi-orchestra Ives collision, only not as melodious.
hi oab,” I’ve issued this challenge before and I will again: what, precisely, is wrong with the engineering calculations involved in the NIST WTC7 report?”
the wrong with the report is that there is no forensic/physical evidence at all, they are based on computer modelling.
modelling based on input data you and i are not priveleged to know about.
therefore you can not be shown the significant flaws.
@ One Anonymous Bloke at 8.57 pm [no Reply button!?]
I have no intention in ‘accepting your challenge’ and I have no idea what or whom I am “stalling”. It just seemed to me that you might not have the faintest idea of basic concepts of S & M.
Thanks for taking the time to post the link, Paul. Sure, it’s meaningless psychobabble, but after 13 and a half years without evidence, I guess there’s not much left for deniers to focus their hopes on.
Apart from an extensive engineering report, that is. And hours of computer modelling, and forensic analysis, and sums.
Which you don’t understand, a sad fact that is becoming more and more obvious. Christ, in the years of rote-learning drivel, you could have actually got a degree in civil engineering.
911 – a bit like christianity in the variation of beliefs – which 911 belief variant are you paul? If you aren’t sure which bit you are in to – check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories
But I’ll assume you are up to speed with most of them – do you think planes were involved? do you think Flight 93 was shot down? Do you think that Mossad and the CIA did it? Insider trading?
I’m interested because it is pointless discussing this subject without knowing which variant a person believes and you obviously believe this is a worthy subject to discuss because you’ve put it up on OM.
Winston Peters had every right being upset that Corin Dann tried it on, by wanting to take a live interview with the Northland buy- election losers, Nationals candidate Mark Osborne and campaign manager Stephen Joyce first. After all who convincingly trounced National giving John Key and campaign ‘master stroker’ Joyce their first blood nose since National beat Labour all those years ago.
I saw first hand what was what the following morning in Russell as I was there walking my dog and walking a hangover from the night before’s election party. Dann was up to no good trying to con Peters into a pre recorded interview, presumably so they could
try thy ole ‘edit and mash number.’ Peters was far too aloof for that dirty trick and rightfully held his ground taking the interview live. However Dann still got his way in sorts by interviewing Joyce & co first and making Peters stand around in the rain waiting for the cross. When Dann finally did interview Peters he snarled and treated him with disrespect.
What a nasty little National cheerleader Dann showed himself to be.
While the back end of the article had some useful comments – exactly what is the big oil benefit- the beginning was absolutely cringing.
Yes Winston had every right to not tolerate the fawning over the losers but FFS to compare Northland to a woman who woke to find the wrong guy in bed with her? Wrong on so many levels -sexist, implying that they would have been better waking up to Osbourne , they had a hangover , etc. Demeaning to women, to men, the voters who voted..
Maybe Paul needs to look at his own life if any of this was an acceptable metaphor.
Yup. If people here wanted a non-pokey stick, sans finger pointing discussion on rape culture, then there was the spring-board right there – blaring sirens, flashing red lights and all.
This might be a better starting point. Luddite Journo on Rape Myths in NZ and the NZ media, using a breaking story about an All Black who has been arrested on sexual assault charges and how the media are covering this. Good analysis.
In 2013, research from the specialist sexual violence sector looking at how the media report on sexual violence in Aotearoa showed some disturbing stuff: journalists do not understand the law and they do not interview experts, with no articles featuring commentary from specialist academics or researchers and just 8% featuring commentary from community experts.
This means that our news is full of rape myths, because journalists are like everyone else – they grow up in our rape culture. Despite the importance of the role of the mainstream media in educating the public about sexual violence, the only compulsory reading for student journalists in New Zealand features just three sentences about sexual violence in a 453 page book, and they are not helpful for unlearning rape myths (my emphasis):
“It is illegal to report the victims’ names in any sex crime; it can be unethical and untasteful to describe a sexual crime in graphic detail. It is particularly important to be cautious about taking sides in the reporting: with emotions running high, false complaints are often made regarding sexual offences. Both sides can be very believable in their differing accounts.”
For the record, Police estimate 8% of reports about sexual violence they receive are false. It’s far more common for people to choose not to report to the Police – just one in ten survivors report. Both of these figures come from New Zealand Police, that bastion of feminist activism.
(btw, I think a conversation about rape culture without people thinking there is stick poking going on is almost impossible, here at least. The reasons for that are a complex mix of people taking things personally to the exclusion of the politics, and low tolerance all round leading to not a lot of listening/effective communication)
btw, I think a conversation about rape culture without people thinking there is stick poking going on is almost impossible, here at least. The reasons for that are a complex mix of people taking things personally to the exclusion of the politics, and low tolerance all round leading to not a lot of listening/effective communication.
If the ‘target’ was a neutral (ie, off-site) one, as opposed to ‘half’ the bloody commenters on a particular post, then both the perception of a pokey stick being used and actual pokey sticks being used would be greatly diminished, no? (shrug)*
* really wish there was a thingy jig that produced a shrug. Anyway. (shrug)
Yes, that’s true and certainly lessening such in your face approaches to discussion would help a lot.
I think it’s also true that there are always going to be be people upset personally by the politics. And what do we do with people commenting who are perpetuating rape myths? Once responses to that start, it becomes personal and I don’t see any way around that presently (there’s also the history now, and whether people can get past that). The other unfortunate dynamic is that the conflict happens within groups that should otherwise be political allies (eg the left). I can’t see that changing much until there is greater acceptance within the left of its own issues around gender.
Paul Little is entitled to his opinion but his piece was boringly predictable and did not contain one single original thought or novel insight. Same for Rodney Hide’s piece. At least John Armstrong, John Roughan, and Fran O’Sullivan occasionally surprise me with a really nice angle or insight. There are some whose columns I almost never read, e.g. Mike Hosking’s.
Of course he is entitled to his opinion – “Northland was stupid to vote for Winston when they could have voted for NACT” but really – what a way to express it.
Imagine how much offence would have been generated by comparing NACT to say a streetwalker (who no doubt is more honest and principaled anyway) .
For decades, compulsory voting has done what it was supposed to do: maintain high and socially even turnout levels that are the envy of the industrialised voluntary-voting world. Prior to its introduction at the federal level in 1924, turnout was hovering in the 50–60% range (of registered voters). Since then, it has remained steady for many decades at around 93%.
While Australia’s young are less inclined to vote than older cohorts, because of compulsory voting 83% of 18-25 year olds still turn out to vote. Compare this to Britain where only around 44% of young people vote, or Canada where the figure hovers at around 37 to 38% or, worse still, the US. There, in the recent midterm elections, only 22% of young people bothered to cast a ballot.
IIRC, our young also don’t vote in droves.
Many studies have indicated that government attention and spending are directly related to the size of electorate cohorts. Older people vote and so governments spend far more per capita on them than they do on the young. Governments are also a lot more responsive to the policy concerns of older voters.
We see this here as governments continue to fail to do anything about bubbling house prices because it will upset the older voters who a) own houses and b) don’t want to see their paper wealth decrease.
Libertarians like Finn think that the cost of losing their freedom to stay away on polling day is too high. But what about the real-life cost to freedom of being poor, homeless, unemployed and under-employed? In every advanced voluntary system the world over, the less likely you are to vote, the more likely you are to experience one, some, or all of these things.
But in compulsory systems where voting is universal and socially even, government attention and spending is more evenly distributed. Simply put, there is less wealth inequality in compulsory systems.
Definitely worth considering. I think it’s time that we went to compulsory voting in NZ.
Indeed.
But one could argue that nobody would be forced to join a union for a specific job. After all, the tories think that working at a specific place is a choice, right? Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
We pride ourselves on religious freedom in this country, and one way to support religious freedom, is to support the right not to vote on religious grounds. We have a system where by people exercise their citizen duty by enrolling to vote. And can simply not vote, without jumping through hoops.
I also think we need to ask, rather than use force – why young people are not voting and do not want to vote. I inclined to believe they see through the corruption and hypocrisy of our politicians. Coupled with the fact, the corporations and the 1% are the ones welding power, and no vote or democratic outcome – will make a damn bit of difference with those worshippers of cupidity.
Voting could change the system if more people voted. Not voting will certainly entrench it.
IMO, the big difference between those who don’t support compulsory voting and those of us who do is a matter of perspective. They view voting as a right which people can choose to use or not while I view it as a responsibility that cannot, and should not, be avoided.
We must all have a say in our governance so that our full wisdom is brought to bear rather than just the desires of the rich and elderly.
Draco I understand where you’re coming from with this particular ‘compulsion’
IMO making voting compulsory would not equate to systematic change in an of itself
Making voting compulsory could lead to more people politicizing themselves which in turn could lead to grass roots level change through awareness but the established and entrenched will adjust as necessary to retain control the same way it has done for decades
Compulsory voting is likely to lead to little more than higher invalid vote count and fines (assuming the Australian model of compulsion) as the only way the system knows how to ‘encourage’ people is through monetary penalty
Using Northland as an example of where engagement was in higher numbers but look at what the catalysts were to achieving greater engagement
The establishment is no longer for the people and is in dire need of replacement not greater involvement is propping it up
There are many who have chosen the options of distraction and there are many who have chosen a multitude of other options
At some point in the timeline there will be a convergence as the many chosen options are dwindled into a few available options out of absolute necessity
It is once we arrive at that juncture of absolute necessity we will see what those few options actually are and how humanity individually and collectively responds
Too late by then. My comment was more about people who think they know what the future is, or how things will play out. If there’s one thing we can know about the situation we are in, it’s that the ball is in the air and we don’t know where it’s going to land.
It appears as if we have not hit rock bottom as a species yet which is disturbing and unsurprising at the same time
To me that is an indicator the juncture has not been reached so I would hope that it won’t be “too late” when it does come because as a species like with addicts it seems we will have to collectively ‘bottom out’ prior to reaching the road to healing
It’ll be too late in terms of climate change. We have a window, closing fast. Waiting for the crisis that will force people to change will be too late.
The sourness of the Paul Little article is very telling. A mark of the perennial, passive-aggressive media dissemination of the Crosby Textor construct narrative – “Key is gold !”. And its extension – “……ergo, all challengers are base”.
Oh “Boo !” Paul Little…….were there the foundation for “John Key quipped…..” you and your mates’d be writing it up as the political howler of the new century. Some would say many of your PC’s templates need serious modification if not deletion. That ain’t gonna kill ya.
Little’s sourness (not saved by cursory mention of Northland issues) reminds me of when Helen Clark appointed Peters foreign minister all those years ago – the Press Gallery in high dudgeon in the flavour of – “We simply will not tolerate this !!!”
funnily enough, I was just thinking today that both the frequency and degree of outright nutty arguments have decreased markedly over the last week or so. And then 9/11 comes up again…
Khalida Jarrar is one of the central leaders of the PFLP, a member of its politbureau.
On April 2,dozens of soldiers of the Israeli occupation forced their way into her home in Ramallah and arrested her for “terrorist” involvement – the usual Israeli designation for anyone resisting the occupation.
After holding her for a while at an Israeli detention centre in the West Bank, they moved her to a prison in Israel.
Jarrar is particularly involved with the rights of Palestinian prisoners and the liberation of Palestinian women.
Think about the sort of vote Social Credit had. Although many people who voted SC at their height are probably dead now and SC hasn’t existed as a mass force for 30 years or more, there will be plenty of people with some sort of memory of them. There was always a natural Social Credit constituency in rural areas and NZF could easily mop up whatever elements of it still exist.
Whereas other parties – Alliance, ACT, Anderton’s Progressives, Mauri Pacific, Peters’ outfit – have come and gone (and I suspect the Maori Party will go too) – the two MMP-era parties that have a future, because they have a constituency, a stable socio-political base, are the Greens and NZF.
NZF is to the left of Labour on economic policy and to the right of them on social issues. And there’s enough people like that, especially in the regions, to give them a couple of electorate seats and maybe 10% of the vote, possibly even get them back to 1996 levels (I think they got over 13% of the vote that year, I recall they had 17 MPs) as long as they have Winston and provided they manage the succession well. I think either Ron Marks or Shane Jones would do, to keep that base. I think the leader of NZF, for some time anyway, interestingly, will need to be Maori.
One thing about NZF that is also often forgotten is just how big their core base of support is in the Maori seats. They’re the only party apart from Labour to have held all the Maori seats. Moreover, when they captured all the Maori seats, they also won the party vote in all of them but one. They did far, far better than the Maori Party at its height. While that support dropped away, Winston is not just popular among old National types who recall the days when National pursued Keynesian economics; he’s also really popular among Maori because he’s seen as a ‘Maori boy made good’ who sticks it up to the establishment.
So are the so-called ‘left’ parties now going to drop the ‘two ticks’ policy for the 2017 General Election?
ie: Campaign hard and strong for the PARTY vote, but campaign strategically for the ELECTORATE vote, especially in pivotal seats?
Given that ‘doing a Northland’ has proven to be rather spectacularly successful?
ie: Vote strategically for the candidate that has the best chance of taking the seat off National, or National’s coalition allies?
In my view, that doesn’t mean so-called ‘left’ political parties not standing electorate candidates in pivotal seats, but campaigning on the issues, for PARTY not ELECTORATE votes.
The reason why I say ‘so-called left parties’ is because, in my view, that terminology became redundant after the 1984 – 87 Labour Government introduced the neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ reforms.
In my view – the line in the sand is ‘public majority’ vs ‘corporate minority’ and those who serve their interests….
What I have found is a useful yardstick in deciding ‘who is the MAIN electoral enemy’ – as it were – is to check the ‘mood of the boardroom’ (BIG business CEOs) – find out who THEY would prefer to run NZ in the House – then do the opposite.
Because, in my opinion, that’s how our NZ ‘democracy’ works – according to the ‘Golden Rule’.
ie: Those who have the gold make the rules, and we get the government that the majority of BIG business wants us to have.
1) It is a counter-productive dichotomy to view politics as warfare between friends/allies versus enemies to produce “winners & losers”. This is 20th-century politics; it is time to invent and develop new paradigms;
2) It runs counter to critical independent thinking and taking full ownership of one’s own choices.
1) It is a counter-productive dichotomy to view politics as warfare between friends/allies versus enemies to produce “winners & losers”. This is 20th-century politics; it is time to invent and develop new paradigms;
Matthew Gardiner, the Northern Territory unionist who fought against ISIS has been arrested on return to Oz. He could be looking at a lengthy jail term for doing independently what Australia wants to train the Iraqi troops to do for themselves.
Look at the photo of Matthew Gardiner. An intelligent, compassionate and rational person who is on the same side as the Western powers. So, who is mad? The Australian law enforcers that’s who. Someone should arrest them and now?!!
Whose fault? Our fault. Don’t read if you want to remain ignorant
Hidden in an unknown corner of Inner Mongolia is a toxic, nightmarish lake created by our thirst for smartphones, consumer gadgets and green tech, discovers Tim Maughan…
We reached the shore, and looked across the lake. I’d seen some photos before I left for Inner Mongolia, but nothing prepared me for the sight. It’s a truly alien environment, dystopian and horrifying. The thought that it is man-made depressed and terrified me, as did the realisation that this was the byproduct not just of the consumer electronics in my pocket, but also green technologies like wind turbines and electric cars that we get so smugly excited about in the West. Unsure of quite how to react, I take photos and shoot video on my cerium polished iPhone.
This example is precisely why I switch off when it comes to discussions and articles about ‘climate change’
There are prerequisite activities not to mention systematic changes to the current ‘capitalist consumerist model’ which far precede any functionally useful discussions around ‘climate change’
Until the prerequisites are being addressed and actions taken to radically alter the mode of operation such wastelands will continue to multiply and expand
Regardless of your views on Easter Sunday/Good Friday trading, you all have to admit, that it is stupid to forbid the selling of alcohol on Easter Sunday. This is sort of the stuff that happens in Saudi Arabia…
hi millsy, not everyone would have to admit it is stupid to forbid sale of liquor on easter sunday.
people who are made to give up their time to sell it for a start.
Global warming / climate change .
Just finished watching Tony Robinson on prime , Birth of Britain .
It seems about three hundred thousand years ago Britain was at least 5 degrees warmer than today , all sorts of animals roamed the country , lions , hippos etc etc .
O’dear along came an ice age , followed by , you guessed it , global warming and of course the ice melted .
Science has proved it’s about a 300 thousand year cycle , plenty of proof this happened .
One thing for sure global warming at the time wasn’t man made .
Ignorant rto. Somebody said it happened 300,000 years ago. Is he a Climate change denier? They’re very good at making things up. Even so there are other reasons why it might have happened 300,000 years ago. Today it is largely due to a rapid increase in CO2 output caused by humankind. Hope you have grandkids. Serve you right if they die before their allotted time. More than likely they will view people like yourself with utter contempt for being so stupid (mind you most deniers can’t help that) and blind and landing them and their kids in such a terrible mess.
I watched it too, RtO. You’re almost there. Well done! Everyone give RtO a little golf clap for being so brave as to admit the recent climate change exists.
The last little baby step you need, RtO, is to discover the timescale of previous climate change events, and compare that with the timescale of this one. Google “snowball earth” if you really want to learn something.
Then for good measure, compare that with the timescale of the climate change in the Anthropocene. And the trend in the atmospheric carbon isotope ratio.
Then you can reflect on the fact that Tony Robinson can be sure of his facts because Climatology, which you claim is a hoax.
And then you can imagine my contempt and derision.
As someone who has some understanding of metal – I know that the heat generated from burning airplane fuel (kerosene) cannot possibly melt steel, and cause the Twin Towers to collapse in their own footprint at free fall speed.
You are not allowed to question 9/11 on this site.
Free thinking is banned on this subject.
Personal insults are the substitute for critical thinking and discussion.
Perhaps the fact that your modus operandum is to insult people’s intelligence by raising long-dead zombie arguments rather than admitting you’ve got nothing substantive to say, has something to do with the reaction you get.
Sums. Hard work. NIST report. Fourteen years of this inept flailing.
That’s what I tried to explain to the auditors, but they wouldn’t listen… /sarc
Seriously, are you arguing that the NIST report is wrong even if all its sums are correct? That the sums are correct, but that the conclusions the sums lead to are incorrect?
So, muphrey, when you wrote”Q. Who here knows the content of the 28 redacted pages of the report ?” in a subthread specifically about the NIST report, your reference to “the report” was a reference to a random one of the millions of other reports published in human history rather than the report that was the topic of discussion?
Thanks for your contribution. One day you might avoid being a waste of column-space.
For me, it feels a bit like when I get climate deniers on here.
When I notice it, I tend to shift from the acerbic to the outright sarcastic in my comments to them. When I have time, I take a dissection tool to whatever the fools arguments are. Basically I tear at their knowledge and their egos. Mostly because having done some training around the science, fantasists on the subject just piss me off. Since I’m not a climate scientist, I don’t need to be polite and don’t really feel constrained by their usual restraint when dealing with scientific illiterates.
This is also known as free thinking and (relatively) free speech. For me it is pleasant fun and robust debate.
The same applies to 9/11, chemtrails, vaccinations conspiracies, fluoridation and a whole pile of other theories. I generally ignore most of those. But so far I haven’t seen much evidence that convinces me that there is anything substantive on them. But they still get allowed, with the usual extremely skeptical audience.
As a moderator, about the only I usually notice ‘free-tinker’ behaviour if they start astroturfing comments, doing the diversion off topic in other posts that aren’t on those topics, making assertions of fact without linking or explaining, or when they start doing the whine that people disagree with them and are unpleasant in how they point that out. With a subtext that free speech should be allowed for them, but not for others. These are all behaviours that aren’t permitted to exist on the site to any large extent. I usually point them to policy, and if it keeps repeating, I escalate from warnings to bans.
But if it is just robust debate, I just keep an eye on them to see if anything is going over the line.
Gosh have you seen this, we know that the Nats have infiltrated all the public services and filled them at taxpayers expense with flunkies but still… astonishing the level of control!
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy was advised to ignore calls and don’t answer the phone following concerns raised over foreign drivers.
Last month, the Otago Daily Times requested an interview with the commissioner after publishing a story on a Dunedin man who snatched keys from a foreign driver.
Following her refusal to front, the ODT filed an Official Information Act (OIA) request for all documents received or sent by the commissioner on the topic.
The first email, from an undisclosed employee of the Human Rights Commission immediately following the OIA request, advised the commissioner to “ignore calls and don’t answer phone”.
“Media are after you for comment on foreign drivers getting keys taken off them … we really don’t want to get into this … Police have had their say, PM is all over it etc etc so we are best to leave it at this.”
A follow-up email to the commissioner said: “I want to keep comments from me so that you are not seen to be commenting on this issue at all … Right now we’ve had no complaints and it’s an operational policing issue that needs to be sorted out at that level immediately, it is also anecdotal with a lot of media hype.”
My God maybe good news after all, is MSM stepping up with real news???
I agree with the final bit in that link (it’s not a race relations issue). But the emails seem weird. Pity the ODT didn’t report on that more fully. I do wonder if it speaks more to Devoy’s um lack of experience in the job and staffers trying to save themselves some bother, than Ministerial interference. Isn’t the HRC one of the depts getting cut?
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Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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 ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
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News today that Hahei motor camp is on the market, as is the Whangamata one is bad news for those who cannot afford $2mil beach houses, the less well-off missing out on what used to be a seemingly Gods-own right of a beachfront summer holiday.
What happened to the policy of the Gummint buying these last remaining refuges to save them for the people ?.
It must have been a Labour policy, it obviously doesen’t fit in with “the market will provide”, for the few.
were they council owned?
They look to be privately owned.
Council/DOC owned camping grounds are on reserve land that cant be sold without revocation of reserve status and that needed to be signed off by the minister of conservation*
They tend to be either leased to a mum and dad operator or run by the council/DOC itself.
* = unfortunately the government sneaked through a law change enabling councils to revoke reserve status without needing ministerial permission, meaning Tory-led councils can flog off parks and reserves with government ‘encouragement’.
‘Why Do Good People Become Silent—or Worse—About 9/11?’
By Frances T. Shure
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article41437.htm
For trp and others in denial about 9/11
Is Open Mike the place where the deranged and strange are allowed to play?
If so, I’ll avoid it.
Though I’m premeptive mock Pasupial’s feeble protest. Nice to see he’s in the right place.
So you actually read the article?
Of came to a prejudiced opinion?
I started reading it under the impression it was about how 9-11 troofers could maintain bizarre ideas in the face of evidence. Then I realised it was positing the troofers were right and the rest of us (the sane people) were the ones with the bizarre ideas. So I stopped reading it.
So, yeah, I let my prejudices get the better of me. Because I’ve wasted far too much time investigating the claims of troofer types and they never amount to anything more than paranoid fantasies.
Maybe you could provide a bullet point summary of the key information that will change my mind?
WTC7.
I’ve never heard one of the people on this website who personally attack those who apply critical thinking to the events of 9/11 explain WTC7.
Until they do, I remain sceptical to the official conspiracy theory about 9/11
What’s to explain?
I’ve issued this challenge before and I will again: what, precisely, is wrong with the engineering calculations involved in the NIST WTC7 report?
Just to be clear, I want to be shown the significant flaws in NIST’s computer modelling and calculations. Or stfu.
The silencing of dissent.
No, the challenge to do some maths instead of parroting drivel.
hi paul,
the thing that strikes me is the abusive reaction that occurs when this subject comes up.
so far: deranged, paranoid fantasies, stfu, parroting drivel.
i am waiting to be accused of being right wing for daring to question the status quo version of events re wtc t7
ten years ago people probably had a bit more tolerance. But since then no new evidence has been presented, and many lies have been debunked (no airplane debris around the pentagon, “within its own footprint”, “freefall speeds”, yadda yadda). In contrast, the official story still stands up.
So I for one am a bit bored with nutbars making a stupid nutbar hobby around the deaths of 3000 people. Oh, and if you’re worried about being called right wing, I’m worried that a legitimate critic of the US can be silenced by comparing them with people who think mini-nukes or nanothermite demolished any of the WTC buildings.
It’s boredom. You all repeat the same long-debunked zombie arguments, and you haven’t produced a scrap of evidence in fourteen years, and not a single member of the conspiracy has come forward, and you all can’t even agree which tune to sing.
It’s like a multi-orchestra Ives collision, only not as melodious.
Q. Who here knows the content of the 28 redacted pages of the report ?
NIST’s reports are in the public domain and contain no redacted pages, let alone 28. Please try and pay some attention.
Q. Why would you assume I was referring to a NIST report ?
I couldn’t care less what you’re wanking on about. I issued a very specific challenge regarding NIST, and you failed to change the subject.
hi oab,” I’ve issued this challenge before and I will again: what, precisely, is wrong with the engineering calculations involved in the NIST WTC7 report?”
the wrong with the report is that there is no forensic/physical evidence at all, they are based on computer modelling.
modelling based on input data you and i are not priveleged to know about.
therefore you can not be shown the significant flaws.
What you call “input data” is simply the initial state of the model. Which is, duh, in the model.
It seems to me that you are conflating variables with parameters.
It seems to me you’re stalling rather than taking up my challenge.
@ One Anonymous Bloke at 8.57 pm [no Reply button!?]
I have no intention in ‘accepting your challenge’ and I have no idea what or whom I am “stalling”. It just seemed to me that you might not have the faintest idea of basic concepts of S & M.
S&M? Building 7 collapsed because of faulty nipple clamps?
“the wrong with the report is that there is no forensic/physical evidence at all, they are based on computer modelling.”
That sounds suspiciously similar to the rhetoric that climate science denialists use.
Thanks for taking the time to post the link, Paul. Sure, it’s meaningless psychobabble, but after 13 and a half years without evidence, I guess there’s not much left for deniers to focus their hopes on.
I agree no plausible evidence has been presented by the US govt to explain WTC7
Apart from an extensive engineering report, that is. And hours of computer modelling, and forensic analysis, and sums.
Which you don’t understand, a sad fact that is becoming more and more obvious. Christ, in the years of rote-learning drivel, you could have actually got a degree in civil engineering.
911 – a bit like christianity in the variation of beliefs – which 911 belief variant are you paul? If you aren’t sure which bit you are in to – check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories
But I’ll assume you are up to speed with most of them – do you think planes were involved? do you think Flight 93 was shot down? Do you think that Mossad and the CIA did it? Insider trading?
I’m interested because it is pointless discussing this subject without knowing which variant a person believes and you obviously believe this is a worthy subject to discuss because you’ve put it up on OM.
Good post…^
Paul Little should stop playing ‘Chicken Little.’
Winston Peters had every right being upset that Corin Dann tried it on, by wanting to take a live interview with the Northland buy- election losers, Nationals candidate Mark Osborne and campaign manager Stephen Joyce first. After all who convincingly trounced National giving John Key and campaign ‘master stroker’ Joyce their first blood nose since National beat Labour all those years ago.
I saw first hand what was what the following morning in Russell as I was there walking my dog and walking a hangover from the night before’s election party. Dann was up to no good trying to con Peters into a pre recorded interview, presumably so they could
try thy ole ‘edit and mash number.’ Peters was far too aloof for that dirty trick and rightfully held his ground taking the interview live. However Dann still got his way in sorts by interviewing Joyce & co first and making Peters stand around in the rain waiting for the cross. When Dann finally did interview Peters he snarled and treated him with disrespect.
What a nasty little National cheerleader Dann showed himself to be.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11427934
While the back end of the article had some useful comments – exactly what is the big oil benefit- the beginning was absolutely cringing.
Yes Winston had every right to not tolerate the fawning over the losers but FFS to compare Northland to a woman who woke to find the wrong guy in bed with her? Wrong on so many levels -sexist, implying that they would have been better waking up to Osbourne , they had a hangover , etc. Demeaning to women, to men, the voters who voted..
Maybe Paul needs to look at his own life if any of this was an acceptable metaphor.
+1 RB, on so many levels, and unnecessary to make the points.
Yup. If people here wanted a non-pokey stick, sans finger pointing discussion on rape culture, then there was the spring-board right there – blaring sirens, flashing red lights and all.
Oh well…. 🙁
This might be a better starting point. Luddite Journo on Rape Myths in NZ and the NZ media, using a breaking story about an All Black who has been arrested on sexual assault charges and how the media are covering this. Good analysis.
http://thehandmirror.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/telling-stories-about-rape.html
(btw, I think a conversation about rape culture without people thinking there is stick poking going on is almost impossible, here at least. The reasons for that are a complex mix of people taking things personally to the exclusion of the politics, and low tolerance all round leading to not a lot of listening/effective communication)
Thanks for the extract and link Weka.
Also thanks from me too
btw, I think a conversation about rape culture without people thinking there is stick poking going on is almost impossible, here at least. The reasons for that are a complex mix of people taking things personally to the exclusion of the politics, and low tolerance all round leading to not a lot of listening/effective communication.
If the ‘target’ was a neutral (ie, off-site) one, as opposed to ‘half’ the bloody commenters on a particular post, then both the perception of a pokey stick being used and actual pokey sticks being used would be greatly diminished, no? (shrug)*
* really wish there was a thingy jig that produced a shrug. Anyway. (shrug)
Yes, that’s true and certainly lessening such in your face approaches to discussion would help a lot.
I think it’s also true that there are always going to be be people upset personally by the politics. And what do we do with people commenting who are perpetuating rape myths? Once responses to that start, it becomes personal and I don’t see any way around that presently (there’s also the history now, and whether people can get past that). The other unfortunate dynamic is that the conflict happens within groups that should otherwise be political allies (eg the left). I can’t see that changing much until there is greater acceptance within the left of its own issues around gender.
+1 I don’t think he will have emerged from under the rock he has self inflicted himself to hide under by Tuesday. He will be a no show at work.
Paul Little is entitled to his opinion but his piece was boringly predictable and did not contain one single original thought or novel insight. Same for Rodney Hide’s piece. At least John Armstrong, John Roughan, and Fran O’Sullivan occasionally surprise me with a really nice angle or insight. There are some whose columns I almost never read, e.g. Mike Hosking’s.
Of course he is entitled to his opinion – “Northland was stupid to vote for Winston when they could have voted for NACT” but really – what a way to express it.
Imagine how much offence would have been generated by comparing NACT to say a streetwalker (who no doubt is more honest and principaled anyway) .
Compulsory voting, much like democracy, beats the alternatives
Significantly better than ours.
IIRC, our young also don’t vote in droves.
We see this here as governments continue to fail to do anything about bubbling house prices because it will upset the older voters who a) own houses and b) don’t want to see their paper wealth decrease.
Definitely worth considering. I think it’s time that we went to compulsory voting in NZ.
Agree +++ and compulsory unionism.
Compulsory unionism violates the UN declaration of Human Rights as well as the NZ Bill of Rights.
(Disclaimer – before anyone says otherwise I have no problem with unions and support unionisation)
Even if that were true, there are a myriad ways around that, from closed shops to preventing freeloading on collective conditions.
It is true. Article 20 of the UN declaration of human rights specifically outlines the freedom of association.
Indeed.
But one could argue that nobody would be forced to join a union for a specific job. After all, the tories think that working at a specific place is a choice, right? Can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Take it up with the UN
lol did they have a problem with NZ before the employment contracts act?
Surely, you could just ban freeloading on collective conditions?
Anyone not in the union has to go through a negotiating process to achieve their Ts and Cs.
And if they end up getting the same or better Ts and Cs than the union, then the union takes action.
I thought there was a move in this direction in the final Clark administration. Whatever happened to it?
too little, too late.
I’ve heard that prior to the ECA the situation was not technically “compulsory” unionism. Still managed to get a unionised workforce, though.
Disagree with compulsory voting.
We pride ourselves on religious freedom in this country, and one way to support religious freedom, is to support the right not to vote on religious grounds. We have a system where by people exercise their citizen duty by enrolling to vote. And can simply not vote, without jumping through hoops.
I also think we need to ask, rather than use force – why young people are not voting and do not want to vote. I inclined to believe they see through the corruption and hypocrisy of our politicians. Coupled with the fact, the corporations and the 1% are the ones welding power, and no vote or democratic outcome – will make a damn bit of difference with those worshippers of cupidity.
We dont need cumplsory voting, we just need decent candidates and policies.
Compulsory voting for a system which kills and maims and impoverishes …
No thanks
Voting could change the system if more people voted. Not voting will certainly entrench it.
IMO, the big difference between those who don’t support compulsory voting and those of us who do is a matter of perspective. They view voting as a right which people can choose to use or not while I view it as a responsibility that cannot, and should not, be avoided.
We must all have a say in our governance so that our full wisdom is brought to bear rather than just the desires of the rich and elderly.
Draco I understand where you’re coming from with this particular ‘compulsion’
IMO making voting compulsory would not equate to systematic change in an of itself
Making voting compulsory could lead to more people politicizing themselves which in turn could lead to grass roots level change through awareness but the established and entrenched will adjust as necessary to retain control the same way it has done for decades
Compulsory voting is likely to lead to little more than higher invalid vote count and fines (assuming the Australian model of compulsion) as the only way the system knows how to ‘encourage’ people is through monetary penalty
Using Northland as an example of where engagement was in higher numbers but look at what the catalysts were to achieving greater engagement
The establishment is no longer for the people and is in dire need of replacement not greater involvement is propping it up
We have two ways to change the system:
1. Voting for change
2. Bloody revolution
That’s it. There is no other way. You say that we need to change the system and yet you don’t want to use the first.
The system(s) all of them are completely controlled
Treating the electoral system in a vacuum will not alter where we are all headed
Regrettably option two appears the higher chance of success which is hardly an endorsement for it
The path is already decided
oh, good, we can all go back to our playstations and flatscreen teevees then.
Hi Weka
There are many who have chosen the options of distraction and there are many who have chosen a multitude of other options
At some point in the timeline there will be a convergence as the many chosen options are dwindled into a few available options out of absolute necessity
It is once we arrive at that juncture of absolute necessity we will see what those few options actually are and how humanity individually and collectively responds
Too late by then. My comment was more about people who think they know what the future is, or how things will play out. If there’s one thing we can know about the situation we are in, it’s that the ball is in the air and we don’t know where it’s going to land.
(shit, did I just use a sporting analogy).
It appears as if we have not hit rock bottom as a species yet which is disturbing and unsurprising at the same time
To me that is an indicator the juncture has not been reached so I would hope that it won’t be “too late” when it does come because as a species like with addicts it seems we will have to collectively ‘bottom out’ prior to reaching the road to healing
The ball is certainly in the air
It’ll be too late in terms of climate change. We have a window, closing fast. Waiting for the crisis that will force people to change will be too late.
https://henrytapper.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/change.jpeg
HuffPost Canada is reporting that Tom Mulcair has said that if the NDP wins the upcoming Federal election it will be Canada’s last under FPTP. He’s committed to MMP NZ-style.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/01/02/mulcair-ndp-proportional-representation_n_6407056.html
The sourness of the Paul Little article is very telling. A mark of the perennial, passive-aggressive media dissemination of the Crosby Textor construct narrative – “Key is gold !”. And its extension – “……ergo, all challengers are base”.
Oh “Boo !” Paul Little…….were there the foundation for “John Key quipped…..” you and your mates’d be writing it up as the political howler of the new century. Some would say many of your PC’s templates need serious modification if not deletion. That ain’t gonna kill ya.
Little’s sourness (not saved by cursory mention of Northland issues) reminds me of when Helen Clark appointed Peters foreign minister all those years ago – the Press Gallery in high dudgeon in the flavour of – “We simply will not tolerate this !!!”
7 days remaining until the scheduled return of the Rawshark 2.
+100 Parsupial…and hope you saw the moon last night
I only saw the partial eclipse (about the same as the; @kristen_nz, tweet pic in this RNZ article) before it clouded over and started drizzling:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/270324/-blood-moon-seen-across-nz
Wow thanks very much…I must admit I forgot to watch…distracted elsewhere….but those picture are very good!
funnily enough, I was just thinking today that both the frequency and degree of outright nutty arguments have decreased markedly over the last week or so. And then 9/11 comes up again…
Interesting article and film about a group of workers in New York struggling on five (US) dollars an hour. They’re sandwich makers at a deli.
Five dollars an hour in the land of the free: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/five-dollars-an-hour-in-the-land-of-the-free/
Meanwhile, in Mexico, fruitpickers are taking on some of the world’s biggest and richest companies: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/mexican-farm-workers-strike/
In the south of Ireland, 6,000 workers at one of the largest retail chains went on strike on Thursday against low-hours contracts, low pay, and for full recognition of their union by the retail company: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/6000-dunnes-stores-workers-strike-in-south-of-ireland/
Here, the Cotton On distribution workers won a victory, fairly rare these days for the working class: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/02/workers-at-cotton-on-win-pay-and-teabreak-victory/
Paleo meets Silicone.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/67613218/nicky-watson-and-paleo-pete-to-marry
lol nice line
Free Khalida Jarrar.
Khalida Jarrar is one of the central leaders of the PFLP, a member of its politbureau.
On April 2,dozens of soldiers of the Israeli occupation forced their way into her home in Ramallah and arrested her for “terrorist” involvement – the usual Israeli designation for anyone resisting the occupation.
After holding her for a while at an Israeli detention centre in the West Bank, they moved her to a prison in Israel.
Jarrar is particularly involved with the rights of Palestinian prisoners and the liberation of Palestinian women.
Story at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/04/05/free-khalida-jarrar/
Re: NZ First becoming a “country party”.
I think this is a natural constituency for them.
Think about the sort of vote Social Credit had. Although many people who voted SC at their height are probably dead now and SC hasn’t existed as a mass force for 30 years or more, there will be plenty of people with some sort of memory of them. There was always a natural Social Credit constituency in rural areas and NZF could easily mop up whatever elements of it still exist.
Whereas other parties – Alliance, ACT, Anderton’s Progressives, Mauri Pacific, Peters’ outfit – have come and gone (and I suspect the Maori Party will go too) – the two MMP-era parties that have a future, because they have a constituency, a stable socio-political base, are the Greens and NZF.
NZF is to the left of Labour on economic policy and to the right of them on social issues. And there’s enough people like that, especially in the regions, to give them a couple of electorate seats and maybe 10% of the vote, possibly even get them back to 1996 levels (I think they got over 13% of the vote that year, I recall they had 17 MPs) as long as they have Winston and provided they manage the succession well. I think either Ron Marks or Shane Jones would do, to keep that base. I think the leader of NZF, for some time anyway, interestingly, will need to be Maori.
One thing about NZF that is also often forgotten is just how big their core base of support is in the Maori seats. They’re the only party apart from Labour to have held all the Maori seats. Moreover, when they captured all the Maori seats, they also won the party vote in all of them but one. They did far, far better than the Maori Party at its height. While that support dropped away, Winston is not just popular among old National types who recall the days when National pursued Keynesian economics; he’s also really popular among Maori because he’s seen as a ‘Maori boy made good’ who sticks it up to the establishment.
So are the so-called ‘left’ parties now going to drop the ‘two ticks’ policy for the 2017 General Election?
ie: Campaign hard and strong for the PARTY vote, but campaign strategically for the ELECTORATE vote, especially in pivotal seats?
Given that ‘doing a Northland’ has proven to be rather spectacularly successful?
ie: Vote strategically for the candidate that has the best chance of taking the seat off National, or National’s coalition allies?
In my view, that doesn’t mean so-called ‘left’ political parties not standing electorate candidates in pivotal seats, but campaigning on the issues, for PARTY not ELECTORATE votes.
The reason why I say ‘so-called left parties’ is because, in my view, that terminology became redundant after the 1984 – 87 Labour Government introduced the neo-liberal ‘Rogernomic$’ reforms.
In my view – the line in the sand is ‘public majority’ vs ‘corporate minority’ and those who serve their interests….
Penny Bright
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
What I have found is a useful yardstick in deciding ‘who is the MAIN electoral enemy’ – as it were – is to check the ‘mood of the boardroom’ (BIG business CEOs) – find out who THEY would prefer to run NZ in the House – then do the opposite.
Because, in my opinion, that’s how our NZ ‘democracy’ works – according to the ‘Golden Rule’.
ie: Those who have the gold make the rules, and we get the government that the majority of BIG business wants us to have.
Penny Bright
“check the ‘mood of the boardroom’ (BIG business CEOs) – find out who THEY would prefer to run NZ in the House”
Good point, but HOW do we or the ordinary voters find out that info from the BB CEOs?
I strongly disagree for two reasons:
1) It is a counter-productive dichotomy to view politics as warfare between friends/allies versus enemies to produce “winners & losers”. This is 20th-century politics; it is time to invent and develop new paradigms;
2) It runs counter to critical independent thinking and taking full ownership of one’s own choices.
1) It is a counter-productive dichotomy to view politics as warfare between friends/allies versus enemies to produce “winners & losers”. This is 20th-century politics; it is time to invent and develop new paradigms;
^this
Matthew Gardiner, the Northern Territory unionist who fought against ISIS has been arrested on return to Oz. He could be looking at a lengthy jail term for doing independently what Australia wants to train the Iraqi troops to do for themselves.
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/former-labor-party-president-matthew-gardiner-arrested-at-darwin-airport-20150405-1meqhx.html
Thanks for the link te reo putake – Disgraceful from the the Australian Government.
Up’s to Bill – he has said this would happen, many times over the last few months here on the standard.
+1
Shockingly disgraceful.
Look at the photo of Matthew Gardiner. An intelligent, compassionate and rational person who is on the same side as the Western powers. So, who is mad? The Australian law enforcers that’s who. Someone should arrest them and now?!!
He has been release without begin charge, but AFP are still continuing with its enquiries in regards to his time spent of overseas.
Canada beat NZ in the world sevens in Tokyo…..!shock and awe.
Whose fault? Our fault. Don’t read if you want to remain ignorant
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150402-the-worst-place-on-earth?ocid=global_future_rss
This example is precisely why I switch off when it comes to discussions and articles about ‘climate change’
There are prerequisite activities not to mention systematic changes to the current ‘capitalist consumerist model’ which far precede any functionally useful discussions around ‘climate change’
Until the prerequisites are being addressed and actions taken to radically alter the mode of operation such wastelands will continue to multiply and expand
A sobering link
Thanks MM
Regardless of your views on Easter Sunday/Good Friday trading, you all have to admit, that it is stupid to forbid the selling of alcohol on Easter Sunday. This is sort of the stuff that happens in Saudi Arabia…
Meh, I don’t know if it’s that bad to have a couple of holidays in NZ that aren’t entirely piss-focused.
hi millsy, not everyone would have to admit it is stupid to forbid sale of liquor on easter sunday.
people who are made to give up their time to sell it for a start.
Global warming / climate change .
Just finished watching Tony Robinson on prime , Birth of Britain .
It seems about three hundred thousand years ago Britain was at least 5 degrees warmer than today , all sorts of animals roamed the country , lions , hippos etc etc .
O’dear along came an ice age , followed by , you guessed it , global warming and of course the ice melted .
Science has proved it’s about a 300 thousand year cycle , plenty of proof this happened .
One thing for sure global warming at the time wasn’t man made .
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Ignorant rto. Somebody said it happened 300,000 years ago. Is he a Climate change denier? They’re very good at making things up. Even so there are other reasons why it might have happened 300,000 years ago. Today it is largely due to a rapid increase in CO2 output caused by humankind. Hope you have grandkids. Serve you right if they die before their allotted time. More than likely they will view people like yourself with utter contempt for being so stupid (mind you most deniers can’t help that) and blind and landing them and their kids in such a terrible mess.
I watched it too, RtO. You’re almost there. Well done! Everyone give RtO a little golf clap for being so brave as to admit the recent climate change exists.
The last little baby step you need, RtO, is to discover the timescale of previous climate change events, and compare that with the timescale of this one. Google “snowball earth” if you really want to learn something.
Then for good measure, compare that with the timescale of the climate change in the Anthropocene. And the trend in the atmospheric carbon isotope ratio.
Then you can reflect on the fact that Tony Robinson can be sure of his facts because Climatology, which you claim is a hoax.
And then you can imagine my contempt and derision.
For the public record – I absolutely support architects and engineers for 9/11 truth, in their quest for an independent inquiry.
http://www.ae911truth.org
As someone who has some understanding of metal – I know that the heat generated from burning airplane fuel (kerosene) cannot possibly melt steel, and cause the Twin Towers to collapse in their own footprint at free fall speed.
You have GOT to be kidding.
Penny Bright
Advanced Trade
Sheetmetal Engineering
Aviation fuel was the only material burning was it, your Madness?
Q. Does it make you feel more of a man when you insult others ?
You are not allowed to question 9/11 on this site.
Free thinking is banned on this subject.
Personal insults are the substitute for critical thinking and discussion.
Perhaps the fact that your modus operandum is to insult people’s intelligence by raising long-dead zombie arguments rather than admitting you’ve got nothing substantive to say, has something to do with the reaction you get.
Sums. Hard work. NIST report. Fourteen years of this inept flailing.
Yet you keep coming back with the same responses as if the entire process and circumstances have been transparent and above board
The ineptitude you are shrieking about is not the work of commentators such as Paul
Inept is nothing but a soothing synonym for corrupt
The inept flailing is all yours. It’s so much easier to allege corruption than do sums.
Corruption outs itself and has nothing to do with ‘sums’
That’s what I tried to explain to the auditors, but they wouldn’t listen… /sarc
Seriously, are you arguing that the NIST report is wrong even if all its sums are correct? That the sums are correct, but that the conclusions the sums lead to are incorrect?
But Penny’s got a sheetmetal trade cert. That makes her practically a professor of materials engineering, ya know.
McFlock, don’t forget that science is in a permanent state of wibbly wobbly, and changes all the time. That includes Maths, even though it’s an art.
I have not been referring to a NIST report and made that clear towards the top end of open mike
Lies fraud and corruption are deeply ingrained and yet people still want to assert there is ‘truth’ in what they believe
So, muphrey, when you wrote”Q. Who here knows the content of the 28 redacted pages of the report ?” in a subthread specifically about the NIST report, your reference to “the report” was a reference to a random one of the millions of other reports published in human history rather than the report that was the topic of discussion?
Thanks for your contribution. One day you might avoid being a waste of column-space.
“You are not allowed to question 9/11 on this site.
Free thinking is banned on this subject.”
Bullshit paul The Standard team does no such thing – that is up there with pete george’s rubbish – in fact you posted on it today didn’t you.
For me, it feels a bit like when I get climate deniers on here.
When I notice it, I tend to shift from the acerbic to the outright sarcastic in my comments to them. When I have time, I take a dissection tool to whatever the fools arguments are. Basically I tear at their knowledge and their egos. Mostly because having done some training around the science, fantasists on the subject just piss me off. Since I’m not a climate scientist, I don’t need to be polite and don’t really feel constrained by their usual restraint when dealing with scientific illiterates.
This is also known as free thinking and (relatively) free speech. For me it is pleasant fun and robust debate.
The same applies to 9/11, chemtrails, vaccinations conspiracies, fluoridation and a whole pile of other theories. I generally ignore most of those. But so far I haven’t seen much evidence that convinces me that there is anything substantive on them. But they still get allowed, with the usual extremely skeptical audience.
As a moderator, about the only I usually notice ‘free-tinker’ behaviour if they start astroturfing comments, doing the diversion off topic in other posts that aren’t on those topics, making assertions of fact without linking or explaining, or when they start doing the whine that people disagree with them and are unpleasant in how they point that out. With a subtext that free speech should be allowed for them, but not for others. These are all behaviours that aren’t permitted to exist on the site to any large extent. I usually point them to policy, and if it keeps repeating, I escalate from warnings to bans.
But if it is just robust debate, I just keep an eye on them to see if anything is going over the line.
+100 Penny
An independent enquiry would shed some light on the true story behind 9/11
What is the true story waiting to be illuminated?
didn’t some lawyer have an independent enquiry? Came up with zip. Good pr exercise though, and I bet it got him a goodcareer on the speaking tour.
Yes, maybe it should be called the “911 Commission”
Have just read this very interesting article by Doug Edmeades in the nzfarmer March 16. page 7 and thought some of you might like to have a look.
Titled ‘Science, one voice among many’ it is quite thought provoking in my opinion.
http://tinyurl.com/q7phpkm
It’s behind a wall. Could you summarise?
I’ll summarise:
Climate change denial.
The title alone screams it.
Why not title it “Opinions are like arseholes, we all have one”
Or “Farmers: entitled arseholes who deny facts”
Farmers are happy with science when it makes them some coin, but it’s rude to mention the cost of their filthy emissions.
He has been release without begin charge, but AFP are still continuing with its enquiries in regards to his time spent of overseas.
Gosh have you seen this, we know that the Nats have infiltrated all the public services and filled them at taxpayers expense with flunkies but still… astonishing the level of control!
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy was advised to ignore calls and don’t answer the phone following concerns raised over foreign drivers.
Last month, the Otago Daily Times requested an interview with the commissioner after publishing a story on a Dunedin man who snatched keys from a foreign driver.
Following her refusal to front, the ODT filed an Official Information Act (OIA) request for all documents received or sent by the commissioner on the topic.
The first email, from an undisclosed employee of the Human Rights Commission immediately following the OIA request, advised the commissioner to “ignore calls and don’t answer phone”.
“Media are after you for comment on foreign drivers getting keys taken off them … we really don’t want to get into this … Police have had their say, PM is all over it etc etc so we are best to leave it at this.”
A follow-up email to the commissioner said: “I want to keep comments from me so that you are not seen to be commenting on this issue at all … Right now we’ve had no complaints and it’s an operational policing issue that needs to be sorted out at that level immediately, it is also anecdotal with a lot of media hype.”
My God maybe good news after all, is MSM stepping up with real news???
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/338243/commissioner-quiet
I agree with the final bit in that link (it’s not a race relations issue). But the emails seem weird. Pity the ODT didn’t report on that more fully. I do wonder if it speaks more to Devoy’s um lack of experience in the job and staffers trying to save themselves some bother, than Ministerial interference. Isn’t the HRC one of the depts getting cut?