“We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
—Outgoing Māori Party president Pem Bird, Radio NZ National, 7:54 a.m., Thursday 4 July 2013
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
Have a gander at all of the humbugs….
No. 11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 “Sir” Owen Glenn: “I do care that every person, especially children, have [sic] the right to feel safe.”
No. 9 “Sir” Owen Glenn: His abuse inquiry is floundering after revelations he was accused of physically abusing a young woman in 2002.
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…”
No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
Forcing down Evo Morales’s plane was an act of air piracy
by JOHN PILGER, The Guardian, Thursday 4 July 2013
Imagine the aircraft of the president of France being forced down in Latin America on “suspicion” that it was carrying a political refugee to safety – and not just any refugee but someone who has provided the people of the world with proof of criminal activity on an epic scale.
Imagine the response from Paris, let alone the “international community”, as the governments of the west call themselves. To a chorus of baying indignation from Whitehall to Washington, Brussels to Madrid, heroic special forces would be dispatched to rescue their leader and, as sport, smash up the source of such flagrant international gangsterism. Editorials would cheer them on, perhaps reminding readers that this kind of piracy was exhibited by the German Reich in the 1930s.
The forcing down of Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane – denied airspace by France, Spain and Portugal, followed by his 14-hour confinement while Austrian officials demanded to “inspect” his aircraft for the “fugitive” Edward Snowden – was an act of air piracy and state terrorism. It was a metaphor for the gangsterism that now rules the world and the cowardice and hypocrisy of bystanders who dare not speak its name.
In Moscow, Morales had been asked about Snowden – who remains trapped in the city’s airport. “If there were a request [for political asylum],” he said, “of course, we would be willing to debate and consider the idea.” That was clearly enough provocation for the Godfather. “We have been in touch with a range of countries that had a chance of having Snowden land or travel through their country,” said a US state department official.
The French – having squealed about Washington spying on their every move, as revealed by Snowden – were first off the mark, followed by the Portuguese. The Spanish then did their bit by enforcing a flight ban of their airspace, giving the Godfather’s Viennese hirelings enough time to find out if Snowden was indeed invoking article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”
Those paid to keep the record straight have played their part with a cat-and-mouse media game that reinforces the Godfather’s lie that this heroic young man is running from a system of justice, rather than preordained, vindictive incarceration that….
Easy, just pay a few other people a bit less. Start with the Mayor, then the councillors, then all the council execs and so on down. Hell, maybe some of those council execs aren’t really that necessary anyway.
It’s simple circumcision theory – you can take 10% off the top of any prick. They’ll find their 600k or whatever it is in no time.
Q: Are business cases scoped accurately, and qualified by competent levels of governance, supported by processes, designed to deliver tangible benefits for Auckland?
A:___
Q: Were vendor contracts negotiated by the ATA, which would ensure locked in inflated profits for many years, at the expense of Aucklanders?
A:___
Q: Are industry awards being handed out to provide cover for financial failures, which are not fully disclosed to the public?
A:___
Q: Will the true financial position be hidden, until after the city assets have been transferred to the private sector?
A:___
Q: Will Auckland’s true financial position be exposed, before the city officially falls into default?
I would be somewhat suspicious of this figure. It is not rocket science to work out how much it costs. You find out how many people receive less than the proposed minimum wage, see how much they earn and calculate how much more they will earn.
The Councillors need to interrogate the figures more rather than just accept what they are being told.
I just meant the story is just as much about the errors, and what the errors actually are, as it is that the council has backtracked. Yes, I know, a very thin hope that someone might actually investigate and report.
Reference the controversy about the Labour gender balancing plan for Parliament candidate selection.
Every policy change, whether major or minor, needs to have a communication strategy attached to it. This is necessary irrespective of the merits of the policy. News management is not an optional extra, when fighting the uphill battle against a neo-liberal media.
“Labour leader David Shearer would not comment beyond saying he was supportive of increasing the number of women in Labour. However, he is understood to have voiced concerns privately about it.”
Shearer is on the NZ Council. “Privately” disagreeing to the media about the decision of the Party’s Governing Body is NOT the way to get on top of this particular bush-fire. The quality of advice being given to our leader is disgraceful.
I wonder what fate the Women’s Sector have in mind for him now? Perhaps I’ll invite two sisters to join me around a boiling cauldron. “‘Tis time, ’tis time”
”Does the Prime Minister stand by His statements to this House that He had no previous discussions with any of His Ministers about Kim Dot-com befor the police raid on His Coatsville mansion”,
“Yes” replied Bill English answering on behalf of the Prime Minister,
The House paused briefly into a silence that would best be described as ‘menacing’ but Winston Peters having asked this one ominous question didn’t come back to His feet with the expected ‘point of order’ or ‘supplementary’,
Absent from this little exchange was the constant barking from the Government benches which had accompanied similar questions from Labour’s Grant Robertson earlier in Thursday’s ‘Question time’, the subtle difference from Winston being a specific query about Slippery the Prime Ministers discussions of Kim Dot-com with His Ministers,
Rather than the bark of interjection from the Government benches this particular question met with such a deafening silence which literally yelled across the silent chamber ‘Gotcha’,
Does Winston have a little knowledge that specifically shows that their were discussions between Ministers and Slippery the Prime Minister befor the raid on the Coatsville mansion, or was He just fishing to gauge the reaction from the Government benches,
Along with the Heralds John Armstrong who in the strangest piece of journalism He has recently penned warned of the demise as Prime Minister of the Slippery one should this particular litany from the mouth of the PM also turn out to contain less than the truth, i smell blood,
Peters question was way too specific for there not to be some mouse trail of evidence to have lead Him to ask such a specific question and next Tuesday’s question time might be worth a watch…
The questions that Peters asked the PM in Q1 on Tuesday were very specific. Peters was very careful to stick to his script, not make any asides or other comments or raise any matters following each of the PM’s answers. Most unlike Peters, normally.
Similarly Robertson was very specific in his questions in Q2 yesterday – and put emphasis on some matters (eg German resident) and was trying to get English to be specific in his responses. Peters’ question at the end of Q2 was again very specific.
Imbalance of men to women, or is it in fact just a man’s world.
Perhaps someone could explain the difference between these two situations (apart from the obvious that is)
I’m clearly of the view that allowing the private sector to collect information on you enables governments to access that information. It simply shouldn’t be collected in the first place and there’s no good reason for facial recognition software in picture theatres or shops.
The unfettered collection of information about you needs to cease.
lprent
Yesterday it took me one and a half minutes to get onto The Standard page. Today was quite fast, I made a comment and submitted about 10.38 a.m.,, and then counted to 200 before I shut down the blank page of the Standard. The comment hasn’t been picked up behind the scenes by the machine – I can’t see Rosetinted up with the Comments.
Other sites are as quick and accessible as normal.
Odd. Normally I’d get a messages on my phone and email if the CPU spiked on the web systems or the database.
Looking at the monitoring for the last 6 hours. Just looks absolutely normal. No drops which is what happens when cloudflare has an issue, and no CPU spikes (bots) and with increased numbers of connections to the DB (when the DB jams up).
My guess is that your ISP had a problem routing to the cloudflare in sydney (the most common server for NZ connections).
This is the last weeks average CPU at 15 minutes intervals (higher time resolutions down to a minute show similar levels).. I use 15 minutes at above 50% as my trigger point. The only day I showed a problem was NZST tuesday at 10:23, 10:51, and 13:16 on the webserver (and pretty well matched on the database). That was a new spam bot network trying to leave comments. It took a few hours before the system identified all of the IP’s it was using.
Web server
Database
BTW: We had a few outages last month mostly because I didn’t have the monit restarts running after the server shift and we had a few stoppages during the night when backups were running. This is the pingdom report from last month.
rocky will be keeping an eye on the system while I’m away investigating the network access in samoa next week (yeah there is meant to be wifi…) and warming up.
edit: The pingdom times are in NZST. The 5-10 minute ones are usually either me doing maintenance later at night or early morning or the automatic backups. The longer ones were backup failures or plugin screwups that I missed.
Umm it was a quiet week last week – the bots were almost non-existent… These are cloudflare’s numbers which report everything (click to see the larger view)
Yeah right. All of the systems measure things differently. It gets a bit meaningless..
The numbers on cloudflare, google analytics, wordpress states, statcounter, sitemeter, and awstats (all of which I use) barely have any relationship with each other. Especially on what are bots, what is a visit, what is a visitor, and even in what is a pageview.
They are like polls. only really useful if you don’t compare stats between different companies (ie the DPF fallacy) and only look at trends from one.
For the record, I tend to trust google analytics the most for looking at humans because they rely at least in part on the cookies and IP info used on google sites. They show us with between 25k and 40k unique human visitors per month over the last year. And between 7k and 18k per week. And between 2k and 7k daily.
It varies quite a lot – we get spikes when something (usually an image) goes viral offshore. But if you exclude the people that we only see once (ie find us when searching) then looking over the last 18 months you see this..
Visitors – days since last visit
0 80.5%
1 7.2%
2 3.0%
3 1.7%
4 1.1%
5 0.8%
6 0.1%
> 1 week 5.6%
Well over 90% of all our readers including the one page wonders are from NZ.
In other words we’re really not interested in following the Whaleoil plan for maximizing advertising revenue.
the problem: companies move their prices at the same time, by the same amount and apparently this is not price fixing.
hello folks, i am appealling to the collective intelligence here for strategies to organize, inspire and educate the populace to push back at the oil companies.
i figure if enough (10-25%) of the population where to boycott a particular company for say 3 months we may see a breaking of ranks from the oil companies and their pricing.
the idea is that if enough of us move in one direction then we can not be stopped.
to have this succeed sends a message to the big guys (companies and legislators) but more importantly to individuals that we do have power.
i am not too interested in past evils of the various companies as they are kind of a must have.
if successful it does not have to be limited to oil companies – supermarkets or other duopoly, power companies.
i figure the AA would not be keen aas they have a loyalty scheme with one brand.
Yea – I know …. it beggars belief yes? A bit on an insult to whatever the definition of intelligence you might hold.
Perhaps …. a single buyer model. Something akin to the electricity proposals. Either that, or complete disconnect with the means by which petroleum products are sourced (all that Singapore dependency excuse usually offered).
Perhaps even a mission to South America – not unlike that “highly successful” jaunt John Key[s] undertook earlier this year that was going to produce results.
Labour 50% women on the list proposal a disaster. The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years. And many I know are Labour supporters.
They want an equal chance and an equal hearing based on merit. They don’t need protection by regulation and they certainly don’t want to displace someone else if they are more capable at the job.
Disaster.
By the way I said “girls”…these are mostly women over 40 in senior and responsible positions in education and social work, a mix of private sector and public sector.
From what I can tell, that’s not what Labour are proposing. Would it be so hard to get our facts straight?
I’m told by a reflexive “that’s great !” female mate of mine that this effective mandatory gender share thing remains not more than a remit to be put forward at the conference in November. Not formal policy of the NZLP.
Even the purist must acknowledge that it’s wildfire politically. See what the pigs have done with it already.
Please don’t let it become an issue which defines left thinking in New Zealand. Because if we do the pigs will smash us over.
I believe that to back it as an imperative without intelligent management is fuck’n’ hubristic and selfish. Suggestive of – “Let’s buzz OURSELVES hard. Yeah, we’re so fuck’n’ pure and intelligent”. No. Fuck you. You’re not “left” except as a self proclaimer if it’s all about YOUR imperative.
People have the imperatives they an afford. Many, many New Zealanders can have no imperative other than putting food on the table. Their circumstances are such that without that narrow focus there will be no bloody food on the table. Think about that. Imagine that.
The fourth paragraph, I have no idea what it means.
The last one I call bullshit on. It’s not proposals like the one yesterday that are preventing addressing serious issues like poverty. It’s the fact that Labour is a bloody mess that is the problem. By all means stuff a whole bunch of issues back in the box, but that won’t get you anywhere useful because those issues aren’t preventing the necessary things from being done.
If Labour wasn’t such a bloody mess, then this proposal would have been handled in a completely different way. You’re aiming at the wrong target.
“The last one I call bullshit on. It’s not proposals like the one yesterday that are preventing addressing serious issues like poverty”
Oh yeah, there’s no way that Labour’s great policy set on addressing working, beneficiary and child poverty is being overshadowed by this in the slightest.
Yessss111 Thank you! Heard on Nat Rad this morning the same premise from Sue Moroney but she wouldn’t be heard and the rest of the programme was put over to whoever was the opposing view. Nat radio seemed to be putting it as a fait accompli and not as a remit to be put forward to be discussed. Shoddy.
“The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years.”
“How is it doing that?”
They want an equal chance and an equal hearing based on merit.
How nice for them. Did you point out that they don’t have that now? And ask them if they would like that fixed, and how they would like that fixed?
And I’d still like to know how the rule change would put women back 50 years. That’s to the the early 60s, so you should be able to pull up some interesting stats to compare to. They don’t need protection by regulation and they certainly don’t want to displace someone else if they are more capable at the job.
Can you please show me how the rule change would displace someone MORE capable at the job?
“From what I can tell, that’s not what Labour are proposing. Would it be so hard to get our facts straight?”
I don’t know, do you think I should ask them?
Yes, obviously. What an odd question.
It has been useful though CV to see that your objections aren’t just about timing or the competency of Labour’s PR, but that you also object because you believe the lie that women can overcome structural sexism by their own personal effort.
Maybe somebody could reference the experiment that showed random selection produced the same results as targetted selection? That said, I agree this move could undermine women who are selected/promoted because, *you know*, they only got the position due to their gender rather than their ability. That, and it’s bloody window dressing…
Aye, but we live in a patriarchy, right? And so the potential put down that would point to a man only attaining his position due to his gender has bugger all potential at the end of the day. totally different potential if you ain’t pink and ain’t male though, aye?
Maybe somebody could reference the experiment that showed random selection produced the same results as targetted selection? That said, I agree this move could undermine women who are selected/promoted because, *you know*, they only got the position due to their gender rather than their ability. That, and it’s bloody window dressing…
I’d like to see how Labour thinks the actual rule change might work in practice, but if what you say is true it’s a pretty clear sign of how much of a sexist society we still live in.
“Labour 50% women on the list proposal a disaster. The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years. And many I know are Labour supporters.”
Is it just me, or does that story sound like a desperate lie? Not to mention sexist, obviously.
So, where was I reading that this was a leak? See, if there is any story here, it’s that…or more precisely, the timing of it. There was JK and the spying debacle. And here came a free pass to distract from somebody within Labour. It’s kinda fucking unbelievable.
The proposal has been around for “months” apparently. Clearly now was the best time to discuss it. We just had to wait for Cameron Slater to break the story.
So, where was I reading that this was a leak? See, if there is any story here, it’s that…or more precisely, the timing of it. There was JK and the spying debacle. And here came a free pass to distract from somebody within Labour. It’s kinda fucking unbelievable.
Smeone said yesterday (maybe this came from Labour?) that it was part of a bunch of rule changes emailed to members ahead of public release (by a few hours?). It’s not so much that someone leaked to Slater/Lusk, as Labour handed it to them on a plate.
‘To be alienated means to be someone other (alienus) than oneself; It also can mean to belong to someone else. In more profound sense, it means to be deprived of one’s self, to be subjected to, or even identified with someone else. That is definitely the effect of propaganda. Propaganda strips the individual, robs them of part of themselves, and makes them live an alien and artificial life, to such an extent that they become another person and obey impulses foreign to them. They obey someone else.
To produce this effect, propaganda restricts itself to utilizing, increasing, and reinforcing the individual’s inclination to lose himself in something (human) bigger than they are, to dissipate their uniqueness, to free their ego of all doubt, conflict, and suffering- through fusion with others; to devote themselves to a great (sic) leader and a great cause. In large groups, humans feel united with others, and therefore try to free themselves through blending. Indeed, propaganda offers them that possibility in an exceptionally easy and satisfying fashion. Yet, it pushes the individual into the mass until they disappear entirely.
To begin with, what is it that propaganda makes disappear? Everything in the nature of critical and personal judgement. Obviously, propaganda limits the application of thought. It limits the propagandee’s field of thought to the extent that it provides them with ready-made (and, moreover, unreal) thoughts and stereotypes. It orients them towards very limited ends and prevents them from using their own minds or experimenting on their own. It determines the core from which all their thoughts must derive and draws from the beginning a sort of guideline that permits neither criticism or imagination. More precisely, imagination will lead only to small digressions from the fixed line and to only slightly deviant, preliminary responses within the framework. In this fashion, we see the ‘progressives’ make some “variations” around the basic propaganda tenets.
The acceptance of the ‘line’, of such ends and limitations (BAU), presupposes the suppression of all critical judgement, which in turn is a result of the crystalization of thoughts (see fluidity of thought) and attitudes and the creation of taboos. As Jules Monnerot accurately said: All individual passion leads to the suppression of all critical judgement with regard to the object of that passion. Beyond that, in the collective passion created by propaganda, critical judgement disappears altogether, for in no way can there ever be collective critical judgement. Humans become incapable of ‘separation’, of discernment (the word ‘critical’ is derived from the Greek ‘krino’- separate). The individual can no longer judge for them-self due to inescapably relating their thoughts to the entire complex of values and prejudices established by propaganda. With regard to POLITICAL situations, they are given ready-made value judgments invested with the power of truth by the number of supporters and the word of experts.
What the individual loses is never easy to revive. Once personal judgement and critical faculties have disappeared or have been atrophied, they will not simply reappear when propaganda has been suppressed. In fact, this is one of propaganda’s most durable effects: years of intellectual and spiritual education would be needed to restore such faculties. The propagandee, if deprived of one propaganda, will immediately adopt another; this will spare them the ‘agony’ 😉 of finding themselves at some event without a ready-made opinion, and obliged to think about and judge it for themselves. At the same time, propaganda presents facts, judgments, and values in such confusion and with so many methods that it is literally impossible for the average person to proceed with discernment. They are often forced to accept, or reject, everything ‘in toto’.
-Jaques Ellul : ‘Propaganda : The Formation of Men’s Attitudes.
A Great City : small firms, smart people and connections to the outside world; the purpose behind modern cities is to pass on information, and the more effectively and efficiently they do this, the more…they blossom, the more successful and sustainable they become-Dr. Edward Glaeser.
My Goodness! (OMG, OMFG even).
The nicest man on Earth had an Imperator Fish on “The Panel”. Not only that, as I listened, there were no ahurr ahurr ahurrs, attempts at linguistic gymnastics, or any other humbug displayed by the nicest man on Earth host.
Me thinks the nicest man on Earth needs a few more ‘The Panel’ guests who don’t take shit.
Of course they run the risk of a Bradbury style excommunication.
(Check it out @ Morissey) – still a bit of fluff, but better than most of the other MSM noises being aired at the time.
I heard the programme too, Tim. Yes, Scott York and Julia Hartley Moore, as well as host Jim Mora, spoke seriously and like adults. It was a pretty good programme. I missed the first part of the pre-show segment, but I did hear a little of that screech-owl Balducci guffawing at the plight of Edward Snowden yet again. Something about the possibility of him marrying a Russian woman and thereby gaining permanent asylum in Russia. I don’t know how serious the story was, but Susan Balducci certainly seemed to be tickled pink by it.
the Malthusian angle was glanced upon earlier in the week on TS;
-poverty
-power cuts
-food shortages
-inflation
-debt
-unemployment
-water shortages predicted
-opaque decision-making
-Islamization
Came across to me as pretty genuine. He’s exhausted and the developments over the past week would have been the tipping point. They hope to interview Lianne Dalziel towards the end of the programme.
Crass 73 doesn’t deny that charter is all about profit taking for the already wealthy. Ignore the immature person. Not our problem that he has no moral fibre.
What was more interesting was to see the large contrast between the way the PM speaks and behaves facially against his doppelganger Jay Deutsch who clearly has empathy and his face well shows this.
Sure they are different people but it was a little uncanny and hinted at what was possible if Key had a sense of decency rather than self entitlement. Body language and what is behind the eyes speaks volumes.
On a more sombre note also watched The House I Live In which looks at the imprisonment of people for drugs in the US. Sadly we’re going down the same road at the same time there is some resistance emerging in the US. The section towards the end about the steps taken to create an enemy seem particularly relevant to NZ with the steps taken to demonise the poor and beneficiaries here.
Just realised that link I found is to a streaming (pirate) site – have removed. I can tell cause it has the latest superman movie there as well.
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 new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
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 arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
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 Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
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 ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University AnastasiaDudka/Shutterstock What if the government was doing everything it could to stop thieves making off with our money, except the one thing that could really work? That’s how it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury The Conversation It seems to be a time of old favourites. This month our experts have recommended two new seasons – the second season of Alone Australia (although ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland A bright Eta Aquariid meteor photobombed this photo of comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN) in May 2020.Jonti Horner Meteors – commonly known as shooting stars – can be seen on any night of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Flannery, Honorary fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock Current concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth’s atmosphere are unprecedented in human history. But CO₂ levels today, and those that might occur in coming decades, did occur millions of years ago. ...
Winston Peters has been keen to dismiss speculation on our involvement in Aukus but will give a speech tonight on the direction of our foreign policy, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Usmar, Lecturer in Critical Media Literacies, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images With the coalition government’s ban of student mobile phones in New Zealand schools coming into effect this week, reaction has ranged from the sceptical (kids will just get ...
Hospitals around the country are not allowed to make a single hiring decision without the approval of Te Whatu Ora's head office, including for cleaners and administration staff. ...
A new report on protecting journalism and democracy in New Zealand recommends a levy be charged on global platforms like Facebook and Google to fund media firms undertaking public interest reporting. It also calls for the reinstatement of a powerful Broadcasting Commission to distribute public funding for journalism and other ...
On International Workers' Day, also known as May Day, the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi and the wider union movement are celebrating the proud history of the labour movement during a tough time for working people. ...
From bills to beards, a walk through the former Green co-leader’s time in politics. After close to a decade in politics, James Shaw is preparing to bid farewell to parliament. Tonight will see the former minister deliver his valedictory address, certain to be a speech filled with Shaw’s trademark wit ...
Two months ago, MPs unanimously voted to give themselves a week off in Efeso Collins’ honour. On Tuesday, most were too busy to give even an hour of their time. The day Fa’anānā Efeso Collins died, parliament felt different. In a building that operates at a breakneck pace, everyone stopped ...
India’s election involves hundreds of millions of people and is a months-long affair. Here’s how voting works and what’s at stake.The biggest-ever election in world history started on April 19, with more than 10% of the world’s population eligible to vote. Elections in India, the world’s most populous country ...
Opinion: The impression from the carpark is very inviting. The area is well fenced but barred so there is easy visibility of loved ones. Inside, the spaces are welcoming and clean and staff are friendly and clearly comfortable. I am greeted by ‘Kim’. She has worked here for three years, ...
After the Christchurch earthquake, the then-national civil defence boss compared his experience to “putting a team on the rugby field who have never ever played together before”. Now, eight years later – and following a damning inquiry into the emergency response of cyclones Gabrielle, Hale and the Auckland anniversary weekend floods – ...
“I had just come off the end of a major robbery case which I had been working on for six months when I got a call on the afternoon of September 1, 1992, that some remains had been found at a building site in Devonport, so I drove over with ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 1 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Comment: Journalists are very good at telling other people’s stories, but they fall well short when writing about their own profession. Perhaps that is why it is so undervalued. Every successive poll on the public’s attitude toward journalism is more alarming than the last. In the last month we have ...
Opinion: A young Māori woman and her Pacific partner arrive at their local hospital by ambulance. She has gone into labour at just under 24 weeks, but the couple haven’t recognised the symptoms – and don’t know the risks of premature birth for their baby. By the time they arrive, ...
Behind closed doors, NZ First will be arguing fiercely against any watering down of the ministerial decision-making powers in the Bill The post Bishop backtracks after fast-track backlash appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Humbug Corner
No. 12: Pem Bird
“We’re there to do the business of advancing our people.”
—Outgoing Māori Party president Pem Bird, Radio NZ National, 7:54 a.m., Thursday 4 July 2013
Humbug Corner is dedicated to gathering, and highlighting, the most striking examples of faux solicitude, insincere apologies, and particularly stupid recycling of official canards. It is produced by the Insincerity Project®, a division of Daisycutter Sports Inc.
Have a gander at all of the humbugs….
No. 11 Whenua Patuwai: “They’re my brothers and to see one of them goes [sic]—it’s tough.”
No. 10 “Sir” Owen Glenn: “I do care that every person, especially children, have [sic] the right to feel safe.”
No. 9 “Sir” Owen Glenn: His abuse inquiry is floundering after revelations he was accused of physically abusing a young woman in 2002.
No. 8 Barack Obama: “…people standing up for what’s right…yearning for justice and dignity…”
No. 7 Barack Obama: “Nelson Mandela is my personal hero…”
No. 6 John Key: “Yeah well the Greens’ answer to everything is rail, isn’t it.”
No.5 Dr. Rodney Syme: “If you want good, open, honest practice, you have to make it transparent.”
No. 4 Mike Bush: “Bruce Hutton’s… integrity beyond reproach…such great character…”
No. 3 Dean Lonergan: “Y’ know what? The only people who will mock them are people who are dwarfists.”
No. 2 Peter Dunne: “What a load of drivel and sanctimonious humbug…”
No. 1 Dominic Bowden: “It’s okay to be speechless.”
Forcing down Evo Morales’s plane was an act of air piracy
by JOHN PILGER, The Guardian, Thursday 4 July 2013
Imagine the aircraft of the president of France being forced down in Latin America on “suspicion” that it was carrying a political refugee to safety – and not just any refugee but someone who has provided the people of the world with proof of criminal activity on an epic scale.
Imagine the response from Paris, let alone the “international community”, as the governments of the west call themselves. To a chorus of baying indignation from Whitehall to Washington, Brussels to Madrid, heroic special forces would be dispatched to rescue their leader and, as sport, smash up the source of such flagrant international gangsterism. Editorials would cheer them on, perhaps reminding readers that this kind of piracy was exhibited by the German Reich in the 1930s.
The forcing down of Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane – denied airspace by France, Spain and Portugal, followed by his 14-hour confinement while Austrian officials demanded to “inspect” his aircraft for the “fugitive” Edward Snowden – was an act of air piracy and state terrorism. It was a metaphor for the gangsterism that now rules the world and the cowardice and hypocrisy of bystanders who dare not speak its name.
In Moscow, Morales had been asked about Snowden – who remains trapped in the city’s airport. “If there were a request [for political asylum],” he said, “of course, we would be willing to debate and consider the idea.” That was clearly enough provocation for the Godfather. “We have been in touch with a range of countries that had a chance of having Snowden land or travel through their country,” said a US state department official.
The French – having squealed about Washington spying on their every move, as revealed by Snowden – were first off the mark, followed by the Portuguese. The Spanish then did their bit by enforcing a flight ban of their airspace, giving the Godfather’s Viennese hirelings enough time to find out if Snowden was indeed invoking article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”
Those paid to keep the record straight have played their part with a cat-and-mouse media game that reinforces the Godfather’s lie that this heroic young man is running from a system of justice, rather than preordained, vindictive incarceration that….
Read more…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/04/forcing-down-morales-plane-air-piracy?CMP=twt_gu
GCSB Bill
For Dot Com to John Con: “Show me your integrity!”
Funnily enough John Key could say the same thing to Dot Con…
Wow, so they are both morally bankrupt, whoop e doo, only one was elected to the top office in the land. If you have a point, make it, troll.
The person making the most traction against National and John Key is fraudalent, con-artist German.
Says alot about the collective nous of Labour.
Making traction now is he? That’s what I love about wingnut arguments: they’re so utterly insincere.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/8878710/Council-balks-at-living-wage-cost
Yeah it sounds good in theory but when you work out how much it costs and whos going to pay for it…not so much
Easy, just pay a few other people a bit less. Start with the Mayor, then the councillors, then all the council execs and so on down. Hell, maybe some of those council execs aren’t really that necessary anyway.
It’s simple circumcision theory – you can take 10% off the top of any prick. They’ll find their 600k or whatever it is in no time.
Damn this is odd but I agree with you
Shit, I’d better check my sums then.
Q: Are independent consultants costs publicized?
A:___
Q: Are business cases scoped accurately, and qualified by competent levels of governance, supported by processes, designed to deliver tangible benefits for Auckland?
A:___
Q: Were vendor contracts negotiated by the ATA, which would ensure locked in inflated profits for many years, at the expense of Aucklanders?
A:___
Q: Are industry awards being handed out to provide cover for financial failures, which are not fully disclosed to the public?
A:___
Q: Will the true financial position be hidden, until after the city assets have been transferred to the private sector?
A:___
Q: Will Auckland’s true financial position be exposed, before the city officially falls into default?
A:___
I would be somewhat suspicious of this figure. It is not rocket science to work out how much it costs. You find out how many people receive less than the proposed minimum wage, see how much they earn and calculate how much more they will earn.
The Councillors need to interrogate the figures more rather than just accept what they are being told.
Well thats what happens when you borrow the Greens calculator to work out the sums initially then use a normal one to confirm
Running out of lines?
That’s the same one you used last night but last night you said Labour.
A good line is worth repeating 🙂
Not really especially when it’s not even related to the comment you’re responding to.
imitation being the finest form…
Looks like a hatchet job to me. How did they get the figures so wrong between the first and second times?
Give you ten to one it’s snafu not conspiracy.
Someone didn’t do their sums right.
And where is the analysis of the difference, MSM?
Not sure what you mean by that Weka. MSM bias/incompetence/distraction. What does this have to do with Hamilton District Council staff errors?
I just meant the story is just as much about the errors, and what the errors actually are, as it is that the council has backtracked. Yes, I know, a very thin hope that someone might actually investigate and report.
that’s cos other people further up the pecking order want some fat in the budget for their own pay increases (RNZ), Winston Smith.
Probably not far off the mark
Reference the controversy about the Labour gender balancing plan for Parliament candidate selection.
Every policy change, whether major or minor, needs to have a communication strategy attached to it. This is necessary irrespective of the merits of the policy. News management is not an optional extra, when fighting the uphill battle against a neo-liberal media.
“Labour leader David Shearer would not comment beyond saying he was supportive of increasing the number of women in Labour. However, he is understood to have voiced concerns privately about it.”
Shearer is on the NZ Council. “Privately” disagreeing to the media about the decision of the Party’s Governing Body is NOT the way to get on top of this particular bush-fire. The quality of advice being given to our leader is disgraceful.
I wonder what fate the Women’s Sector have in mind for him now? Perhaps I’ll invite two sisters to join me around a boiling cauldron. “‘Tis time, ’tis time”
there is that golden rule of politics that shearer has broken..
..that ‘don’t piss off the women!-dictum’..
…i also saw that as another death-knell for him..
..(after/compounding his recent threats to ‘terrorise’ maori..so..if you were a maori woman in labour..?
..where to turn..?..)
..far-right nattys often sneer at key as being labour-lite..
..funny how shearer actually is his/this mirror-image..eh..?
..it’s way past time to roll him..
..he isn’t going to get any better..eh..?
..many out here would really like to see a labour party vowing to returning to their (original)-knitting..eh..?
..and david (bludging-benificiary-on-a-hot-tin-roof) shearer dosn’t hold that promise..
..far from it..
..phillip ure..
”Does the Prime Minister stand by His statements to this House that He had no previous discussions with any of His Ministers about Kim Dot-com befor the police raid on His Coatsville mansion”,
“Yes” replied Bill English answering on behalf of the Prime Minister,
The House paused briefly into a silence that would best be described as ‘menacing’ but Winston Peters having asked this one ominous question didn’t come back to His feet with the expected ‘point of order’ or ‘supplementary’,
Absent from this little exchange was the constant barking from the Government benches which had accompanied similar questions from Labour’s Grant Robertson earlier in Thursday’s ‘Question time’, the subtle difference from Winston being a specific query about Slippery the Prime Ministers discussions of Kim Dot-com with His Ministers,
Rather than the bark of interjection from the Government benches this particular question met with such a deafening silence which literally yelled across the silent chamber ‘Gotcha’,
Does Winston have a little knowledge that specifically shows that their were discussions between Ministers and Slippery the Prime Minister befor the raid on the Coatsville mansion, or was He just fishing to gauge the reaction from the Government benches,
Along with the Heralds John Armstrong who in the strangest piece of journalism He has recently penned warned of the demise as Prime Minister of the Slippery one should this particular litany from the mouth of the PM also turn out to contain less than the truth, i smell blood,
Peters question was way too specific for there not to be some mouse trail of evidence to have lead Him to ask such a specific question and next Tuesday’s question time might be worth a watch…
Interesting point, bad12. Going to have a look now – missed question time yesterday.
The questions that Peters asked the PM in Q1 on Tuesday were very specific. Peters was very careful to stick to his script, not make any asides or other comments or raise any matters following each of the PM’s answers. Most unlike Peters, normally.
http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/19552
Similarly Robertson was very specific in his questions in Q2 yesterday – and put emphasis on some matters (eg German resident) and was trying to get English to be specific in his responses. Peters’ question at the end of Q2 was again very specific.
http://inthehouse.co.nz/node/19769
Peters also claimed to “know” that Key knew about KDC earlier than Key claims, on TV3 news last night – towards the end of this link.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Did-Key-lie-or-is-Dotcom-bluffing/tabid/1607/articleID/303806/Default.aspx
Peters also attended KDC’s appearance at the Security and Intelligence Committee. He was sitting at a table behind Banks.
While Peters likes to be in ‘on the act’, he is a wily old hand and has many contacts including probably Davidson QC, who headed the Wine Box inquiry.
Ageism, sexism, reverse discrimination, affirmative action…
Imbalance of men to women, or is it in fact just a man’s world.
Perhaps someone could explain the difference between these two situations (apart from the obvious that is)
This in America – difference (38 years)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10890976
This in New Zealand – difference (37 years)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10894878
Its A Man’s World , but it would be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl!
Noticed this this morning to continue yesterday’s links on the data being collected on you:
“We envision advertising in theatres will be based on who’s in the theatre, using facial recognition.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/8880595/Digital-cinema-management-a-box-office-hit
I’m clearly of the view that allowing the private sector to collect information on you enables governments to access that information. It simply shouldn’t be collected in the first place and there’s no good reason for facial recognition software in picture theatres or shops.
The unfettered collection of information about you needs to cease.
People will need to wear a mask when going to see a movie ffs.
Although lots of material for comedic movie scenes.
lprent
Yesterday it took me one and a half minutes to get onto The Standard page. Today was quite fast, I made a comment and submitted about 10.38 a.m.,, and then counted to 200 before I shut down the blank page of the Standard. The comment hasn’t been picked up behind the scenes by the machine – I can’t see Rosetinted up with the Comments.
Other sites are as quick and accessible as normal.
Odd. Normally I’d get a messages on my phone and email if the CPU spiked on the web systems or the database.
Looking at the monitoring for the last 6 hours. Just looks absolutely normal. No drops which is what happens when cloudflare has an issue, and no CPU spikes (bots) and with increased numbers of connections to the DB (when the DB jams up).
My guess is that your ISP had a problem routing to the cloudflare in sydney (the most common server for NZ connections).
I found ts pretty slow loading for a period of time yesterday too – last night I think. Pages, and trying to post comments.
Looking…. Don’t really see it at the server side.
The Date/Time is in UTC (Greenwich) time
This is the last weeks average CPU at 15 minutes intervals (higher time resolutions down to a minute show similar levels).. I use 15 minutes at above 50% as my trigger point. The only day I showed a problem was NZST tuesday at 10:23, 10:51, and 13:16 on the webserver (and pretty well matched on the database). That was a new spam bot network trying to leave comments. It took a few hours before the system identified all of the IP’s it was using.
Web server
Database
BTW: We had a few outages last month mostly because I didn’t have the monit restarts running after the server shift and we had a few stoppages during the night when backups were running. This is the pingdom report from last month.
Downtimes
From To Downtime
2013-06-01 04:24:42 2013-06-01 04:29:42 0h 05m 00s
2013-06-04 06:19:42 2013-06-04 06:24:42 0h 05m 00s
2013-06-18 02:49:42 2013-06-18 02:59:42 0h 10m 00s
2013-06-19 02:49:42 2013-06-19 08:24:42 5h 35m 00s
2013-06-23 09:24:43 2013-06-23 09:39:42 0h 14m 59s
2013-06-24 02:49:42 2013-06-24 08:09:42 5h 20m 00s
2013-06-29 01:44:42 2013-06-29 01:54:42 0h 10m 00s
rocky will be keeping an eye on the system while I’m away investigating the network access in samoa next week (yeah there is meant to be wifi…) and warming up.
edit: The pingdom times are in NZST. The 5-10 minute ones are usually either me doing maintenance later at night or early morning or the automatic backups. The longer ones were backup failures or plugin screwups that I missed.
Umm it was a quiet week last week – the bots were almost non-existent… These are cloudflare’s numbers which report everything (click to see the larger view)
Page views
Hits
Bandwidth
Oh well lunch is over. Getting back to debugging.
edit: Opps – fixed images
23,345 unique viewers.
Yeah right. All of the systems measure things differently. It gets a bit meaningless..
The numbers on cloudflare, google analytics, wordpress states, statcounter, sitemeter, and awstats (all of which I use) barely have any relationship with each other. Especially on what are bots, what is a visit, what is a visitor, and even in what is a pageview.
They are like polls. only really useful if you don’t compare stats between different companies (ie the DPF fallacy) and only look at trends from one.
For the record, I tend to trust google analytics the most for looking at humans because they rely at least in part on the cookies and IP info used on google sites. They show us with between 25k and 40k unique human visitors per month over the last year. And between 7k and 18k per week. And between 2k and 7k daily.
It varies quite a lot – we get spikes when something (usually an image) goes viral offshore. But if you exclude the people that we only see once (ie find us when searching) then looking over the last 18 months you see this..
Visitors – days since last visit
0 80.5%
1 7.2%
2 3.0%
3 1.7%
4 1.1%
5 0.8%
6 0.1%
> 1 week 5.6%
Well over 90% of all our readers including the one page wonders are from NZ.
In other words we’re really not interested in following the Whaleoil plan for maximizing advertising revenue.
approx 80% of readers visit every day…
Nope. ~80% of the visitors who read the site read it more than once in a day. ~87% read it at least once every 24 hours.
re petrol pricing:
the problem: companies move their prices at the same time, by the same amount and apparently this is not price fixing.
hello folks, i am appealling to the collective intelligence here for strategies to organize, inspire and educate the populace to push back at the oil companies.
i figure if enough (10-25%) of the population where to boycott a particular company for say 3 months we may see a breaking of ranks from the oil companies and their pricing.
the idea is that if enough of us move in one direction then we can not be stopped.
to have this succeed sends a message to the big guys (companies and legislators) but more importantly to individuals that we do have power.
i am not too interested in past evils of the various companies as they are kind of a must have.
if successful it does not have to be limited to oil companies – supermarkets or other duopoly, power companies.
i figure the AA would not be keen aas they have a loyalty scheme with one brand.
your thoughts please
Yea – I know …. it beggars belief yes? A bit on an insult to whatever the definition of intelligence you might hold.
Perhaps …. a single buyer model. Something akin to the electricity proposals. Either that, or complete disconnect with the means by which petroleum products are sourced (all that Singapore dependency excuse usually offered).
Perhaps even a mission to South America – not unlike that “highly successful” jaunt John Key[s] undertook earlier this year that was going to produce results.
Labour 50% women on the list proposal a disaster. The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years. And many I know are Labour supporters.
Out of touch on Planet Labour.
“The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years.”
How is it doing that?
“Labour 50% women on the list proposal a disaster”
From what I can tell, that’s not what Labour are proposing. Would it be so hard to get our facts straight?
They want an equal chance and an equal hearing based on merit. They don’t need protection by regulation and they certainly don’t want to displace someone else if they are more capable at the job.
Disaster.
By the way I said “girls”…these are mostly women over 40 in senior and responsible positions in education and social work, a mix of private sector and public sector.
I don’t know, do you think I should ask them?
I agree, the woman came home last night fair bristling at what Labour was proposing.
She’s a highly educated woman in her 30’s who is currently in a managerial role.
Please, before you make your wife out to be so ignorant again, can you just check whether she understands that Labour is considering this proposal?
I give it a 95% chance of passing at Conference. It’s as good as done.
How would you fix the gender bias then CV? Women are simply not currently getting an equal chance and an equal hearing based on merit.
I’m told by a reflexive “that’s great !” female mate of mine that this effective mandatory gender share thing remains not more than a remit to be put forward at the conference in November. Not formal policy of the NZLP.
Even the purist must acknowledge that it’s wildfire politically. See what the pigs have done with it already.
Please don’t let it become an issue which defines left thinking in New Zealand. Because if we do the pigs will smash us over.
I believe that to back it as an imperative without intelligent management is fuck’n’ hubristic and selfish. Suggestive of – “Let’s buzz OURSELVES hard. Yeah, we’re so fuck’n’ pure and intelligent”. No. Fuck you. You’re not “left” except as a self proclaimer if it’s all about YOUR imperative.
People have the imperatives they an afford. Many, many New Zealanders can have no imperative other than putting food on the table. Their circumstances are such that without that narrow focus there will be no bloody food on the table. Think about that. Imagine that.
You had me for the first three paragraphs.
The fourth paragraph, I have no idea what it means.
The last one I call bullshit on. It’s not proposals like the one yesterday that are preventing addressing serious issues like poverty. It’s the fact that Labour is a bloody mess that is the problem. By all means stuff a whole bunch of issues back in the box, but that won’t get you anywhere useful because those issues aren’t preventing the necessary things from being done.
If Labour wasn’t such a bloody mess, then this proposal would have been handled in a completely different way. You’re aiming at the wrong target.
“The last one I call bullshit on. It’s not proposals like the one yesterday that are preventing addressing serious issues like poverty”
Oh yeah, there’s no way that Labour’s great policy set on addressing working, beneficiary and child poverty is being overshadowed by this in the slightest.
“How would I fix the gender bias”
I wouldn’t. By the way, Labour’s proposal doesn’t either.
Yessss111 Thank you! Heard on Nat Rad this morning the same premise from Sue Moroney but she wouldn’t be heard and the rest of the programme was put over to whoever was the opposing view. Nat radio seemed to be putting it as a fait accompli and not as a remit to be put forward to be discussed. Shoddy.
“The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years.”
“How is it doing that?”
They want an equal chance and an equal hearing based on merit.
How nice for them. Did you point out that they don’t have that now? And ask them if they would like that fixed, and how they would like that fixed?
And I’d still like to know how the rule change would put women back 50 years. That’s to the the early 60s, so you should be able to pull up some interesting stats to compare to.
They don’t need protection by regulation and they certainly don’t want to displace someone else if they are more capable at the job.
Can you please show me how the rule change would displace someone MORE capable at the job?
“From what I can tell, that’s not what Labour are proposing. Would it be so hard to get our facts straight?”
I don’t know, do you think I should ask them?
Yes, obviously. What an odd question.
It has been useful though CV to see that your objections aren’t just about timing or the competency of Labour’s PR, but that you also object because you believe the lie that women can overcome structural sexism by their own personal effort.
They’re in their 40s and they get referred to as “girls”. Says it all, doesn’t it?
Watch the polls plummet deary. Then tell me what that says.
ANOTHER disaster? That’s like “electoral oblivion” squared!
I couldn’t resist:
Maybe somebody could reference the experiment that showed random selection produced the same results as targetted selection? That said, I agree this move could undermine women who are selected/promoted because, *you know*, they only got the position due to their gender rather than their ability. That, and it’s bloody window dressing…
The women who would only get their position because of their gender, as opposed to the men right now who do what exactly?
Aye, but we live in a patriarchy, right? And so the potential put down that would point to a man only attaining his position due to his gender has bugger all potential at the end of the day. totally different potential if you ain’t pink and ain’t male though, aye?
If you knows of a better retort, go to it 🙂
Maybe somebody could reference the experiment that showed random selection produced the same results as targetted selection? That said, I agree this move could undermine women who are selected/promoted because, *you know*, they only got the position due to their gender rather than their ability. That, and it’s bloody window dressing…
I’d like to see how Labour thinks the actual rule change might work in practice, but if what you say is true it’s a pretty clear sign of how much of a sexist society we still live in.
“Labour 50% women on the list proposal a disaster. The girls in a nearby office hate it – they say its put working women back 50 years. And many I know are Labour supporters.”
Is it just me, or does that story sound like a desperate lie? Not to mention sexist, obviously.
So, where was I reading that this was a leak? See, if there is any story here, it’s that…or more precisely, the timing of it. There was JK and the spying debacle. And here came a free pass to distract from somebody within Labour. It’s kinda fucking unbelievable.
The proposal has been around for “months” apparently. Clearly now was the best time to discuss it. We just had to wait for Cameron Slater to break the story.
you never know – maybe whoever was the gatekeeper kept thinking that the best time to deal with the issue was “not now”…
If there was a leaker, I’d assume it was a homophobic, misogynist MP. A name springs to mind.
So, where was I reading that this was a leak? See, if there is any story here, it’s that…or more precisely, the timing of it. There was JK and the spying debacle. And here came a free pass to distract from somebody within Labour. It’s kinda fucking unbelievable.
Smeone said yesterday (maybe this came from Labour?) that it was part of a bunch of rule changes emailed to members ahead of public release (by a few hours?). It’s not so much that someone leaked to Slater/Lusk, as Labour handed it to them on a plate.
Hey TRP, screw you.
We’ll see how desperate things get as this proposal gets continuous airplay later this year.
What ev’s CV. It appears your lifestyle defines you.
Remember my words. The media get another field day with this at Conference this year. What ever the final vote the proposal will be a media lose-lose.
There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Oscar Wilde
‘To be alienated means to be someone other (alienus) than oneself; It also can mean to belong to someone else. In more profound sense, it means to be deprived of one’s self, to be subjected to, or even identified with someone else. That is definitely the effect of propaganda. Propaganda strips the individual, robs them of part of themselves, and makes them live an alien and artificial life, to such an extent that they become another person and obey impulses foreign to them. They obey someone else.
To produce this effect, propaganda restricts itself to utilizing, increasing, and reinforcing the individual’s inclination to lose himself in something (human) bigger than they are, to dissipate their uniqueness, to free their ego of all doubt, conflict, and suffering- through fusion with others; to devote themselves to a great (sic) leader and a great cause. In large groups, humans feel united with others, and therefore try to free themselves through blending. Indeed, propaganda offers them that possibility in an exceptionally easy and satisfying fashion. Yet, it pushes the individual into the mass until they disappear entirely.
To begin with, what is it that propaganda makes disappear? Everything in the nature of critical and personal judgement. Obviously, propaganda limits the application of thought. It limits the propagandee’s field of thought to the extent that it provides them with ready-made (and, moreover, unreal) thoughts and stereotypes. It orients them towards very limited ends and prevents them from using their own minds or experimenting on their own. It determines the core from which all their thoughts must derive and draws from the beginning a sort of guideline that permits neither criticism or imagination. More precisely, imagination will lead only to small digressions from the fixed line and to only slightly deviant, preliminary responses within the framework. In this fashion, we see the ‘progressives’ make some “variations” around the basic propaganda tenets.
The acceptance of the ‘line’, of such ends and limitations (BAU), presupposes the suppression of all critical judgement, which in turn is a result of the crystalization of thoughts (see fluidity of thought) and attitudes and the creation of taboos. As Jules Monnerot accurately said: All individual passion leads to the suppression of all critical judgement with regard to the object of that passion. Beyond that, in the collective passion created by propaganda, critical judgement disappears altogether, for in no way can there ever be collective critical judgement. Humans become incapable of ‘separation’, of discernment (the word ‘critical’ is derived from the Greek ‘krino’- separate). The individual can no longer judge for them-self due to inescapably relating their thoughts to the entire complex of values and prejudices established by propaganda. With regard to POLITICAL situations, they are given ready-made value judgments invested with the power of truth by the number of supporters and the word of experts.
What the individual loses is never easy to revive. Once personal judgement and critical faculties have disappeared or have been atrophied, they will not simply reappear when propaganda has been suppressed. In fact, this is one of propaganda’s most durable effects: years of intellectual and spiritual education would be needed to restore such faculties. The propagandee, if deprived of one propaganda, will immediately adopt another; this will spare them the ‘agony’ 😉 of finding themselves at some event without a ready-made opinion, and obliged to think about and judge it for themselves. At the same time, propaganda presents facts, judgments, and values in such confusion and with so many methods that it is literally impossible for the average person to proceed with discernment. They are often forced to accept, or reject, everything ‘in toto’.
-Jaques Ellul : ‘Propaganda : The Formation of Men’s Attitudes.
Toto 😀
A Great City : small firms, smart people and connections to the outside world; the purpose behind modern cities is to pass on information, and the more effectively and efficiently they do this, the more…they blossom, the more successful and sustainable they become-Dr. Edward Glaeser.
Very interesting. Good stuff Rogue.
Dean Parker: Labour must recapture the spirit of ’38
But I’m not sure about Labour as they’ve been making the same noises as National. A new party may have better luck.
Keep dreamin’, Labour will never recapture that spirit. How can it?
The people in Labour at that time are very different from the people in Labour today, especially in life experiences.
Disingenuity is not pretty WS. You scream of it. To match your unabashed ugliness in a social sense and of mind.
My Goodness! (OMG, OMFG even).
The nicest man on Earth had an Imperator Fish on “The Panel”. Not only that, as I listened, there were no ahurr ahurr ahurrs, attempts at linguistic gymnastics, or any other humbug displayed by the nicest man on Earth host.
Me thinks the nicest man on Earth needs a few more ‘The Panel’ guests who don’t take shit.
Of course they run the risk of a Bradbury style excommunication.
(Check it out @ Morissey) – still a bit of fluff, but better than most of the other MSM noises being aired at the time.
I heard the programme too, Tim. Yes, Scott York and Julia Hartley Moore, as well as host Jim Mora, spoke seriously and like adults. It was a pretty good programme. I missed the first part of the pre-show segment, but I did hear a little of that screech-owl Balducci guffawing at the plight of Edward Snowden yet again. Something about the possibility of him marrying a Russian woman and thereby gaining permanent asylum in Russia. I don’t know how serious the story was, but Susan Balducci certainly seemed to be tickled pink by it.
Yorke ( 😀 )
I somehow KNEW I had botched it! Thank you for that correction, my friend.
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpo3x6YRNJ1qcpthfo1_250.jpg
😎
“Balducci the screech owl”.
God your word pictures tickle me Morrissey.
They are the brilliance of technicolor and the richness of oil in one !
Perfect !
No money for Pike River families (well, maybe 5K)
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10895019
-legal fees swallowed it all up.
Gareth Morgan and Geoff Simmons take on taxing takeaways
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10894777
‘An Appetite for Destruction’- “user-pays” for poor diet marketing, those in poverty and the ‘time-poor’.(oh, and apparently, ‘the lazy’).
This is well worth reading for anyone trying to get their heads around recent events in Egypt.
Nervana Mahmoud gives a nuanced, succinct account of how Morsi came to power and how he lost it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/heres-why-egyptians-are-glad-the-military-ousted-their-president/article12981767/#dashboard/follows/
the Malthusian angle was glanced upon earlier in the week on TS;
-poverty
-power cuts
-food shortages
-inflation
-debt
-unemployment
-water shortages predicted
-opaque decision-making
-Islamization
now the danger
Campbell Live tonight:
One of NZ’s most high profile politicians will be making a major announcement.
Quick sweep stake: my entry
Banks is going to announce his resignation from politics?
The Resurrection of Aaron Gilmore 😀
I hope someone isn’t ill.
Actually karol that’s what I wondered…
John Key is going to give away most of his millions, so no-one need be homeless or go begging in NZ.
Bob Parker standing down for next Ch Ch election – Lianne Dalziel scared him off?
Is that a guess or what was actually on Campbell live?
No. CL actual.
Breaking on Stuff now.
Ta.
Can’t say I am surprised, and would guess he would have done this anyway even without Dalziel standing. Post earthquake stress…
What did he say on CL?
Came across to me as pretty genuine. He’s exhausted and the developments over the past week would have been the tipping point. They hope to interview Lianne Dalziel towards the end of the programme.
David Shearer has a job at the UN, packing it in as Dear Leader.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Study-at-odds-with-teachers-union-claims/tabid/423/articleID/303913/Default.aspx
D’oh! Bit harder for the unions now that the media is starting to pick up on the lies…
Suck on these then chris
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8154853/Ofsted-academies-performing-worse-than-other-schools.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2013/mar/25/ofsted-conerns-academies-undermine-improvement
Crass 73 doesn’t deny that charter is all about profit taking for the already wealthy. Ignore the immature person. Not our problem that he has no moral fibre.
It’s late and this will likely get buried as all good people are likely asleep.
Occasionally I watch kitsch TV and caught tonights Secret Millionaire.
What was interesting was that the millionaire looks surprisingly like our PM.
http://www.bdainc.com/about-us/management/jay/
What was more interesting was to see the large contrast between the way the PM speaks and behaves facially against his doppelganger Jay Deutsch who clearly has empathy and his face well shows this.
Sure they are different people but it was a little uncanny and hinted at what was possible if Key had a sense of decency rather than self entitlement. Body language and what is behind the eyes speaks volumes.
On a more sombre note also watched The House I Live In which looks at the imprisonment of people for drugs in the US. Sadly we’re going down the same road at the same time there is some resistance emerging in the US. The section towards the end about the steps taken to create an enemy seem particularly relevant to NZ with the steps taken to demonise the poor and beneficiaries here.
Just realised that link I found is to a streaming (pirate) site – have removed. I can tell cause it has the latest superman movie there as well.
From the Wall Street Journal:
“Egyptians would be lucky if generals turn out to be in mold of Pinochet…who midwifed a transition to democracy.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324399404578583932317286550.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
for goodness sake!