“Dotcom no longer appears on the share register for Mega, although his estranged wife Mona continues to hold some 16 percent of the company, as does an apparent associate, Wolf Dieter Ortmann. The majority shareholder today is a Hong Kong-based donor to New Zealand’s governing National Party, Shen Zhao Wu, with an 18 percent shareholding.”
A nat donor is mega’s biggest shareholder as well as having Boag on the scene. No, this doesn’t look good for the committed lefty with gifts for NZ.
Shows not only does money buy cheap politicians, but also enough wool to cover their greedy eyes.
Still, maybe some of the less gullible amongst us will start switching on any time about now.
It’s a mistake to think that people involved with technology are necessarily progressive. The liberal spectrum (which the internet party appeals to) ranges from libertarian gun nuts (Eric Raymond) to progressive lefties (Lawrence Lessig).
The youth that are getting politicised by this could go either way – and so could a party based on their platform. Involvement from the established libertarian right wing is to be expected, as this movement looks exactly like the scrappy start-up they are used to absorbing, idea-asset-stripping and eventually discarding.
I’ve no reason to agree or disagree otherwise with your first paragraph. It’s not a point I’ve ever made or laboured.
As for youth being politicised, again no argument from me, although it’s a shame for some of them their first exposure to politics will be totally disingenuous horse trading and pork barrelling, which will, I’m sure, turn many off altogether.
As for the party direction, well, it will be whatever kdc wants it to be. Left/right/center, which ever is most expedient and self serving.
But nat donor is biggest shareholder in megal, that’s a who(a)re moment for the ‘principled’ mana.
Laila Harre i have great faith in!….and also Hone Harawira.!..both would NOT sell out the Left …and it is NOT in Dotcoms interests to do so either
…if you want to win a war sometimes you have to get help from the likes of Boag who is really a mercenary up for the money from any side …if she is the best they can find, then why not? …also it will soften them in the eyes of some potential voters
…the youth so politicised to vote Internet Party do not have a beef with the Mana Party and will probably continue to vote for them if the Internet party is disestablished, which i thought it would be sometime after the Election
” … if the Internet party is disestablished, which i thought it would be sometime after the Election”
I don’t have time to check the Internet Mana alliance agreement right now, but my understanding is that the agreement provides for the alliance to be reviewed six weeks after the election. This review could lead to the continuation, or dissolution, of the alliance between the two parties – not the disestablishment of the Internet Party. If the alliance is dissolved, then the two parties would continue as separate parties.
The IMP alliance can split anytime it chooses to (with a weeks notice), but we’re hoping that we’ll be able to work together for the longterm. The; “six weeks after the 2014 General Election”, has been played-up by many as a point of instability. But it is really just a nominal deadline for a review of how the alliance has functioned after the distraction of campaigning is done with.
The most likely reason for a split at that point would be if a third party felt that it was unable to work with one of the constituent parties. But I think that we’d be reluctant to accede to such coercion unless it was an absolute necessity in changing the government. The allied IP & MANA on the crossbenches would be likely more effective together giving C&S, plus support on an issue by issue basis, than one group of (say; IP, given NZFs antiMANA stance) MPs getting minor ministerial positions as payment for repudiating their allies.
either component party may give seven days written notice of their intention to terminate this agreement. The notice must state the reasons for the party wanting to terminate the agreement and must give an opportunity for the New Party Council to meet and for the other party to respond to the initiating party’s notice at least three days before it takes effect… this agreement will remain in force until at least six weeks after the 2014 General Election polling day. The component parties will meet together within five weeks of the 2014 General Election to review the agreement.
Much clearer than my rushed attempt to point out that the Internet Party is very unlikely to be disestablished after the election – and that the alliance agreement provides for ‘review’ not ‘dissolution’ after the election.
The continual spin that the has been put out that the alliance agreement would be dissolved (rather than just reviewed) six weeks after the election has really annoyed me and has been intended to suggest instability, as you say.
Key found New Zealand to wreck its people and our country for the long haul for the primary benefit of the wealthy at tremendous price to the rest of the population. At least KDC has been transparent about his political dealings.
if you want to win a war sometimes you have to get help from the likes of Boag who is really a mercenary up for the money from any side …if she is the best they can find, then why not? …also it will soften them in the eyes of some potential voters
Neither Mega nor Boag have anything to do with the Internet Party.
the youth so politicised to vote Internet Party do not have a beef with the Mana Party and will probably continue to vote for them if the Internet party is disestablished, which i thought it would be sometime after the Election
the Internet Party will continue because of it’s inclusive decision making. IMO, That’s what makes a party survive over time.
Oops, I didn’t mean to imply you were mistaken, I was just soliloquising. I’m talking about the Internet part of Internet/Mana. I’m hoping Mana can exploit this opportunity to become a permanent part of the left, as I have more than a sneaking regard for their position. I can imagine the Internet part fracturing faster than a Trotskyist Tea party though.
Dotcom sounded eloquent and in fine form talking to Brent Edwards on Morning Report this morning explaining how Key’s secret raid on his house had brought about a change in his life and touring with the IMP roadshow had brought home to him the problems in NZ being ignored by Key who only represented the top 1% and corporate interests. KDC said he had never criticised Labour.
There was another later report from IMP’s well attended (300 people) meeting in Wellington where it was made plain IMP would not support the TPP deal.
Fantastic publicity for IMP and both reports well worth a listen.
“Shen Zhao Wu with 18.3 percent, a regular donor to the National Party through his Contue Jinwan Enterprise Group. Contue donated $49,220.18 to National in January”
Nearly as much as kim to Banks, though I doubt Shen wrote anonymous cheques, even after thinking it an insult.
“Shen and his wife, Susan Chou, were reported by the New Zealand Herald to have made a $200,000 donation in 2010.”
” … his companies biggest shareholder donates to key.”
Mega is no longer KDC’s company. IIRC KDC divested himself of his interest/shares in the company in about Oct/Nov 2013.
You yourself @ 2 above quoted from the NBR article which MS linked to @ 1 to the effect that KDC is no longer listed as a shareholder, although his estranged wife, Mona DC, still retains 16% of the shares.
So it is incorrect IMHO to still refer to Mega as KDC’s company if he no longer has any financial interest in, or control over, Mega.
Although I have seen nothing to support this, the sale of KDC’s shares in Mega may well be a source of the money that he has given to the Internet Party. Just speculation on my part.
EDIT
Here are the two Morning Report items on KDC and last night’s IM Road Show meeting in Wellington.
Actually, more recent than that as told on stuff and tvnz sites today, but yeah, still kim’s company. Happy to call it kims old company though.
“The Dotcom family’s share in Mega has fallen to 16.2 per cent and the share owned by chief technology officer Mathias Ortmann, who was understood to be in day-to-day charge of the firm, after former chief executive Stephen Hall stepped down, dropped to 16.6 per cent.”
dotcom is very believable when he talks (in that interview..) of having his eyes opened to the poverty/inequality in new zealand..
..one thing you can be sure from this roadshow all over new zealand..
..is that harwira and sykes have made sure to show him the realities of that poverty..
..and i’m guessing dotcom has also grasped that economics 101-fact..
..that the best/fastest way to stimulate/enliven an economy…
..is to increase the incomes of those who are the poorest..
..for the simple fact that money churns back into the economy straight away..
..used buying the basics/services of life…
..and this if course is one of the strongest arguments for a universal basic income..
..on the ‘moral’-level..yes..it will end poverty…
..but it will also stimulate the economy…
..(and it has long puzzled me..that mote in the rights’ eyes..
..that they think it is a good idea to have a poverty-stricken underclass..
..an underclass unable to purchase their widgets/trinkets..(!)..).
..the proof of that ec. 101 maxim was also seen in the retail-recession that followed ‘strewth’ richardsons mother-of-all-budgets/gutting of state-support…in the name/cause of rogernomics..
..’cos that money was sucked straight out of retailers/service-providers bottom-lines..
..i guess they must be blinded/eye-moted by their randian-ideological-beliefs..eh..?
It is no longer his company – as you yourself have noted; “Dotcom no longer appears on the share register for Mega”. Even Baboom has fallen a bit by the wayside as he has concentrated his energies upon the election.
If I were to sell a car which was then bought by a Boagan who promptly pranged it into the nearest lamp-post because they’d flogged off the brakes would that be my fault?
As for your relentless assault upon the IMPs; could you please change the record? Yes, I get that you don’t trust us, or the IP founder. But your time might be better spent in discussing the policies &/or advantages of voting for the party that you do support, rather than incessantly dissing a tactical ally. The one undeniable thing about KDC & the IMP alliance is that we are committed to ousting the National government.
Unless you’d rather lose with purity, than compromise with those with whom you have disagreements?
Baboom has fallen by the wayside because it’s investor shy.
“could you please change the record?”
Sorry, can’t do that. Politicians being bought my money doesn’t sit easily, and just because it’s on the left, doesn’t make it all of a sudden good.
You’re tainted by kim. You didn’t have to do a deal. Caveat emptor.
“a tactical ally”
Last cab of the rank tactical ally.
“The one undeniable thing about KDC & the IMP alliance is that we are committed to ousting the National government.”
The gullible might believe it, the self serving totally reliant on it.
Your tone would be better suited to TradeMe Message Board, Kiwiblog or Kelvin’s stillborn site The Al1en, where sticking your fingers in your ears qualifies as discussion.
Hardly fair, I’ve outlined some good points and am always open to considered opinion.
Yet the ‘leave Brittney alone’ meme is quality stuff?
Gullible and partisan it is.
Don’t worry though, If it’s to be the not done thing to criticise kim and hone, I’ll be bold texted out of here before too long.
It’s about principles and as I see it, a lack of them on the extreme left. Sue Bradford has them, and I’m pleased she never sold them or herself out, and she was forced out by the blind, greedy and gullible at mana.
I wrote ages ago that for some, kdc was their last, best hope at ousting key, which apart from being wrong, speaks volumes about the strength of their own message and conviction in their personnel, especially when you consider Harre aside (though not by much), what has come after – A singer and a list of nobodies.
mana is a really small party, less than act, less than the conservatives and maybe slightly bigger than uf. It doesn’t belittle hh’s representation of his electorate, but reached the limits of popularity vote wise is about correct.
Of all the parties shown the cash, only hone took it. It’s dirty, and I hope it backfires. 🙂
I take it you mean Chris Yong by; “a singer”, though I think of him more as guitarist/ producer. Not being from Aotearoa, I wouldn’t expect you to have much of an inkling about the local music scene; just accept that he is a respected figure.
You reluctantly concede that Laila Harré is notable, if you care at all about Kiwi culture then you have to admit the same about Yong. So, of the three IP candidates likely to make it into parliament (no meant offense to Currin, but 8 IMP MPs this election is far less likely than 6) that leaves us:
Miriam Pierard – most notable for her work as the spokesperson for Aotearoa Is Not For Sale movement, but you may also have read her posts on TDB. A committed activist, only someone entirely ignorant of the NZ left would claim that she is a part of “a list of nobodies”.
So, that’s the IP likely MPs, How about MANA? Their top 3 are; Hone Harawira, Annette Sykes, John Minto. Again, only someone entirely ignorant of the NZ left would claim that are a part of “a list of nobodies”. I’m not familiar with the 4th ranked MANA candidate (7th on joint list); James Papali’i, but as “Mangere East Labour Branch Party for the past 15 years”, he certainly has a presence in the Auckland Samoan community.
If they weren’t nobodies they wouldn’t need kim’s loot to advance them towards electability, but you have to say that, don’t you?
I surmise
The internet party, harre aside have kapisi as a ‘youth drawcard’ and no-one.
hone at mana may or may not get in depending on how well KD plays his hand. 55/45 at the moment, but could easily become to close to call.
sykes might get in if the maori party vote collapses, but after she represented the owners of the dog that savaged the rotorua child the other year, hopefully not.
minto would never get in without the dosh.
Your pathetic personal attacks deserve only this 🙄 Alien, you are simply revealing yourself as one sad, sick (expletive deleted),
Everyone has the right to be represented when charged in a court of law, guess what Annette Sykes does for a crust besides campaigning as a politician…
“revealing yourself as one sad, sick (expletive deleted),”
What? For not swallowing the mip marriage, or because I don’t respect sykes for defending the owners of a dog which savaged a child, maybe to save them having to pay out compo?
“Everyone has the right to be represented when charged in a court of law,guess what Annette Sykes does”
Ah, the latter.
Not the sort I want representing me or mine in court or in politics.
Just because you haven’t heard of them doesn’t make them nobodies. If you have a look throughout history some of the greatest leaders started off as people who weren’t well known but they worked their way through the opposition anyway. As far as I’m concerned Key is a nobody and Cunliffe isn’t much better because they both represent the height of success in a failed system.
mana is a really small party, less than act, less than the conservatives and maybe slightly bigger than uf.
Actually, it’s consistently polled higher than those others combined.
Another saddo’s comment Alien, Bradford was ‘forced out’, i again laughed out loud, naive to describe your commentary would be ‘mild’,
If you really want to get down and dirty with the ‘personal’ how bout we discuss the two free trips to China extended Sue’s way, any ‘influence’ used there and where that ‘influence’ might have come from…
I attended a few of the GCSB events in Auckland – before the Snowden revelations and before the legislation was passed when Kim Dotcom was in attendance.
On two occasions, my location put me directly in line with Kim Dotcom while the other speakers were talking. Both times I returned home to my partner, and said that watching his face during the talks was informative, as he seemed both invigorated and humbled by what was being said.
Most speakers spoke from a perspective of “equal justice” and “equal rights” for all NZ’ers – not support for Kim Dotcom as a person – but the context put his rights (along with everyone elses) front and centre, and I’m surmising here – but those kind of conversations are not likely to be found in the company of John Banks et al.
From those admittedly small glimpses of the man, I’m willing to accept the fact that he has had a political awakening of sorts. As regular readers and commentors on this site – we should at least be able to understanding how addictive that can be.
I’m just appreciative of the fact that this time his financial support went to the party he deems worthy – rather than that which would benefit him personally.
i laughs out loud, it is so funny to hear the constant whine about DotComs money, who is connected to the Mega company etc etc,
Tell us Alien who is it exactly you plan to vote for, who is it you support that is so holier than thou, so pure and pristine, unsullied by the cash of the corporates,
Which Party of the left is not sucking on the teat of corporate cash Alien???
You claim ‘some here’ should wake up, i suggest you go look in the mirror….
The blinkers, given the context of mana voters and kim, that is funny.
I’m a red/green voter not an apologist or party member, but according to the elections site, one person gave over 30k to each totalling $60,000 G and $64,999 L. Labour also had another 50k and a 430k estate plus a union donation.
I wouldn’t know how many corporates donated less than the declarable figure, and I suspect, unless told, neither would you.
Again, it comes down to whether you see kim as a corporate donor, or motive driven, agenda setting, politician buying sort of bloke, and whether hone has been played and bought.
I get why you mip sorts are pissed at the criticism, because I’m sure it’s something you’d rather see swept under the rug of denial, but it is what it is.
Final proof, if it were needed, that the ideologues of the right are shameless. And that the state runs some enterprises better than the private sector ever can:
This is Cullen and Labour back in 2007 after the sale of Poronui.
“We welcome foreign investment that has real benefits for New Zealand. Westervelt plans to expand the hunting business and market the lodge more aggressively overseas, which will help our tourism profile.
“This is further proof that the process introduced by the Overseas Investment Act in 2005 to ensure land sales benefit New Zealand is working.”
This was from one American company to another American company. I understand no Chinese involved, but still no Kiwi investment and no block from labour.
Agreed-surely parties are allowed to change their mind and reformulate policy as facts and public opinion change? This is what Cunliffe/Labour are doing.
Key/National are simply behind the 8-ball on this issue (mostly because Key supports an unfettered free market) and are now even at odds with their mates at Fed Farmers.
No DJ, not hypocrisy at all. I opposed that sale as much as this one. maybe you weren’t around then.
There is no benefit to having foreign landlords. None. That has been my position for a very long time. My vote turns on this exact issue, such is its importance to the long term strength of our society and communities.
So don’t equate me with Cullen and Labour – I helped vote them out and this was one of the main reasons. I even exchanged some correspondence with Cullen over it.
But if you wish to discuss Labour – I imagine they are slowly changing their policy around foreign ownership of our land. For three reasons… one, political parties change policies over time as the world changes around them. Two, they are beginning to understand the wisdom of not having foreign landlords. Three, they see that this is what the people of NZ actually want.
So be careful with the assumptions and accusations as now you just have mud on your face.
With the exception of Clark & Cullen – who you “voted against” everybody else on that list was a member of the last labour government, or a senior staffer for Clark, an MP now, and standing in this election.
You must have a lot of faith in the ability of tigers to change their stripes.
Politicians do that all the time though nadis. Tigers never.
Anyway, that wee comment on Labour in no way means my vote will be going their way. I am sure you are aware that the Greens and Mana have very robust policies around foreign ownership of our country.
and of course so do Winston and Colin, but they change their stripes way too often and are highly untrustworthy, especially the Winston.
DJ to give it another spin,thats partly why labour got voted out last time and is languishing at 30% in the polls Dear in the headlights John.
John Key will be their to if he carries on being hypocritical.
But unlike labour Key has put his foot in mouth big time and said we can’t become tenants in our own land then done the opposite.
The Media have had a field day (sarc farmers joke) dining out on brain fade Keys own quotes!
maybe you should write him a letter Dear leader or better still Dear John
Okay so I am trying to stay positive, and it has been great to see so many of the MPs and members starting to stick to the positive message. But can someone please punch Kelvin Davis in the throat so he cannot talk until election day? Us members on the doorsteps trying to convince the people we have a positive message are getting pretty fucking sick of self-centered MPs contradicting that.
The Davis situation is a glorious cock up and completely unnecessary. What do you expect Davis to do? Labour gives him an unwinnable place in the list and then expects him to roll over and not compete in the electorate?
For someone supposedly as brilliant at strategy as McCarten, and a self described genius like Cunliffe, this treatment of Davis is a clusterfck of epic proportions.
So simple to avoid, yet this stupid, stupid strategic decision could be the reason why the left is unable to cobble together a majority coalition. If nothing else it will continue to rip maori support – esp in Te Tai Tokerau – away from Labour.
Davis will be in parliament on the list if Labour gets about 28.5%. The most accurate of the polls now has then at 30% and rising, and this before the recent excellent policy releases on minimum wage, work for young people, Joyce’s disastrous appearance on The Nation and National getting on the wrong side of the selling farmland overseas issue.
A vote for Hone in Te Tai Tokerau will get you both Hone and Davis.
The one poll out of many is the only one that’s the least bit accurate, PR. It also, so I’m told, mirrors what both the Nats and Labours’ internal polling says. Davis is going to be an MP, one way or the other. Whether he’s going to be a good MP is the only unknown at the moment.
Morally bankrupt liar says that X is good.
1: Is the liar telling another lie in the hope that we think X is good when X is, in fact, bad?
2: Or is the liar aware of his reputation and is therefore telling the truth in the knowledge that people will think he is lying and so think that X is bad?
3: Or is the morally bankrupt liar completely disinterested and merely saying something true on the grounds that it will microscopically improve the liar’s standing for when the liar wishes to go with option 1 on another matter?
4: who gives a shit what the morally bankrupt liar says, anyway?
thats fair. I thought he needed about 34% but you are right, depending on electorate seats he could get in as low as 28% which Labour have a high chance of exceeding.
Not sure if that makes the current imbroglio more or less amusing given how unnecessary it is.
My point though is that hes dealing with his career based on a gamble on what may or may not happen whereas he can go hard and try to guarantee his win
LABOUR SELLS OUT TO NATIONAL
MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira
Mon 3 Aug 2014
“If there’s any truth to what I have seen today, then somebody’s head should roll” said MANA leader and Tai Tokerau MP Hone Harawira when told of emails suggesting Kelvin Davis’ campaign team in Tai Tokerau was planning to launch an attack campaign against him with money solicited from National.
“Changing the government is going to be tough enough – it’ll be bloody impossible if Labour does dirty deals with National” said Harawira.
“National has been directly responsible for driving up unemployment, homelessness, ill health, and poverty for Maori right across the north” said Harawira. “I’m trying to get rid of them and Kelvin Davis and his crew are doing deals with them!”
“I’m gutted, and Maori in Tai Tokerau will be seriously troubled that Davis and his mates are cozying up to the people who have caused so much damage to our communities”
“And don’t buy this rubbish about me having more money because of Kim Dotcom either” said Harawira. “You’re only allowed to spend $25,000 anyway and I’d already banked mine before MANA signed its deal with the Internet Party”
“Where does this go now?”
“As a matter of principle, Davis should either admit that he knew what was going on here and resign, or state categorically that he didn’t and sack his campaign team”
“Either way, he owes the people of the north an apology”
I hope this story is incorrect.
The move comes after it was revealed a smear campaign was being planned against the incumbent.
A series of emails leaked to 3 News showed Davis’ campaign team had designed a website to attack Harawira and his financial backer, Internet Party founder Kim Dotcom.
In a message to Labour Party general secretary Tim Barnett, a member of Davis’ campaign team, Kaye Taylor said the fight in the northern electorate was “unique”.
“We are fighting against Hone who is being funded by a multi-millionaire, who is frankly trying to buy his way into parliament,” she wrote.
“The website is confrontational, as it is a wake-up call, it’s not aimed at traditional supporters. Honestly, I think National supporters may contribute.”
Your second quote proves that Hone was lying when he said it was a dirty deal with National, Marty. No deal, just wishful thinking from someone on the LEC team hoping that some Nat supporters might contribute financially. Despite all the rhetoric, I think Hone knows he is in trouble in the seat and Davis has the edge. Hence the bluster and bullshit.
Hone said as his first line, “If there’s any truth to what I have seen today, then somebody’s head should roll…” I think that disproves the lie aspect. Does it disturb you that someone on the LEC team was hoping that? Oh and got the website underway.
I’ll also add that framing the statement that way is good politics, 101 even – it lets you say what you want to say and still have an escape clause and everyone knows it so quite transparent yet effective.
Not quite. The lie is in the headline (Labour sells out to National) and this line: “I’m trying to get rid of them and Kelvin Davis and his crew are doing deals with them!”
Both are bullshit.
As to the proposed website, the party leadership was right to knock it on the head as soon as they knew about it. What I take from the whole thing is that an LEC member got carried away, the would be MP didn’t spot the problem quickly enough, but the internal party apparatus worked as it should to stop it in its tracks.
Just to clarify the latter part, all LEC’s and candidates have to have ads/hoardings/websites etc vetted before they go live. And this shows why. Vote Positive! 😉
In the past, there has been the odd L.P. member doing or saying idiotic things and nearly bringing the party into disrepute.
Back in the 1970s and 80s there was a former Mt.Albert member who had a habit of ringing various journos making statements of fiction about Labour personnel. Fortunately only one newspaper listened to her and no prizes for guessing it was The Truth newspaper.
If I could have a minute of my life back for every time some Labour MP/Activist/Member said something silly over the past 40 years I could become a very old man …
As you know I’m a National voter so this is good news but what I don’t get is why K. Davis wasn’t offered a decent place on the list?
If Labour get 28.5% of the vote he might get in but then if a couple of electorates go Labours way (Gosgrove anyone?) then hes a gonner so why didn’t Labour place him highly on the list and avoid all this?
+1
Hey, at least they can say they have a higher % of female MP’s when they loose the next election due to the in-fighting caused by needing more females ahead of Kelvin Davis on the list.
Winning isn’t everything and they will still get a certificate of participation.
“National’s pollster David Farrar and Whaleoil blogger Cam Slater both donated about $100 to Mr Davis’ campaign after a Facebook post Mr Davis wrote criticising Kim Dotcom and the deal with Internet Mana, and asking for donations.”
Opportunistic media grabbing by them. $200 bucks and they get a major article in the Herald. Kelvin’s response, to give the money to Women’s Refuge, was very good.
Yep his response, when he found himself in the corner of his own making, was quite good – I don’t mind a bit of rope-a-dope but less dope more rope would be good from him. Frankly the whole mess is an embarrassment and doesn’t bode well for his time in parliament if he gets in that is.
I have a bad feeling that Kelvin Davies will be a liability for Labour in the long run just as John Tamihere and Shane Jones were.
I hope I will be proved wrong.
Pity he was given a fairly high place on the list. I wonder why the wise selection committee put him lower at the last election!
He has demeaned Labour by his tactics, bringing Labour into disrepute and on the back foot. We can do without this sort of crap.
May be in the future, the party members should have a more significant say in the selection of candidates. I can think of hundreds of citizens who would be more worthy of place on the Labour list.
Your got that right Phil he is in trouble of holding out Davis. Plenty of people have seen Kelvin and his team helping out with the flood relief during the bad weather up North. Meanwhile Hone & Dotcom are on the road together giving the impression of living it up. Mega rich Dotcom with his up market euro helicopter and his flash limo is too far removed from sticking to the kopapa of his rohe. I hope for Mana they have plan C in Sykes as a back up to plan B of getting over 5%.
”’Living it up” what a frigging load, did it take you days/weeks to think that one up, have you seen the ‘roadshow bus’ Pfft, ”living it up” in an old 80’s diesel bus, suuu-uure…
I find it hard to believe that Armstrong himself wrote it – in fact, the style of writing somehow doesn’t ‘compute’. imo. But maybe. perhaps, some of the hard hitting comments he has had to his articles over recent months have finally penetrated.
Remember how Donghua Liu could speak no English according to Williamson?
“I want to focus on transforming that awful paddock of long grass and weeds that you can see when coming into the city from the Newmarket Viaduct into a first-class residential development,” Liu told the Herald in June.
It is a direct quote according to the Herald re Liu being in court for offences in his building program. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11303946 (by Jared Savage by the way. Remember the $90,000 bottle of wine?)
Chris Barton: Joining the dots in the Dotcom conspiracy. Today 5 August.
“The Kiwi Connection conspiracy has the hallmarks of abuse of process everywhere you look.
We have to consider the likelihood the conspiracy is real because of the sterling investigative work of David Fisher, who has uncovered some hitherto unseen documents which indicate murkiness beyond the pale.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11303736
Watching the new last night during the ad break did you notice Genesis Energy ad which appears to be a dirty rotten endoresment that I feel boarders on breeching the electoral rules.
The ad promotes a $300 discount for signing up to both power & gas with the slogan mirroring something similar to ‘working for you’ It come across as a ringing endorsement for the National sale of this power asset. If you saw it you will know what i mean, if you haven’t have a look. Looks like a ‘snake oil’ PR stunt.
Haven’t seen it but if it’s coming across that way to you then I suggest you complain to the Electoral Commission about it. What you describe sounds eerily similar to what the Exclusive Brethren did.
Vandalising other peoples property is a crime.
Why do the Greens supporters believe they have a right to vandalise National hoardings up and down the country?
They are just criminals.
Freedom of speech does not allow you to alter National hoardings in any way.
have you any proof of who is vandalising the hoardings maybe you could get the GSCB and theSIS or the Police to investigate.
otherwise you are defaming!
While we know who is vandalising our environment egalitarian society freedoms our democracy and formerly independent media!
you don’t complain about that or who is doing it!
Roman times when the peasants aren’t happy read the graffitti.
poor we fisitantrum.
Oh come on fisiani it happens to all party hoardings. I noticed God Botherer Col Craig got one of his hoardings absolutely smashed to bits over night Saturday. Both National and Conservatives have the dough & Brethren’s to go out and replace, usually in the early morning or dusk time.
Just might have to go out and get in their face with a camera and reignite the sketchy underground connection between National-Conservative moonie sect.
It does NOT happen to all party hoardings and you well know that. There is a concerted regular vandalism campaign against National billboards nationwide. This is criminal damage, not a bit of fun.
Oh bugger off fizzyanus.. You pick the weirdest things to get your nose out of joint about and quite frankly, you have not a skerrick of evidence to support your assertion.
but national are so popular that it would be impossible to vandalise the image of our lord john key without immediately being set upon by an angry mob who would restrain the miscreant until the police arrived. Neighbourhood watch schemes have been set up across the country to protect that glorious visage from being sullied by the three remaining far-left (i.e. thought twice before voting national) zealots in NZ… /sarc
Labour’s signs tend to be ripped down rather than vandalised (that’s the case in my electorate, at least). It’s less noticeable, since the signs simply disappear, but the hit rate is similar. The effect is similar though, and Labour doesn’t have the funding from multimillionaire backers for large numbers of replacement signs.
A tale of two New Zealands, i limped past Te Papa, the national museum, last night on my way to Wellington leg of the InternetMana roadshow,
Hekia’s gas guzzling 4×4 was on show out front as along with the brass bands and uniforms from the era the National Party celebrated the 1914-1918 war, its causes deeply rooted in inequality, of peoples, of nations, of fear from the masters that the wave of Socialism sweeping Europe would remove these Lords, Ladies, and Barons from their wealth, from their centuries of privilege,
The reggae beat next door at Macs events center is a welcome contrast as a warm up to the main event as out of Wellingtons Winter darkness came 400–500 of us with one thing on our minds, the removal of those cavorting in their customary regalia in a celebration of the death/mutilation of 5% of the New Zealand population at the time, from the levers of power who with deliberation fuel the very inequalities that lead directly to the atrocity that is such wars,
InternetMana what can i say, i am not there for the political speeches, and, there were some rousing words from the cast of characters all of whom have obviously been pushing themselves as the ‘roadshow’ snaked its way down the country to Wellington, some look and sound like they could do with a rest,(i hope they pace themselves theirs still 8 weeks of this organized mayhem),
In the background, its where i like to be, there’s talk of New Branches, that’s what i like to hear,hurried swapping of email addy’s and plans for later meetings are made both befor and after the main event, my ears are not used to such a muted roar of conversation, my psyche equally unused to the human energy, the wairua,mauri, flowing around the packed events center,
The meeting flyer says it all, ”A Message from the Future”, in the background, Annette Sykes confronts me as i try to sneak, into the background, i get to plant a big kiss on the cheek of the next MP for Waiariki, there’s way to much action happening here to say anything any other way,
It’s another day and my waking thought is that the only other politician i planted such a kiss upon was Helen Clark not long befor she became the Prime Minister,
There’s work to be done, lots of it, there’s not enough time, but the real fun will be in the doing, InternetMana has packed every venue so far, 4–5–600 people at them all, there’s a sniff of 5% in the air and i am already looking ahead to 2017, the fun has just begun,
this has been, of course, ”A Message from the Future” InternetMana, be there….
Indeed Karol, from the applause given i would say the loudest was for both Annette and Lailla, Hone, obviously with deliberation was way laid back letting the 2 Internet candidates and the 2 from Mana do most of the talking,
The Wellington turnout was pretty much a cross section of New Zealand, so where Winston Peters gets His ‘race based party’ bullshit from is beyond me,
Georgina Beyer, the candidate for Te Tai Tonga made a good speech, spoiled somewhat i would suggest by Her ‘version’ of events surrounding the foreshore and seabed Legislation when She was a Labour MP,
DotCom’s references to what happened after the Mansion raids where the plods asset stripped Him of everything sounded a bit jaded obviously because we all already knew this aspect of the raid, perhaps He needs to refresh the delivery a bit,
i can relate to what happened there, in the ‘hood’ the stripping of everything, bank cards, cars,(in one case the car taken had a stuffed gearbox and hadn’t moved for a year), happens weekly as the plods conduct their version of the ‘war on drugs’ and like DotCom found, when this does occur someone will step in to gift the basics, its the way we roll….
2014:
This time around, some previous votes cast for Goldsmith and Seymour, (I am assuming 4%+4%), may shift to Rankin and the result may look like this: (Of course there may be larger shift from ACT to CONs in this electorate given that ACT is practically dead and the CONS may yet be born again somewhat here which may actually work in Goldsmith’s favour)
The only way for the progressives to be more sure of defeating ACT and NATIONAL would be for MOST, if not all, of Labour and Greens voters to give their candidate vote to GOLDSMITH.
Assuming there is a 50% improvement in the Labour and Green strategic voting tactics, (5% and 3% rather than the previous election’s 10% and 6% ) the result could look like this:
For those who commented about it yesterday on handles disappearing at the client side.
There does appear to be a problem with the time for the cookies used for putting handles, emails, and websites in for the non-loggedin comments.
It is set for a day and resets every time that a comment is made. It is meant to be at least a week. But it doesn’t sound like the problem people reported.
Could I have some details about browsers and if you have anything constraining javascript. It fills in those fields from javascript because that has been the most reusable option.
Not sure what exactly you need in the way of info LPrent, i am using Firefox, and the prob with the info disappearing out of the name required etc box has been apparent since the major outage the other week,
My opinion, its not such a biggy, it simply means that everyone has to LOOK to ensure the name is there befor ‘submit comment’ is hit,
Having said that i am still NOT looking at every comment to make sure the required details are there, it amazes me just how long it has taken to learn to do this,
i can actually go right off the Standard by loading another page, then re-access the Standard using my ‘most visited’ icon and the username/email are still there, at other times just travelling around pages within the Standard removes it,
Kind of a lottery, there’s a logical explanation for it doing this, but, the primitive lurking in the recesses of my mind has now given to the Standard ‘mauri’, a life force, as it ‘chooses’ to have the username/email either there or not at its own whim…
@bad12, could be firefox addons causing the problem. Adblock, noscript, ghostery will screw around with javascript and cookies. Try whitelisting this site
Could be addons I guess, have used Safari, Mavericks OSX, ‘disconnect’ and ‘ad blocker’ for months but only have had to fill in name and email the last two weeks.
Lolz ropata thanks for the tip, now for the really dumb question, what is ‘white-listing this site’,
i doubt that will do much as my internet connection is so tenuous any changes i make cannot be saved, that’s a long story better left for some other less busy time,
i don’t actually mind how the username/email thing has shape up, its gone from giving me a major case of the shits at myself to now being a major source of self depreciation, seriously how hard can it be to re-wire the brain to perform a simple task like looking to see if the information is there or not befor pressing ”submit comment”??
Pretty frigging hard if you have a nut like mine i must say, i am about half way there but still havn’t quite formed the habit or broken the one where the small function was performed for me,
Note: just for info, most of the time after the username/email has been inserted when it does the ‘disappear’ it only takes one letter of both the username/email to refill the blank spaces, while you remain online for that session it seems to be there in that format? until an actual logging off the net occurs…
When the username/email disappear they don’t really, now i am trying to confuse you as much as i manage to confuse me,
Its still there in a drop down, as in when i slap the B for bad in the username box the drop down appears with the bad12 in it, same for the email,
Don’t ask me about cookies i am an accidental ungenius too fearful to go anywhere near such things in my laptop in case i completely total my tenuous connection to the net altogether…
Ok, the ‘B’ is from a different ‘level’. That is the browser itself remembering. Problem is that is specific to each browser (although it is getting a lot more standardised these days).
When I implemented the system that is meant to be in use, it attempted to stop as much of that as was possible because in 2007 it was freaking unreliable.
Running Firefox 31.0 with Adblock Plus, on Windows 7 Professional Service Pack 1.
I don’t think I’ve set Adblock to block anything at the Standard, but I do have pop-ups blocked (which intermittently works).
I’ve noticed other shenanigans as well recently – e.g. when downloading a .pdf document it no longer opens automatically – it just goes straight into downloads.
The first bit is your recurring nightmare. All that mip trollerising for nothing.
The second your wet dream pu, and probably far removed from reality of a Lab/Green/Winston government, but do tell me, in ’17, does mana get 51% of the party vote? 😆
Cunliffe knows that IMP have nowhere to go other than to support him on confidence and supply. So he can rule them out of government and avoid the coat-tailing/hypocrisy tag being thrown at him by National while still becoming PM with IMP’s support.
Bearded Git, only if you truly believe that a), Winston Peters and NZFirst will be back in the next Parliament, and b), that Winston will not take the side of National in a coalition,
Neither of the above propositions are a certainty, with Colon’s conservatives going after NZFirst’s votes deliberately targeting Grey-Power meetings and the ‘tactical voters’ having walked away from that Party there’s a 50/50 of Winston not being able to secure His Party the needed 5%,
It’s obviously a 50/50 also as to who can buy NZFirst support in forming a coalition, His first demand will be to be made Prime Minister, when that ambit fails the demand will be Minister of Finance as well as Deputy PM,
Toss a coin, will Slippery the Prime Minister push His Finance Minister under the bus, could He do so without Ripping the National Caucus apart,
Toss the coin again, ask the same question of David Cunliffe,
Who in the left ‘really’ wants another Government of ‘business as usual’ because that’s what i see a coalition that involves NZFirst becoming again…
Nope Bearded git, i didn’t miss your earlier prediction my point being that i have strong doubts that NZFirst will attain 5% of the vote on September 20,
i don’t agree with the prediction, but, its not a point i will spend all day haggling about, as within those numbers there can be a three % point movement among the 3 parties that still spells out a Government of the left,
My pick is Labour 33%, Greens 12%, Internet Mana 5%,
i am also picking NZFirst 4.5% and Colons conservatives 3.2%,
IF, such numbers on the night of September 20 are what occurs i hope that David Parker has factored into His first budget a comprehensive ‘food in schools program’ as the first part of a confidence and supply agreement from InternetMana…
I guess now that IMP doesn’t have a chance of being in Govt. the Greens will gain some votes and anti-IMP swing voters have the option of Labour again and Winston has the option of going with Lab/Greens.
Link Please? Nothing on; Stuff, Scoop, or even NZH.
Has Cunliffe ruled out accepting IMP votes on confidence & supply? Or is it simply that he sees no place for them in a Labour-led coalition? Does this apply to both individual parties, or just the combined IMP alliance?
[edit] It seems it was on TVNZ (no clip obvious yet):
[Cunliffe] saying on Breakfast this morning that he had ruled them out completely. “I’ve said yesterday, I’ve said before Mana will not be part of a government I lead, fullstop.”
It sounds like what he has been saying previously re no ministerial post for Mana – no coalition with Mana…doesn’t sound like a ruling out on confidence and supply.
I accept the reasoning that Labour may need to distance themselves from Mana due to certain perceptions about criminal behaviour and KDC* but this is starting to grate – I don’t really like Cunliffe sounding so bloody sure that he won’t give Hone or Laila a cabinet position – it would seen that Labour could do with a few members in caucus that are experienced, level-headed and can deal with the media excellently too.
*The biggest criminals in the world are in the financial industry – they have been consistently ripping off millions of people and destroying lives and last time I checked John Phillip Key was part of that industry (has it ever been confirmed whether he ever left it – last photo I saw of JPK, he was in a black shirt promoting AIG?). If it came to criminal dodgy behaviour who really would win that race: KDC or JPK? Double standards abound in this fucked up country of ours.
And KDC has been very upfront with his German convictions has a teenager. The German Government eventually invested money in his first IT business after the court concluded that he was an extraordinary young technology talent – albeit somewhat misguided.
The latest stoush with Hollywood – well – that’ still very much in the works, and as we have seen, has been full of political interference from the get-go of his immigration approval to NZ.
As to your main point: ruling out experienced Parliamentarians from your Cabinet is definitely a move which limits very many future options.
I agree, but we don’t really know the political reasoning behind this strategy.
My own guess, worth 2c is this:
Obviously Labour does not want to disadvantage itself before the election by losing some of its own potential support from their traditional Labour voters or from the soft non-commited voters of National, NZF, Maori and other progressive parties, especially as there is a substantial constituency of voters who are anti KDC, anti Hone or ambiguous about them.
I think their legitimate fear is that if they unconditionally endorse any other progressive party, especially IMP, before the election, then their own votes may siphon out to National or other minor parties.
Also, ruling IMP out of government will cripple/handicap National’s potential attack weapon against Labour, based on present and past histories of
KDC and Harawira.
Labour’s stand may also calm fears of some of the Labour caucus members in terms of cabinet positions etc and it would also be easier to manage if NZF are the king makers after the election.
So, for Labour, politically and electorally it makes more sense not to be too pally with IMP.
As I said, that is just my 2c worth opinion, which may of course be far out.
I just read that article you linked to and some of the comments Kelvin has made on his facebook page.
Kelvin sounds as dodgy as hell. I would prefer if people want to join forces with the likes of Farrar and Slater that they do it as an independent candidate and not under Labour’s umbrella.
I wonder if Kelvin was the ‘insider’ criticising Cunliffe’s holiday? (or did he openly refute that?).
…And doesn’t that Kelvin dude stop and think for even a moment about why that Nat sycophant Farrar would be supporting him??
The problem is that Cunliffe makes so many stuff ups its difficult to break them down into specific flip flops vs brain farts but theres a quick three flip flops for you to digest
Cunliffe has previously said that IMP would not get Ministerial positions. Has he ruled them out of being in coalition altogether? How about a Confidence and Supply agreement?
Most of the socialist left in Mana as opposed to Internet Mana strategic alliance don’t feel Mana should be officially part of a government anyway. Cunliffe has to placate his party people and potential voters but if it shakes out that Internet Mana MPs are needed for a change of government an arrangement will surely be reached particularly if it does not involve NZ First.
Labour (minus the rogernomes) wants a change of government as does Internet Mana and Mana and Internet Party and of course quiet achiever the Greens. If the left is fortunate enough to be be in the position of forming a government it will be done even if Internet Mana was just formally represented by say Internet Party MPs.
He hasn’t ruled out the Internet Party, the words were very specific; “Mana will not be part of a government I lead”. But the immediate precursor statement was that “coalition [with NZF] has always been on the cards” (2:22 in Blue Leopard link above).
Personally I think that the IP should stay in alliance with MANA even if it costs them ministerial seats (which won’t be highly placed in any case) in this next parliamentary term. The point is to get rid of the current corrupt tory regime. And even on the crossbenches; their votes will still count just as much. Also, they won’t be bound by cabinet collectivity restrictions, can bargain for support on individual bills, introduce private member’s bills to the lottery, and generally position themselves for 2017 when they will have a clear track record and comprehensive policies.
I think your analysis is spot on. IMP need some freedom to continue to establish and distinguish themselves as a separate party outside of Labour’s shadow.
Puckish, dumb by accident or design???, i have money Puckish, not the supposed millions that Kim DotCom is said to have at His disposal,
But,
Enough to supply the paper and the printing to put an A4 sized pamphlet in every letterbox in the electorate i reside in, and, guess what, that’s exactly what i plan on doing,
i plan on doing this Puckish you ‘accident’ not because DotCom has or doesn’t have money, not because DotCom is a crook or is not a crook, but, because i believe very strongly in two planks of the Mana policy that’s also now part of the InternetMana Alliance, the food in schools program, and, a proper robust State House rebuilding program,i also agree with a hell of a lot more of the policy platform,
What exactly do you believe in Puckish, Dribbling Shit seems to be about the extent of your commenting ability, and, that appears to me to be the extent of the total election policies of the right leading into election 2014, A Dribble of Shit, full stop…
Good on you Bad12, Key’s final flight to Hawaii is going to be booked vote by hard won vote. It is ‘hand to hand combat’ that will do it. Like Rosie’s mates campaigning for Hairdo to move on and my partner running workshops on “get out and vote” for unionists to spread the word about enrolment and early voting. There may be locals who will donate to your costs?
This is as Mickysav I believe called it the ‘phoney war’ period, once the Nats have effectively run out of time on August 26 to pull candidates, names will appear on the ballot papers regardless. Then the rubber meets the road.
Lolz Tiger, those ‘locals’ they already have, i will say no more, i have a budget, it aint huge,
Take out the cost of labour, specially at a commercial printing organization,(sorry printers union),and, my budget as far as i can calculate will cover at least 1 electorate…
Sam is a young guy from rural NZ who thinks voting matters and hosts a web show about Dctor Who. He wanted some fuller answers about the internet and education in New Zealand, so he decided to do an interview.
Published on 4 Aug 2014
The latest 0800 Tardis News Hosted by Sam Somers interviewing Laila Harre and Callum Valentine from the Internet Party, talking about Internet Party Policies in a less formal situation,
I actually thoroughly enjoyed it after the initial few moments of serious doubt.
What a novel way of bringing politics, politicians, parties and policies from a simple private living room to the world at large!
The questions asked and the answers were very good with lots of fun in a relaxed friendly
setting. Both Laila Harre and Callum Valentine were excellent. One can easily sense that Harre is such a lovely, pleasant, caring and very intelligent person. Callum Valentine came across as a smart, nice cool dude too!
I felt that the host Somers needs some more practice and training to make his presentation clearer and better.
This is the type of format that modern political parties and campaigners of good causes should use to spread their message. No ads, no rubbish, no spin, no scandals, no controversies! Just good questions and answers about policies. Let the viewer take in the message and decide one way or the other.
Good news from the Greens for tertiary students and apprentices travelling. They are introducing a Green card for travel – free off-peak public transport. That will be a transport of delight!
The unemployed could use one of them, a green card, it costs to ‘look’ for employment and it costs to trot off to the local WINZ office to fulfill the same obligations that were ‘filled’ in eaxactly the same way the week befor and the week befor that,
A missed opportunity???, or a deliberate move away from what used to be the bread and butter representation of the Green Party???…
ACT leader Jamie “Socrates” Whyte obviously gets all his ideas from Fox News, as do the likes of Leighton Smith and Larry “Lackwit” Williams. So do a few of the right wing provocateurs that infest this site. They all need to watch the following…..
80% of scientists surveyed didn’t like the government’s 133 million dollar project to find and fund the most urgent areas for research. Joyce says that this is not the views of most scientists.
“Do they land in Gaza? Ha!”
The laughs just keep coming on The Panel
Radio NZ National, Monday 4 August 2014
Jim Mora, Virginia Larson, Tainui Stephens, Zara Potts
Consider the following selection of gruesome twosomes. Barry Corbett and Ali Jones. Chris Wikaira and Linda Clark. Christine Spankin’ Rankin and Jock Anderson. Dita Di Boni and Sam Pease. Lindsey Dawson and Stephen Franks. And last but not least, the nastiest, smuggest, gruesomest twosome of all—Boag and Edwards. I could, but for the sake of readers’ sensibilities will not, go on.
Long time sufferers of Jim Mora’s godawful, moribund radio light chat show The Panel will have recognized these dreadful duos immediately—they are regular guests, recycled every few weeks, carefully selected to pretty much agree with one another and to pass comment on various matters in a manner that will not piss off anyone that matters. So criticism of the prime minister—someone who matters—has been pretty much kiboshed. So has criticism of racist juries in the Deep South, at least when someone like Chris Trotter is on the program to learnedly admonish those foolish enough to speak out against the jury who acquitted the vigilante who killed Trayvon Martin.
But criticism of, or more accurately, rancorous denunciation of and sneering at, people who do not matter—like political dissidents and fugitives of state vengeance, or the victims of knife attacks in South Auckland or mass murder in Gaza—is quite acceptable. All of these outcast groups have been ridiculed, joked about and pompously denounced on The Panel.
Clearly the producers of The Panel think seriousness is boring, compassion is an irritation and knowledge is intolerable. So it’s out with the likes of Anna Chinn, Gordon Campbell and Bomber Bradbury, and in with the likes of Graham Bell, Jeremy Elwood and Rosemary McLeod.
And, as noted above, clearly the producers of The Panel make a point of getting two really shallow, reactionary people on the show whenever possible. Today, however, they only got it half right. Someone slipped up and made the mistake of inviting Tainui Stephens, who is NOT a moral imbecile, onto the show. The pre-show segment started at 3:45 p.m. ….
JIM MORA: Zara Potts with what the world’s talking about. Qantas changes its flight path at last? ZARA POTTS: Yes, Qantas has announced it’s not going to fly over Iraqi air space any more. However, the extra time is only ten minutes. MORA: Is the extra time only ten minutes? ZARA POTTS: Yes it is. VIRGINIA LARSON:
A little later….
MORA: And what’s this about a secret Qatari airline? ZARA POTTS: The airline’s full name is Qatar Amiri Flight. It’s an airline for both the royal family and high ranked government staff of Qatar. Its fleet is reportedly eleven to thirteen strong and consists of Airbus planes, except for a few 747s. It staffs about a hundred cabin crew and only hires Captains. First Officers need not apply. MORA: Do they land in Gaza? Ha! ZARA POTTS: Ha ha. No they don’t. MORA: There’s a lot of money in Qatar. ….
After the 4 o’clock news, it was time for the introductions of today’s Panelists. Usually this is a dire, teeth-grindingly dull seven or eight minutes of inane breezy nothingness. Not today, however. Tainui Stephens talked about his eleven-year-old daughter, who has been deeply affected by the suffering of the people of Gaza during the latest ramping up of Israel’s violence. She and her friends accompanied him on the recent protest march in Wellington, and Tainui expressed how he was deeply moved by these young people, and everyone else at the march. Of course, Jim Mora could not leave alone a provocation as brazen as that statement of solidarity with the Palestinians. He felt it incumbent on himself to play Devil’s Advocate….
MORA: Ahhhh. We hear from a lot of people who say that there is killing in Ukraine, on both sides probably, and killing in Syria, and killing in Egypt, ahhh, but we don’t hear much or anything about them. Ahhhh. But we hear about Gaza, don’t we….
I’m sure Tainui Stephens replied to that, but if so, I missed it as my friend B_______ screamed for a considerable amount of time about the wretched state of radio commentary in this country.
A little later, Mora was back at his tricks, fishing for bigoted right wing comments….
MORA: Now what do we make of THIS? The Labour Party wants a Ministry of Disarmament.
Virginia Larson scoffed at the idea, which she reckons is a luxury: “After all, we haven’t got two hundred and fifty million Indonesians on our doorstep.” After that rather mystifying remark, she embarked on a wandery rant against Vladimir Putin, calling him a “sabre-rattler” and an aggressor.
MORA:[speaking very slowly, with exaggerated enunciation, to emphasize deep seriousness] I was reading about the bright young people in Gaza who are just as bright as the young people in Israel. But they haven’t been able to stop what’s going on there, have they? Can we EVER stop war?
Tainui Stephens, who is clearly a serious and intelligent person, must have felt like walking out of the studio. But he somehow found it in himself to respond to this idiocy by fobbing him off with a Mora-style bromide…..
TAINUI STEPHENS: I guess we have to appeal to the better angels of our nature. MORA:[sighs deeply, then speaks with reverent intensity] Here’s to the better angels of our nature.
Nat MP McIndoe always stares fixedly/longingly at the back of English’s neck in the House which may have caused him to get things wrong.
“National’s Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe has been referred to police along with Free FM in Hamilton for allegedly airing an election advertisement outside the proper period……”
How sad.
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Grigori GuitchountsIn November, Springer Nature, one of the world’s largest publishers of scientific journals, made an attention-grabbing announcement: More than 30 of its most prestigious journals, including the flagship Nature, will now allow authors to pay a fee of US$11,390 to make their papers freely available for anyone to read ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gary Yohe, Henry Jacoby, Richard Richels, and Benjamin Santer Imagine a major climate change law passing the U.S. Congress unanimously? Don’t bother. It turns out that you don’t need to imagine it. Get this: The Global Change Research Act of 1990 was passed ...
“They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”WHO CAN FORGET the penultimate scene of the 1956 movie classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers? The wild-eyed doctor, stumbling down the highway, trying desperately to warn his fellow citizens: “They’re here already! You’re next! You’re next! You’re next!”Ostensibly science-fiction, the movie ...
TheOneRing.Net has got its paws on the official synopsis of the upcoming Amazon Tolkien TV series. It’s a development that brings to mind the line about Sauron deliberately releasing Gollum from the dungeons of Barad-dûr. Amazon knew exactly what they were doing here, in terms of drumming up publicity: ...
Since Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953, US presidents have joined an informal club intended to provide support - and occasionally rivalry - between those few who have been ‘leaders of the free world’. Donald Trump, elected on a promise to ‘drain the swamp’ and a constant mocker of his predecessors, ...
For over a decade commentators have noted the rise of a new brand of explicitly ideological politics throughout the world. By this they usually refer to the re-emergence of national populism and avowedly illiberal approaches to governance throughout the “advanced” democratic community, but they also extend the thought to the ...
The US House of Representatives has just impeached Donald Trump, giving him the dubious honour of being the only US President to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachement, making it the most bipartisan impeachment ever. The question now is whether the Senate will rise to the occasion, and ...
Kieren Mitchell; Alice Mouton, Université de Liège; Angela Perri, Durham University, and Laurent Frantz, Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichThanks to the hit television series Game of Thrones, the dire wolf has gained a near-mythical status. But it was a real animal that roamed the Americas for at least 250,000 ...
Tide of tidal data rises Having cast our own fate to include rising sea level, there's a degree of urgency in learning the history of mean sea level in any given spot, beyond idle curiosity. Sea level rise (SLR) isn't equal from one place to another and even at a particular ...
Well, some of those chickens sure came home bigly, didn’t they… and proceeded to shit all over the nice carpet in the Capitol. What we were seeing here are societal forces that have long had difficulty trying to reconcile people to the “idea” of America and the reality of ...
In the wake of Donald Trump's incitement of an assault on the US capitol, Twitter finally enforced its terms of service and suspended his account. They've since followed that up with action against prominent QAnon accounts and Trumpers, including in New Zealand. I'm not unhappy with this: Trump regularly violated ...
Peter S. Ross, University of British ColumbiaThe Arctic has long proven to be a barometer of the health of our planet. This remote part of the world faces unprecedented environmental assaults, as climate change and industrial chemicals threaten a way of life for Inuit and other Indigenous and northern ...
Susan St John makes the case for taxing a deemed rate of return on excessive real estate holdings (after a family home exemption), to redirect scarce housing resources to where they are needed most. Read the full article here ...
I’m less than convinced by arguments that platforms like Twitter should be subject to common carrier regulation preventing them from being able to decide who to keep on as clients of their free services, and who they would not like to serve. It’s much easier to create competition for the ...
The hypocritical actions of political leaders throughout the global Covid pandemic have damaged public faith in institutions and governance. Liam Hehir chronicles the way in which contemporary politicians have let down the public, and explains how real leadership means walking the talk. During the Blitz, when German bombs were ...
Over the years, we've published many rebuttals, blog posts and graphics which came about due to direct interactions with the scientists actually carrying out the underlying research or being knowledgable about a topic in general. We'll highlight some of these interactions in this blog post. We'll start with two memorable ...
Yesterday we had the unseemly sight of a landleech threatening to keep his houses empty in response to better tenancy laws. Meanwhile in Catalonia they have a solution for that: nationalisation: Barcelona is deploying a new weapon in its quest to increase the city’s available rental housing: the power ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters, PhD The 2020 global wildfire season brought extreme fire activity to the western U.S., Australia, the Arctic, and Brazil, making it the fifth most expensive year for wildfire losses on record. The year began with an unprecedented fire event ...
NOTE: This is an excerpt from a digital story – read the full story here.Tess TuxfordKo te Kauri Ko Au, Ko te Au ko Kauri I am the kauri, the kauri is me Te Roroa proverb In Waipoua Forest, at the top of the North Island, New ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Coming attraction: IPCC's upcoming major climate assessmentLook for more emphasis on 'solutions,' efforts by cities, climate equity ... and outlook for emissions cuts in ...
Ringing A Clear Historical Bell: The extraordinary images captured in and around the US Capitol Building on 6 January 2021 mirror some of the worst images of America's past.THERE IS A SCENE in the 1982 movie Missing which has remained with me for nearly 40 years. Directed by the Greek-French ...
To impact or not to impeach? I understand why some of those who are justifiably aghast at Trump’s behaviour over recent days might still counsel against impeaching him for a second time. To impeach him, they argue, would run the risk of making him a martyr in the eyes of ...
The Capitol Building, Washington DC, Wednesday, 6 January 2021. Oh come, my little one, come.The day is almost done.Be at my side, behold the sightOf evening on the land.The life, my love, is hardAnd heavy is my heart.How should I live if you should leaveAnd we should be apart?Come, let me ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 3, 2021 through Sat, Jan 9, 2021Editor's ChoiceAfter the Insurrection: Accountability, Reform, and the Science of Democracy The poisonous lies and enablers of sedition--including Senator Hawley, pictured ...
This article, guest authored by Prof. Angela Gallego-Sala & Dr. Julie Loisel, was originally published on the Carbon Brief website on Dec 21, 2020. It is reposted below in its entirety. Click here to access the original article and comments. Peatlands Peatlands are ecosystems unlike any other. Perpetually saturated, their ...
The assault on the US Capitol and constitutional crisis that it has caused was telegraphed, predictable and yet unexpected and confusing. There are several subplots involved: whether the occupation of the Michigan State House in May was a trial run for the attacks on Congress; whether people involved in the ...
On Christmas Eve, child number 1 spotted a crack in a window. It’s a double-glazed window, and inspection showed that the small, horizontal crack was in the outermost pane. It was perpendicular to the frame, about three-quarters of the way up one side. The origins are a mystery. It MIGHT ...
Anne-Marie Broudehoux, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Will the COVID-19 pandemic prompt a shift to healthier cities that focus on wellness rather than functional and economic concerns? This is a hypothesis that seems to be supported by several researchers around the world. In many ways, containment and physical distancing ...
Does the US need to strike a grand bargain with like-minded countries to pool their efforts? What does this tell us about today’s global politics? Perhaps the most remarkable editorial of last year was the cover leader of the London Economist on 19 November 2020. Shortly after Joe Biden was ...
Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato and Valmaine Toki, University of WaikatoAotearoa New Zealand likes to think it punches above its weight internationally, but there is one area where we are conspicuously falling behind — the number of sites recognised by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Globally, there are 1,121 ...
An event organised by the Auckland PhilippinesSolidarity group Have a three-course lunch at Nanam Eatery with us! Help support the organic farming of our Lumad communities through the Mindanao Community School Agricultural Foundation. Each ticket is $50. Food will be served on shared plates. To purchase, please email phsolidarity@gmail.com or ...
"Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here." Prisons are places of unceasing emotional and physical violence, unrelieved despair and unforgivable human waste.IT WAS NATIONAL’S Bill English who accurately described New Zealand’s prisons as “fiscal and moral failures”. On the same subject, Labour’s Dr Martyn Findlay memorably suggested that no prison ...
This is a re-post from Inside Climate News by Ilana Cohen. Inside Climate News is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter here. Whether or not people accept the science on Covid-19 and climate change, both global crises will have lasting impacts on health and ...
. . American Burlesque As I write this (Wednesday evening, 6 January), the US Presidential election is all but resolved, confirming Joe Biden as the next President of the (Dis-)United State of America. Trump’s turbulent political career has lasted just four years – one of the few single-term US presidents ...
The session started off so well. Annalax – suitably chastised – spent a pleasant morning with his new girlfriend (he would say paramour, of course, but for our purposes, girlfriend is easier*). He told her about Waking World Drow, and their worship of Her Ladyship. And he started ...
In a recent column I wrote for local newspapers, I ventured to suggest that Donald Trump – in addition to being a liar and a cheat, and sexist and racist – was a fascist in the making and would probably try, if he were to lose the election, to defy ...
When I was preparing for my School C English exam I knew I needed some quotes to splash through my essays. But remembering lines was never my strong point, so I tended to look for the low-hanging fruit. We’d studied Shakespeare’s King Lear that year and perhaps the lowest hanging ...
When I went to bed last night, I was expecting today to be eventful. A lot of pouting in Congress as last-ditch Trumpers staged bad-faith "objections" to a democratic election, maybe some rioting on the streets of Washington DC from angry Trump supporters. But I wasn't expecting anything like an ...
Melted ice of the past answers question today? Kate Ashley and a large crew of coauthors wind back the clock to look at Antarctic sea ice behavior in times gone by, in Mid-Holocene Antarctic sea-ice increase driven by marine ice sheet retreat. For armchair scientists following the Antarctic sea ice situation, something jumps out in ...
Christina SzalinskiWhen Martha Field became pregnant in 2005, a singular fear weighed on her mind. Not long before, as a Cornell University graduate student researching how genes and nutrients interact to cause disease, she had seen images of unborn mouse pups smaller than her pinkie nail, some with ...
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President respectively for the US 2020 Election, may have dispensed with the erstwhile nemesis, Trump the candidate – but there are numerous critical openings through which much, much worse many out there may yet see fit to ...
A growing public housing waiting list and continued increase of house prices must be urgently addressed by Government, Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson said today. ...
As we welcome in the new year, our focus is on continuing to keep New Zealanders safe and moving forward with our economic recovery. There’s a lot to get on with, but before we say a final goodbye to 2020, here’s a quick look back at some of the milestones ...
A major investment to tackle wilding pines in Mt Richmond will create jobs and help protect the area’s unique ecosystems, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor says. The Mt Richmond Forest Park has unique ecosystems developed on mineral-rich geology, including taonga plant species found nowhere else in the country. “These special plant ...
To further protect New Zealand from COVID-19, the Government is extending pre-departure testing to all passengers to New Zealand except from Australia, Antarctica and most Pacific Islands, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “The change will come into force for all flights arriving in New Zealand after 11:59pm (NZT) on Monday ...
Bay Conservation Cadets launched with first intake Supported with $3.5 million grant Part of $1.245b Jobs for Nature programme to accelerate recover from Covid Cadets will learn skills to protect and enhance environment Environment Minister David Parker today welcomed the first intake of cadets at the launch of the Bay ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Mark Brown have announced passengers from the Cook Islands can resume quarantine-free travel into New Zealand from 21 January, enabling access to essential services such as health. “Following confirmation of the Cook Islands’ COVID ...
Jobs for Nature funding is being made available to conservation groups and landowners to employ staff and contractors in a move aimed at boosting local biodiversity-focused projects, Conservation Minister Kiritapu Allan has announced. It is estimated some 400-plus jobs will be created with employment opportunities in ecology, restoration, trapping, ...
The Government has approved an exception class for 1000 international tertiary students, degree level and above, who began their study in New Zealand but were caught offshore when border restrictions began. The exception will allow students to return to New Zealand in stages from April 2021. “Our top priority continues ...
Today’s deal between Meridian and Rio Tinto for the Tiwai smelter to remain open another four years provides time for a managed transition for Southland. “The deal provides welcome certainty to the Southland community by protecting jobs and incomes as the region plans for the future. The Government is committed ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appointed Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). The leader of each APEC economy appoints three private sector representatives to ABAC. ABAC provides advice to leaders annually on business priorities. “ABAC helps ensure that APEC’s work programme is informed by business community perspectives ...
The Government’s prudent fiscal management and strong policy programme in the face of the COVID-19 global pandemic have been acknowledged by the credit rating agency Fitch. Fitch has today affirmed New Zealand’s local currency rating at AA+ with a stable outlook and foreign currency rating at AA with a positive ...
The Government is putting in place a suite of additional actions to protect New Zealand from COVID-19, including new emerging variants, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “Given the high rates of infection in many countries and evidence of the global spread of more transmissible variants, it’s clear that ...
$36 million of Government funding alongside councils and others for 19 projects Investment will clean up and protect waterways and create local jobs Boots on the ground expected in Q2 of 2021 Funding part of the Jobs for Nature policy package A package of 19 projects will help clean up ...
The commemoration of the 175th anniversary of the Battle of Ruapekapeka represents an opportunity for all New Zealanders to reflect on the role these conflicts have had in creating our modern nation, says Associate Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Kiri Allan. “The Battle at Te Ruapekapeka Pā, which took ...
Babies born with tongue-tie will be assessed and treated consistently under new guidelines released by the Ministry of Health, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Around 5% to 10% of babies are born with a tongue-tie, or ankyloglossia, in New Zealand each year. At least half can ...
The prisoner disorder event at Waikeria Prison is over, with all remaining prisoners now safely and securely detained, Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis says. The majority of those involved in the event are members of the Mongols and Comancheros. Five of the men are deportees from Australia, with three subject to ...
Travellers from the United Kingdom or the United States bound for New Zealand will be required to get a negative test result for COVID-19 before departing, and work is underway to extend the requirement to other long haul flights to New Zealand, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. “The new PCR test requirement, foreshadowed last ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denise Buiten, Senior Lecturer in Social Justice and Sociology, University of Notre Dame Australia On average, one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight in Australia. Last week, three children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were ...
This commendable and realistic decision again underlines that it is the police, not government, who are largely responsible for the reduction in cannabis prosecutions over the past 15 years, writes Russell Brown.The news that New Zealand police have discontinued the annual Helicopter Recovery Operation, which has, each summer for more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ilan Noy, Professor and Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington We will not be able to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us until the world’s population is mostly immune through vaccination ...
Welcome to The Spinoff’s US inauguration live blog: inauguration news, analysis and reaction, updated throughout Wednesday and Thursday, NZ time. Reach me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz.4.00pm: What will Trump be doing tomorrow?It’s pretty well known by now that outgoing president Donald Trump intends to throw out the rulebook when it comes to ...
The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is calling out Mayor Phil Goff for his undignified comment that the claim made by Councillor Greg Sayers asking why Auckland Council is funding yoga classes is “bullshit.” Yesterday, Councillor Greg Sayers penned ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne At 4am Thursday AEDT, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be inaugurated as president and vice president of the United States, replacing Donald Trump and Mike Pence. What follows is ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission. New Zealanders flocked to beaches and lakes this summer, but it wasn't enough to fill the gap left by international tourists in other regions. The tourism industry is struggling to fill a $6 billion hole left by international tourists ...
Summer reissue: Chef Monique Fiso joins us for a chat about Hiakai – her acclaimed Wellington restaurant, and the title of her stunning new book.First published November 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn ...
A new trough was brought to our attention this morning, although ethnicity will limit the numbers of eligible applicants. If you are non-Maori, it looks like you shouldn’t bother getting into the queue – but who knows?We learned of the trough from the Scoop website, where the Kapiti ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Britta Denise Hardesty, Principal Research Scientist, Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship, CSIRO Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs economies up to US$50 billion globally each year, and makes up to one-fifth of the global catch. It’s a huge problem not only for the ...
Police stopping major cannabis eradication operations has given the green light to drug dealers and gangs to expand operations, make more profit, and continue to wreak havoc on the most vulnerable in our society, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. ...
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing.Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it ...
A new report from New Zealand’s Independent Monitoring Mechanism (IMM) highlights the realities and challenges disabled people faced during the COVID-19 emergency. The report, Making Disability Rights Real in a Pandemic, Te Whakatinana i ngā Tika ...
The Maritime Union is questioning the reasons provided for ongoing delays at the Ports of Auckland. Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Craig Harrison says there is a need for an honest conversation about what has gone wrong at the ...
As New Zealand faces a dire shortage of veterinarians, a petition has been launched urging the Government to reclassify veterinarians as critical workers so we can Get Vets into NZ. “New Zealand desperately needs veterinarians from overseas to counter ...
New Zealand is fast developing a reputation as a South Pacific vandal, says Greenpeace, as the government continues to fight against increased ocean protection. At the upcoming meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPRFMO), ...
The Department of Internal Affairs and Netsafe are urging parents and caregivers to be mindful of the online content their tamariki may be consuming in the lead up to the inauguration of president-elect of the United States of America Joe Biden ...
Care is at the centre of Auckland Zoo’s mandate, and it’s clear to see when you witness the staff doing their day-to-day jobs up close. Leonie Hayden went behind the scenes to talk to two people who would do anything for the animals they look after. “We were having this ...
The Game Animal Council (GAC) is applying its expertise in the use of firearms for hunting to work alongside Police, other agencies and stakeholder groups to improve the compliance provisions for hunters and other firearms users. The GAC has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Verica Rupar, Professor, Auckland University of Technology “The lie outlasts the liar,” writes historian Timothy Snyder, referring to outgoing president Donald Trump and his contribution to the “post-truth” era in the US. Indeed, the mass rejection of reason that erupted in a ...
The internet ain’t what it used to be, thanks to privacy issues, data leaks, censorship and hate speech. But a group of New Zealanders are working on a way to give power back to the people. A flood of headlines over the last week made it clear: the internet has become ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of UNSW’s Grand Challenges Program, UNSW The views of women and men can differ on important gendered issues such as abortion, gender equity and government spending priorities. Surprisingly, however, average differences in sex ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer S. Hunt, Lecturer in National Security, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Every four years on January 20, the US exercises a key tenant of democratic government: the peaceful transfer of power. This year, the scene looks a bit ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle In Australia and around the world, research is showing changes in body weight, cooking, eating and drinking patterns associated with COVID lockdowns. Some changes have been positive, such as people cooking ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hao Tan, Associate professor, University of Newcastle Australian coal exports to China plummeted last year. While this is due in part to recent trade tensions between Australia and China, our research suggests coal plant closures are a bigger threat to Australia’s export ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Asha Bowen, Head, Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute A year ago, in late January 2020, Australia reported its first cases of COVID-19. Since then, we have seen almost 29,000 confirmed cases and 909 deaths. As cases climbed in Australian cities in 2020, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kevin Davis, Emeritus Professor of Finance, University of Melbourne Political pressure forced the federal government in 2017 – when Scott Morrison was treasurer – to call the royal commission into misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services sector. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Ellis, Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Newcastle, University of Newcastle The Rise and Fall of Saint George is a story about place, belonging and community that taps into universal tensions of identity and faith in multicultural societies. Playing for ...
An in-depth analysis of media coverage of the euthanasia and cannabis referendums has found that while both sides of the euthanasia referendum were given reasonably fair and balanced coverage, the YES position in the cannabis debate received a heavily ...
*This article was originally published on RNZ and is republished with permission Auckland has no plans to hand over the ownership of it assets under the government's planned water reforms, with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff saying his top priority is to ensure it stacks up for the city. Despite ...
Auckland Transport is putting nine new electric buses on the roads today, as it dramatically accelerates its plans to get rid of all its diesel buses – in a funding challenge to the council. Public transport operators are being told to not buy any more diesel buses or risk losing their council ...
Summer reissue: Join Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden as they find out exactly what we’re voting on in the cannabis referendum, and discover how legalising weed is a women’s issue.First published August 4, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...
A principal analyst for the Climate Change Commission says more needs to be done to reduce agricultural emissions or the country will miss its methane targets. ...
New Zealand needs to be bold in making developers enhance the environment - not just limit its degradation, writes Stephen Knight-Lenihan All human activity should help restore the natural world. This is a concept that may resonate following the upheavals of 2020 and one which is beginning to appear in law. Imagine ...
Derek Challis, son of the legendary author Robin Hyde, died last Thursday. Michelle Leggott pays tribute He opens a suitcase and there they are, the precious manuscript notebooks written by his poet mother Iris Wilkinson aka Robin Hyde. We are in Dunedin for a Hyde conference. Yes, says Derek Arden ...
Former New Zealand gymnast Katya Nosova is now a champion bodybuilder, who was prepared to spend Christmas alone in quarantine to compete in the 'Olympics' of her sport. Katya Nosova was willing to do everything she could to pose on the world stage in her third Ms Olympia. Despite a ...
Concerts and some sports look likely to be on the move in Auckland after a big win for Eden Park – and politicians and officials may now want to win the public some control over the independent stadium. The advent of big concerts at Eden Park will, in all likelihood, mean ...
Despite promises of improvement, questions remain about colonoscopy services in Otago and Southland.David Williams reports The apology, when it came, was fulsome. “On behalf of the Southern DHB, I offer a sincere apology for lapses and inadequacies in colonoscopy services over the past several years,” district health board chair ...
The issues political editor Justin Giovannetti will be keeping an eye on in 2021 (that have nothing to do with Covid-19).New Zealand will be busy in 2021. The border will remain closed to nearly all travellers and Covid-19 will continue to lead the news, but the country has a packed ...
A former case manager says that his experience working with beneficiaries suggests claims of a ‘complete shift’ in the service’s approach are laughable.A former Work and Income case manager who now works with beneficiaries engaging with the service has spoken out on a “toxic” culture which he says denies beneficiaries ...
ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni must confirm whether the Government supports ACC’s apparent policy to make payouts for illegal overstayers , says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union . Union spokesman Jordan Williams says, “Since when was it ACC policy to ...
By RNZ News An independent panel says Chinese officials could have applied public health measures more forcefully in January to curb the initial covid-19 outbreak, and criticised the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not declaring an international emergency until 30 January. The experts reviewing the global handling of the pandemic, ...
Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Fiji’s NGO Coalition on Human Rights has called for stronger accountability and commitment to human rights at home in response to the country taking the world stage as the head of a UN body. The UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) elected Fiji’s ambassador Nazhat Shameem as ...
Danyl McLauchlan reviews Stuart Ritchie’s Science Fictions, which outlines the staggering systemic flaws in the funding and publication of scientific papers. Back in August of 2006 a number of New Zealand scientists were caught up in a media controversy about whether Māori had a genetic predisposition towards violent crime. It kicked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert G. Patman, Professor of International Relations, University of Otago America is currently experiencing its worst political and constitutional crisis since the civil war when the very survival of Abraham Lincoln’s government “of, by and for the people” was at stake. On ...
Manaaki Rangatahi report that young people experiencing homelessness are being further traumatized within the emergency accommodation where they have sought safety. Often these environments are unsafe, and unsuitable for young people to live in, and rangatahi ...
Can you figure out which of the above is the real Jacinda Ardern? Probably! But one day, that might not be true.There are many reasons to believe the internet shouldn’t exist. Social media empires exerting, intentionally or not, their control over sovereign governments. Baby Shark. Your aunt on Facebook.It pains ...
The Point of Order Ministers on a Mission Monitor has flickered only fleetingly for much of the month. More than once, the minister to trigger it has been David Parker, who set it off again yesterday with an announcement that shows how he has been spending our money. He welcomed ...
Ban Bomb Day event at the New Brighton Pier, 9am, on January 22nd, 2021 January 22nd, 2021, marks the first day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) Enters into Force and becomes international law. Aotearoa NZ is one of the ...
Why are New Zealand’s 2 Minute Noodles called 3 Minute Noodles in the UK? It’s a puzzle that has taken hold of Dylan Reeve and refuses to let go.I’m a child of the 80s and 90s. I watched a lot of TV and was a big fan of aggressively marketed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonatan A Lassa, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management, College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Charles Darwin University News of storms battering parts of Queensland and the threat posed by Cyclone Kimi reminded me of a recent experience I’d had. ...
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the use of force to effect the arrest of a wanted offender in Auckland was justified and proportionate to the risk he posed. A man, who was well known to Police, was wanted by Police for an aggravated ...
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori.In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came ...
Donald Trump’s awful presidency expires at midday on Wednesday [US time] when Air Force One will have deposited him in Florida. He retreats to his Mar-a-Lago resort and Joseph R Biden Junior takes command of the White House. Trump’s has been an unpleasant presidency, brought about largely by his own ...
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has elected its National President for 2021. The election took place last Friday at an NZUSA Special General Meeting (SGM) in Wellington. Andrew Lessells, 22, was elected to serve as the National ...
Think twice before you accept that surprise school reunion invite, writes Chris Schulz.It started with a Facebook notification. A school reunion was being organised. It sounded fun, with a fancy dress party set to be held in the city where I grew up, Whanganui. I hadn’t seen some of my ...
Unlike the US, there is very little NZ precedent for politicians to issue discretionary pardons – creating a challenge for those like Prof Sean Davison who might have a humanitarian claim to mercy. ...
Schools have told the Education Review Office that some children lost 10 weeks of learning in last year's lockdowns, but the overall impact of the pandemic is still unclear. In a report based on surveys of thousand of students, teachers and principals during and after last year's national and Auckland ...
The government seems to still be in holiday mode when in the past two weeks alone we have had six homicides, countless firearms incidents, and police needing to arm themselves against gangs almost every second day," says Sensible Sentencing ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Crawford, Associate Professor in Construction and Environmental Assessment, University of Melbourne Over the past few years, Australians have embraced online food delivery services such as UberEats, Deliveroo and Menulog. But home-delivered food comes with a climate cost, and single-use packaging is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland When the coronavirus pandemic hit Australia in March 2020, the Morrison government took bold and imaginative action. The most notable examples were its income support programs – JobKeeper, paying a A$750 weekly ...
Ocean Ute, which arrived at Port Taranaki yesterday, is the second live export ship to arrive in New Zealand this year. Taranaki Animal Rights Group has two demonstrations planned for today. A protest at midday and a vigil at 6.30pm tonight . The number ...
The Department of Corrections is well within its rights to refuse Jared Savage’s “Gangland” book from being read by inmates and it is outrageous that resources and time are now potentially going to be wasted in court about it, says Sensible ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Cowling, Associate Professor – Information & Communication Technology (ICT), CQUniversity Australia We’ve probably all been there. We buy some new smart gadget and when we plug it in for the first time it requires an update to work. So we end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Walker, Vice-chancellor’s fellow, La Trobe University The new trade minister, Dan Tehan, has been handed one of the Morrison government’s most demanding roles. Despite a lot of chest-thumping in government circles about the need to stand up to “Chinese bullying”, Tehan’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philip Weinstein, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Adelaide There’s no question the rising rate of unemployment is one of the worst consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of Australians seeking work is heading towards 10%, almost double the pre-pandemic Australian average ...
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So Michelle Boag is doing work for Kim Dotcom’s Mega. I guess if the price is right …
http://m.nbr.co.nz/article/graham-gaylard-named-megas-fourth-ceo-ck-160310#bmb=1
“Dotcom no longer appears on the share register for Mega, although his estranged wife Mona continues to hold some 16 percent of the company, as does an apparent associate, Wolf Dieter Ortmann. The majority shareholder today is a Hong Kong-based donor to New Zealand’s governing National Party, Shen Zhao Wu, with an 18 percent shareholding.”
A nat donor is mega’s biggest shareholder as well as having Boag on the scene. No, this doesn’t look good for the committed lefty with gifts for NZ.
Shows not only does money buy cheap politicians, but also enough wool to cover their greedy eyes.
Still, maybe some of the less gullible amongst us will start switching on any time about now.
It’s a mistake to think that people involved with technology are necessarily progressive. The liberal spectrum (which the internet party appeals to) ranges from libertarian gun nuts (Eric Raymond) to progressive lefties (Lawrence Lessig).
The youth that are getting politicised by this could go either way – and so could a party based on their platform. Involvement from the established libertarian right wing is to be expected, as this movement looks exactly like the scrappy start-up they are used to absorbing, idea-asset-stripping and eventually discarding.
I’ve no reason to agree or disagree otherwise with your first paragraph. It’s not a point I’ve ever made or laboured.
As for youth being politicised, again no argument from me, although it’s a shame for some of them their first exposure to politics will be totally disingenuous horse trading and pork barrelling, which will, I’m sure, turn many off altogether.
As for the party direction, well, it will be whatever kdc wants it to be. Left/right/center, which ever is most expedient and self serving.
But nat donor is biggest shareholder in megal, that’s a who(a)re moment for the ‘principled’ mana.
Laila Harre i have great faith in!….and also Hone Harawira.!..both would NOT sell out the Left …and it is NOT in Dotcoms interests to do so either
…if you want to win a war sometimes you have to get help from the likes of Boag who is really a mercenary up for the money from any side …if she is the best they can find, then why not? …also it will soften them in the eyes of some potential voters
…the youth so politicised to vote Internet Party do not have a beef with the Mana Party and will probably continue to vote for them if the Internet party is disestablished, which i thought it would be sometime after the Election
” … if the Internet party is disestablished, which i thought it would be sometime after the Election”
I don’t have time to check the Internet Mana alliance agreement right now, but my understanding is that the agreement provides for the alliance to be reviewed six weeks after the election. This review could lead to the continuation, or dissolution, of the alliance between the two parties – not the disestablishment of the Internet Party. If the alliance is dissolved, then the two parties would continue as separate parties.
VV
The IMP alliance can split anytime it chooses to (with a weeks notice), but we’re hoping that we’ll be able to work together for the longterm. The; “six weeks after the 2014 General Election”, has been played-up by many as a point of instability. But it is really just a nominal deadline for a review of how the alliance has functioned after the distraction of campaigning is done with.
The most likely reason for a split at that point would be if a third party felt that it was unable to work with one of the constituent parties. But I think that we’d be reluctant to accede to such coercion unless it was an absolute necessity in changing the government. The allied IP & MANA on the crossbenches would be likely more effective together giving C&S, plus support on an issue by issue basis, than one group of (say; IP, given NZFs antiMANA stance) MPs getting minor ministerial positions as payment for repudiating their allies.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1405/S00428/internet-party-mana-partnership-a-win-for-digital-generation.htm
given the dynamics/shared goals between mana and the internet party..
(..and the rapport both party leaders/members enjoy with each other..)
..i wd be very surprised if that six week post-election escape-clause was activated..
..i for one have supported this proposed coming-together since day one..
..and am working to support/help them with the expectation that working together will continue/flourish in the next parliament..
..not end post-election..
An excellent comment, Pasupial. Thanks.
Much clearer than my rushed attempt to point out that the Internet Party is very unlikely to be disestablished after the election – and that the alliance agreement provides for ‘review’ not ‘dissolution’ after the election.
The continual spin that the has been put out that the alliance agreement would be dissolved (rather than just reviewed) six weeks after the election has really annoyed me and has been intended to suggest instability, as you say.
To paraphrase Ted Dibiase: “Everybodys got a price for the Million Dollar Man” and KDC found the price for Hone, Laila and Michelle
pr..how do you feel about those who contribute large monies to the right..?
..do you also scorn them..and those politicians who accept..?
..or are you saving it all up for internet/mana..?
..and have you never before come across the syndrome of wealth being directed the way of progressive political parties..?
..not every wealthy person is a greedy/uncaring-scum-sack…eh..?
Its good to know that politicians on the left are as open to being bought and paid for as politicians on the right
Everyones the same which is nice 🙂
@ pr..
..r u really as dim as yr words make you appear..?
..so..in yr simplified world..any politician who accepts financial donations to their party is inherently corrupt..?..
..and ‘bought’..?..beholden to the donor..?
..what a bleak/cynical world you inhabit there..p.r..
Key found New Zealand to wreck its people and our country for the long haul for the primary benefit of the wealthy at tremendous price to the rest of the population. At least KDC has been transparent about his political dealings.
Did you miss the part where Hone already sold out?
Neither Mega nor Boag have anything to do with the Internet Party.
the Internet Party will continue because of it’s inclusive decision making. IMO, That’s what makes a party survive over time.
Oops, I didn’t mean to imply you were mistaken, I was just soliloquising. I’m talking about the Internet part of Internet/Mana. I’m hoping Mana can exploit this opportunity to become a permanent part of the left, as I have more than a sneaking regard for their position. I can imagine the Internet part fracturing faster than a Trotskyist Tea party though.
The party will go the way the party decides. It has a very open and democratic process of discussing and deciding upon policies.
Dotcom sounded eloquent and in fine form talking to Brent Edwards on Morning Report this morning explaining how Key’s secret raid on his house had brought about a change in his life and touring with the IMP roadshow had brought home to him the problems in NZ being ignored by Key who only represented the top 1% and corporate interests. KDC said he had never criticised Labour.
There was another later report from IMP’s well attended (300 people) meeting in Wellington where it was made plain IMP would not support the TPP deal.
Fantastic publicity for IMP and both reports well worth a listen.
Cool story bro, but hardly relevant. He’s sucked up the gullible left while his companies biggest shareholder donates to key.
I’m not surprised you’re having to spin for kim.
“Shen Zhao Wu with 18.3 percent, a regular donor to the National Party through his Contue Jinwan Enterprise Group. Contue donated $49,220.18 to National in January”
Nearly as much as kim to Banks, though I doubt Shen wrote anonymous cheques, even after thinking it an insult.
“Shen and his wife, Susan Chou, were reported by the New Zealand Herald to have made a $200,000 donation in 2010.”
Tories and their donations, eh!
” … his companies biggest shareholder donates to key.”
Mega is no longer KDC’s company. IIRC KDC divested himself of his interest/shares in the company in about Oct/Nov 2013.
You yourself @ 2 above quoted from the NBR article which MS linked to @ 1 to the effect that KDC is no longer listed as a shareholder, although his estranged wife, Mona DC, still retains 16% of the shares.
So it is incorrect IMHO to still refer to Mega as KDC’s company if he no longer has any financial interest in, or control over, Mega.
Although I have seen nothing to support this, the sale of KDC’s shares in Mega may well be a source of the money that he has given to the Internet Party. Just speculation on my part.
EDIT
Here are the two Morning Report items on KDC and last night’s IM Road Show meeting in Wellington.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20144326/dotcom-says-he-would-never-have-started-party-if-there-had-been-no-raid
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20144344/internet-mana-pulls-no-punches-at-labour
Actually, more recent than that as told on stuff and tvnz sites today, but yeah, still kim’s company. Happy to call it kims old company though.
“The Dotcom family’s share in Mega has fallen to 16.2 per cent and the share owned by chief technology officer Mathias Ortmann, who was understood to be in day-to-day charge of the firm, after former chief executive Stephen Hall stepped down, dropped to 16.6 per cent.”
Way I see it, that’s 33% control.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10347280/Mega-ditches-Dotcom
http://tvnz.co.nz/business-news/mega-sheds-dotcom-in-favour-kiwi-connections-6046493
dotcom is very believable when he talks (in that interview..) of having his eyes opened to the poverty/inequality in new zealand..
..one thing you can be sure from this roadshow all over new zealand..
..is that harwira and sykes have made sure to show him the realities of that poverty..
..and i’m guessing dotcom has also grasped that economics 101-fact..
..that the best/fastest way to stimulate/enliven an economy…
..is to increase the incomes of those who are the poorest..
..for the simple fact that money churns back into the economy straight away..
..used buying the basics/services of life…
..and this if course is one of the strongest arguments for a universal basic income..
..on the ‘moral’-level..yes..it will end poverty…
..but it will also stimulate the economy…
..(and it has long puzzled me..that mote in the rights’ eyes..
..that they think it is a good idea to have a poverty-stricken underclass..
..an underclass unable to purchase their widgets/trinkets..(!)..).
..the proof of that ec. 101 maxim was also seen in the retail-recession that followed ‘strewth’ richardsons mother-of-all-budgets/gutting of state-support…in the name/cause of rogernomics..
..’cos that money was sucked straight out of retailers/service-providers bottom-lines..
..i guess they must be blinded/eye-moted by their randian-ideological-beliefs..eh..?
..those dumbarse rightwingers..
In English or don’t bother me with it, there’s a luv.
T Allen
It is no longer his company – as you yourself have noted; “Dotcom no longer appears on the share register for Mega”. Even Baboom has fallen a bit by the wayside as he has concentrated his energies upon the election.
If I were to sell a car which was then bought by a Boagan who promptly pranged it into the nearest lamp-post because they’d flogged off the brakes would that be my fault?
As for your relentless assault upon the IMPs; could you please change the record? Yes, I get that you don’t trust us, or the IP founder. But your time might be better spent in discussing the policies &/or advantages of voting for the party that you do support, rather than incessantly dissing a tactical ally. The one undeniable thing about KDC & the IMP alliance is that we are committed to ousting the National government.
Unless you’d rather lose with purity, than compromise with those with whom you have disagreements?
+1 Pasupial
Baboom has fallen by the wayside because it’s investor shy.
“could you please change the record?”
Sorry, can’t do that. Politicians being bought my money doesn’t sit easily, and just because it’s on the left, doesn’t make it all of a sudden good.
You’re tainted by kim. You didn’t have to do a deal. Caveat emptor.
“a tactical ally”
Last cab of the rank tactical ally.
“The one undeniable thing about KDC & the IMP alliance is that we are committed to ousting the National government.”
The gullible might believe it, the self serving totally reliant on it.
🙄
Quality comment mars, I expected less, but you delivered again. 😆
you t 🙄 I 🙄
Your tone would be better suited to TradeMe Message Board, Kiwiblog or Kelvin’s stillborn site The Al1en, where sticking your fingers in your ears qualifies as discussion.
Hardly fair, I’ve outlined some good points and am always open to considered opinion.
Yet the ‘leave Brittney alone’ meme is quality stuff?
Gullible and partisan it is.
Don’t worry though, If it’s to be the not done thing to criticise kim and hone, I’ll be bold texted out of here before too long.
“..I’ve outlined some good points and am always open to considered opinion..’
funniest one-liner of the thread..so far..
Show me a considered opinion and I’ll take it on board.
All I see so far are fanbois.
@Pasupial
It’s about principles and as I see it, a lack of them on the extreme left. Sue Bradford has them, and I’m pleased she never sold them or herself out, and she was forced out by the blind, greedy and gullible at mana.
I wrote ages ago that for some, kdc was their last, best hope at ousting key, which apart from being wrong, speaks volumes about the strength of their own message and conviction in their personnel, especially when you consider Harre aside (though not by much), what has come after – A singer and a list of nobodies.
mana is a really small party, less than act, less than the conservatives and maybe slightly bigger than uf. It doesn’t belittle hh’s representation of his electorate, but reached the limits of popularity vote wise is about correct.
Of all the parties shown the cash, only hone took it. It’s dirty, and I hope it backfires. 🙂
T Allen
I take it you mean Chris Yong by; “a singer”, though I think of him more as guitarist/ producer. Not being from Aotearoa, I wouldn’t expect you to have much of an inkling about the local music scene; just accept that he is a respected figure.
You reluctantly concede that Laila Harré is notable, if you care at all about Kiwi culture then you have to admit the same about Yong. So, of the three IP candidates likely to make it into parliament (no meant offense to Currin, but 8 IMP MPs this election is far less likely than 6) that leaves us:
Miriam Pierard – most notable for her work as the spokesperson for Aotearoa Is Not For Sale movement, but you may also have read her posts on TDB. A committed activist, only someone entirely ignorant of the NZ left would claim that she is a part of “a list of nobodies”.
https://internet.org.nz/candidates
So, that’s the IP likely MPs, How about MANA? Their top 3 are; Hone Harawira, Annette Sykes, John Minto. Again, only someone entirely ignorant of the NZ left would claim that are a part of “a list of nobodies”. I’m not familiar with the 4th ranked MANA candidate (7th on joint list); James Papali’i, but as “Mangere East Labour Branch Party for the past 15 years”, he certainly has a presence in the Auckland Samoan community.
http://mana.net.nz/2011/10/mangere-james-papali%e2%80%99i/#sthash.JbODKUXr.dpuf
+1 again, Parsupial.
I am particularly impressed with Miriam Pierard.
Her posts on TDB are well worth reading for their depth for one so young. Her speech to Women’s Refuge at the same synposium as Cunliffe’s well discussed speech, is a must read
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/07/05/guest-blog-miriam-pierard-dreams-become-reality-when-we-take-action-a-response-to-the-nz-womens-refuge-symposium-and-the-attacks-on-david-cunliffe/
Miriam also gave a very good interview on Sunday Mornings with Wallace Chapman last Sunday.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/20144108/internet-party-candidate-miriam-pierard
If they weren’t nobodies they wouldn’t need kim’s loot to advance them towards electability, but you have to say that, don’t you?
I surmise
The internet party, harre aside have kapisi as a ‘youth drawcard’ and no-one.
hone at mana may or may not get in depending on how well KD plays his hand. 55/45 at the moment, but could easily become to close to call.
sykes might get in if the maori party vote collapses, but after she represented the owners of the dog that savaged the rotorua child the other year, hopefully not.
minto would never get in without the dosh.
Your pathetic personal attacks deserve only this 🙄 Alien, you are simply revealing yourself as one sad, sick (expletive deleted),
Everyone has the right to be represented when charged in a court of law, guess what Annette Sykes does for a crust besides campaigning as a politician…
“revealing yourself as one sad, sick (expletive deleted),”
What? For not swallowing the mip marriage, or because I don’t respect sykes for defending the owners of a dog which savaged a child, maybe to save them having to pay out compo?
“Everyone has the right to be represented when charged in a court of law,guess what Annette Sykes does”
Ah, the latter.
Not the sort I want representing me or mine in court or in politics.
Just because you haven’t heard of them doesn’t make them nobodies. If you have a look throughout history some of the greatest leaders started off as people who weren’t well known but they worked their way through the opposition anyway. As far as I’m concerned Key is a nobody and Cunliffe isn’t much better because they both represent the height of success in a failed system.
Actually, it’s consistently polled higher than those others combined.
Yes, mana, powerhouses they are, consistently polled 0.5 – 1.5%
Another saddo’s comment Alien, Bradford was ‘forced out’, i again laughed out loud, naive to describe your commentary would be ‘mild’,
If you really want to get down and dirty with the ‘personal’ how bout we discuss the two free trips to China extended Sue’s way, any ‘influence’ used there and where that ‘influence’ might have come from…
Sue’s record speaks for itself, I don’t have to defend her.
I used the word “personnel”, but if you want to go with “personal”, fire away to yourself.
I attended a few of the GCSB events in Auckland – before the Snowden revelations and before the legislation was passed when Kim Dotcom was in attendance.
On two occasions, my location put me directly in line with Kim Dotcom while the other speakers were talking. Both times I returned home to my partner, and said that watching his face during the talks was informative, as he seemed both invigorated and humbled by what was being said.
Most speakers spoke from a perspective of “equal justice” and “equal rights” for all NZ’ers – not support for Kim Dotcom as a person – but the context put his rights (along with everyone elses) front and centre, and I’m surmising here – but those kind of conversations are not likely to be found in the company of John Banks et al.
From those admittedly small glimpses of the man, I’m willing to accept the fact that he has had a political awakening of sorts. As regular readers and commentors on this site – we should at least be able to understanding how addictive that can be.
I’m just appreciative of the fact that this time his financial support went to the party he deems worthy – rather than that which would benefit him personally.
i laughs out loud, it is so funny to hear the constant whine about DotComs money, who is connected to the Mega company etc etc,
Tell us Alien who is it exactly you plan to vote for, who is it you support that is so holier than thou, so pure and pristine, unsullied by the cash of the corporates,
Which Party of the left is not sucking on the teat of corporate cash Alien???
You claim ‘some here’ should wake up, i suggest you go look in the mirror….
“Tell us Alien who is it exactly you plan to vote for”
I’ve said it many times before, Moroney electorate, party vote Green.
“Which Party of the left is not sucking on the teat of corporate cash Alien”
If you see kdc’s money as simply “corporate cash” and not the blatant attempt at buying politicians it is.
Right Alien, and you do not see of course the Green Party taking big money off of the corporates as anything but corporate altruism right,
Take off the blinkers, Green and Labour have their hands in the same pockets for the same reasons…
The blinkers, given the context of mana voters and kim, that is funny.
I’m a red/green voter not an apologist or party member, but according to the elections site, one person gave over 30k to each totalling $60,000 G and $64,999 L. Labour also had another 50k and a 430k estate plus a union donation.
I wouldn’t know how many corporates donated less than the declarable figure, and I suspect, unless told, neither would you.
Again, it comes down to whether you see kim as a corporate donor, or motive driven, agenda setting, politician buying sort of bloke, and whether hone has been played and bought.
I get why you mip sorts are pissed at the criticism, because I’m sure it’s something you’d rather see swept under the rug of denial, but it is what it is.
RETURNS OF PARTY DONATIONS EXCEEDING $30,000
http://www.elections.org.nz/parties-candidates/registered-political-parties/party-donations/donations-exceeding-30000/returns
@ m.s..
“..So Michelle Boag is doing work for Kim Dotcom’s (former company) Mega..”
..there ya go..!..corrected that for ya..
..so that proves boag will work for (professed) enemies..
..and what else..?..exactly..?
and election nite is going to be a big disappointment for those here who have long sneered at the very idea of internet/mana..having any success..
..even that voice-of-the-right..’hoots’..is now saying 4-5 internet/mana mp’s is pretty much a given..
..i think it will be more..
Agreed on IMP Phillip-they will surprise. 7% I reckon’
Talking of election night, voting actually starts on 3rd September-that is 29 days away.
Good idea to help any Left voters who might not be able to get along on the 20th to get to an Advanced Vote polling place between 3/9 and 19/9.
Final proof, if it were needed, that the ideologues of the right are shameless. And that the state runs some enterprises better than the private sector ever can:
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/aug/04/east-coast-mainline-fury-reprivatisation-plan
Well spotted stever.
Signs of insanity in the British government.
Funny how Key says we don’t need to own assets…
when his entire personal wealth position is owning assets ….
the far right
hypocrites and liars
they don’t want the people to own assets because that removes the people from the power and control of the rich.
Funny how Key says he doesn’t want to see us as tenants in our own land
then allows transactions which result in us becoming tenants in our own land
the far right
hypocrites and liars
This is Cullen and Labour back in 2007 after the sale of Poronui.
“We welcome foreign investment that has real benefits for New Zealand. Westervelt plans to expand the hunting business and market the lodge more aggressively overseas, which will help our tourism profile.
“This is further proof that the process introduced by the Overseas Investment Act in 2005 to ensure land sales benefit New Zealand is working.”
This was from one American company to another American company. I understand no Chinese involved, but still no Kiwi investment and no block from labour.
Hypocrisy much?
@ dj..
..roberston..during that brawl with joyce..said that labour has recognised they were wrong..(on allowing wholesale land-sales..)
..and cunnliffe has noted that he is running a different labour to the last labour govt..
..so yr quote from cullen (circa 2007)..is kinda irrelevant..eh..?
..bullshit..?..much..?
Agreed-surely parties are allowed to change their mind and reformulate policy as facts and public opinion change? This is what Cunliffe/Labour are doing.
Key/National are simply behind the 8-ball on this issue (mostly because Key supports an unfettered free market) and are now even at odds with their mates at Fed Farmers.
this (what is recycled green/nz first) policy will be a winner for labour..
..and a big loser for national/key..
..the public mood has moved from indifference on this..
..and this is the peril for key/national/the right..
yep phillip-see Armstrong article I just posted below
Labour have agreed (now that they’re out of power) they were wrong
“but labour did it too” is no excuse dickwad
No DJ, not hypocrisy at all. I opposed that sale as much as this one. maybe you weren’t around then.
There is no benefit to having foreign landlords. None. That has been my position for a very long time. My vote turns on this exact issue, such is its importance to the long term strength of our society and communities.
So don’t equate me with Cullen and Labour – I helped vote them out and this was one of the main reasons. I even exchanged some correspondence with Cullen over it.
But if you wish to discuss Labour – I imagine they are slowly changing their policy around foreign ownership of our land. For three reasons… one, political parties change policies over time as the world changes around them. Two, they are beginning to understand the wisdom of not having foreign landlords. Three, they see that this is what the people of NZ actually want.
So be careful with the assumptions and accusations as now you just have mud on your face.
“So don’t equate me with Cullen and Labour”
I think you really mean:
Clark, Cullen, Cunliffe, Parker, Robertson, King, Mahuta, Cosgrove, Hipkins, Moroney, Sio, Street, Goff, Mackey, Huo, O’Connor, Mallard, Dyson, etc.
With the exception of Clark & Cullen – who you “voted against” everybody else on that list was a member of the last labour government, or a senior staffer for Clark, an MP now, and standing in this election.
You must have a lot of faith in the ability of tigers to change their stripes.
Politicians do that all the time though nadis. Tigers never.
Anyway, that wee comment on Labour in no way means my vote will be going their way. I am sure you are aware that the Greens and Mana have very robust policies around foreign ownership of our country.
and of course so do Winston and Colin, but they change their stripes way too often and are highly untrustworthy, especially the Winston.
true that vto
DJ to give it another spin,thats partly why labour got voted out last time and is languishing at 30% in the polls Dear in the headlights John.
John Key will be their to if he carries on being hypocritical.
But unlike labour Key has put his foot in mouth big time and said we can’t become tenants in our own land then done the opposite.
The Media have had a field day (sarc farmers joke) dining out on brain fade Keys own quotes!
maybe you should write him a letter Dear leader or better still Dear John
Okay so I am trying to stay positive, and it has been great to see so many of the MPs and members starting to stick to the positive message. But can someone please punch Kelvin Davis in the throat so he cannot talk until election day? Us members on the doorsteps trying to convince the people we have a positive message are getting pretty fucking sick of self-centered MPs contradicting that.
Cunliffe said on Morning Report today that Labour head office has “given Davis some guidance”.
preferably to go and do serial-laps of ninety mile beach..
..between now and sept. 20th..
The Davis situation is a glorious cock up and completely unnecessary. What do you expect Davis to do? Labour gives him an unwinnable place in the list and then expects him to roll over and not compete in the electorate?
For someone supposedly as brilliant at strategy as McCarten, and a self described genius like Cunliffe, this treatment of Davis is a clusterfck of epic proportions.
So simple to avoid, yet this stupid, stupid strategic decision could be the reason why the left is unable to cobble together a majority coalition. If nothing else it will continue to rip maori support – esp in Te Tai Tokerau – away from Labour.
Nadis don’t make things up.
Davis will be in parliament on the list if Labour gets about 28.5%. The most accurate of the polls now has then at 30% and rising, and this before the recent excellent policy releases on minimum wage, work for young people, Joyce’s disastrous appearance on The Nation and National getting on the wrong side of the selling farmland overseas issue.
A vote for Hone in Te Tai Tokerau will get you both Hone and Davis.
That’s correct Kelvin does not have a subterranean list position, if Labour performs as it needs to he will easily be in parliament.
If Labour gets 28.5% and one poll (out of many) has Labour on 30% whereas the rest of the polls have Labour below 28.5%
So if you’re K. Davis and you want to be in parliament its a helluva gamble to make when its your job on the line
The one poll out of many is the only one that’s the least bit accurate, PR. It also, so I’m told, mirrors what both the Nats and Labours’ internal polling says. Davis is going to be an MP, one way or the other. Whether he’s going to be a good MP is the only unknown at the moment.
He seems to be a good man
That would be one of them conundrae, I guess:
Morally bankrupt liar says that X is good.
1: Is the liar telling another lie in the hope that we think X is good when X is, in fact, bad?
2: Or is the liar aware of his reputation and is therefore telling the truth in the knowledge that people will think he is lying and so think that X is bad?
3: Or is the morally bankrupt liar completely disinterested and merely saying something true on the grounds that it will microscopically improve the liar’s standing for when the liar wishes to go with option 1 on another matter?
4: who gives a shit what the morally bankrupt liar says, anyway?
You were referring to Key, right?
thats fair. I thought he needed about 34% but you are right, depending on electorate seats he could get in as low as 28% which Labour have a high chance of exceeding.
Not sure if that makes the current imbroglio more or less amusing given how unnecessary it is.
My point though is that hes dealing with his career based on a gamble on what may or may not happen whereas he can go hard and try to guarantee his win
That’s the risk of going into politics as such it shouldn’t make him act like an idiot.
His real career is being a school teacher.
Thanks nadis- much appreciated.
By the way my theory is that Davis has been told to act like a prat so that Labour voters will be happy to candidate vote Hone.
IMHO this clever strategy is working really well.
@ b.g..
..he didn’t need to be told…
lol
Guidance from the school of Malcolm Tucker, maybe.
From Hone
I hope this story is incorrect.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10348888/Te-Tai-Tokerau-candidates-square-off
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap.
Your second quote proves that Hone was lying when he said it was a dirty deal with National, Marty. No deal, just wishful thinking from someone on the LEC team hoping that some Nat supporters might contribute financially. Despite all the rhetoric, I think Hone knows he is in trouble in the seat and Davis has the edge. Hence the bluster and bullshit.
Hone said as his first line, “If there’s any truth to what I have seen today, then somebody’s head should roll…” I think that disproves the lie aspect. Does it disturb you that someone on the LEC team was hoping that? Oh and got the website underway.
I’ll also add that framing the statement that way is good politics, 101 even – it lets you say what you want to say and still have an escape clause and everyone knows it so quite transparent yet effective.
Not quite. The lie is in the headline (Labour sells out to National) and this line: “I’m trying to get rid of them and Kelvin Davis and his crew are doing deals with them!”
Both are bullshit.
As to the proposed website, the party leadership was right to knock it on the head as soon as they knew about it. What I take from the whole thing is that an LEC member got carried away, the would be MP didn’t spot the problem quickly enough, but the internal party apparatus worked as it should to stop it in its tracks.
Just to clarify the latter part, all LEC’s and candidates have to have ads/hoardings/websites etc vetted before they go live. And this shows why. Vote Positive! 😉
I suppose it shows that it is now the time of the patu – a pity.
In the past, there has been the odd L.P. member doing or saying idiotic things and nearly bringing the party into disrepute.
Back in the 1970s and 80s there was a former Mt.Albert member who had a habit of ringing various journos making statements of fiction about Labour personnel. Fortunately only one newspaper listened to her and no prizes for guessing it was The Truth newspaper.
If I could have a minute of my life back for every time some Labour MP/Activist/Member said something silly over the past 40 years I could become a very old man …
On that basis I would live until I was 150 at least.
🙂
As you know I’m a National voter so this is good news but what I don’t get is why K. Davis wasn’t offered a decent place on the list?
If Labour get 28.5% of the vote he might get in but then if a couple of electorates go Labours way (Gosgrove anyone?) then hes a gonner so why didn’t Labour place him highly on the list and avoid all this?
External genitalia.
+1
Hey, at least they can say they have a higher % of female MP’s when they loose the next election due to the in-fighting caused by needing more females ahead of Kelvin Davis on the list.
Winning isn’t everything and they will still get a certificate of participation.
It’s clear Davis is, in the Shane Jones mould, not a team player.
Maybe they don’t trust him? I know I don’t.
+1
I don’t trust him either –
“National’s pollster David Farrar and Whaleoil blogger Cam Slater both donated about $100 to Mr Davis’ campaign after a Facebook post Mr Davis wrote criticising Kim Dotcom and the deal with Internet Mana, and asking for donations.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11304222
he is a liability inducing loose cannon
plus + 2 to Weepu’s Beard and Marty Mars 🙁
Dear Mr McCully,
About those jobs you create for Labour party politicians. I have another who would be just excellent for one of those positions.
Please would you jack one up for him too?
Please
Thank you so much
Opportunistic media grabbing by them. $200 bucks and they get a major article in the Herald. Kelvin’s response, to give the money to Women’s Refuge, was very good.
Yep his response, when he found himself in the corner of his own making, was quite good – I don’t mind a bit of rope-a-dope but less dope more rope would be good from him. Frankly the whole mess is an embarrassment and doesn’t bode well for his time in parliament if he gets in that is.
I have a bad feeling that Kelvin Davies will be a liability for Labour in the long run just as John Tamihere and Shane Jones were.
I hope I will be proved wrong.
Pity he was given a fairly high place on the list. I wonder why the wise selection committee put him lower at the last election!
He has demeaned Labour by his tactics, bringing Labour into disrepute and on the back foot. We can do without this sort of crap.
May be in the future, the party members should have a more significant say in the selection of candidates. I can think of hundreds of citizens who would be more worthy of place on the Labour list.
“.. I think Hone knows he is in trouble in the seat and Davis has the edge..”
dream on trp..eh..?
.got any facts/stats to back that..?
..or just a random orifice-pluck..?
Your got that right Phil he is in trouble of holding out Davis. Plenty of people have seen Kelvin and his team helping out with the flood relief during the bad weather up North. Meanwhile Hone & Dotcom are on the road together giving the impression of living it up. Mega rich Dotcom with his up market euro helicopter and his flash limo is too far removed from sticking to the kopapa of his rohe. I hope for Mana they have plan C in Sykes as a back up to plan B of getting over 5%.
u seem confused about my meaning..there..skinny..
”’Living it up” what a frigging load, did it take you days/weeks to think that one up, have you seen the ‘roadshow bus’ Pfft, ”living it up” in an old 80’s diesel bus, suuu-uure…
“Dirty deeds done dirt cheap.”
You gotta be kidding me, right? 😆
Kelvin Davis – Self Interest is #1!
Kelvin needs to pull his head in, Labour needs Shane Jones Mk.II like it needs a hole in the head.
(heh..!..)
“..How to Date a Vegan..
..Dating a vegan isn’t any more difficult than dating anyone else –
(cont..)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zoe-eisenberg/diet-and-nutrition_b_5631354.html
Are the Condoms to pull over head when you kiss
nah..!..to carry snacks in..
A fair article from Armstrong in the Tory-Herald today. Hard to believe I know but here it is:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11303914
It is a fair article, and worth reading.
I find it hard to believe that Armstrong himself wrote it – in fact, the style of writing somehow doesn’t ‘compute’. imo. But maybe. perhaps, some of the hard hitting comments he has had to his articles over recent months have finally penetrated.
john oliver unpacks sponsored-content..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/04/john-oliver-advertising-news-last-week-tonight_n_5647255.html
Remember how Donghua Liu could speak no English according to Williamson?
“I want to focus on transforming that awful paddock of long grass and weeds that you can see when coming into the city from the Newmarket Viaduct into a first-class residential development,” Liu told the Herald in June.
It is a direct quote according to the Herald re Liu being in court for offences in his building program.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11303946 (by Jared Savage by the way. Remember the $90,000 bottle of wine?)
Good spot ianmac.
So the NAct government is still running youth boot camps?!!! Who knew?! Why do we never hear about them and their (supposed) wonderful successes?
Chris Barton: Joining the dots in the Dotcom conspiracy. Today 5 August.
“The Kiwi Connection conspiracy has the hallmarks of abuse of process everywhere you look.
We have to consider the likelihood the conspiracy is real because of the sterling investigative work of David Fisher, who has uncovered some hitherto unseen documents which indicate murkiness beyond the pale.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11303736
OMG! And from the Herald, no less.
A space worth watching, this one.
Our esteemed PM may yet be totally skewered….;)
Watching the new last night during the ad break did you notice Genesis Energy ad which appears to be a dirty rotten endoresment that I feel boarders on breeching the electoral rules.
The ad promotes a $300 discount for signing up to both power & gas with the slogan mirroring something similar to ‘working for you’ It come across as a ringing endorsement for the National sale of this power asset. If you saw it you will know what i mean, if you haven’t have a look. Looks like a ‘snake oil’ PR stunt.
Haven’t seen it but if it’s coming across that way to you then I suggest you complain to the Electoral Commission about it. What you describe sounds eerily similar to what the Exclusive Brethren did.
Vandalising other peoples property is a crime.
Why do the Greens supporters believe they have a right to vandalise National hoardings up and down the country?
They are just criminals.
Freedom of speech does not allow you to alter National hoardings in any way.
have you any proof of who is vandalising the hoardings maybe you could get the GSCB and theSIS or the Police to investigate.
otherwise you are defaming!
While we know who is vandalising our environment egalitarian society freedoms our democracy and formerly independent media!
you don’t complain about that or who is doing it!
Roman times when the peasants aren’t happy read the graffitti.
poor we fisitantrum.
Oh come on fisiani it happens to all party hoardings. I noticed God Botherer Col Craig got one of his hoardings absolutely smashed to bits over night Saturday. Both National and Conservatives have the dough & Brethren’s to go out and replace, usually in the early morning or dusk time.
Just might have to go out and get in their face with a camera and reignite the sketchy underground connection between National-Conservative moonie sect.
It does NOT happen to all party hoardings and you well know that. There is a concerted regular vandalism campaign against National billboards nationwide. This is criminal damage, not a bit of fun.
Oh bugger off fizzyanus.. You pick the weirdest things to get your nose out of joint about and quite frankly, you have not a skerrick of evidence to support your assertion.
but national are so popular that it would be impossible to vandalise the image of our lord john key without immediately being set upon by an angry mob who would restrain the miscreant until the police arrived. Neighbourhood watch schemes have been set up across the country to protect that glorious visage from being sullied by the three remaining far-left (i.e. thought twice before voting national) zealots in NZ… /sarc
That would be a conspiracy theory fisiani.
The truth is that the majority of people are really pissed off by being screwed over by National.
Labour’s signs tend to be ripped down rather than vandalised (that’s the case in my electorate, at least). It’s less noticeable, since the signs simply disappear, but the hit rate is similar. The effect is similar though, and Labour doesn’t have the funding from multimillionaire backers for large numbers of replacement signs.
A tale of two New Zealands, i limped past Te Papa, the national museum, last night on my way to Wellington leg of the InternetMana roadshow,
Hekia’s gas guzzling 4×4 was on show out front as along with the brass bands and uniforms from the era the National Party celebrated the 1914-1918 war, its causes deeply rooted in inequality, of peoples, of nations, of fear from the masters that the wave of Socialism sweeping Europe would remove these Lords, Ladies, and Barons from their wealth, from their centuries of privilege,
The reggae beat next door at Macs events center is a welcome contrast as a warm up to the main event as out of Wellingtons Winter darkness came 400–500 of us with one thing on our minds, the removal of those cavorting in their customary regalia in a celebration of the death/mutilation of 5% of the New Zealand population at the time, from the levers of power who with deliberation fuel the very inequalities that lead directly to the atrocity that is such wars,
InternetMana what can i say, i am not there for the political speeches, and, there were some rousing words from the cast of characters all of whom have obviously been pushing themselves as the ‘roadshow’ snaked its way down the country to Wellington, some look and sound like they could do with a rest,(i hope they pace themselves theirs still 8 weeks of this organized mayhem),
In the background, its where i like to be, there’s talk of New Branches, that’s what i like to hear,hurried swapping of email addy’s and plans for later meetings are made both befor and after the main event, my ears are not used to such a muted roar of conversation, my psyche equally unused to the human energy, the wairua,mauri, flowing around the packed events center,
The meeting flyer says it all, ”A Message from the Future”, in the background, Annette Sykes confronts me as i try to sneak, into the background, i get to plant a big kiss on the cheek of the next MP for Waiariki, there’s way to much action happening here to say anything any other way,
It’s another day and my waking thought is that the only other politician i planted such a kiss upon was Helen Clark not long befor she became the Prime Minister,
There’s work to be done, lots of it, there’s not enough time, but the real fun will be in the doing, InternetMana has packed every venue so far, 4–5–600 people at them all, there’s a sniff of 5% in the air and i am already looking ahead to 2017, the fun has just begun,
this has been, of course, ”A Message from the Future” InternetMana, be there….
It’ll be good to see Annette Sykes in the House.
Indeed Karol, from the applause given i would say the loudest was for both Annette and Lailla, Hone, obviously with deliberation was way laid back letting the 2 Internet candidates and the 2 from Mana do most of the talking,
The Wellington turnout was pretty much a cross section of New Zealand, so where Winston Peters gets His ‘race based party’ bullshit from is beyond me,
Georgina Beyer, the candidate for Te Tai Tonga made a good speech, spoiled somewhat i would suggest by Her ‘version’ of events surrounding the foreshore and seabed Legislation when She was a Labour MP,
DotCom’s references to what happened after the Mansion raids where the plods asset stripped Him of everything sounded a bit jaded obviously because we all already knew this aspect of the raid, perhaps He needs to refresh the delivery a bit,
i can relate to what happened there, in the ‘hood’ the stripping of everything, bank cards, cars,(in one case the car taken had a stuffed gearbox and hadn’t moved for a year), happens weekly as the plods conduct their version of the ‘war on drugs’ and like DotCom found, when this does occur someone will step in to gift the basics, its the way we roll….
I posted this in the Rankin topic earlier, but may be better here for any discussions.
EPSOM: ACT’s SEYMOUR CAN SNEAK THROUGH…..unless…..MOST OF LABOUR and GREEN votes go to Goldsmith. Here is why:
2011 Election
BANKS(ACT)=44%
GOLDSMITH(NAT)=38%
PARKER(LAB)=10%
HAY(GP)=6%
REST=2%
RESULT=ACT’s BANKS won!
2014:
This time around, some previous votes cast for Goldsmith and Seymour, (I am assuming 4%+4%), may shift to Rankin and the result may look like this: (Of course there may be larger shift from ACT to CONs in this electorate given that ACT is practically dead and the CONS may yet be born again somewhat here which may actually work in Goldsmith’s favour)
SEYMOUR(ACT)=44-4=40%
GOLDSMITH(NAT)=38-4=34%
RANKIN(CONS)=8%
WOOD(LAB)=10%
GENTER(GP)=6%
REST=2%
RESULT=ACT’s Seymour wins!
The only way for the progressives to be more sure of defeating ACT and NATIONAL would be for MOST, if not all, of Labour and Greens voters to give their candidate vote to GOLDSMITH.
Assuming there is a 50% improvement in the Labour and Green strategic voting tactics, (5% and 3% rather than the previous election’s 10% and 6% ) the result could look like this:
SEYMOUR(ACT)=40%
GOLDSMITH(NAT)=34+5%+3%=42%
RANKIN(CONS)=8%
WOOD(LAB)=5%
GENTER(GP)=3%
REST=2%
RESULT=NATIONAL’S Mr PAUL GOLDSMITH MP RELUCTANTLY WINS!…Now, who wouldn’t want such a lovely result!
Yep Clemengeopin although Seymour is no Banks. I suspect many National voters will not hold their noses as they vote …
did you mean to say, ‘will not’ or ‘will’ hold their noses as they vote…?
For those who commented about it yesterday on handles disappearing at the client side.
There does appear to be a problem with the time for the cookies used for putting handles, emails, and websites in for the non-loggedin comments.
It is set for a day and resets every time that a comment is made. It is meant to be at least a week. But it doesn’t sound like the problem people reported.
Could I have some details about browsers and if you have anything constraining javascript. It fills in those fields from javascript because that has been the most reusable option.
It happens to me on Firefox, LP. No java issues that I know of. I’m going to try on Chrome and see if it does the same.
Not sure what exactly you need in the way of info LPrent, i am using Firefox, and the prob with the info disappearing out of the name required etc box has been apparent since the major outage the other week,
My opinion, its not such a biggy, it simply means that everyone has to LOOK to ensure the name is there befor ‘submit comment’ is hit,
Having said that i am still NOT looking at every comment to make sure the required details are there, it amazes me just how long it has taken to learn to do this,
i can actually go right off the Standard by loading another page, then re-access the Standard using my ‘most visited’ icon and the username/email are still there, at other times just travelling around pages within the Standard removes it,
Kind of a lottery, there’s a logical explanation for it doing this, but, the primitive lurking in the recesses of my mind has now given to the Standard ‘mauri’, a life force, as it ‘chooses’ to have the username/email either there or not at its own whim…
@bad12, could be firefox addons causing the problem. Adblock, noscript, ghostery will screw around with javascript and cookies. Try whitelisting this site
Could be addons I guess, have used Safari, Mavericks OSX, ‘disconnect’ and ‘ad blocker’ for months but only have had to fill in name and email the last two weeks.
Lolz ropata thanks for the tip, now for the really dumb question, what is ‘white-listing this site’,
i doubt that will do much as my internet connection is so tenuous any changes i make cannot be saved, that’s a long story better left for some other less busy time,
i don’t actually mind how the username/email thing has shape up, its gone from giving me a major case of the shits at myself to now being a major source of self depreciation, seriously how hard can it be to re-wire the brain to perform a simple task like looking to see if the information is there or not befor pressing ”submit comment”??
Pretty frigging hard if you have a nut like mine i must say, i am about half way there but still havn’t quite formed the habit or broken the one where the small function was performed for me,
Note: just for info, most of the time after the username/email has been inserted when it does the ‘disappear’ it only takes one letter of both the username/email to refill the blank spaces, while you remain online for that session it seems to be there in that format? until an actual logging off the net occurs…
It does sound like a cookie timeout.
I wonder if it is not refreshing the cookie timestamp.
When the username/email disappear they don’t really, now i am trying to confuse you as much as i manage to confuse me,
Its still there in a drop down, as in when i slap the B for bad in the username box the drop down appears with the bad12 in it, same for the email,
Don’t ask me about cookies i am an accidental ungenius too fearful to go anywhere near such things in my laptop in case i completely total my tenuous connection to the net altogether…
Ok, the ‘B’ is from a different ‘level’. That is the browser itself remembering. Problem is that is specific to each browser (although it is getting a lot more standardised these days).
When I implemented the system that is meant to be in use, it attempted to stop as much of that as was possible because in 2007 it was freaking unreliable.
Hi Lynn. Using Chrome. Java needs updating I’ve been told……………
Java shouldn’t matter. We don’t do anything with it.
Javascript is a completely different beast.
Note – must look at this again. But after I finish crunching the roll.
Running Firefox 31.0 with Adblock Plus, on Windows 7 Professional Service Pack 1.
I don’t think I’ve set Adblock to block anything at the Standard, but I do have pop-ups blocked (which intermittently works).
I’ve noticed other shenanigans as well recently – e.g. when downloading a .pdf document it no longer opens automatically – it just goes straight into downloads.
Ok. Across all major browsers. I’ll assume it is a site problem.
First time I will have to deal with it is at the weekend.
Billboard images – John Key’s lies.
A great job there by archiedarival. A cherry on top would be a link and credit to Blip’s List
Seriously, a good show in putting up these electronic billboards.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11304222
hilarious; now lets hope Rape Crisis refuses Whaleboil’s ‘donation’.
should anyone encounter colin (moon-landing-denier) craig on their travels..
..they should catch his gaze..then automatically point to the sky..
..and say:..’look out..!..chem-trails..!’..
..and see if he does the duck ‘n cover..
Cunliffe has just ruled out working with Internet Mana.
That’s it then. Three more years of National, guys, three more years.
And bye -bye David after this election.
should labour limp over the line..and get what they seem to want..winston peters..
..and then should they do pretty much nothing very much at all..
..for three yrs..(being in power being ‘all’..)
..and with int/mana holding them to account all the way..
..labour will be decimated in ’17..
The first bit is your recurring nightmare. All that mip trollerising for nothing.
The second your wet dream pu, and probably far removed from reality of a Lab/Green/Winston government, but do tell me, in ’17, does mana get 51% of the party vote? 😆
No phillip wrong.
Cunliffe knows that IMP have nowhere to go other than to support him on confidence and supply. So he can rule them out of government and avoid the coat-tailing/hypocrisy tag being thrown at him by National while still becoming PM with IMP’s support.
It’s a clever stance to take.
Bearded Git, only if you truly believe that a), Winston Peters and NZFirst will be back in the next Parliament, and b), that Winston will not take the side of National in a coalition,
Neither of the above propositions are a certainty, with Colon’s conservatives going after NZFirst’s votes deliberately targeting Grey-Power meetings and the ‘tactical voters’ having walked away from that Party there’s a 50/50 of Winston not being able to secure His Party the needed 5%,
It’s obviously a 50/50 also as to who can buy NZFirst support in forming a coalition, His first demand will be to be made Prime Minister, when that ambit fails the demand will be Minister of Finance as well as Deputy PM,
Toss a coin, will Slippery the Prime Minister push His Finance Minister under the bus, could He do so without Ripping the National Caucus apart,
Toss the coin again, ask the same question of David Cunliffe,
Who in the left ‘really’ wants another Government of ‘business as usual’ because that’s what i see a coalition that involves NZFirst becoming again…
bad-you missed my earlier prediction which I still hold to: 31+11+7=Cunliffe.
NZF are not needed in this scenario.
Nope Bearded git, i didn’t miss your earlier prediction my point being that i have strong doubts that NZFirst will attain 5% of the vote on September 20,
i don’t agree with the prediction, but, its not a point i will spend all day haggling about, as within those numbers there can be a three % point movement among the 3 parties that still spells out a Government of the left,
My pick is Labour 33%, Greens 12%, Internet Mana 5%,
i am also picking NZFirst 4.5% and Colons conservatives 3.2%,
IF, such numbers on the night of September 20 are what occurs i hope that David Parker has factored into His first budget a comprehensive ‘food in schools program’ as the first part of a confidence and supply agreement from InternetMana…
Well, that’s fucked it.
Actually I think it’ll be OK. Until confirmed otherwise its just another iteration of Cunliffe saying no IMP Ministers in Cabinet.
+1 Colonial
I guess now that IMP doesn’t have a chance of being in Govt. the Greens will gain some votes and anti-IMP swing voters have the option of Labour again and Winston has the option of going with Lab/Greens.
amirite
Link Please? Nothing on; Stuff, Scoop, or even NZH.
Has Cunliffe ruled out accepting IMP votes on confidence & supply? Or is it simply that he sees no place for them in a Labour-led coalition? Does this apply to both individual parties, or just the combined IMP alliance?
[edit] It seems it was on TVNZ (no clip obvious yet):
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2014/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503581&objectid=11304222
An article about DPF & Slater donating to Davis’ campaign wasn’t the most obvious place to look.
I think it is this:
http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/david-cunliffe-we-don-t-want-become-tenants-in-our-own-country-video-6046681
‘Won’t be part of the government’
It sounds like what he has been saying previously re no ministerial post for Mana – no coalition with Mana…doesn’t sound like a ruling out on confidence and supply.
[edit: Ah! I see you found reference to it]
Yep. No Cabinet positions.
I accept the reasoning that Labour may need to distance themselves from Mana due to certain perceptions about criminal behaviour and KDC* but this is starting to grate – I don’t really like Cunliffe sounding so bloody sure that he won’t give Hone or Laila a cabinet position – it would seen that Labour could do with a few members in caucus that are experienced, level-headed and can deal with the media excellently too.
*The biggest criminals in the world are in the financial industry – they have been consistently ripping off millions of people and destroying lives and last time I checked John Phillip Key was part of that industry (has it ever been confirmed whether he ever left it – last photo I saw of JPK, he was in a black shirt promoting AIG?). If it came to criminal dodgy behaviour who really would win that race: KDC or JPK? Double standards abound in this fucked up country of ours.
And KDC has been very upfront with his German convictions has a teenager. The German Government eventually invested money in his first IT business after the court concluded that he was an extraordinary young technology talent – albeit somewhat misguided.
The latest stoush with Hollywood – well – that’ still very much in the works, and as we have seen, has been full of political interference from the get-go of his immigration approval to NZ.
As to your main point: ruling out experienced Parliamentarians from your Cabinet is definitely a move which limits very many future options.
I agree, but we don’t really know the political reasoning behind this strategy.
My own guess, worth 2c is this:
Obviously Labour does not want to disadvantage itself before the election by losing some of its own potential support from their traditional Labour voters or from the soft non-commited voters of National, NZF, Maori and other progressive parties, especially as there is a substantial constituency of voters who are anti KDC, anti Hone or ambiguous about them.
I think their legitimate fear is that if they unconditionally endorse any other progressive party, especially IMP, before the election, then their own votes may siphon out to National or other minor parties.
Also, ruling IMP out of government will cripple/handicap National’s potential attack weapon against Labour, based on present and past histories of
KDC and Harawira.
Labour’s stand may also calm fears of some of the Labour caucus members in terms of cabinet positions etc and it would also be easier to manage if NZF are the king makers after the election.
So, for Labour, politically and electorally it makes more sense not to be too pally with IMP.
As I said, that is just my 2c worth opinion, which may of course be far out.
@ Parsupial
I just read that article you linked to and some of the comments Kelvin has made on his facebook page.
Kelvin sounds as dodgy as hell. I would prefer if people want to join forces with the likes of Farrar and Slater that they do it as an independent candidate and not under Labour’s umbrella.
I wonder if Kelvin was the ‘insider’ criticising Cunliffe’s holiday? (or did he openly refute that?).
…And doesn’t that Kelvin dude stop and think for even a moment about why that Nat sycophant Farrar would be supporting him??
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2014/08/kelvin_davis_on_dotcom_and_mana.html
Farrar says Hipkins has ‘liked’ Kelvin’s comments
WTF LABOUR PARTY????????????????????
Where do you get that info from Amrite?
Being that its Cunliffe he’ll probably change his position on it tomorrow
so the CT line is to tar him with key’s brush, eh?
Direct hit.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-U-turns-over-dolphin-sanctuary-drilling/tabid/1607/articleID/350010/Default.aspx
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11300818
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/david-cunliffe-we-don-t-want-become-tenants-in-our-own-country-6046694
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/250643/tvnz-assures-labour-over-debate
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2014/07/cowardly-cunliffe-caught-another-lie/#more-146734 (this ones a link to an audio from NewstalkZB
The problem is that Cunliffe makes so many stuff ups its difficult to break them down into specific flip flops vs brain farts but theres a quick three flip flops for you to digest
Even if I bothered to read those links and not be aghast at how you, the media, and’or the slug abused the English language to make that list, it would be the merest and most delicate sigh before the thunderstorm that is Dunnokeyo.
Cunliffe has previously said that IMP would not get Ministerial positions. Has he ruled them out of being in coalition altogether? How about a Confidence and Supply agreement?
Most of the socialist left in Mana as opposed to Internet Mana strategic alliance don’t feel Mana should be officially part of a government anyway. Cunliffe has to placate his party people and potential voters but if it shakes out that Internet Mana MPs are needed for a change of government an arrangement will surely be reached particularly if it does not involve NZ First.
Labour (minus the rogernomes) wants a change of government as does Internet Mana and Mana and Internet Party and of course quiet achiever the Greens. If the left is fortunate enough to be be in the position of forming a government it will be done even if Internet Mana was just formally represented by say Internet Party MPs.
Thanks TM
CV
He hasn’t ruled out the Internet Party, the words were very specific; “Mana will not be part of a government I lead”. But the immediate precursor statement was that “coalition [with NZF] has always been on the cards” (2:22 in Blue Leopard link above).
Personally I think that the IP should stay in alliance with MANA even if it costs them ministerial seats (which won’t be highly placed in any case) in this next parliamentary term. The point is to get rid of the current corrupt tory regime. And even on the crossbenches; their votes will still count just as much. Also, they won’t be bound by cabinet collectivity restrictions, can bargain for support on individual bills, introduce private member’s bills to the lottery, and generally position themselves for 2017 when they will have a clear track record and comprehensive policies.
I think your analysis is spot on. IMP need some freedom to continue to establish and distinguish themselves as a separate party outside of Labour’s shadow.
The IMP will fold as quickly as every other two-bit political party has after this election, no KDC no money
Puckish, dumb by accident or design???, i have money Puckish, not the supposed millions that Kim DotCom is said to have at His disposal,
But,
Enough to supply the paper and the printing to put an A4 sized pamphlet in every letterbox in the electorate i reside in, and, guess what, that’s exactly what i plan on doing,
i plan on doing this Puckish you ‘accident’ not because DotCom has or doesn’t have money, not because DotCom is a crook or is not a crook, but, because i believe very strongly in two planks of the Mana policy that’s also now part of the InternetMana Alliance, the food in schools program, and, a proper robust State House rebuilding program,i also agree with a hell of a lot more of the policy platform,
What exactly do you believe in Puckish, Dribbling Shit seems to be about the extent of your commenting ability, and, that appears to me to be the extent of the total election policies of the right leading into election 2014, A Dribble of Shit, full stop…
Good on you Bad12, Key’s final flight to Hawaii is going to be booked vote by hard won vote. It is ‘hand to hand combat’ that will do it. Like Rosie’s mates campaigning for Hairdo to move on and my partner running workshops on “get out and vote” for unionists to spread the word about enrolment and early voting. There may be locals who will donate to your costs?
This is as Mickysav I believe called it the ‘phoney war’ period, once the Nats have effectively run out of time on August 26 to pull candidates, names will appear on the ballot papers regardless. Then the rubber meets the road.
Lolz Tiger, those ‘locals’ they already have, i will say no more, i have a budget, it aint huge,
Take out the cost of labour, specially at a commercial printing organization,(sorry printers union),and, my budget as far as i can calculate will cover at least 1 electorate…
Grass roots as it gets
Sam is a young guy from rural NZ who thinks voting matters and hosts a web show about Dctor Who. He wanted some fuller answers about the internet and education in New Zealand, so he decided to do an interview.
Published on 4 Aug 2014
The latest 0800 Tardis News Hosted by Sam Somers interviewing Laila Harre and Callum Valentine from the Internet Party, talking about Internet Party Policies in a less formal situation,
Thanks freedom for that link.
I actually thoroughly enjoyed it after the initial few moments of serious doubt.
What a novel way of bringing politics, politicians, parties and policies from a simple private living room to the world at large!
The questions asked and the answers were very good with lots of fun in a relaxed friendly
setting. Both Laila Harre and Callum Valentine were excellent. One can easily sense that Harre is such a lovely, pleasant, caring and very intelligent person. Callum Valentine came across as a smart, nice cool dude too!
I felt that the host Somers needs some more practice and training to make his presentation clearer and better.
This is the type of format that modern political parties and campaigners of good causes should use to spread their message. No ads, no rubbish, no spin, no scandals, no controversies! Just good questions and answers about policies. Let the viewer take in the message and decide one way or the other.
Not perfect, but early days!
I liked it!
Good news from the Greens for tertiary students and apprentices travelling. They are introducing a Green card for travel – free off-peak public transport. That will be a transport of delight!
that is a clever policy from the greens..
..and i have no problems with int/mana not being in cabinet/bound by cabinet muzzling-rules..
..for one thing..labour support a tpp..
..int/mana want to rip it up…
..and a weak/do nothing lab/nz first coalition..will just weaken labour further..
..and a potent int/mana on the cross-benches..free to argue etc..
..is fine with me..
..i wd just like there to be a lot of them..
..and then..in 2017…
The unemployed could use one of them, a green card, it costs to ‘look’ for employment and it costs to trot off to the local WINZ office to fulfill the same obligations that were ‘filled’ in eaxactly the same way the week befor and the week befor that,
A missed opportunity???, or a deliberate move away from what used to be the bread and butter representation of the Green Party???…
Is Fox News More Dangerous Than Isis?
ACT leader Jamie “Socrates” Whyte obviously gets all his ideas from Fox News, as do the likes of Leighton Smith and Larry “Lackwit” Williams. So do a few of the right wing provocateurs that infest this site. They all need to watch the following…..
Campbell Live poll.
16 000 votes.
Should we sell our farms to overseas owners ?
6% in favour.
The Nats should be afraid.
50 cents to vote so only this poll doesn’t even include the less affluent in society.
I just listened to this RNZ brilliant interview of Kim Dot Com by Brent Edwards.
A great interview. KDC comes across as excellent and very sincere.
Have a listen here:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20144326/dotcom-says-he-would-never-have-started-party-if-there-had-been-no-raid
80% of scientists surveyed didn’t like the government’s 133 million dollar project to find and fund the most urgent areas for research. Joyce says that this is not the views of most scientists.
Sayeeda Warsi’s resignation letter.
“Do they land in Gaza? Ha!”
The laughs just keep coming on The Panel
Radio NZ National, Monday 4 August 2014
Jim Mora, Virginia Larson, Tainui Stephens, Zara Potts
Consider the following selection of gruesome twosomes. Barry Corbett and Ali Jones. Chris Wikaira and Linda Clark. Christine Spankin’ Rankin and Jock Anderson. Dita Di Boni and Sam Pease. Lindsey Dawson and Stephen Franks. And last but not least, the nastiest, smuggest, gruesomest twosome of all—Boag and Edwards. I could, but for the sake of readers’ sensibilities will not, go on.
Long time sufferers of Jim Mora’s godawful, moribund radio light chat show The Panel will have recognized these dreadful duos immediately—they are regular guests, recycled every few weeks, carefully selected to pretty much agree with one another and to pass comment on various matters in a manner that will not piss off anyone that matters. So criticism of the prime minister—someone who matters—has been pretty much kiboshed. So has criticism of racist juries in the Deep South, at least when someone like Chris Trotter is on the program to learnedly admonish those foolish enough to speak out against the jury who acquitted the vigilante who killed Trayvon Martin.
But criticism of, or more accurately, rancorous denunciation of and sneering at, people who do not matter—like political dissidents and fugitives of state vengeance, or the victims of knife attacks in South Auckland or mass murder in Gaza—is quite acceptable. All of these outcast groups have been ridiculed, joked about and pompously denounced on The Panel.
Clearly the producers of The Panel think seriousness is boring, compassion is an irritation and knowledge is intolerable. So it’s out with the likes of Anna Chinn, Gordon Campbell and Bomber Bradbury, and in with the likes of Graham Bell, Jeremy Elwood and Rosemary McLeod.
And, as noted above, clearly the producers of The Panel make a point of getting two really shallow, reactionary people on the show whenever possible. Today, however, they only got it half right. Someone slipped up and made the mistake of inviting Tainui Stephens, who is NOT a moral imbecile, onto the show. The pre-show segment started at 3:45 p.m. ….
JIM MORA: Zara Potts with what the world’s talking about. Qantas changes its flight path at last?
ZARA POTTS: Yes, Qantas has announced it’s not going to fly over Iraqi air space any more. However, the extra time is only ten minutes.
MORA: Is the extra time only ten minutes?
ZARA POTTS: Yes it is.
VIRGINIA LARSON:
A little later….
MORA: And what’s this about a secret Qatari airline?
ZARA POTTS: The airline’s full name is Qatar Amiri Flight. It’s an airline for both the royal family and high ranked government staff of Qatar. Its fleet is reportedly eleven to thirteen strong and consists of Airbus planes, except for a few 747s. It staffs about a hundred cabin crew and only hires Captains. First Officers need not apply.
MORA: Do they land in Gaza? Ha!
ZARA POTTS: Ha ha. No they don’t.
MORA: There’s a lot of money in Qatar. ….
After the 4 o’clock news, it was time for the introductions of today’s Panelists. Usually this is a dire, teeth-grindingly dull seven or eight minutes of inane breezy nothingness. Not today, however. Tainui Stephens talked about his eleven-year-old daughter, who has been deeply affected by the suffering of the people of Gaza during the latest ramping up of Israel’s violence. She and her friends accompanied him on the recent protest march in Wellington, and Tainui expressed how he was deeply moved by these young people, and everyone else at the march. Of course, Jim Mora could not leave alone a provocation as brazen as that statement of solidarity with the Palestinians. He felt it incumbent on himself to play Devil’s Advocate….
MORA: Ahhhh. We hear from a lot of people who say that there is killing in Ukraine, on both sides probably, and killing in Syria, and killing in Egypt, ahhh, but we don’t hear much or anything about them. Ahhhh. But we hear about Gaza, don’t we….
I’m sure Tainui Stephens replied to that, but if so, I missed it as my friend B_______ screamed for a considerable amount of time about the wretched state of radio commentary in this country.
A little later, Mora was back at his tricks, fishing for bigoted right wing comments….
MORA: Now what do we make of THIS? The Labour Party wants a Ministry of Disarmament.
Virginia Larson scoffed at the idea, which she reckons is a luxury: “After all, we haven’t got two hundred and fifty million Indonesians on our doorstep.” After that rather mystifying remark, she embarked on a wandery rant against Vladimir Putin, calling him a “sabre-rattler” and an aggressor.
MORA: [speaking very slowly, with exaggerated enunciation, to emphasize deep seriousness] I was reading about the bright young people in Gaza who are just as bright as the young people in Israel. But they haven’t been able to stop what’s going on there, have they? Can we EVER stop war?
Tainui Stephens, who is clearly a serious and intelligent person, must have felt like walking out of the studio. But he somehow found it in himself to respond to this idiocy by fobbing him off with a Mora-style bromide…..
TAINUI STEPHENS: I guess we have to appeal to the better angels of our nature.
MORA: [sighs deeply, then speaks with reverent intensity] Here’s to the better angels of our nature.
Nat MP McIndoe always stares fixedly/longingly at the back of English’s neck in the House which may have caused him to get things wrong.
“National’s Hamilton West MP Tim Macindoe has been referred to police along with Free FM in Hamilton for allegedly airing an election advertisement outside the proper period……”
How sad.
I don’t mean to waste everyone’s time but is this not hoskings writ large in his brain?